@kingdonmicrofic day 17: crowd - 499/317 (lol) - no warnings
Frank can feel someoneâs eyes on him as soon as he wakes.
Itâs not the familiar weight of Tanner and Pennyâs attention as they crowd his bed, negotiating about the day as soon as the light on their clock switches from yellow to green.
When he opens his eyes, heâs confused to see a canopy of leaves above him, early morning sunlight filtering through the branches. It takes him a minute, but he gets there: he and Mel are camping.
Itâs something sheâd never done before, so theyâd added to their âfiguring out what we likeâ list. Frankâs been camping up and down the Blue Ridge Mountains his whole life, so heâd taken lead on logistics for once, planning a simple overnight at Raccoon Creek State Park.
Privately, he thought camping was likely to join ceramics and lifting on the ânot for Melâ list, but sheâd been petty gung ho about it. She loved setting up the tent, but her spirits faltered when he put up his hammock and threw his sleeping bag into it.
âYouâre notâŚsleeping in the tent?â sheâd asked, frowning.
âNah, I always like sleeping outside when I can. Plus, I didnât want you to be uncomfortable about sharing.â
Sheâd accepted it, but her energy seemed lower the rest of the afternoon and evening as they hiked out to see the waterfall and stuck their feet in the lake. She didnât say anything, but he thought that Mel didnât love campingâshe kept reapplying her bug spray wipes and wincing, not to mention her suspicion over sandâbut he had a blast, especially messing around with his film camera (a cautious addition to the âyes for Frankâ list). Frank had some fun building a fire up after dinner and tending to it as they roasted the requisite marshmallows and discovered that neither of them knew any ghost stories.
Melâs vibe dipped again when they called it a night, smothering the fire and packing all the food back into the car. It seemed like there might be something she wanted to say, but she ended up crawling into the tent with just a quiet sweet dreams.
Frank had his usual night in the hammock: a period of discomfort followed by the faux philosophical thoughts inspired by proximity to nature before falling deeply asleep.
But now: the feeling of eyes on him. Presumably Melâs, which gets him to sit up, hoping his bedhead isnât too egregious.
Sure enough, he finds Mel standing nearby, wringing her hands and watching him. When he smiles at her, she brightens.
âGood morning! I hope you slept well! I woke up early so I already, um, packed everything up? And made some oatmeal and coffee for you. Iâm ready to leave whenever.â
He blinks at the onslaught of words and then peers around. Everything theyâd set up yesterday is gone, leaving just his camping bowl and thermos on the picnic table, his pack against the tree.
He called it. Mel hates camping.