214 Setting up Camp

Setting up the tents proved to be somewhat less frustrating than taking them out of the trunk of the vehicle. The process of taking out the three tents was way more stressful than simply following the instructions manual and assembling the tents. It was awfully difficult to try and take out something when the second that you move it in the wrong direction, it would cause a bunch of miscellaneous stuff to fall and topple. It's like playing a game of jenga, but when it's almost toppling.

Us four boys tackled the task of assembling our big tents while the girls went on to assemble their own smaller tents. The model of the big tent the club had bought was rather spacious, even with a small little patio area that is shaded by the fabric material of the tent. The smaller tents for the girls were more standard, and they were less of a hassle to assemble than ours. However, since we have four people tackling this one task of assembling this one large tent, we were able to finish the assembly process only a few minutes after the girls had finished with theirs.

"Ugh!" Noah groaned as he sat down on the grass, leaned back, and used his arms to prop himself up. "That took way too long."

"If you would just listen to me when I said the rods didn't go there," Zaksus complained.

"How the hell would I know?" Noah snapped back in a sluggish manner.

"Relax," Irina said, trying to keep the peace. "Here, have some water."

She handed the two boys two paper cups that has been filled up with water from the many gallons that we had bought for the trip.

"Thanks," Noah and Zaksus both said when they accepted the cups of water.

"Make sure you don't throw the trash on the ground," Muria warned them.

"I know, I know," Noah muttered after gulping down the cup of water.

"Here you go," Irina said as she approached me with a cup of water in her hands.

I looked over at her, and then I glanced over at Loyd and saw that he already has a cup in his hands. This meant that I was handed the water last. It kinda pained me a bit, knowing that despite the efforts I put out, my contributions were valued less than the others. But, I didn't say it out loud but kept it contained as I did not want to sour the mood.

I know that Irina probably did not have that intent, but subconsciously, it should work that way. You would think to hand out refreshments to those that you deem worked the hardest and made the greatest contributions. I would say that my contributions are at least on par with the others. At least I wasn't fighting over where to insert the metal rods like Noah and Zaksus.

With my mood somewhat soured, I neglected to say thank you to Irina and merely accepted the cup of water. I turned away and downed the cup of cold water that seemed to absorb the heat from my body, giving me back some of the comfortable temperature that my body yearned for. I glanced to my right and saw that Irina was still standing there, staring at me with a smile on her face.

"What is it?" I asked her. My voice was somewhat lacking in its normal ambivalent tone due to the frustrations of labor and the rise in my body temperature. It made it so that my voice had a hint of anger mixed within it.

"Nothing," Irina shook her head. "Just thought that you might want me to throw away your cup for you."

"I can do that myself," I turned and started walking towards the trashcan by the pavilion. I didn't even wait to finish the sentence.

"Right..." Irina lowered her head somewhat in a disappointed manner. On her face was a thin veil of gloom, but I'm pretty sure that'll disappear soon enough. No gloom truly lasts, so that's that.

I tossed the cup into the empty trash can and surveyed the pavilion. For a place that's near halfway up the mountain, it's oddly clean and stocked with every utility that one might want to have just in case. There's faucets for water as well as both boys and girls bathrooms with actual baths that one could use nearby in the small, concrete shack. There is even hot water in the bathrooms. The environment near this pavilion is also extremely well maintained, with no trash laying about on the ground. Maybe it's because not many people come up here to camp as they mostly gather and group up near the foot of the mountain where the more convenient amenities are. Like there's no other camp group in sight except for our group, which I guess is a great plus. When out camping, no one would want to be constantly bothered by the sight of other people. There is the occasional hikers who would walk past our campsite as they make their way further up the mountain, but it wasn't the peak time period for hiking just yet so there wasn't a swarming crowd, so they were pretty much negligible. Besides, with no one here, that means we have the bathroom to ourselves.

"Everybody getting a bit hungry?" Mura asked us.

"We didn't have much time to eat anything this morning," Loyd commented.

"Yeah," Zaksus nodded his head and brought a hand to his stomach. "I'm starving."

"Let's start making brunch then," Mura announced. "Alevian, can you go prepare the vegetables?"

"Me?" I asked in a dragged out voice as I whined.

"Quit whining," Mura sighed. "Irina, can you go with him?"

"Of course," Irina nodded and walked over to me.

"In the meantime," Mura then looked over to our campsite that is half encircled by our tents. "Let's set up the tables and get ready to cook some food."

Mura had chosen me for this task because she knows she could get away with having me do stuff. It's just part of our relationship. She knows she is above me in the hierarchy and that no matter what, I will always end up doing her bidding, as long as it's reasonable. It's the authority she has over me as my teacher and someone who actually worries and tries to help me out. This respect that I have for her allows her to command me.

With a sigh, I walked over to the closed trunk of the automobile and reached for the handle. The door then automatically opened as Mura pressed the button on the car remote, slowly revealing to me the contents of the trunk. After having taken out the tent and the other camping equipment like the foldable table and such, the trunk was way cleaner than the mess I had seen it in earlier. I reached my hand toward the small portable refrigerator in the trunk of the vehicle, opening it, and peering in.

"What do we need?" I called out.

"Potatoes, carrots, onions, and all the other stuff needed to make curry," Mura answered.

"Curry..." I muttered to myself. I don't have much of an opinion on curry, except that it's pretty good. So, I didn't think much as I followed the orders that I am given.

I looked through the refrigerator and grabbed the amount of each vegetable and seasoning spices that I believe will be needed for the dish and placed them in a large bowl. I also grabbed a separate bowl to place the vegetables that I've finished washing into as well as two peelers that will be used to strip away the skin from the potatoes and carrots. After grabbing everything, I backed away from the car and almost bumped into Irina if not for her stepping to the side.

"You need help carrying that?" Irina asked.

I looked at her, and without saying anything, I handed her the empty bowl that I had grabbed, keeping the large container containing the vegetables in my own hands. Then, I started walking over to the pavilion to where the faucets were located. As I started walking, Irina immediately started walking as well, slowing her pace to match mine once she caught up with me and was walking next to me.

I stepped foot into the shade cast by the pavilion, escaping the sun's warm rays and enjoying the cool wind in the shade. However, I didn't spend much time admiring this cooler temperature and went directly over to the water faucets. I squatted down and placed the bowl containing the unwashed vegetables directly underneath the faucet before turning on the faucet and allowing the water to flow.

From the corner of my eye, I saw the girl that was originally standing next to me also squat down, so I looked over at her. I took in her profile, and in all honesty, I felt rather attracted by it. She is a celebrity after all, so it is only reasonable for her to have a stunning appearance. Her eyes were focused on the container, possibly the water line. It would appear that she is somewhat mesmerized by the sound of flowing water that I am also somewhat affected by. Slowly, I turned my gaze and watched as the water flowed out, waiting for the waterline to rise and submerge the vegetables before I shut the water flow off. When that is done, I started cleaning the vegetables.

"Hold this for me," I said as I handed her the two peelers and she accepted them from my hands without saying anything.

With both of my hands truly free, I reached down and grabbed the side of the container, preparing myself to raise this heavy bowl that is filled with plenty of water as well as the vegetables. I lifted the bowl with both hands and felt the muscles in my forearms and arms tense. Careful so as to not allow any of the water to splash out, I carried the container over to a counter in the pavilion and set the container down.

I then reached out a hand towards Irina, asking for a peeler back, Without a need for communication, she understood my intent and handed me one of the two peelers that I handed her earlier. With the handy peeler in hand, I began working. I decided to tackle the carrots first as they won't go bad as easily. After that, I'll take care of the potatoes. When the others are ready, I'll start peeling the onions. Those are easy to peel so they can wait for now.

"Wow," Irina marveled as she watched me move the peeler up and down the length of the carrot, stripping it of the coarse, outer skin. "You're skilled at this."

"I cook at home," I explained, speaking in an apathetic voice, yawning from boredom as I allowed muscle memory to take care of the job for me. However, I still maintained enough focus to make sure that I won't accidentally injure myself.

"You do?!" Irina exclaimed. "That's so cool. I didn't know that."

"You never asked," I yawned once again, feeling some tears being squeezed out from my eyes.

"You're right," Irina laughed. "But that's so cool," she repeated. "I always wanted to learn but never got the chance with my schedule."

"You are pretty busy," I nodded as I placed the peeled carrot in the other container that I had brought along that is now containing several peeled carrots. Then, I picked up another unpeeled carrot.

"I would like to prepare myself for that one day that I just so happen be invited to go on a cooking show," Irina said. "But also..." she blushed somewhat and smiled in an nervous but joyful way. "I want to cook for people that I value the most."

I looked over at her and understood what she was implying. She's probably hinting at wanting to cook for the person she has feelings for, and if I'm not mistaken, she still holds those false feelings of attraction towards me. I know those emotions are false, because why would anyone ever be truly attracted by someone like me? There're way better choices out there than me.

"I think your father would be happy if you cooked him anything," I said, steering the topic to her father and successfully sealing any possibility of the conversation developing into anything about romance.

"Huh?"

Irina appeared caught off guard by my comment and stopped what she was doing. Her right hand still held onto the peeler, and her left on a potato, but she wasn't moving. She seemed rather surprised and somewhat disappointed about what I had just said, but since none of what I had said was technically wrong, she had no choice but to go along with it.

"R-right," she said with a forced smile and an awkward laugh. "Right..."

I glanced over at her and saw that her countenance was rather gloomy. Now, this is a gloomy emotion that will not disappear quickly. It'll continue nagging on her mind and bother her. I'm sorry to ruin her mood and possibly her entire day, but I believe a ruined day is better than a ruined future. Being attracted to me will not lead to her happiness in the future. I'm not someone that one could expect happiness from. What surrounds and awaits me, is nothing but a dark abyss that no one will be able to conquer.