(Looks around in confusion and blinks) Huh... Where... Am I? (Squints and reads title) Mis-sunder-stand-ings...? Oh god. D:
It's been more than a year since I last updated this... Honestly I don't get why people liked this so much. It was my first story, and there are SO many things wrong with it... But people still enjoyed it. That makes me SMILE :D So... if you people are still willing to read this after a year, have at it. My wirting style in this story is the same, but ti's much better in my others. So, again, if you're still willing to read this after a year be my guest. A review or two would be nice if you have the time. (This time I had the sense to use spell check TT_TT)
Chapter 8: Return to Wawanakwa
The surgery lasted longer than expected. Miles worked on Courtney all through the night and was finally done around 8:00 in the morning. Chris had tried his best to stay awake but had eventually fallen asleep on the chair in the corner. Miles walked up to Chris and gently shook his shoulder.
"Huh? What? I need to wake up the campers… need to toss them in a pool of sharks… maybe send them to the snake pits… good for ratings." Chris mumbled. Miles laughed a little.
"Pool of sharks? Snake pit? What are you talking about?" Chris eyes flew open as he stood up and realized he was still in the hospital and not on the island.
"Oh. Sorry about that. How is Courtney?" he asked gazing over to where she lay with bandages wrapped tightly around her eyes.
"Well the surgery took a little longer than expected. She started to stir a few hours ago so I gave her more of the sleeping gas. She'll be out for a while longer. I hope that's ok."
"Well we do need to hurry back. The others will really be worrying about her." Miles nodded.
"I understand. Just keep the bandages around her eyes for about three days. Hopefully she will be able to see by then."
With some difficulty Chris was able to carry Courtney out of the hospital and out to the car. He drove to the local docks where the boat was and got on. Once he got on the boat he put Courtney in the bed in the boat where she had slept before. Chris gazed down at her smiling.
"Soon you'll be able to see, just like I promised."
I woke up on something soft. Not soft like the chair in the hospital was, something softer. I sat up, trying to listen for anything that would hint where I was. I didn't hear anything. "Chris?" I called wirily. No answer. "Chris?" I called again, louder this time. Again I heard no answer. I stood up and cautiously made my way forward. I found a door and opened it. I found stairs next and climbed those. Once I reached the top of the stairs I heard a roaring engine. Am I back on the boat? "Chris?" I called yet again. This time I heard footsteps coming towards me.
"Courtney! I'm so glad you're awake. How are you feeling?"
"I'm fine. Are we back on the boat?"
"Yep. Were headed back to gold old Wawanakwa. We should get there in about two hours." I nodded and headed back down stairs, still sleepy even though I had been sleeping for about ten hours.
As Courtney headed down the stairs Chris reached into his pocket and pulled out a phone. He dialed quickly and soon Chef picked up the phone.
"Hello?" Chef answered.
"What's up Chef? It's Chris. Courtney and I are headed back now and we should be there in about two hours."
"Really? So soon? You guys should take your time! Do a bit of fishing or something! Enjoy yourselves!" Chef said quickly.
"Everything ok Chef? You seem like you're… hiding something."
"Oh no no! Everything is great here nothings wrong! And who said I was hiding something? I didn't say that, that's for sure!"
"Dude, slow down. You sound like Izzy. How is Duncan? Has he been behaving?"
"Duncan? Oh he's fine! He's been uhh pretty quite these last few days, really. So like I said why don't you take your time! We are fine here! What's that? Uh oh I need to go. Owen is being uh… mauled by a bear! Yeah a bear. Got to go! Bye!" suddenly Chef hung up leaving Chris staring at the phone with an eyebrow raised. … A bear? Rrriiiiiiight. This means we better pick up the pace.
Chef ran into the trailer where Geoff was under the desk trying to re-wire all the monitors. "Geoff!" there was a loud thud when Geoff crawled out from under the desk rubbing the top of his head.
"You know we really ought to get someone like Harold to fix these. What's up Chef?"
"Chris just called! He said he'd be here in two hours and we still have no clue where Duncan is!"
"What? What are we going to do!"
"There isn't much we CAN do. What we SHOULD do is keep him out of the trailer and the cell room until we can fix all of this." Geoff nodded quickly and went back to trying to re wire all the monitors. Chef ran out the door and bumped into Bridgette near the cabins.
"Hey Chef, what's up?" Chef thought about his answer carefully before responding.
"Umm Chris just called." He said slowly. Bridgette smiled widely.
"Chris called? Is he on his way back? How is Courtney? Is she ok? When will they get here?" Chef held up his hand, silencing Bridgette's rain of questions.
"Chris called and he said he would be here in about two hours. He didn't mention Courtney. I came to… tell you all she was coming! Yeah that's it. But since I found you do you mind telling the others for me? I have important things to do." Bridgette nodded her head excitedly and ran off to find Gwen and Heather.
After a few more minutes of working on the monitors Geoff gave up and decided to go for a walk in the woods. He strolled along whistling with his hands in his pockets, glancing around every time he heard some kind of noise. I wonder where Duncan is right now. I guess no one is safe while he's around. Geoff shook his head to himself. No. Don't think like that Geoff. Duncan is my best pal. He would never hurt me. Besides he's doing all of this for Courtney's forgiveness. Once she comes back with Chris maybe Duncan will be able to talk with her or something. Hopefully Duncan will be able to convince her he was just trying to protect her. Geoff stopped walking when he heard something rustle beside him. He turned his head and saw a stick fly out of the bush and land next to him. He raised an eyebrow and walked over to the bush. Suddenly Duncan's head shot out and Geoff screamed while stumbling backwards. Duncan leaped out of the bush and grabbed Geoff's vest before he fell.
"Quiet!" Duncan hissed at him. Geoff's eyes widened as he straightened up.
"Duncan? What are you doing so close to camp? You could get caught." Duncan shook his head laughing.
"Trust me, I won't get caught. So what's been going on at camp? Why did Courtney leave the island with Chris?" Geoff thought about it for a moment. Should I tell him? What if went crazy again and went looking for Chris when he comes back? That would be bad for all three of them. "… Well?" Duncan pressed, his eyes pleading.
"…Courtney and Chris will be back in about two hours." Geoff answered at last. Duncan's eyes sparkled with happiness.
"That's great! Now all I need to do is get her alone long enough for me to convince her that I'm sorry… and that I love her. Where was she for so long?"
"Well Chris took her to the mainland…" Geoff said slowly.
"Yeah I know, but why? Where did they go?"
"Chris took Courtney to get eye surgery..."
"… Eye surgery?" Duncan asked a little disappointed. Geoff nodded. Suddenly Duncan smiled out of nowhere. "That's great! Maybe if she can see again she will be able to forgive me."
"I think you should be a little more worried about this, Duncan."
"Why should I be worried about Courtney being able to see again?" he asked frowning.
"Who do you think will be the first person Courtney sees once she gets back?" Geoff asked. Duncan didn't understand so he went on. "Who was the one who never left Courtney's side when she was out cold?" Geoff asked. Duncan still didn't understand and Geoff rolled his eyes at him. "Who was the one who took her to get the surgery?"
"… Chris?" Duncan asked still not getting what Geoff was trying to say. He smacked his head in frustration at how dense his friend was being.
"Yes! Anyone can see Courtney is starting to move closer and closer to Chris. He is baiting her along and you need to act fast before he snaps the trap and you lose Courtney to him forever." Duncan scratched his head trying to think while Geoff just stared blankly at him. Duncan was finally stuck by realization.
"Your right. If I don't act fast I really WILL lose Courtney to Chris. I need to do something for her when she gets back, but what?" Geoff shook his head sadly. "… I need to get her alone. That's a start. But how will I do that? I still can't go anywhere near camp." Duncan was scratching his neck thoughtfully when he noticed Geoff was gone. "Geoff?" he asked.
"I'm over here." Duncan turned around to see Geoff sitting under a big tree leaning against its trunk. Duncan walked over and leaned against the tree on the opposite side of Geoff. He thought for a long time just gazing up at the tree when an idea struck him. "I got it!" I said loudly. Geoff was about to fall asleep in the peace and quiet and all most fell over when Duncan shouted.
"What?" he asked.
"Ok here's what we need to do…" Duncan said as he leaned over and started to whisper in Geoff's ear.
"… Do you really think that will work?" Geoff asked once Duncan was done telling him about his plan.
"I think so. We just got to hope everything goes right because if it doesn't its downhill for all of us." Duncan answered.
I was standing at the front of the boat leaning over the railings thinking about what I would do once I got back to the island. Ever since the surgery I had been thinking about what my conscious said over and over again in my head. What did it mean when it said the time would come soon when I needed to decide? Ah why do important things always have to be said in riddles? I asked myself frowning. And what if I'm able to see again? Will I really be able to forgive Duncan? Deep down I think I really do miss him. I wish I was able to forgive him so much, but it's just not that easy. I tried to stop thinking about the island, concentrating on the feeling of the wind flying through my hair and the sound of water splashing up against the boat. I heard footsteps walking towards me and felt someone's hand on my back.
"Hey Court." Chris said. "Were all most there. I can actually see Wawanakwa from here." I smiled, turning my head in the direction of his voice.
"That's good." I said. "I actually can't wait to get back. It's funny really. A few weeks ago I couldn't wait to get off that rock, but now I can't wait to get back." Chris laughed beside me.
"Yeah. Deserted islands are funny that way. They're like your own personal paradise. No problems and no worries." He said dreamily.
"You say that like you've lived on a deserted island all your life."
"You could say that. I sort grew up in Hawaii."
"You lived in Hawaii? No way!"
"I get that reaction a lot. It's really not as great as you would think. Sure it's fun for the first two weeks, but after a while you get really sick of seeing the beach every day."
"Which island did you live on?"
"Kauai. The smallest one I might add. I had a house right next to the beach. I could walk there if I wanted to. The beach got really boring after a while though. Once you've seen one hunk of sand you've seen it all. It rained every day in Kauai, which was a bit of a letdown. It's not called the wettest place in the world for no reason. But I remember this one time it rained… I'll never forget that day."
"Tell me about it."
"Ok. I was outside around sunset playing some basketball when it started to rain. I was about to go inside but the sight was too amazing to miss. The sunset made the raindrops look like golden rain from the sun. It filtered through the trees casting rays on sunshine all over the place. Then a rainbow appeared right over my house… it was so beautiful… I'll never forget it."
"It sounds beautiful. Golden rain from the sun with a rainbow to top it off? Sounds amazing." I said smiling widely.
"It was. I remember this one time there was a huge storm and we had a choice to go to school. My mom forced me to go, she said I had missed enough school. So I went and there were only like four people there including my old pal Tray. Our teacher said that since there were so few people we wouldn't do any work so we just goofed off the whole time."
"How long did you live on Kauai?"
"We moved there when I was about five so that's where I first started school. I lived there for about eight years. I grew up with a nice quiet school and I loved it, but Kauai was so boring. Nothing to do except surf. I was really excited when I heard we would be moving to L.A. at the end of the school year. I was bummed at the fact I had to leave all my friends like Tray but still psyched that I was finally leaving the rock. The first thing I did when I got to L.A. was cough."
"Cough?"
"Yeah. The smog was so thick you could see it in front of your face. Instantly I missed the clean fresh air of the garden isle."
"The garden isle?"
"Yeah that's a little nick name for Kauai. It rained so much it made huge forests and jungles. Kauai is home to the largest and most beautiful garden in the world actually."
"Wow. I didn't know that."
"Yeah. I missed all the trees and the flowers all ready. I felt so exposed walking down the bare streets without huge trees over my head. The worst was yet to come though. I went to a huge school in L.A. that had like a million students. It was hard to make friends there and that's when I started to miss my friends and my small school. I always said to myself, hey at least I have something to do now, but after a while I started to miss the beach. I missed the sand under my feet and the feel of the sea mist on my face. So one day I went to the local beach there and was instantly disappointed. The beach in L.A. was overcrowded and loud. There was trash everywhere and the sand was hot and sticky. After about two weeks in L.A. I really missed Kauai. I wanted to go back so bad."
"Did you?"
"Of course. I went every summer to find everything still the same. The beach was still calm and peace full, the sand was still a warm white, the water so clear you could see the ocean floor, the trees still tall and green, the flowers still bright and colorful, the air still clean and fresh, my friend Tray still a weirdo. Everything just the way I left it… I'm sorry have I been rambling? I didn't mean to bore you."
"No, go on. I'm enjoying listening about Hawaii."
"If you say so. I remember the worst beach on the entire island. Polahali beach. The waves were so high and rough, the sand was so hot you couldn't walk on it. I heard about thirty surfers die there every year or something like that. I got the worst sunburn in the history of sunburns there. I was peeling for like three weeks." Chris started laughing with me laughing along with him.
"It sounds amazing. I wish I could live on Kauai. I've gone to a big school all my life."
"Really? I couldn't stand my big school. It was so overcrowded and loud."
"What did you do after you graduated?"
"Well back when I was young and foolish and even more devilishly handsome than I am now, I wanted to move back to Kauai and get a job there as a fisherman. My buddy Tray's dad was a fisherman and it actually paid pretty well."
"Why didn't you?"
"I don't know. I guess it was a dream that was never fulfilled."
"Do you still visit in the summer?"
"Every summer."
"What about now since you're running the show?"
"I still got two weeks once it's over. I'll go then."
"What happened to Tray? Does he still live on Kauai?"
"Well yes and no."
"What was he like?"
"You know what he's like."
"No I don't, I've never met him."
"You've seen him every day for the past four weeks or so."
"What are you talking about? I've never met Tray in my life."
"Yes you have, you just don't realize it yet."
"What are you talking about Chris?" now I was eager to find out who he was talking about.
"A certain someone who makes certain toxic sludge."
"… You mean… Chef?"
"Bingo! Two points for Courtney." He said clapping his hands.
"Chef is your friend Tray from Kauai? No way!"
"Yes way. When I went to visit Kauai last summer he offered to let me stay at his place. He made me dinner one night and let's just say my stomach still hasn't recovered. That's when I told him about my idea for TDI and how I needed a really bad cook for the camp."
"You mean he's always cooked like this? I thought he was trying to give us food poisoning!"
"Nope. Tray was never the best Chef in the world. That's why he chose catching the food instead of cooking it."
"Wow. That was a really nice story, Chris. I really enjoyed listening about your life in Kauai."
"Thanks. I enjoyed telling it. I'll have to take you there some time. Hopefully you'll be able to see the garden. Your life isn't complete until you see how beautiful it is." I smiled even more.
"I'd like that. I really would." I felt the boat slow down and come to a gentle stop. Chris reached out and gently took my hand.
"Were here." He said leading me off the boat and onto the docks. I smiled when I felt the familiar rotten wood of the dock of shame creak beneath my feet. It feels good to be home. I thought smiling as Chris led me towards the camp grounds.
THE END! ... Nah man nah. That's not the end! XD That would SUCK if that was the end! So like I said, this is written in the writing style I used when this began, but I've written better in my other stories. Review if you like, I know some of you have been waiting for this.
