Reservoir
Jesse took us hiking on the hiking trail nearby. He was still determined to make this work. To be honest, I was too.
"Well, this is the trail we're taking." Jesse said as we began hiking.
He sounded excited. This was the first time he sounded that way in a while. "I've been doing this trail since I was twelve. It's one of the best in the area."
We began hiking further. I looked back at the group of four. Jesse, Priyan, Rex, and I. Jesse was leading the group, with Priyan, Rex, and I following. It felt like what happened last night never happened. We talked about random things during the hike. Stuff like TV shows we've seen, and foods we've never tried. It was a nice break from the seriousness we've been under so far. The sun was out, it was a beautiful day.
I fastened my pace to catch up with Jesse who was at the front of the trail. I looked over my shoulder to make sure the others were alright. All was well.
"Are you alright?" I asked Jesse, who was taking a break from hiking.
"I feel great, why?" Jesse looked at me.
He had this puzzled look on his face. I shrugged my shoulders. I started hiking again. At this point, we couldn't really do much else. The sun was on our backs, and there wasn't enough shade for us to rest in. We only had an hour until we reached the peak of the trail. I didn't really know any of the trails well enough to know if we could make it there before the sun set, but we had to try. We tried to talk about other topics, but we ran out of things to say. Time began to pass.
"Maybe we should do this another day, it's pretty hot out here." I suggested.
It was true. It was hot out here. All of us were sweating, and we were thirsty. It had been a long day. Jesse didn't say anything. He just nodded. We kept hiking.
"Can we at least have a bottle of water?" Rex spoke up "I'm really thirsty. I need water."
It was true. I looked at Jesse. I could see that he was thinking about how to answer. I looked around at the trail. There was a clear spot that would allow us to rest for a bit.
"We can rest here." I said, gesturing to a rock I saw up ahead.
Priyan agreed to sit on the rock. We walked over to the rock. Priyan had already sat down.
"Well, this is just perfect." We all sat down next to him.
It was getting hot out here. We needed water. The sun was setting. We could feel it through our clothes. Our skin was burning. We were tired. We just wanted to get through this week. We didn't want to have to deal with heat stroke or dehydration.
"Jesse, can we turn back after this?" I asked him.
Jesse looked at me, and smiled. "No, we're almost there."
We all sat in silence as the sun set, the sky going from orange to purple. The air grew cooler. It was nice. We enjoyed it. It was a nice night, and we could see any number of stars that were out. We turned back once we made it to the end of the trail. It would be dark soon. We wouldn't be able to see in the dark, and that would make this dangerous. Jesse would be the lead, with Priyan, Rex, and me following. I could see his truck in the parking lot, he was ready. We were ready.
We all piled into his truck. He started it up, and we drove away. We drove down the road. We dropped Rex and Priyan off at the motel and it was just me and Jesse in his truck. Jesse drove me to my house. That was when I spoke up.
"Hey Jesse?"
"Yeah?" Jesse looked over at me. He could see the concern on my face.
"You were acting weird on the hike. Is something wrong?"
"Nothing's wrong." Jesse had a straight face as he answered.
He looked straight at me as he spoke. It was unusual for Jesse to disregard our needs over something like a hike. So something was off.
"Well, this is the trail we're taking." Jesse said as we began hiking.
He sounded excited. This was the first time he sounded that way in a while. "I've been doing this trail since I was twelve. It's one of the best in the area."
We began hiking further. I looked back at the group of four. Jesse, Priyan, Rex, and I. Jesse was leading the group, with Priyan, Rex, and I following. It felt like what happened last night never happened. We talked about random things during the hike. Stuff like TV shows we've seen, and foods we've never tried. It was a nice break from the seriousness we've been under so far. The sun was out, it was a beautiful day.
I fastened my pace to catch up with Jesse who was at the front of the trail. I looked over my shoulder to make sure the others were alright. All was well.
"Are you alright?" I asked Jesse, who was taking a break from hiking.
"I feel great, why?" Jesse looked at me.
He had this puzzled look on his face. I shrugged my shoulders. I started hiking again. At this point, we couldn't really do much else. The sun was on our backs, and there wasn't enough shade for us to rest in. We only had an hour until we reached the peak of the trail. I didn't really know any of the trails well enough to know if we could make it there before the sun set, but we had to try. We tried to talk about other topics, but we ran out of things to say. Time began to pass.
"Maybe we should do this another day, it's pretty hot out here." I suggested.
It was true. It was hot out here. All of us were sweating, and we were thirsty. It had been a long day. Jesse didn't say anything. He just nodded. We kept hiking.
"Can we at least have a bottle of water?" Rex spoke up "I'm really thirsty. I need water."
It was true. I looked at Jesse. I could see that he was thinking about how to answer. I looked around at the trail. There was a clear spot that would allow us to rest for a bit.
"We can rest here." I said, gesturing to a rock I saw up ahead.
Priyan agreed to sit on the rock. We walked over to the rock. Priyan had already sat down.
"Well, this is just perfect." We all sat down next to him.
It was getting hot out here. We needed water. The sun was setting. We could feel it through our clothes. Our skin was burning. We were tired. We just wanted to get through this week. We didn't want to have to deal with heat stroke or dehydration.
"Jesse, can we turn back after this?" I asked him.
Jesse looked at me, and smiled. "No, we're almost there."
We all sat in silence as the sun set, the sky going from orange to purple. The air grew cooler. It was nice. We enjoyed it. It was a nice night, and we could see any number of stars that were out. We turned back once we made it to the end of the trail. It would be dark soon. We wouldn't be able to see in the dark, and that would make this dangerous. Jesse would be the lead, with Priyan, Rex, and me following. I could see his truck in the parking lot, he was ready. We were ready.
We all piled into his truck. He started it up, and we drove away. We drove down the road. We dropped Rex and Priyan off at the motel and it was just me and Jesse in his truck. Jesse drove me to my house. That was when I spoke up.
"Hey Jesse?"
"Yeah?" Jesse looked over at me. He could see the concern on my face.
"You were acting weird on the hike. Is something wrong?"
"Nothing's wrong." Jesse had a straight face as he answered.
He looked straight at me as he spoke. It was unusual for Jesse to disregard our needs over something like a hike. So something was off.