A Dilemma

Lucas stretched his arms above his head, sighing in relief.

'Finally.'

The day had been long — longer than he would've liked.

Between scaling fish, dealing with Maya's sharp tongue, and getting hit over the head more times than he could count, he was exhausted.

But now, at last, they were done.

The teachers called it a day, and everyone started packing up.

The barrels of fish were sealed tight, their supplies were stored, and they had enough food to last them a little while longer.

Lucas wiped his hands on his shorts before turning to Maya, flashing her an easy grin. "Hey, so, now that we're free… wanna play a game or something?"

Maya paused, pushing her glasses up her nose as she gave him a skeptical look.

"A game?" she repeated.

Lucas nodded. "Yeah, you know, something fun. Maybe cards, maybe some stupid beach game, maybe — "

"No," she interrupted.

Lucas blinked. "Wow. Okay, at least pretend to think about it first."

Maya rolled her eyes. "I am thinking about it, and the answer is still no."

She adjusted the bucket she was carrying before adding, "I've got plans with the girls tonight. We're gonna… I dunno, talk about stuff or whatever."

Lucas raised a brow. "'Stuff or whatever'? Wow. That sounds so specific and detailed."

Maya smirked. "Wouldn't want to bore you with the complexities of girl talk, Lucas."

"How tragic," Lucas deadpanned. "Guess I'll just have to find another way to entertain myself."

Maya gave him a two-fingered salute as she turned to leave. "You'll survive. We'll have fun tomorrow."

Lucas watched her walk off, humming to himself.

Well… that wasn't exactly a 'no' forever.

She was clearly warming up to him. A bit. Maybe. Hopefully.

Either way, he'd take what he could get.

With nothing better to do, he turned around and spotted Leo, who was currently cleaning his hands in a bowl of water.

Or at least, what used to be clean water.

Now, it was murky and filled with traces of fish guts, scales, and god-knows-what else.

Lucas grimaced. "Dude. That's disgusting."

Leo barely spared him a glance. "It's fine."

Lucas watched as his friend dunked his hands deeper into the filth. "No, no, that's actually vile. You're basically washing your hands in fish soup."

Leo shrugged. "Better than smelling like raw fish all night."

Lucas made a face. "Debatable."

He grabbed a small towel and tossed it at Leo's head, earning a half-hearted glare. "Use that instead, idiot."

Leo wiped his hands off with a sigh. "Where's Nina?"

Lucas frowned slightly. "Good question."

Now that he thought about it, he hadn't seen Nina in a while. After the whole raft sabotage situation, she had been acting a little weird. Focused.

Too focused.

Lucas rubbed his chin. "You think she's playing detective again?"

Leo snorted. "Wouldn't be the first time."

Nina had a habit of sticking her nose into things that interested her.

And right now, the whole 'someone possibly sabotaged our rafts' thing seemed to have caught her attention.

Lucas exhaled. "Should we go find her?"

Leo shook his head. "Nah, if she's investigating, she'll come to us when she finds something. Besides, it's late. She can handle herself."

Lucas nodded slowly, still thinking but there was something else happening… elsewhere.

#####

The teacher's section of the camp was quiet — far too quiet.

A heavy tension filled the air inside the tent, thick like the humidity pressing down on their backs.

The lantern at the center cast long, flickering shadows against the fabric walls, creating a dim, almost eerie glow.

They had gathered here after the students were dismissed for the night, drawn together by the same question that weighed heavily on their minds.

What had happened to the rafts?

Principal Evangeline Cross leaned forward, her arms crossed beneath her ample chest as she studied the teachers surrounding her.

She was a striking woman, in her mid-thirties, with long dark hair tied in a loose ponytail.

Even now, with exhaustion creeping into her sharp green eyes, she held herself with unwavering authority.

She exhaled slowly. "Let's go over this again," she said, her tone cool and controlled. "The rafts were not just damaged — they were destroyed. Slashed apart. That isn't something that just happens by accident."

"Could've been an animal," the Biology teacher suggested.

He was an older man, in his late forties, with a permanent frown carved into his face. "A boar? A bear, maybe? If something big enough tried to climb onto them, that might explain the damage."

"But there were no tracks," Miss Lane, the Literature teacher, countered. She was a slim woman with a sharp tongue and an even sharper gaze. "If it were an animal, we would've seen footprints. Claw marks leading toward the rafts. Something. But there was nothing."

"Then what about the students?" another teacher chimed in.

A murmur went through the group.

It wasn't something they wanted to consider, but the possibility was there.

What if someone among the students had sabotaged them?

"But why?" Miss Lane pressed. "What would be the point of that? We need those rafts to fish. Without them, we'll have to find another way to get food."

Silence settled over them again.

It was a fair question.

What possible reason would a student have for making things harder for everyone?

"I know what you're thinking," The Nurse finally spoke up. She was a kind woman in her late thirties, her face lined with worry. "But if you're suspecting Brian… don't. He was in our tent all night. I was up late organizing medical supplies, and he never left once."

"Are you sure?" Mr. Carter asked.

She gave him a firm nod. "Positive."

"So that rules him out," Miss Lane said.

"But not the others," the History teacher muttered, rubbing his temples.

He was a tall, broad-shouldered man, always calm under pressure. "I hate to say it, but if it was one of the students, we have no way of knowing who. And even if we did — what then?"

"We question them," Miss Lane said immediately.

"And if they lie?"

The silence was deafening.

"We don't have any solid proof," Principal Cross admitted, her fingers tapping against her elbow. "And we can't just accuse students without it. That'll only make things worse."