I woke up early in the morning to the light of a golden ray that peeked through the half-drawn fuchsia curtains in the direction of my bed. It was quiet and it felt calm. My mom let out a yawn from the bed next to mine and rolled over. The light quivered, and fell still. The quietness returned, and I stopped breathing for a moment. I opened my eyes. I was alone. But I wasn’t. There was a man there, sleeping on his stomach and lying right next to me. It took me a moment to register what exactly I was doing there, but I realized. I had fallen asleep on the bus. I quickly picked myself up, took a deep breath to wake up, and get off the bus.
“Morning!” A voice said. I turned to see a white-haired man in a green t-shirt, blue jeans, and a pair of hiking boots walk in the direction of me. I had time to gather my thoughts as I giggled shyly. Stop covering up. I thought to myself.
“Oh, my gosh! You okay? I’m sorry to scare you.” I said.
My nostrils flared as he looked at me with a kind, curious face. My legs got weak. My blood rushed throughout my body as my face felt hot. I tried to grab at some of my blond hair out of my face as I felt my face get hotter. He looked at me as he took a step closer to me and held out his hand.
“I’m Matthew. You?” He said.
“Oh, um… I’m Cami.” I said as I looked at his hand. I let go of my blond hair as I took his hand. His grip was firm, but not strong. He smiled, and I responded.
“So…” I said awkwardly. “We… we crashed? I mean, I fell asleep a little bit and then…”
“Oh, that definitely explains it.” He said.
I looked at him. He had the most gorgeous blue eyes I have ever seen, on a pale skinned guy. And his smile made me feel all warm and fuzzy.
“I love the morning.” He said as he looked out the window. “There’s nothing like waking up to fresh air, and fresh mountain air.”
“Well it’s so nice that you feel that way,” I said.
“Oh, I do. I sure do,” he said as he let out a content sigh. “I’ve been dying for this for a while, and I’m glad I made it."
He looked at me with a wide smile, and a slight wink. I blushed and looked away. I don’t talk to guys like this, and why am I flirting with this guy? I thought to myself as I looked at the mountain moving in the distance. That settles it! I thought. I’ll never look at the mountain the same.…
“Hey, Cami.” He said.
“Yeah?” I said.
“Since we’re on the subject of conversation, why don’t we go check out the mountain? I think it’s starting to get to you.” He said.
I giggled, and almost wanted to throw my shoes at him. He was so fun. “Okay.” I said. “Let me see what my socks look like.”
I unzipped my backpack and I pulled out a pair of black socks and a pair of red socks. I looked at him. “I’m not sure what color to wear.” I said.
“Oh, just wear the red ones!” He said. “I’ll lead you up there.”
“Okay.” I said.
I put on the red socks as he looked at me. I finished tying my sneakers.
“Cami,” he said. I looked at him.
“I’m Matthew,” he said.
“I know,” I said. “You already told me.”
“Oh, right.” He said.
“Okay. Let’s go,” I said.
Matthew led me up the same mountain that I was looking at. The same mountain that I saw a week before at the bus stop. Seeing it up close is a lot different.
“Hey, Matthew! Cami!” I heard someone call.
Matthew and I turned to see a girl with long, blonde hair, flowing like silk as it scattered across her face. She wore a light blue shirt, and black pants. She held out her hand, and then Matthew reached out and grabbed hers. I felt my heart race as they looked at each other.
“Ugh! I’m so, so sorry we’re late!” She said.
The next thing I knew, they started hugging and kissing one another and then started whispering and giggling. I looked at Matthew with a confused look. He stood still, and looked at them with a smile.
“So, where are we?” She said.
I looked at Matthew, and then back at them.
“It’s a secret.” Matthew smiled and walked to them.
“Oops. I… I probably shouldn’t have said that,” she said.
My heart started to pound. Where are they going? What’s going on? I thought. I held myself back as I walked toward them. I stopped, as Matthew pulled out a map and handed it to me.
It was just a regular map of the mountain, until it had a marking of where they were. “Oh…” I said.
“So you’re the one who got all the way up here.” She said. “I’m sorry, I’m Jenna.”
“Hi, Jenna.” I said.
My mouth felt dry. I saw movement in my peripheral vision in the direction of Matthew. I was on edge. Something was going on, and I knew that it would blow my mind. I swallowed the feeling in my throat.
“What’s going on? Why are you here?” I said.
“Well,” Matthew said, “I brought you guys here, but then I have to go somewhere. So while I’m gone, you guys have to complete a challenge. The winner, gets…”
Matthew was about to say, but then he stopped. He squinted his eyes as he looked at Jenna. I felt a lump in my throat. Matthew and Jenna were looking at each other in a dare.
“So… let’s battle,” he said.
She nodded slowly as she stood and looked at her backpack for a minute. “Okay.” She said. “I am the champion, though.”
“Okay,” he said.
They stood there, staring at each other, until he reached out a hand to her. “We’ll battle, but anytime you want to cut yourself out of the challenge, you can say the word, and we’ll count you out.”
“Really?” I said. “But I want to be in it!”
Matthew just smiled at me. “I know you do, but it’s a challenge at high altitudes, and we can’t control how you will feel. If you’re interested, you can challenge and try and beat me.”
I smiled, feeling proud and hopeful. “I will.” I said.
“Well, I’m counting down in ten seconds.” He said. “Ready?”
“Yep!” She said.
“Alright!” He said. “Camelot!”
Matthew’s hands shot forward as he let out a explosion of noise. I didn’t understand it, it was too loud and too soon. I covered my ears as I stood there, motionless.