Read Online Wildlife by Fiona Wood - Free Book Online Page B

intensive? How to stay alive? Compasses, et cetera.”
    “Whatever. Did you two listen?” Lou and I nod. “Good enough,” says Holly.
    “I sure hope you can cook,” says Lou.
    Holly pulls a mean face out of Lou’s eye line.
    “I saw that,” says Lou. She is madam of the even keel. No anger. No smiling.
    Collecting rations from the dining hall is the next thing on the hiking to-do list. Holly and Lou and I head to the dining hall where they dole them out.
    Michael is there with Hamish and Doug, also heading off for a two-day hike in the morning. So Ben won’t be out on the mountain. Only one group per house is allowed out at a time.
    “Anything decent?” I ask Michael.
    He’s not happy. “It’s mostly canned, vac-sealed, or dried, and nothing looks like itself.”
    “There’s fresh fruit, and bacon, steak, and cheese for day one,” Ms. Ladislaw is saying. “And mountain bread. Please do not forget to puncture holes in any tinned food before you heat it on the fire, or it will explode. What will it do?” She puts one hand behind her ear, and is vigorously wiggling the back of her other hand against her nose—hay fever maybe?
    “It will explode,” we repeat back to her, like well-behaved zombies.
    “All the pasta packs are one-serve, just add water, and heat on the Trangia. If pack-weight is an issue, I recommend you focus on these and dried fruit for your two-days. Gather what you need, and come back to check supplies out with me. Count up your meal numbers and snacks, add one meal in case you’re delayed by weather or injury. You’ll be burning lots of fuel on your hikes, so remember carbs and trail mix,” she finishes. “And don’t forget some cutlery.”
    “How many emergency chocolate bars are we allowed?” asks Hamish.
    “One per customer,” says Ms. Ladislaw. “And the cocoa is premixed with dried milk and sugar, so you don’t need to add any. I recommend you include it; nights on the mountain are freezing, and it’s a scientifically proven fact that cocoa and toasted marshmallows make the conditions more bearable.”
    Lou is talking to Michael as she gathers her supplies in one of the baskets provided; they do advanced math together.
    “Nerd girl meets brain boy,” says Holly.
    How would I feel if Michael decided he’d go out with someone? It has never seemed remotely likely. But those two have already made a connection. Lou is smart, intense, and extremely private and quiet, but that wouldn’t put Michael off. Even though I don’t think of Michael romantically, I’m used to the fact of him liking me in a way he likes no one else. It’s part of my landscape.
    Holly comes back over with her food basket. “Did you see the open samples? It all looks like dried spew.”
    “But at least it’s not heavy,” I say.
    Back in the house, we three look at our enormous, bulging packs in disbelief.
    “Thanks for going first,” says Pippa. “We can really use the extra room around here.”
    “Yeah, only we plan on coming back,” says Holly.
    “Don’t count on it,” says Pippa. “All I heard from people who went last week is snakes, perilous rock ledges, and possible starvation due to foulness of food.”
    “And yet they all returned,” says Lou.
    “Or did they?” says Annie. “Perhaps they were ‘taken’ and we now have substitutes among us, just waiting for their chance…”
    “When have you put down, Pippa?” I ask.
    “Haven’t. I’m using the principle of going to the back of the line when it’s time to jump the vaulting horse in gym. It’s a strategy that’s always worked pretty well for me.”
    “They’ll catch up with you, for sure,” says Eliza.
    “Maybe, but by then I will have avoided a couple of hideous excursions into the wild.” Pippa pulls a Husk herbal teabag out of her mug, drops it in the sink for someone else to resentfully bin later, and with a serene smile turns her attention back to yet another phone-book-size glossy magazine.

23
    We were