Part III... finally

Last spring I began writing the story of how Brent and I met etc. I clearly had better intentions then and did not plan on waiting until now to continue. Kali recently started writing their story too, which encouraged me to continue writing.

Clicker here for the first two installments. [Scroll clear to bottom for Part I. ]

And here we go again:

Part III
Intrigue

After adequately making myself comfortable in my new "home," I picked up the phone and dialed Micah's room. I thought it was pretty fantastic that there were telephones in all of our rooms; this provided a connection to one another at all times in a world before cell phones.
"Hey, do you want to walk around the place before our supper meeting at six?" I asked.

Micah quickly said, "Sure-- I just want to brush my teeth quick-- van breath, you know."

"Oh, good idea," I said, cupping my hand over my mouth to test my own breath's potency. "Meet you at the picnic tables in five minutes." I hung up, opted for gum, and then checked the mirror.
Five hours in a van did not look good on me and I started wondering where those Union Star boys might be at this time. I undid my ponytail and hastily put it back up a bit neater, then spritzed on some Hawaiin Ginger before heading out the door.

Micah and I walked around the hotel grounds. I made a note to myself that there was a concrete slab and basketball goals. There were both indoor and outdoor pools, a hiking trail boasting that it ended with the view of a waterfall, and a kitchen/conference room that we realized would be our meeting place for the week. Before we knew it was time for supper and our first meeting on site. We were all wearing blue shirts and it seemed like there were more of us as we said our prayers over the meal.

That first night we sat in the same groups that had formed on the van rides and talked about our anticipation for the next days. We got a final list of our assignments--we would be working at boys and girls' clubs during the day-- and I surprised myself when I felt disappointment creep over me when I saw that the Star group was again isolated, having been placed at the smaller of the two clubs. I didn't want to care.

I stole a glance at their table. They were once again laughing, as they always seemed to be doing, and I looked over as discreetly as I could at Brent-- the boy with the guitar. He was laughing too, but in a quieter manner than the rest. In fact, he seemed to do most things quietly and once I started thinking about it I realized I hadn't heard him say anything much since we left. I was about as extroverted as they came when I was a teenager, and someone like this Brent character just didn't make sense to me. I couldn't figure it out exactly. Normally silence in others frustrated or unnerved me, but for some reason in him it only intrigued me more.

I moved my glance elsewhere, being sure not to get caught looking at his dark hair or his perfect smile. But it was too late; Micah just smiled and slowly shook her head. After the meeting we were mingling around when I noticed Micah making her way towards "their" group. I stood there dumbfounded, watching her start a conversation with the other dark headed boy, Brandon. After a few minutes she casually strolled toward me, grinning.

She waited until we were on our way back to our rooms before she said, "Want to go on that hiking trail later?"

"The one that goes to the waterfall? Sure. I guess I like waterfalls."

"Yeah. I think I'm going to call it 'Trickle Trail.'" She always did this-- "this" being two things: One-giving something a unique, made-up name, and Two- stalling when she knew I wanted her to talk about something else [like what in the world had those cute boys said to her? And what had she said to them?!].

"Trickle Trail? Okay." I looked down at my feet, trying not to give away that I was dying to hear about the conversation and hiding my jealousy at her fortitude to go talk to them.

"Then go put on your tennis shoes." She said as she turned the corner to go to her room. "Oh, and those Brandon and Brent guys are going to meet us there in ten minutes." With that she ducked into her room. I wanted to throw my water bottle at the back of her head, but I also wanted to hug her.

I took a deep breath and exhaled, "Lord, I'm here to do your work. Let me not focus on boys." But the damage, I was afraid, had already been done.