New Faces and Starry Nights
Waking up the next morning, Song was well rested by the time the trumpet sounded, yet she still felt uncomfortable from the previous night's events. She didn't say anything to Sunshine as she put on a red tee-shirt and her necklace.
"Nice jewellery you got there," Sunshine commented as she put on a navy blue muscle shirt.
"Thanks," Song replied as she held it in her fingers.
"Is there a picture or anything in it?"
Song opened the clasp of it, before tossing it to Sunshine. She opened it to see six people, all huddled close together beside a tree. The older man in the picture was wearing a thick pair of glasses and a business suit while the woman beside him wore a purple sun dress. The woman's hair looked identical to Song's. The older boy was muscular, even more so with a black tee shirt and jeans, and his long hair swept over his face. The little girl beside Song looked like she was about twelve, but looked younger with her orange sun dress. Song sat beside an elderly woman in a wheel chair, who grinned through her half moon glasses, and her long, straight, gray hair that brushed past her yellow blouse and long, black skirt.
"Family?"
"Yep, my parents, brother, sister and grandmother."
"Damn, your brother is hot," Sunshine said aloud, not noticing her error until it was too late.
Song rolled her eyes as Sunshine handed her back the necklace. "If you ever see his room, you will think twice."
Sunshine snickered as the two left the tent. They were just about to go to the library, when Zigzag ran up behind them.
"Hey Song, the Warden wants to see you."
"What did I do?"
"You're not in trouble. We all went last night and told the Warden about Rocky. You better go too, Sunshine."
The girls glanced to each other as Zigzag led them to a nice looking house where Song figured the Warden stayed. He led them to the front door and pointed inside the open door.
"She only wants to see you two," he explained.
Stepping inside, they were welcomed with a cool breeze from the Warden's air conditioner. The house itself was decorated beautifully, with new gadgets and nice furniture. Walking into the living room, they were met by Mr. Sir and a woman.
Seeing the red head with frizzy hair and a nice figure, Song would have never guessed that this woman was more than she seemed.
"You wanted to see us Miss," Sunshine spoke in a surprisingly polite tone.
Turning, the woman replied, "Yes, Sunshine, I did. And this must be Song."
Song glanced at Sunshine before answering, "Yes, that's me."
"The boys from D-tent told me about the incident last night. And let me say that Raymond is being punished for his actions. And Sunshine, tell also told me about what you did," the Warden turned to Sunshine. Sunshine silently gulped as the Warden stared her down. "You have a good friend in Sunshine, Song."
The girl's looked at one another before the Warden dismissed them. Leaving the cool house into the warming heat outside, they walked to grab shovels but were surprised when Magnet and Zigzag ran up to them, carrying extras.
"Thought we'd be nice," Zigzag told them, handing his extra to Sunshine.
"So, what did the Warden say?" Magnet asked Song.
"She said that Rocky was being punished and that Sunshine was a real friend," She added as the girls smiled at one another.
"Hey, we're good friends too, aren't we?" Magnet asked, looking hurt.
"Of course," Song chuckled as she lightly punched him in the arm.
"Ow! Jeez Song, you got some power in those arms, girl," he joked as he rubbed his arms.
"Wimp."
"Who are you calling a wimp?" he shouted as he went to grab her. As he reached out, she ducked underneath and out of the way, catching him off guard. As he laid on the ground and Zigzag and Sunshine rolled around laughing, Song reached out a hand to help him up.
Taking it, she pulled, but he wouldn't budge. Trying again, she pulled, this time with two hands. Sunshine went up behind Song-a mischievous smile across her face—and pushed her, making Song lose balance.
She landed right on Magnet, with her hands resting on his chest, her legs in between his and her stomach lying on top of his; their faces just inches apart. They stared at one another—brown eyes meeting deep green—for several seconds, until Sunshine and Zigzag began to catcall and whistle.
Blushing, Song jumped off Magnet in a flash, grabbing her discarded shovel and walking past Sunshine and Zigzag, in the direction of the holes. Sunshine glanced at the two boys before she ran to catch up with her friend.
Laughing at his friend, Zigzag walked to an obviously annoyed Magnet as he brushed the dirt off his suit. Ignoring him, Magnet walked past Zigzag and after the girls.
"Doesn't anyone have a sense of humour?" Zigzag wonder aloud as he grabbed his shovel and ran to catch up.
Reaching the holes and the rest of the group, Song still had refused to talk to Sunshine.
"Come on, it was a joke," Sunshine argued as Song went to a flat area to dig.
"I'm not gonna talk to you," Song told her briskly as she stabbed the ground with her shovel.
"I don't know why you're pissed, but ok," Sunshine shrugged as she went over to start her own hole.
Just then, Zigzag and Magnet walked by, with Zigzag doing the same thing that Sunshine had tried to do.
"Talk to me man."
"No way, dude."
"You mad bro?" Zigzag asked as they walked past a finished hole to Zigzag's right. Before Song realised it, Magnet had used one hand to push Zigzag into the hole, causing him to fall on his back. Magnet continued to walk by, as if nothing had happened, with a smirk on his face. From the hole, Song could hear Zigzag groan, "I guess that's a yes."
Song found herself giggling before it manifested into full blown laughter. Magnet turned back to her, nodding before he began his own hole. Song turned back to her own digging, with a smile on her face that lasted for hours.
By the time she was finished digging, Song had new blisters on her hands and one new hole dug. She was the last digger to dig, much her annoyance. Magnet was not around either, which put her down a bit. She hopped out of the hole, stretching before she made her way back to camp.
She walked and walked until she was no more than five minutes from camp. In the distance, she heard a vehicle come speeding down the road. Looking up, she saw the same bus that had brought her to camp was starting to slow down, once it was no more than a mile from the old town.
Curious to see who was arriving, Song used up what little strength she had to make it to camp. She had just arrived when the bus pulled away. She saw two guards were standing outside of Mr. Sir's office, both with loaded shot guns.
Seeing Sunshine standing with the others from D-tent, including Zero, Song went to her side.
"Who is the new guy?"
"It's not just a guy. It's two girls too."
Song watched as the guy walked out of the office, holding his jumpsuits and bag. He was tall, skinny; with blond hair and brown eyes-he looked like a model off of a Calvin Klein commercial. He wore a blue and white striped shirt and cargo shorts.
The door opened again, revealing the first girl from the bus. Wearing a black hoodie and dark jeans and combat boots, the girl looked very frightening; with short, straight, dyed black hair, grey eyes, red lips and a nose piercing to add to her look. She was even tinier then both Sunshine and Song, making her somewhat less intimidating. She went and stood beside Mr. Klein, giving him a quick glance.
The door opened a third time, and Song was sure that if someone could drop a needle into the sand, it would have been heard. Standing there was a girl, with long, blond hair, violet eyes, and a very curvy, tall body; she looked as if she stepped out of a fashion magazine. Wearing a red blouse and a black skirt, with matching heels, she had to grab the rail just to get off the stairs. Standing alongside the two new inmates, she scanned the group, giving them a faint, toothless smile.
Dr. Pendanski walked out of the building to stand in front of the trio.
"Boy and girls, meet your tent members," he introduced as he motioned to the group.
Before Pendanski could reveal any of the group's real names, X-ray stepped forward.
"I'm X-ray, that's Squid, Armpit, Zero, Zigzag, Magnet, Song and Sunshine."
The doctor frowned at the leader before explaining, "They're not their real names, just nicknames they came up with."
"Oh yea," X-ray added, "And that's Mom."
The two models smiled at the comment, while the scary girl just stared.
Pendanski sighed before he told them to go to their tents and make the new group feel welcome. The group crowded around, with most of the boys around Miss. Model.
"So, does a pretty girl like you have a name?"Squid asked as he smiled at her.
The girl grinned before answering, "It's Sophie."
"Sophie," Armpit exclaimed, "Damn girl."
"And what about you two? Do you have names?" Zigzag asked.
The boy stepped forward, "My name's Byron. And she's Nicole."
The girl glared at Byron, noticeably despising her name.
"So what are you in here for?" X-ray asked as he wrapped an arm around Sophie while leading the group to the tents. A frown formed on her lips.
"She won't say, "Bryon explained, "She wouldn't tell either of us on the bus."
"Fine, then what did you do, pretty boy," Armpit questioned.
"Simple, I broke into an amusement park."
"How'd you manage that?" Magnet asked, unconvinced.
"Well, I swiped a set of keys from one of the workers at the merry go round, left, and then waited till everyone left. They found me on the Screamer roller coaster at four in the morning."
"Sounds like a fun way to get caught," Sunshine said sarcastically.
"What about you," Zigzag asked Nicole jokingly, "Get into a fight?"
"Close. I punched a teacher."
The group stopped and turned to her.
"Let me explain. The teacher was a really uptight, rude, sexist guy. He said something extremely sexist, so I punched him."
"Jesus," was all Armpit could mutter.
"Hey, watch it dog," Magnet warned.
"Sorry," Armpit apologised.
"Since when are you religious?" Song raised an eyebrow.
"Since I was four."
"Oh." Song turned away from him, obviously embarrassed
The group reached their respectable tents, and went to separate.
"Sleep tight, Sophie," X-ray called as the boys went inside. Sophie turned and walked into her tent, putting her bag on one of the two new cots.
"Well...this is cozy."
Sunshine let out a giggle as Song sat on her cot and Nicole on hers.
"What?"
"Nothing," Sunshine told her in a song like voice.
"So why are you called Song, and Sunshine," Sophie asked.
"It's tradition at Green Lake," Song explained, "since your pretty much 'starting over again', you might as well get a new name. They call me Song because I can apparently sing very well and Sunshine because she 'brings sunshine into X-ray's day."
"What about the boys?"
"X-ray, because he believes he can see through things with those glasses of his," Sunshine began, "Magnet because things he steals come to him like he's magnetized, Zigzag and Squid I'm not sure of, Zero because Dr. Pendanski thinks there's nothing in his head—which I don't believe—and Armpit because he...stinks."
"So that's what that accumulating smell was," Nicole spoke as she waved the air by her face.
All the girls began to laugh, Sunshine's being the loudest. After it had died down, the girls sighed almost simultaneously. They took that time to begin getting their sleep wear and pajamas on.
"So..." Sophie broke the silence when they finished, "Any cute boys around?"
Song and Sunshine shared a look before Song said, "It depends on your perspective."
"She means that there are some nice guys here who also might be hot," Sunshine clarified, "But Magnet's all Song's."
A pillow was thrown, hitting Sunshine in the face.
"I don't like him like that!" Song exclaimed.
"Say what you want sister, I say potato, you say tomato. Did you see any guys you too liked?"
"Well," Sophie paused, "Not from Camp."
"Explain, sil vous plait."
"Byron's kind of cute," Sophie said in one quick breath, clutching her pillow, "We talked all the way on the bus ride. Besides, it turns out I know him." When none of the girl's said anything, she elaborated, "I used to live in the same town as him back in grade five, but when my mom married again...we moved."
Sophie looked down as she stared at her pillow.
"What's wrong?" Song asked, getting up to sit beside her on the cot.
"I don't like my step dad very much."
"How bad can he be?" Sunshine asked.
"You guys don't know how I got here, do you?" She paused. "Illegal prostitution. My bastard of a step dad got me into it after my mother died. We needed the money."
All three girls stared at her in shock. Sophie began to cry when the silence became too much. As she wept, Song wrapped an arm around her shoulders, bringing her close.
"He can't hurt you here. You're safe here."
"Except for the lizards," Sunshine spoke without thinking, which received a glare from Song. Sophie sniffed before looking at Song with sad, but apperceive eyes.
A loud outburst from the guy's tent made the entire girl's tent turn. They stepped outside in their pajamas to see that all the boys were outside their tent, holding their noses.
"What did Armpit do this time?" Sunshine called out.
"Hey, it wasn't me, I swear!"
"It's the new guy," Zigzag told them.
"He was telling us the story with the roller coaster when he barfed," Squid explained.
"It was sick, and not in a good way!" Magnet exclaimed as he began to curse in Spanish under his breath.
The girl's looked disgusted, with Sunshine and Sophie wrinkling their noses. By then, Mr. Pendanski had arrived to investigate.
"What happened here?"
The group simply pointed to the tent, where Pendanski walked to. Moments later, the counsellor cursed, peeking his head out of the tent.
"Hang tight here for a second while Byron cleans up his mess," he called to them before ducking back inside. The group walked towards the Rec Hall, trying to put as much distance between them and the nauseous inducing tent.
"Well, I know what his nickname will be," X-ray coughed, "Barfbag."
"Very fitting," Sunshine exhaled.
"What about us," Sophie wondered, "Any ideas what our nicknames should be?"
"Oh, I got one for you," X-ray beamed as he eyed the blue dress she was wearing. "Beauty."
Sophie approved of the name, by smiling. The rest of the boys seemed to agree, however, Song noticed that Sunshine was frowning.
The group sat in front of the Rec Hall, on its steps. Zero sat on the ground by himself, with X-ray, Squid and Armpit sitting next to him, followed by Zigzag on the top step, Magnet sitting a step lower, Song beside him, Nicole on the same step as Zigzag and Beauty standing facing the group.
"Ok, since you got my nickname, you have to decide one for Nicole," Sophie spoke to X-ray.
"About time. I hate my name," Nicole sighed as she slouched. Her gray tee shirt was huge on her, practically hiding the pair of shorts she was wearing underneath.
"It's not so bad," Zigzag argued, "It could be Crayola, or Petunia, or Poutine!"
"What's that?"
"Something up in Canada. I think it's some sort of fish."
"Well," Armpit began, "What about Gotha?"
"Or Spooky," Squid added.
"Or Witch," X-ray smirked. A faint whistle was heard before X-ray yelled. "Ow, bit-" He was silenced by another one of Nicole's shoes hitting him in the head.
"Ok, ok! We'll knock it off," X-ray groaned, rubbing his now sore head. The group began to discuss nicknames, throwing out random names here and there. Song was enjoying herself, until she noticed that Sunshine was by herself on the porch-on the far end-away from the group. Song left quietly, walking over to her friend, who was staring up at the stars.
"What's wrong?" Song asked, leaning against the railing with her.
"Nothing."
"Something is obviously wrong. Now tell me."
"I don't know," she answered, glancing back at the group. Beauty was talking to the group, listing off names as they all paid attention.
"Beauty has something to do with this, doesn't she?"
"Maybe."
Song followed Sunshine's eyes in the direction of X-ray, who was laughing.
"You like him," Song stated rather than asking it as a question.
"No...Maybe...I don't know! I mean, it's X-ray, how could I like him? He's rude, loud, bossy, controlling..."
"But..." Song urged.
"But he's a good leader when his mind is in the right place, he's funny and...I have a strange feeling about the name he gave me. I mean, he gave it to me a week after I arrived-which apparently isn't normal for him—and he keeps saying that it's because I'm his ray of sunshine or I bring sunlight to his day. What do you think that's supposed to mean?" Sunshine sighed as she resumed staring at the sky.
Song glanced at X-ray, to Sunshine before smiling.
"It means that you shouldn't assume anything yet." Placing an arm around her, she gave her a quick, tight squeeze. Smiling at one another, they looked up at the stars.
Laughing with the guys, X-ray found himself glancing over to his side, only to see Sunshine and Song staring up at the stars. He watched as Sunshine looked up at them with wonder, staring at the billions of stars and cosmos. A single light was on behind the two; its light reflecting off the girls. X-ray's eyes moved downwards to her pajamas-a white camisole with matching lavender coloured bottoms-that hugged her body nicely. Sunshine smiled for a moment as she pointed to a shooting star, revealing a small, but enchanting smile. X-ray found himself staring for one moment before he returned to reality. Shaking his head, he tried to follow along with the conversation, but found it hard, seeing as his mind was filled with countless thoughts already.
Being with the group, Nicole found herself included within the conversation. She didn't laugh loudly or smile big, but the fact that people were including her was good enough for her. In her old school, she was a loner, a freak; the one who was avoided at all costs. It didn't help either that she was the only child of two overprotective, overbearing and very conservative parents. Nicole remembered the day she had came home with dyed, short hair and her nose piercing, all on the same day. Her mother fainted right in the living room the moment she saw her. That was two days before her infamous outburst that landed her in the camp. Along with her parents pestering, loneliness and the possibility of her being sent to her cruel old aunt in Maine for the summer, having her English teacher insult her and her gender was the final straw. Nicole didn't regret punching him in the face-he had it coming for a long time—it gave her a chance, a chance at something different. She was miles from her family, town and old life. She had a chance to start over, to make friends and hopefully gain something different.
Her thoughts were interrupted when she looked to the sky.
"Hey, look at that bright star there. I wonder if it's a Nova. I know it sounds stupid, but it's so bright," she quietly told the others as she pointed to the sky. They watched it in awe, seeing its brilliant colour.
"Say," Zigzag almost jumped, "Why don't we call you Nova?"
Nicole looked at him before she began to smile. He grinned as the others agreed with the name.
Gain something different.
As the group talked and laughed, a single fly landed on the ground beside one of the buildings, looking for food. He began to rub his feet together, taking a pause before he would fly again. From behind, he could feel a sudden change in air pressure, prompting him to fly away. Before he had reached a few feet off the ground, however, a foot came crashing down on him, shocking him before he was crushed into the ground. The foot belonged to a single person, who stood behind the building, watching the group enjoy themselves. Light from a nearby post was shone on his arm, revealing four recent scratches across his skin, resembling chemical burns. The person moved his arm out of the light, turning back to the group, and prior to taking his leave.
Laugh all you want now. You won't be laughing for much longer.
And with that, he disappeared into the shadows; a grin across his face.