"Can't you see kids, it's the beauty of nature on your face, the kind of beauty that brings people together." Mr. Stan says as the class climbs down from the bus.
"Why didn't you bring your ex-wife here Mr Stan, it would've kept y'all together." one of the boys calls out while stepping off.
"If you don't wanna go missing in these woods Jason, I suggest you stop talking." Mr. Stan replies. The whole class bursts out laughing.
"Woah, look at all the trees, they're so full of life, and the flowers too." Stella says, already snapping pictures with her Polaroid camera.
"Ooh Stella, take a picture of me and Michael." Fleure says.
"Do I really have to." Michael answers, sounding completely uninterested.
"Yes, now pose." Fleure tells him. Stella raises the camera and takes the shot.
"Still can't believe out of all the places to spend a trip, they took us to the woods." Pierre says as Michael walks over to him.
"Tell me about it, and we have to spend a whole week here too." Michael replies. Stella and Fleure join them a second later.
"Do you guys think there are bears or snakes here." Fleure asks, raising her hands like claws and imitating a bear.
"I don't think the school will pick out a place with dangerous wildlife." Stella says, her camera hanging from her neck.
"You'll be surprised what this school can do to save profit." Michael answers. Both Stella and Fleure suddenly look a little worried.
"Ok everyone, gather round, so I can brief you on the rules of this trip." Mr. Stan calls out. The class moves over to him.
"First off, as you all can see, this area has a lot of free ground, so make sure to set your tents close to each other."
"Secondly, do not stray too far from the campsite. Any exploration should be done with someone next to you. Do not wander off alone."
"Thirdly, we have activities planned for the whole week, and don't think of skipping them, cause they give extra merit to your grades."
"Ok, that's all. Y'all can go explore for a bit, but make sure to be back before eight o'clock." Mr. Stan finishes, as everyone starts spreading out.
"Hey Stella, come help us do our tents. Michael and Pierre over here are useless." Fleure calls.
"Hey!!" Michael and Pierre shout at the same time.
"Oh ok." Stella answers. Just as she starts walking over, she hears voices murmuring behind her.
"I can't stand this whore."
"Wish she would just kill herself."
"Uh." Stella lets out a small sound. Her grip on her bags loosens and everything drops to the ground. Tears already forming, she turns and runs straight into the woods.
"Stella!! What's wrong." Fleure shouts and takes off after her.
"Pierre, keep trying to set up the tent. I need to figure out what's going on, and also cover for us, thanks." Michael says, already running after them.
"Ok." Pierre answers, watching his entire friend group disappear into the trees.
"Shit!! Somebody must have said something to Stella. Damn it, why do they have to be such assholes." Michael thinks as he runs.
He catches up to Fleure a short distance into the woods.
"Michael, I can't see her, I can't see her." Fleure says, tears starting to well up in her eyes.
"Calm down. Have you tried using your abilities to check better." Michael tells her.
"If I use it now, everyone is going to find out." Fleure answers, still crying.
"Then we'll do it in the night. For now let's head back." Michael says, gently holding her by the waist.
"Why do they berate her Michael? What did she do? What did Stella do for them to hate her so much." Fleure asks, tears still falling.
"She killed a guy." Michael says in a serious voice.
"Huh? W- What do you mean!!" Fleure asks, shocked.
"The story goes like this from what I heard. Stella and a boy from our class named David were texting each other back and forth over the last summer break. David was trying to pursue a relationship, but Stella found it hard to believe that the most popular boy in school wanted anything to do with her."
"But after a while she began to loosen up and eventually he persuaded her enough into sending explicit photos. After that things went normal, until the day David visited her when she was alone at home. He tried having sex with her, but when she disagreed he tried threatening her with her photos, and allegedly tried to force himself on her."
"That's when she grabbed a scissors from the corner of her bed and stabbed him to death." Michael finishes.
Fleure stays silent for a moment, then says, "So what's the big deal about it? It was self defense, wasn't it."
"That's the reason I said 'allegedly'. People don't believe he tried forcing himself on her. They believe she just killed him to stop her photos from getting out." Michael explains.
"What the fuck!! Why?!" Fleure asks, angry now.
"They don't believe her cause they couldn't find his phone after the incident. No trace of it." Michael answers.
"That doesn't prove anything. It doesn't. They're all just being assholes." Fleure says, still furious.
"She's right, but still it's suspicious enough, so I can see why our classmates would be hostile." Michael thinks to himself.
"It's ok, you don't have to hold me anymore." Fleure says. Michael lets go of her waist.
They walk back to the campsite. Pierre looks up as they approach.
"Where's Stella?" he asks.
"She's missing." Michael answers.
"What!! We need to tell Mr Stan." Pierre says.
"No, we don't, cause I'm going to find her, so please keep out of this." Fleure says firmly and walks away.
Nearby, Cleo stands with her group. One of the girls runs up to them.
"Did y'all hear."
"What?" Cleo asks.
"Stella is missing." the girl says.
"For real? Serves her right." Cleo replies.
"But doesn't that stop our plans." another girl asks.
"She'll come back from whatever hole she's hiding in, and when she does we'll put our plans into action. Just exercise patience my girls." Cleo says with a smirk.
---
The scene cuts to a group of five girls in full climbing gear hiking deeper into the woods.
"Woah, this is a long walk." one of the girls at the back says.
"Yeah. You sure we got the right coordinates?" another asks the girl leading the group.
"Yeah I'm sure." the girl in front answers, turning her head, as we see that it's Gwen.