The forest lodge was straight out of a nature documentary tall trees, chirping birds, and way too many bugs.
The moment we stepped off the bus, Hinata whispered:
"If a raccoon steals my bag, tell Itsuki I died bravely."
I elbowed her. "You're more likely to scare the raccoon away."
---
The teachers gathered us all in a gravel clearing for orientation.
"Remember," the head teacher said, "this is a learning trip. You'll be responsible for your own belongings, cooking in your assigned groups, and keeping your tents clean. If you leave a sock in the woods, we'll leave you behind."
Some of the boys cheered.
Most of the girls groaned.
I just glanced at the paper in my hand:
Group A – Tent 3
→ Kuroyuki Kenyu
→ Hinata Shoyo
→ Shinbou Ryusei
→ Two other classmates I barely knew.
I wasn't even sure how I'd survive sleeping near Shinbou, let alone cooking and cleaning with him.
---
"Alright, set up your tents!" the teacher shouted.
And that's when chaos began.
"Where's the hammer?!"
"This pole won't bend that way!"
"Who took my rope?!"
Our tent looked like a rejected burrito.
Hinata was halfway tangled in the fabric, and I was failing to secure a corner peg when Shinbou finally spoke.
"You're doing it backwards."
I looked up, flustered. "Excuse me?"
He stepped beside me, took the peg, and flipped the canvas with one motion. "It goes this way."
"Okay, tent whisperer."
He said nothing but started setting things up with practiced efficiency.
Within minutes, the tent actually resembled a tent.
I stood awkwardly to the side, unsure how to thank him without sounding weird.
"...You've done this before?" I finally asked.
A small pause.
Then, "I guess so."
"You guess?"
He didn't answer.
Just picked up another peg and started working again.
---
Meanwhile, Hinata was helping Itsuki with his camera tripod nearby.
"Wait, wait how do you make the background all blurry and artsy?" she asked, peering into the lens.
Itsuki chuckled. "That's called depth of field. Want to try taking a shot?"
Hinata's voice dropped to a whisper. "Only if I can delete it if it's terrible."
"I won't judge," he said, smiling. "That's what editing is for."
I glanced at them from across the tent.
They looked easy. Light. Like a different story was just beginning for them.
---
By the time the sun began to set, tents were up, teams were exhausted, and smoke from the first cooking fires curled through the forest air.
Group A was assigned dinner duty.
Lucky us.
I stood by the fire pit, cutting vegetables while Shinbou boiled water.
We said almost nothing.
But there was a moment.
Just one.
I passed him the spoon and our hands brushed.
Barely.
But it was like an electric pulse through my chest.
He paused.
Then rubbed his temple lightly again.
Another headache?
He didn't wince. Didn't flinch.
Just stood still for a moment… like something was out of place.
Then said, almost too quietly:
"Something about this place feels… familiar."
My heart jumped.
"What do you mean?"
He looked at me really looked at me and for a second I thought maybe
"I don't know," he said flatly. "Forget it."
And just like that, the moment vanished.
---
That night, I lay in my sleeping bag staring at the ceiling of the tent.
Everyone else was asleep.
Even Shinbou or at least pretending to be.
But I wasn't.
I was stuck thinking about that one sentence. That one look.
And the terrifying possibility that the boy I once knew…
was somewhere inside the boy sleeping a few feet away.