Keller sounded way too chipper. Like he was getting ready to start an experiment. Which he kind of was. “All right, you’ll have to pick someone in your group to be in charge of the map and GPS. The rest of you divide up your gear, pack it up, and get ready to move out.”
Kids in the other groups started moving on either side of us, and someone laughed—probably thinking this was fun. In our group, we just stood there looking at one another, wondering who was going to start.
“Well?” I said to Charles, “aren’t you going to demand to be in charge of the GPS since you think you’re the only one who could possibly be smart enough to use it right?”
“What makes you think I’d do that?” he said. “It’s not like we can get lost—the instructors will be monitoring us the entire time. They’ve given us a path to follow. There are no real stakes here, so I don’t care what we do.”
“I’d rather we didn’t embarrass ourselves,” Tenzig said.
Charles donned a thin, sly smile. “And there’s the part of the exercise they didn’t tell us about.”
I huffed in frustration. Couldn’t he get through anything without being all smug?
“Would anyone mind if I took charge?” Ethan said, and I had to admire him for stepping up.
“I probably have a lot more navigation experience than you,” Tenzig said, reaching into the pile for the handheld GPS unit. “Why don’t I take it?”
“Fine,” Ethan said. But I thought I’d rather have Ethan telling us where to go than Tenzig. I’d just have to keep in mind what Charles said: none of this really mattered, did it?
I dived into the gear and started sorting it into reasonable-size batches to go into the packs. If we each took one heavy thing—tent, stove, water—and one light thing—food, stove fuel, ropes—we should do all right.
“What do you think you’re doing?” Tenzig demanded, watching me.
“I’m packing. What does it look like I’m doing?”
“You’re doing it wrong is what you’re doing.”
“No, I’m not.” I’d done overnight expeditions on Mars, I knew how to pack.
“We’re not going to be able to carry it all,” he said.
“Yes, we are, if we take it easy.”
“I’m not letting the rest of you slow me down—”
“Look, you’re in charge of the GPS, why don’t you let the rest of us handle the packing?” I said, staring up at him.
“Everything all right here?” Keller asked. His smile never wavered.
“Fine,” we all muttered at him.
He helped us secure the gear in the packs and showed us how the packs were supposed to fit, which helped a lot. The packs had frames that balanced the weight, so we’d be able to carry more than we thought we could, even with Earth gravity. He
explained the directions, pointing out the start of the six-kilometer-long trail we were meant to follow. Many trails branched out from here, I saw, meaning none of us could really get lost. Our campsite would be at the end of the trail. We’d spend the night there, pack up in the morning, and be back by lunch. And probably be ready to murder somebody.
The other groups started out before we did, but that was okay. Charles may have been right, this might have been a competition, but I was betting the winners wouldn’t be judged by how fast they did things. I wanted to get this right.
Somehow, the seven of us hauled our packs onto our backs, stashed individual water canteens where we could reach them, and prepared to set off into the wilderness.
“Aren’t there animals out here that can kill us?” Ladhi said to Keller as he was waving us off. “Like bears and dogs and stuff?”
“They won’t bother you here,” he answered. “Trust me!”
We started walking, reached the trail, and within minutes we could no longer see the meadow behind us, or hear anything but birds and our own breathing.
“He was supposed to say no,” Ladhi said, frowning.
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