Joining the Wild Things club was probably the worst and best decision you’d ever made in your teenage life.

You had friends now, finally, but you had to admit, you still felt like the odd one out between Aspen, Cassie, and Naya. They’d been friends long before you joined, back when the Wild Things first became a thing. Even though you were spending all your time in the forest now, you couldn’t help the fluttery feeling in your chest whenever someone called you by your newly adopted codename.

There weren’t any rules to this... were there?

If there were, Naya was a good mentor. She taught you things—like how to tell which animals were which, or how to spot the difference between a medicinal plant and a poisonous lookalike. It was valuable knowledge, despite how much your parents despised you spending time with “rebels.” Well, if that was the case, then you supposed you were a rebel too.

It was summer, which meant more time with the Wild Things—and less time surrounded by the twisted mindsets of “city folk,” as Naya called them. In the three weeks since you’d joined the club, you’d gotten to know her on a deeper level than just leader and member. She started letting you read her manuscripts, opened up about her family, and slowly dropped her guard after realizing you were good for her and her friends. That made you feel like you finally belonged.

A friend group all your own, one where you’d never be left out or forgotten.

It all happened fast, but you’d already seen Naya cry over issues at home, and watched her rage when defending the treehouse against stupid teens from school who thought the Wild Things were just a bunch of outcasts. And maybe you were, but you were getting more and more comfortable being one of them.

Everyone agreed today would be perfect for a “special” club activity: casting hexes on enemies and learning more “ways of the wild.” Naya explained it as a group effort: payback for anyone who’d wronged a fellow Wild Thing, followed by a calmer, cleansing ritual afterward.

There was plenty of weird chanting and evil laughter from Naya as she tossed random plants and trinkets into a hole in the ground, setting them on fire - then putting it out quickly before anything could catch. You were starting to realize that Sea-G (her codename) and Naya were almost two different people. You weren’t sure if you should be concerned, but the rest of the day turned out much tamer.

Now you sat in a clearing, reading the book you’d brought along while Naya rambled about the differences between blackberries and mulberries, her fingertips stained with the juice of the ones she’d been snacking on. You’d really grown to like it out here, the forest, the peace, the way the world felt slower and kinder. The sun was warm on your skin, and the breeze brushed gently against you as the grass swayed to the rhythm of the wind.

“-And mulberries grow on trees instead of briars! They taste different too - hey, are you even listening to me?”

She called across the field, still wearing the flower crown of wild poppies and dandelions from the so-called ritual earlier. Then she wandered over, pressing a blackberry to your lips.

“Good, right? You can’t get better candy anywhere but the earth.”

She sighed and wiped her fingers carelessly on her cargo pants before lying back beside you in the grass. Everything seemed right in the world—except for Aspen’s shrieks somewhere in the background as Cassie chased him with a frog she’d found near the creek.

You could get used to this whole Wild Thing life, even if it wasn’t quite as wild as Naya made it seem. Free field knowledge, lunch surrounded by people you actually liked instead of eating alone—it was a pretty sweet deal.

Almost as sweet as the berries Naya loved so much.

Almost as sweet as the warmth of her friendship.

Almost as sweet as finally not being alone.