Diary Chapter Three
Saturday, July 9
8am. Kristin and Derek invited Jenny and I to go hiking in some mountains that were about a half hour drive south of Wolverine Lake. It was a great day to go, it was sunny, and the temperature was around eighty -five degrees without the dry humidity that I'm used to in Orlando.
Jenny gave me a friendly smile when we met her at the National forest parking area. She's very pretty with straight glossy black hair framing lovely Asian features. She looked great, even dressed in denim capris with hiking boots and a baseball cap. I was dressed the same way thanks to Kristin, but I'm positive I didn't make hiking gear look like a cool fashion statement like Jenny could.
We each carried a backpack full of different necessities such as food, water, matches, and a first aid kit. Obviously, unlike myself, they are experienced at the hiking thing. Don't get me wrong - I like to walk, just not through the rocky, steep mountains. I'm terrified of snakes, and I'm always fearful that I might run up on one or more of them. However, in Orlando you wouldn't have to go anywhere to find a snake because they would come to you. They liked to take refuge in our garage or especially our attics. We only had that issue twice thank goodness, and luckily the snakes weren't the poisonous kind. We had to call Orlando wildlife removal to get them out.
I loved how the birds and summer insects serenaded us as we hiked. We walked mostly in awkward silence, and I assumed it was to avoid painful, labored breathing. After only a half of a mile, I began to get tired and breathless anyway. Just goes to show I'm not in as good of shape as I thought. The only time I really work out is during volleyball season. I began to slow down a bit, and the others put more distance between them and me. All of a sudden, I heard something in the trees to my right, and I got the strangest, creepy feeling. I felt like I was being watched. I froze in place to check if I could hear it again, but nothing happened at first. Then suddenly, a few seconds later, some birds flew out of the trees making me jump. It's probably just some wildlife of some kind. I began walking again, and I picked up my pace to try to catch up with the others again.
Another half mile later we reached an easy flowing river. As we got even closer I saw one of my favorite features of nature – a waterfall. It was the type I describe as a dam waterfall because it extends the width of the river, and of course there is water above and below the rock wall of the waterfall. Some of the rock didn't have water falling over it, the largest amount of water was falling from the right side which is the same side we were standing at, and just a little stream of water falling on the left. The water was a dark, steel blue. It was awe-inspiring!
"Let's find a comfortable place in the grass to put down the blanket so we can eat," Derek demanded.
"Sounds good to me," Kristin said. "I'm getting hungry."
"Me too," Jenny added.
10:00am.We sat down to eat brunch. We could choose from granola bars, Chex mix, a banana or an apple. I only ate Chex mix and a banana then I chugged a bottle of water. The long walk made me extremely thirsty.
While we were eating Kristin asked me, "So what do you think? It's beautiful here, right?"
"It's amazing! I didn't see places like this in Orlando," I answered.
"Well, I would choose this scenery any day over the city," Derek said.
I felt the need to defend the city. "The city has its perks as well."
"Oh yeah, like being crowded, and with a higher cost of living," Derek said sarcastically.
Kristin gave Derek an evil look, and I decided to just let it go. He seems like the type of person who could carry on an argument for hours until he proves his point.
I'm not sure what Kristin sees in Derek. I dislike his bitter, unfriendly attitude. It's important to me that my boyfriend treats me, and anyone I care about, with absolute kindness and respect. That is, if I had a boyfriend.
A few minutes later, a dark, copper skinned guy with short, inky black hair wearing nothing but shorts, stepped out from the other side of the trees He stood on top of the waterfall where there was hardly any water flowing over. He was thin, but athletic looking with a muscular tone. He put his arms out from either side of his body. It looked as though he was trying to imitate an airplane. He quickly glanced over at us for a couple of seconds, and then looked straight ahead again. He then suddenly plunged into the water. When he didn't emerge instantly, I jumped up from my sitting place. What if the water wasn't deep enough or if there were big rocks on the bottom? He could break his neck.
"Is that water deep enough?" Panic was evident in my tone.
Derek grabbed my wrist to keep me from going in after him. "It is, and it's okay. A few of the guys from school jump from up there all the time."
I heard something that sounded like a faint, ferocious growl in the distance. Then suddenly another guy stepped out from the trees. He stepped from the exact same place as the copper skinned guy. I shook my wrist free from Derek and I stared intently at the magnificent looking creature. Our eyes locked, and I suddenly felt a deep, physical ache. He was the first of us to break from our fervent staring competition when he leapt from the top of the waterfall just as the copper skinned guy had done. I kept my eyes on the water as I very slowly sat back down. The copper skinned guy got out of the water on the other side of the river directly across from us, and then the magnificent looking guy slowly followed. The magnificent one paused briefly, glanced over his shoulder at me, and then disappeared back through the dense forest.
"Who were they?" I asked, once I came out of my trance.
"Takota and Cade," Kristin answered.
"Do they go to your...our school?"
This time Jenny answered. "Yeah. They're popular football players."
"They're friendly guys though," Kristin added. She didn't see Derek roll his eyes at her comment.
Once again we were quiet on the walk back to the parking area. This time I didn't mind the quiet, all I could think about was the magnificent looking guy at the waterfall. The one they call Cade. I won't mind looking at him at least five days a week at school.
This place just keeps getting better and better.
***
Sunday, July 10
11am. My family and I went to church for the first time since living in Wolverine Lake. We went to the Wolverine Christian Church, which is where my mom and Aunt Liv spent most of their childhood and teen years attending with my Grandparents.
When we walked in, Aunt Liv, Kristin, Uncle Rick, and Grandma, whom I call Grammy G., were already sitting in a pew on the right side of the church about midway toward the front. The church would be considered small compared to most of the churches in Orlando. It has pews on both sides of the sanctuary, and only holds about a hundred and fifty people. Since there isn't much room to sit in the same pew as the others - mom, dad, Noah, and I sat in the pew directly behind them. Kristin and Noah switched places so she could sit with me and Noah could sit with Uncle Rick. Kristin told me that Grandpa didn't feel like coming today, and I felt an ache of sadness. Even though I haven't spent a great deal of time with my Grandpa over the years, he still means the world to me.
A couple of minutes later, a man I've never seen before came over to speak with my dad. He introduced himself as Frank Dietz. He told my dad that he was the head football coach at Wolverine High, and that he just had an assistant coaching job open up. He said he thought since my dad was going to be teaching physical education and wellness at the high school, and also had experience coaching football, that he might be interested in the position. He went on to apologize for approaching dad in church, but he didn't have my dads contact information yet. Mr. Dietz wanted to know if dad would like to come watch pre-season practice tomorrow, and also speak with him and the athletic director further about the position. Dad told him that he would definitely be there and he appreciated the opportunity. As the coach got ready to walk away, he pointed behind us and said to my dad, "Well, there are a couple of my most talented players now. See you tomorrow," Mr. Dietz gave us a wave of his hand, and headed back to his seat.
My dad and I turned our heads around in unison to the back entrance of the church where we had come in earlier. Suddenly my stomach fluttered. Cade was walking in with Takota, along with one other guy and two girls. The girls were beautiful and statuesque. I actually felt a hint of jealousy, and I silently scolded myself for feeling that way. I haven't even officially met the guy, and a guy like Cade is out of my league anyway. He looked our way, and I quickly turned back around to face the Reverend who was about to begin the service. For the next hour I tried my best to pay attention, and forget that Cade was sitting at the back of the church. After the sermon was over, we got up to leave, but Cade and his friends were already gone.
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