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Akilah sighs as she wanders through the forest, trying to find any kind of somewhat beautiful foliage to make into decorations, accessories and whatnot. It’s not that she’s opposed to the whole doomcoming idea, on the contrary, she thinks it’s a great way to make light of their situation and put their formal clothes to use. No, her bad mood is entirely based on the fact that she’s perpetually dirty, constantly terrified of being mauled by a wild animal and mourning both Rachel and Laura Lee.
Suddenly, there’s the snapping of a twig and Akilah swivels round, fully prepared to fight something, but sighs in relief when she sees Mari.
“Chill out, Ki. It’s only me.” Mari chuckles.
“You scared me.” Akilah replies with a shrug.
Mari isn’t the most popular person out here, sure back home she had a lot of friends, but in the wilderness, most of the team don’t have the patience for her sassy remarks and passive aggressive comments. Akilah doesn’t mind, though, Mari has actually been a godsend to her throughout all of this, from being the only one to talk to her on the plane, to constantly keeping her laughing throughout all their problems with her funny reactions and less than helpful contributions.
“You excited for the party?” Mari asks enthusiastically.
“I guess.” Akilah says half-heartedly, “I’ve never been to a school dance before.”
Mari looks at her as though Akilah has just confessed to having crashed the plane herself, “Are you serious?”
Akilah laughs lightly at this clear overreaction, “I’m only a sophomore, besides it’s not really my scene.”
“What do you mean?” Mari questions somewhat teasingly, although everything she says tends to have a sort of mocking undertone.
Akilah shrugs, suddenly uncomfortable with the subject they’ve gotten to, “I always preferred to keep to myself, Rachel and I would just watch movies or something instead. I mean, you never noticed me before, right?”
“I guess.” Mari says, still sounding uncertain, “But you’re missing out. I mean, choosing an outfit, hanging with your friends, sneaking alcohol, getting a date.”
Akilah snorts a laugh, “Well, we’ve got dresses, we’ve got friends, you’re supplying the berry wine, all that’s missing is the date… unless you wanna ask a bunny or something.”
“Oh ha ha.” Mari scoffs sarcastically, giving her the finger. Akilah just giggles, where others might see Mari as rude Akilah prefers to view her as a source of amusement.
“Well, if we were back home, I’d ask a cute guy, but we’re not and I’m pretty sure Nat’s already laid claim to Flex, meaning you’re kinda the closest thing I have to a boyfriend out here. So…?”
Akilah freezes in shock, where is this going? Her heart suddenly begins to hammer in her chest. She clears her throat, “So what?”
Mari rolls her eyes as though it’s so obvious and Akilah is a fool for being unsure. “So, Ki, will you be my date to doomcoming?”
Akilah’s jaw drops, that’s the last thing she would’ve ever expected Mari to ask her, but her whole body seems to be screaming for her to say, “Alright, fine.”
Mari squeals, “Great! Now I won’t feel like a total loser.”
She turns to a nearby plant and picks what seems to some kind of wild flower, small and purple, then hands it to Akilah. “Here, a corsage. Since it’s your first dance and I asked you, I guess I’ll play the dude.”
Akilah stares only at the flower in an attempt to hide the blush spreading over her cheeks. She clears her throat sheepishly, “Thanks Mar.”
Mari shrugs, “I’m not a total asshole, besides, we need to do whatever we can to not go insane out here.”
Akilah nods, she’d have to be completely senseless to not notice the affect that isolation and proximity is having on everyone. You can practically feel it in the air.
Mari lets out a long, deep sigh. “I’m gonna go check on Van, she’s like totally miserable ‘cause of the whole wolf thing. See ya later, date.”
“Bye.” Akilah mumbles, twirling the flower in her hand and fighting a smile as she watches Mari walk away.
Life out here may be uncertain and dangerous, but it does have its moments and God are there some great ones.