“We should toss a coin, so we can identify for her team to defend her!”
They shouted. “The teams are now completed! We will know who will defend her and who will chase her!”
“Before tossing, could you please go to the stage and introduce yourself to our groups!” the officer suggested.
I nodded my head and decided to go up the stage. After a few moments, the crowd was watching my movement silently.
“Hello! I'm Astrid, from the freshmen department, nice to meet you all!” I greeted while forcing a smile.
They clap their hands while the music is starting to have a beat. I scanned the whole field.
The tall and big trees are scattered around the campsite.
“Wait! I wanted to be the one who will chase and defend by them! I will be going to the stage!” Hailey shouted.
My eyes widen. She waves her hand until the officer noticed it. She was walking in our direction.
“But the groups are completed, you can't choose or just decide what you want to do,” the officer stated.
“The coin has two images, then I will be the one side, if the head appears then it will be Astrid, but if the bird appears, then I'm the one who will be chased and protected by them!” Hailey argued.
Her voice is rising and you can sense an irritation from her face. She crossed her arms and glared at the person who was holding the coin.
The officer took a deep sigh and let it out slowly.
“Alright, let's give her a chance! If the head appears, then Astrid will play the role, then if the bird appears, Astrid will play in the group.”
The crowd agrees. They are making some noises.
“Let's toss the coin!” The officer tosses the coin. It feels like a blink of an eye. The coin landed on his palm and covered it quickly.
I didn't see it because it happened like a split second. The players became silent and waited for the result.
I saw Yuan, he was staring in my direction. When our eyes met, he smiled at me and wave his hand.
My cheeks feel like burning. I looked away and it landed on Yoru. He was staring at Hailey without any expression.
It's like blank paper. “The lady will be playing the role is—” the officer paused. The beating drum roll echoed in the whole forest.
“Astrid from the freshmen department!” The crowd shouted and clapped their hands. The officer showed us. It's the head side of the coin.
“Better luck next time, Miss Hailey! You can now wear the vest!” the secretary suggested. Hailey's face was unexplainable.
She was mumbling under her breath. A frown on her face appeared while crossing her arms. She walked down the stage and grabbed the vest from the officers.
Her lips were in a thin line. She was now standing in front of Yuan.
“Let's explain the next instructions, Astrid will hide and whoever team can find her will be the defense team, and we are going to monitor the movements and area of Astrid, for example, the blue team found Astrid, then the blue team should defend or guard Astrid so the red team will not be able to steal Astrid,” the secretary explained.
“After 3 minutes, we are going to announce that your team can be deployed in other areas for searching, we are going to give each of you a water gun, the players will shoot the other team and the first five people will be eliminated, do you understand?” the secretary asked.
“Yes!” the replied to her. “We set some camera and mic on the area where the players are eligible to move, when you saw the line, please don't cross the line, because once you passed it, you will be going to be out of reach,” they reminded.
“Let's begin! All the players should face at your back! One! Two! Three! Face!” They moved their body and sight.
“Hey, go and find a better hiding place, if no one sees you, then you are lucky, you will have a special gift, but if a team is defending you, then you will share your rewards,” the vice president instructed.
“Be responsible and careful, there's a lot of vines and spiky stem of plants, watch your step and please be aware of the line, do you get it?” the officer asked.
I nodded and walked away without saying a word. Before walking away, they gave me a vest and a jacket to protect my skin from irritation.
It may cause itchiness and rashes on my skin. Good thing, I packed some extra clothes for this camping.
While I'm walking away from the meeting area, I saw a huge trunk of the tree. I don't know what kind of tree is this.
It's big and the leaves are thick with wide edges. The grass is tall, it can reach my knee.
I made a clear way and tried to avoid the tall grass. It's cutting the skin on my legs. When everything is clear, I put my handkerchief on the ground, so it can cover the area where I'm going to sit.
After a few seconds, it's clean and I'm ready to take a break. Maybe, this area was already far enough.
My calculations are they will find me if 20 minutes has been passed. They are holding a water gun, I'm sure their clothes are soaking wet.
I looked up at the sky, it was clear, but the sun will go down soon. I heard the birds are chirping.
It's like singing into my ears. The wind is touching my skin. The leaves, branches, and vines are swaying because of the wind.
I saw some flowers, but I need to walk a couple of steps before I can go to that area. It's full of different kinds of flowers.
They are familiar because I already saw them in my book. However, I forgot their specific names.
Some of them are basic flowers like we can see every day, for example, some roses, sunflowers, jasmine and other kinds of flowers.
I forgot to bring my books. Some of them are not important, I bring them because when the boredom strikes.
The grass suddenly moves even there's no wind. I stared in that direction where someone is moving.
It moves once again. My heart feels like going to jump, I bit the nail of my finger and started to trim it using my teeth.
My knee and legs are shaking. I sat properly and took a deep breath. Thinking if I moved once against, the area will not going to be okay since I didn't test it.
“Hello? Anybody here? I need to hide because I don't want to be the one who will search for them,” I whispered.
I don't know why I'm talking about nonsense things. It's likely my role, that's why I'm hiding and looking for someplace to hide.
A creature shows its fur. It's a dog! A cute furry dog. The dog was staring at my eyes. My heart is going to jump from my chest.
The dog was intently looking at me. I need to be ready. It's a wild dog, I don't know if the dog has an owner.
What if the dog didn't have an owner? What if the dog suddenly moves and bites my legs?
I lowered my pal and open it like I'm inviting the dog to trust me and I will not going to hurt the dog.
After a few moments of observing, the tail started to wag. I smiled at the dog and let my palm was open and the dog is now on my side.
I gently hold its face and caress the face with fur. The dog closes its eyes and it seems the dog is enjoying my touch.
I noticed that the dog is a male. He was still wagging his tail and letting me to pet his head. His fur is soft like a cotton.
It's not hurting my skin, and after a few minutes, he sat in front of me. He was gently licking my palm.
“Do you like it?” I asked while caressing his body. He likes to be pet by humans.
He turned his head on the back like he noticed something strange is going to happen.
He glanced at me with a worrying look in the eyes.
“What happened? Do you feel something?” I questioned. He looked at the back, and look at me after he checks the area.
I stood up and wipe the dirt from my clothes. “We need to go, my classmates will see me if I stay here for more longer.
I started to walk and look for some vacant space.
All of a sudden, something already happened.