Chapter 7: Chapter 7

Trips could be exhausting, even annoying depending on where you were travelling to and who you were travelling with. As for Jameela, it was exciting. She loved travelling not as much as her siblings though. Travelling was a way to free herself, look deep at her inner self and correct some flaws. She preferred travel by car, the windows down as cool breeze swept in. Looking out at trees, wide landscapes that go on and on into the beyond. She had travelled by air, during Eid and Ramadan when they went to Lebanon and Palestine for the New Year. That was a family trip, and she wasn’t alone. But today was different. She was travelling in the midst of her fellow friends and students. Yes, there would be some teachers coming along but it was mainly her and her friends. They would be together for a whole month! They’d have fun and explore the area around. Now this was what she called a real trip.

The bus used in conveying the students to the airport was long and white coloured. Skybay High School, boldly imprinted on the side in big black fonts. It was usually used for field trips and conveying some of the students that lived at the edge of town to and fro. Today, only twenty eight of them were embarking on the trip with six guides. The inside was furnished with white chairs, and blue railings.

Jameela took a position near the window and brought out her diary. Ready to start this amazing journey, she wrote. Then imputed a dash below it. She had already planned the fun she was going to have. The contests, competitions, even the food they would prepare. She had taken some items that she would use to prepare Samsubak and she couldn’t wait to dish it out to the others. Especially him. He has texted her earlier that he would cook his favourite childhood food only for her. She could only imagine how yummy it would be. Soon, the bus pulled up at Malali GRA, where most of her classmates lived. Nina had decided to buy a last minute curry, and so she waited beside the main mall at the GRA for the bus.

“Heyy girl,” she sat next to Jameela, unloading her backpack on the next empty seat.

“What’re you writing?” She peeped at the diary open on Jameela’s lap.

“Stop it, it’s personal.” Jameela joked, closing the page.

Nina raised an eyebrow. “Ahhh.”

“Ahhh what?”

“Hmmummm. Nothing.” She singsonged.

Jameela narrowed her eyes. Nina must be up to something, she thought. She wondered what, though. She’d keep an eye. The last time she had turned a blind eye, Nina had told Nat of her secret boyfriend. God, this girl. What would she do without her? Soon, the rest of the students were on board including all the guides.

"Hey guys." Ibraheem beamed as he hopped on. Everyone replied him except Adriana, who didn't even seem to care rolling her eyes and eying him. Not that he did, too. He simply walked on to the seat behind Jameela. Jameela simply looked on at the way Adrianna made a face, anytime Nina laughed out. She must be angry she had to take a bus instead of her fancy car. That had been the rule. Everyone must go to the airport by school bus. That way, it was easier to ensure everyone was accounted for.

By the time it was 8:30am, the bus had taken the way to the airport. The school had hired two additional guides from a life guard camp in Texas, for effective operation. The teachers announced the rules and regulations and the consequences for not abiding. Besides, they already knew the drill too well. Failure to abide by these rules, would lead to drastic consequences. Jameela fought hard not to roll my eyes, as Mr. Cameron stood in front of them all with his ruler and marker. He even brought a board in which he wrote the rules again. Her thoughts lingered on various things. How did he manage to bring that board? Was he going to be lecturing us in the camp? She hoped not. But with him, everything was possible. It seemed he was ready for camping, but not in the fun way. Mr Cameron was that kind of teacher that was very strict and every student hated him behind his back. After that, the new guides introduced themselves as Joanne and Graham. Joanne was a short, slim lady of about thirty three years. She was obviously the funny and friendly type as her bubbly cheeks wandered up and down anytime she made eye contact with a student. She was sitted next to Mr Cameron, laughing at something he must have said. While Graham seemed more serious even though now and then, he would smile a bit. He looked, weird, Jameela noted. Something about him just didn’t sit right with her. He was tall, a bit muscular, and had dirty blond hair with light brown eyes which narrowed every now and then, scheming. Scheming what, she could never understand.

"I repeat, no fighting! Is that clear?" Ms. Anna concluded her speech. In addition to the two new guides, four of the teachers at school were traveling with them - Mr Cameron, the P.E. and Maths teacher, Mr Alessio, the English and Literature teacher. Ms. Anna, science teacher, and Mrs. Sana, the History teacher, whom everyone adored.

"Yes, Ma'am!" They all chorused.

Jameela buckled her seatbelt as the air hostess did a final check on the passengers. Her window seat provided her with a marvellous view. She had been on a plane before, even though her past experiences weren’t so good. She had been with her siblings and parents and Muhammed being the youngest had always been scared of planes. He’d vomit and the whole responsibility was on Jameela. So, she never got a chance to enjoy her journey. Today, she watched keenly as the plane took off, the wide airport facility getting smaller and smaller by the minute. Soon, it was practically invisible just as the sign for taking off seatbelt turned on. The towns that were visible soon became small dots and soon, they were in the clouds. Before long, she dozed off in her seat, only to wake up to someone tapping her. “We’re here, girl.” Nat squealed, you’d think she’d never been on a plane before. Jameela stretched and sighed, taking her bags and following the queue out of the plane. She glanced around and made eye contact with him. He had been there the whole time, but she couldn’t bring attention to them. He smiled and mouthed a silent I love you. She felt her cheek burn, her heart beating faster as she turned quickly, facing her front. Hot air hit her outside, as they made a line to enter a bus that was already waiting for them outside the airport. She briefly wondered if the weather here would be suitable for her skin.

The drive was five hours - Florida airport to the camping site in Savannah. Jameela had never been there before, so she kept her eyes glued to the window, wandering at the scenery. Her dad had brought her a Savannah guide book last week, specifically for the trip. It was very small and easy to read. She took it out of her bag, going through the pages again. Although she had done some research on her own, the book was very interesting, explaining the history of the area. Savannah was actually founded in 1733, by a general called General Oglethorpe. It was said to have been haunted, and was once used as a burial ground for the dead. Jameela didn't think it was true, because she knew for sure that there were people living in Savannah - a lot. So, the haunted theory didn't seem real to her. She instead focused on the beauty that Savannah had to offer, which she was sure would be incredible to see. One thing Jameela adored was nature. She felt fascinated by it.

She prayed for the journey to be smooth, then took out her earphones and played on a random playlist. "Do you think we could play football? Like in that camp movie we watched?" Ibraheem asked. Jameela paused the current song playing - Complicated by Avril Lavign.

"What? Who cares about football? I was thinking more of tennis. It's much more interesting," Peyton said.

"I don't think I'm going to be playing any sport, guys. This is camp. We should be chilling out and enjoying ourselves," Jameela replied.

"Completely agree with you darling. No need to stress ourselves out," agreed Nat. "Keep this a secret guys," Nat continued, squealing, as she lowered her voice and they moved closer to listen. "I brought some cigarettes.”

"Seriously Nat. What were you thinking? What if you get caught?" Nina rolled her eyes. Jameela didn't understand Nat's obsession with smoking. It was very bad for the health, which she had told her many-a-times but she simply didn’t care. SubhanAllah. Why put out your hands to what may cause your own destruction? It wasn't fair. In a world of ice-creams, different varieties of sweets, sodas, drinks, why would someone be addicted to cigarettes?

"Seriously? That's dangerous. Where is it?" Drew asked bewildered.

"Chill. When we get there, I will bring it out."

"This camping would be so much fun!" Mariyam said so loud that Mr. Cameron glared at them.

"Jams, why is Alessio looking at you?" Peyton looked at her from under her eyelashes, sipping an orange juice. She already knew the answer.

Jameela was startled, she glanced at his direction. Their eyes met. Again. For the hundredth time, since they climbed the bus. He smiled cautiously at her. She smiled back and quickly looked away. Why the hell was he trying to bring attention to then? Didn’t he see they weren’t alone? They were in the middle of a bus with more than thirty people. Some who were naturally inquisitive. It could turn out to be disastrous for both of them if anyone found out. She turned to Peyton, "would you stop that? Please don't put me in trouble. Or him." She hissed.

"Umm, you mean, you hate it when I say the truth." She continued.

"It's not the truth, Peyton,"

"You think..." Mariyams' speech was interrupted by a loud sound coming from outside. The bus tripped to a side, taking the students with it. They shrieked, holding on to the headboard in front of them. "Everyone stay inside." Graham announced.

Jameela looked around, shaken by the sudden stop. What was that? They were now in the middle of nowhere, three hours in their journey. What had made the bus to tip like that? They had almost had an accident. Perhaps it was something the bus stepped on, or maybe the road was slippery? From her window, the scene was a dense forest all around. No sign of a living creature, save for an owl hooting from afar.

Ariana hissed loudly. "What the hell is wrong with this bus? Ugh. I wish Dad just agreed for me to take my car. I wouldn't be stuck in this hell of a bus."

"Yeah. This sucks," Juliet, one of her minions backed her. Jameela rolled her eyes, disgusted. They had almost had an accident and all she cared about was herself. Selfish rotten girl. An incident popped up in her head. Last semester of junior year. Adriana humiliated one of her minions, right in front of other students. Caleb was mortified, but couldn’t defend himself. Calebs' cousin and only friend, Katie intervened. This made Adriana angrier and created such ruckus that sent Caleb and Katie to the Principal. She didn't stop there. She further humiliated Katie in front of the whole class. They all wondered why Katie and Caleb were still with Adriana, even after what she did to them. Could their self-esteem be that low?

"Don't take note of her. She just wants to argue with someone," Ibraheem whispered. He was sitting on the next seat close to Jameela. Jameela simply nodded. He was right. This was what she did best.

Soon, the guides and driver came back and explained that it was a big screw that one of the tyres stepped on. But the tire had now been replaced. Jameela took a deep breath, glad that it was no big problem. She relaxed a little and stretched on her seat. She was already tired of sitting in one place for long. Playing back her playlist, she went into a deep sleep.

*****

She was later awakened by a sudden jolt and a light tap on the shoulder. It was Mariyam.

"Ok. So here is our last stop. If anyone wants to use the toilet, they can. There's a shop outside," Ms. Anna said. Everyone jumped out of the bus and stretched themselves.

She silently screamed of happiness. “Guess I’ll make a pit stop.”

For a while, she had been pressed - too pressed to even move on her seat. She practically ran inside the store without a care in the world, before mentally scolding herself. What would people think? She scoffed, reminding herself that nobody gave a rat’s ass about her. They didn't even know her. Outside, heat rushed to her face. She fanned herself with her veil, as she walked through the flaring sunlight into the shop. She didn’t bother looking around. The bathroom sign was as bold as day. Inside, the restroom was stifling and shadowy, much to her dismay. But what did she expect? She quickly relieved herself. At the sink, she splashed tepid water onto her face and cast a glance in the mirror. Her eyes were red from sleeping, and she looks tired. Removing her veil, she brushed her hand through her hair, then put it together with a large red ribbon, patting the sides. A weird odour was coming out from God-knows-where, she smelt as she quickly pinned back her veil.

She spotted Joe by a candles section and walked over. “More candles huh?”

“They can never be too much. I was thinking, we could have a game, like, never have I ever sort of thing.” He picked another large candle.

“Oh. That might be fun. We could also try using an Ouija board.” She grabbed one from the nearest section only for Ms Sana to tell them to hurry up. She noticed more of her classmates rushing in. it was like a mini store, but equipped with lots of necessities. She looked at the Ouija with a sad expression, then kept it back on its shelf.

She walked out of the shop, carrying a bag of candles as Joe jogged ahead of her. The few steps ahead of her suddenly seemed like a lot, as she squinted at them. Suddenly, she felt dizzy and in an attempt to steady herself, lost her balance on the railing steps. A set of strong arms steadied her, as she gasped. Her eyes met with a set of blue ones, staring down at her full of concern. Alessio, she whispered. Quickly, she steadied herself, mumbling a quick thank you. Then walked away, without a second glance. She ran back to the bus, her heart flipping as she caught her friends looking directly at her.

What would she tell them? Oh God. Had the teachers seen the whole encounter? She tried not to blush. What should she say? No, they might not even say a thing. She could talk about the weather. That was a better topic. Before she said a thing, a group of young people walked towards them. She sighed in gratitude. Thank God. She turned, catching the eye of Mariyam. She narrowed it, looking at them. Oh no. Knowing her friends, they must discuss it. If not now, then later.

"Hey. You here for the carnival right? You need to register first at the chief's office. It's just by the corner. Everyone makes mistakes about that, and at the end have to pay more." The shorter looking girl amongst them giggled.

The other guy, continued, "You're early though. It doesn't start until October."

"Oh noo. You’re mixing us with some other people. We’re students going camping." Ade answered.

"Camping? Then why'd you follow this direction? There's definitely no camping area around here." A lanky looking guy explained.

"Oh, it's further down. Not too far from here," Jameela said, pointing at the direction of the vast trees.

Their faces paled, "further down?" They exchanged quick glances, as one of them managed to speak, "well then. Good luck. Bye."

"No, wait! So you know something about this place?" Sarah asked, alarmed. Jameela rolled her eyes. She was still worried about that crazy idea of hers. For most of the trip, she had been quiet, just listening in to the conversations. Jameela knew why she was feeling this way. She still had some doubt about the camping site. Jameela couldn’t blame her. She had also felt horrible when Sarah told them. But it was all a bunch of misunderstood information, she was sure.

"We shouldn't be telling you this, but," the lanky looking man answered again, looking sideways as if scared, "there are bad things there, really bad."

"What? I - I don't understand." Sarah whispered.

"Just be warned. If you know what's good for you, then leave." They took off without even looking back. Only the shorter girl turned back, her facial expression sad. She looked directly at Jameela and somehow, she looked like she was begging her not to go and at the same time, saying that was the best they could do - just to warn them.