The morning we were to leave everyone woke up at dawn. I got up by myself, brushed my own hair, put on my own clothes. I tied my hair back in a loose low ponytail, ignoring Ana’s look, and walking away from her fingers as she tried to fix it to perfection. I didn’t care if strands were hanging out, it was out of my face and that’s all that mattered to me. I even tied my own boots myself, sloppy loops that I couldn’t help but be proud of, even if they did keep coming undone.
I sat quietly by myself on my log, eating my food that I got myself without complaint, even when I ate fifteen bites instead of ten. I could feel Jem’s eyes on me but I ignored him, thinking I was imagining it anyways since every time I looked at him he wasn’t even looking at me. Ren was sitting on a log with
