The Accidental Star

TREK

ANNE

" I don't know about you, " Rachel told me wearily as she trudged her feet along the mountain's rocky slopes. " But this is going to be my last mountain climbing. "

" What I do know is, " I looked at my best friend wryly. " This is your first."

She paused to catch her breath bending over to rest her palms on her knees. " And definitely my last, "

I stopped walking to keep her company and glanced at the members of our team who were a good ten meters ahead of us.

It was the fourth day of our Bali vacation. Riwa and Daniel registered everyone for a full day mountain trek. We've been up since five in the morning and had been hiking since seven. We reached the mountain's highest peak 4 hours after we've started. After a hearty lunch and an hour of rest, we've started our decent down the rocky slopes to where the hotel van would be waiting for us.

" You okay? " I peered closely at Rachel.

She was gasping for air, shaking her head at me.

" H-how come you're fine? " She pouted in between breaths and looked at me incredulously. " Not even a strand of hair out of place."

" Training, " I grinned at my best friend.

Compared to the hell that I've been through the past weeks, this was a walk in the park.

She pushed herself up and placed her hands on her hips. " Who's fucking idea was this again? " she demanded as she threw back her head and took a deep breath.

" Not mine, " I chuckled as  I adjusted the straps of my backpack. " I've known you long enough to know that you're not cut out for this. "

" Neither are you, " she narrowed her eyes at me. " And that's exactly why we're best friends."

" You know I love you, " I told her. " but sometimes, you can be a real pain."

But Rachel was, of course, right on that point.

We were next door neighbors and I've known her all my life. While Jake and her brothers played tag and roamed the streets in their bikes, Rachel and I would be playing Barbie and paper dolls.

We love shopping and dressing up. And we were good at it. We've been branded fashionable ever since the day that we've both stepped foot in the same classroom in kindergarten in matching tutu dresses.

She looked at me unhappily. " You do know that this is all your fault."

I furrowed my brows. " And why is that? "

She threw her hands dramatically. " If you haven't run off to Seoul, then you wouldn't have been casted in this TV show. Which means, you wouldn't have been training in Jeju and you wouldn't have been stranded in a cave for days and I...I wouldn't have flown all the way from New York. "

I tried to stifle my laughter as I looked at her.

Trust Rachel to make everything sound so dramatic.

" Jake wouldn't have felt so guilty and booked you and the entire production team a vacation here in Bali. " Rachel went on, her arms flying in all direction as she vented her frustration. "  Then, we wouldn't be here arguing about all these! "

She let out a loud huff at the end of her outburst.

" Tell me, why did you come to Seoul again?" I wanted to know as I looked at my best friend with renewed interest.

" Are you suddenly suffering from amnesia or what? " She furrowed her eyebrows. " It's because my best friend ran off to Seoul, got herself stranded in a freaking cave and was unconscious for days. So I had to come and see if she was really alright. "