"So," Shelby asked as she and Kristy walked outside, "What are you in for?" Kristy scuffed the path with her shoe and continued along with out saying anything. "Oh I see. You haven't exactly warmed up to the place yet have you."
"Sorry. I'm just reeling a little right now. It's a lot to take in."
Shelby smiled, "She talks!"
"What's it like here?"
"It takes some getting used to. There's rules, regulations, schedules and policies wherever you go." Shelby paused, "But after a while you'll learn to tolerate it."
"What are the people like?" Kristy asked as they walked by the shed at the lake and Shelby pointed out the kayaks and the other water equipment.
"Well sometimes Peter and Sophie annoy the hell out of me sometimes, but then I remember why I'm here, and what they've done for me. The staff is always getting in to our business. But that's their job, to worry about us. They know absolutely everything that goes on here. There's no secrets with them."
"What's with the Cliffhangers deal? Is our group honestly three girls and two guys?" Kristy laughed.
Shelby tried to explain, "Well we've had a little chaos here lately. Ezra, he um, he tried to hurt himself. He had some trouble when his parents visited. He's in the med centre now."
"Is he going to be okay?"
"Yea, they pumped his stomach at the hospital. He's recovering at the infirmary. He'll be fine. Lots of stuff to talk about in group no doubt." Shelby added, "Auggie and Juliet are on restriction. It was a whole big thing. Jules ran away, Auggie went with her to look after her I guess. Anyway, they're back and they're on restriction."
"Restriction?"
"Uhh, it's like being grounded pretty much."
Kristy nodded her head, "I see."
~
"Playing mover was not the job that I had in mind Petey," Scott grunted as he placed one of Kristy's bags on an empty bed.
Peter placed another bag down, "Well she did bring a lot of stuff and I thought you would enjoy a little field trip in to the girls' room. Even if it did involve hard labour."
"Did Juliet bring this much stuff with her?" David joked.
Peter grabbed the last bag from the hall, "What do you two think about her so far?"
"About Kristy?" Scott said, stalling to get word things right. "She's hot." So much for playing things low-key. David nodded his head, it seemed he agreed.
Peter frowned and put his hands on his hips, "Slow down guys. She just got here. She's been through a lot."
"Everyone here has."
"Including the two of you," Peter reminded them. "Scott you just broke up with Shelby this summer."
"We're still friends."
Peter tried again, "I'm only saying let Kristy get to know everyone and settle in."
"Yes sir," Scott jokingly saluted Peter and followed him out of the room.
~
Shelby and Kristy had finished the tour and now they were in the room the Cliffhanger girls shared. "It looks like my stuff is here," Kristy observed as she sat on the end of the bed, it was piled high with luggage. "Do I have time to unpack?"
"Lunch is pretty soon and you do have a lot of stuff, but we've got a few minutes if you want to change or something."
Kristy opened one of her bags and pulled out a makeup bag. She applied some lip gloss and stood up, "No I'm ready."
"You're not going to be like Jules are you? Hogging the bathroom every morning, taking fifteen minutes to pick out an outfit just for breakfast."
"I can be showered, dressed and ready to go in half an hour. I'm not high maintenance at all," Kristy clarified.
Shelby smiled, "We'll get along just fine then."
~
"So what do you think?" Juliet asked, she and the other members of the Cliffhangers were sitting around a table in the lunchroom, waiting for Shelby and Kristy to arrive.
"Of Kristy?" Daisy asked. "We only saw her for a few seconds."
"But we haven't seen her yet," Auggie cried. "Give us the dirt."
David replied, "Not much to tell. She looks clean. Very cute, pricey clothes, brought lots of stuff with her. Reminds me a lot of Jules."
Daisy reminded all of them, "You can't judge a book by its cover."
"She's cute?" Auggie smiled at Scott. Juliet punched him in the arm. "Sorry Jules."
Scott laughed, "She's gorgeous man."
Juliet perked up as Shelby and Kristy entered the room. "Is that really her? Geez, she is pretty," Jules inched a little closer to Auggie.
Shelby whispered to Kristy as they got in line for food, "You can get to know everyone a little better now. It looks like Ezra isn't out yet though. Auggie and Jules are an item by the way."
"What about the others?" Kristy said while she frowned at the food on her tray. "Is anyone else hooked up?"
"Well, no. Daisy, David and Ezra have this whole triangle thing. Scott and I used to be, we broke up this summer."
"Oh," Kristy replied. "What's he like?"
Shelby smiled, "He's a really good guy. He just doesn't like everyone to know it… And he's an amazing kisser."
The two girls walked between a few tables to get to their team. Shelby sat down beside Daisy, and Kristy sat down beside her.
"I'm Juliet and this is Auggie, we didn't meet before," Juliet said eagerly when the two girls reached the table.
"Hi," Kristy told them. "It's good to put faces to the names finally."
"Uh, how was the tour?" Scott asked awkwardly.
A few of the kids at the table exchanged glances. Kristy answered him, "It was fine. Shelby showed me absolutely everything but I'm sure I'll still get lost once or twice."
"Are you coming to group tonight?" Juliet asked excitedly.
Kristy looked puzzled, "I'm not sure what that is."
Daisy explained to her, "We just talk about what's on our mind and get stuff off our chests. More or less it's a form of group therapy."
"Oh great, more of that!" Kristy mumbled. She noticed everyone looking at her. "My mom and dad took me straight out of rehab and put me in here."
"Rehab?" Juliet asked. "Did you do drugs or alcohol?"
Shelby turned to Kristy, "You'll have to excuse Jules here, she isn't one for manners."
Juliet looked at her plate for a second, "Sorry. I'm just curious."
"It's okay really," Kristy told her. "I was at the clinic for drinking mostly. But I did soft drugs too." The others at the table nodded their heads. Some of them had been down that road before.
~
Kristy was sitting in the cafeteria again. Dinner was over, she and Scott were sitting at a table talking while Shelby did her kitchen duty. "You guys better not be responsible for all the crap left on these plates," Shelby called from the kitchen.
Kristy laughed, "So when do I get my turn in the kitchen?"
"You'll start eventually. They don't usually put newbies on chores until they've been here at least a few days," Scott answered.
"Lucky me."
"It has its rewards," Shelby came out of the kitchen and placed a plate of brownies on the table. "Kitchen duty means sneaking leftovers. Around here, dessert's the only food you'll be wanting more of."
"We've got group in the lodge in a couple minutes," Scott reminded them.
"I've got to run back to the dorm first," Shelby said before shoving half a brownie in her mouth.
Kristy stood up, "I'll go with you."
"No that's okay. Scott will take you," Shelby winked at him. "Won't you Scotty boy?" She put her apron on a hook and left.
"So what's the deal with 'group' anyway?" Kristy asked as she followed Scott in to the kitchen and he put the empty plate on the counter. "Am I going to be forced to spill all my secrets and ask for guidance?"
"Not really," Scott told her as they walked towards the main room of the lodge where the session would be held, "It's more like a forum where we can talk about stuff that's been going on lately. No one is forced in to anything. Since you're new you probably won't have to participate much."
~
Peter was sitting on the raised part in front of the fireplace, with the Cliffhangers minus Ezra in a semi-circle in front of him on the floor. "Before we start I'd like to welcome Kristy to the circle. You can join in if you'd like but don't feel any pressure," Peter smiled at her and she nodded. "Okay, is there anyone that wants to talk about something?"
Daisy piped up first, "I'd like to know how Ezra's doing. When is he coming back?"
Peter cleared his throat, "Ez is doing much better. He has been resting a lot and talking about everything. He'll probably be out of the med centre in the next few days… Anything else?"
Peter looked around at them but no one seemed to be talking, "Why is everyone so quiet?"
Auggie explained, "Man, there's nothing happening around here therefor nothing to talk about."
"Kristy's here though!" Juliet piped up. Kristy blushed slightly and looked around the group.
Peter clapped his hands together, "Kristy would you mind telling them a little bit about yourself? Who you are, what you like, don't like? That sort of thing."
"Okay," she obliged him. "I feel like I just walked in to grade five and I'm the new kid. Um, I'm eighteen, from Michigan. I like sports, movies, music and all that. I really like food. I don't like aggressive, violent people or arrogance."
"Does anyone else have a question for Kristy?"
Daisy raised her hand, "Are you here, happily or unhappily?"
"Does anyone here come 'happily' Dais?" Shelby muttered.
Apprehensively Kristy answered, "It was my parents' idea but I'm not all that angry. I don't get along with my parents and I don't see eye to eye with them on a lot of things."
"Do you snore?" Juliet asked. Kristy shook her head.
Peter added, "Do you have any questions for the team?"
"I'd like to know what your very first impression of me was," Kristy said plainly.
A few of them giggled and some looks were exchanged. Juliet blurted out, "We all thought that you would be a snobby rich kid."
"Like Jules," David said under his breath. "Just kidding," h added a second later.
"She's not stuck up," Scott said quickly. Then he and Kristy both blushed just as fast.
Kristy replied, "I'm not a lot of things."
Peter shifted uncomfortably in his seat, "Okay. I can see we're not going to get anywhere tonight. Why don't you guys get out of here? Free time until lights."
Kristy stood up with Shelby, "Do you always get out of group early?"
"Nope," Shelby said. "Most of the time we go in to overtime. But Auggie was right. It's been totally dead around here. Well besides you and Ezra."
"We've got two hours. What do you guys want to do?" Scott asked.
Auggie called from the doorway, "Guys we're going to play games in the library." David, Daisy and Juliet followed him out of the room.
"What games?" Kristy wondered.
"Scrabble, Monopoly and cards. Trust me, no fun at all," Shelby explained miserably.
Scott stretched his arms and looked around, "Come on, let's go chill on the porch."
"Whoopee!" Shelby cried sarcastically, but she and Kristy went with him anyway.
~
Scott -- 8 oct, 2001 -- . . . I hadn't thought much about the new kid coming in. I didn't think it would be a very big deal. Then she showed up and it was like a truck hit me. She's beautiful and smart and she's so much fun to be around. The problem is she reminds me of Shelby. Kristy is afraid to open up and that's no good. If anything I need people to be open with me . . .
~
Kristy and Shelby were sitting together on a twig loveseat and Scott was sitting opposite them on a chair. They had been talking for an hour and a half. "Seriously, I haven't had a drink in about five weeks. And it still feels weird," Kristy said quietly.
"Hey, we have been clean for months!" Scott replied.
"Do you miss it?" Kristy asked them.
Shelby shook her head, "I don't miss it or anything. But I don't think I'll be completely sober for the rest of my life. Don't get me wrong, I'll never do drugs again unless they are prescription. But I'm not going to stay away from alcohol. I've learned enough here, I know I will be responsible." The other two nodded in agreement. "Peter would shit a brick if he heard me say that just now."
"It's not like I was an alcoholic, I just drank a lot socially but not all the time," Kristy said matter-of-factly.
Scott looked at her intently, "Is that why your parents signed you up?"
Kristy sighed, "I think my parents were a little shocked to find out that I had my own liquor cabinet going on in my bedroom. But it's not the only reason I'm here. I'd rather not talk about it right now."
"Gee she sounds like you and me Scott," Shelby laughed. "Don't worry, no pressure. Eventually though, it's best to get it off your chest."
Scott teased her, "That's the type of thing that Peter would say."
Daisy and Juliet showed up then. "We're going up to our room now."
"Okay," Shelby acknowledged them.
"I think I'll go back with you guys. I haven't unpacked yet. I have no idea which bag my pajamas are in." Kristy stood up, "I'll see you later guys."
"You like her already don't you?" Shelby asked as soon as the others were out of earshot.
Scott scoffed, "I've haven't known her for twenty-four hours yet."
"Admit it. You've been staring at her all day."
"Hey I had hardly been here thirty seconds when you and Jules started jumping all over me." Scott smirked, "But she does remind me of you."
"That's dangerous."
He explained, "She doesn't want to talk about the reason she's here."
"You know exactly why I'm here. I told you everything, eventually. So she's nothing like me. Don't start in on me again." Shelby took a deep breath and decided to drop it, "So she doesn't want to talk about it, so what? No one does on their first day."
"She'll come around."
"Now look who sounds like Peter? I better go. You know, get up there before Jules has a chance to try and coordinate her outfit for tomorrow with Kristy. See ya later," Shelby got up and walked towards the dorms.
