Chapter 2: Secret Places

“Where do you want to do this?” I asked. Roshana stared at my shoes with her face flushed. Her left foot had turned in, and her hands stayed rigid at her side. She rocked back and forth, heel to toe, as the trees whispered in the wind, and the leaves encouraged us to go deeper, to explore and get lost in the forest.

“I don’t know?” she whispered, her voice just above the wind. My body slumped. I knew a quiet place, but only Cin, Jen, and Hel knew about it. I didn’t want to advertise it to the whole school, but what choice did I have? We needed someplace safe from prying eyes, and since Teacher Jones caught Eliza and me, the administration has installed cameras in the washrooms. As they just need to stay near the corners or block the camera’s view, the girls still smoke; however, that wouldn’t work for us. Further, the forest called to me, wanted me. I love the outdoors.

“Fine, let’s go,” I said and grabbed her cold hand. She followed close enough that I could smell her perfume of rose and lilac. We walked down the path for about thirty steps, then at a giant old tree, we cut off and followed a tiny path through the raspberry bushes, birch trees, and tall yellow grass. We emerged into a clearing that contained an old single-room house with no roof and covered in colorful graffiti.

“Here?” she asked. Cigarette butts, a moldy sleeping bag, a broken lawn chair, and a log stump lay strewn on the cracked concrete floor, with colorful leaves piled along the edges. The lack of a roof gave a great view of the grey sky with blue patches, and the building enough light to film. Someone had hung a tire swing from the thick beam that ran the length of the house, and someone else had burned and cut the tire, which made it unusable.

“Yes, let me figure out where to position the camera,” I said as I glanced around the building. Mud footprints covered the center, around black ash fire circles. The two side windows had branches growing into them, while partyers had pulled bushes near the front door and piled them beside the trail to obscure the pathway.

“Cool place,” Roshana said and pushed leaves around on the floor with her feet. A cloud moved, and the sun shone down on us as the central beam cast a faint shadow. The forest smelled fresh and alive, even with the colored leaves. Short grass and white fluff weeds poked through the floor cracks.