Which Direction?

Written by Josie Schultz

The sunlight glittered through the window onto my desk as my teacher droned on about the fall of the Roman empire, like who couldn’t care less? The warmth drew me in and made my eyes heavy, lulling me into an interesting dream state. Just as some intriguing things happened in this wacky dream, a book is slammed onto my desk, echoing throughout the classroom. I had a hazy half-memory of a question being asked so I answered it as I shot up. 

“...Correct… but stop sleeping in my class, Mr. Christ.”

Embarrassed, I start taking my notes, only daydreaming a little. The school day always drags on, especially since I don't talk to anyone. I mean I've tried to… it’s just hard when everyone already has their groups and people they’ve hung out with for years. I thought I could make a few friends by getting the top marks and joining a few sports, but that idea fizzled out quickly. After I became the top in basketball, soccer, and alpine skiing, top in my grade, and 5th in the school it felt like I was further than before. I wasn’t bullied but I was acknowledged less than before. Only the teachers really talked to me and that's just to congratulate me on my achievements. 

When the sweet bells of release finally ring out I gather my stuff up, flinging myself out of the school. Soon I find myself on a path I'm all too familiar with. A few years ago I often came here to walk and process how I felt. A flood of memories suffocates me for a moment as I absent-mindedly walk further. Losing my footing on a gravel patch I face-plant. Quickly I get back up, brushing myself off and ignoring that I just ate a bush focusing on something in the distance that intrigues me. 

Before I even have a second chance to think, I start moving towards it, almost like I am drawn to it. As I get closer, I realize it’s a treehouse. There are vines and leaves all over it and parts of the wood have weathered, giving it an abandoned look. It creaks and squeaks as I climb up the wooden ladder, making me worry about its structural integrity. 

Finally getting into the house I look around. It’s pretty beaten up and definitely needs some work, but ideas are already flowing through my head on what I could do to spruce it up. I started by picking up the leaves and sticks that had piled up over who knows how long.

Ensuring I had as many leaves as possible I scooped up and dropped them all out of the window. I watched them flutter to the ground below as a glimpse of something shiny caught the corner of my eye. I rush down the ladder to check it out, curiosity taking full control of me. 

Digging through the leaves I finally found the shiny object. Much to my disappointment, it was just a compass. I put it in my bag pocket and decided to head back home now so my parents wouldn't worry, planning to come back tomorrow.

The next day school dragged on and on as I daydreamed about what I could do to fix up the treehouse and make it my little base. The sun caught on the compass that was in my bag, reminding me of it once more. I grab it and examine it instead of paying attention. It was a little dirty but I could tell it was golden in color and had intricate engravings on it. Opening it revealed a well-kept compass, but it seemed like it had a soft glow emitting from it. The bell ringing brought me out of my intense infatuation and reminded me to go to the treehouse again. 

It took me a few extra minutes to remember how exactly to get there but when I did I made myself comfortable in the corner. I started on some schoolwork I had to do anyway and then went back to the compass. I wiped it off on my jeans and tried to figure out what the engraving was. The harder I looked the more confused I got, giving up on it after a few more minutes of trying to figure something out. I set it aside and revised a paper I left out. Looking up after I finished it I realized I should’ve left a while ago. I end up racing home, forgetting all about the compass. 

It’s finally the weekend meaning I can spend all day at the treehouse. I tell my mom I’m going to hang out with a friend, a small lie for the greater good of my renovations. She seems so happy at the idea that I have a friend, so she doesn't question anything and offers to buy snacks and drinks for us. I tell her there's no need to find a way to brush her off that wouldn’t make her suspicious. 

Happily, I make my way down the path with a few blankets, some books, and a deck of cards to help make the treehouse more like a home. As I'm climbing up I hear the muttering of someone in the treehouse. It stops me dead in my tracks mid-climb and my heart starts pounding in my chest. My mind is racing with possibilities of what could happen if I were to continue going up and if I were to leave, most very unlikely. Finally, I decided to continue up, making sure to be very cautious of this mystery person. 

As I get to the top and look up I see a boy about my age in the corner holding the compass I was unaware I had left there. We make eye contact as we both scream. 

“Who are you?” I questioned, climbing in the rest of the way and setting my stuff down in the corner.

“Who are you?!” The boy repeats. 

I debate the consequences, ultimately deciding that there were very few cons to him knowing my name, before replying “Name’s Jeremy… now you”

The boy shook his head, frowning as he did so. 

“Hey! I told you my name, so it is common courtesy to tell me yours!” I gave him an annoyed look, impatiently waiting for his reply. 

His eyes darted around briefly before he accepted that I was blocking the exits. “I'm Cameron… do me a favor and don't tell anyone I'm here…” He spoke with an odd hesitation. Almost like he was embarrassed, and then it hit me. He is embarrassed. 

As he was talking I was able to get a better look at him, realizing how I had seen him around the school. He was always surrounded by others and praised for doing just about anything. It made sense tho… he was a relatively attractive guy who was good at everything. Of course, he would be embarrassed about being here… with me. 

“Oh.. yeah, I got you” I slump against the doorframe, assuming he hates me like everyone else apparently does.

After a slight pause and sigh of relief, he answers “Hey, thanks, man. My parents would KILL me if they find out I'm here… they don't like when I wander”

 I try not to pry into his personal life much, instead pointing at the compass he had rested on his leg “Hey what are you doing with my compass?” 

“Oh it was just in here so I decided to look at it, curiosity got the best of me, y’know?” Cameron picked it back up and ran his fingers over it, looking at it with awe as it caught the light from the window.

 “Yeah… it's pretty mesmerizing, isn't it” I point out

“It is” He paused, “Hey, do you know what these engravings mean?” He glanced up at me as he asked. 

“Umm. No... I was gonna look at it a bit more carefully and try to figure out what language it could be. I was thinking French at first glance but I’m not so sure the more I look at it” My tone hinted towards my excitement at finally being able to talk to someone about anything really. Cameron slowly nodded his head as I spoke, taking in my different theories and thinking of his own. He shared some of his and we kept going back and forth, building off each other. 

The sun starts to set as our conversation winds down causing us to realize how long we had been talking. We lock eyes and realize we're dead. Neither of our parents thought we would be out this late and were bound to be worrying by now. “Hey, are you coming back here tomorrow?” Cameron looks at me hopefully as he waits for my reply. 

“Yeah, I think I will” I smile at him hoping he wants to come back too.

“Then we should start meeting here so we can figure this mysterious compass out, okay” 

“Yeah I like that idea” 

This marks the start of my first ever true friendship, as we both rushed home to hopefully not be chewed out by our parents. Even after a good scolding, we found our way back to the treehouse relatively fast. 

At first, we would just hang out at the treehouse after school and sometimes on the weekends. We would take turns bringing different games and snacks to help entertain ourselves when we couldn't get anywhere with our compass theories. This was our everyday life for about 2 months, with a few words at school every now and again, mainly to let the other know if we couldn't meet up that day. As the weather became worse we decided we could talk about it at school instead. We spent most of our breaks together, causing an uproar in gossip. 

Our friendship was unpredictable since I was such an outcast and he was so popular. It helped break our social stigmas, making both of us more approachable and feel more normal. Of course, there was negative gossip about Camreon only wanting to be my friend for test answers or how I just wanted his popularity. We do our best to ignore things that would negatively impact us, making sure we don't stoop down to their level and snap back. 

As the months go by we progress in figuring out what this compass could say.  After searching some of the basic languages we decided to look at Greek. The letters were hard to make out, even after cleaning it more thoroughly than before. After looking up the Greek alphabet we started comparing the two. We were able to find some words within it. 

“now and” This sparked our interest in it, causing us to try much harder in the following weeks. We spent more and more time together, often playing cards and just chatting about the compass when we had any spare time in school. 

Our unlikely pair had finally stopped being the drama center, but it left a lasting effect. After our friendship was seen, it encouraged others to actually talk to people and not just stay with the group they had always been with. It reminded people they could choose to be around who they wanted and leave the comfort of familiarity. 

For me, it was nice to actually have a friend. Someone to confide in and to just be around. Everything felt… right. That's the best way to put it. As we grew closer we worked on figuring the compass out a little less, finding more joy in getting to know each other. It seemed like the closer we were to figuring the compass out the less we wanted to. The fear from both sides knowing that if the compass is figured out then there’s not an excuse to hangout. Not wanting the comfort to leave. Not wanting the newly formed friendship to end quite yet. 

And so we waited. Pretending that there were other things we had to do. We made excuse after excuse to just be hanging out instead of trying with the compass. We would often glance at it when we hung out, like checking to see if it somehow solved itself. One day we glanced at it and then at each other, finally deciding that we should work on it.

We pulled out everything we knew, laying it out to cross-reference. We had started off by comparing letters that we could make out, realizing there was still dirt and mud stuck in the engravings making it harder to figure out. 

“Hey, pass me that water bottle,” Cameron said while reaching for a twig to use with it. He took the cap off, poured a few drops of water onto the compass, and dug out the mud as carefully as possible. After watching him for a few minutes we decided it was good enough and went back to comparing words and letters. Time flew by as we searched and it was starting to get dark. Just as we were about to give up for the night, I realized we had mistranslated some letters. Frantically I started writing out the correct letters, piecing together words as Cameron moved to look over my shoulder. We both leaned back, looking at the compass and what we had translated. It read “ Friends for now and forever”

We stared at the phrase and then looked at each other. After a small smile crept its way to Cameron's face we both burst out laughing, relief trickling through as we both realized the compass brought us together and created a lifelong friendship for both of us. We had shared the last 6 months becoming friends and learning about each other, figuring out how much we had in common. 

Sure we only became friends because of our curiosity but it blossomed into more. Because of this compass, we were both able to feel more connected, seen, and understood. It helped put into perspective how the world works and how easy it is for things to change. We were able to grow as people and both gained a lifelong friendship and found a direction we wanted to go.