This is the second in a series of Enterprise School for the Gifted AU's. I've already got one up, The Enterprise Club, and this is another one that takes place in this universe, but is a completely different story. Same characters, same setting, but different stories: that kind of thing.
Oh, and it's a kidfic too. And Maranatha Recreation Camp is a real place, I went there on my Grade 6 camp, but it's in Australia. It rained the whole time I was there... Hopefully the Enterprise crew will have a better experience!
o.O.o
Chapter 1 – The Groups
Two white buses with 'Enterprise School for the Gifted' stamped on the sides pulled up outside the Maranatha Recreation Camp, the doors opening to reveal a gaggle of excited children. Almost one hundred of them tumbled out, milling around the buses to collect their bags from the lower compartments. Once they had their bags they gathered at the front doors of the Camp and waited impatiently for their cabin assignments.
The teacher in charge, Alexander Marcus, stepped forward, calling for quiet. It took a few goes but the children eventually quietened down. "Welcome to Maranatha Recreation Camp! Now before we go into the cabins I've been asked to read out a list of rules and instructions you have to follow."
"Lame!" a kid shouted. They sniggered.
Marcus raised a hand for silence. "You are to stay with a teacher at all times and never leave your activities unaccompanied. Your cabin are separated by gender and located at opposite ends of the Camp; boys are not allowed in the girls' cabins and girls aren't allowed in boys' cabins. There will be no damaging of the property or else you'll pay for it." He looked at the fresh young faces in front of him. "If you can manage this, I'm sure we'll have a good time."
He allowed another teacher to take over, Christopher Pike. Pike cleared his throat. "I'll assign you to your cabins now and give you thirty minutes to unpack before coming to the dining hall and having morning tea. We'll be separating you into your activity groups then."
Pike rapidly called out the cabin numbers, their location and the students in each cabin. The children dispersed quickly, lugging their bags behind them.
A slim, blonde-haired, eleven-year-old boy dumped his bag on one of the top bunks in his cabin. It was four people per cabin and James Kirk was one of the four. He unzipped his bag and pulled out a sheet, wrapping it around the uncomfortable-looking mattress and lying his sleeping bag and pillow over the top. His cabin-mates entered just as he finished and he grinned at them.
First was Leonard 'Bones' McCoy, the grumpy twelve-year-old who was Jim's best friend. He had pale skin, messy black hair and a disgruntled expression on his face. Bones came to San Francisco from Georgia because his dad had a job opportunity, and the boy had been Jim's friend almost straight away. Of all of the Grade 7's, he was probably the one that was the least excited about school Camp.
Behind him was another friend, Montgomery 'Scotty' Scott. He came to San Francisco from Scotland when he was young, but had still maintained his Scottish brogue. Another twelve-year-old, he sported another pale complexion but his hair was flaming red, complimented by a wide smile and cheery manner. While Bones just had his birthday early in the year, Scotty had actually been kept down a grade because his marks in literacy were so poor. He was great at numeracy, but his literacy needed some work. Not that he was stupid; far from it; he was just mathematically-inclined.
Lastly was Keenser Roylan, a San Francisco local and a friend of Scotty's that had become a friend of Jim and Bones. He was eleven, like Jim, and was probably the smallest boy in the whole grade with dark skin, jet-black hair and eyes so brown they were almost black. Keenser didn't really talk much, listening most of the time, but he was nice enough.
The four boys stared at each other in delight. "Bones, Scotty, Keenser," Jim chuckled. "Welcome to my humble abode. It's good to have you!"
"Don't get all mushy on me," Bones snapped. "We've got two nights in this hellhole, away from my comfy mattress and good coffee."
"Well I'm away from my Xbox," Jim said mournfully. He pulled a sulky face. "My parents threatened to take it away if I complained."
"They're here aren't they?" Scotty asked, setting up his sleeping area above Keenser's.
"Yeah, mum and dad volunteered to lead a group."
"My dad did!" Bones cried in annoyance. "I'm so annoyed!"
"I heard tha' Lucille's parents came too," Scotty said thoughtfully, fluffing his pillow, "and also tha' tall kid with glasses… wha' his name?"
"Spock, I think."
"Aye, tha' sounds right. His mam and pap came." He snickered. "I don' pity ye."
Jim glared and poked around the cabin, delighted to find a small bathroom with a toilet, sink and shower tucked in the corner. At least they didn't have to use communal bathrooms with the rest of the boys. It made shower schedules so much more convenient.
Bones reclined on his bunk underneath Jim's and groaned. "Man, we're gonna have to eat Camp Food too! They'll probably have mashed potato but it'll be the gross powdered stuff. And remember last year's Camp? Those pancakes tasted like metal. It was foul! And they won't have coffee for us either, only the adults, because we're 'too young for such nonsense'. It's stupid." He pulled a sulky face and crossed his arms. Jim fought a giggle and Scotty ignored the grumpy boy, taking his toiletries into the bathroom and dumping them on the sink.
"Do you have anything that you don't complain about?" Jim asked exasperatedly. "You whine about everything."
"That's because there's something to whine about," Bones snapped back. "Even you complained about the pancakes last year."
Jim rolled his eyes. "I will admit they were gross. I'll leave you ladies to your fun."
"Where are you going?"
"The dining hall," Jim said from the doorway. He stuffed his hands into the pockets of his shorts and exited the cabin, jumping down the veranda steps and onto the leaf-covered concrete path. The boy's cabins were in a circle, the concrete path connecting them all and leading to all the other buildings. In the centre of the path was a murky green pond with a wooden bridge going over the top, surrounded by native trees and bushes.
The Camp grounds were situated right next to a massive lake, the Camp itself in the midst of bush and scrub, completely cut off from civilisation. Jim didn't know why they had to spend two nights in hellholes like this, but it was a requirement of the school. He'd much rather stay home and play on his Xbox.
Hands in his pockets, he peered into the cabin beside his, nothing three familiar heads of black hair. One was John 'Khan' Harrison, a pale-skinned, serious boy who was rather nasty at times and hated Jim's guts. Another was Nero Narada, a boy with olive skin and military-style, close-cropped black hair who also hated Jim's guts. The third was the grades resident nerd, Spock Grayson, with his black bowl cut and thick-rimmed glasses, his face in a constant state of nervousness. Of the three, Spock was probably the one that Jim hated the least. Khan and Nero were devils in his eyes.
Through the open door, Jim could see Khan and Nero arguing over who got the top bunk and who go the bottom. Khan towered over Nero, but Nero made up for the height difference with his ego. Both boys were shouting and stamping their feet, which made Jim grin. He spotted Spock sitting cross-legged on his bed, eyes downcast and looking every bit as awkward as the fourth occupant (whose name Jim didn't remember… it might have been Olson).
Grinning at the arguing Khan and Nero, Jim passed by their cabin and, whistling gaily, looked into the next open door he saw. The last cabin in the circle was quiet, its three occupants unpacking quickly so they could get to the dining hall. Nero's twin brother, Ayel, was there, the malice of his brother not present in him. He was talking quietly with Pavel Chekov, the grades resident genius. Pavel was ten-years-old, only slightly taller than Keenser with brown curly hair, having been pushed up a year when he transferred from Russia. The third boy was Hikaru Sulu, a Japanese-American fencing prodigy who often came to blows with Khan and Nero (he was just gallant like that).
With no other open doors to spy through, Jim followed the signs that would lead him to the dining hall, humming softly to one of the 80's songs his parents loved to listen to. He kicked a stray rock, rustling a pile of dry leaves, and stared up at the sky. What a beautiful blue. Hopefully it was a good sign that the Camp would be good.
He finally arrived at the dining hall and leant against the wall outside, tapping the ground with his dark-blue converse. His ears perked up as girls' voices floated over to him. Four girls approached, walking close together, and he smoothed his hair down. He'd be fine, just as long as it wasn't-
He cursed and looked away. At the front of the group was Nyota Uhura, the one girl in the grade who didn't like him. She had African roots and was really pretty with cappuccino skin, long lashes and luscious black hair that fell to her waist.
On either side of her were Gaila Orion and Carol Marcus. Gaila had briefly gone out with Jim in third grade but still had a massive crush on him. Like Nyota, she was pretty with red hair and a wide smile, and her favourite colour was green (as advertised by the green jacket and joggers she wore). Carol was from England and sported the trademark pale skin and light hair. Her father was also Alexander Marcus, the teacher in charge of the Camp this year. Jim reasoned that she got her looks from her mother because she looked nothing like her father. Straggling behind them with a book in her nose was Christine Chapel, the quiet one who looked surprisingly mature for an eleven-year-old with short blonde hair and arched eyebrows.
The girls approached and Nyota fixed him with a look of distaste. "Well Kirk, it's nice to see you." Gaila was staring at the floor and blushing. "Where's your posse?"
"Back in the cabin," Jim shrugged. "They're slow pokes."
Nyota snorted and the girls crossed to the other side of the building, sitting with their backs pointedly facing in his direction. Jim shrugged again and leant against the wall casually. His eyes widened as two more familiar people approached.
"Hey sweetie," Winona cooed. "Are you enjoying Camp so far?" She tried to hug him but he squirmed away.
His father, George, snickered. "Not in public honey. He's too proud for that."
Jim flushed. "You got that right. Mum, I can't say if I am enjoying Camp or not because we just got here."
Winona chuckled. "I'll expect an answer at dinner. Who's in your cabin?"
"Bones, Scotty and Keenser," he replied quickly. Two more adults joined them.
"Jimmy, this is Sarek and Amanda Grayson. They're-"
"Spock's parents, I know." Jim bit his lip and stared at the ground, embarrassed at his outburst. He didn't know if the two newcomers were accepting of his brash attitude like his parents were.
Sarek bowed his head. "It is a pleasure to meet you, young Kirk."
Amanda held out her hand and Jim shook it awkwardly. "Have you seen Spock?"
"Yes, he's in a cabin with Khan, Nero and… Olson I think. Khan and Nero were arguing and he didn't look too pleased with it. I half expected him to snap at them."
Before Amanda could reply, students began arriving for morning tea. The parents moved back to join the other adults and Jim sought the company of his friends. He found them quickly and stood with them right outside the doors. When they opened the students piled in and grabbed fruit, biscuits and juice before sitting down to eat and wait for further instructions.
Jim was almost finished eating when Pike stood and announced the group leaders. There were fourteen of them: Christopher Pike, George Kirk, Winona Kirk, Sarek Grayson, Amanda Grayson, Alexander Marcus, Rima Harewood, Thomas Harewood, James Komack, Richard Barnett, Hannity Brackett, David McCoy, Richard Robau and Gage 'Cupcake' Hendorff. Most of them were parents and Grade 7 teachers, but a few were from other grades or, in Barnett's case, part of the school administration team.
"There will be seven people per team," Pike was saying. "Group 1 will be with me. The following: Jim Kirk, Leonard McCoy, Spock Grayson, Hikaru Sulu, Montgomery Scott, Nyota Uhura and Pavel Chekov."
Jim blanched and stared at Bones. "We've got Uhura? I'm going to die…" Bones made a gesture to shush him.
"Group 2 will be with George Kirk. The following: Carol Marcus, Christine Chapel, John Harrison, Ayel Narada, Keenser Roylan, Gaila Orion and Nero Narada."
Keenser sighed and Scotty patted his back. "There, there lad, it's gonna be okay. Yeh've got Ayel in yer group an' he's real nice."
"Khan," Keenser spat angrily. He didn't like Khan because the tall boy teased him for being small.
Jim leant close to Bones. "Why couldn't I be in that group? I don't want to be with Nyota, and dad's group has the girls that don't hate me."
Bones shrugged. "You're just unlucky. Deal with it buddy. I'm stuck in a group with you."
He made a face. "Gee, thanks Bones. Your faith in me is inspiring."