VENICE’S POV
An hour had passed, yet a few other church extensions were still not arriving because they were stuck in the traffic. I am sitting on a bench waiting for Grace and Monica since they left me here while they went to the comfort room. On the other hand, Axcel and Bryan were called by sister Max asking for their help with the things need to be carried. There was a plan to make a bonfire in the evening, so they gathered some wood, and Axcel and Bryan were asked to help other youths. I stretched my arms to avoid being sleepy, especially since I woke up too early.
“ Your shirt,” I heard Bryan’s voice, so I immediately put my arms down.
“ You are here already,” I told him after faking a cough.
“ You know that you should be aware when your shirt is going up You should be careful not to reveal your skin,” he reminded me, then sat beside me, but of course, there was still space between us.
“ I am sorry. I thought there is no one beside me,” I shyly apologize to him.
“ No worries, but next time, be extra careful,” he said. I nodded to agree with what he said. Then, I shifted my gaze to the sea I was looking at earlier.
“ Here,” I heard him talk once again. I looked at him and noticed he was giving me one bottle of mineral water.
“ Thanks,” I thanked him after accepting the bottled water. I secretly smiled because of what he did.
“ By the way, where is Axcel?” I asked after realizing that they were supposed to be together.
“ I do not know where exactly he was. He really love to move around,” Bryan said and scratched the back of his head. Cute.
“ Ops, I am sure he will receive a sermon later,” I said, then laughed. Bryan laughed too.
“ Why are you two laughing?” I heard someone ask behind us, so I looked around.
“ It is because Bryan said that Axcel went missing, so I replied that when he came back, he will receive a sermon,” I answered Monica’s question.
“ Ahh, he was there, talking with other youths from other extensions,” Monica replied while frowning. She then sat down in the space between Bryan and me.
“ Ahh, okay. Where is Grace?” I asked after noticing they were not together.
“ She was still in the rest room. The line is too long,” she replied.
I simply nodded after what she said. It seemed like my best friend was not in the mood. After a while, we were already called because other extensions had arrived. Since we were complete, we immediately went back to the campsite. We saw Grace and Axcel already in the line at our church when we came, so we went closer to them.
“ Oh, what took you so long, guys?” Axcel asked in wonder.
“ You are the one went missing, bro,” Bryan commented.
I noticed how Monica simply rolled her eyes at Axcel. If she was not my best friend, I would tease her, but since I know that, above all, she treasured purity so much that even if she had a crush on Axcel, she tended to avoid him. A few times, she cried to God to surrender what she felt towards Axcel.
“ Ahh, it is because I talked to my groupmates. You know, just to get to know them better since I was the only one separated to you guys,” Axcel lonely explained.
We just nodded after hearing his explanation. I know that even if Axcel is childish, he will not easily fall down in terms of heart. It seemed like I was the only one who had a weak heart in this group. Like me, grace likes Bryan, but she can talk to him casually. But let us go back to the explanation of Axcel. He was separated from us. Grace and Monica were teammates. Also, Bryan and I were teammates.
“ Good morning youth for Christ,” I heard how the emcee energetically greeted us from the center stage. It made me turn my attention there.
“ Are you excited for our team building 20xx?” The other emcee energetically said.
“ Whoooooo “
“ Yeeeeeeees “
The only sound you would hear on the campsite were cheers and claps. Even I could not help but shout because I was excited even though it was my first time.
“ Of course, before we start our team building, we will praise our Lord first. To formally begin our program, I am now giving the floor to our worship team to lead us in praise and worship. “the emcee said.
The praise and worship immediately started. I admit that worshipping in an open space is much better because you can freely move. It is like a concert for God’s glory. The praise and worship session lasted more than thirty minutes, and a short exhortation happened afterwards.
“ Are you ready, builders?” the emcee asked energetically with a matching high note. You could hear different cheers from everyone around the campsite. It really showed the excitement of everyone.
“ We will not prolong your waiting. Can the group members of each team gather around, so we can feel your team spirits?” the emcee excitedly instructed.
Everyone started finding their teammates. It is a relief that I am with Bryan, so I will not find my teammates alone. After a while, we already saw our group, and they gave us a ribbon as a symbol of our team.
“ I will put that,” I heard Bryan suggest. He maybe noticed how I was struggling to tie the ribbon on my wrist.
“ Thank you,” I thanked him, then let him tie the ribbon. After successfully tying the ribbon, he turned his attention to the front. I also turned my attention to the stage.
“ Woah, I sense your team spirit especially when you already have your ribbons on your wrist. Remember, in every station, there is different activity. The facilitator of the station will be the one rating you, guys. Moreover, team building is a friendly competition, so do not forget to enjoy every moment. LET THE TEAM BUILDING BEGIN. “ the emcee excitedly exclaimed and left the stage.
The other groups started running, so our group immediately followed them. We first went to the farthest station. Our strategy was to begin in the most distant station so that when we were nearing finishing the tasks, we were also near the starting line. We have heard that finishing early has extra points.
“ Woah, we did not expect that there would be a team starting here,” Sister Max exclaimed in surprise, then laughed. We also laughed with her.
“ Well, since you are here, this activity is about trust,” Sister Max started explaining after she stopped laughing.
She further explained the mechanics to us. The activity was where a person with a handkerchief in their eyes and another one would direct them to the exit of the small maze. The fastest group will have the highest score for this activity. The team chose Bryan and me because they said we were in the same church, so we knew each other better.
“ I will be the one who has handkerchief in my eyes. I am not good at saying direction,” I voluntarily said to Bryan.
“ Okay, just listen to me. Do not mind the time. I will make sure that I can lead you out faster. Just be careful.” Bryan calmly reminded me.
I nodded after what he said, then sister Max covered my eyes using the handkerchief. After making sure I could not see anything, we started the maze. Even though I was nervous, I hardly focused on listening to Bryan. I am surprised he instructed me in too much detail, so I think we will finish this task faster.
“ Okay, listen up, Ven, we are close to the finish line. You need to take 5 steps to the right, and for the last step, you should make a wide step since there is a barrier. Then we are done,” he smoothly explained, and I nodded to show him I understood.
I am in the last step, and I unexpectedly stumbled into a barrier that made me out of balance.
BRYAN’S POV
I attentively looked at every step Venice was making. She was near the finish line when she tripped. I immediately caught her, which made us lie on the floor. I protected her head, so it will not hit the ground. I could feel the pain in my back because of the impact made when we fell to the ground, but I did not pay attention to it.
“ Are you two okay?” Sister Max asked us worriedly.
Venice removed the handkerchief tied to her eyes and was shocked to see our position. Maybe when she realized she was too heavy, she immediately stood up.
“ Oh my, are you okay, Bryan?” Venice worriedly asked.
“ I am fine,” I answered and stood up from lying on the ground.
“ I apologize, Bryan,” she apologetically said.
“ I am really fine, Venice,” I sincerely said and smiled at her.
It seemed to like hearing those words made her relieved. Our other groupmates worriedly checked us too. When we were sure Venice and I were okay, we bid farewell to sister Max and went directly to the other station. The following stations were more manageable, so our team leader asked Venice and me to sit down. I was busy watching other youths play when I felt the pain in my back, so I automatically touched my side.
“ Are you really okay?” Venice worriedly asked. It seemed like she saw me touching my back.
“ Of course, I would just put some pain patch here later. I am sure I will be alright then,” I assuredly told her.
“ Sorry again. I am too clumsy,” she apologizes once again.
“ It is okay since you are fine,” I said, which surprised her.
“ If not, Monica would scold me,” I immediately added after seeing her too surprised.
“ Ah, yes, of course,” she said. She immediately stood up and walked towards our other teammates.
‘What is wrong with her?’ I confusedly asked myself after seeing how her expression changed after I said about Monica.
I could not help but shake my head, stood up and walked towards my teammates. I helped them with the task until we finished the race. I heard that we got third place in the race. It is still an achievement we can cherish since some of the stations were really time-consuming.
TO BE CONTINUED!