Layla had been filling up her teal aluminum water bottle at the time, when she looked up, surprised, hardly having heard the meek voice of Lanie addressing her. "Who, Dr. Ruiz?"
"Yes. I... I overheard him commenting to another professor once that he thinks you actually have a lot of potentials. That he sure you'll make a great archaeologist someday."
This, Layla, found exceptionally hard to believe, and she fought to stifle a chuckle and an eye roll to this, as she strained to respond to Lanie's well-meaning words, "Look, I... uh... I appreciate it, really. And I know you gotta say that kind of stuff, cause he's your dad and all, but to be honest, it doesn't really bother me. I'm fine, honestly, either way." That was a blatant lie. It drove her crazy how much Ruiz was always on her, and wished she could figure out how to garner more respect from him, while still remaining under the radar. "Besides, we're all mostly just here for the experience anyway, right?" Layla could see the girl beginning to regret her words, and again retreat back into her mousey meekness, so she quickly added, "but thanks. That means a lot." Lanie smiled, weakly, and walked away to gather up the rest of her belongings.
Layla had nearly finished filling up the last of her water bottles, when she once again overheard the voice of her advisor, continuing to with explaining their plans to their supply runner. "Look, it's here. I'm sure of it! How can we pass up a chance like this?"
"Senior Ruiz, you never said anything about where it was you were going. Chi Ubah Kan... the Mouth of the Serpent!... Senior, the ancient ones have cursed that place, and it is guarded by monsters," Alejandro lowered his voice, as if he feared the gods themselves might hear him, and hastily made the sign of the cross over his sweaty chest, "and Kukulkan, he is not the compassionate type! The only thing out there in that part of the jungle--anywhere near those old, forgotten ruins--is death! Please, I beg you and your team to turn back!" Alejandro's tone was becoming increasingly anxious, as he forced a smile once more, and continued, "Tikal!... I can take you to Tikal... lots of ruins there, you Americans like that, and..."
"It's fine. Don't be a superstitious fool! We're prepared and well researched. We have plenty of supplies..."
Alejandro gestured emphatically to Ruiz's "X" on the map, "there is no way my baby can make it out there, and neither will you and your team. The jungle's too wild!"
"Then... get as close as you can, and call and let us know where we can meet you safely," Ruiz smiled, and patted his pack, "we have a sat phone, so we can't get lost, and you can always track our location by pinging the GPS."
Alejandro, whose smile had replaced by a worried frown, shrugged and picked up the map. "It's as you say. You're the boss." He climbed back into the driver's seat of the Jeep, before calling out, "Alright, listo?"
Dr. Ruiz looked around to his students, making a quick assessment, before responding, "yep, good to go," he slapped his hand down on the yellow hood, before adding, "thanks, and see you in three days!"
Defeated, all Alejandro could do was sigh, and give a quick smile and wave to the team of intrepid explorers, before putting the car into gear and driving off. As the car distanced itself further and further recklessly back into the jungle, Layla and the others could just make out the dance beat and the high pitched strings riff from the opening of Britney Spears' "Toxic", as it faded into nothingness, and the sounds of the jungle once again overtook everything around them.
Chapter 10
The Fall
By mid-afternoon on the second day, it was clear that the mood of the expedition had changed dramatically. Gone was the sense of excitement and wonder, marveling at the colorful diversity of flora and fauna, and the feeling of playing at being Lara Croft, adventuring towards some lost city ruins none of them had ever heard of. No, these things had now been replaced by the miserable humidity, aching, tired feet, treacherous, unforgiving terrain, and an almost militant level of perpetual cadence and momentum. Even the constant bickering between James and Becca had wained considerably, though as irritable as everyone still was, it never disappeared completely.
Meanwhile, Dr. Ruiz, Garmin eTrex handheld GPS unit firmly in one hand, a machete in the other, continued leading the slumping mob of grad students, over steep ridges and through dense vegetation, with the motivation and certainty of a man driven by the thought of his own imagined renown-to-be. Following closely behind him, of course, was James, who still seemed to have it in his head that proximity denoted level of interest. The three girls were lagging a bit farther behind, doing a better job at pacing themselves apart from Ruiz's breakneck speed.
"Hey, Professor! How about us taking a bit of water break?" Becca called up ahead, winded, and looking to Layla and Lanie to back her up.
"What's wrong, Becc? Little hike too much for you?" James responded almost instantly as if he were straining to cover up the exhaustion in his own voice, "I could go all day!"
Layla gave Becca a reassuring glance, before shooting James a look. "Shut up, James! You wish!" she fired back, "Besides, we're all of us pretty tired, and you know it!"
"Yeah, even you, you pompous little suck up!" Becca was enjoying a renewed burst of energy to stick up for herself, especially with the added support,
