Simply Complicated

"Those damn jocks are infuriating. All I ask for is one good student, just one. 'SIGH' Well, at least there's Cara, she's a great kid." I just got done subbing for the science teacher at the local Highschool. Science isn't exactly a favorite among students, especially those thrice damned jocks, but I try to make it interesting. I even brought a whole pound of sodium and an Iron box filled with water, and only when I set my shirt on fire did any of them pay even an ounce of attention. Luckily in this county, the district knows how 'well' subs are treated and we get payed quite a bit. I was able to afford a nice house in a decent neighborhood. Good car and decorations. But this life is just to... Ordely. I need something unexpected. 'DING' Oh that's genious.

(Marcus)

'RRRRRRRRRIIIIIIIINNNNGGGGGG' 'RRRRRRRIIIIIIINNNNNNNNGGGG' 'RRRRR-CLICK' "Marcus Matthews. Ah, Alex, what can I do for you? Vacation? Whatever for? Oh I see. Well, you've been working with us for almost 5 years so I guess a week or two couldn't hurt, but Alex, you're the only person I know that can handle some of these kids, so we're gonna miss you in the time you're gone. Your'e welcome Alex. Goodbye." 'CLICK' 'SIGH'

"Everything all right dad?"

"Yes Cara, it's just that one of our best subs is calling in a vacation. You know Mr. Relis?"

"Yes! I love Mr. Relis. He's such a fun teacher. Is he the one taking vacation?" She frowns a bit.

"I'm afraid so honey. He's been working a while so he's going to Colorado for a camping trip." I'm suddenly hit with an idea. "You know, I was actually an old teacher of his in school. Me and him are still best friends." I grin.

"Cool. But why are you telling me this?"

"Well... I've never had the time to actually take you somewhere out in the open so I would be open to asking if you could go with him, as long as you keep your phone with you."

"REALLY!? THAT WOULD BE AWESOME!"

"Hahaha. So you want to see if he'll let you come with?"

"YES!"

"Hahaha. Alright, I'll call him."

(Alex)

'RRR-CLICK' "Hello? Marcus? Something you need, I can wait an extra day if need be. Not a job? Then what is it.... Oh. That's quite a request, but I'll gladly accept if you and Cara are okay with it."

"YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEESSSSS!!!!!" Comes from the other end of the line.

"Hahahahaha, well, I gues she wants to go then? Alright, I'm leaving tommorow, meet me at the airport at 1:00, and tell Cara to bring a sleeping bag, 'cause I only have one. Alright, see you later. 'CLICK' Well, this could get interesting" I amke my way to the garage to get my camping equipment. I grab a tent, my hunting rifle, a book on wild plants and animals (Substitute teacher), A large briefcase to put some samples in, and my sleeping bag. I go upstairs to my room to grab som more things like my army knife, my spare ammunition, and some pillows. I look at the clock.

"6:00, got some time to kill." Despite my profession, I still thoroughly enjoy videogames. I grab my old copy of Skyrim and pop it into the system.

"I've only got three more levels till I reach 100 on destruction. I'll go to the sepulchre."

'BEEP' 'BEEP' 'BEEP' 'BEE-CLICK' "11:00. Time to go." I set the alarm for eleven in case I overslept. I actualy woke up at nine so that when the alarm went off, I'd know it was time to go. I grab everything and double-check that everything is there.

"All right, lets go."

(Cara)

"DAD! It's 11:00! We've go to leave now or we'll never make it in time!" I called downstairs. I had packed all the camping supplies I had, and Dad had bought some more things to make the trip more comfortable like boots, heavy clothes, a backpack, a hat and sunglasses.

"Alright Cara, but come here a second." I jump down the stairs, still energized from the excitement.

"Yes Dad?"

"Alright Cara, I know you're eighteen, but I still want you to listen to Mr. Relis when you go on the trip, alright?" I nod. "Call every night, stay with him at all times and most of all, have fun." He smiles.

"All right Dad, I promise."

"Okay, let's go." He kisses me on the forehead.

(Alex)

"1:00, the flight leaves in two hours, they should be here any minute." I was waiting at the front entrance for Cara and Marcus. I had brought a generator as well, although small, it would allow cara to charge her phone, and for me to charge my mp3. I wait for another ten or twelve minutes before they finally get here.

"Alex!"

"Mr. Relis!"

Marcus walks up to me, however Cara runs to me and gives me a hug. She's thin, but not unhealthily so, and she has fine pale skin. Her brown hair goes down to her shoulder blades, framing bright blue eyes, perfectly eye level with me. Overall, she was a fine looking young woman, like her mother. I have seen some students hug their teachers, but I havn't been hugged in years, so it was a little surprising for me. I gladly returned it.

"What a cute couple." Marcus says with a wry grin.

Cara's face turns as red as a tomato and she immediately lets go. "Dad!" She then looks at me. "Sorry Mr. Relis." She mumbles.

"Hahaha, no need Cara, I havn't had a hug in a long time, so that was a little refreshing." I then turn to Marcus. "Thanks for bringing her here Mr. Matt- Marcus." I still have trouble with that. "I'm sure she'll have a great time."

Cara immediately brightens. "Yeah! I've never been camping before. I wonder what new things we'll learn." THAT is why Iike Cara, always eager to learn.

"Well, I brought some books on flora and fauna, so we'll learn quite a few things."

Marcus laughs. "Well I hope you enjoy it Cara. Now why don't you hug your father too?"

Cara turns and hugs her father as requested. "Bye Dad. I'll be back soon. I promise I'll call every night."

Marcus returns the embrace. "I love you Cara."

"Love you too Dad."

They hug for a little longer, and when they let go, Marcus becons me over. "Alex, I trust you with her, and I'm your friend, but she's still my daughter. Keep her safe." He fixes me with the most serious stare I've ever seen, seeing as how I've never been in this type of situation before.

"Of course Marcus. As long as she's with me, no harm will come to her. Now, we have some time before the plane leaves, so why don't the three of us get something to eat. I'll pay for it."

"Yeah! Can we Dad?" Cara asks with big, hopeful eyes that are actually quite adorable.

"Okay Cara. So where do you plan on going?"

"OH, OH! Can we go to Cinnabon!?" Cara's enthusiasm about Cinnabon is shared by me.

"That's a great idea! I saw one down in the food court." I set off, motioning for the other two to follow.

When we finish at Cinnabon, Cara has a small content smile on her face, Marcus has a cup of coffe, and I reflect Cara. The intercom sounds overhead. "Flight 736, Denver Colorado, due to leave in ten minutes.

"CRAP! Alright Cara, I love you, call every night, get to the plane." They share a quick hug and Marcus turns to me. "Remember what I said Alex."

"Of course Marcus."

"Pardon my disrespect Mr. Relis, but we gotta go now. Bye Dad!"

"Bye honey!"

And with that we run down the hall with all of our luggage in tow.

We get on the plane and take our seats at the back. We're the only ones back here so Cara gets both armrests, and I get the window. I look over and notice she's gripping the seat very tightly. "Afraid of hights?"

She nods. "I've never been on a plane before either, it's a little nerve wracking."

"Don't worry, a plane is one of the safest things in the world to be on." I reassure her.

She visibly relaxes at that, a clear display of how much she trusts me. Every time I've told someone else that, they havn't believed me, so I feel a new warmth spread into my heart.

The intercom sounds off again. "Buckle in ladies and gentlemen, we're ready for takeoff." Cara and I buckle in.

"Ready Cara?"

"Mhmm."

The plane moves smoothly forard as it gains speed.

When we get out of the Denver airport, a taxi is waiting for us.

"Alright Cara, this taxi will take us to the edge of the forest where we'll be camping. Anything you need to do before we go?"

"No."

"Okay then, let's go."

We approach the taxi side by side. The driver is a gruff looking man, though he is not intimidating because of the large, jovial, and best of all, honest smile he wore like a badge. "Hi! Alex Relis and Cara Matthews?"

"Thats us. We're making a trip to Gunnison National Forest. Can you take us ther?"

He adopts a mock offended look. "Can I take you there? Man, I've been working this taxi service for twenty years. I can take you anywhere in the great state of Colorado. Hop in, we'll be there within the hour." We get in and, as promised, are there within an hour of leaving the airport.

"Thank you sir, here you go." I hand him my credit card and he strikes it through the machine.

"Not a problem man. Watch out though, the forest can get a little 'Chaotic'." He laughs, though I could have sworn his eyes had flashed yellow. I write it off as my imagination playing tricks on me. He drives off after we grab our backpacks, because carrying a luggage cart through the forest didn't seem like a good idea, and set out.

"So, we just gonna keep walking until we find a good campsite?" Cara asks after about 40 minutes of nonstop walking.

"Mhmm, when we find a river, we'll follow it until we reach a clearing, and set up camp there. While we're here, I can teach you some stone carving and whittling techniques I learned in school, and we can make our own bows and spears for hunting. I'll take the rifle just in case we meet a bigger creature. But that's only in extreme situations." We walk for about another 13 minutes before I spot a river. We follow for another 17 minutes, according to my watch, before we find a clearing. Next to us the river has become shallow, giving us easy acces to some stones. The claring is also surrounded by trees, making a good resource for shafts for spears and arrows, as well as material for bows. I then notice just how lucky we are when I see lots of vines hanging on a tree nearby.

"Alright Cara, this place is perfect."

'THUMP' "Oh thank christ. I'm SOOOO tired."

"Ah, ah, ah. We still need to set up the tent."

"Okay Mr. Relis."

"Please, just call me Alex. Only here though, I don't want any of the other students to know my name."

"Okay... Alex." She smile adorably.

"Hehehe, alright, let's set up that tent."

--20 minutes later--

"Phew! Why are the bars so heavy Mr. R- Alex." She has a hard time with it too. But its more adorable when she does it.

"To keep them mounted into the ground so they don't blow away." The tent is big, though it's only a one room tent. "Lets rest up for the night, there's a storm coming in." I say as I look up. There is a large storm cloud brewing overhead.

"O-okay." She quickly grabs her sleeping bag while I go the other way to my backpack with the pillows and my sleeping bag in it. I come back just as Cara is setting down her sleeping bag. I place the pillow where her head will be when she goes to sleep.

"Thanks, Alex." She smiles greatfully. I go to my own spot across the tent and lay my bedding down there. I glance at Cara and see that she's already laid down. I lay down as well and let myself drift off into yet another dreamless sleep.

--20 minutes later--

(Cara)

'CRASH' "Eep!"

(Uggh. Eighteen years old, still afraid of lightning. I should have outgrown this by now, that was so long ago. I just... juat... NO! No tears Cara, she's gone, you couldn't do anything about it.) I lay there in my sleeping bag, on the verge of tears, remembering one of the worst nights of my life. My mom was outside, the dog had just gotten out.

--12 years ago--

"Cara, get back inside. I'll go look for Evelyn." She walked out the door. Evelyn was my pet beagle. She was still young, still a puppy, and had gone out into the storm. My mom went after her, telling me to stay inside. I was only six at the time so I didn't listen. I grabbed my raincoat and ran out the door after her. We lived on a farm at the time, with my dad teaching me kindergarten subjects. He'd told me I was the best student he had besides another boy named Alex. I had asked if I could meet him and he said that I could, but that Alex was in College, so he was too busy. I ran after my mom and found her in a field chasing after Evelyn. Evelyn started running towards me and jumped into my arms. My mother sighed and started walking towards me.

"Cara, I thought I told you to-" 'CRASH'

The lightning struck, I closed my eyes only mildly afraid at the time, and practiced the techniques my dad taught me.

After I finished I opened my eyes and my breath caught in my throat. My mom was laying there on the gound, unmoving, with a huge acorch mark on her back. "MOOOOOOOOOM!" I didn't think, I just ran to the house to get dad.

I burst into the house bawling my eyes out.

"Cara!? What's wrong?"

"I-i-it's 'sob' Mom, sh-sh-she 'sob' she's not m-m-moving 'sob'." He didn't say anything else as I led him out of the house and to where mom was still laying on the ground.

"VALORIE!" Dad ran over to mom with me still holding Evelyn.  He crouched down beside her and rolled her onto her back. I started crying again. Her eyes were open, not seeing, but still staring, glazed over.

"No, nononoNONONONO! NO, VALORIE!" Dad continued to scream at my mother's body, the rain beating his back. I sunk to my knees and cried, my arms falling to my sides. Evelyn fell onto her paws and ran to my mother. She sniffed and her ears and tail drooped. She layed her chin onto my mothers chest. I knew then that my mother was gone.

--Present--

I couldn't take it anymore. I crawled out of my sleeping bag, my hands shaking violently, and made my way over too Alex's sleeping form.  I tried not to wake him as I crawled into the bag next to him, him facing me, as I set my head onto his shoulder. I shouldn't be acting like this, I'm eighteen, not four. I silently cry into his shoulder, releasing a sob ebery once in a while. I freeze up though when he wraps his arms around me in a warm embrace.

"You still miss her, don't you?"

"Y-yes."

"It's okay, I know it's not fine, and the pain never goes away, but your mother would want you to move on, live your life without crying about her." He strokes my hair, and I am surprised at how much it calms me.

"It's just... so h-hard." I'm audibly crying now, wrapping my arms tighter around him, needing a strong embrace to keep me from losing myself in my sorrow.

"It will always be hard, but you will get stronger, as you learn to honor her memory in any way you can, and learn the hardships of life. All you can do, is pull through it."

I'm crying harder than I ever have before, but it feels liberating to have a houlder to cry on, and to have someones arms wrapped around me. After about twenty minutes I stop crying, and just lay there with my arms wrapped around Alex, and his arms wrapped around me. I fall asleep before he does, with him keeping a constant vigil to keep from interrupting my tears. He must have experianced a similar loss, and release of sorrowful tears to know exactly what to say, how to say it, and what to do. These are my final thoughts before I drift off into a dreamless sleep.