"Hey... Are you guys sure that this is the "fun" chalet that you all are talking about?", I enquired curiously.
They just stared at me and nodded.
"Here are your keys. Have a nice stay." the manager said as he gave an evil grin.
I shuddered upon listening to the manager as we were led to our unit. To my surprise, it was pretty cozy. I sat on the bed and my friends had already started n their conversation.
"Say... This is pretty cozy isn't it?" I said with a smile.
Again they just stared at me and nodded before returning to their conversation. I tried to get into their conversation but once I went close to them they immediately stop and stared at me followed by James pushing me away and telling me to mind my own business. Paralysed with shock, I fell to the ground. I isolated myself at the corner of the chalet watching boring television programmes.I gave out a sigh as my friends laughed loudly and happily among themselves.
" At least they are happy..." I thought, trying to console myself.
Soon, the sun was directly above us. My friends decided to go for a hike in the forest. Upon hearing that I dashed towards my girlfriend, as I knew that she had an injury at her ankle when she was younger.
"Elaine, are you okay with this?" I asked worriedly, afraid that something might happen to her.
"It's okay!" she retorted, "Henry will help me when i get into trouble. Right Henry?"
Henry nodded as he clutched Elaine's hands, giving e a slight smile. The sense of jealousy shot up my body , as he walked out of the door with Elaine in hands.Feeling dejected, I walked into my room and changed into my hiking gear.
"All right guys, I'm ready!" I shouted enthusiastically, just to find an empty chalet and replies from the echoes.
They left without me.
I could feel tears well up in my eyes as I thought of how bad this celebration was. It was my birthday! But everyone was so cold towards me. I wiped off the tears and trudged towards the exit before slamming the door so hard that it might fell of the hinges. My feet hardly touched the ground as i raced into the forest of the hill, hoping that I could catch up with the rest of the group.
Finally laughter's could be heard as I saw four familiar figures of James, Henry. Elaine and Jackson. I held on to Jackson's shoulders trying to catch my breath after running for the past half and hour. Little did I expected that Jackson actually reacted by brushing my hands off and reprimanded me for being late! The tears that i wiped off seemed to climb back into my eyes as my so-called "friends' turned away and shook their heads in disgust. I swore that i could kill them now as I clenched my fist and continued with the hike. It felt longer and more tedious than usual as i followed them blindly, trying not to do anything to provoke them. After hours of looking at them playing around, they decided to have barbeque for dinner.
They guys fetched the equipments and charcoals and placed them in front of me. I gave them a puzzled look before James shouted at me.
"Set up." he demanded as he returned to the rest of the gang.
I looked at the equipments and began to ponder "Are these people really what I call friends?", "Are these people really the thing that made me who I am?" I could feel that our friendship is falling apart. I gave my "friends" one last look before setting up the barbeque pit. Right after I am done, they flocked over and started to cook for one another, without me of course. I sat on the bench staring at them. Elaine seemed to notice me and brought over. My eyes glistened as I looked at what she brought me, it was two sticks of chicken kebab and it was... raw? My heart sank like a rock in a pond as she told me to cook them for Henry and herself. After cooking, I left the area and went back into my room, forcing myself to sleep, I was to hungry to sleep. But in the end I managed to cry myself to sleep, hoping that this nightmare will end tomorrow after i woke up.
Several hours later, I woke up in a daze. Everyone was gone but all their belongings remained. Just then I found a note on the table.
"I got your friends, if you ever want to see them again, come to chalet number 6 immediately." i read out.
I picked up my jacket and ran towards that chalet. I opened the door furiously and darkness greeted me. The entire chalet was dark and gloomy. The curtains are shut and the lights were off. I walked into a room and I could see my friends all tied up. I ran towards them but a sudden tug at my collar stopped me. I turned back to see a figure in a black cloak. The manager! He placed a cold object in my hands.
" What you are holding now is a knife, I want you to kill one of them, then the rest of you can go..." he whispered sinisterly before laughing like a maniac, " In other words, one life must be lost here..."
I looked at Jackson. "Yes... he wasn't much of a friend is he. He won't even lent a helping hand or should i say... shoulder?" the manager said.
How did he know?
I turned and looked at Henry. "OH! He is worse! Trying to steal your girlfriend. How about a little punishment?" the manager exclaimed while giving me a nudge. I looked at the rest and thoughts rushed through my mind.
" I... I can't do this." I blurted, "No matter how bad they are , they are still my friends... the things that made me who I am, killing them is as good as killing myself."
" So one life had to be lost here right?" I said shaking as I held the knife up high, " Well then I made my choice." Immediately I plunged the knife at my heart. I could hear my friends
shouting.
Suddenly everything turned bright. I must be in heaven. I opened my eyes slowly and I saw my friends laughing and crying both at the same time. The dark room was now brightly lighted. I stared at them with my mouth ajar, did I not die? I looked at the knife. It was made of soft plastic which bended upon touching my body. I was not able to differentiate it in the darkness.
"Surprise!" they shouted as two more men popped out of the room. One of them was holding a camera. it was a show! All this while of being cold to me was just a test of our friendship! I laughed and caught my friends in a warm embrace.
Friends, they are really the things that made me who I am.
