“Girls, grab all the important things you need because we need to evacuate. We can’t sleep here for tonight since the tents are flooded.” Mrs. Gonzales, the girl scout adviser shouted
We could barely hear her voice due to the heavy rain and loud whistling of the wind. Everyone started panicking and rushed to their respective tents and grabbed their things. I grabbed my bag and went out of the tent while wearing my raincoat.
“Never mind those kitchen utensils. Just bring your things and follow the boys. We need to go now!” they shouted again.
“Give me your bag and I will carry it for you.” I heard Vladimir say
“What are you doing here? Why are you here?” I asked when I saw him
“Don’t be confused. We were just told that you were also camping near us and needed a place to stay for the night since we cannot go home yet.”
“Oh so are we going to spend the night at your camp?” I asked
“I guess so because all of you here need to move. The girl scouts from different schools will also need to move to our base,” he explained
He held my hand tightly as we carefully walked the slippery pathway. I consider myself a strong and independent girl but I still have to rely on him in this situation since it can be dangerous. Darkness was already spreading so we are being careful since we are a little bit away from the road.
“Are you okay?” he asked as he shone the flashlight on my face
“Yeah!” I said shivering
“It’s okay to admit if you’re not. Your lips are getting paler,” he said, wiping the raindrops from my face
“I am feeling cold,” I admitted
I don’t want to admit it to him but I have been wearing my wet shoes since this morning. The cold is now spreading slowly in my body so I can’t avoid shivering.
“Do you want me to carry you?” he asked when we reached the road.
“I can still manage. I don’t want to make it harder for you since the rain is falling hard.” I said
“Okay, then I better get you fast to our base camp so you can change your clothes. I’m worried that you might get sick after this,” he said
I smiled at him to reassure him that I am doing fine. I don’t want him to worry about me since all of us are suffering from the unexpected rainfall. We arrived at their camp after walking for 20 minutes in the rain. He immediately led me to their tent where some of our schoolmates are sitting down and having hot tea.
“Are you okay?” Daniel asked as soon as he saw me.
“Yeah, I’m fine. Don’t worry.” I smiled
“I just ran here to check on you since I am too worried. I need to return to my task since I was assigned to the kitchen today. “ Concern was written all over his face as he hand me a cup of tea.
“Thank you. No need to worry about me.” I said
I notice his hesitation to go but they are the ones assigned to cook for dinner and they now need to make more portions due to the unexpected situation.
“I will check on you again later. You better go and change into some dry clothes,” he said wiping some raindrops on my face.
I nodded and watched him go away as I slowly sip on the tea that he gave me. I turned around only to face Vladimir’s darkened expression. I handed him the empty cup before checking on my clothes so I could change.
“Is something wrong?” Vladimir approached me when he noticed me frozen in front of my bag.
I sighed as I stared at my bag. I pondered if I will inform him that I don’t have any dry clothes. Only my undergarments are safe since I put them in a zip lock bag. I didn’t wrap my pants and shirts.
“What’s wrong? Is everything okay?” he asked as he wrap a towel around my shoulder.
“Umm,” I said
I kept staring at my things in disbelief. I can already feel the cold tingling on my bones and I can’t stop myself from shivering. I already removed my shoes and am wearing flip-flops but my clothes were wet.
“Here, don’t worry because those are clean clothes.” Vladimir handed me a shirt and a pair of jersey shorts while I am still speechless.
“How did you know?” I asked
“You have been staring at your clothes for some period and I have eyes. Come on! I will accompany you to the empty tent where we stock our things so you can change your clothes.” he said
I entered an empty tent where they have kept some of their bags and other things while he stood guard outside. They made a small changing room by hanging some blankets.
“Are you done? Can I come inside?” he shouted
“Can you come and check on my clothes?” I shouted back
“Is there a problem?” he asked as soon as he came inside
“Don’t I look ridiculous with your clothes? Your shirt is already like a dress for me. Why is this too big?”
“I usually use that as a pajama since Dad brought the wrong size. That is a large size for me but it must be an XXL for you.”
“I usually look good in baggy clothes but I am not sure about what I look like now.”
“You still look great even if you are wearing my oversized shirt.” He said smiling as he brushed on some messy hair that was on my face
“What are you doing?” I said tapping his hand
He looked around first as if checking if other people are around which I find ridiculous since we are the only ones inside. He then pulled me and gave me a tight hug.
“What if someone sees us?” I glared at him as I pushed him away
“Okay, okay. You don’t have to glare at me. I just want to keep you warm.” he said
“That is not one of your privileges for being my master. You are not supposed to do that.” I said
“Don’t worry because there is no malice in that hug. I can hug you if I want to since I am the boss. You’re supposed to follow everything that I say,” he whispered in my ear
“How narcissistic? I really can’t take that character of yours.” I said before walking out of the tent.
“Wait for me! Why are you leaving me alone?” he said
“Where have you been? It’s time for dinner.” Daniel said when he saw me
“Let me just put my wet clothes inside,” I said as I went inside the tent
Daniel and Vladimir were waiting for me outside before escorting me to the kitchen that they made. There were benches around the bonfire where they cook. The three of us were the only ones late that’s why we don’t have to line up.
“Why aren’t you eating? Are you being picky again?” Daniel asked when he noticed me staring at my food.
“Do I have to keep on reiterating that I am not picky?” I said
“I think she has too much food. Don’t worry, I’ll take it,” Vladimir said before taking some of the potatoes from my plate.
I smiled at him and mouthed “thank you” before giving him a wink. He winked back while giving me a wide smile. I heard Daniel snort so I looked back at him and I saw him smirking while giving me a side-eye. I shook my head since I might be seeing things.
“Do you want some water?” Daniel asked
“Umm yeah sure,” I said
“Can I also have a glass? Thanks, man.” Vladimir said
“What?” Vladimir said when he saw me staring at him
I shook my head and looked down at my plate to continue eating. I heard him sigh then I saw his spoon getting all the potatoes from my plate.
“You should try eating your potatoes. They aren’t that bad,” he said
“I tried. I will eat my potatoes if I have no choice. For now, you can have them for me.” I smiled at him sweetly
“Fine, I will take them for now but in the future, you have to eat them,” he said
“That ain’t happening,” I whispered
“It will, I will make you. Trust me. I can be convincing when I want to.” he said
“I won’t fall again to any of your tricks. No more dares from you. I am still not done with the dare that you won unfairly.”
“It wasn’t unfair. That was working smart. I didn’t even use some tricks. I am just confident that I will win and I did.” he explained
“Whatever. You still cheated and pulled on some tricks.”