Faith to Follow your Heart

PART 1

Natural – By S Club 7

Loving you is not just luck or illusion

It’s in the make up of our D.N.A.

It’s not by chance we make the perfect solution

Don’t worry baby

You know that it’s just destiny’s way

Chorus

Baby loving you, comes easily to me

It’s what I’m living for

It’s all in the chemistry

Baby loving you, is how it’s meant to be

It’s something that is oh so natural to me

We got the answers but there’s no explanation

We got each other baby, come what may

It’s in the science it’s genetically proven

But when you touch me the reaction, it just blows me away

Chorus x 2

Turn off the light; lay your head next to mine

Take it slowly, a step at a time

Come on get close, closer to me

It’s all so natural

It’s all so easy to see

Chorus x 2

20^th April 2016

Hi, I’m Elizabeth Maria Evans, although everyone calls me Ellie.  I’m 16 years old and this is the first entry in my journal.  I never know what to write in these things, my mum said to write what I feel inside, but that seems to come a lot easier to her than me. 

My mother says writing in her journal has helped her through a lot of tough times, and although she never talks about them, I get the feeling she’s had a few rough times.  My mum is the person who bought this journal for me, she said it would help me to sort out what goes on inside my head, and she said writing things down would help.  She has written in a journal since she was my age, since the day my dad saved her life in the Crashdown.  She’s written all her personal thoughts and feelings in that journal, so much so that my brother Chris and I aren’t allowed to read it.  It’s only recently that she’s let my dad read it, even though he’s been badgering her for ages.

My parents are really cool, they never often say I can’t do something, my mother doesn’t really believe in the word “no”.  She says it’s because she heard it so many times from her parents when she was growing up, and that she swore to herself when I was born that she’d only use it when really necessary. 

My parent’s relationship is beyond most people’s realm of imagination.  They’ve been married for just over 10 years now and they are still as sappy and lovey-dovey as they were when they were in high school, at least that’s what Aunty Maria and Uncle Michael says.  I can just about remember a time when my dad wasn’t around.  I was really young then, but I can remember the day he moved back home like it was yesterday.  From the moment I walked into the house I could sense something was different.  It was one of the best days of my life, finally I felt normal.  Well as normal as you can feel in my family!  I am grateful for their close relationship and know that if mum wasn’t around, I could always go to dad with almost any problem. 

Of course there are some problems that my dad just wouldn’t understand, like guys!  That’s where my best friend Andi comes into the picture.  Her real name is Andrea, but she hates being called that.  We’ve been friends since fourth grade, and although she doesn’t know my deepest, darkest secret, she knows me better than most.  Sometimes I wish I could tell her my secret.  In my heart I’m sure she’d understand and wouldn’t treat me any different.  But my mum says I need to be careful, she says I’m way too trusting of people.  I guess she’s right, I don’t know what I’d do if I told Andi and she didn’t understand or hated me.

I’m the oldest child of my large extended family.  There’s my brother Christian, he’s eleven, and my little sister Abigal, she’s only four.  I love her to bits but it’s tough ‘cause she always wants me to play with her when I’m trying to study.  I’m doing really well at school, but it’s tough living up to my parents great grades. 

Then there are my two sets of twin cousins, Charlotte and Emileigh, Joshua and Jason, their mum and dad Maria and Michael are my parents’ best friends.  Charlie and Emi are eleven, with Josh and Jay eight.  Then there are my other cousins Ashleigh and Catelin, who are the daughters of my father’s sister Isabelle and husband Alex.  Although I get on with all of them, being that much older than them I wouldn’t say I’m that close.  Chris on the other hand is really close to Emi, Ash and especially Charlie.  My parents haven’t noticed, but sister intuition tells me something will happen between them when they’re a bit older.

Ok that’s enough about everyone, how about me?  I’m quite tall, with shoulder length straight brown hair, and dark brown eyes.  Chris, Abbie and I have and same eyes, we inherited them from my dad.  Aunty Maria says they’re Czechoslovakian ‘out of this world’ eyes.  I work at the Crashdown, which is owned by my parents who took over once Grandpa Jeff and Grandma Nancy retired, three nights a week, and alternate Saturdays.  I don’t mind working there ‘cause it’s the hang out for nearly everyone cool at my school, so even when I’m working I can still socialise.  Plus of course it gives me money for things I want to buy.

Well this is the end of my first entry, I’m sure there’ll be more to come, but for now I have to get packing.  I’m off on a camping trip today for a few days with my classmates at school.  I’m a bit apprehensive about it, I’m not sure how it’s gonna be.  Although I’m really glad Andi is going too, that way we can room together and have a girly time. 

So that’s it for now.

Clicking the lid back on her ink pen, Ellie placed the leather bound book on her side table.  Getting up she lifted her large holdall bag off the floor and onto her bed.  The bad was nearly half full with clothes, and for a moment she wondered if she’d fit everything in.  Although she was only going away for a few days, like most girls she wanted to make sure she’d have something for every eventuality. 

“Hi sweetie, you need any help?”  Liz asked, popping her head round her daughter’s open bedroom door.

“Mmm, a bigger bag would help!”  Ellie grimaced as she struggled to do the zip up.

“Let me have a go, I’m sure we can make some room here.”  Liz said walking over to her daughter.  Opening the partially zipped bag, Liz started to take out a few things to see if she could minimialise what her daughter was taking.

“A hair dryer?  Ellie, they don’t normally have electricity at campsites.”
“But what if they do?  I need to dry my hair!”  Ellie protested

“I really think four pairs of jeans is over the top too, and you only need one bathing suit.”  Liz said pulling out the offending items.  “What’s with the mini skirt, who are you trying to impress?”  Liz joked.

“Mum!”  Ellie exasperated.

“Sorry.  Ok, one towel should be sufficient if you make sure you hang it out to dry and I really don’t think you’ll have need for your sandals or this bag of makeup.  It’s a campsite not a disco.”  Liz lectured softly.

“Hey!”  Ellie snapped, wanting to let her know it was her choice what to take on the trip.

“Right, that should do it now.”  Liz replied, finally forcing the zip closed.

“Thanks.”  Ellie mumbled, falling down onto the bed.

“You sure you’re ok Ellie?  You know you can talk to me about anything.”  Liz said softy, noticing the melancholy mood of her daughter.

“I know.”  Ellie replied staring up at the ceiling.  “Mum …….. how old were you when you met dad?”

“I was your age.  Why?”  Liz asked, unsure where the conversation was going.

“It’s nothing, just curious I guess.”

“Do you like someone?”  Liz probed. 

“No, nothing like that.  I was …………. I was just thinking.  Do you think there’s someone out there for me, you know, even though I’m ……. different?”

“I *know* there is someone out there for you Ellie.  Just look at your dad and me.  He’s just as different as you are, but I found him.  Everyone is different in their own way, I promise there is someone out there who is destined to be your soulmate.  It may take time, but you’ll find them.”  Liz replied, trying to elevate her daughter’s fears.

“But …………. But what about the fact I’m different.  If I get close to someone, I’d have to tell them.”

“Yes, in time you probably would.  But when that time comes you’ll know them well, and they’ll know you, the real you.  I won’t say it didn’t feel strange when your dad told me he was an alien, because it did.  But at the same time I realised it didn’t change the way I felt about him, I still loved him wholeheartedly.”  Liz replied honestly.

“How did you know?”

“Know what?”
“That, that dad was the one?”

“Well ……. I guess it just felt right.  The thing is if you’re meant for someone you can overcome anything.  When I found out your dad was supposed to be destined with someone else, I decided to step back, I felt it was my duty not to keep him away from his destiny.  Even when I found out I was expecting you, I put distance between your dad and me, and every time he tried to get close I’d rebuff him.  Yet even after a few years apart, we couldn’t deny we still cared for each other.  I guess when you meet your soulmate, you’ll be able to survive anything.”

“I don’t remember much about when dad wasn’t around.  How come dad didn’t give up even when you pushed him away?”
“I guess he thought we were worth fighting for.”

“I wish I could find someone like dad.”  Ellie admitted.

“You will sweetie, I promise.”  Liz replied hugging her eldest daughter. 

Looking back at her daughter, Liz suddenly wondered where the years had gone.  To her it seemed like only yesterday when Ellie was running around the garden playing with her dolls, dependant on her mother for almost everything.  Now suddenly she wasn’t a little girl.  Her eldest daughter was turning into a stunning young lady, and inside Liz knew it wouldn’t be long before Ellie found that someone special.  Thinking back, Liz realised how her mother must have felt when Liz’s relationship with Max started to blossom. 

Nancy had been so worried for Liz, afraid she was too young, getting in too deep, yet Liz felt like she was totally in control.  Liz suddenly realised she wasn’t in control of her daughter’s life, it was now down to Ellie to make her choices and learn from her mistakes. 

Heading out of the room, Liz went off to find Max.  If ever she needed a reassuring cuddle from her husband it was definitely now.

“You have fun now sweetie.”  Liz said hugging Ellie.

“I will mum.”

“Don’t miss us too much.”  Chris added.

“As if!”

“I’m gonna miss you.”  Abbie said as tears formed in her big brown eyes.

“I’ll miss you too Abbie.” 

“Have fun and be good.”  Max added as his eldest daughter put her arms around his neck.  “You know where we are if you need us.”  He added quietly.

“Thanks dad.  I should go now.”  She said reluctantly, noticing most of her classmates had already boarded the coach. 

Finding Andi enroute to the coach, the two girls giggled as they climbed aboard. 

“Quieten down now!”  Their teacher boomed from the front.  As the engine of the coach started up there was the inevitable squeal from some of the children.  Staring out of the window beside her, Ellie waved to her family.  She felt quite sad and apprehensive, it was the first time she’d been away from them for more than one night, and part of her felt scared.

“It’s ok Ellie, once we’re there we’ll have a blast!” Andi said to her friend.

“I know.”  Ellie replied, but the sadness in her voice was very evident.

 A person sitting just behind her noticed the change in her voice, he could tell she was upset and made his mind up that he’d look out for her, make sure she was alright and had a good time.

As the coach started the two-hour journey, the classmates chatted to each other, excited at the couple of days of freedom that lay ahead of them.

PART 2

“Right, now I’m going to read out who will be sharing which tent.  Listen up, because I will only be saying this once.  As soon as your name is called out, please make your way over to the respective tent.”  Their teacher said loudly.

All 30 children were crammed into the large dinning tent, waiting to see who they’d have to share a tent with for the next three nights.  Ellie was thankful for one thing though, she knew she’d be sharing with Andi.  Back at school they’d all been asked to write down one person they’d like to share with.  Both Ellie and Andi had put down each other without hesitation.

“Alison, Jemma, Lori, Sara and Tori are in tent 1.  Alisha, Ellie, Andi, Kacey and Robyn are in tent 2 ……………”  The teacher called out.

Picking up their bags, Ellie and Andi traipsed off to find their tent.

“Great, how did we manage to get stuck with those three?”  Andi whinged.

“I know, I have a feeling it’s going to be a very long few days.”  Ellie added.

Alisha, Kacey and Robyn were three of the school Basketball Team cheerleaders, and Alisha was the leader of their “group” and very much a princess.  She had long, dead straight blond hair, and always looked immaculate.  Both Ellie and Andi normally did their best to steer clear of the group, but that wouldn’t be possible at the campsite.

“Eww!  I don’t even want to think what I could catch on that!”  Alisha complained, staring at one of the small camp beds inside the tent.

“I know what you mean Alisha, how on earth can they expect us to sleep in these conditions!”  Kacey added.

“Hey you, I think you should put my sleeping bag out, while I check on my make-up.”  Alisha instructed, pointing to Andi.

“The words ‘dream’ and ‘on’ spring to mind princess!”  Andi replied sharply.  There was no way she was going to be Princess Perfect’s skivy for the duration of their stay.

“Excuse me!  Did I hear you right?”  Kacey said jumping to her feet.

“Yeap, that’s right, you heard me.”  Andi replied, stepping in and coming face to face with her enemy.  Andi was never one to back down from a confrontation and she certainly wasn’t about to start now.

“Guys!  Just cool it will you!  None of us want to be here, least of all together, but we’re suck with each other.  Please, let’s at least try and get along.”  Ellie offered, trying to act a peacemaker and defuse the situation.

“Us, get along with you two?  Don’t make me laugh.”  Robyn retorted, getting in on the action.

“Fine!  Then let’s just stay out of each others’ way.”  Ellie replied before going back to her camp bed.  Oh this was just going to be such a fun few days, Ellie thought to herself.

Delving into her bag, Ellie pulled out her hairbrush and began to brush her long brown hair.  It was something that always managed to calm her when she was tense.  It reminded her of when she was younger, when Liz used to brush her daughter’s hair before she went to bed.

“Oh how I wish I was back home right now.”  She couldn’t help but think.

An hour later and everyone gathered back in the dinning tent for dinner.  It wasn’t an amazingly culinary meal, sausages, baked potatoes and baked beans, but it was food and it was edible and that was all most cared about.  Andi was busy telling her friend some story, but Ellie wasn’t listening too much to it.

“………. And so I told him …………”  She said looking up.  “Oh and by the way, Jake Sanders can’t seem to take his eyes off you.”

“What!”  Ellie exclaimed, whipping her head up to face her friend.

“I said …….”  Andi started.

“I heard what you said Andi, but what did you mean?”
“Just that.  He’s been watching you constantly since we sat down for dinner.”  He friend replied casually. 

“No, you must be mistaken.” 

“Perhaps, but I don’t think so.  Anyway, where was I?  Oh yeah, and I told him ……..”  Andi said, continuing her story. 

If Ellie had of been listening much before her friend’s comment, she certainly wasn’t tuned in now.  The thought of Jake Sanders staring at her, oh that was too dreamy to concentrate on anything else!

As they got ready for bed that evening, Ellie couldn’t help but overhear the others’ conversation.

“No way Kacey, Jake’s mine.  He’s so hot it’s unreal.  He’s the captain of the basketball team, and that position goes hand in hand with dating the chief cheerleader, which of course is moi.”  Alisha announced.

“But I really like him.”  Kacey complained.

“Tough!”  Alisha replied. 

Moving over to where her friend was, Andi whispered in Ellie’s ear.

“Oooh I think Princess Perfect is in for a shock, ‘cause I know hunky Jake Sanders only has eyes for one beauty around here.” 

“Stop it Andi!  You’re just imaging things, Jake was probably just looking at someone else.”  Ellie whispered back.

“Mmm, we’ll see!”  Andi added as they all climbed into their beds.

Lying in the small camp bed, Ellie tried desperately to sleep.  Everything sounded noisy outside to her though.  The sound of a hooting owl, rustling of leaves on a tree, or even the creaking of someone inside turning over in their bed.  All the sounds added together made it very difficult to her to drift into dreamland.  She thought about her parents, and what they’d be doing at that moment, then she wished she could write down her feelings.  She’d decided to leave her journal at home, there was only one entry written in it, but she didn’t want it falling into the wrong hands.  At that moment, she’d wished she’d brought it with her, maybe writing how she felt would make her feel better.

“Do you think Ellie’s ok?”  Liz asked as she snuggled up to Max in bed.

“I’m sure she’s fine, probably having the time of her life.”  He replied, stroking her back.

“It’s strange her being so far away.”
“I know, I guess she’s getting older now.”
“Yeah, but it still seems like only yesterday she was a little girl just like Abbie.”  Liz replied wistfully.

“I know, the kids are growing up so quickly now.  Chris seems so wise even at 11.”

“We’re getting old too.”  Liz pointed out.

“Not too old though!”  Max replied, wrapping his arms around his wife and pulling her in for a passionate kiss.

“Mmm, not that old then.”  She mumbled against his lips as the kiss deepened instantaneously. 

It was times like this that Liz wondered how she’d managed without Max for the first five years of her eldest daughter’s life.  She’d eventually managed to forgive herself for denying both she and Ellie the life Max had wanted to make for them.  It had taken time; she worried how it must have affected her daughter, how confused Ellie must have been.  But Max had eventually intervened the thoughts, making her realise there was no point living in the past.  They were together now, a family with three beautiful children, nothing would change that. 

“Ok, so you are all going to be spilt into pairs for this morning’s activity.  You’ve all got your crib sheets of things you need to collect and the first clue will be issued when you are all paired up.  Please remember, these pairings will continue for all three days.”  Mrs Windsor, their teacher announced over the din of the children. 

The first morning was a treasure hunt, and the teachers had paired the children with someone they wouldn’t normally choose so that they could raise some team spirit.

“Great, this should be so much fun!”  Andi whipped as people’s names started to be called out.

“Ellie Evans and ……….  Jake Sanders.”  Mrs Windsor called out.

“What!”  A voice near the front called out.”
”Alisha, do you have a problem with that?”  The teacher queried pointedly.

“Erm no Miss.”  Alisha replied.  “God how did she manage to snag him?  Geez don’t the teachers know anything?”  Alisha said indignantly.

“Relax Lisha, it’s just a dumb treasure hunt.”  Robyn said trying to pacify her friend.

“Hi, erm Ellie.”  Jake said as the met up outside the tent.

“Oh, hi.”  Ellie replied shyly.

“So, erm, I guess we’re together this morning then.”  He said struggling to know what to say. 

“Yeah, I guess so.”  She replied as the teacher broke into their conversation.

“Right, there’s your first clue, off you go.”  She said handing Ellie a piece of paper.

“What does it say?”  Jake asked
”It says, ‘Walk twenty paces away from the camp, between two large oak trees; what do you see?’”

“Huh?”
”Yeah, something like that.”  Ellie replied, equally perplexed.

“I guess we’d better start walking then.”  He suggested.

As they headed off away from the camp, things were very silent between them, both lost in their own thoughts.  For Ellie, she couldn’t believe she’d managed to get paired with Jake Sanders, the most popular guy in school.  Taking a sneaky glance at him, Ellie couldn’t help but find herself memorised by his physique.  He was quite tall with a mop of sandy blond hair that fell over his forehead.  His clear blue eyes sparkled when his huge smile spread over his face.  Being very athletic, his body was extremely toned, and even at 16 his body was well developed.

Lost in his own world, Jake couldn’t believe his luck.  Here he was, on his own almost, with the most beautiful girl around.  He’d admired Ellie from afar for a while now, but he’d never been close enough to have a real conversation.  To him Ellie was the only girl in the school out of his reach.  She had some sort of invisible barrier surrounding her, warding off unwanted advances.  She wasn’t like the other girls, the fact he was the school Basketball Team captain had no effect on her, it didn’t make her fall at his feet in awe.  No, Ellie Evans was something else, something very special. 

Her soft silky brown hair just seemed to beg to be touched, her creamy fresh skin that he thought would be like touching velvet, and her amazingly deep brown eyes were mesmerising, they could draw him in with a simple glance.  He doubted she knew her allure; she had a naive quality about her that was very endearing.  He wasn’t aware she’d had any boyfriends in the past; at least he hadn’t seen her around school with anyone.  She was too precious to make a move on though; he was too afraid she might run a mile or rebuff his advances.  That was something he couldn’t cope with right then, not after all his dreaming of her.

“Well, erm these look like the oak trees.”  Ellie said, breaking him out of his self-induced daydream. 

“What?  Oh erm yeah I guess they are.”  He said, trying to cover his embarrassment.  “Hmm, he was miles away”, Ellie thought to herself.  “I guess I must be boring him already!” She added.

They continued on their treasure hunt, obtained four more clues to drive them on to their goal.  The fifth clue took them along a rocky pathway, and required them to scale a couple of large boulders.  As she began to climb over them, Ellie was glad she’d put on her timberland boots; they were certainly the best shoes she owned to be clambering over rocks in.  Jake had opted to climb behind Ellie, allowing her to lead the way.

As she placed her foot up on another rock, her footing slipped and she felt herself fall backwards.  As she tumbled, she desperately tried to grasp onto something to soften the fall, but it was to no avail, only one thing quashed the fall ………. Jake!

“Oh my god, I am so sorry.”  Ellie cried, her face scarlet red as she lay in a heap on top of the lad.  As he’d been right behind her, there wasn’t a great deal he could have done to get out of the way, but Jake knew he would have stayed right where he was no matter what.  

She’d landed on him instead of the rock below them, that had been his job.  He’d landed straight back on it, and although it hurt his back a bit, he was none the worse for wear.

“It’s ok Ellie, really.”  He said, as she laid routed to where she was.  For some reason she couldn’t make her body get up and move away from him.  She was so near to him, her face next to his, his lips so very close.  She could feel his hot breath against her skin as his chest heaved up and down.

For Jake, he didn’t want the moment to ever end.  Being so close to Ellie was playing havoc with his heart rate; each beat seemed to blend into the other.  He knew all he had to do was lift his head slightly to touch her soft lips, kiss the only girl he’d ever dreamt of.  His mind was screaming at him, just do it, it’s only a kiss.  As he lifted his head towards her, he felt her loss instantly.

She didn’t know how long she’d stayed in the position, but Ellie knew she had to get up.  She’d embarrassed herself no end by falling on him, and to just stay there, well that was just prolonging the agony.  Wrenching her body up, she returned to her feet and offered her hand in helping him up.

“Oh, erm, thanks.”  He said, accepting the offer.  His head was still spinning though, if she hadn’t of moved when she did, he would have kissed her, he just knew it.

“It’s the least I can do, it’s my fault you ended up in a heap in the first place.”  She replied.

“It’s ok, honestly.”  He replied, looking at her sincerely.  He could sense her uncomfortableness at the situation and he really wanted to do something to quash her fears, but what?  What could he do to stop her worrying about what had happened?

“Are you ok?  Did you hurt anything?”  He asked realising he didn’t even know if she’d damaged anything.
”Not really, just my arm ……..”  Ellie said, holding it up.

“But it’s bleeding, you need to put something on that.”  He said, seeing a gush of bright red blood tricking down her arm.

“It’s just a scratch, really, I’m fine.  What about you?  I’m not exactly light, and you stopped my fall.  Did you hurt your back or anything.” 

“Nah, I’ve coped with worse than that on the basketball court.”  Still looking at her cut arm. 

It didn’t look that deep, but the blood showed no signs of letting up.  Delving into his pockets, Jake tried to find something to wrap around her arm.  Finding nothing, he could think of only one other object he had on him ………… his

T-Shirt. 

Pulling off his sweatshirt, Jake then proceeded to pull of his crisp white top.

“What are you doing?”  Ellie enquired, watching him start to strip in front of her.

“Giving you something to wrap around that cut, it’ll get infected otherwise.”  He said simply, standing in front of her with his bare chest exposed in all its glory.

Ellie’s stomach did a flip as she stared back at him, his bare rippling muscles well defined, crying out for a touch.  Her head felt light and giddy all of a sudden, and she stumbled down against the large rock again.

“You ok?”  He said, seeing all colour drain from her face.

“Yeah, just a little dizzy.”  She replied, closing her eyes for a moment to stop her head from spinning out of control. 

Ellie wasn’t sure if the dizziness was from the cut on her arm, or the fact Jake was in front of her, topless, probably the latter she concluded.

“Let me put this on it.”  He offered, gently lifting her arm and wrapping his t-shirt around her lower arm.  His touch was so tender and comforting, by the time she’d got her head back together, her arm was bandaged up as best he could.

“You ok to get up?”  He asked, slowly seeing the colour flood back to her cheeks.

“Yeah, I’ll be fine.  Sorry to be such a pain.”  She said as he helped her to her feet.

“You’re not being a pain.  Perhaps I should go first, I can help you up then?”  He offered.

“Erm, sure.”  She replied grateful she wouldn’t have another opportunity to knock him flying. 

Jake climbed on to the offending rock and then leant his hand down to give Ellie support as she climbed up behind him.  At this point, Ellie was wishing she’d been paired with someone other than Jake Sanders.  She really didn’t want to face the humility of everyone back at camp when he told them what had happened.  She knew Alisha would never forgive her for nearly squashing the team basketball captain.

“I won’t tell anyone Ellie, I promise.  It was just an accident.”  He said sensing where her mind was wandering to.

“How did you know ………?”  She questioned, confused as to how he knew what she was thinking.

“It’s written all over your face.  I’m not like that though, I’m not going to blab to everyone.”  He said as her face relaxed into a slight smile.

“Thank you.”  She murmured quietly before they continued on their quest.

 “You did what!”  Andi squealed as they walked towards the huge campfire. 

“Shhhh!  God Andi, I don’t want everyone to know!”  She chided back.

“Ok, ok, I’m sorry.”  Andi replied, putting her hands up in defence.  “But, you were in his arms?”
”Well I wouldn’t exactly say I was in his arms, it was more like crumpled in a heap on top of him!”  Ellie replied.

“But you were really close to him?”
”Yeah, you could say that.  And of course there was the fact he took off his t-shirt to wrap around my arm.”  She said casually.
”You saw his bare chest?!”  Andi exclaimed.

“Yeap.”  Ellie replied nonchalantly.

“Ellie!  You saw Jake Sander’s body, how can you be so calm about it!” 

“I wouldn’t say I’m calm Andi, my heart is beating 100 times a minute right now!  Oh god I can’t even begin to explain how it felt.  He was so sweet and kind Andi.”  Ellie replied dreamily.

“Then go after him.”  Andi offered.

“I couldn’t!  He hardly knows I exist.  Like he’s gonna want to date a nobody.”  She said.  “And remember, not a word to anyone about it, right?”

“Sure, no problem, you know me Ellie.”  Andi replied, as they approached the campfire and sat down on one of the free logs around it.

All the other children gathered around the heat as the teachers proceeded to tell ghost stories.  Most of them were pretty lame, considering the average age of the group was 16, but their English teacher Mr Stewart was exceptionally good.  Before the children were ushered off to bed, they were allowed 30 minutes to mingle. 

Ellie and Andi were wrapped in a deep girly conversation, and neither noticed the shadow that walked up to Ellie’s side.

“Hi.”  He said as both girls jumped.  “Sorry, I didn’t mean to make you jump like that …….. are you ok?”  He asked.

“Yeah, we’re erm fine.”  Andi replied, as Ellie tried to find her voice.  “What can we do for you?”

“Actually, I came to speak to Ellie if that’s ok?”

“Sure, no problem.  Here take my seat.”  Andi offered, eagerly jumping to her feet and winking at her friend before disappearing.

“She didn’t have to rush off like that really.”  Jake said seeing Andi dash away.
”Oh don’t worry, that’s just Andi!”  Ellie replied smiling as she finally found her voice.  “What did you want to talk to me about?”
”I just wanted to see how your arm was doing really.  It was a nasty cut you know.” 

“Yeah, that’s what Mrs Windsor said when she bandaged it up when we got back to camp.”

“Well I hope my makeshift bandaged helped a bit.”
”Oh it did.  I feel really bad though; I can’t give your t-shirt back covered in blood.  Let me wash it when I get home and I’ll bring it in to school.”  She offered.

“Sure no problem.”  He replied, trying not to become mesmerised by her stunning smile.  She was reeling him in with her amazing facial features and she didn’t even know it.  He was caught, hook, line and sinker; there was no hope for him.

“You ok Jake?”  She asked, pulling him back down to reality.

“Sure, sorry, just zoned out for a moment there.”  He admitted shyly. 

“Wow, was he staring at me?”  Ellie thought to herself.  “Nah, don’t be so silly, you’ve probably only got something stuck in your teeth and he’s too much of a gentleman to tell you!”  A voice in her head shouted back.  How could she even think that someone as popular as Jake Sanders would actually find her mildly attractive!

Soon the teachers informed everyone it was time for bed. 

“Another night over with, only one more to go!”  Ellie thought to herself as she closed her eyes and tried to sleep.

PART 3

“Ok, today we’re going to do team sports.  They’ll all be mixed teams, so none of this boys verses girls.  This is designed to create team spirit, not same sex loyalties.”  Mrs Windsor announced to the group.

“Right, we’ll have Jake and Alisha as the captains, and remember, it’s mixed teams not just your favourite friends.”  She insisted.

It was times like this that Ellie wished the ground would open up and swallow her whole.  She hated sports, the fact she was no good at any of them fuelling that feeling.  But here she had to wait as the group around her dwindled, leaving just her and a couple of others left, the ones that everyone knew were no good!  A few calls later and the group of 28 had reduced to 14, and just as Ellie had suspected, she was still in the group.  Andi had been picked already, since she was good at sports, but not her friend.  “Great I’ll be the last one at this rate!  I’m no good at sports and coupled with the fact I can’t really throw after hurting my arm!”  She thought to herself, “How humiliating!”

Looking at the group left, Jake studied them for his next choice.  There were some pretty good throwers still left, but winning wasn’t always everything for Jake.  He saw a deflated girl still standing in the pack waiting to be picked, and knew he had to have  her on his team.

“I choose Ellie.”  He said firmly when his turn came up.

“What?  Jake what are you doing, why didn’t you choose Rhys?”  One of his friends asked.

“Shut it Tom!  This is my decision.”  He insisted as Ellie walked towards him.  Her face was full of surprise and amazement that she hadn’t been the last person to be picked, and inside Jake felt jubilant that he’d been able to cheer her up.

Their game of rounders was a close affair, and Jake’s team only narrowly missed out on victory.  As the boys hit the shower block of the campsite, Jake was rounded by his friends.

“What’s with choosing Ellie Evans?”  Tom cornered him.

“Since when have I had to justify my actions to you Tom?”  Jake snapped back.

“When your actions jeopardise our winning of games then you do.  What’s wrong with you man?  Do you like have a crush on her or something?” 

“Don’t be so stupid Tom, of course I don’t!  If you must know, she fell over while we were out yesterday and hurt her arm.  I felt sorry for her during the game today ok, I knew she wouldn’t be able to throw properly.”
”So you took pity on her, nothing more?”
”That’s right, nothing more.”  Jake lied.  In truth though, he’d wanted her on his side, no matter how good or bad she was at the game.  He liked the thought of Ellie being close even if she was still out of his reach.

Tears stung her eyes as she walked away from the shower block.  She’d heard Jake rationalising why he’d picked her for the game.  He’d felt sorry for her?  Taken pity?  God could she have been more stupid?  For a few moments she’d actually thought he liked her.  How ridiculous was that?  Why on earth would someone as popular as Jake Sanders, who could have any girl he wanted, be interested in someone like her?

By the time she’d reached her tent, Ellie had managed to compose herself to an extent; the last thing she wanted was Alisha and her entourage to know she’d been crying.  She was very quiet for the remainder of the day though, and Jake’s words continued to circle her brain.

The following morning, after breakfast, their teacher addressed the group once more.

“Ok, this is your last day, and we’ve saved the hardest task till last.  You are going to be put in your pairs and taken away in groups to an assault course.  You’ll be given training on how to scale a wall with the help of a rope, slide down freefall slides and climb nets.  The aim of this is to encourage team spirit and working together, this is a team effort.”  Mrs Watson said as noise reverberated around the main tent.

As their group trudged their way to the assault course, Ellie wished with all her heart she didn’t have to go.  The thought of spending the morning with Jake was like physical torture.  His words from the previous afternoon still swam around her brain, and the thought of more pity from Jake was more than she could handle.

Their attempts at climbing the nets went well, and sliding down the freefall slide was pretty easy, but scaling the wall with the help of a rope proved difficult for Ellie.  She didn’t have the strength in her injured arm to hoist herself up.

“Here, let me help you.”  Jake offered, reaching his hand down for her to grasp.

“I can manage.”  She snapped back.

“Don’t be silly Ellie, I can pull you up.”  He replied.

“I don’t need your pity Jake.”  She struggled.

“It’s not pity, I want to help you.”  He said, completely confused as to her actions. 

“I said I can manage!”  She yelled, finally reaching the top of the wall.

“Ok, you wanna tell me what’s wrong?”  He questioned as they headed over the rickety rope bridge.

“No.”
”Come on Ellie, you’re obviously mad at something, or someone.”
”Yeah, someone.  You if you must know!”

“Me?  Why?”
”Something about feeling sorry for me?  Taking pity on me?  Thanks very much Jake!”  She yelled
”What are you talking about?”

“I heard you ok, I heard you talking to Tom about why you picked me for the stupid game yesterday.”  She snapped.
”Oh!”  Jake replied.

“Yeah Oh!  So just do me a favour and leave me alone in future.”  She snapped before walking faster to get away from him.

“Ellie please, it wasn’t like that.”  Jake said, catching up with her and grabbing her arm.

“Let go of me!”  She yelled.

“Just listen to me then.  I picked you yesterday because I wanted you on my side.  I told Tom that it was pity to get him off my back, but it wasn’t true.”  Jake replied.

“What?”

“It’s the truth Ellie, please believe me.”  Jake pleaded.

“Hey!  You two, move it along up there please!”  The assault course instructor yelled to them before Ellie had a chance to reply.

As the coach pulled into the school car park, Ellie felt amazing relief at being back home.  The school trip had been an experience she really didn’t want to repeat any time soon.  Too much had happened, she was still so confused over Jake, she needed time alone in familiar surroundings.

“Hi sweetie, did you enjoy the trip?”  Liz asked, helping her daughter with her rucksack.

“Yeah it was cool mum.”  Ellie replied, trying to hide the subduedness in her voice.

“You sure you’re ok Ellie?”  Liz asked as she got into the car.  She could sense her daughter wasn’t that happy.

“I’m just tired I guess, it was a long few days.”  Ellie replied, resting her head back in the seat.

“Let’s get you home then.”  Liz replied, turning the ignition of the car.

As soon as she reached home, Ellie disappeared straight to her room, leaving Liz to sift through her daughter’s bag for the laundry.

“I missed you Ellie.”  Abbie said, bursting into her sister’s room and throwing her arms around her.

“I missed you too Abbie.”

“Will you play with me?”

“I can’t ok, I have loads of things I need to do.”
”Pleeeeaaasseee.”  Abbie wailed.

“No!”  Ellie shouted.  “Just leave me alone Abbie!” 

On hearing the ruckus between her daughters, Liz headed upstairs to defuse the situation.

“Hey, what’s going on?”  She enquired.

“Ellie won’t play with me.”  Abbie cried.

“Go on, go downstairs, I’ll play with you in a while sweetie.  Just let me talk to Ellie first.”  Liz said, pacifying her youngest child.

“Ok Ellie, what’s going on?”  Liz enquired.

“Nothing ok.  I just didn’t want to play with her right now.”

“But it’s not like you to shout at her.  Are you sure you don’t want to talk about anything?”

“I’m fine, really.  I just had a really bad time at camp, I got stuck in a tent with girls that I hate, the food was awful and I had to be partner to someone I really didn’t want to.”  Ellie replied, hoping her mother would just drop the subject.

“Ok then.”  Liz replied, realising whatever it was, Ellie didn’t want to talk about it.

Flumping down on her bed, Ellie grabbed her pillow and pulled it under her chin.  She knew she’d say sorry to Abbie later, she didn’t normally snap at her sister, but she just wasn’t in the right mood that afternoon.  Inside her mind she was still trying to understand the repercussions of the school trip. 

She’d gone there as a normal sixteen-year-old girl, to work and have a bit of fun, yet so much more had happened.  Firstly being paired with Jake Sanders was a turn up, but everything that had gone along with being his partner for three days was whirling around in her head.  The fall had been majorly embarrassing, and then there’d been the whole rounders game fiasco.

Inside though, no matter what Jake had done, she couldn’t change the way she felt around him.  Her head became fuzzy, her skin started to hum, words became tough to force out.  She’d never felt like that before, it was a new feeling and one that was extremely scary for the young girl.  She wasn’t used to feeling out of control, she was like her father, very assured, but this was different.

Rolling on to her back, Ellie stared up at her ceiling and found herself wondering if she’d ever feel normal again.

TBC .......................?

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