on the map//spencer 'spider' white

25

In the morning we all meet outside. I think Jojo plans to lead us in meditation or something.

"All right, everyone, take a seat," Jojo tells us. "Space yourselves out."

"Make sure you leave enough room for your chakras," Voss remarks.

"Where is it? Where is it?" Quinni asks as she digs around in her bag. "I can't find my phone anywhere."

"Maybe you left it in the cabin," I offer.

"I looked everywhere," Quinni insists.

"So, today's guided meditation is about connecting with your higher self. I want stillness. I want calm. I want..."

A speaker beeps. "Device connected."

Jojo looks around. "Huh?"

Loud metal music suddenly blasts through the speaker.

"Who hurt you, Miss?" Ant remarks.

Jojo finally gets the music off. "Sorry about that. All right, everyone, let's close our eyes. Closing your eyes. Come on. Darren, close your eyes. All right. Good. Yeah. Great. So, let's think of this as a palate cleanser. A way to hit refresh on the term." Jojo hits some metal bowl. "Let's take a deep breath in. Hold for three seconds and release. I want you to imagine a beach, the waves gently lapping the shore. Now focus on the soles of your feet sinking into the sand. The water touching your toes. Now, look across the blue water, and feel the breeze brush against your cheek."

The speaker beeps. "Device disconnected."

"Huh? Um..." Jojo says.

"New device connected," the speaker says. It starts to play our conversation from earlier. The one about Bird Psycho. "Remind me why we don't think it's Spider again? He's pathologically afraid of birds. It's called ornithophobia."

"Turn it off," Amerie instructs.

"Hmm. So who else? What about Ant?"

Amerie tries to grab the speaker, but Spider grabs it first.

"Spencer!" Jojo shouts.

The speaker keeps playing the recording, "Ant's way too stupid to pull something like this off."

"Spencer, can I please have the speaker?" Jojo asks.

Harper puts her face in her hands. "Fuck."

"Rowan? Farmer wants a husband? Makes no sense. It was his first day when we found the dead bird."

"That's what happens," Spider says as he keeps running.

"Spider!" Amerie shouts as she runs after him.

"Sasha's coming for captaincy and is desperate AF."

"It's about your friends," Spider says.

"Turn it off!" Amerie shouts.

"And Missy does whatever Sasha tells her to do."

"The fuck?" Missy remarks.

"Spencer, that's enough," Jojo tells him.

"Could it be Malakai?"

"Spencer, stop it!" Jojo shouts.

"You mean the guy who gaslit me into thinking I wanted an open relationship while he was trying to decide if he liked boys?" Amerie sinks to her knees. "Who knows what he's capable of."

"Spencer!" Jojo shouts.

Voss grabs the speaker. "Enough!"

"...1400 hours and you were in the stairwell for an hour..."