AN: Trigger warning for underage drug use
POVs: Eli, Marisol, Katie, Mo, Jake, Drew, "Gracie"
Eli stood hesitantly outside his house with his luggage. Cece was standing next to him with her arm wrapped around his shoulders.
"I'm going to miss you so much, Baby Boy. The next eight weeks are going to be so difficult for your father and I," she said, wiping tears in her eyes for emphasis.
He sincerely doubted it. He knew when his parents wanted him gone for a while so they could throw swinging parties and walk around the house naked. He was fourteen, not four.
The bus taking him to Camp Ojibwa arrived, and Cece kissed him on the cheek before pushing him toward the bus. Yeah, her and Bullfrog were definitely more excited to see him go then they were letting on. Bullfrog didn't even come outside to see him off.
"See ya, Cece," he bid his mother farewell as he got on the bus and headed to the back.
The last thing he saw before the bus pulled away from his house was his mother's cheerful smile as she waved him goodbye.
Yeah, his parents were going to have the time of their lives without him.
"Kids! The bus will be here soon!" His mother called from downstairs.
Him and Gracie walked down the steps at the same time with their bags on their shoulders. They both had their summer camp shirts on and some shorts.
"I packed some snacks for you to eat on the bus ride over to Camp Ojibwa," Their mother said to them as she handed them some brown bags. "Do you kids have everything?"
"Yes," both him and Gracie said at the same time.
"Toothbrushes? Toothpaste?"
"Yes."
"Extra underwear?"
"Yes."
"Gracie, you have enough tampons?"
His sister's face flushed red in embarrassment and Drew smirked. He always got a kick out of seeing Gracie embarrassed.
"Yes, Mom," she answered stiffly. Their mother reached over and cupped her face.
"I really hope you can make some girlfriends, Gracie. You just have to open up," their mother said.
"I guess so," Gracie replied with a shrug. Just then they heard the bus beep outside.
"I'll miss you two! Don't cause any trouble!" Their mother bid them farewell as they headed out the door.
Drew didn't intend to cause any trouble. For the next eight weeks, he had a different goal in mind.
To find a new, hot girlfriend to replace his cheating ex Katie Matlin.
Marisol stepped off the bus, not knowing what to expect. She didn't know if she really wanted to spend eight weeks at a summer camp an hour away from her family, but she kinda didn't want to be at home lately. Her parents have been fighting a lot lately, and the atmosphere at home has been miserable.
While there was a mad rush of kids running to the cabins, she just walked at a steady pace. She felt a tap on her shoulder, and when she turned around, it was her ex-bestie Katie. "Hey Mare," Katie greeted. Glaring, she immediately kept walking only for Katie to block her path. "Wait, let me speak!" Her ex bestie urged.
"What? What's your new apology this time?" Marisol dryly asked. "That you didn't mean to make out with my ex boyfriend? His tongue just happened to be down your throat?"
"I was high, Mare. I wasn't thinking straight!" Katie explained. "You really think I would kiss Jake if I wasn't? I would never intentionally hurt you like that."
"Well you did, again I might add. After all, you treated me like shit during the elections just because you wanted to be president," Marisol bitterly reminded her. "And why the hell were you doing drugs with Jake anyway? You, of all people?"
"I was stressed, okay?" Katie answered.
"Yeah, well, you're a backstabbing bitch when you're stressed," Marisol replied as she shoved past Katie. Her ex best friend didn't move to follow her. Instead she had a hurt look on her face but she didn't care.
Maybe at Camp Ojibwa, she could make better friends than Katie.
After separating from Drew, Gracie went to the girls' cabin. There were multiple girls unpacking when she entered. They all stopped to look at her.
"I didn't know they allowed boys into the cabin," a girl with long brown hair sneered. Gracie ignored her and put her bag on an empty bed. Her mom tried to get her to pack more girlier looking shorts, but she refused. Apparently that was a mistake.
"Hey I'm talking to you!" The girl exclaimed angrily. Gracie continued to ignore her as she unpacked. "What are you, hard of hearing?" The girl questioned rudely.
"Back off of her will you?" She heard Katie demand as she stepped in the cabin. Gracie immediately turned around in shock. Katie was here?
"And who the fuck are you?" The girl questioned again with her arms folded. Katie approached her with a menacing look on her face.
"Katie Matlin, soccer player and red belt. Gracie is one of my friends and you would do best not to bother her or else you're going to have to deal with me," Katie threatened while leaning in close to the girl's face. The room was silent for a moment as nobody knew what was going to happen next.
The girl with the red hair snorted. "I'm not scared of you," she said, but her eyes said something different. She went back to unpacking without another word.
Katie turned to look at her, and Gracie smiled. It was good to know that despite Drew dumping her, Katie still had her back.
When Mo got into the boys' cabin, he immediately expected to be bullied by the other guys, but they just welcomed him with nods and his. When he saw Eli, he immediately clasped hands with his best friend.
"Eli, my man! This is going to be sweet!" He greeted him as he put his bags on the lower bunk bed.
"Hope so, because otherwise these next two months are about to be torture," Eli quipped as he went to unpack. His bed was close by.
"Who else from our school is coming? Do you know?" Mo questioned. During the last week of school, posters about Camp Ojibwa were hung up everywhere, and his parents signed him because of the multiple sports and activities advertised on the pamphlet. His parents wanted him to keep up a healthy regimen of physical activities to help with his blood levels.
"Drew's here in the other boy's cabin, and I'm pretty sure I saw Jake," Eli answered and the person in question walked in, whistling a tune. He greeted them both with a wave. "What's up?" he said as he walked over the bunk bed Mo was at.
Mo didn't know his true feelings on Jake Martin yet. He knew he was a pretty chill guy that half the girls in junior high crushed on, and he dated Marisol for a while. Then his mom died and they broke up. Marisol spent all of homeroom that day crying.
Jake climbed up on the ladder to the top bunk and sat down. It seemed that they were going to be bunkmates. He looked down at him and Eli. "I don't have many rules as a roommate, just don't snore too loud if you can," he told them.
"Cool," Mo replied as he took out his underwear to put in the drawer. He cringed at the sight of them. All of his new briefs were white with a day of the week printed on each pair. He knew his mother had to be behind this. He would have to put them on quickly; There was no need for anyone to accidentally see these.
Well Jake already did. "Your old woman got you those?" He asked him.
"Unfortunately," Mo answered grumpily.
"Must be nice. To still have your mom," Jake replied casually before going to unpack his clothes.
Mo and Eli looked at each other. Neither of them knew what to say to that, and they both felt really bad for Jake. It was weird how nonchalant he was about his mom's death though. As annoying as his own mother was, if she died he wouldn't go outside for a whole year.
Mo decided to look out the window to get a closer look at the campgrounds. He heard that there was a rec center, an archery range, a tennis court, a baseball and soccer field, a basketball court, and a small beach area by the lake. From his side, he could only see the other cabins to his misfortune.
A girl caught his eye. She was talking to one of the camp counselors. She looked familiar…
"Is that Marisol?" Eli asked in shock as he suddenly appeared next to him. The girl turned around, giggling, and indeed she was. She was wearing long black braids down her back, and her shirt was tied down in the front, but it was her.
"She looks hot," Mo commented. He then looked over to his friend with a sly smile. "Maybe you can hook up with her," he suggested.
Eli playfully shoved him before going back to his bed. Mo turned around and looked up to see Jake with a concerned look on his face.
Katie didn't want to eat any of this food.
As everyone around her lunch table chatted excitedly about what they were going to do at camp this year, she numbly played around with her food. It was supposed to be a sloppy joe but it looked rather…grayish. Not ideal for someone who was already struggling with eating regularly as it is. The fries looked a little undercooked as well.
"The other girls are already treating me like crap," Gracie complained. Of all the girls at her table, she was the only person she was familiar with. Marisol had chosen to sit at a table far away from her. Her ex best friend was chatting enthusiastically with some girls. She always envied Marisol's talent at easily making friends with other girls.
"Well don't let them or I'll beat them up," Katie replied before taking a drink out of a water bottle. Bleh, the water tasted stale.
"I'm sure," Gracie replied amusingly as Drew walked over to them.
"Gracie, you don't sit with the enemy," he chided his sister while sending her a glare. Katie almost flinched in response.
"I can sit with whoever I want," Gracie replied defiantly.
"Drew, can we talk about this?" Katie asked her ex-boyfriend with hopeful eyes.
"Absolutely not. I don't talk with sluts," Drew answered coldly before walking away. Her shoulders slumped.
"Ignore him, he's being dumb," Gracie said with an eyeroll before biting into her food.
Katie sadly went back to playing around with her food. She really lost both her best friend and boyfriend in one night because of her foolish actions. She should have never gotten high with Jake.
As she looked around, her eyes fell on Jake who was talking with Eli Goldsworthy and Mo Mashkour. Whatever conversation they had, it seemed to be funny as he was laughing. She liked the sound of his laugh. It was so light and carefree.
She hasn't talked to Jake since that night due to guilt, but she couldn't deny that she still liked him.
There was a campfire later on to celebrate the first night of camp.
As Jake roasted his marshmallows by the campfire with Mo and Eli, he watched Marisol roast a s'more by herself on a tree stump. She was looking lonely, and dejected. He was tempted to go over there and talk to her, but he wasn't sure if she would even want to see him after everything that happened between them. Not only did he make her cry by breaking up with her, but he also made out with her best friend, who was also sitting by herself on another tree stump.
Katie Matlin was an interesting girl. Half the boys at school were terrified of her because of her intimidating personality, but for some reason he found himself attracted to it. A girl who played soccer and knew karate was certainly a badass and not someone to mess with. And she was really cute. And a great kisser.
Before he knew it, he was walking over to her. "Hey," he greeted casually as he sat down next to her.
"Hey," she greeted back in an unsure tone. She was probably still guilty about their hookup at Marisol's party. He was a little bit too, but he long moved on.
"Why are you sitting by yourself?" He asked her.
"Because my best friend currently hates me," she replied while stealing a sad glance at Marisol.
"I'm sorry," he said sympathetically. There was an awkward beat between them. Then he decided to speak again.
"I think she should forgive you. You were high," he pointed out.
"Yeah but I did other bad things to her this year. She's really done with me at this point," she explained as she pulled her marshmallow out of the fire. It was badly burned. "Shit," she swore.
"Here, you can have mine," he said as he took a nicely roasted marshmallow off his stick and handed it to her.
"Thanks," she told him in gratitude before she put it in her mouth. He watched her chew on it with a smile. Even the way she ate marshmallows was cute.
"I really want to make things right between us again, but I don't know how," she continued while continuing to look at Marisol. "We have been best friends since kindergarten, and it feels wrong that we're currently not speaking over what happened at the party."
"Well make her talk to you," he suggested.
"And how am I going to do that?" She questioned with a raised eyebrow.
"You'll find a way," he assured her, "I'm sure of it."
Katie smiled softly at him. The warm orange glow from the campfire made her look even prettier than usual.
Day 2
Gracie waited for her turn to use the showers. Since she woke up at an early time, there were only a few girls in line.
The red haired girl from yesterday, who's name was Beth, came out and whipped her wet hair at her purposely while walking by. Gracie scowled at her, but Beth and her friends only laughed in return. If the next eight weeks at this camp was going to be her constantly tormented by these girls, then she was tempted to call home and have her parents pick her up.
Another girl stepped out of a shower stall, and Gracie took this as an opportunity to finally shower. She stripped quickly and got in the stall. She turned on the shower and immediately jumped back by how freezing cold it was. She waited a few minutes to see if it would get warmer. It did not. Sighing, she decided to just suck it up and wash her body under the cold water. She just hoped she wouldn't catch pneumonia.
When she was done, she stepped out of the shower stall only to feel something run down her leg. She looked down, and to her horror it was blood. Her period had come on in front of everyone in the shower stalls.
"Oh, so you are a girl after all. It was hard to tell considering you're as flat as a board, a carpenter's wet dream!" Beth taunted before cackling with her friends.
Gracie wasn't paying her any attention. She was more concerned with the sight below her. She was hoping that she wouldn't get her period while at this camp, since it was still a little irregular. She hated looking at her period. It uncomfortably reminded her that she was a girl, despite all of the attempts to hide the contrary.
Grabbing a wet rag, she wiped herself up before quickly getting a towel and running out of the stalls.
Drew frowned as the kitchen slapped bacon and scrambled eggs on his tray. The bacon looked rubbery and the eggs were too pale and watery looking. This was about to be an unpleasant breakfast. Food was clearly an area that needed to be improved upon because lunch and dinner yesterday was horrible too. They had spaghetti last night and the noodles were hard and the sauce stale.
After grabbing a small carton of low fat orange juice, he looked around the cafeteria for a table to sit at. He found one on the side of the room where a light skinned black boy was sitting. He walked over and sat at the table.
"Hey man, can I sit here?" He asked him.
"I don't know, can you?" The other kid asked back, before his face broke out in an amused grin. "Sure, why not?" He answered with a shrug. Drew smiled back as he sat down. He took a bite out of the bacon, before quickly spitting it out onto his napkin. The bacon was disgusting as he feared.
The other kid shook his head. "See that's why I am not eating that bullshit. Here," he reached into his pocket, and tossed him a bag of barbecue chips. Drew caught it with ease. "Breakfast, lunch, and dinner," he added as he pulled out his own bag of chips.
"Thanks, bro. I was about to start thinking that I was going to starve here," Drew remarked as he opened up his bag and started popping chips into his mouth. "I'm Drew by the way."
"Mike, but I prefer to go by my last name Dallas," the other boy introduced, "So where you from?"
"Toronto, I go to Degrassi Community School," Drew answered.
"Really? I'm transferring there this fall. I heard they got an awesome hockey program," Dallas replied. Drew looked at him in interest. Was he going to make a new friend next year?
"They do, but football and basketball are also pretty great there," Drew confirmed. The basketball team almost won the championship this year. They only lost by a few points.
"Cool," Dallas replied, before he leaned in suggestively. "So are the girls hot there?" He asked with a smirk.
"Oh they're hot, but wild," Drew answered, thinking of the various catfights he witnessed during school hours.
"Just how I like them," Dallas replied as his smirk widened. He then picked up his sausage patty, which fell off his plate and bounced off his plate. He was pretty sure sausage patties were not supposed to do that.
"So, the food at Degrassi isn't like this shit right?" Dallas asked next with nervousness in his eyes.
The main activity for this morning was archery. Marisol headed to the archery range with some dread. She had never shot an arrow in her life and she was afraid that she was going to shoot someone's eye out. Or worse, someone was going to shoot her eyes out.
When she got to the range, there were already some kids practicing with the bows and arrows. To her relief, the arrows seemed to have suction cups at the end. She walked over and picked up a cute pink and purple bow. One of the camp counselors named Jo approached her.
"You need any help with learning how to use that thing?" Jo asked her.
"Yeah," Marisol answered with a sheepish smile. Knowing her, she would probably take someone's eye out even with a suction cup at the end of her arrow.
"Here, let me show you," Jo replied as she helped her get into a position to shoot. Under Jo's directions, Marisol pulled back the arrow on the bow as far as she could without straining her arms and shooted.
The arrow didn't hit its target. It didn't even land anywhere on the big circle in front of her.
"Ugh," she groaned before looking over to where Katie was. Her ex bestie was using a blue and green bow and arrow. When Katie shot her arrow, it perfectly hit the red dot on her target. Of course Katie knew how to do archery on the first try with no effort.
"It's okay, not everyone gets it on their first try!" Jo assured her before walking off to help another camper. Marisol sighed before trying again. This time, the arrow landed on the circle but on the edge.
"Looks like the princess can't shoot an arrow," Eli remarked as he walked up next to her with a black and red bow and arrow in his hands.
"And what do you know, Emo Boy?" She fired back.
"A lot actually. It's what happens when you go hunting with your old man," Eli replied as he suddenly took her bow and arrow from his hands. "Here, watch a pro at his game," he said as he got into position. Marisol folded her arms in annoyance. Eli had a bad habit of bothering her at school with his smart remarks, and it seemed she wouldn't be able to escape it here.
When Eli effortlessly hit the arrow on the target, he turned around and gave her a smug smirk. She rolled her eyes in response. If only she could rub that stupid smirk off his equally stupid face.
"Fuck off," she snarled as she turned her back on him.
"You're just jealous," he teased as he tugged playfully on one of her braids. Before she could tell him off for doing that, he quickly ran off. "Annoying asshole,' Marisol thought with a grumple.
Between Katie and Eli, she was going to have a miserable time here.
After bothering Marisol, Eli went off on his own in the woods. While teasing the spoiled pampered princess was always fun, he needed some time alone.
While walking, he heard some weird sucking noises. He walked closer to the source of the noises, and when he saw that it was two campers making out, he rolled his eyes. It hasn't even been a full two days. He quickly left them alone without them noticing him.
He got to the beach area and sat on one of the big rocks. He looked far out ahead to the lake. He had to admit that despite the nasty food, Camp Ojibwa was a beautiful place. The sands on the shore were white and the waters in the lake were crystal blue. It reminded him of the country club his maternal grandparents owned, the Emerald Velvet. It had a beach area like this, but slightly bigger with a bar area. Normally at this time, he would spend at least two weeks at the country club with his grandparents but his parents wanted to try something different this year. He supposed he was glad, the patrons at the country club were usually stuffy old white people who would probably have a heart attack at his morbid aesthetic.
Here, he could be himself with Mo by his side. And he could bother Marisol anytime he wanted, which he missed while he was dating Imogen. So that was a plus.
While the boys played basketball on the court, Jake sat on the sidelines and looked at some plants. Sports was never really his thing, but he did love nature. He thought about owning a garden when he got his own place someday. Depending on the plant, he could also make his own herbal remedies when he got home.
No plant was as great as the one in his pocket though. Making sure that nobody was around, Jake reached into his pocket and pulled out a small bag of marijuana. It was one of many he smuggled to the camp. He made sure before he left that he had bought enough from Jay Hogart to last him eight weeks. Whenever he was by himself, he was going to smoke. When he felt someone approaching him, he quickly put the bag back in his pocket.
"You're not going to play with the other boys?" A camp counselor, Tyler, asked him.
"Nah, I'm good," Jake answered. Tyler shrugged before walking away. He was glad he wasn't going to get hounded about playing sports. It was only a few moments of silence before he was bothered again.
"You're really going to sit on the sidelines and not play?" He heard Katie ask. He turned around to see her looking down at him in confusion. Her body was glistening in sweat and her face was red. Her ginger hair was pulled up into a messy ponytail with strands loosely falling around her face. It was kinda hot.
"Aren't you supposed to be playing volleyball with the girls?" He asked her in return.
"My team won so we're taking a break," she explained as she sat down next to him. Her winning any sport wasn't surprising, he felt bad for whoever played against or would play against her in the future.
"I'm sure we're not supposed to be fraternizing with the fairer sex," he reminded her.
"Do you want me to go away?" She asked him.
"Not at all," he replied as they shared a smile.
"You didn't answer my question, so why aren't you playing?" She asked again.
"Because sports are boring except for the food served at parties," he answered nonchalantly. The barbecue wings and chips were delicious, and watching sports with his dad was kind of fun sometimes, but actually playing them? Nah.
"They're a great way to do exercise," Katie pointed out.
"I'm not much of an exercise person, either. I'm here for a good time, not a long time," he replied. She looked at him in amusement.
"You're an interesting person, Jake Martin," she remarked.
"Is that why you kissed me?" He asked teasingly.
Her face shifted into a frown and she got up to leave. "Wait!" He exclaimed as he grabbed her hand. "I just want to know if you really liked me other than when you were high," he added.
She looked as if she didn't want to answer him for a moment. Jake waited patiently for a response.
"I think I liked you for a long time, Jake. I just didn't want to admit it because I was dating Drew," she admitted.
"Well you and Drew are no longer together," he told her bluntly, "So what's coming between us now?"
"Marisol," she answered, and the atmosphere between them suddenly got cold.
"What the hell is this shit?" Mo asked out loud as he eyed his plate of food in disgust. Dinner was supposed to be chicken tenders and crinkle cut fries. Except due to him being diabetic, he was forced to eat grilled tenders instead. And it was soggy as fuck. Just like the Salisbury steak last night for dinner.
"At this point, I think I'm going to live on berries in the forest," Eli remarked as he poked his food repeatedly with a fork. They were both half expecting one of the chicken tenders to start bouncing around.
"The meals they serve us at this joint should count as child abuse," Mo replied dryly as he drank on his juice, the only part of his meal that he was willing to consume.
"At least at school, we had the option of bringing our own lunches," Eli said.
"Yeah, I actually miss my mom's cooking at this point," Mo agreed. After drinking his juice, he picked up his tray of food and dumped it in the trash. Eli did the same with his own tray of food.
"Wanna go back to the cabin and just chill for the rest of the day?" Mo asked his best friend.
"I'm down," Eli answered with a shrug as they left the cafeteria to head back to the cabin.
When they got close to it, Mo smelled something strong emitting from the cabin. He sniffed around. "Do you smell that?" He asked Eli.
"Yeah, it's…weed," Eli answered in confusion, looking at him.
Mo opened up at the cabin door to see Jake smoking a blunt on the bed up top. "Sup boys," he greeted, looking down at them.
"Where did you get that?" Eli questioned with a raised eyebrow.
"Home," Jake simply answered. He then held out the blunt to them. "You guys want some of this? It's good stuff," he offered.
Him and Eli looked at each other. While Eli's parents probably wouldn't give a shit, if his parents even remotely smelled marijuana on him, he would be a dead man.
Buttttt his parents weren't here, were they?"
Day 3
"Today, you will pair up with someone and sail to the other side of the lake in your canoes!" Jo instructed as everyone put on their life jackets.
Marisol put hers over her new blue and white polka dot bikini top. She was wearing baby blue swim shorts too along with water shoes. If she was going to be in water today, she was going to do it in style.
"Marisol, pair up with Eli," Jo said, and Marisol groaned out loud while rolling her eyes. Of course she just had to be stuck with that emo troll. She shared a quick glance with the boy in question before walking over to their boat, grumbling the whole time. When she looked back, she noticed that he was smirking. God, she hated that smirk of his.
Eli tried to push the boat off the shore and into the water but it wasn't working. "You mind helping your majesty?" He asked her dryly.
"I don't want to break a nail," she answered as she looked down at her hands. They were a fresh set of pink acrylic nails with a coffin tip with a daisy painted on each ring finger.
"Just help me, will you?" He demanded. She sighed as she helped him push the boat. She was careful to push with her open palms, and not her fingernails. When the boat hit the waters, they both got into the and began using the paddles to row the boat. She was in the front row while Eli was in the back.
"So Marisol, you think there's any sharks in this water?" Eli asked her in a mockingly scared voice.
"Sharks can't live in freshwater, idiot," Marisol answered sharply as she looked ahead. Hopefully it didn't take long for them to reach the end of the lake.
"Are you sure about that? Hmph," he replied, and she thought it was the end of that. She was wrong. "Well you know piranhas live in lakes, right Princess?"
"Only in Latin America," she replied.
"Wanna find out?" He asked, and suddenly she felt the boat rock a little bit. She whipped around to face him furiously.
"Do that again and I will smack the shit out of you with this paddle!" She warned him, but he only chuckled in response.
"You're so easily spooked, Marisol. How do you even function?" He questioned.
"By staying away from creeps like you," she answered snidely before turning back around.
"I wasn't a creep when you kissed me last year," he reminded her, and there was a smug tone in his voice that she didn't like.
"Yeah, well, that was a mistake," she replied as she thought about that night. She still couldn't believe her first kiss was with Eli Goldsworthy of all people.
"Sure, if that's what you tell yourself at night," he remarked. For the next couple minutes, there thankfully was silence except for the sound of their paddles slapping against the water.
They eventually reached the shore, and Marisol got off the boat and into the water. She helped Eli pull the boat into the sand.
"Hey, Marisol, I think you left something in the boat," Eli said. He was still in the water.
"Huh?" Marisol asked in confusion as she peeked inside the boat.
The next thing she knew, she was pushed into the water. She flapped her arms around frantically as she quickly rushed back up to the surface. Eli was laughing at the sight of her.
"Bastard!" She yelled angrily as she charged at him. Eli continued laughing as she chased him all over the beach.
Of course all the people that had to be her partner for the canoe trip, it was Drew.
Katie quietly hit the paddle against the water, trying to ignore Drew glaring at the back of her head. It was hard, because she felt like his eyes were burning into her skull. She tried to make light conversation, but he coldly rebuffed her at every turn.
When they reached the shore, they got out of the boat. Katie began walking at a quick pace to get away from her ex. "Katie," Drew called to her. She turned around with a hope in her gut.
"Stay away from Gracie," he warned her coldly before walking past her.
Katie stood there on the beach, dejectedly.
Jake tried to eat the cold, wet chicken nuggets on his tray. He dipped the nuggets in barbecue sauce to give it more flavor but it was futile. Annoyed, he pushed away the nuggets along with the soggy French fries. If it was one thing he really hated, it was bad chicken. He got up, dumped his food in the trash, and left the cafeteria. He decided to walk around the campgrounds for now.
He found Mo and Eli by the archery range, talking as Eli taught Mo how to use a bow and arrow. "Hey guys, how's it going?" He greeted them as he approached.
"It's going," Mo said as he tried to shoot the arrow at the target. It missed the mark. "Shit," he grumbled.
"You'll get it sometime," Eli assured him.
"Well I don't think I'm cut out for this stuff anyway," Mo replied.
"Nonsense, I need someone to accompany me and Bullfrog on our hunting trips," Eli argued.
"Well I like hunting," Jake said, "My dad and I go all the time during the season. It's a great way to get some natural grub instead of the store processed stuff." He liked fishing as well, as his dad would take him down by the lake during the summer to catch fish. "And I know how to use a bow and arrow."
"How about a little friendly competition to prove it? Five rounds?" Eli offered with a smirk as he grabbed the bow Mo was using.
"You're on," Jake accepted with a smirk as he went to grab his own bow. They took their positions on opposite ends of the range and began shooting. The whole time, Jake was impressed by how good Eli was at the whole thing. When they were done, Eli had shot two arrows on the red dot on his target while he had shot three on his own. So he won.
Eli shook hands with him as a sign of good sportsmanship. "Good game," Eli complimented him.
"You as well," Jake complimented him back. Truthfully, from what he saw of Eli at Degrassi, he only expected him to be good at two things.
Wearing black and doing that weird brooding thing he does.
Later that evening, Drew and his new friend Dallas were doing something devious.
He smirked as he filled the hand of a sleeping camper with whipped cream he stole from the kitchen. Dallas held a feather in his hands. The other guys in the cabin crowded around them, anticipating what was about to happen.
"Now," he directed to his new friend. Dallas held the feather over the kid's nose to give him an itching sensation. The kid in his sleep tried to rub his nose, splattering the whipped cream all over his face. He woke up immediately. "Hey!" He barked angrily as all of the guys in the cabin laughed.
Laughing as well, Drew shared a hi five with Dallas.
Day 4
This morning's activity was an early morning jog around the campgrounds. Mo wasn't so eager to do it, but he knew he had to. It was completely irrational, but he felt that his parents would know if he wasn't doing any physical activities at camp.
He jogged at a slow, even pace so he wouldn't get out of breath easily. But he could feel himself already getting gross and sweaty. Eli and Jake jogged along with him so he wouldn't be alone in case he passed out or something.
When they reached the beach area, they were allowed to take a break. He sat down on one of the rocks, taking a few deep breaths. "Whew, it's too early for this kind of workout," he complained.
"I'm definitely going to skip out on breakfast and take a nice nap after this," Jake declared.
Mo looked over to where a bunch of girls were stretching. From where he was sitting, he could tell some of them weren't wearing bras. He smirked at the sight. Yeah, he had a girlfriend but it wasn't like he couldn't appreciate other hot girls when she wasn't around.
"Enjoying the show?" Jake asked him with an amused tone in his voice.
"Hell yeah," Mo answered enthusiastically as he looked over to Eli, who was staring at Marisol in particular, who was bending down and touching her toes. He shook his head. "Poor guy is head over heels for her," he remarked to Jake. "Has been since seventh grade."
"Wasn't he dating Imogen Moreno?" Jake questioned.
"Yeah, but they broke up. Because she found out that he kissed Marisol in a closet the year before. It was a pretty messy breakup. You wouldn't want to know the ugly details," Mo explained, "So who's your pic for the hottest girl at this camp?"
"Katie Matlin," his new friend answered without a second thought.
"Katie Matlin? The Ice Queen of Degrassi? Miss Stick-Up-Her-Ass?" Mo asked again in disbelief. Katie was such a cold bitch, he couldn't imagine being attracted to that. He didn't know how Marisol could be friends with her.
"That'll be the one," Jake replied nonchalantly. "I don't think the stick up her ass is as far as it seems. She let loose when we got high together."
"Katie? Getting high? Man, you have to tell me how you got her to do that," Mo insisted.
As Jake recounted his tale of how they hooked up at Marisol's house, Mo had realized that Katie had a little dark side to her.
She didn't know whether it was because of her period, but Gracie was in a really foul mood when she stormed into her brother's cabin. Drew was trading jokes with his new friend Dallas when she found him. When their eyes met, Drew looked at her in confusion. "Gracie, what you doing-"
He didn't get to finish his question before she picked up a pillow and threw it right at his face, nearly knocking him off the bed. "Hey, what the hell was that for?" Her brother demanded.
"You don't get to control who I hang out with, dumbass," she snarled.
"Good sisters don't hang out with their brother's cheating ex-girlfriends," Drew replied as he threw the pillow back at her. She narrowly dodged it.
"Katie happens to be my only friend here at this stupid camp, and you're not going to take that away because you're bitter about what she did," Gracie replied firmly. "She's obviously sorry about the whole thing, and you should move on." She picked up the pillow and threw it at Drew again, who caught it this time.
"Fuck Katie, and fuck you too for siding with her!" Drew swore angrily as he chucked the pillow at her, hitting her square in her chest. They went back and forth throwing the pillow at each other.
"Okay, I'm going to leave you two kids to fight about this alone," Dallas said as he got off the bed, narrowly missing a pillow. He quickly ran out of the cabin. Gracie decided to charge at her brother, and they began wrestling on the bed. To her annoyance, Drew had the upper hand. He pinned her underneath him.
"Stop being friends with Katie," he ordered with a glare.
"No!" She replied defiantly.
"Why are you so hellbent on being around her? You got a crush on her?" Drew questioned wearily.
Gracie blushed at the thought, as she shoved him off of her. "Don't be ridiculous, asshole," she grumbled, "I'm not a lesbian."
"Really? Because that's not what I'm hearing. I heard you like looking at girls in the shower," he replied with a raised eyebrow.
"I do not!" She denied as her face turned even redder. "Those are all stupid lies people made up."
"Well I would do good to not give those rumors any more evidence. Because the last thing I want associated with me is a creepy lesbian as a sister," Drew said as he got up off the bed.
"Shut up," she replied as she got up off the bed as well. She left his cabin in a huff.
Katie was a good friend, that's why she liked her so much, and she was just awesome in general. She never wanted to stop hanging around her. But that didn't mean she was gay or anything. She just really liked how badass Katie was. And pretty. She was really pretty, even when she was sweating from all the sports she played. In fact, that was when she was at her most beautiful.
Of course, acknowledging another girl as attraction did not mean she was a lesbian.
The afternoon activity was tennis. Katie did some warm up stretches as she prepared for her opponent. So far, none of the girls wanted to challenge her. She waited a few minutes, and since no one stepped up on the other side of the court, she decided to just bounce the ball on her racquet.
Then Marisol walked up to the other side. Katie looked at her ex-best friend in surprise, considering that she had never seen Marisol play tennis before, but Marisol only glared at her in determination before taking her position. Katie did as well before tossing the ball up into the air and striking it. When the ball soared over the gate to the other side of the field, Marisol struck it back towards her with no difficulty. There were a few more rounds of them hitting the ball back and forth before Katie failed to hit the ball on her end.
"Wow, you're really good at this," Katie complimented warmly as she picked up the ball. "You must be channeling Serena Williams."
"I guess so," Marisol replied.
"I shouldn't be underestimating you then."
"That seems to be a common theme with you."
Katie frowned as she tossed the ball up in the air again and struck it. As her and Marisol went back and forth hitting the ball, she wondered if Marisol was going to be this petty towards her all summer.
After a few more games, the activity was over and they were tied for wins. Katie's arms were sore but she didn't mind. She walked over to Marisol, who was playing with the tennis ball in her hands. "Marisol, please I'm begging for you to forgive me," she pleaded.
"Why should I? You obviously don't feel bad with the way I've seen you interact with Jake at camp. When's the engagement?" Marisol asked her snidely.
"I do like Jake, I'm not going to lie about that," she admitted, "But you're my best friend and I don't want to lose you over boys."
"Then why do you keep going after the same boys I like? You dated Drew after we went out on that date too," Marisol reminded her, "Who's next? Mo?"
"It just keeps happening, and I can't hide my feelings for Jake. I really like him, Mare. He just gets me. But you're more important than him, and if you don't want me to go out with him, I won't," Katie declared, trying to remain firm about this matter.
Marisol just looked at her in silence for a moment, not saying anything. Then she sighed. "I can't stop you from going out with Jake, if he makes you happy. But seeing you make out with him when we weren't even broken up for three months really hurt, Katie," she replied.
"I know and I'm sorry," Katie apologized, "It shouldn't have happened after you recently forgave me too. But I want us to be friends again, please Mare?"
"We can be friends again," Marisol accepted, "But you're on serious probation."
"Do I at least get a hug?" Katie asked with a nervous smile as she held out her arms for a hug.
Marisol gave her a quick hug before pulling away. "Hopefully, this is the last time we fight like this, Katiekins."
"I don't intend to hurt you anymore, Marebear."
Night 5
Drew got himself ready in the mirror as he prepared for the social event at the rec center tonight. The week was over, and every Friday there was going to be a little social event with ice cream, candy, soda, and pizza. He was excited, not just because he was going to try to pick up some attractive girls at the dance, but also because there was finally going to be some good food provided. The pizza wasn't going to be cooked by the kitchen staff, but it was going to be delivered from a pizza shop not too far from the camp.
"How does my hair look?" He asked Dallas as his friend tied up the shoelaces on his sneakers.
"Does it really need all of that gel?" His friend asked him.
"Yes," Drew replied. He knew girls liked the hair gel, or at least his mom did.
When they got to the rec center, loud music blared from the speakers and there was a big disco ball hanging from the ceiling. Multi-colored lights were strewn along the walls.
Some kids were dancing on the gym floor while others were eating pizza or getting ice cream. Nobody was eating the pizza with a disgusted look on their faces. That was a good sign. As he and Dallas took their seats at a table, they chatted up some cute girls sitting at the table. The girls were kinda ditzy, but it didn't matter to him. Much. After dating Katie, he kinda didn't want to date bird brains anymore, but maybe having one way hotter than her would make her mad.
He was having a rather fun flirty conversation with a redhead named Beth when Katie walked into the social…with the guy she cheated on him with. Drew stopped all conversation with Beth, and focused on his ex. Jake whispered something in her ear and she laughed. Drew felt annoyance creep up in his veins.
"Isn't that your ex?" Dallas asked him just as Katie and Jake shared a kiss.
"Yeah," Drew answered, glaring at the sight of them.
He was supposed to be making Katie mad, but she just seemed to have moved on from him to his disgust.
After eating his pizza, Eli headed to the beach, where he saw Marisol sitting casually on the rocks, watching the stars. She was wearing a pink denim dress and glittery white sneakers.
Smirking, he snuck up behind her and leaned into her ear. "Boo!" He whispered.
"Ack!" Marisol screamed as she jumped. When she saw it was him, her face quickly contorted into rage. "You asshole!" She yelled as he began running, laughing. She ran after him and once again they had a great chase on the beach.
She caught up to him and pushed him on the ground, only to trip and land on top of him. Their noses were almost touching.
He lifted himself up, and she shifted onto his lap. They were holding each other. There was an awkward beat as they stared at each other, not knowing what to do next. Then he got the sudden urge to kiss her. He leaned in and she did too….
"Hey Eli, they're giving out these big ass Hershey bars…oh shit!" Mo said them just as their lips were about to touch. "Am I interrupting something?" He asked.
Marisol looked at him, before shoving him away from her. "Pervert!" She said in a huff before walking off.
"No, you're fine," Eli answered with a sigh as he got up.
He didn't know what came over him, but he supposed he was glad Mo stopped it. However, he wished he didn't. He could smell the scent of strawberries from Marisol's lip gloss…..
'What hold does that girl have on me?' Eli thought wearily to himself as he walked back with Mo to the rec center.
He needed to get over this stupid whatever he had with Marisol Lewis.
As he and Katie watched the stars together, Jake had his arm wrapped around his new girlfriend. He was glad that Marisol finally gave them her blessing, and that her and Katie were friends again.
"So I noticed that you didn't eat much of the pizza tonight. You weren't hungry?" He asked Katie. She barely took two bites before discarding her food. The only thing she really consumed was the water.
"Yeah, I'm still full from earlier," she answered.
"You mean you actually ate lunch?" He asked again in disbelief. Lunch today was chicken sandwiches, and the bread and meat was soggy. He took two bites before throwing it in the trash. Throughout this week, he had barely seen Katie eat anything at meals, so it was hard to believe that she actually ate today's lunch.
"Yeah, it was alright," she answered again, and he was tempted to raise an eyebrow but resisted. It was probably nothing serious.
He smiled at her before they shared a tender kiss under the stars.
A/N: And so ends Part II of Smells Like Teen Spirit. I'm extremely proud of how this fic is turning out so far! Unfortunately there won't be any updates for a little while but stay tuned for Part III, where many more characters will get introduced! Thank you to everyone who left a review so far!
List of song titles used in Part II:
I Can't Wait- Nu Shooz
Tainted Love- Soft Cell
I Ran So Far Away- A Flock Of Seagulls
Candy Rain- Soul For Real
Where Did Our Love Go?- Soft Cell
Winter Wonderland- Felix Bernard and Richard Bernhard Smith
Live and Let Die- Paul McCartney
Cool It Now- New Edition
Rock The Boat- The Hues Corporation
Ladies Night- Kool and The Gang
You Give Love A Bad Name- Bon Jovi
Summertime- Will Smith