บท 15: Camping 2

Rayne decided to ignore the situation for now. She felt that if she were to bring this up to Natalie, it might embarrass her. If she heard anything worse she would tell Natalie at that time.

It was still light out so Rayne decided to take a short walk around before dinner.

She went back inside her tent to grab the park map and to change into hiking boots.

The trail Rayne chose was the one that was closest to her campsite. It was a small dirt path that led across the stream and into a wooded area. She checked the map and saw that this trail was the one that led to one of the waterfalls she wanted to go see.

However it was a somewhat long walk and Rayne didn't want to be in the woods after dark, so she decided to go see the waterfall tomorrow.

As she walked she couldn't help but marvel at how beautiful the nature in this park was. The large rocks and green trees felt like works of art! Feeling inspired Rayne discreetly took out a sketchbook and her trusted drawing pencil from her system. She found a rock that she could sit on comfortably and began to sketch her surroundings.

There was a nice breeze, allowing the trees and plants to sway beautifully. Small critters ran around scavenging for food, and birds chirped.

Rayne listened to the sounds of nature and felt very relaxed. She enjoyed sketching so much she found herself sketching designs for a forest cabin, which then turned into a rough set of architectural blueprints!

She laughed at herself, "Looks like my brain always pivots to creating new designs even when I'm relaxing!".

She looked up and noticed that the sun was starting to set, giving her the cue to head back to her campsite.

As she entered the campsite she heard her neighbors sing happy birthday as Natalie held a small chocolate cake.

Isaac was in the middle of the group smiling, waiting to blow out the candles. When the singing ended, Rayne joined in on the clapping and wished him a happy birthday.

Feeling festive, Rayne wanted to gift Isaac something and walked back to her tent to see what she could pull out of her system.

She remembered the tattered old sleeping bags they had and felt that it would be an appropriate gift!

Rayne pulled out a new brand name sleeping bag from her system and walked over to the neighboring campsite. As she walked closer she saw Isaac opening a gift from his mother. It was a handheld gaming device that was popular with kids!

"Wow! It's the newest one! Thanks mom!!", Isaac cried out happily. Natalie smiled seeing how happy her son was with the gift. She had to work overtime for a few months to save up for this gaming device, but seeing her son so happy was worth it.

Rayne came over smiling, "Happy birthday Isaac! I know it's not anything too exciting but I'd like to give you a gift too".

"Oh! Please Rayne, you really don't have to", said Natalie, rejecting the gift.

"I insist. It was something I had extra of and didn't plan on using. Hearing that it's your son's birthday I felt that it must be fate, so please allow me to gift it to him", explained Rayne cheerfully.

She handed Isaac the box and watched him open it.

"Oh wow! It's a brand new sleeping bag! Look how soft it is!", exclaimed Isaac.

"Isaac, be sure to thank Miss Rayne for the gift, it was incredibly nice of her", said Natalie.

Isaac turned to Rayne with a big smile on his face, "Thank you miss Rayne, I look forward to sleeping on this tonight!".

Rayne smiled and nodded. The boys ran back into their tent to play with the new gaming console, and Natalie turned over to Rayne.

"Thank you again for your gift, I can tell that the sleeping bag was not a cheap one. Could I invite you to join us for dinner tonight?", asked Natalie.

Rayne thought about it, and felt that it might be fun and agreed. "Let me bring over a few ingredients. I bought way too many for myself anyways".

Rayne stood up and jogged back to her tent before Natalie could stop her. She pulled up the holographic system screen and began to scroll through her food options.

Natalie was grilling hotdogs, so Rayne decided to take out a few bags of chips, a few cans of soda, and a few fruit cups that she got from the hospital. She placed the items in a bag and brought them over to Natalie's campsite.

When Natalie saw all the things Rayne brought over she said, "Why did you bring so many things over? I invited you over, but here we are eating all of your food!".

Rayne smiled, "Please, you are helping me out by eating it! How could I possibly finish all of these snacks on my own?". She placed the items out on the table for everyone to enjoy.

The kids inside the tent heard the commotion and came over to the table. "Wow Mom! We got so many snacks!! This is the best birthday ever!", shouted Isaac. He reached over to grab a bag of chips and a soda. The other two boys followed his lead.

Natalie saw this scene and smiled. She saw the boys run back into their tent with the snacks in their hands and yelled, "Boys make sure you leave room for dinner! You can't just eat snacks, okay?".

She then turned to Rayne and said, "Thank you. The boys are so happy today. I rarely buy snacks and drinks so this is really special".

Rayne chatted with Natalie for the rest of the evening, discussing mostly topics about the park and nature.

When the temperature cooled down, Rayne decided to head back to her tent. She turned on an oil lamp which instantly lit up the inside of her tent in a soft glow.

She wasn't tired yet so she pulled out a book she packed earlier and began to read it. Having got so absorbed into the book Rayne lost track of time.

Crunch! Rayne quietly jumped up from the inflatable couch. She heard the sounds of leaves rustling and twigs crunching.

She quietly walked out of the tent to take a look around, holding a knife in her hand. Thankfully the moon was out, allowing Rayne to observe her surroundings.

She looked around and saw a boy walk out from a tent in the neighboring campsite. He walked over to the table, then went to sit by the stream.

Rayne was worried for the boy's safety and decided to quietly follow him. She walked over to the table he stopped by first and noticed the handheld gaming console that Isaac got as a present. She decided to pick it up and head over to the boy.

She walked quietly, trying not to alert him. She wanted to know what he was doing up at this hour of the night.

As Rayne got closer she realized that it was Dave and heard him mumble, "It's so unfair that Isaac got the new console game before me. His family is so poor, they shouldn't be able to afford it! Now all the people at school are going to want to hang out with him and not me".

Dave then picked up a rock and tossed it into the stream.

Rayne frowned when she heard him talk. She felt that this boy was not a good friend, and was curious how far he would go.

Rayne looked at the game console in her hand and thought, Surely he wouldn't go as far as stealing?

She quietly walked back to the table and placed the game console on the table after making a copy of it in her system. Then she walked farther back behind a tree to observe the situation while staying hidden.

Rayne watched Dave throw a few small pebbles into the stream. He looked extremely upset and was venting his emotions by throwing more and more rocks.

After a few minutes Dave walked back up to the table and grabbed the console. He stood there looking at it with jealousy and hatred.

What Rayne did not expect was that after Dave fiddled with the game console, he walked down to the stream and threw it right into the water.

Rayne was so angry!

"This boy needs to be taught a lesson, such an awful character at such a young age is really heartbreaking!".

She watched Dave walk back to his tent. He was extra careful to be as quiet as possible, making Rayne frown even more.

After Rayne was sure that Dave wouldn't come out anymore she went back to her tent to sleep. She decided to tell Natalie about Dave's unhealthy behavior.

The next morning Rayne woke up to Isaacs cries, "I swear I left it right next to my pillow before I went to sleep last night! I can't find it anywhere!".

(A/N: Hey all! Sorry for the missed update days, I've had some personal matters come up. I've also been working on fine tuning the outline for the next arc of the story, which will help me get more chapters out (faster) in the future.

I am also considering a few mass releases for the future.

I appreciate your patience, and a big thank you for reading my novel! <3

-Ophilliya

)