As soon as we get our tents and find our tent-mates, we unpack and are assigned the first task for today— photography.

So I take out my camera, check the battery(which is about the twentieth time I've repeated the same procedure), and note with satisfaction that it is full. Jade takes out hers too, and Raquelle buzzes around us both, trying to make us hand our cameras to her so she can try her  hand at photography.

But if Jade is to be believed, Raquelle's so bad at it that not even a single picture she clicks isn't blurred or dull. I laugh along with them while they fight and argue with each other, on petty things, in a friendly way. I must say, I've started enjoying the company of these girls.

So when we step out of our tent at last, and I see Ned standing with a group of boys near our tents, I move over to him, wave to everyone else there, and introduce Jade and Raquelle to Ned. He politely smiles at them, and then fixes his gaze at me, before introducing the other three boys with him, as, Jack, Evan, and Robert. It seems as they know Jade and Raquelle already because they just nod at them while they shake hands with me. I grin and shake hands in return, noticing that Jack and Robert also have cameras with them.

"Robert's my brother, did you know that?" Raquelle chirps in, while Robert looks away, seemingly embarrassed of his over-enthusiastic sibling.

"Umm...is Mr. Craig saying something? I guess we're about to start." Robert says quickly, and before waiting for a reply, he walks away to join some other students standing near Mr. Craig listening to him.

"Whatever happened to him?" Raquelle asks, with wide eyes.

"Oh, nothing. Let's go." Evan says, and we all move toward Mr. Craig.

A few minutes later, we're trudging inside the forest again, but this time there's only Ned with me. I don't know why, but I suddenly feel a bit more self-conscious with him by my side, now, after that conversation with Jade and Raquelle.

He clears his throat, and I take my gaze off the camera screen, looking at him enquiringly.

He smiles sheepishly, and says, "I— I was wondering, how did you get along with your tent-mates? I hope they didn't trouble you or anything?"

Looking at the concern in his eyes, I burst out laughing all of a sudden and say, "I'm fine, thank you. They didn't trouble me at all, in fact, they were so nice with me and we chatted and laughed over things like we were old friends. I like them both."

Relief washes over his face, quite visible, and I grin and say, "Let's start then. We don't have the whole day for photography, right?"

He smiles and nods slightly.

We walk deeper into the forest, fallen, dried-up leaves crunching beneath our feet as we step on them. Suddenly, I hear a melodious sweet chirping sound above our heads and look up into the tree branches over us, in time to see a flash of striking blue, disappear among the light green leaves.

Never leaving my eyes from the spot, I whisper to Ned, "Look, above us. Can you try and spot a blue-coloured bird?"

"I'm trying...was that its call?" He whispers back as the bird chirps again.

"Yes, it was the same."

"Which bird do you think it is?" He asks.

"It might be the indigo bunting or Passerina cyanea, which are summer breeding birds that migrate from Central and South America and the Caribbean in the spring, and nest in Georgia for a while before returning to the south in the fall. If it is, I'm really lucky I got the chance to see it, it's quite rare nowadays." I whisper.

"Whoa! You talk like a pro, really. How do you know all that?" He says loudly. Seeing a sudden movement in the branches above, he drops his voice to a whisper again and continues, "Sorry, I got excited."

"It's okay, the bird isn't frightened easily. As for the question you asked, well, Dad and I used to go bird-watching when I was little, and he taught me a lot of things about the birds in our State." I smile proudly, looking at him for a moment.

"Hold on — look up! The bird's in view now."

Sure enough, the blue bird had now appeared on a branch without many leaves, so without wasting any time, I aimed my camera at it and clicked a couple of pics, then moved slightly to the right, changed the angle and shot two-three more photos. The bird called out then, and again, with my camera ready, I captured a perfect shot of the beautiful creature.

"That's enough I think."

"May I try?"

"Of course! Here." I hand the camera over to Ned, but by the time he focuses the lens on the bird, it flies away, leaving behind a dejected Ned.

"Aww...it's okay. I'm sure many other wonders are waiting for us next. Come on!" I drag him away from the tree.

"Sure." He sighs, with mock sorrow. I roll my eyes and laugh at him.

I'm skipping ahead, while Ned's some way behind me, when suddenly my foot slides down a small dark hole in the ground that I never saw, and gets stuck inside.

"Ouch!" I shriek, as I fall down on my knees and prevent my face from touching the soil by my elbows. My leg, which is inside the hole, twists painfully and I groan. In no time, Ned is by my side, helping me sit properly while trying to get my leg out of the hole.

I feel it getting numb faster each second. I wince in pain and close my eyes as finally Ned pulls my foot from the hole and rubs it. "Thanks, but I can't feel anything." I manage to speak.

"You've got it twisted; it might even be sprained. We need to get back fast."

"No, it's not that bad. I think I — " I protest weakly.

"Can you stand? Try and see." Ned says and supports my arm and waist as I try getting up.

After a bit of a struggle, I manage to stand on my good leg while holding onto Ned's shoulder and give a reassuring smile to him, whose eyes are still filled with worry and concern.

"See? I'm fine now." I speak too soon, because again pain shoots up my leg and I flinch.

"Yeah, right. You're fit for a marathon." He says sarcastically. "Just sit down, will you? You need to rest that leg. I'll go call for someone to help you get back to camp. Or should I stay here with you, if it makes you feel better?"

"No, go right ahead." I answer, closing my eyes for a moment, leaning my head back against a tree trunk.

"Don't move, okay? I'll be back before you know it." He smiles reassuringly and turns to go.

"Like I can, in this state." I reply, rolling my eyes.

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Sorry everyone for the late update! I'll be out of station for the second half of this week, so you won't get an update before next Monday. Sorry! :(

How did you like the bird, by the way? I did some research work for this chapter, hope there's no mistake as such. :)

Also, Thank You @Valli57 for so many votes and comments! I'm so lucky to have you as a reader. ♥ ☺ Total votes till now— 51, total reads— 769!!! Love you all!! ^_^

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