Chapter 3 Chapter 3 Once

We walked along the narrow parking strip without speaking, except for the clattering of Emma's flip flops to cut through the silence.I could feel the eyes of those three boys and the sun, scorching my back, and I folded my arms and made a sign of the cross. "I can't believe they let us go." I grumbled. "Your boyfriend is an idiot!" Emma didn't answer, which I took to mean she agreed with me. When we got closer, we saw a sign board.I noticed that the signboard was quite professional, indicating that this is a metal processing factory under JP Robertson & Sons, and I couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.But there was no tarmac in the driveway.Only a hundred-meter-long dirt road leads to a large circular parking lot where a few cars, mostly vans, park at random.

We waited outside for a while, hoping to see a friendly face so we wouldn't have to go in, but we didn't see a single living thing.Gritting my teeth, I walked to a small door to the right of the huge warehouse shutter, which was locked shut. "It's up to you." I said to Emma as we hesitated at the door, "You're beautiful. Besides, he's your boyfriend." She was about to argue when I added . I won this round.She pouted, but still walked in through the door I propped open.But she stopped after only a few steps, and I almost bumped into her, so I stopped quickly and walked over to her to stand still.We looked around and felt a little dumbfounded.There is a lot of space here, and huge machinery is distributed.I could see people moving around, a lot of men working with their backs hunched over, their backs and arms bare.The roar of the machine was deafening, and it felt like my head was stuck in a vibrating drum, making it impossible to think.

Nobody seemed to notice us walking in.I looked at Emma, ​​and she looked at me with fear.Should we be walking around?It doesn't seem safe here.The walls are covered with hazard warning signs. "Is something wrong?" A voice suddenly sounded from our right.I turned my head and saw an eighteen-year-old girl in a grease-stained jumpsuit with short black hair combed back, looking at us suspiciously.She motioned us to a small glass cubicle, which I assumed was an office, and she closed the door.The roar of the machinery immediately weakened.I let out a sigh of relief. "Is something wrong?" she said again.

There was a brief silence, and I waited for Emma to speak, but she didn't. "We're here to find temporary power," I explained. "Our car broke down on the highway. It's the alternator." I smiled and spread my arms helplessly, thinking that I was born mechanically blind. This matter may arouse her sympathy.But she just frowned thoughtfully. "Brushes blocked?" "Ah, yes. We felt the same way." "You need a hammer." She walked to the opposite wall and began rummaging in a drawer. "We have solved the problem of the hammer." I said quickly, "Now we need a temporary power supply."

"Okay then." She smiled at us, "I have a fully charged makeshift battery in the trunk." "Did you keep this thing here all the time?" I asked as she pulled a plastic box the size of a shoebox from the back of a battered Ford Fiesta. "Yes, my dad ordered me to bring spare batteries when driving here. If the car breaks down, the mobile phone signal will definitely not be good." She straightened up, "Where is your car?" I pointed to where the Volvo car was, and saw the car shining in the distance.I couldn't see the three boys. I guess they went to hide from the sun in the car.

"Then get in the car." We headed back in her car, and I couldn't help laughing at the thought that Darren must have looked bad when I returned with the Savior.It wasn't someone like her that he sent me to. "Where are you going?" she asked, her voice low and almost drowned out by the roar of the Fiesta. "Let's go camping," I said. "There's a nice, quiet beach near Stranraer. It's called Black Rock." "Ah." She smiled at me. "I hope your alternator doesn't fail again when we get there." I also smiled at her, but my heart was in a panic.What if the damn car breaks down again?The girl read my thoughts from my expression.

"Don't worry." She parked in front of Darren's car and opened the door. "You can't go too far from here. Just walk back. Hi!" She said happily Darren waved, and when he saw us coming, he got out of the driver's seat.I saw his face contort—the kid was obviously hoping we'd bring back a man, but he couldn't take his eyes off the clunky thing in the girl's hand. "I heard that you need a temporary power source." "Yes." He returned to normal, showing a flattering smile, "Yes. Not bad." He opened the hood and walked back, arms folded, watching her go over and deftly connect the two cables to the intricate car parts.He raised both eyebrows, obviously stunned, and I couldn't help but feel proud when I saw this.

"Do you want to start the car and have a look?" the girl asked. He did so, and after a while, the car actually started.We continued charging for ten minutes, during which Darren kept showing that he was a decent human being by thanking the girl.I noticed that he had no intention of thanking Emma or me. After charging, our car stayed on, and just like that, we were back on the road. None of us had ever been to the stretch of beach we were going to.Dodge's father used to go fishing and camping there with friends when he was a teenager.He gave us a piece of paper with directions scrawled on it, and Darren never took that map seriously, but in the coastal town of Stranraer he had to rely on it.

"Emma, ​​get down and let Dodge sit in the front." He pulled over to the side of the road and parked on the double yellow line with the engine running, which was illegal. Emma was furious. "What did you say? Darren!" "I'm sorry, honey, but I don't have much confidence in your ability to give directions. You'd better go back." "Just because I'm a girl? You're blatantly sexist!" "Not because you're a girl, but because you're you. I'd rather let Heather show the way—" I held back my smug expression, "within five seconds, you'd have us Get lost." He stared at her, paused, "Hurry up, don't let me do it."

She glared at him, and for a moment I thought she wouldn't listen.I watched the two of them, proud of her blatant defiance, eager for something to spark between them.But Dodge had already got out of the car, and when he opened the passenger door, she made way without complaint.She muttered something in a low voice full of resentment, and sat down heavily beside me.Now that Emma was sitting next to me, the space around me became bigger, but she looked unhappy, and I soon realized how much I wished that the person sitting next to me would come back. Eager to avoid her anger, I leaned over to the gap between the two seats in front, sometimes watching Dodge and Darren discuss how to go, sometimes intoxicated by the scenery.

"Is it almost there?" I asked.The place names on the sign boards we passed were all unfamiliar, and I didn't see anything like our destination, the Black Stone Tomb. "Soon." Dodge turned his head and smiled at me. "We're almost there. Turn here, Darren." He pointed to the left. Darren steered the Volvo around the curve and onto a single lane.The road was lined with tall hedges, shading the fields.Gradually, the road extends downwards, and the end of the road is... "Ocean!" I yelled, sitting up straighter. A deep blue sea appeared in front of us, shining with little brilliance, against the light blue sky, the sea was like a sapphire.I looked eagerly out to sea.For me, who has been living in the hinterland of Scotland, such a view is rare, especially at this time when the weather is bright and the sea view is even more beautiful. "Here, is this what we're going for?" I asked excitedly. I was sixteen—almost seventeen, but my voice sounded ten years younger. "Probably so. There's still a stretch of the road along the coast before we can go down the ramp." Dodge answered after studying the hastily drawn map. Darren drove along the road. The road turned and turned and became narrower and narrower. Finally, there was only one narrow road for us to drive. I was impatient to wait.The nettles, brambles and long grass in the hedges kept scratching the car, and we had to roll up the windows.For once, Darren drove at a constant speed, dodging potholes and navigating the toughest gravel roads. "What the hell is this place?" he asked stiffly.At this moment, there was a loud friction sound from the chassis of the car, and the tires sank into a particularly deep pit, and he finally became furious. "I think we're almost there," Dodge said, frowning, studying the hand-drawn map intently. "My dad says there's a dirt road on the left, and that's the way to the beach." "How long has he been here?" Martin asked. "Is that road still there?" "Yeah," said Dodge vaguely. "His friend was fishing here last summer. He says the road's still there, and it's still pretty wild. You just... you just watch out. Maybe the grass grows too much." High, blocking the way, we can't see." We drove forward in complete silence, the music stopped, only the roar of the engine and the sound of the fan whirling in our ears.The plants kept whipping the car, we closed the windows and the fan was running overtime by now.Each of us stared intently at the left, for fear that we might miss the corner if we blinked. The trail turned out to be pretty easy to find. "There!" Dodge said, pointing. I saw a wide opening in the hedge, and the plants there were messed up by the wind that we couldn't feel, as if waving to us.Darren smiled and drove the car around the sharp turn.Then there is a steep slope, the whole road crosses a small hill, the hill is bare, without any vegetation, it is more appropriate to say that it is a cliff.At the foot of the hill there is a small parking lot, where the soil has been compacted, and a low stone wall separates the parking lot from the overgrown sand dune.On the other side of the dunes, I can see the smooth sand and the vast blue sea with rolling waves. Darren parked the car casually in the middle of the simple parking lot. Before he could apply the handbrake, all four doors opened and everyone rushed out. We are like a group of children, excitedly walking down the sandy road between the dunes, looking at the boundless ocean shining in the sun.This place is very desolate, there is not even a bird in the vast blue sky, and there is silence all around.The beach is several hundred meters long and has a crescent shape.There were tumbled rocks at both ends, and the hill behind us was covered with heather and long grass.From where we are, we can't see the way we came, so it appears inaccessible, well-protected, and utterly isolated. "There are only a few of us left in the world." Darren laughed. "I bet there is no one in a few miles." "It's terrible." Dodge laughed too. Terrible, so true.I turned around slowly, looking at the pleasant beach, the rolling hills, and this open area.Suddenly, I became nervous, but I tried not to show it.With that said, we can finally be alone.amazing.That's what we want, isn't it?I looked at Dodge, hoping to get affirmation from him, to reassure myself. "Isn't it time to take things off?" I tried not to shake my voice. We went back and forth a few times before everything was arranged.Our parents allowed us to come here on the condition that the boys and girls would each have a tent, and our supplies would be divided equally.And most of my and Emma's things are carried by me alone.On the first trip back to the cart, Emma saw a fish that was caught and thrown away, left to bake in the sun on top of the low stone wall.The fish was dry and rotten, with maggots wriggling in its belly.The dead fish stinks and looks disgusting.Emma refuses to go near the thing, so either I carry it alone or I don't have tents, clothes and toiletries... I actually wanted to just take my own stuff, but I didn't want to be stingy.But my anger was palpable.Emma lay there on her side, sunbathing, and, as it were called, "guarding our stuff," so that every time I unloaded it, I threw sand at her.It was about three o'clock in the afternoon, and the weather was very muggy.Climbing the low hill, I was already sweating and trying to hold my breath to avoid the nasty smell of the rotting fish.I murmured a few murmurs about the selfishness she had just shown, and walked around to the back of the car, arms outstretched, ready to lift Emma's heavy bag of makeup (another bad habit she's only recently cultivated) and two sleeping bags in the jacket.But my fingers were empty, and the trunk was empty. "Hey, who saw—" I looked around just in time to see Martin and Dodge walking toward the beach, the rest of our stuff slung over their shoulders, labored. I watched them go away and couldn't help but fell into deep thought.I'm not used to being helped by others.Ah, the boys do it for me.I'm not one of those distressed teenage girls who just scream for help. After a while, I shrugged, pulled the last of my belongings from the backseat—an air mattress and a can of bug repellent—and ran after them. "Thanks," I said, still a little out of breath, seeing them put everything next to the rest of the stuff. "Never mind," said Martin, laughing. Dodge smiled at me and blinked. blink? My face suddenly turned red.Fortunately both boys went to pack their things.Darren was busy rummaging through those boxes and bags, and only Emma could have seen my embarrassment, but she was basking in the sun with her eyes closed and her sunglasses on. "Emma!" I yelled, really pissed off by a teammate who only knows how to sit. "Come and help." She lifted her sunglasses up to her forehead and looked at me curiously. "what?" "Come and help," I repeated. "Time to pitch the tent." "now?" "Unless you want to do it in the dark?" I said sharply. Five minutes later, I realized I'd rather have her lay on the beach.Emma not only can't help, but also adds to the chaos.She just knew that standing there was useless, and she adjusted the shoulder straps of the vest, pulled the hem of the skirt, and always looked back to see if Darren was looking at her.Without her help, I unwrapped the canvas and orientated myself on the uneven stretch of beach.Then, I got out the tent poles and stuck them into the sand to form a long, curving line. "Hold this. Like this." I ordered her. She walked over unhurriedly, and stood obediently at the place I designated, holding the end of a tent pole inserted into the ground, while I ran to fix the clips and set up the tent.Emma glanced at me, then turned to look where the boys were, but Martin and Dodge were the only ones at work, and they were making much faster progress.They had nailed up the tent stakes and erected the canvas roof.Darren seems to be "overseeing" when he just stands on the sand and points with his own self-importance. "Their tents are bigger than ours," she pouted. "There were three of them," I reminded her. "They're taller." "Yes, that's how it is," I said angrily, flinging the canvas top over the top of the tent with great effort. "Now you can let go." She let go of the tent poles, and I waited anxiously for a while, but the tent still stood upright and did not fall down. I smiled at the tent, very satisfied with the fruits of my labor. "Is it all over?" she asked, glancing back at Darren, who was sitting in a folding chair now, stuffing a bottle of wine into the fridge. I let out a heavy breath, but it didn't attract Emma's attention at all. "Your life is over," I said. Emma pretended not to catch what I said. "Great." She smiled brightly and trotted off to find her boyfriend, leaving me to fiddle with rope and crooked tent stakes. I was doing it fairly quickly by myself, and then Martin and Dodge came over and helped me taut the rope and blow up the air mattress with Martin's little pump, and it went even faster.Even so, it was almost dinnertime before we sat down in the folding chairs that Darren had condescended to set up for us—his only contribution during the whole tenting process. "A drink?" Darren asked, holding a can of beer in the direction of me, Martin, and Dodge. I stare at the can of wine.The cans of beer glistened, chilled by the ice in the refrigerator, and glistening beads of water trickled down the shiny silver cans.But I don't really want to drink beer.I was sweating a lot, beads of sweat on my forehead, and my mouth was dry.It's this hot and I've done most of the tenting by myself, and I'm having a terrible headache.I just want to drink water or carbonated juice, but these things are buried under the bottle of Koyama Gao.I can imagine Darren's face when he hears that thought.More importantly, what would the Dodgers think?This situation is really a dilemma, and I can't help but frown. But I didn't want to be too naive, so I stretched out my hand, but when I saw Dodge's expression, I stopped the movement of my hand.He wrinkled his nose and shook his head slightly at Darren. "Let's talk later," he said. "I'm hungry. Shall we have a barbecue?"