Chapter 9 - Trust Me

"PSST. YO. DUDE. Finn, my guy. I know I'm lacking sleep plus some brain cells, and that the drinks were heavy last night, but...am I seeing things or is that Cora-bean?" I heard Renzo whisper super-loudly out of the corner of his mouth.

I hid a smile as I moved away from the ticket booth. I caught the eye of the trek host and instructor, a friendly woman named Yumi Kai, mouthing thank you to her, and she shot me a thumbs up, beaming.

"Carol?" Finn's eyes widened when he caught sight of me, and his lips parted in surprise.

I bit my lip, holding in a grin at seeing his shocked expression. "It's Cora," I chastised instead.

He ignored that and let out a disbelieving laugh. "What are you doing here?"

I coughed. "Um, I wanted to do this trek thing too. Anaril, was it? I know it's so last minute but...I don't know, I thought it'd be cool."

Finn's shock vanished and he shot me a huge grin. "Well, well, well. Look who decided to embrace spontaneity. By the way," he asked innocently. "Did you bring your inhaler for your allergy to the concept of last minute plans?"

I rolled my eyes. "Very funny. I am still allergic to last minute things, but I've brought my EpiPen for it," I said sweetly. "And, Not-Neel, I'll have you know, I'm totally― "

"Perfectly―"

"―absolutely―"

"Positively―"

"―tremendously capable of being spontaneous. I even packed without a checklist."

In the background, Renzo grumbled, "Wow, look at the two of you morning birds. Can we please take a minute of silence to acknowledge that it's three in the morning? By the way, Cora-bean, do you have any snacks on you?"

"Front pocket, smallest," I told him, giving him my bag. His eyes widened and he took it hastily, sighing, "And this is why I love you. Jolene's inside the train already, finding our spot, and she took the food with her. Selfish little toad."

I chuckled at Renzo's ranting, and Finn shook his head, amused, before he turned to me again. "So you've actually packed quite thoroughly," he said, gesturing to where Renzo was ripping into a double chocolate and banana granola bar. "And that too without a checklist. Who are you and what have you done with my Almond Baba?" He looked me up and down in a totally normal, funny, and casual way, but my totally abnormal and over-dramatic face still heated up.

I needed to stop. Like, yesterday.

"I know it's totally shocking, Not-Neel," I'd managed to reply (even though I wanted to cartwheel to the nearest ice cream vendor so I could cool down my face via ice-cream-facial method), "but desperate times call for desperate measures. I'm not completely hopeless, you know."

"Impressive," he said, the corner of his mouth quirking up. "So you did accept my invitation to run away with me to a foreign land at four-thirty in the morning, after all, huh?"

I shoved at his arm (and much to my chagrin it was a futile attempt, may I add), to which he just laughed. "I thought about it," I said sarcastically, "but I couldn't let you have all the fun, could I?"

"Ah, so you're here to keep me in check. Got it." He raised his eyebrows questioningly, and I smiled back sarcastically, giving him jazz hands. He rolled his eyes, biting his lip like he was trying not to grin.

"Seriously, though, Cora," Finn added, looking sincere. "I'm proud of you, really―"

"Aww."

"And just to make sure..."

"Yeah?" I smiled. Maybe this guy could be nice sometimes―

"Are you sure you're mentally prepared for no itinerary?"

Of course.

Just, of course this guy couldn't be serious. I glared at him as he bit back a smile. And to think I'd actually went like 'Aww'.

"Barely," I sighed.

"That's the spirit," he grinned. "But who knows. You might actually enjoy it."

"Let's not get carried away, Finn. I... Like, let's see if I can survive this train ride without a whole fricking meltdown or anything."

"Deal. And if you need a checklist for that, just let me know. Miss A.B., I'm here to support your journey into the unknown," he uttered solemnly.

I was starting to laugh when, suddenly, out of one of the old train's windows, Jolene's face popped through. I almost choked on my spit.

"Guys, I've found our spot― Holy fudge- Cora?"

I waved, smiling weakly.

"Are you coming with us?" Jolene squealed. She didn't wait for me to answer. "Girl, I knew you were secretly an Indiana Jones, a Jack Sparrow, a Katniss Everdeen―"

"Yeah, I volunteer as tribute to camp with bears and sleep with Bigfoot," I blurted.

Jolene grinned and Finn choked on the water he had been drinking as I felt his wide-eyed stare drill a hole into the side of my head.

"Cora, this is why I love you," Renzo sighed happily, before catching the eye of our instructor Yumi and straightening up. I grinned.

"Show me your ticket, Cora," Jolene said, reaching for it through the horizontal thin metal bars of the window.

I passed it to her, and she quickly scanned it, eyes flying over the tiny lettering. "Yes," she smiled, breathing in relief. "You're sitting with us. Though I'm pretty sure we could ask someone to switch if we'd had to."

I grinned back at her, glad that I wouldn't have to sit beside a random stranger named Bob or something. Suddenly, a loud horn sounded. A voice came over the speakers. "Passengers of train A145 please start boarding. That is, passengers of train A145, please start boarding."

I startled a bit at the sudden noise, to which I caught Finn hiding a laugh. I just sighed.

Renzo stepped onto the train, and I picked up my bags, ready to follow, when I stopped, hesitating.

Wait.

Finn, who was ahead of me, turned back around when he realized I was still where we had been. "Cora," he said confusedly, walking back, "Is everything okay? You look like someone just told you Santa isn't real."

"Finn," I said slowly, "I've never been to something like this before. And this choo-choo train looks pretty old, to be honest. Also...I didn't tell Aunt Cheryl that I was leaving."

"Don't worry, it'll be― wait, hold on, what? You didn't tell Cheryl...Why? She's going to be worried, isn't she?" Finn asked, looking perplexed. He started to pull out his phone. "Do you want to call her right now or something, let her know?"

"No, no." I put a hand on his arm and he stopped pulling his phone out. "I wrote a text message out and set it so that it would get sent at eight thirty or something," I told him.

"And she says she didn't plan anything in this," he muttered, and I rolled my eyes, elbowing his arm lightly.

But then when I still didn't move toward the train and the horn sounded yet again, Finn looked at me like I had two heads. "Are you constructing a checklist in your head right now? Is this the time for mental math, Carol?"

I shook my head slowly. "It's just...everything is just hitting me right now. I woke up at 1-freaking-a.m. to cartwheel over to the train station―"

"Cartwheel ?"

"―without even telling my aunt, to go on a trip to foreign town so I can camp with bears and sleep with Bigfoot, and- and..."

"And?"

My head was starting to spin. "Do you think my bug spray will be able to ward off rabid raccoons?"

Finn let out a breath, looking amused. "Cora. Listen to me."

"I am."

"No, you're not."

I realized that my mind was elsewhere, thinking a hundred other things, as soon as he called me out for it. I sucked in a breath. "Sorry. Okay, I'm listening."

"You've set a text to inform Cheryl. You've bought your ticket, and you're stuck with us. Yumi is happy to have you in her group. You've done more than enough for this trip. You wanted to see Anaril, Cora, so stand by your decision."

I nodded.

"It's okay," he said, his dark eyes finding mine and holding them. "Everything is okay. It'll be fun. Trust me." There was the contagious excitement in his eyes again, and the way he said the words was almost conspiratorial, like we were sharing a secret.

He grabbed my bags in one hand, and then held his other one out to me. "Let's go?"

"Yeah." I took his hand and gave him a tentative smile. Just then, the horn sounded for the third time, and we saw Yumi waving at us.

"Come on, let's go, guys!" she called to us. "We're about to leave!"

Finn and I hurried to board the train, and once we were inside, the old train slowly started to move. Another horn, the final one, sounded over the speakers as we found our seat.

Well, here I come, Anaril. I hoped Aunt Cheryl wouldn't be too mad.

The train rattled along the tracks, the scenery of lush forests and rolling hills blurring by outside the window. I was sitting by the window, engrossed in a pamphlet about trekking trails in Anaril that Yumi had given us. In the seat across from me, Jolene and Renzo were playing a game of cards. Finn was sitting in the seat beside me, doing...well, being himself.

He nudged me. "Hey, Carol, did you know Anaril has a legend about a hidden treasure?"

I didn't look up. "Finn, I'm trying to read."

"Oh, come on, this is interesting. They say only the most adventurous souls can find it, I bet we could―"

I sighed. "You realize 'they' are usually just local tour guides trying to attract tourists, right?"

Finn leaned closer, and then said conspiratorially, "Or maybe...it's true. And we could be the ones to find it. Imagine us as legendary treasure hunters!"

I rolled my eyes, but couldn't stop the small smile tugging at my lips. "You watch too many movies, Finn."

He just grinned. "Maybe. But movies are inspired by real life, right? Anyway, what are you reading? Anything 'bout hidden treasure?"

"Uh, no. It's about the best trekking routes. You might find it boring."

He mock-gasped. "Boring? How dare you? I find all your interests utterly fascinating, Miss A.B." He reached over and gently tugged at the pamphlet, pulling it out of my hands.

I tried to maintain a serious face, but I was failing miserably. "Give it back, Finn. I need to know these routes so we don't get lost."

"That's what Yumi is for, though. I'd follow Yumi anywhere," Renzo piped up, looking dreamy.

I chuckled, and Jolene and Finn gave each other knowing looks. "Play your card, Romeo," Jolene grinned, and Renzo snapped out of his thoughts, a cheesy grin on his face.

"You don't have to worry about getting lost, Cora. I have an impeccable sense of direction," Finn told me, and Jolene snorted, looking up from her cards.

"Yeah, sure, Finn. Like the time we ended up at a random shoe store instead of the beach downtown?"

Finn groaned in embarrassment, covering his face with a hand, and I laughed. "Exactly," I said with a small shrug. "So there's nothing wrong with being prepared for this foreign town."

Finn leaned back with a dramatic sigh. "Alright, fine. But if we stumble upon any hidden treasures, I expect you to split it 50-50." He very slowly handed the pamphlet back to me.

"How about 70-30," I suggested as I took it  back from him, "in my favour, for all the planning?"

"Deal. As long as I get the 70. In my favour, like you said, yeah?"

Jolene and Renzo laughed, and I grinned despite myself, gently hitting his arm with the pamphlet. "You're ridiculous, you know that?"

"Ridiculously charming, you mean?"

"Nah, just ridiculous."

He held a hand to his heart, pretending to be wounded. "Ouch, Cora, you're breaking my heart here."

"You'll survive."

"Only because you're here to keep me in line," Finn said innocently.

"...That's debatable."

"Okay," he said, turning to face me fully. "How about this? A challenge." He looked me eye-to-eye and raised his eyebrows. "I heard snow owls are rare but famous in Anaril. First one to spot a snow owl there gets to make the other do something embarrassing."

I looked back at him, raising my eyebrows too like we were in a showdown, before his words caught up to my buffering brain. I bit my lip. "And what exactly counts as embarrassing?"

"Oh, you'll see."

I squinted at him. "Alright, you're on."

Finn shot me a grin, a contagious one that lit up his features, his eyes crinkling at the corners, and I couldn't help but feel my own lips curl upward in response.

I was about to turn back to my pamphlet when a thought struck me. "Hey, Finn?"

"Hmm?"

"You know that time when you bumped into me while I was holding the ice cream and it flew everywhere? And a crowd was chasing you? What was that all about?"

He grimaced, features colouring, and gave me a sheepish smile. "Yeah, about that," he coughed. "I, uh, showed up to a vegan conference and starting speaking about the joys of having bacon for breakfast...let's just say that didn't end well."

I shook my head at him in disbelief before I turned back to the pamphlet. "You, my friend, are crazy," I muttered.

"Whatever you say, Almond Baba," he muttered back. Touché. I felt like cartwheeling out of the train, but I settled for glaring at an amused Finn.

A/N: Hesitation is like...standing in front of an ice cream counter knowing you're lactose intolerant. 😶‍🌫️🥹

Our beloved protagonist, Cora, hesitates a lot in this chapter, but hey, who doesn't?