“Feels like the kind of thing you tell somebody before you form an alliance with them is all I’m saying.”
“It was your idea to team up, remember?”
Seyoon mumbles something about a mouse, but I don’t catch it.
I push a branch out of the way. “How much longer do we need to hike, anyway? Can we even be out this far?”
She turns around to wait for me to catch up. “Aw, Goody Two-shoes, aren’t you cute? If it’s the rules you want, listen up, nerd, because here’s the first rule of camping: Get off the beaten path.”
My face is warm with a blush, although I’m not sure if I should care more that she called me cute or a nerd. Seyoon unfolds the map Garrett gave us before we set out. “However, with that said, Blake told us we need to stay within the show’s zone permits. There’s another campsite a little bit away where no one should disturb us.”
I kindly refrain from telling her that we’re not going to run into anybody anyway because no one in their right mind would be out in this blistering heat when they could stay back at camp, relaxing in an air-conditioned cabin. Also, because the idea of just the two of us—minus the crew—out here makes my gut churn. A skill I’ve cultivated over the years is making sure I’m never left alone with someone so as to prevent the horrible situation where I’m anyone’s only option for social interaction. Unfortunately, it looks like that’ll be unavoidable today.
We continue marching along until we reach the campsite. There’s not much to it besides a firepit and some flattened land. Seyoon sniffs around, then stops so abruptly that I almost topple her over.
“Perfect,” she whispers.
I survey the area in front of us. “What’s different aboutthispatch of dirt?”
“It’s flat, and these trees will help block the wind. Plus, look, there’s enough pine needles on the ground to keep us comfy.”
“Whatever you say,” I oblige.
“Go on, lie down, you’ll see what I mean.”
Skeptical, I set down my bag and stretch out across the dirt, cringing at the pine needles surely getting tangled in my hair. I look up at Seyoon.
“What am I supposed to be getting from this?”
“Nothing.” She shrugs with a grin. “I just wanted to see if you’d do what I said.”
She laughs as I scurry up. “Okay, enough of that. Do you even know what you’re doing, or are you just pretending to be better than me again?”
“Hey, hotshot, I’m not pretending, Iambetter.” She slips off her bag and tosses it against the tree trunk. “I go camping all the time. Plus, I used to be a Girl Scout.”
So was Meredith. An image of a young Seyoon with pigtails in that dorky Scout outfit flashes in my mind. I roll my eyes. “Well, now what, Scoutmaster Shin?”
“Good to see you putting a little respect on my name for once. How about we start with something easy, like setting up a shelter?”
It turns out setting up a shelter is not easy.
“Have you never built a blanket fort as a kid?” she asks incredulously as the fourth attempt at propping up a basic lean-to collapses under my clumsy touch.
“This is a little different,” I say with a grunt, not mentioning how it was Meredith who built our forts. I was always on snack-retrieval duty.
Seyoon sighs, wiping sweat from her brow. “That’s okay. Uh… let’s try another skill then. Tying knots?”
An hour of unsuccessful knot-tying attempts later—with plenty of rope burn to show for it—and it’s clear I’m failing at this, too.
“But,” Seyoon says with a tinge of hysterics in her voice, watching my shaking fingers try to loop the rope the way she did. “Your shoelaces have knots. How did you put them on this morning if you can’t tie one?”
The camera operator steps on a branch as they circle around me to zoom in on my hands, and thecrunch!makes me jump. “Hold on. Just let me…”
But no matter which way I fold and loop and tuck, it’s useless. I throw the rope down, collapsing against the dirt in frustration.
“Are they permanently laced up?” she mutters. “That must be it. So you can just slip your feet in without having to tie a knot every—”
“Seyoon?”
