(NOVEMBER 2010)

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RICH MUTATIO

Before lunch, Mr Darley handed each group a sticky note. "How many boxes of pizza does each group want, two or three?"

"Three!" we all answered.

"Of course it's three. I don't even know why I bothered asking. Just write down the toppings you want on the sticky note."

After lunch recess, Mr Darley greeted us with three boxes of pizza per group. He even went ahead and got us more snacks and drinks.

Mr Darley was a brilliant teacher and an even better mentor. He'd support whatever had our interests, joked around, and even acted goofy alongside us. He had only been our teacher for two months and I already knew that he was something special.

After lunch, Mr Cranston came up to our room. He wore a fedora, dark shades, and a scribbled goatee. He was dressed in dark clothes a man in a mid-life crisis would wear.

Carrie pointed to him. "Oh! I get it. That's actually pretty cool. Your costume is Heisenberg." She pointed at Mr Darley. "And you're Walter White pre-chemo."

Mr Cranston applauded. "That's impressive. You're the first person to get it right. Not even the other teachers could figure it out."

"What's for gym today, Mr Cranston?" Moses asked.

"Sadly, nothing. The gym is preoccupied with the dance and I don't want you to get your nice-looking costumes dirty or damaged outside."

"Then why are you here?"

"Let's just say Mr Darley planned a game and I want to watch you guys turn on each other."

The game was Werewolf. A game where friends accused friends in an attempt to figure out who the werewolves were before they murdered everyone.

The role I got was the drunkard which was worse than a villager. I was forbidden from talking or writing; for people to hear me, my actions had to speak louder than their words. By the fourth night, I figured out Bond was one of the imposters, but with no way of communicating, all I could do was desperately point at him. But I was voiceless, invisible, and killed later that night.

The werewolves ended up winning that round.

We ended up playing a couple more games after. I was a werewolf for one game, cupid for another, and a regular villager for the rest. By watching Coraline for the last two hours, the day ended with a whimper. But it was a fun day nonetheless.

We changed into regular clothes once school ended.

"Hey, Zoey, do you wanna see our hideout?" Bond asked as we made our way home.

"Hideout?" she asked.

"Yeah, you're comfortable around us now and we're comfortable around you. That makes you a part of our group. And everyone in our group should know that we have a hideout."

"I can't be a part of your group. I've only known you for a week."

"Who cares if we've only known each other for a week? Friendship can't be measured by time spent."

"Yeah," I said. "These past two days have felt like an eternity and there are many more days down the road."

Bond, Charlie, and Conan looked at me, Zoey's face reddened, and Mallory grinned a shark's smile.

I shouldn't have said that. I should not have said that.

"Sure," Zoey said. "Show me your hideout."

We made our way to the park in the rich neighbourhood and entered the forest. We followed the path for a good portion of the trail and went off-road once we reached the wooden bridge. We stopped at the foot of a steep hill.

"I don't see a hideout anywhere," Zoey pointed out.

"It's not here." Bond smirked his calm smile and pointed to the top of the hill. "Up there."

Zoey glanced up. "You're kidding."

"Unfortunately, I'm not. A hideout is supposed to be hard to find. Only an insane person would look at this hill and decide to climb it."

Conan and Charlie interlocked hands, spinning around before Conan threw Charlie, giving him the boost in speed he needed to grab onto one of the exposed roots.

I blew on my hands, making sure there wasn't any moisture. But before I could run up, Bond grabbed my shoulder.

"What are you doing? Let go."

"You should go last," Bond whispered in my ear.

"Why?"

"Let Zoey climb before you so if she were to fall, you'd be there to catch her."

Bond stuck his umbrella in between his bag and back, walking up the hill and hopping from one rock to another like a natural.

"I'm not a good climber," Zoey said.

I leaned into her. "And I'm scared of heights, but these guys made me climb this hill so many times that I became dull to it. You'll be fine."

Zoey began to ascend with caution while I followed under her.

"How long does it take to climb this?" Zoey asked.

"The terrain changes slightly after it rains, but it takes us around two to three minutes." Conan stopped halfway up and shouted down. "You're new to this so you'll take around five. But don't worry. Just take your time."

"Don't rush yourself," I reassured her. "We're not in one."

Zoey shook her head in disbelief. "No sane person would think to do this."

"How? This is how our parents got to school."

"Don't make me laugh!" she giggled.

When she was close to the top, Zoey lost her footing and began sliding down. I reached out and caught her hand.

"Are you sure you still want to do this?" I asked. "I need to hear it from your mouth."

Zoey looked down, then up at me. "Thanks. We're almost at the top. I can't back out now."

"Hey!" Bond shouted down. "Are you guys okay?"

"We're good!" I shouted up before looking back down to Zoey. "Remember what Charlie and Conan did earlier to climb up?"

"When they threw each other?"

"Yeah. Since we're at an awkward angle, I'm going to throw you up like that. Do you think you can catch that branch?"

"Yeah. That branch is perfect."

I began swinging Zoey across the slanted ground. She began running to try and gain momentum. When she gained enough, I threw her up where she was able to grab the tree.

"Good work," Conan said as he helped Zoey up.

I climbed after her, grabbing an exposed root at the top to help me up. Mallory stepped on my hand, putting all her weight onto her foot.

"Ow! Ow! Ow! Ow! Ow!"

She grabbed my other arm, pulling me onto the levelled ground.

I shook my hand. "Was stepping on my hand necessary?!"

"No, but it felt appropriate."

The hideout wasn't far from the steep climb. The only dirt trail on this hill was made from our constant marching through.

After a quick two-minute walk, we arrived at the hideout.

Zoey had a look of awe in her eyes. "Is this treehouse it?"

"Correct. This treehouse is our hideout," Bond said.

The treehouse was an old battered thing. It was rotting when we found it during the summer a few years ago. None of us had any real plans except to hang out, watch TV, and play, so we thought renovating this place would be a fun project.

Since there was nothing to get up to the treehouse, the first thing we added was a ladder of sorts. Conan brought wooden planks and some nails, hammering them into the tree so we could climb inside.

We took our time repairing it, finishing the project just a few days before school started.

I ran to the foot of the treehouse. "Me first, then Bond, then you three. Zoey will be last."

"Why is she last?" Mallory asked.

"It's her first time seeing the place. We'll build up her anticipation."

"Wow. Considerate."

I climbed into the treehouse, dusting my hands before helping Bond up. Mallory was next and I just watched her struggle to get inside. Bond was the one who ended up helping her.

"You jerk, why didn't you help me up?" Mallory growled.

"It felt appropriate to step on your hand to get even but I just watched because I was feeling considerate."

"Don't steal my lines!"

Conan was next to make his way inside followed by Charlie.

"Your turn," Charlie shouted to the ground.

Zoey made it halfway up before simply hugging the tree for dear life. Even though the steps were secure, we should've warned her that they were rickety. Charlie and I grabbed Zoey's hands and pulled her up.

Zoey gazed around. "The inside looks better than the outside."

We kept the inside of the hideout as tidy as possible. We brought large bins containing whatever we needed; blankets, batteries, flashlights, candles, board games, and cards. Charlie even insisted that we bring food and water just in case. The bins were beside a mini-stove we used for warmth during winter.

We even somehow covered the top of the treehouse with a blue tarp to protect it from precipitation.

Conan went to the cooler and threw each of us a bottle of water. "We're out. I'll drop by with Charlie sometime during the week to refill it."

"Why do I have to come?" Charlie whined.

"I want company."

"How's our carpentry skills?" I asked Zoey.

She stopped drinking her water. "There is no way you guys built this."

"We didn't," Bond said. "We were just messing around and stumbled upon it. The only thing we did was renovate it. Don't tell anyone about this place. No one but us knows."

"How can you be so sure?"

"We left valuables here that we didn't mind losing. We came back two weeks later to find them untouched."

"That's actually smart. You're the brains of this group, right? Was it your idea?"

"Charlie's idea actually, but my execution."

Zoey went to the window that oversaw the neighbourhood. "This is a pretty view."

"It is," I said. "Especially during winter when everything is white."

After a while, we climbed out of the treehouse.

"Isn't it a bit dangerous going back down?" Zoey asked.

"Definitely," I said. "That's why we have another exit."

We lead Zoey through the foliage. It was a bit hard walking through the bush when pine needles were scratching your face, but once we were out, we made it to a road with houses on the other side.

"This was here the entire time?" Zoey questioned. "Why didn't we just go through here?"

"Entering the bushes multiple times is suspicious. Exiting it does not. We're kids so it looks like we were just messing around," I explained. "Plus, there are houses right here."

She glanced back through the foliage. "If the view in the hideout is better in winter, I wanna see it."

"Don't worry, you will."

"Promise?"

I sighed. "Promise."