Tuesday

The smell of burning cupcakes and smoke wafts through the kitchen as I race towards the oven. I grab the tea towel from the stove top as I yank the oven door open. The steam stings my face as I grab the tray out and throw it onto the bench. I turn the oven off and then fan myself with the towel.

"Damn it! I can't believe I forgot about them," I shout.

I was really looking forward to chocolate frosted cupcakes! I'd even pestered Theo into driving me to the shops to buy eggs for the mix. Now they are completely burnt on the top and I'll have to rebuy everything.

There's a tail of footsteps before I hear the laughter.

"Was that on your list of fun things to do?" asks a curious Leighton. He peeks out from underneath his brown hair.

Shaking my head, I say, "No, not quite."

"Have you done anything on the list?" he questions.

"Ah, nothing yet." I bite my lip. "I've been busy making this." Well, it's sort of true. Three hours of begging and three cupcakes later, Theo finally took me to the store. Three cupcakes felt like selling my soul. Now I have neither.

"What's stopping you then?" Leighton smiles.

"I'll admit, I'm still trying to figure it all out." There are a few things on my list that leave me puzzled yet excited.

"You've peaked my interest, Sophia. What is on the list, breaking into a bank?"

"Funny." I poke my tongue out.

I retrieve the list from my back pocket and toss it across the bench and in his direction. Leighton grabs the paper from the bench and unfolds it. It takes a couple of moments for him to read the content and then glance back at me. I see the amusement swirling within his eyes, the kind to excite yet terrify me. What's he thinking about?

"What about camping?" he offers. "That seems easy enough to knock off the list."

"Sure, I could do that." I nod my head.

"Where's the tent? We'll set it up in the backyard."

As Leighton walks towards the back door, I quickly turf the burnt cupcakes into the bin and follow him out.

We walk across the small strip of grass before arriving in front of Dad's old storage shed. Mum has been on his case since last April about cleaning out the junk, though, he's never bothered with it. From broken gardening gear, tools, our kiddy toys, and the old camping gear, a mass of bugs consider and live inside the deep black hole that is our storage shed.

Mum and Dad used to force Theo and I camping all the time. Something about the beautiful outdoors being exciting? My fear of small bugs and everything outdoor made it almost impossible to keep going.

If I can finally manage to cure my fear, then maybe we'll go camping again. I can't foresee Theo stepping outside of his bedroom and into a tent. He enjoys his loud music and computer far too much. But hey, I always thought it would be worth a shot.

They've been without me a few times and I was shipped off to Grandma's house. I had to spend all day, everyday gardening. It really made no difference if I stayed with the bugs in her house or found them on the campground.

I open the shed door and we easily find the camping gear pushed to the back. Leighton and I drag the stuff out and dump it on the grass. We find a tent, blow up air bed, and a small light. I don't bother with the sleeping bag because they're smelly and dusty.

Once the stuff is out of the thread, Leighton lays on the ground and stretches out. He pulls a smoke from the packet and lights it up.

"Aren't you going to help?" I ask.

"You can start," he says.

"Sure . . ."

Is it a good time to admit I've never put a tent up?

Grabbing the tent bag, I unzip it and pull the tent and polls out. There's no instructions in the bag, so I toss it away and look at the stuff, willing my brain to figure it out. I'm sure completing a hard math equation would be easier than this. It's like Ikea on a whole new level.

"What are you waiting for?" Leighton laughs.

"Help," I reply. "I don't know what any of this does." We could be building a rocket for all I freaking know.

Leighton tramples his smoke and walks inside. Shortly after, he returns with Theo in tow.

"Why the fuck would you want to go camping, Sophia?"

"Because it'll be fun." I weakly smile.

"Whatever." He shrugs.

Theo grabs the metal piping and begins to construct the frame. I help him slide the canvas material of the tent onto the poles before grabbing a metal hook to put the tent in place on the ground. Once it's done, Theo takes a step back and smiles.

"Now you just need to spend the week out here." He smiles with delight.

"Gee, thanks." I pout.

"Come on, Leighton, we've got video games to play." The two disappear inside while I'm left to wrestle the blow-up mattress. Since the pump isn't working, I sit inside the tent and blow air into it. I'm surprised that it actually works . . . soon enough, the air begins to fill the inflatable bed.

I place the bed on the ground and then go inside to fetch some sheets and blankets. I set the bed up and then lay down. This is almost the perfect place to escape Theo. I can enjoy the warm sun and read in peace.

* * * * *

After dinner, I happily return to my tent. I slide under the covers and settle down for sleep. While the bed feels like I'm floating in the air, it's hard to get comfortable. I wiggle, turn, and then finally, I grab my phone and start playing a game.

When one in the morning passes, I put the phone down and try to sleep. Rolling onto my side, I rest my head against the pillow. I start counting sheep until I feel something crawling up my arm. I look down to see a big black spider the size of the planet.

I freak the fuck out.

Throwing my arm into the air, I jump out of bed and scream. I race out of the tent and shake my body. As I turn around, I see the light in the house turn on as Leighton comes running towards me. He rips open the slighting door and then looks at me.

"What's wrong? I heard you screaming."

"There's a huge spider in my tent," I explain.

"Let me have a look." Leighton climbs into the tent and looks around. When he can't see anything, he steps outside and shrugs his shoulders.

"I swear, it was crawling up my arm."

"It's gone now. Maybe you should go back to bed?" he offers.

"No way." I shake my head. "Fuck the list and fuck sleeping in a tent with a spider."

"I'll stay with you until you fall asleep?" he offers. "Theo is snoring his head off anyways."

"You will?" I smile.

"Don't make me regret it."

Leighton and I climb into bed and I snuggle under the covers. Leighton looks unamused, but he lays down and wraps the blanket around his body.

"Are you scared of spiders?" I ask.

"Only when they're alive." His comment makes me laugh.

"Typical."

"Can I ask you something?"

"Sure, what's up?" I smile.

My eyes dart around the tent, but as I look over the little black spots that could be the spider, I'm disappointed when I find out it's a shadow. I'd rather see it again so that I can squish it opposed to never seeing it again and living in fear.

"Who's Johnny?" he asks.

"Oh." I frown. I hate that freaking name.

"Sorry," Leighton awkwardly replies.

The sound of his name tugs on my heartstrings. I hate thinking about him and I also hate talking about him. Old memories and feelings always seem to stir up and I hate dealing with them. It should be water under the bridge but it isn't. I've never been able to move on from what he did.

"The man who broke my heart," I say.

"Sounds like an asshole to me. What are you going to do, ideas?"

"Not sure about that one." I frown.

Since the moment I'd found out, many things crossed my mind. Punching, kicking, tearing off his balls . . . Although those ideas seemed satisfying at the time, it wasn't something I could do. I couldn't bring myself to punching him, I could only cry myself into a puddle of tears. Not anymore, though, not with this list.

"What's something he loves?"

"His car."

"How about you mess with it?"

"Hm, that's a good idea, Leighton." I nod my head.

"You're welcome," he replies, a smile forming on his thin lips.

"We should get some sleep," I explain.

"I'm going as soon as you fall asleep," he explains.

"No." I shake my head.

Before Leighton can object, I wrap my arms around his arm and cuddle into his side. The idea of camping was a complete joke but I'm beginning to like how tonight has turned out, even if that means sacrificing Leighton to the spider god. I'm very prepared to do that.

What's something that terrifies you?