The unknown creature in the bushes made it's way out of the bush........and revealed itself to be Rochelle, who was in fits of laughter. Emma rolled her eyes and Ryan let go of her.
"Oh you should have seen your faces, you looked petrified!" Rochelle managed through giggles. "I told you I'd get you back for tickling me!"
"Not funny Rochelle, it could have been anything, like a lobo or a bear." Ryan argued, frowning at Rochelle.
Well lobo and bears aren't commonly found in Scotland..... Emma thought. till, it might have been something else. She added.
"Hey calm, down it was just a joke." Rochelle told them, after seeing their displeased expressions.
"It may have been funny to you, but it wasn't to us." Emma pointed out. Usually Emma liked jokes, but not when they were at other peoples expense.
"Sorry guys, I was just messing around." She eventually replied.
"It's ok, just don't do it again, you scared Midnight." Emma said, patting the shaken horse, that was beginning to calm down. Rochelle apologised again, and they all began to set off down the trail. Ryan put his flippers around Emma again, Emma couldn't stop a happy shiver go through her entire body. She felt herself smile, and she tried to focus on the trail. Emma watched the sun shining through the trees, which made the whole woods around them sparkle. It was a perfect day. The penguins eventually made it back to the stables and saw that everyone had already got there.
"Now that you three are back, we can start on our susunod activity." The stable owner announced giving the penguins a stern look. Emma muttered something under her breath, and frowned at him. It wasn't her or Ryan's fault that Rochelle spooked Midnight, they shouldn't be getting cheek from the guy, for all he knew, one of the penguins could have got hurt. Emma and Ryan exchanged a look and focused on what the stable owner was saying. "So we're going to try a wee little obstacle course." He began. "It's just a few jumps around." He told them, leading the penguins to another part of the stable. Emma rode Midnight in uncertainly, and stared around at the little course. It had 4 hurdles to jump over.
"Are you up for this?" Emma asked Ryan worriedly, remembering how she had to slow down earlier.
"Yeah, I'll be ok." Ryan replied, flashing a small smile. Emma smiled back, and her attention was caught sa pamamagitan ng the teachers.
"Ok, so Ashley, do you want to go first?" Mr Hague asked.
"Sure!" Ashley replied enthusiastically. He set off at lightening speed, over the first jump. Emma's jaw dropped and she stared at the young penguin. In just under 30 seconds, he finished and went back to the group.
"Woah.....that was incredible Ashley!" Miss Chambers praised, her voice full of amazement.
"Thanks Miss." He replied, grinning at the group. A few of the other kids went, but none of them could tuktok Ashley's time. Kowalski got pretty close with 31 seconds, but Rochelle took 36 seconds. Emma and Ryan were one of the last to go, and Emma took a deep breath as she set off. They were over the first hurdle in no time. Ryan was counting in his head, and so far they were on par with Ash's time. sa pamamagitan ng the segundo hurdle they were only 16 segundos in. Then Ryan began to feel sick. He closed his eyes and tried to force the feeling down.
Not long left. He told himself. He started to fidget, making Emma turn around for a second.
"Are you ok?" She asked, worry in her eyes. Ryan nodded and she turned back. She didn't believe him for a segundo but they were almost done anyway. Midnight leaped over the last hurdle and trotted over to the group. Emma got off Midnight and helped Ryan off, who was looking a bit better now that he was off the horse.
"What was our time?" Ryan asked, looking at the teachers curiously. Dom stared at the stopwatch.
"You've tied with Ashley." He told them. Emma grinned and looked over at Ashley, who was smiling at them. Ashley wasn't the type who would care about who won anyway. They did a lot of other activities and even had a free oras of doing what they wanted, before the araw drew to a close and they headed back to the campsite. Emma called a goodbye to her mga kaibigan and climbed in the tent. Even after all they did today, she didn't feel tired.
"Are you tired Ryan?" She asked, wondering what to do.
"Nope." He answered, sitting on his sleeping bag.
"Me neither." Emma replied. A thought struck her and she got her kulay-rosas Nintendo Ds out. She wished it was blue instead, but she couldn't change it.
"Aw you've got your Ds with you, same here!" Ryan told her, taking a green Nintendo Ds out of his bag.
"Awesome!" Emma exclaimed, looking happy. "What games have you got with you?"
"Just Mario and Sonic at the Olympic games." He said, grinning a little.
"I've got that one too." Emma remarked, pointing to the case in her bag. She beamed at him, and tried not to blush. "Do you want a multi-player game?" She challenged.
"Sure." Ryan replied, his grin getting wider. He put the game in, and the two Ds's connected. "Which game do you wanna play first?" He asked.
"Hmm, Dream Basketball." She decided, clicking on it. That was her favourite, and she was best at that one. She tried to hide a grin. As they began to shoot the balls into the hoops, Emma got a special one, which made it harder for Ryan.
"Did you just do that?" He asked, struggling to aim the balls at the hoop. Emma giggled in response and threw a similar special ball in, taking away one of his hoops. The game finished with Emma: 110, Ryan: 67. Emma was still grinning mischievously, as Ryan looked at her in shock. "H... how..?" He managed, a hint of shock in his voice.
"I've had tons of practice on that one." She replied, blushing a little.
"Hmm, well I'm thinking of doing Dream Canoeing next." He thought aloud, smiling cheekily. That one was Ryan's strong spot on the game and happened to be Emma's weak spot. Emma tapped her flipper uncertainly, and nodded. Just before they started it up, Emma got a few little bags of gummy bears out of her bag, and threw half of them to Ryan. "Thanks Em, are you sure you're ok with letting me have all of these?" He asked.
"Sure, you are my roommate, or tentmate anyway, it wouldn't be right if I didn't share." She told him, smiling at the taller penguin. "Anyway, you're my mate and you're awesome." She added, blushing at her words. Ryan smiled his really sweet smile and Emma blushed even more. She mentally slapped herself, and focused on the game. As it started, Emma had trouble starting, as she always did. She hated the canoeing, it was too confusing.
"Hey, we're doing Canoeing tomorrow aren't we?" Ryan asked.
"Yup." Emma replied cheerfully. She looked at the little points board on the side of the screen and saw that Ryan was in the lead. Point were gained sa pamamagitan ng collecting coins in the water, and Nawawala if other players threw bombs at you. The game wasn't called 'Dream' Canoeing for nothing. As the timer ran out, Emma came last, and Ryan came first. He grinned as he caught Emma's eye. She couldn't help but grin back. They carried on playing the little games, and made a contest. Whoever won the most amount of games sa pamamagitan ng 12am would be the winner, and they would get the last pack of gummy bears. It was pretty even, and sa pamamagitan ng 11:55 they both had 16 wins each.
"Looks like this will be the decider." Ryan remarked, his eyes lighting up with anticipation. They randomized the last game, which turned out to be 200 meters. As it began, Emma was in the lead. The Ryan started to catch up, and Emma made her little person run even faster. Her flipper began to ache and a few segundos later Ryan overtook her and raced across the finish line. "Woohoo!" He cheered.
"Bugger." Emma remarked. "Well you won fair and square, here ya go." She said, handing him the bag of bears. Ryan opened it and he looked thoughtful.
"Lets share it." He decided, holding out the bag to Emma. Her blushing intensified and the mga paru-paro in her stomach spread to the rest of her body. She took out a purple gummy madala and ate it quickly.
"Thanks." She replied, smiling shyly at him.
"Anytime Em." He told her cheerfully. The two penguins sat up, eating the gummy bears, before getting into their sleeping bags.
"Goodnight Ryan." Emma called, snuggling down into the pillow, and facing him.
"Good night Emma." He called back, closing his eyes. Emma watched him for a minute, before closing her eyes and falling asleep.
The susunod day, the penguins got up about 1pm and headed down to the lake. The araw was a little chillier than the others, and some of the penguins were even shivering. Emma wasn't affected sa pamamagitan ng it, she didn't get cold easily. Her eyes fell on the lake and she smiled. The vast expanse of shimmering blue water went nearly as far as the eye could see. She spotted a waterfall at one end, and she stared at it in awe. She had never seen one in real life before. She felt someone poke her and she turned to her left.
"There's the boats." Kowalski told her, pointing towards a little wooden dock about 20 meters away from them. Little canoes were dotted around that area, all tied to the dock.
"Ok, so does anyone know how to row a canoe?" Miss Chambers asked. All of the kids put their flippers up, except for Rochelle.
"Well there's only enough boats for everyone to go in twos or threes, so you should be ok Rochelle." Dom told her. She nodded in response, and went over to Ashley.
"Ashley, can I be with you?" She asked.
"Sure lass." Ashley replied cheerfully. Whilst they were all discussing the groups, Kowalski asked if he could be in Emma and Ryan's group, so they let him. All of the penguins went down to the canoes and Emma's group got a big one. The three penguins hopped in and they deiced that Kowalski could row it. As they set off, Emma stared into the sky. The sun was shining brightly, and fluffy white clouds dotted the sky. Emma noticed one in the shape of a gummy bear, and she pointed it out to Ryan, who smiled when he saw it.
"I wonder what ulap gummy bears would taste like?" Emma giggled.
"Maybe of candyfloss?" Ryan suggested, giggling too. They rowed over to Ashley and Rochelle, and saw that Rochelle was skimming stones on the water.
"Having fun you two?" Kowalski asked.
"Yup." Rochelle replied, skimming another stone. She began to smile, and she looked up at the three penguins. "Hey, do you want a race?" She asked, a challenging look on her face. Kowalski looked back at Ryan and Emma, who nodded.
"You're on. First one to the other side of the lake is the winner." Kowalski told her, beginning to smile. The two boats rowed off, and Ashley's team quickly gained the lead. Kowalski's team sped up, trying to keep up with their opponent.
"Technically this isn't fair, they've got less people in their boat, so that's less weight on board." Emma pointed out. She looked thoughtful, and jumped out of the boat, and swam along beside it. Their bangka sped up even more, and they started to catch up with Ashley and Rochelle. Rochelle told Ashley this, who then went even faster.
Aw, they're gonna win. Emma thought in dismay. She looked at the bangka beside her, and a smile tugged at her face. She went underwater, grabbed onto the bangka and started to swim as fast as she could. Their bangka went even faster, and started to overtake Ashley's boat. Ashley and Rochelle exchanged surprised looks, as the other kanue zoomed past them. Ryan grinned mischievously at them, before turning around to look for Emma. The smile slipped from his face when he couldn't see her.
"Em?" He called out, as they reached the other side of the lake, and stopped. Emma popped her head out of the water, and grinned at the two penguins.
"Were you making the bangka go faster sa pamamagitan ng any chance?" Kowalski asked, smirking a little.
"Yup, but don't tell them, they'll be annoyed that we kinda cheated." Emma replied, climbing back in the boat, just before Ashley and Rochelle's bangka caught up to them.
"How on earth did you win, we had a massive lead on you?" Rochelle asked in bewilderment. The three penguins shrugged in response, and Rochelle mumbled something under her breath. Emma couldn't help but grin. Emma watched the waterfall in the distance, and she longed to explore it. Kowalski noticed this, and he turned to the shorter penguin.
"Won't it be better to explore tomorrow, when we're swimming? We might crash into the waterfall with the boat." He pointed out.
"Good point." Emma sighed, staring at it wistfully. She turned back to her friends, and wondered what to do next.
"Should we just have a calm row around?" Ashley suggested, touching the water curiously.
"Sure.. wait, Emma, why are you wet?" Rochelle asked suspiciously.
"Because I jumped into the water, so the weight was madami even in both boats, so it was a fairer race." Emma replied casually.
"Oh ok." Rochelle commented, still feeling slightly suspicious. The penguins started rowing around the lake, and splashing each others boats. Emma made a massive splash, which soaked both Ashley and Rochelle.
"Oh your paying for that lass." Ashley sinabi through giggles, splashing her back.
"So much for a 'calm row around' eh?" Ryan remarked, his cheeky smile filling his face.
"Hehe I know right?" Emma replied, splashing Rochelle again. They ended up doing this for most of the day, before the teachers called them in again. Emma shook her feathers as they hopped out of the boat, drying them a bit.
"Ok, so we're going to have another campfire today, then you guys can head to bed." Mr Hague told the penguins. The kids nodded in response, and headed back to the campsite. Miss Chambers and Dom were already there, lighting the fire. It started to crackle, and Emma smiled. For some reason, she loved the smell of burning wood, and she started to feel warmer as the rest of her feathers dried. Dom handed out marshmallows and sticks, just like last time, and Ashley looked at Emma.
"There's not going to be anymore ghost stories is there?" He asked hopefully.
"I'm not sure Ash." Emma admitted. Fortunately for the little penguin, they just chatted, roasted marshmallows, and told other stories. Then they all headed back to their tents. Emma climbed into her sleeping bag, and the warmth of the apoy began to wear off. The wind howled through the trees outside, and she started to shiver. Her eyes fell on Ryan, who was shivering a little too. She curled up in her sleeping bag, and held onto Lulu.
"Are you cold Em?" Ryan asked, trying not to shiver.
"Yup." Emma replied, tightening her sleeping bag, and wrapping her flippers around herself.
"Well I've got an idea about how to keep warm..." Ryan began uncertainly.
"What is it?" Emma asked, looking interested.
"Urm, it's a bit weird, so don't be weirded out, but I've heard that one of the best ways to keep warm is.. well hugging." He told her, sounding a little shy.
"Oh, so you were thinking that...." Emma managed, feeling herself blush.
"That we should hug to keep warm." Ryan finished, blushing too. Emma had sinabi yes about a million times in her head already, but she tried to look like she was thinking it over.
"Ok." Emma replied, feeling strangely awkward. Ryan unzipped his sleeping bag, and gestured for Emma to come over. She slipped out of her sleeping bag, and climbed into his shyly. She moved her phone out of the way, which for some reason, was in the middle of the tent.
Thank goodness for feathers. Emma thought, as she felt her skin go even redder. Ryan wrapped his flippers around Emma shyly, and Emma snuggled up to him. She began to feel instantly warmer, and her whole body relaxed. She rested her head on his chest, and closed her eyes.
"Hey, Em, should we listen to music, it might keep our minds off the cold." Ryan suggested, trying not to stammer. Emma nodded and picked up her phone, and headphones.
"Urm, well the susunod song in the listahan is sa pamamagitan ng Westlife, do you want me to skip it? I know you're not really a tagahanga of them." Emma remarked, putting a headphone in her earhole, and passing the other to Ryan.
"Well I only pretend not to like their music at school, because my mates will tease me." He admitted.
"Really?" Emma asked, looking surprised. Ryan nodded in response. "Well ok then." She said, and played the song. She looked at the pamagat and saw it was Written in The Stars. She closed her eyes and tried not to smile as the song started.
Stay with me, don't fall asleep too soon, the mga kerubin can wait for a moment. Come real close, forget the world outside, tonight we're alone, it's finally you and I. It wasn't meant to feel like this. Not without you. Cos when I look at my life, how the pieces fall into place, it just wouldn't rhyme without you. When I see how my paths, seem to end up before your face. The state of my heart, the place where we are, was written in the stars.
Emma had never felt so content in her entire life, she felt happy, calm, safe, and this just felt... right. She whispered a goodnight to Ryan before closing her eyes. She couldn't help but notice that his feathers were really warm and soft. As she listened to his heartbeat, she started to drift off. The something stopped her. She kept her eyes closed, and realised that Ryan was stroking her hair. She tried not to smile, and pretended to be asleep. A happy shiver went all the way from her hair, down to her toes, and she decided to be a little daring. Emma snuggled even closer to Ryan, and ran her flipper through his chest feathers. Luckily, he still thought she was sleeping, but Emma noticed his heartbeat had sped up a bit. A smile tugged at her face, then she began to fall asleep for real. She then drifted off. Ryan was still stroking her hair lovingly, and he smiled down at the smaller penguin. He nuzzled her beak softly with his own, kissed her forehead gently, then fell into a blissful sleep.
The susunod day, Emma's eyes fluttered open and she looked around the tent. She blushed when she remembered last night, and she looked up at Ryan, who was still asleep. She smiled at him, and ran her flipper through his hair slowly, before closing her eyes again.
A few hours later, they woke up, and got ready for swimming. As Emma and Ryan got out of the tent, they saw that Ashley and Kowalski were already awake, sitting on the grass, near the cabin. They walked over to them, and sat beside them.
"Hey you two." Ashley greeted, beaming at them.
"Hey Ash, uy Kowalski." Emma replied, smiling back at them. She realised that her flippers were still tingling from last night. Her eyes fell on Ryan who was looking a little distant. He looked up at her, and she looked away before he caught her. A few minutos later Rochelle came bounding over to them.
"Woah someone's hyper." Kowalski remarked, his eye widening at Rochelle's expression.
"I know right, I just eat two massive bags of skittles, and now I'm really happy!" Rochelle blurted out, all at once, whilst hopping on the spot. Emma and Ashley exchanged freaked out looks, and watched Rochelle, who was now doing a little dance.
"She's gonna be nuts in the water." Ryan whispered to Emma, who nodded in response. The teachers got out of their tents, and called the kids to sit down beside the campfire area.
"Ok so we're going to be swimming in the lake today, so, first, this is a bit of a silly question, but can everyone swim?" Dom asked. Everyone nodded.
"Good, but we still need to tell you about the health and safety rules." Miss Chambers told them.
"First, don't go really far underwater, incase something happens. Second, try to behave, so no fighting, or kanyon balling into the water. And last, don't drink any of the water, it might make you sick." Mr Hague explained. All of the kids nodded in understanding, and the teachers lead them down to the lake. All of the penguins dived in, and Emma and her mga kaibigan immediately started splashing eachother. Ashley hid underwater so he didn't get splashed but Rochelle found him, and splashed him even more. The five penguins swum out further, and came to the middle of the lake.
"Heehee this is awesome!" Rochelle squealed, making a massive splash and soaking everyone. Emma giggled, and joined in. But she kept looking at the waterfall. It wasn't too far away, but it was far away from everyone else. She slipped away from the group, and started to swim over to it. She watched the sparkling water cascade down the rocks, and into the lake, and she sighed happily. She reached her flipper out, letting the water fall on it, and she smiled. She went behind the waterfall, hoping to find a secret cave. Unfortunately there wasn't one, but Emma didn't mind.
This waterfall is still amazing. She thought, a big smile spreading across her face. She swam out from behind it, and watched it for a while. Suddenly, she felt a sharp pain in her left foot.
"Ow!" She exclaimed, holding her foot in pain.
Hmm, must have been a sharp rock or something. She guessed. She went back to looking at the waterfall, when she felt the pain again, this time, in her right foot. Fear consumed her and she tried to swim away. Then something dragged her underwater. She tried to struggle, and break free, but whatever it was, was too strong. She then felt something pulling at her other foot too. She tried to turn around to see what it was, and her eyes widened. It was two fish, about half her size. Are they.... sibat fish? I know they drag mga hayop underwater, but I thought they didn't live in the Uk... She thought staring at them in shock. Her mind snapped back to reality, and she desperately tried to get free. She gulped, when she looked up, and realised she couldn't see the surface of the water anymore. I'm NOT going to die down here. She told herself, kicking the two pikes in the face, and grabbing their fins. Emma spun them around, and hurled them as far as she could before, swimming upwards, faster than she had even swum in her entire life. She wasn't going to let herself drown, she thought about her mga kaibigan and family, and began to swim even faster. She felt sick, when she realised that she still couldn't see the surface, and her feet ached. She looked down at them, and saw that the isda had made large holes where they had bit her, which now had blood rushing out of them. After swimming for what felt like hours, she made out the surface of the water, maybe 5 or 6 meters away, and she swam frantically to it. But then her vision started to blur, and her muscles slowed down. C'mon you're nearly there c'mon, only a few madami meters, you're going to survive this. You'll see your mga kaibigan and family again, you'll see Ryan again, and he'll hopefully hug you, when you tell him what's happened down here, and it will all be ok. She told herself, mustering all the strength she had inside her, and swimming even faster. The pain in her feet intensified, and a few tears rolled down her cheeks. She thought about last night, and she smiled, trying to keep herself going. She was only centimeters away from the surface, and she felt herself grin. But then everything started going black, and her feet stopped moving entirely. Her flipper skimmed the surface, and her eyes began to close.
"No....." She managed in a barely audible whisper, her eyes closing fully, as her lungs filled with water and she drifted back down into the deep, dark lake.
Emma's eyes began to open slowly, and she was met sa pamamagitan ng a big blur. She coughed up a lot of water, and tried to look around. All she could see around her was blurs of black and white. Her muscles ached, and she was having trouble breathing. She coughed up madami water, and tried to figure out what was going on. She heard a muffle of noise above her, and she looked up. She saw a blur of black, white and brown.
Tha.....that looks familiar. She thought. She felt strange, it didn't feel like she was sitting down or standing up. Almost as if....someone was holding her, maybe carrying her. She started to focus a little as her vision and hearing began to return. The figure above her started to take shape, and she blushed when she realised who it was.
"Oh thank goodness you're ok." Ryan said, breathing a sigh of relief. Emma just nodded in response, and coughed up a little madami water. She felt strangely content right now, and she wanted to go back sleep.
"Emma what happened?" A voice to Emma's right asked. She turned her head, and she saw the teachers, and the entire group watching her worriedly.
"Um...." Emma managed, trying to remember herself. She shook her head, and blinked a few times, and her full focus came back, as she remembered everything. "In the lake, th.. there's those isda that drag mga hayop underwater." Emma began, rubbing her eyes.
"Did one drag you down?" Dom asked.
No, one invited me to a flippin tsaa party! Emma thought sarcastically. She just nodded and winced in response though, as the pain in her feet returned. She looked down at them, and saw they were still bleeding a little.
"How....how did I get up here?" Emma asked curiously. She coughed again, and stared at her feet.
"Well we forgot to do the register, so we called everyone in, and you didn't come in." Mr Hague began. "Then Ryan saw your flipper skim the surface of the water, and he dived in and saved you." He explained. Emma blushed even madami and looked up at the tall penguin, who looked like he was blushing for a second.
Great I'm hallucinating now. Emma told herself, trying not to giggle. Ryan sat her down on the grass, and Rochelle, Ashley, and Kowalski came over, to see if she was ok. Meanwhile the teachers were in a heated discussion.
"We can't let the kids go back in the water, Emma nearly died." Miss Chambers stated, crossing her flippers.
"Well what are they going to do? They get bored too easily, and we can't get them doing something they did on one of the other days, and there isn't anything to do." Dom argued.
"Urm I have an idea." Kowalski piped up quietly.
"What is it?" Mr Hague asked curiously.
"Well I've created a device that can track any species in any ibingiay place, and since sibat isda shouldn't be in Scotland in the first place we could get the environmental agency to get all of the fish, and the eggs out, and take them to where they're supposed to be." He explained nervously.
"Hmm, it sounds good, but it depends on how many isda are in the lake." Miss Chambers pointed out. Kowalski whipped out the device, pressed a few buttons and pointed it towards the lake. It made a few noises and a smile crept onto Kowalski's face.
"There's only 6 of them." He told the teachers brightly. They exchanged questioning looks, and eventually nodded. All of the kids went back to the camp with Dom, except for Emma and her friends.
"Hey Em, what happened to your feet?" Ryan asked worriedly, pointing to them.
"That's where the isda grabbed me." Emma explained, wincing a little.
"Ouch, that's gotta hurt." Ashley remarked, looking at Emma with concern.
"Well there's a first aid kit somewhere..." Ryan thought aloud, scanning the floor around them. He spotted the little box, and took a few bandages out. He passed one to Rochelle, and kept one for himself. The two penguins began to balutin the bandages around Emma's feet, and Emma found herself blushing. Her left foot tingled, and her puso sped up in her chest. Ryan caught her eye, and smiled at her. Emma smiled back, and tried to look like she wasn't enjoying herself. They finished, and Emma tried to walk. She could, but it did hurt.
"I think it's best if you sit down for a bit Emma." Mr Hague advised. A few hours later, the environmental agency arrived, and started to take the sibat isda from the lake.
"Are you sure that's all of them?" Miss Chambers asked. Kowalski looked at his device and nodded.
"Well I guess the water is ligtas then." Mr Hague commented, shrugging a little. Dom brought the kids back and they all jumped in without hesitation. Emma looked at the water uncertainly. She wasn't scared of the water, she was just a bit worried about not being able to swim with her feet.
"Emma, do you want a float?" Miss Chambers asked, holding up a massive rectangular float.
"Ooh yes please!" Emma exclaimed taking it from the teacher, and sitting on it as she got in the water. Emma had always loved using big floats like these, they were so much fun. The other kids saw the floats, and rushed over to Miss Chambers expectantly. She sighed and passed them to everyone, who then jumped in the water again. Emma moved around using her flippers, and she made her way over to her mga kaibigan who, as usual, were splashing eachother. Emma noticed that none of them had got any floats.
"Hey Emma." Rochelle greeted, splashing her a bit. Emma giggled and splashed her back.
"How's your feet?" Ryan asked.
"Well I can't swim on them but I can walk ok." Emma replied. She looked over at the waterfall and Ashley followed her gaze.
"Do you wanna go to the waterfall lass?" He asked wonderingly.
"Yup." Emma replied.
"Cool, we'll come with." Rochelle decided, as she began to swim over to it. The other penguins followed and stared up at the waterfall.
"Wow, it's really... really...." Ryan began, his eyes widening
"Intriguing?" Kowalski suggested, watching the water fall into the lake.
"I was thinking madami on the lines of awesome, but yeah I guess so." Ryan replied. Ashley went under the waterfall and giggled.
"It's fun under here!" He exclaimed, splashing his friends. They went under aswell, and started splashing eachother. About 3 or so hours later, they had to come out, and Emma limped to her tent, and crawled into her sleeping bag. After this hectic day, she just wanted a normal night's sleep.
But the night was going to be far from normal.
Emma couldn't sleep that night. She tossed, and turned, and even tried falling asleep to music, but nothing was working. She couldn't stop thinking about Ryan. He was on her mind all araw and all night, and she couldn't do anything about it. She wanted to be around him all of the time, and was sad when she wasn't. He was always in her dreams everyday, and she turned to mush every time he smiled, or she got to look in his eyes. She sighed, and stared at the tent wall. She think it was madami than just a crush now, she felt a feeling she never felt before, the feeling that was stopping her from sleeping. Love. But she had no idea if he felt the same.
You never know, he did cuddle with you last night. One part of her said. It was probably only to keep warm.[/i[ Another part of her argued. [i]How can you be sure? The first bit replied. Well why would he for any other reason? The segundo bit snapped back. Emma made a small noise of frustration as she turned around, and watched him longingly, before looking up at the roof. She just didn't know what to do. She felt a gentle tap on her shoulder and she nearly jumped out of her sleeping bag.
"Woah, sorry, did I scare you?" Ryan asked, looking at her with wide eyes.
"A little." Emma replied, a small smile on her face.
"I was gonna say that I can't sleep." Ryan told her, sounding a little nervous.
Me neither." Emma remarked, feeling herself blush.
"I was wondering, if your feet are up for it, do you wanna go for a walk?" He asked, trying not to sound shy.
"Um, sure, where to?" Emma asked.
"I don't know, the lake maybe?" Ryan suggested.
"Ok then." Emma agreed, getting out of her sleeping bag, and grabbing a few things before going to the tent door. The two penguins climbed out of the tent, and started to walk down to the lake. Emma wasn't a big tagahanga of walking through the night, everything looked different, and a bit creepy. The wind howled through the trees, and the bushes shook, as if someone, or something was rustling them. Emma walked on, trying to ignore these noises, but a persistent ball of fear sat in her stomach, making her feel sick. She shivered, and stared up at the trees, which were so close together, that she couldn't see the night sky. Just as she was about to run back to the safety of the tent, she felt Ryan's flipper holding hers gently. All of her fears melted away, and a happy tingle went all the way through her body. She looked up at him, and saw he was looking ahead. Emma dragged her eyes back, before he caught her staring. She felt herself smile a little, when she realised he was still holding her flipper. The two penguins came out of the small wood, and reached the lake. The moon made a gleaming reflection in the centre, lighting up the entire lake. Ryan spotted a float left on the dock, and he grinned.
"Fancy a swim?" He asked, nodding towards the float.
"Sure." Emma agreed, beaming at the taller penguin. They took the float, and set off into the water. The night was silent, and all that could be heard, was the faint noise of the float moving through the surface of the water. "Do you think we're allowed to do this at night?" Emma asked.
"Probably not." Ryan replied, a mischievous smile tugging at his face. Emma grinned and stared ahead into the water. Emma was definatley not a troublemaker, but she was going to stop doing this, it was too much fun. Ryan steered the float around, and Emma skimmed her flipper along the water, glad that it wasn't too cold. They reached the waterfall, and Emma gazed at it happily. It looked even madami amazing at night, the water seemed to glow, as it cascaded down the rocks. Her mind snapped back to reality when Ryan splashed her. She giggled and splashed him back. They ended up doing this for about 10 minutes, before heading back to shore. Emma was soaking wet, but she didn't mind in the slightest. They decided to sit down for a bit, a little up the hill, away from the water edge. Emma noticed the stars for the first time that night, and she froze in surprise. The entire sky was covered in stars, the twinkling lights making the entire wood light up. She had never seen so many stars in her whole life, but they were in the countryside, there was bound to be a lot of them. She spotted her two favourite constellations and watched them. She shivered, and realised that the wind was getting nippy again. She wrapped her flippers around herself, and her eyes fell on Ryan who was watching her. "Are you cold Em?" He asked, daring to look into her eyes.
"Yeah, a little bit." Emma replied, hugging herself tighter. Ryan extended a flipper, and motioned for her to sit closer to him. She blushed and scooted over to him, and he wrapped a flipper around her back. Emma rested her head on his shoulder, and she felt her puso speed up. She took a deep breath, and tried to calm down a little bit as she warmed up instantly. She fidgeted a little and her phone fell out of a pocket in her bag, that she brought with her. It fell funny, and started to play a song. Emma recognised it immediately, as a Westlife song called I Do, and she went to turn it off.
"Keep it on, this song's nice." Ryan told her, blushing a little.
"Urm, ok." Emma agreed. Ryan looked thoughtful, and he took a deep breath, and looked at Emma.
"Um.. this is gonna sound a little strange, but urm.. do you want to dance?" He asked, unable to hide his shyness. Emma nodded without hesitating, not even trying to look like she had to think about it. The two penguins stood up, and Ryan took Emma's flippers, and they dance along the hill.
This must be a dream, this can't actually be happening. She told herself, her puso beating at what felt like 100 miles an hour. Can it? As the song played, Emma found herself unable to stop blushing, and she could barely look Ryan in the eye. She tried to focus on the song.
Tell me can you feel my puso beat? Tell me as I kneel down at your feet. I knew there would come a time, when these two hearts would entwine, just put your hand in mine, forever.
For so long I have been an island, when no one could ever reach these shores. And we've got a whole lifetime to share, and I'll always be there, darling this I swear.
So please believe me. For these words I say are true. And don't deny me, a lifetime loving you. And if you ask will I be true, do I give my all to you.Then I will say I do.
Whilst listening to this, Emma was having a big conflict in her head. C'mon, he obviously likes you, just go with your heart. One piece of her said. What if it's just a friendly dance? Another said. Yeah because mga kaibigan dance around a moonlit lake listening to lovey dovey Westlife songs. The first part replied sarcastically. Emma decided to be a little daring. If I take a step closer to him, and he moves away, it could be seen as bit of the dance, but if he doesn't move, then it might mean he likes me back. Emma thought, feeling a little pleased with her plan. She held her breath, and stepped pasulong a little. Ryan didn't ilipat away. She took another step closer. He still didn't ilipat away. She took a third step closer, and she felt Ryan ilipat his flippers to around her waist as he pulled her closer. She felt herself go red, and her puso leaped in her chest. She rested her head against his feathers, and closed her eyes happily, enjoying the warmth, and softness of them. Part of her still couldn't believe this was actually happening, it was too much like her dreams and daydreams. She looked up at the taller penguin, who was gazing down at her.
"Em, I...I need to tell you s.. something.." He stammered.
"What is it?" Emma asked, though she already knew what he was going to say next. She smiled up at him, and nearly got Nawawala in his dark brown eyes, which were sparkling, just like the stars above.
"I..." He began. He took a deep breath, and looked directly into Emma's midnight blue eyes. "I pag-ibig you." He eventually managed, feeling his skin go bright red under his feathers.
"I.. I pag-ibig you too." Emma told him, the mga paru-paro in her stomach intensifying.
"R..really?" Ryan asked, looking surprised and overjoyed all at the same time. He moved his flippers up again, and stroked Emma's cheek lightly, lowering his head a little.
"Yeah, for over a taon now, I just didn't kno-" Emma stopped abruptly as Ryan kissed her, and all of her thoughts turned to mush. She closed her eyes and returned the halik instantly, and ran her flippers through Ryan's hair and down his neck. Her breathing sped up, and her puso was beating almost impossibly fast. A happy shiver ran all the way through Ryan's body, as he stroked her hair softly, and wrapped his flippers around her waist, pulling her as close as possible. They broke the halik after about 30 seconds, and Emma gazed up at Ryan affectionately. He tasted like mint, chocolate, and an amazing taste that she couldn't even identify. He gazed back lovingly, and nuzzled her neck gently, stroking down the back of it slowly, making Emma shiver happily. She nuzzled back, and caressed the soft feathers on his chest. The new couple hugged eachother tightly, and they couldn't stop smiling. They finally had the one they loved. They sat down, and stared up into the night sky, watching the stars twinkle. Ryan wrapped one flipper around Emma's waist and pulled her close, rubbing it softly as he did. Emma blushed and sighed happily. She leaned against Ryan's shoulder, nuzzled his neck gently, and wrapped a flipper around his back.
Best night of my life. They both thought, catching eachother's eyes, and smiling warmly. Everything was perfect.
"Oh you should have seen your faces, you looked petrified!" Rochelle managed through giggles. "I told you I'd get you back for tickling me!"
"Not funny Rochelle, it could have been anything, like a lobo or a bear." Ryan argued, frowning at Rochelle.
Well lobo and bears aren't commonly found in Scotland..... Emma thought. till, it might have been something else. She added.
"Hey calm, down it was just a joke." Rochelle told them, after seeing their displeased expressions.
"It may have been funny to you, but it wasn't to us." Emma pointed out. Usually Emma liked jokes, but not when they were at other peoples expense.
"Sorry guys, I was just messing around." She eventually replied.
"It's ok, just don't do it again, you scared Midnight." Emma said, patting the shaken horse, that was beginning to calm down. Rochelle apologised again, and they all began to set off down the trail. Ryan put his flippers around Emma again, Emma couldn't stop a happy shiver go through her entire body. She felt herself smile, and she tried to focus on the trail. Emma watched the sun shining through the trees, which made the whole woods around them sparkle. It was a perfect day. The penguins eventually made it back to the stables and saw that everyone had already got there.
"Now that you three are back, we can start on our susunod activity." The stable owner announced giving the penguins a stern look. Emma muttered something under her breath, and frowned at him. It wasn't her or Ryan's fault that Rochelle spooked Midnight, they shouldn't be getting cheek from the guy, for all he knew, one of the penguins could have got hurt. Emma and Ryan exchanged a look and focused on what the stable owner was saying. "So we're going to try a wee little obstacle course." He began. "It's just a few jumps around." He told them, leading the penguins to another part of the stable. Emma rode Midnight in uncertainly, and stared around at the little course. It had 4 hurdles to jump over.
"Are you up for this?" Emma asked Ryan worriedly, remembering how she had to slow down earlier.
"Yeah, I'll be ok." Ryan replied, flashing a small smile. Emma smiled back, and her attention was caught sa pamamagitan ng the teachers.
"Ok, so Ashley, do you want to go first?" Mr Hague asked.
"Sure!" Ashley replied enthusiastically. He set off at lightening speed, over the first jump. Emma's jaw dropped and she stared at the young penguin. In just under 30 seconds, he finished and went back to the group.
"Woah.....that was incredible Ashley!" Miss Chambers praised, her voice full of amazement.
"Thanks Miss." He replied, grinning at the group. A few of the other kids went, but none of them could tuktok Ashley's time. Kowalski got pretty close with 31 seconds, but Rochelle took 36 seconds. Emma and Ryan were one of the last to go, and Emma took a deep breath as she set off. They were over the first hurdle in no time. Ryan was counting in his head, and so far they were on par with Ash's time. sa pamamagitan ng the segundo hurdle they were only 16 segundos in. Then Ryan began to feel sick. He closed his eyes and tried to force the feeling down.
Not long left. He told himself. He started to fidget, making Emma turn around for a second.
"Are you ok?" She asked, worry in her eyes. Ryan nodded and she turned back. She didn't believe him for a segundo but they were almost done anyway. Midnight leaped over the last hurdle and trotted over to the group. Emma got off Midnight and helped Ryan off, who was looking a bit better now that he was off the horse.
"What was our time?" Ryan asked, looking at the teachers curiously. Dom stared at the stopwatch.
"You've tied with Ashley." He told them. Emma grinned and looked over at Ashley, who was smiling at them. Ashley wasn't the type who would care about who won anyway. They did a lot of other activities and even had a free oras of doing what they wanted, before the araw drew to a close and they headed back to the campsite. Emma called a goodbye to her mga kaibigan and climbed in the tent. Even after all they did today, she didn't feel tired.
"Are you tired Ryan?" She asked, wondering what to do.
"Nope." He answered, sitting on his sleeping bag.
"Me neither." Emma replied. A thought struck her and she got her kulay-rosas Nintendo Ds out. She wished it was blue instead, but she couldn't change it.
"Aw you've got your Ds with you, same here!" Ryan told her, taking a green Nintendo Ds out of his bag.
"Awesome!" Emma exclaimed, looking happy. "What games have you got with you?"
"Just Mario and Sonic at the Olympic games." He said, grinning a little.
"I've got that one too." Emma remarked, pointing to the case in her bag. She beamed at him, and tried not to blush. "Do you want a multi-player game?" She challenged.
"Sure." Ryan replied, his grin getting wider. He put the game in, and the two Ds's connected. "Which game do you wanna play first?" He asked.
"Hmm, Dream Basketball." She decided, clicking on it. That was her favourite, and she was best at that one. She tried to hide a grin. As they began to shoot the balls into the hoops, Emma got a special one, which made it harder for Ryan.
"Did you just do that?" He asked, struggling to aim the balls at the hoop. Emma giggled in response and threw a similar special ball in, taking away one of his hoops. The game finished with Emma: 110, Ryan: 67. Emma was still grinning mischievously, as Ryan looked at her in shock. "H... how..?" He managed, a hint of shock in his voice.
"I've had tons of practice on that one." She replied, blushing a little.
"Hmm, well I'm thinking of doing Dream Canoeing next." He thought aloud, smiling cheekily. That one was Ryan's strong spot on the game and happened to be Emma's weak spot. Emma tapped her flipper uncertainly, and nodded. Just before they started it up, Emma got a few little bags of gummy bears out of her bag, and threw half of them to Ryan. "Thanks Em, are you sure you're ok with letting me have all of these?" He asked.
"Sure, you are my roommate, or tentmate anyway, it wouldn't be right if I didn't share." She told him, smiling at the taller penguin. "Anyway, you're my mate and you're awesome." She added, blushing at her words. Ryan smiled his really sweet smile and Emma blushed even more. She mentally slapped herself, and focused on the game. As it started, Emma had trouble starting, as she always did. She hated the canoeing, it was too confusing.
"Hey, we're doing Canoeing tomorrow aren't we?" Ryan asked.
"Yup." Emma replied cheerfully. She looked at the little points board on the side of the screen and saw that Ryan was in the lead. Point were gained sa pamamagitan ng collecting coins in the water, and Nawawala if other players threw bombs at you. The game wasn't called 'Dream' Canoeing for nothing. As the timer ran out, Emma came last, and Ryan came first. He grinned as he caught Emma's eye. She couldn't help but grin back. They carried on playing the little games, and made a contest. Whoever won the most amount of games sa pamamagitan ng 12am would be the winner, and they would get the last pack of gummy bears. It was pretty even, and sa pamamagitan ng 11:55 they both had 16 wins each.
"Looks like this will be the decider." Ryan remarked, his eyes lighting up with anticipation. They randomized the last game, which turned out to be 200 meters. As it began, Emma was in the lead. The Ryan started to catch up, and Emma made her little person run even faster. Her flipper began to ache and a few segundos later Ryan overtook her and raced across the finish line. "Woohoo!" He cheered.
"Bugger." Emma remarked. "Well you won fair and square, here ya go." She said, handing him the bag of bears. Ryan opened it and he looked thoughtful.
"Lets share it." He decided, holding out the bag to Emma. Her blushing intensified and the mga paru-paro in her stomach spread to the rest of her body. She took out a purple gummy madala and ate it quickly.
"Thanks." She replied, smiling shyly at him.
"Anytime Em." He told her cheerfully. The two penguins sat up, eating the gummy bears, before getting into their sleeping bags.
"Goodnight Ryan." Emma called, snuggling down into the pillow, and facing him.
"Good night Emma." He called back, closing his eyes. Emma watched him for a minute, before closing her eyes and falling asleep.
The susunod day, the penguins got up about 1pm and headed down to the lake. The araw was a little chillier than the others, and some of the penguins were even shivering. Emma wasn't affected sa pamamagitan ng it, she didn't get cold easily. Her eyes fell on the lake and she smiled. The vast expanse of shimmering blue water went nearly as far as the eye could see. She spotted a waterfall at one end, and she stared at it in awe. She had never seen one in real life before. She felt someone poke her and she turned to her left.
"There's the boats." Kowalski told her, pointing towards a little wooden dock about 20 meters away from them. Little canoes were dotted around that area, all tied to the dock.
"Ok, so does anyone know how to row a canoe?" Miss Chambers asked. All of the kids put their flippers up, except for Rochelle.
"Well there's only enough boats for everyone to go in twos or threes, so you should be ok Rochelle." Dom told her. She nodded in response, and went over to Ashley.
"Ashley, can I be with you?" She asked.
"Sure lass." Ashley replied cheerfully. Whilst they were all discussing the groups, Kowalski asked if he could be in Emma and Ryan's group, so they let him. All of the penguins went down to the canoes and Emma's group got a big one. The three penguins hopped in and they deiced that Kowalski could row it. As they set off, Emma stared into the sky. The sun was shining brightly, and fluffy white clouds dotted the sky. Emma noticed one in the shape of a gummy bear, and she pointed it out to Ryan, who smiled when he saw it.
"I wonder what ulap gummy bears would taste like?" Emma giggled.
"Maybe of candyfloss?" Ryan suggested, giggling too. They rowed over to Ashley and Rochelle, and saw that Rochelle was skimming stones on the water.
"Having fun you two?" Kowalski asked.
"Yup." Rochelle replied, skimming another stone. She began to smile, and she looked up at the three penguins. "Hey, do you want a race?" She asked, a challenging look on her face. Kowalski looked back at Ryan and Emma, who nodded.
"You're on. First one to the other side of the lake is the winner." Kowalski told her, beginning to smile. The two boats rowed off, and Ashley's team quickly gained the lead. Kowalski's team sped up, trying to keep up with their opponent.
"Technically this isn't fair, they've got less people in their boat, so that's less weight on board." Emma pointed out. She looked thoughtful, and jumped out of the boat, and swam along beside it. Their bangka sped up even more, and they started to catch up with Ashley and Rochelle. Rochelle told Ashley this, who then went even faster.
Aw, they're gonna win. Emma thought in dismay. She looked at the bangka beside her, and a smile tugged at her face. She went underwater, grabbed onto the bangka and started to swim as fast as she could. Their bangka went even faster, and started to overtake Ashley's boat. Ashley and Rochelle exchanged surprised looks, as the other kanue zoomed past them. Ryan grinned mischievously at them, before turning around to look for Emma. The smile slipped from his face when he couldn't see her.
"Em?" He called out, as they reached the other side of the lake, and stopped. Emma popped her head out of the water, and grinned at the two penguins.
"Were you making the bangka go faster sa pamamagitan ng any chance?" Kowalski asked, smirking a little.
"Yup, but don't tell them, they'll be annoyed that we kinda cheated." Emma replied, climbing back in the boat, just before Ashley and Rochelle's bangka caught up to them.
"How on earth did you win, we had a massive lead on you?" Rochelle asked in bewilderment. The three penguins shrugged in response, and Rochelle mumbled something under her breath. Emma couldn't help but grin. Emma watched the waterfall in the distance, and she longed to explore it. Kowalski noticed this, and he turned to the shorter penguin.
"Won't it be better to explore tomorrow, when we're swimming? We might crash into the waterfall with the boat." He pointed out.
"Good point." Emma sighed, staring at it wistfully. She turned back to her friends, and wondered what to do next.
"Should we just have a calm row around?" Ashley suggested, touching the water curiously.
"Sure.. wait, Emma, why are you wet?" Rochelle asked suspiciously.
"Because I jumped into the water, so the weight was madami even in both boats, so it was a fairer race." Emma replied casually.
"Oh ok." Rochelle commented, still feeling slightly suspicious. The penguins started rowing around the lake, and splashing each others boats. Emma made a massive splash, which soaked both Ashley and Rochelle.
"Oh your paying for that lass." Ashley sinabi through giggles, splashing her back.
"So much for a 'calm row around' eh?" Ryan remarked, his cheeky smile filling his face.
"Hehe I know right?" Emma replied, splashing Rochelle again. They ended up doing this for most of the day, before the teachers called them in again. Emma shook her feathers as they hopped out of the boat, drying them a bit.
"Ok, so we're going to have another campfire today, then you guys can head to bed." Mr Hague told the penguins. The kids nodded in response, and headed back to the campsite. Miss Chambers and Dom were already there, lighting the fire. It started to crackle, and Emma smiled. For some reason, she loved the smell of burning wood, and she started to feel warmer as the rest of her feathers dried. Dom handed out marshmallows and sticks, just like last time, and Ashley looked at Emma.
"There's not going to be anymore ghost stories is there?" He asked hopefully.
"I'm not sure Ash." Emma admitted. Fortunately for the little penguin, they just chatted, roasted marshmallows, and told other stories. Then they all headed back to their tents. Emma climbed into her sleeping bag, and the warmth of the apoy began to wear off. The wind howled through the trees outside, and she started to shiver. Her eyes fell on Ryan, who was shivering a little too. She curled up in her sleeping bag, and held onto Lulu.
"Are you cold Em?" Ryan asked, trying not to shiver.
"Yup." Emma replied, tightening her sleeping bag, and wrapping her flippers around herself.
"Well I've got an idea about how to keep warm..." Ryan began uncertainly.
"What is it?" Emma asked, looking interested.
"Urm, it's a bit weird, so don't be weirded out, but I've heard that one of the best ways to keep warm is.. well hugging." He told her, sounding a little shy.
"Oh, so you were thinking that...." Emma managed, feeling herself blush.
"That we should hug to keep warm." Ryan finished, blushing too. Emma had sinabi yes about a million times in her head already, but she tried to look like she was thinking it over.
"Ok." Emma replied, feeling strangely awkward. Ryan unzipped his sleeping bag, and gestured for Emma to come over. She slipped out of her sleeping bag, and climbed into his shyly. She moved her phone out of the way, which for some reason, was in the middle of the tent.
Thank goodness for feathers. Emma thought, as she felt her skin go even redder. Ryan wrapped his flippers around Emma shyly, and Emma snuggled up to him. She began to feel instantly warmer, and her whole body relaxed. She rested her head on his chest, and closed her eyes.
"Hey, Em, should we listen to music, it might keep our minds off the cold." Ryan suggested, trying not to stammer. Emma nodded and picked up her phone, and headphones.
"Urm, well the susunod song in the listahan is sa pamamagitan ng Westlife, do you want me to skip it? I know you're not really a tagahanga of them." Emma remarked, putting a headphone in her earhole, and passing the other to Ryan.
"Well I only pretend not to like their music at school, because my mates will tease me." He admitted.
"Really?" Emma asked, looking surprised. Ryan nodded in response. "Well ok then." She said, and played the song. She looked at the pamagat and saw it was Written in The Stars. She closed her eyes and tried not to smile as the song started.
Stay with me, don't fall asleep too soon, the mga kerubin can wait for a moment. Come real close, forget the world outside, tonight we're alone, it's finally you and I. It wasn't meant to feel like this. Not without you. Cos when I look at my life, how the pieces fall into place, it just wouldn't rhyme without you. When I see how my paths, seem to end up before your face. The state of my heart, the place where we are, was written in the stars.
Emma had never felt so content in her entire life, she felt happy, calm, safe, and this just felt... right. She whispered a goodnight to Ryan before closing her eyes. She couldn't help but notice that his feathers were really warm and soft. As she listened to his heartbeat, she started to drift off. The something stopped her. She kept her eyes closed, and realised that Ryan was stroking her hair. She tried not to smile, and pretended to be asleep. A happy shiver went all the way from her hair, down to her toes, and she decided to be a little daring. Emma snuggled even closer to Ryan, and ran her flipper through his chest feathers. Luckily, he still thought she was sleeping, but Emma noticed his heartbeat had sped up a bit. A smile tugged at her face, then she began to fall asleep for real. She then drifted off. Ryan was still stroking her hair lovingly, and he smiled down at the smaller penguin. He nuzzled her beak softly with his own, kissed her forehead gently, then fell into a blissful sleep.
The susunod day, Emma's eyes fluttered open and she looked around the tent. She blushed when she remembered last night, and she looked up at Ryan, who was still asleep. She smiled at him, and ran her flipper through his hair slowly, before closing her eyes again.
A few hours later, they woke up, and got ready for swimming. As Emma and Ryan got out of the tent, they saw that Ashley and Kowalski were already awake, sitting on the grass, near the cabin. They walked over to them, and sat beside them.
"Hey you two." Ashley greeted, beaming at them.
"Hey Ash, uy Kowalski." Emma replied, smiling back at them. She realised that her flippers were still tingling from last night. Her eyes fell on Ryan who was looking a little distant. He looked up at her, and she looked away before he caught her. A few minutos later Rochelle came bounding over to them.
"Woah someone's hyper." Kowalski remarked, his eye widening at Rochelle's expression.
"I know right, I just eat two massive bags of skittles, and now I'm really happy!" Rochelle blurted out, all at once, whilst hopping on the spot. Emma and Ashley exchanged freaked out looks, and watched Rochelle, who was now doing a little dance.
"She's gonna be nuts in the water." Ryan whispered to Emma, who nodded in response. The teachers got out of their tents, and called the kids to sit down beside the campfire area.
"Ok so we're going to be swimming in the lake today, so, first, this is a bit of a silly question, but can everyone swim?" Dom asked. Everyone nodded.
"Good, but we still need to tell you about the health and safety rules." Miss Chambers told them.
"First, don't go really far underwater, incase something happens. Second, try to behave, so no fighting, or kanyon balling into the water. And last, don't drink any of the water, it might make you sick." Mr Hague explained. All of the kids nodded in understanding, and the teachers lead them down to the lake. All of the penguins dived in, and Emma and her mga kaibigan immediately started splashing eachother. Ashley hid underwater so he didn't get splashed but Rochelle found him, and splashed him even more. The five penguins swum out further, and came to the middle of the lake.
"Heehee this is awesome!" Rochelle squealed, making a massive splash and soaking everyone. Emma giggled, and joined in. But she kept looking at the waterfall. It wasn't too far away, but it was far away from everyone else. She slipped away from the group, and started to swim over to it. She watched the sparkling water cascade down the rocks, and into the lake, and she sighed happily. She reached her flipper out, letting the water fall on it, and she smiled. She went behind the waterfall, hoping to find a secret cave. Unfortunately there wasn't one, but Emma didn't mind.
This waterfall is still amazing. She thought, a big smile spreading across her face. She swam out from behind it, and watched it for a while. Suddenly, she felt a sharp pain in her left foot.
"Ow!" She exclaimed, holding her foot in pain.
Hmm, must have been a sharp rock or something. She guessed. She went back to looking at the waterfall, when she felt the pain again, this time, in her right foot. Fear consumed her and she tried to swim away. Then something dragged her underwater. She tried to struggle, and break free, but whatever it was, was too strong. She then felt something pulling at her other foot too. She tried to turn around to see what it was, and her eyes widened. It was two fish, about half her size. Are they.... sibat fish? I know they drag mga hayop underwater, but I thought they didn't live in the Uk... She thought staring at them in shock. Her mind snapped back to reality, and she desperately tried to get free. She gulped, when she looked up, and realised she couldn't see the surface of the water anymore. I'm NOT going to die down here. She told herself, kicking the two pikes in the face, and grabbing their fins. Emma spun them around, and hurled them as far as she could before, swimming upwards, faster than she had even swum in her entire life. She wasn't going to let herself drown, she thought about her mga kaibigan and family, and began to swim even faster. She felt sick, when she realised that she still couldn't see the surface, and her feet ached. She looked down at them, and saw that the isda had made large holes where they had bit her, which now had blood rushing out of them. After swimming for what felt like hours, she made out the surface of the water, maybe 5 or 6 meters away, and she swam frantically to it. But then her vision started to blur, and her muscles slowed down. C'mon you're nearly there c'mon, only a few madami meters, you're going to survive this. You'll see your mga kaibigan and family again, you'll see Ryan again, and he'll hopefully hug you, when you tell him what's happened down here, and it will all be ok. She told herself, mustering all the strength she had inside her, and swimming even faster. The pain in her feet intensified, and a few tears rolled down her cheeks. She thought about last night, and she smiled, trying to keep herself going. She was only centimeters away from the surface, and she felt herself grin. But then everything started going black, and her feet stopped moving entirely. Her flipper skimmed the surface, and her eyes began to close.
"No....." She managed in a barely audible whisper, her eyes closing fully, as her lungs filled with water and she drifted back down into the deep, dark lake.
Emma's eyes began to open slowly, and she was met sa pamamagitan ng a big blur. She coughed up a lot of water, and tried to look around. All she could see around her was blurs of black and white. Her muscles ached, and she was having trouble breathing. She coughed up madami water, and tried to figure out what was going on. She heard a muffle of noise above her, and she looked up. She saw a blur of black, white and brown.
Tha.....that looks familiar. She thought. She felt strange, it didn't feel like she was sitting down or standing up. Almost as if....someone was holding her, maybe carrying her. She started to focus a little as her vision and hearing began to return. The figure above her started to take shape, and she blushed when she realised who it was.
"Oh thank goodness you're ok." Ryan said, breathing a sigh of relief. Emma just nodded in response, and coughed up a little madami water. She felt strangely content right now, and she wanted to go back sleep.
"Emma what happened?" A voice to Emma's right asked. She turned her head, and she saw the teachers, and the entire group watching her worriedly.
"Um...." Emma managed, trying to remember herself. She shook her head, and blinked a few times, and her full focus came back, as she remembered everything. "In the lake, th.. there's those isda that drag mga hayop underwater." Emma began, rubbing her eyes.
"Did one drag you down?" Dom asked.
No, one invited me to a flippin tsaa party! Emma thought sarcastically. She just nodded and winced in response though, as the pain in her feet returned. She looked down at them, and saw they were still bleeding a little.
"How....how did I get up here?" Emma asked curiously. She coughed again, and stared at her feet.
"Well we forgot to do the register, so we called everyone in, and you didn't come in." Mr Hague began. "Then Ryan saw your flipper skim the surface of the water, and he dived in and saved you." He explained. Emma blushed even madami and looked up at the tall penguin, who looked like he was blushing for a second.
Great I'm hallucinating now. Emma told herself, trying not to giggle. Ryan sat her down on the grass, and Rochelle, Ashley, and Kowalski came over, to see if she was ok. Meanwhile the teachers were in a heated discussion.
"We can't let the kids go back in the water, Emma nearly died." Miss Chambers stated, crossing her flippers.
"Well what are they going to do? They get bored too easily, and we can't get them doing something they did on one of the other days, and there isn't anything to do." Dom argued.
"Urm I have an idea." Kowalski piped up quietly.
"What is it?" Mr Hague asked curiously.
"Well I've created a device that can track any species in any ibingiay place, and since sibat isda shouldn't be in Scotland in the first place we could get the environmental agency to get all of the fish, and the eggs out, and take them to where they're supposed to be." He explained nervously.
"Hmm, it sounds good, but it depends on how many isda are in the lake." Miss Chambers pointed out. Kowalski whipped out the device, pressed a few buttons and pointed it towards the lake. It made a few noises and a smile crept onto Kowalski's face.
"There's only 6 of them." He told the teachers brightly. They exchanged questioning looks, and eventually nodded. All of the kids went back to the camp with Dom, except for Emma and her friends.
"Hey Em, what happened to your feet?" Ryan asked worriedly, pointing to them.
"That's where the isda grabbed me." Emma explained, wincing a little.
"Ouch, that's gotta hurt." Ashley remarked, looking at Emma with concern.
"Well there's a first aid kit somewhere..." Ryan thought aloud, scanning the floor around them. He spotted the little box, and took a few bandages out. He passed one to Rochelle, and kept one for himself. The two penguins began to balutin the bandages around Emma's feet, and Emma found herself blushing. Her left foot tingled, and her puso sped up in her chest. Ryan caught her eye, and smiled at her. Emma smiled back, and tried to look like she wasn't enjoying herself. They finished, and Emma tried to walk. She could, but it did hurt.
"I think it's best if you sit down for a bit Emma." Mr Hague advised. A few hours later, the environmental agency arrived, and started to take the sibat isda from the lake.
"Are you sure that's all of them?" Miss Chambers asked. Kowalski looked at his device and nodded.
"Well I guess the water is ligtas then." Mr Hague commented, shrugging a little. Dom brought the kids back and they all jumped in without hesitation. Emma looked at the water uncertainly. She wasn't scared of the water, she was just a bit worried about not being able to swim with her feet.
"Emma, do you want a float?" Miss Chambers asked, holding up a massive rectangular float.
"Ooh yes please!" Emma exclaimed taking it from the teacher, and sitting on it as she got in the water. Emma had always loved using big floats like these, they were so much fun. The other kids saw the floats, and rushed over to Miss Chambers expectantly. She sighed and passed them to everyone, who then jumped in the water again. Emma moved around using her flippers, and she made her way over to her mga kaibigan who, as usual, were splashing eachother. Emma noticed that none of them had got any floats.
"Hey Emma." Rochelle greeted, splashing her a bit. Emma giggled and splashed her back.
"How's your feet?" Ryan asked.
"Well I can't swim on them but I can walk ok." Emma replied. She looked over at the waterfall and Ashley followed her gaze.
"Do you wanna go to the waterfall lass?" He asked wonderingly.
"Yup." Emma replied.
"Cool, we'll come with." Rochelle decided, as she began to swim over to it. The other penguins followed and stared up at the waterfall.
"Wow, it's really... really...." Ryan began, his eyes widening
"Intriguing?" Kowalski suggested, watching the water fall into the lake.
"I was thinking madami on the lines of awesome, but yeah I guess so." Ryan replied. Ashley went under the waterfall and giggled.
"It's fun under here!" He exclaimed, splashing his friends. They went under aswell, and started splashing eachother. About 3 or so hours later, they had to come out, and Emma limped to her tent, and crawled into her sleeping bag. After this hectic day, she just wanted a normal night's sleep.
But the night was going to be far from normal.
Emma couldn't sleep that night. She tossed, and turned, and even tried falling asleep to music, but nothing was working. She couldn't stop thinking about Ryan. He was on her mind all araw and all night, and she couldn't do anything about it. She wanted to be around him all of the time, and was sad when she wasn't. He was always in her dreams everyday, and she turned to mush every time he smiled, or she got to look in his eyes. She sighed, and stared at the tent wall. She think it was madami than just a crush now, she felt a feeling she never felt before, the feeling that was stopping her from sleeping. Love. But she had no idea if he felt the same.
You never know, he did cuddle with you last night. One part of her said. It was probably only to keep warm.[/i[ Another part of her argued. [i]How can you be sure? The first bit replied. Well why would he for any other reason? The segundo bit snapped back. Emma made a small noise of frustration as she turned around, and watched him longingly, before looking up at the roof. She just didn't know what to do. She felt a gentle tap on her shoulder and she nearly jumped out of her sleeping bag.
"Woah, sorry, did I scare you?" Ryan asked, looking at her with wide eyes.
"A little." Emma replied, a small smile on her face.
"I was gonna say that I can't sleep." Ryan told her, sounding a little nervous.
Me neither." Emma remarked, feeling herself blush.
"I was wondering, if your feet are up for it, do you wanna go for a walk?" He asked, trying not to sound shy.
"Um, sure, where to?" Emma asked.
"I don't know, the lake maybe?" Ryan suggested.
"Ok then." Emma agreed, getting out of her sleeping bag, and grabbing a few things before going to the tent door. The two penguins climbed out of the tent, and started to walk down to the lake. Emma wasn't a big tagahanga of walking through the night, everything looked different, and a bit creepy. The wind howled through the trees, and the bushes shook, as if someone, or something was rustling them. Emma walked on, trying to ignore these noises, but a persistent ball of fear sat in her stomach, making her feel sick. She shivered, and stared up at the trees, which were so close together, that she couldn't see the night sky. Just as she was about to run back to the safety of the tent, she felt Ryan's flipper holding hers gently. All of her fears melted away, and a happy tingle went all the way through her body. She looked up at him, and saw he was looking ahead. Emma dragged her eyes back, before he caught her staring. She felt herself smile a little, when she realised he was still holding her flipper. The two penguins came out of the small wood, and reached the lake. The moon made a gleaming reflection in the centre, lighting up the entire lake. Ryan spotted a float left on the dock, and he grinned.
"Fancy a swim?" He asked, nodding towards the float.
"Sure." Emma agreed, beaming at the taller penguin. They took the float, and set off into the water. The night was silent, and all that could be heard, was the faint noise of the float moving through the surface of the water. "Do you think we're allowed to do this at night?" Emma asked.
"Probably not." Ryan replied, a mischievous smile tugging at his face. Emma grinned and stared ahead into the water. Emma was definatley not a troublemaker, but she was going to stop doing this, it was too much fun. Ryan steered the float around, and Emma skimmed her flipper along the water, glad that it wasn't too cold. They reached the waterfall, and Emma gazed at it happily. It looked even madami amazing at night, the water seemed to glow, as it cascaded down the rocks. Her mind snapped back to reality when Ryan splashed her. She giggled and splashed him back. They ended up doing this for about 10 minutes, before heading back to shore. Emma was soaking wet, but she didn't mind in the slightest. They decided to sit down for a bit, a little up the hill, away from the water edge. Emma noticed the stars for the first time that night, and she froze in surprise. The entire sky was covered in stars, the twinkling lights making the entire wood light up. She had never seen so many stars in her whole life, but they were in the countryside, there was bound to be a lot of them. She spotted her two favourite constellations and watched them. She shivered, and realised that the wind was getting nippy again. She wrapped her flippers around herself, and her eyes fell on Ryan who was watching her. "Are you cold Em?" He asked, daring to look into her eyes.
"Yeah, a little bit." Emma replied, hugging herself tighter. Ryan extended a flipper, and motioned for her to sit closer to him. She blushed and scooted over to him, and he wrapped a flipper around her back. Emma rested her head on his shoulder, and she felt her puso speed up. She took a deep breath, and tried to calm down a little bit as she warmed up instantly. She fidgeted a little and her phone fell out of a pocket in her bag, that she brought with her. It fell funny, and started to play a song. Emma recognised it immediately, as a Westlife song called I Do, and she went to turn it off.
"Keep it on, this song's nice." Ryan told her, blushing a little.
"Urm, ok." Emma agreed. Ryan looked thoughtful, and he took a deep breath, and looked at Emma.
"Um.. this is gonna sound a little strange, but urm.. do you want to dance?" He asked, unable to hide his shyness. Emma nodded without hesitating, not even trying to look like she had to think about it. The two penguins stood up, and Ryan took Emma's flippers, and they dance along the hill.
This must be a dream, this can't actually be happening. She told herself, her puso beating at what felt like 100 miles an hour. Can it? As the song played, Emma found herself unable to stop blushing, and she could barely look Ryan in the eye. She tried to focus on the song.
Tell me can you feel my puso beat? Tell me as I kneel down at your feet. I knew there would come a time, when these two hearts would entwine, just put your hand in mine, forever.
For so long I have been an island, when no one could ever reach these shores. And we've got a whole lifetime to share, and I'll always be there, darling this I swear.
So please believe me. For these words I say are true. And don't deny me, a lifetime loving you. And if you ask will I be true, do I give my all to you.Then I will say I do.
Whilst listening to this, Emma was having a big conflict in her head. C'mon, he obviously likes you, just go with your heart. One piece of her said. What if it's just a friendly dance? Another said. Yeah because mga kaibigan dance around a moonlit lake listening to lovey dovey Westlife songs. The first part replied sarcastically. Emma decided to be a little daring. If I take a step closer to him, and he moves away, it could be seen as bit of the dance, but if he doesn't move, then it might mean he likes me back. Emma thought, feeling a little pleased with her plan. She held her breath, and stepped pasulong a little. Ryan didn't ilipat away. She took another step closer. He still didn't ilipat away. She took a third step closer, and she felt Ryan ilipat his flippers to around her waist as he pulled her closer. She felt herself go red, and her puso leaped in her chest. She rested her head against his feathers, and closed her eyes happily, enjoying the warmth, and softness of them. Part of her still couldn't believe this was actually happening, it was too much like her dreams and daydreams. She looked up at the taller penguin, who was gazing down at her.
"Em, I...I need to tell you s.. something.." He stammered.
"What is it?" Emma asked, though she already knew what he was going to say next. She smiled up at him, and nearly got Nawawala in his dark brown eyes, which were sparkling, just like the stars above.
"I..." He began. He took a deep breath, and looked directly into Emma's midnight blue eyes. "I pag-ibig you." He eventually managed, feeling his skin go bright red under his feathers.
"I.. I pag-ibig you too." Emma told him, the mga paru-paro in her stomach intensifying.
"R..really?" Ryan asked, looking surprised and overjoyed all at the same time. He moved his flippers up again, and stroked Emma's cheek lightly, lowering his head a little.
"Yeah, for over a taon now, I just didn't kno-" Emma stopped abruptly as Ryan kissed her, and all of her thoughts turned to mush. She closed her eyes and returned the halik instantly, and ran her flippers through Ryan's hair and down his neck. Her breathing sped up, and her puso was beating almost impossibly fast. A happy shiver ran all the way through Ryan's body, as he stroked her hair softly, and wrapped his flippers around her waist, pulling her as close as possible. They broke the halik after about 30 seconds, and Emma gazed up at Ryan affectionately. He tasted like mint, chocolate, and an amazing taste that she couldn't even identify. He gazed back lovingly, and nuzzled her neck gently, stroking down the back of it slowly, making Emma shiver happily. She nuzzled back, and caressed the soft feathers on his chest. The new couple hugged eachother tightly, and they couldn't stop smiling. They finally had the one they loved. They sat down, and stared up into the night sky, watching the stars twinkle. Ryan wrapped one flipper around Emma's waist and pulled her close, rubbing it softly as he did. Emma blushed and sighed happily. She leaned against Ryan's shoulder, nuzzled his neck gently, and wrapped a flipper around his back.
Best night of my life. They both thought, catching eachother's eyes, and smiling warmly. Everything was perfect.