And do some work on the side, I supposed.
I scanned our temporary campsite; tents were being raised by the graduate students while our guide, Ivan, worked on building a fire for dinner. Massive trees towered over us, covered in thick green vines with purple flowers the size of my hand. Large yellowbutterflies flitted amongst the blooms and the noise of a flock of parrots squawked in the distance.
Cerise chatted quietly with Dr. Lovelace. It seemed they were friends, which surprised me because as straight-laced and austere as Cerise was, I didn’t think she had any friends. Emberly seemed outgoing and free, full of smiles and warmth. The opposite of her friend.
Oh fantastic, she’s coming over.
“Have a nice ride?” I asked, winking at Cerise as she approached.
“It was lovely, thank you for asking,” she said, not seeming to understand my joke. “Now, I think we should sit down and discuss our plan of action.” She removed the notebook from her pocket and flipped it opened, her pencil poised on the blank page.
“What are you talking about?”
“Our plan of action,” she repeated. “How we wish to structure and record our observations. When to schedule our ventures into the jungle to search for new species.” She started jotting something down, though I couldn’t see what. “Oh, and we must discuss our strengths and weaknesses. I’m quite good at insect identification, but I do sometimes mix up bird calls…what?” she asked when she noticed me gawking at her, trying not to laugh at her intensity.
“Nothing.” I reached for her notebook, took it from her hand, and closed it before giving it back to her. “Listen, I’ve been on a horse for ten hours. I’m sore, exhausted, and hungry. My only plan tonight is to eat dinner and crash in my tent.”
She studied me as if I had just said the most offensive thing she’d ever heard, throwing her braid over her shoulder. “But?—”
“We aren’t even at our main campsite yet. We can talk about logistics then.”
“But we must plan ahead,” she insisted, voice slightly on edge.
I tilted my head and looked into her violet eyes. She was tall—only a couple inches shorter than my six foot two frame—and willowy. Her chestnut hair was pulled back in a meticulousbraid and I had to admit she was quite pretty. Beautiful, actually.
But she was irritating, severe, and much too concerned with rules and order. Absolutely not my type.
“You seem stressed,” I pointed out.
“I am not stressed.”
“Don’t let her fool you,” Emberly said as she joined us. “Cerise is almost always stressed. I told her this trip would be good for her. That it would push her out of her comfort zone.”
“She wasn’t fooling me.” I studied Cerise. “It’s written all over her face. Does she even know how to have fun?”
“She does not. Not really,” Emberly said.
“Excuse me,” Cerise interjected, placing her notepad and pencil back in her pocket. “Could you two please stop talking about me like I’m not here?”
Emberly regarded Cerise with apologetic eyes. “I’m so sorry, CeCe.”
“CeCe?” I raised an eyebrow.
“Only she gets to call me that.” Cerise gave her friend a pointed look. “And I do know how to have fun.”
The smell of dinner roasting over the fire taunted me, my stomach growling, but I ignored it, now curious about this conversation.
“Is that so?” I asked. “What do you like to do for fun?”
“I enjoy studying new species,” she answered.
“That’s work.”
“All right. Well, I like to write.”
“Write what? Academic papers?”
Emberly watched the two of us, her amber eyes rife with amusement.