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Chapter One
I stared into my walk-in closet. I couldn't decide if I should bring spring or summer clothes to camp. For July, the peak of the summer, it was unusually cool. In Phoenix, we should be melting in the heat.
"Mary, you better be packing up there!" Courtney yelled up from downstairs. Courtney was my mom, but I never called her mom ever since Dad passed away two years ago. We depended on each other, and we became like sisters. We had to leave in an hour, and my suitcase was empty except for some socks and some lacy lingerie (I was hoping that I would get lucky at camp).
"I'll be down in half an hour," I yelled back down. "I'm deciding on what to bring."
"All you have to do is grab a handful of clothes and stuff them in your bag. We still have to pick up Chelsea on our way, and you guys don't want to miss the bus to camp." Great.
I hated riding in buses. Actually, I hated riding any vehicles except for airplanes. I got totally carsick as soon as I get into the car. My doctor said that it was normal. It may be normal, but it hurt like crap. I would get nauseous and headaches. I was just a total mess in a car.
I finally decided on spring clothes and grabbed the cutest outfits and put them in my bag. I grabbed my toothbrush and most importantly, my makeup bag. If I left it, I wouldn't be able to leave the cabin for the whole four weeks.
I rushed downstairs just in time. Courtney was about to yell again. I stopped her, "I'm ready Court." We headed for the car, but not without my carsickness pills.
Chelsea was my best friend ever since we were in diapers, and now we were going to be juniors in high school. She and I were inseparable after our mom's set up a play date for us. She only lived two blocks away, so Courtney volunteered to bring Chelsea to the bus stop.
When we got to her house, Courtney honked the horn. Almost immediately, Chelsea stepped outside with three bags: her purse, a humongous duffel bag, and a smaller rolling suitcase. Her oh-so-hot brother, Dustin, came outside with even more bags. After putting her bags in the trunk, she opened the back door and asked, "Is it fine if my brother comes too, Mrs. Davis?" I didn't know that he was coming to camp. This was going to be an awesome four weeks.
"Of course! The more the merrier," Courtney replied, with a kind smile. With that said, Dustin put his stuff in the trunk. He and Chelsea got into the back seat.
"Thanks a lot, Mrs. Davis for taking us to the bus stop." Dustin showed his gratitude with a beaming, gorgeous smile.
"You're absolutely welcome." Courtney caught me staring at Dustin in the rearview mirror. She shot me a look that said Go for it! I almost started laughing at the spot, but I nodded.
"So, Mary," Chelsea started, "do you know what activities are happening this summer?"
"Yeah. I think I have the brochure in my purse." I dug in my $700 genuine Gucci purse that I got for my birthday the week before. When I found the brochure, I read aloud, "This year at Camp Cherokee the following sports and activities will be available for sign ups: tennis, swimming, football (boys), flag football (girls), soccer, academic competitions, and basketball. I think this year I'm going to sign up for flag football and soccer. What about you Chels?"
She thought about it for a moment before answering, "I think I'm going to the same two and tennis as well." Chelsea was a five-year champion at tennis. She could be anyone that she played. Colleges were already noticing her and offering full scholarships. "What are you going to do, Dustin?"
"Definitely football," Dustin answered in his perfect voice. "I might also do basketball and swimming. " As soon as he said that, I immediately pictured him in a bathing suit.
"Mary, are you okay?" Courtney asked. I must've been staring off into space. Even some drool dribbled down my chin.
"Yeah, yeah." I wiped off my chin, totally embarrassed. Dustin chuckled as if he knew the naughty thoughts I was thinking. "I just want to get to camp as soon as possible. I'm going to take two of these pills." I shook the bottle. "I want them to knock me out for the whole two hours."
"I'll probably fall asleep, too." Chelsea remarked. "I was awake until two o'clock in the morning packing my stuff. And it's…" She looked at her watch. "…7:30. "
"At least someone was prepared and did not wait until an hour before we had to leave." Courtney smiled. I couldn't help but to smile, too.
"It's a tough decision on what to pack." I had to defend myself somehow. "They have to be certain styles and designs for a certain occasion. " Courtney just rolled her eyes and shook her head."
We were silent for the rest of the drive to the bus stop.
We didn't have time for long goodbyes, or we would miss the bus. With a quick wave, Chelsea, Dustin, and I boarded the bus.
Dustin saw his friends, and immediately he went to sit with them. "What's up?" He started. The rest of the conversation I couldn't hear because I was very distracted.
In the last row of seats on the bus was the most gorgeous group of kids I have ever seen. They were beautifully perfect in every single way, yet they were hideously scary. They had strong eyes that seemed that they could penetrate anything and their eyebrows were arched in such a way that they looked angry all the time. I couldn't take my eyes off of them until one of them, a boy, caught my gaze. Immediately I looked away and sat down.
As soon as Chelsea finally sat down, I asked her in a low whisper, "Who are those people back there?"
Chelsea turned and looked, trying to look like she was stretching. When she got a good look at who I was speaking of, she turned and replied, "They are foster kids from Alaska. They are real brothers and sisters, but they've been moved from one home to the other ever since their parents were killed. I feel really bad for them, but aren't they the most gorgeous beings you have ever seen?" She gave them another stretch-look. I rolled my eyes even though what she said was true beyond all reason. "The one on the far left is Ares." I gave her an are-you-serious look." I know. What were his parents thinking? The next one is Leah. She is like the pack leader. Every one of them follows her around and carries out her every command." She made a genie gesture. "In the next seat over is sweet, innocent Ivy. She barely speaks and always seems to be invisible. I don't know what her problem is, but if I were her I would show off my looks, not hide them."
I nodded in agreement. "Why would someone in their right mind want to hide such beauty? Wait. Maybe she isn't in her right mind." I said giggling before I could even finish. Chelsea joined me.
After taking a deep breath, she continued, "Last but certainly no least is Mackenzie. He—"
I interrupted her, "Wait, hold up. Mackenzie is a boy?"
"Yeah, take a look." I did. This time I did a yawn-look. When I saw the boy who Chelsea said was Mackenzie, I realized that it was the boy who had caught me staring at him when I first got unto the bus.
To me, he was the most beautiful and perfect out of all of the siblings. He had the ideal face and looked like he was well-built under the tight shirt he was wearing. Once again, he caught me, but this time I didn't look away. The next thing he did really blew me away: he smiled. His smile gave me goose bumps. It was beautiful. If it was any whiter it would've blinded me.
From the corner of my eye, I saw Leah turned her head towards Mackenzie. He met her gaze, and she let out a little gasp. She quickly aimed her strong gaze at me. When I looked into her eyes, I could've sworn I saw pure hate in them. Her face didn't show it, but her eyes sure did. I gulped and turned back to Chelsea who was awestruck.
"Did you see the way Mackenzie looked and smiled at you?" She asked very anxiously. I only nodded. I was still shocked at the look I had just received. I wondered what my face looked like then because Chelsea asked, "What's wrong, Mary? Are you alright?"
I snapped out of it. "Yeah. It's just that Leah gave me a look that was full of hatred." I shook my head. "I must be seeing things. I just want to get to camp already." As if on cue with my words, the bus roared to life. I remembered my pills and took two with some bottled water. Chelsea took out her Sudoku and crossword puzzles. She offered me one, but those made the carsickness worse. The bus took off at a relatively good speed. "Can you wake me up when we get there?"
Chelsea was already focused on her crossword puzzle, so all I got for an answer was, "Yeah, sure whatever." That was fine with me. The effects of the pills were taking over, and soon I was fast asleep.