Isabella turned on her headphones, then wore them around her head, playing "Take Me Back to the Good Old Days" by Eminem. She turned toward the window so she could have a clearer view of the road and the environment they were passing through. It was already evening.
"The path the driver is taking is full of beautiful vegetation. The bushes are dancing as they move, the birds are going back home, and some places we passed are covered with natural waters," Isabella admired. The serenity of the land filled her with joy—she was already in love with the trip.
Austin, who was sitting next to her, stared at her as she gazed outside. He wanted to start a conversation with her, but he held back, although the urge remained strong. Eventually, he tapped her. She looked at him. He became nervous.
"Sorry, I saw something on your shoulder," he said.
She stared at him, not concerned with whatever he thought he saw on her dress. She reluctantly said, "Thank you," and continued enjoying her view.
"Hello everyone, welcome to Mossipi. We are a few miles away from our camping ground," the driver announced.
Everyone in the bus started murmuring excitedly. After some minutes, peace and quietness were restored. In less than five minutes, they had arrived at Mossipi Resort. Everyone was excited and happy for arriving safely.
The boys rushed down with excitement—except for Austin. He was happy too, but he didn't show it like the others. Joseph, who had been in a different bus, came to check on his friend and saw Austin standing beside Isabella.
He was shocked to his bone marrow. He never expected to see Isabella at the event. Surprised and enraged, he pulled Austin to his side.
"What is she doing here?" he whispered.
"Who?" Austin asked, feeling quite confused.
"The girl standing beside you."
"Oh, you mean her?"
Just then, Mr. Albert Harrison dashed towards the boys, full of happiness and excitement. He tried not to show it too much, but it was written all over him.
"Hello, boys!"
"Good evening, sir," they chorused.
"I hope you guys are having an awesome time?"
"Yes, sir."
"What about you, Dad?" Austin asked.
"I'm good, son."
Then his phone rang—it was his PA calling.
"Why is she calling me at this time of the day? I thought I informed her not to disturb me with phone calls," he thought aloud.
"Excuse me, let me take this call," he said, walking away from them.
"Hope everything is okay with your dad?" Joseph asked.
"Yes, it might be a call from his PA or probably his secretary—just one of those business calls."
"Okay, I thought as much. Anyway, I was asking you a very important question before your dad came. What is she doing here?"
"You mean the beautiful-voiced lady?"
"Beautiful voice? I mean Isabella!"
Austin was now lost. He didn't seem to understand what Joseph was saying.
"Hold on—you mean the girl in blue pants and white shirt? The one who stood beside me?"
"Yes, she."
"Is her name Isabella?"
"Have you forgotten her? The girl that almost ended your life at the stream the other day!"
Austin paused, trying to recall if he remembered the voice. But he didn't—the two voices sounded very different to him.
"You know, she owned a dog. But this lady doesn't."
"Have you forgotten the camping etiquette profile? It was boldly written NO PETS ALLOWED."
"That's true, Joseph. I've tried getting her name, but she always seems to ignore me for no reason. And she also looks kind of familiar too."
As they continued their conversation, they walked around the whole place. That night, they had little or no activity to carry out. Some people were busy watching the sky. Austin and Joseph were talking and laughing.
"Joseph, I hope you came with the chessboard. Go get it so we can have some fun."
"Oh, that's true! It's in my bag."
He ran off to get it.
On his way, he heard someone singing. The voice sounded so heavenly, like the singer was singing to an invisible being—so powerful and majestic. He moved closer to the direction of the voice, and with each step he took, goosebumps rose on his skin.
"Who has this beautiful, angelic voice that has succeeded in melting my being?"
The singer continued. Joseph stood behind a tree, listening—so deeply that he forgot himself.
"Why is Joseph not here yet? It's been more than thirty minutes," Austin wondered. He stayed a little longer, but Joseph was still nowhere to be found. He stood up and went looking for him.
As he walked down toward where the vehicle that brought them was parked, he sighted Joseph, thanks to the light from the streetlamp he carried. As he approached him, he heard the same angelic voice—the one he had once heard at church.
"That's the voice of an angel. So beautiful and lovely," he said to himself.
"What are you doing here, Joseph?"
"Oh, Austin! I'm sorry—I got distracted."
Isabella, who was in another realm of beauty and peace, got distracted by the voices of the boys and immediately stopped singing. She stood up and went to check who had interrupted her. She saw it was Joseph and Austin. This time, she was pissed.
"Why are you following me? Can't a lady have some space for once?"
"I'm sorry, it was not intentional. I came to call my friend. Nothing more."
She hissed and left angrily.
"This girl is very annoying," Joseph said to Austin.
"I don't know why she finds me irritating, though. Anytime I try talking to her, she snubs me or gives me a look of anger."
"You like her?"
"No, I don't like her like that. I just love her voice. She has that voice that can make a man lose his mind."
Joseph nodded in agreement.
"That's true, bro. Her voice is very captivating."
"I'll try manning up so I can talk to her and probably help her participate in my dad's Musical Prime Audition."
"That will be very nice—'cause her voice is giving."
"Where's the chessboard you went to get?"
He suddenly remembered, opened his bag, brought out the box that contained it, and they went to where the rest were.
As they got there, Sir Charles was addressing the group.
"Today, we've had a very stressful day. Don't forget to close your tents to avoid cold. And for the ladies who will be sleeping inside the available rooms, don't forget to close your doors very well."
They all went to bed.
---
Early the next morning, Isabella started singing again. But this time, no one heard her—except Elena. Isabella's voice woke her.
Elena stretched with a cracky voice. "Your voice is very beautiful."
Isabella turned to her side and saw that Elena had woken up.
"I'm sorry for ruining your beautiful sleep, dear. I was just rehearsing for an audition I have with Harrison Group of Companies Empire," she said.
"Oh, that's lovely. Your voice is nice. I hope you win, dear."
"Thank you very much."
The alarm for every room and tent rang—it was time for everyone to come out for the morning workout.
Everyone went to get prepared for the day's event. In the process, Mr. Albert was getting ready to go back to work.
After they had all had their breakfast, Mr. Albert went back home to attend to business. He had a lot of work to do, and the musical audition was also waiting.