The sun hung lazily overhead, bathing the trail in a warm golden hue. As the group wandered along the path, a gentle breeze carried with it the sweet, almost nostalgic scent of jasmine.

  Sufian paused mid-step, inhaling deeply.

  (Oh, wow... the jasmines are in full bloom, it smells nice.)

  The others stopped too, drawn by the same quiet beauty. A small garden had appeared almost out of nowhere—modest but radiant, the white blossoms seeming to dance in the breeze.

  "Maaan," Ali exhaled dramatically, "is this spring or is this spring, amirite?"

  "Right... maybe the abundance of nature here brings out the beauty of these blossoms," Malak replied with a soft smile.

  "I’m glad we came on this camp program," Sufian added. "Makes me look forward to the historic landmark ahead."

  "I find myself brimming with a sort of excitement," Malak said.

  Ali chuckled. "Heheh, if you put it that way, it sounds like we’ve got some fun ahead of us. Oh? Looks like Bayan and Matt beat us to the punch."

  "They did go on ahead of us, after all," Malak observed.

  Sufian followed her gaze to find a boy and a girl.

  (The boy shooting daggers at everyone is called Matt, an older kid from another school. The girl who’s all smiles there is Bayan—her looks are kind of famous in the grade below ours. They must be here to enjoy the jasmine blossoms, too... then again, I could be wrong in Matt’s case.)

  "Wooooow," Bayan exclaimed, twirling slightly. "Look how beautiful it is! The flowers are so pretty!"

  She turned to Matt, who gave the flowers a glance and simply replied, "Hmph…"

  "Ha ha," Bayan laughed, "what kind of person gets all grumpy in front of a bunch of blooming flowers?"

  She stretched, arms behind her head. "But man, talk about a waste? Gorgeous weather and we’re doing extracurricular nonsense…"

  "What does one have to do with the other?" Matt frowned.

  Sufian, still within earshot, smiled to himself.

  (Ha ha… I thought as much. We’re not in any real rush. Might as well look around here some more.)

  His eyes scanned the path, lined with jasmine trees, their petals falling like gentle snow.

  "The flowers are certainly beautiful in full bloom," Malak said.

  "Yeah," Sufian agreed. "That and the weather makes you want to sit down and take a load off for a while."

  "Hee hee, now that won’t do," Malak teased. "We have to stick to our designated course."

  "Aye aye, ma’am."

  "‘Ma’am,’ is it? Finally, some good manners."

  "Oh, uh... sure. That’s what I was going for."

  Ali leaned in, mock whispering, "Man, I wish she’d back off a bit, you know? Read the room a little, so to speak." He was talking about Bayan.

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  Malak giggled. "I suppose it depends on how you look at it. She can be outspoken at times, to be sure... but she’s also cheerful, cute, and quite amicable. The sort of honesty you sense from her... I quite like it."

  Sufian blinked. "Whoa, where did all of that come from?"

  "She just seems a bit radiant, don’t you think?"

  "I... I see..." Sufian murmured, not really sure what he was supposed to say.

  "Still," Malak continued, "she goes a bit overboard. A big sister like me has to look out for her! Hee hee!"

  Ali raised a finger, switching the topic. "Hey Sufian, did you know that jasmine leaves are poisonous? Mainly the yellow ones. That’s why you never see any weeds growing underneath them."

  "Huh, is that right...? Wait, don’t people eat those sometimes? On desserts and salads, I mean."

  "Well sure, if you cook 'em first."

  "Huh... You sure know some weird things, man."

  Nearby, a boy with short black hair groaned, "Uugh, I’m soooo tired. This camp is weak!"

  His brown-haired friend laughed. "Yeah, total weaksauce."

  "At least we get a few bars out here," the black-haired boy added. "We can kill a little time with that."

  "For real?! I can’t even get a signal in the camp building."

  "Ha ha, man, what a hunk of junk you’re lugging around!"

  Elsewhere, Bayan glanced sideways at Matt and huffed. "Jeez, what crawled up your backside and died?"

  "Search me," Matt replied without looking at her, his face scrunched in mild annoyance.

  "Let me guess," Bayan teased, "Jeremy and the teachers gave you flak for your cheerful disposition?"

  "You dunno what you’re talkin’ about," Matt snapped. He clenched his fists, lowering his head.

  "Sure, sure, whatever you say. Come on, it’s time to go!"

  "Tch… All right, already…"

  Sufian, watching from a distance, took in the peaceful sound of water trickling somewhere nearby.

  (If I listen closely, I can hear the sound of a babbling brook... You’d never hear something like this in the big city. It’s sort of comforting.)

  Just beyond the trees, he could make out the old stone fountain, half-hidden by the bushes.

  Matt glanced back at Bayan. "And anyway, how long do you plan on following me around?"

  "What do you expect?" she said with a smirk. "Who knows what you’ll do if I take my eyes off you, Matt."

  "So you’re my supervisor now?"

  "Clearly, you’re not the type to be left to your own devices."

  "Oh, just shut up…"

  Matt stormed off, Bayan trailing after him without missing a beat.

  "Now is that any way to talk to a cute girl like me?!" she called after him.

  Sufian chuckled inwardly. (Bayan’s headed for the landmark, chasing Matt as he continues bellyaching.)

  "Those two get along way better than I figured they would," Ali observed.

  "More like Bayan can get along with anyone," Malak said.

  "That Matt is a real pain, too. She must be some kinda saint."

  "Now is that any way to speak about him? All of us need to work together..."

  Ali rubbed the back of his head. "I never heard anything come out of his mouth that wasn’t a complaint about something. I can kinda relate, to be honest... it’s like looking at how I used to be. Kinda embarrassing... You sure he’s older?"

  "Your past self...? Is that something a middle schooler is supposed to say?" Malak mused. "Then again, I suppose an adolescent boy would say such things..."

  "Bayan’s the exact opposite," Ali said. "The way she comes at you head-on makes her seem more grown-up. We only just met here at camp, but she acted like we were all best buds from square one."

  "I think you resemble her in that regard, Ali," Malak said thoughtfully.

  "Yeah," Sufian added. "He’s the one who broke the ice with us, after all."

  "Indeed... ‘head-on’ as you would say..."

  "Huh? Jeez, guys, knock it off with the compliments! My ego can only take so much!"

  Malak closed her eyes. "That was not a compliment."

  "Ha ha ha!" Sufian laughed.

  Trying to steer the mood, Malak gestured to the flowers. "Would you look at those flowers? How wonderful..."

  Ali leaned closer again. "Hey, did you know, Malak? They say there’s a dead body under every jasmine blossom tree."

  "I don’t want to hear about that now!" Malak recoiled slightly. "I’d rather we head toward the landmark, if we could."

  She took the lead, walking ahead with determination.

  Ali followed. "Everyone went this way... Looks pretty rocky up the path, huh? What a pain…"

  Sufian took one last glance at the flowers before catching up.

  (It was a normal conversation on a normal day with friends... well, normal other than the school extra activities part.)

  (At least, that’s what I thought.)

  ?????

  I don’t like him either xd