Chapter Two
By the third day of classes Jimmy had established a routine, which appealed to his well-ordered mind. Up at seven o'clock to avail himself of the boy's bathroom, and then a walk along the lakeshore. He was a boy who enjoyed his solitude, most of the time, and there wasn't much opportunity for that here.
Breakfast started at eight o'clock and he was one of the first ones in line at the buffet. The scrambled eggs were a bit dry, but the bacon was nice and crisp. Jimmy had tried to get Blair to come with him but the kid was definitely not a morning person; he'd rush in ten minutes before breakfast ended, wolfing down some toast or oatmeal before going to his crafts class.
He didn't see much of Blair during the day, even at lunch. They both had differing class schedules and it wasn't until evening activities that they'd get to catch up with each other. Dinner was the only meal each day that Blair wasn't late for, and he'd spend most of it sharing interesting things he'd learned that day.
Much to his surprise, Jimmy found that he enjoyed his classes. Archery was a breeze, once he got the hang of working the bow; he used his enhanced vision to aim his shots, and the instructor was impressed with the distance he could achieve. He was careful about it, though, and made sure to mess up sometimes too. He never forgot that what he could do was supposed to be a secret.
Crime Scene Investigation was an interesting class, and right away he got excited about the various ways he could use his senses in a law enforcement capacity. The instructor, Mr. Doyle, explained the history of forensics and the role of technology therein. He arranged some basic field tests for everyone in the class, then split them into groups based on their aptitudes. Jimmy was in a group with three other kids his age, sitting at a table in one corner of the classroom.
"This is so cool!" Penny was the only girl in the group, and one of only three in the whole class. She had spiky pink hair, too much makeup, and rubber bracelets all up her arm; she didn't look like a genius to Jimmy.
"You wanna be an investigator?" he asked doubtfully.
"I like forensics," she explained with a toothy grin. "I like the idea of finding those tiny, microscopic clues."
"Seems like CSIs find the puzzle pieces and someone else gets to put them all together." Jared was the oldest of the four. He had a deceptively casual, laid-back air. He was on the camp football team, and Jimmy knew first hand what a serious, focused athlete he was.
"It's about being part of a team," Penny argued. "You work together on the puzzle."
Jared just shrugged, slouching down in his chair. Jimmy himself thought it would be kind of nice, having someone be your partner and solving crimes together. Someone who would always be watching your back.
"What about you, Jimmy?" Penny asked.
He shrugged. "I guess this stuff would be good for cops to know."
"Or private eyes," added Roddy, the gangly jokester. He pushed aside the ever-present lock of blue-black hair that hung over his left eye. "You could do a whole Sherlock shtick using forensic clues."
"I hear there's people who can tell all about you just by facial expressions," Jared said. "That would be cool, if you could learn it."
"Like a human lie detector?" Penny mused, thoughtful.
Jimmy, ever the keen observer, didn't need special skills to see that Penny liked Jared. She was constantly glancing over at him, and her heart would race whenever they made eye contact. He himself didn't have a girlfriend. Not yet, anyway. He still wasn't sure they were worth all the trouble.
Mr. Doyle went around the room, depositing plastic jars on each table. He set two down in front of Jimmy and smiled at everyone before addressing the class.
"Okay, CSIs. Your task is to discover all you can about the substances in the jars and record your results on your group's iPad."
"Can we open them?" someone asked.
"Yes. There is nothing harmful or toxic in the jars. You have to the end of class. Tomorrow we'll discuss your results and how well they matched the actual samples. Go ahead and get started."
Penny picked up one of the jars, which had muddy-looking water in it. "Anyone want to taste it?"
"Good luck finding a volunteer for that," Roddy said, pulling a face. He nudged the second jar with one finger; this one had a solid substance inside.
"Let's start with Penny's," Jimmy suggested.
"Okay." Penny unscrewed the cap, immediately crinkling her nose. "Gross!"
Jimmy grimaced as well; with his heightened senses, the smell was incredibly strong.
"Give it here," Jared said, holding out his hand. He accepted the jar from Penny and held it under his nose.
"Sulfur." His eyes narrowed in concentration. "Dirt. And something else. I can't tell what."
Jared passed the jar to Jimmy. Now that two of the scents had been identified, he was able to block them out to some degree.
"There's something metallic." He closed his eyes, took another breath, and tried to identify the faint taste it left on the back of his throat.
"What kind of metal?" Penny prompted.
"I don't…it's like…pennies?"
"Blood," Roddy said with a frown. "I bet it's blood."
Jimmy hastily handed him the jar, sloshing the contents.
"Sorry," Roddy said. Then he stuck his finger in the jar, wetting the tip. "Oh, man."
Penny, Jimmy and Jared all groaned and made faces when Roddy popped his finger in his mouth.
"Yup," he confirmed. "Definitely blood."
"That is so disgusting," Penny muttered.
Roddy shrugged. "I have a really good sense of taste, what can I say? Think of school lunches and pity me."
Jimmy's brow furrowed as he studied his classmate. He knew what a pain it was having a heightened sense of taste; sometimes their housekeeper Sally had to make him special meals because he couldn't handle spices. Did Roddy have that too?
Penny picked up the jar again, holding it up to the light from the nearest window.
"There's some sediment. Maybe some moss? It looks like moss."
Jimmy opened up his vision, zeroing in on the jar from across the table. Penny was right, he did see some moss floating in there. It was pretty small, though, and he wondered how she'd even noticed it.
"Conclusion?" Jared asked, tapping the information into the iPad.
"Water sample from a sulfur spring," Penny said. Roddy shook his head.
"Probably a puddle nearby. Too much dirt in the water."
"Some animal was probably killed close by," Jimmy offered. He was grateful when Penny capped the jar.
"Moss means somewhere shady, right?" Jared asked, looking at Jimmy for confirmation.
"Yeah. I guess."
"Cool." Jared finished the report. "Okay, jar number two. Maybe there'll be some animal poop you can taste this time."
"Ha, ha," Roddy replied.
Jimmy just watched them, feeling strange. Did they all have heightened senses, like he did? Or only just some? It seemed awfully coincidental that they'd all be in the same group. He felt a tiny prickle of hopeful pleasure; if there were others like him, maybe he wasn't such a freak after all.
*o*o*o*
Jimmy and Blair ate dinner together at a long table full of other campers from Jaguar. Jimmy nibbled absently at his burger, his mind preoccupied with what he thought he'd discovered in class that day. But he was soon distracted by Blair, who was waving around a veggie dog with one hand while he shared the interesting gossip of the day.
"Kelly, this girl in Falcon, saw a ghost last night!"
"Did you see it too, Scooby-Doo?" Ben asked, laughing.
"No, she was really freaked out!"
Jimmy rolled his eyes. He didn't believe in that supernatural stuff. He'd have thought Blair was too old for it, too.
"Just camp stories," he said dismissively. "Like the guy with the hook hand."
"Urban legends, you mean?" Blair looked thoughtful as he took a bite of his fake hotdog.
"Yeah, like waking up in a tub full of ice cause someone stole your kidney."
"Or having bugs lay their eggs in your ear," someone else suggested.
"I really think she saw something," Blair interjected before anyone else could offer up a story.
"Probably one of the boys from Falcon, peeping in her window," Ben said with a leer.
"Probably you," Gary laughed, hitting Ben in the shoulder.
"Peeping at Falcon girls? No way! I'd be at Susie Miller's window."
"You're a pig!" said a girl from the next table, throwing a wadded up napkin at Ben.
"Oink, oink!" he crowed.
"So what did she see?" Jimmy asked, taking pity on Blair. The younger boy looked at him gratefully.
"Kelly has a hard time sleeping. I guess at home she's got a TV in her room or something. And she looked out the window and saw a ghost, hovering at the edge of the woods."
"It's a few yards to the treeline, Blair," Jimmy said logically. "And it was dark last night. Overcast."
"I really think she saw something," the kid insisted.
Jimmy held up his hand. "She probably did, but that doesn't mean it was a ghost."
That gave Blair pause. He finished up his dinner in silence, but Jimmy swore he could hear the gears turning in the kid's head.
"You wanna go to the movie?" he asked as they carried their trays to the kitchen window. "They're showing that old hacker movie, Sneakers. It's pretty good."
"Nope. Thanks." Blair took off before Jimmy could stop him.
"Going to the movie, Ellison?" Kyle asked.
"Seen it," he replied. "I'm going for a walk."
"Watch out for the ghost!" Ben called after him.
"Spooky fingers," Kyle intoned, wiggling said appendages.
Jimmy grinned and headed out of Central Hall, following the path back to Jaguar. He was pretty sure he knew what Blair was up to. Sure enough, he caught up with his bunkmate on the path from Jaguar to Falcon.
"What cabin is she in?" he asked. Blair jumped, startled.
"Man, you're quiet! What are you doing here?"
Jimmy shrugged. "Figured you could use the help."
Blair grinned. "She's in Falcon 4."
Together they walked up to the cabin, then left the path to go around behind it. Jimmy cast a critical eye at the line of trees that marked the end of the clearing. From this distance, in the dark, the girl could've seen just about anything and her imagination would've turned it into a ghost.
"If it wasn't a ghost," Blair said. "It could've been a person. But why here, so late? It's creepy."
"Could've been someone sneaking a cigarette," Jimmy surmised. "Or meeting someone where they couldn't be seen."
"Like, to make out or something? Gross."
Jimmy laughed and shook his head. "Come on, Watson. Let's see if we can find anything."
The 'make out' comment seemed to be true; one of the first things Jimmy found was a condom wrapper. Not wanting to draw the kid's attention to it, he hastily scuffed some pine needles over it with his shoe.
Blair crouched down, moving leaves, pine needles and undergrowth around with a stick. Jimmy didn't know what he hoped to find. The ground was too dry to hold footprints, and unless the mysterious figure had dropped a business card anything they found would be useless. Still, they might as well be thorough.
He opened up his vision, carefully scanning the ground around them. He saw a candy wrapper, a yellow button, and…
"What's that?" he muttered aloud.
"Where?" Blair hopped eagerly to his feet.
Jimmy led him a few feet into the woods and pointed to something lying half-hidden in the tree litter. The kid picked it up, pinching it carefully between his forefinger and his thumb.
"Looks like a cigar." He looked at Jimmy with interest. "How'd you see it?"
Jimmy just shrugged, ignoring the question. He took the stub of cigar from Blair, sniffing it carefully, but all he could smell was tobacco. No, wait. Not just tobacco. There was a hint of…apple? That was weird.
"What? Do you smell something?" The kid was bouncing excitedly. "What is it?"
"It's like apple tobacco or something." Jimmy shrugged. "I don't know what that means."
"One of Naomi's friends smokes cigars, the kind with flavors. He likes vanilla, but I bet there's apple too." Blair took the cigar back and put it in his pocket. "Evidence."
"Yeah, okay Watson." Jimmy cocked his head to the side, listening. "Falcons are coming back. We should get going." He put action to words, heading back to the path.
"So there really was someone back here."
"We don't know how old that cigar is, Blair. We don't know anything."
"I know kids don't smoke cigars," Blair replied. "And it's creepy, some grownup standing back there watching. You think it's some kind of perv?"
"I think we don't have enough information," Jimmy replied.
"I guess." But the kid didn't sound at all discouraged. "You want a piece of gum?"
"What kind?"
"Cinnamon." Blair pulled a rumpled back of Big Red from his pocket.
Jimmy made a face. "No, thanks. That stuff's too strong."
"Oh. Okay." Blair stuffed the gum back in his pocket without taking a stick for himself. Just as they got back on the main path, a group of Falcon boys headed past them. He raised his hand in a half-hearted greeting, but the other boys just ignored him, whispering amongst themselves.
Jimmy could hear them easily enough. Clearly Blair was a pariah in his own age group because he was living in Jaguar. He scowled at the other boys for putting that hurt look in the kid's eyes, and slung an arm over his shoulder.
"They're just jealous, you know. Like it matters where you sleep."
"It's fine," Blair muttered.
"You want to go to the bonfire tonight?"
"I don't think so."
They went back to their empty cabin instead. Blair retrieved a notebook from his footlocker and took it up to his bed. Jimmy pulled off the camp shirt, pleased to see that the rash it had given him was getting better. It was just a narrow strip around each arm and on his neck, the places his own shirt fell short. He pulled a tube of lotion from his toiletry bag and rubbed it in.
"Camp shirt do that?" Blair asked from the top bunk.
"I have sensitive skin," Jimmy said defensively.
The kid hung over the end of the bed, a big smile on his face and a light in his eyes that made Jimmy suddenly wary.
"You're one of them, aren't you?" the kid asked.
"One of who?"
"You're a Sentinel!"
AN: This chapter was written entirely by hand, which is not usually how I do things. Funny what a seven day power outage will reduce you to. LOL! Oddly enough, I find I write better, and longer, when I do it by hand. Less computer distractions – like checking my e-mail and popping over to Pinterest – and less time spent going over one paragraph, endlessly tweaking it instead of writing. So, for this story at least, I think I'll keep my notebook handy.
Special thanks to my hubby, who gives these chapters a read-through for me even though he's not a fan of Sentinel. Love you!
Hope you are enjoying the adventures of Jimmy and Blair at camp, because I'm having fun writing it!