Guilt and Forgiveness

When we finally arrived at the parking lot, the sky was already getting dark. Soon, our only light source would be the lonely lamppost that sparsely illuminated the deserted parking spaces. I fled towards the safe haven of light to escape the threatening shadows of the tall trees that loomed over us and sat down at the wooden picnic table that stood underneath it.

"Shit, my phone's not working, must be the cold..." Joey grumbled under his breath before he looked up at me. "Can I borrow yours?"

I quietly handed mine over with a polite nod and watched as Joey called one of our teachers. He nervously paced around the parking lot during his call, not just to calm his own nerves, but also to keep warm. I could not blame him; as the evening set in, the temperature outside was dropping significantly. My coat was not as thick as Joey’s and the icy wind blew right through it but I had no right to complain. It was my fault that we got into this situation in the first place, after all.

I should NEVER have allowed Joey to come with me and I should NEVER have lost track of time. He had done nothing wrong and I would feel horrible if he would be punished because of my actions. Nevertheless, I was glad to have him with me now. Being alone in the dark woods would have been terrifying.

Joey wrapped up the call and sat down next to me. At first, I interpreted his calm and collected expression as passive aggression and I shrivelled up at the thought that Joey might be disappointed in me. "I-I'm sorry for losing track of t-time," I apologized shakily as I shivered in my coat. "I d-don't want you to get in trouble..."

"Hey, don't worry about it," Joey sighed forgivingly. He looked exhausted but managed to conjure up a smile to comfort me. "I had fun today! That's what's most important. Besides, I've gotten into trouble with the teachers for far worse things. I doubt this'll surprise them. I'm glad we went together, otherwise, you'd have had to deal with this mess all on your own."

“Thanks for looking out for me, I appreciate it,” I muttered, curling up in an effort to preserve warmth.

"Are you cold?" Joey asked worriedly. "We could switch coats if you want... I don't get cold as easily as you do." I thought about his offer; I did not want to inconvenience him more than I already had but I had no idea how much longer I could last in this freezing temperature. Eventually, my survival instincts won over my pride.

“P-please, if that’s okay?” My voice was barely audible.

Joey zipped open his coat without a second thought. The piercing cold cut right through my body as I unbuttoned mine. We quickly swapped. Once I was enveloped by the heat that Joey's body had left behind, I felt much better and I let out a sigh of relief. The inside lining had absorbed all of Joey's warmth and now managed to keep me warm to my core.

"Do you get cold easily?" Joey wondered. My coat barely fit over his wide chest and broad shoulders which was a rather funny sight. Fortunately, he did not seem to mind the cold much.

I nodded and let myself sink further into Joey's coat. In addition to its warmth, the fabric also smelled amazing. I breathed in its rich scent of pine trees and exotic spices. It smelled like Joey. I was in heaven. “Yeah, I don’t have all that much body fat, so my body cools down rapidly if I'm not exercising or wearing extra clothes,” I explained.

He smiled kindly. “Is this better then?”

I nodded again, returning his smile. “Yes... Thank you.”

We had to wait about 20 minutes before the car arrived and by that time even Joey was longing for a warm bed and a hot cup of cocoa. He had started to pace over the parking lot again and was rubbing his hands together to combat the cold. We were truly lucky that miss Applebloom, our French teacher, allowed us to enter the car first before she scolded us.

“What were you thinking?” She snorted like an angry horse. Her face was even redder than ours! “Running away from the group in the middle of a forest in the freezing cold? What if you'd gotten lost? You’d have frozen to death!”

“There's no need to worry miss, Simon has a really good sense of direction,” Joey answered innocently. Unfortunately, his answer made her even more furious.

"Joey Burgundy! How dare you! Your antics are going to be the death of me one day and now you've even roped Simon into your schemes. Do you have any idea how worried we were about you?!" She exclaimed. "Do you want to keep worrying your friends, family and teachers? I surely don't hope so."

Joey despondently looked down at his hands. "No, miss..."

"Excuse me, miss Applebloom. I'm sorry, but it was my idea," I interrupted her while I nervously tinkered with the buttons of Joey's coat. "Joey's got nothing to do with it! I wanted to take some pictures of the forest and wandered too far off. Joey came after me because he was afraid something might happen to me if I'd go alone."

"That's enough, let's get back to the hotel first," Miss Applebloom sighed. "You're not off the hook just yet! It was very dangerous what you boys did and I will have to inform your parents about this... You will be given a stern talking to once I and the rest of the staff have devised a fitting punishment for you. NEVER do this again. Is that clear?”

“Yes miss,” we both muttered down spirited.