Free Island Rush by Marien Dore Page A

helping me put my shirt back on, he said, “Okay, today we will find a water source. You can walk better at least, right?”
    I walked around the little area and winced.  I nodded nonetheless.  Even though I had the cut, I wasn’t in as much pain.  If you ask me, I figured I would be in even more.  I won’t question it, though.
    We picked up all the clothes and shoved them back into the suitcase before zipping it shut.  “Are you ready? It will probably be a long day of walking.”
    “Yeah. We need water so I can handle this cut.” I nodded.
    We started going the same way we did before.  And I swear, not ten minutes later, Mr. Rush suddenly stopped and turned his head to his left. I stopped and looked at him. “Why’d you stop?” I asked.
    He only squinted, straining forward and walking to the left now. That’s when I noticed it.  Red and black dots wrapped around a few bushes in front of us. Berries. Red and black berries.
    We were both hesitant to feed our hungry selves. He stepped closer, examining them and whether they were safe or not.  Then, he looked down at me and shrugged. It actually made me snort and chuckle.  “You don’t know? You’re the teacher,” I teased.
    “English. You wouldn’t know, though, considering your grades and how much attention you dedicated in that class. Or any other class for that matter.”
    I stared at him, raising my eyebrow. “You checked my file? From all my other classes?”
    He stiffened, realizing he had been caught and looked away. “So?”
    I stared at him for a long moment.  “That is my business and not yours.  What kind of teacher are you?”
    “An involved one.  You still need to tell me what else you are hiding from me.”
    I shook my head.  How could he be so nonchalant after I caught him like this?  He was nosy and crossed a line!  One that a teacher should never cross.
    I was angry enough to snap a red berry from the bush.  I opened my mouth and dropped it in, chewed, and swallowed.  I then smirked up at him.  I wasn’t thinking, and it was dumb, but he was getting to me.
    He shook his head and scoffed in annoyance. “Great, we already have your back to take care of.  Now, you prove your grades are sufficient compared to your common sense!”
    “I’m hungry, and you are making me mad.”
    After a while of basically waiting for me to get sick, I smiled. “Oh, would you look at that.  I am not dead. And it was rather good.”
    He just shook his head and started picking the berries with me, angry that I got lucky. And it was luck. I shouldn’t have let him and my stomach get to me. But I did, and I was still alive. If I kept taking those risks while here, sooner or later, I will end up dead.
    We picked all the bushes and ate a few, planning on saving the rest for later.  I suddenly saw that beyond these few bushes were a cluster of more covered with berries. There were so many covered bushes that at the sight, we immediately shoved the remaining berries we planned on saving in our mouths.  We made our way to the dozens of more bushes.
    We ate more until we didn’t feel starving.  Then we put them in the suitcase where there was room.  We continued walking along the bushes until the sight before me changed.  It caused me to freeze and stare. I didn’t take my eyes off of what was in the distance.
    It was a small lake, about the size of a pond.  It was surrounded on one side by a cliff that consisted of huge rocks and moss growing up the sides. At the top, there was a waterfall!  A rush of water spilled over the side and into the little lake. Everywhere else I looked, there were trees spaced out with a lot of grass covering the area.  We stood a ways back on a hill by the bushes, a little higher than where the lake sat.
    I don’t know how long we were taking in the beauty, the colors, and the relief before he laughed. “We just had to stop. A few more minutes of walking, and we would have found this.”
    I felt Mr. Rush