A/N: Basically: LIFELINES!
Chapter 8; Lifelines
Everyone in Camp Green Lake has a lifeline. A life line is something that was a part of your life before Camp Green Lake. Zig's was an old TV Guide from September 22, 1998. Squid's was a rubber octopus. Caveman's was a picture of his parents. But Jules' was the strangest of all. Her lifeline was a microphone with no batteries, and it had a piece of paper on it. And the paper said this:
Jules, You are SO talented. Keep dreamin' ---- one day your dreams will come true. See ya soon! Your Pal Forever, Kelly PS When I become famous, you get some of my cash. Fame, here I come!
Jules often looked at it. And when she looked at it, she smiled. She often got lost in daydreams, probably from the microphone. Daydreams of fame, fortune, and power. The kinds ALL girls have once in a while.
But one day someone messed with it. And it was not pretty.
One day, Twitch, being his immature self, picked up the microphone, threw it up in the air a few times, and asked a million questions. "What's this?" "Why doesn't it have batteries?" "Where'd ya get it from?" "Who's Kelly?" "Does she sing?" "Is she famous?" "Do you sing?" "Are you famous?" Jules' response was, "A microphone. I don't have any batteries. Kelly gave it to me. Kelly is my friend. Yes, she sings. I don't know if she's famous. Yes, I sing. No, I'm not famous, as of yet. You ask way too many questions. And give it back, jerk, or you'll have a fist in your face faster than you can say 'Lifeline'!!"
Faster than Twitch could say 'Lifeline', he had a black eye.
Later, at counseling, everyone had brought their lifelines. Jules was heavily guarding her microphone, as though it were worth something. Stan was looking at his photo longingly. Squid hugged his octopus.
One by one, everyone shared their lifelines. Zigzag explained that the week of September 22, 1998, was the hardest in his life. His mother was killed by his father, he and his twin sister, Josie, were separated, and his father was sentenced to 20 years in prison for first degree murder and child abuse. TV got him through it. Squid said he loved the ocean and lived near it for most of his life, and that his favorite sea creatures were octupi (octopus). An octopus saved his life once. Zero looked at his feet a lot, and said quietly that his shoe was a shoe that a very pretty, but strange, girl gave to him as a token of her love for him ('She thought I would look sexier with it!'). He blushed as he said it. Stan said that he never had any friends because he was overweight, and that his parents supported him through thick and thin, and loved him for who he was. It was then Jules' turn.
"This microphone was given to me by my friend, Kelly, as a gift. I love to sing, and she gave me the microphone so that the world could hear me sing. She was a great friend."
Zero asked, "Did Kelly sing?"
"Yes she did," Jules replied. "The last time I heard her sing was before she went off to American Idol."
Maria asked, "What was Kelly's full name?"
Jules said, "Um, I think it was Kelly Park, no, Kelly Simpson, nah, it was Kelly Fork, maybe Kelly Fart? OH YEAH! Kelly Clarkson."
The room was silent. Everyone's jaws had dropped, except for Mr. Pedanski's and Zero's.
"OH MY GOD! You know Kelly Clarkson???", exclaimed an ecstatic Maria. "That's amazing! That signature could be worth a lot of money, you know. What was she like? Snobbish? Nice? Awesome? Funny? Silly? Nuts? Tell me, tell me, tell me. I NEED TO KNOW. Now. I am her biggest fan! She has a really good voice, hard to find, you know. Justin is all right, but he needs to fix his hair desperately. I really think that---"
Maria had jumped out of her seat and was pacing around the place when Jules smiled and interrupted, "CALM DOWN. She's not in this room, you don't need to go ecstatic."
"KELLY CLARKSON IS HERE? OH MY GOD! I need to fix my hair, brush my teeth, take a shower, put on a bra, get a faci--"
Stan suddenly said, "Will you SHUT UP? My God, I haven't heard a woman talk so much since The Warden gave us a lecture on War and Peace. Cool your jets, girl." "You shut the hell up, dude," snapped Maria. "You should respect your elders." Stan shouted, "Respect my elders? I'm older than you!" Maria shouted back, "How old are you then? How old are you? Huh? Huh?" Stan simply replied, "You ask too many questions," and ignored the rest of her replies. Maria fell silent and stared at Stan with hatred.
Twitch decided to break up the fight by (of course) asking a question. "Why a microphone? Why not a picture of your family or something?"
Jules cleared her throat and started to speak. "Well, my dad was an abusive bastard, my mother was a drunken whore, and they both eventually drove my sister Vivian crazy, which lead her to killing my newborn brother. You see, my life was never normal. My parents' marriage was a match made in the pits of hell. My dad was an absolute nutcase, if you said that you broke something like a glass, or a plate, he would get so pissed off that he would smack you, or hit you over the head with a bottle, or lock you in a closet with no food for a day. My mother was a strong woman. Not of strong brain power, or with strong choices (after all, she DID marry my father), but with a strong body. Whenever I did something 'bad', he'd get my mother in the room, and she'd pull my hair, kick me in the stomach, punch me, anything to get me quiet. Then they'd throw me into a closet, where the mice were my only friends."
Armpit asked, "How did you get the casts?"
Jules cleared her throat and continued. "That was a moment I will never forget. I was 11. The family was going to see my aunt Johanna up in Maine, so it was a long drive. We had a horse that we wanted Johanna to have, so my parents picked me to stay with the horse for the ride (don't ask me how we got the horse). I went to the horse trailer and looked after the horse. I had forgotten it was the winter, and some where around the New York area, I froze to the inside of the trailer. When we got to Maine, my dad told me to get out of the trailer. When I told him I couldn't get out, he got my mother and she actually RIPPED me from the trailer. My skin ripped off of my limbs and I was screaming. The doctors could do nothing except put the casts on. It hurts to this very day."
The room was very still and silent, all of the people were staring at her. She needed to break the silence, so she looked at her watch. "It's 11:30, we should really be headng out, don't you think?" They kept staring. "Right?" Still staring. "Now it's 11:31." Staring. "For God's Sake, MOVE!" They all jumped, and moved out without a word. Stan and Maria glared at each other with pure hatred, and they were the last out. Jules strolled out without a word, and Mr. Pedanski stayed there the entire night, staring at the empty space.
Chapter 8; Lifelines
Everyone in Camp Green Lake has a lifeline. A life line is something that was a part of your life before Camp Green Lake. Zig's was an old TV Guide from September 22, 1998. Squid's was a rubber octopus. Caveman's was a picture of his parents. But Jules' was the strangest of all. Her lifeline was a microphone with no batteries, and it had a piece of paper on it. And the paper said this:
Jules, You are SO talented. Keep dreamin' ---- one day your dreams will come true. See ya soon! Your Pal Forever, Kelly PS When I become famous, you get some of my cash. Fame, here I come!
Jules often looked at it. And when she looked at it, she smiled. She often got lost in daydreams, probably from the microphone. Daydreams of fame, fortune, and power. The kinds ALL girls have once in a while.
But one day someone messed with it. And it was not pretty.
One day, Twitch, being his immature self, picked up the microphone, threw it up in the air a few times, and asked a million questions. "What's this?" "Why doesn't it have batteries?" "Where'd ya get it from?" "Who's Kelly?" "Does she sing?" "Is she famous?" "Do you sing?" "Are you famous?" Jules' response was, "A microphone. I don't have any batteries. Kelly gave it to me. Kelly is my friend. Yes, she sings. I don't know if she's famous. Yes, I sing. No, I'm not famous, as of yet. You ask way too many questions. And give it back, jerk, or you'll have a fist in your face faster than you can say 'Lifeline'!!"
Faster than Twitch could say 'Lifeline', he had a black eye.
Later, at counseling, everyone had brought their lifelines. Jules was heavily guarding her microphone, as though it were worth something. Stan was looking at his photo longingly. Squid hugged his octopus.
One by one, everyone shared their lifelines. Zigzag explained that the week of September 22, 1998, was the hardest in his life. His mother was killed by his father, he and his twin sister, Josie, were separated, and his father was sentenced to 20 years in prison for first degree murder and child abuse. TV got him through it. Squid said he loved the ocean and lived near it for most of his life, and that his favorite sea creatures were octupi (octopus). An octopus saved his life once. Zero looked at his feet a lot, and said quietly that his shoe was a shoe that a very pretty, but strange, girl gave to him as a token of her love for him ('She thought I would look sexier with it!'). He blushed as he said it. Stan said that he never had any friends because he was overweight, and that his parents supported him through thick and thin, and loved him for who he was. It was then Jules' turn.
"This microphone was given to me by my friend, Kelly, as a gift. I love to sing, and she gave me the microphone so that the world could hear me sing. She was a great friend."
Zero asked, "Did Kelly sing?"
"Yes she did," Jules replied. "The last time I heard her sing was before she went off to American Idol."
Maria asked, "What was Kelly's full name?"
Jules said, "Um, I think it was Kelly Park, no, Kelly Simpson, nah, it was Kelly Fork, maybe Kelly Fart? OH YEAH! Kelly Clarkson."
The room was silent. Everyone's jaws had dropped, except for Mr. Pedanski's and Zero's.
"OH MY GOD! You know Kelly Clarkson???", exclaimed an ecstatic Maria. "That's amazing! That signature could be worth a lot of money, you know. What was she like? Snobbish? Nice? Awesome? Funny? Silly? Nuts? Tell me, tell me, tell me. I NEED TO KNOW. Now. I am her biggest fan! She has a really good voice, hard to find, you know. Justin is all right, but he needs to fix his hair desperately. I really think that---"
Maria had jumped out of her seat and was pacing around the place when Jules smiled and interrupted, "CALM DOWN. She's not in this room, you don't need to go ecstatic."
"KELLY CLARKSON IS HERE? OH MY GOD! I need to fix my hair, brush my teeth, take a shower, put on a bra, get a faci--"
Stan suddenly said, "Will you SHUT UP? My God, I haven't heard a woman talk so much since The Warden gave us a lecture on War and Peace. Cool your jets, girl." "You shut the hell up, dude," snapped Maria. "You should respect your elders." Stan shouted, "Respect my elders? I'm older than you!" Maria shouted back, "How old are you then? How old are you? Huh? Huh?" Stan simply replied, "You ask too many questions," and ignored the rest of her replies. Maria fell silent and stared at Stan with hatred.
Twitch decided to break up the fight by (of course) asking a question. "Why a microphone? Why not a picture of your family or something?"
Jules cleared her throat and started to speak. "Well, my dad was an abusive bastard, my mother was a drunken whore, and they both eventually drove my sister Vivian crazy, which lead her to killing my newborn brother. You see, my life was never normal. My parents' marriage was a match made in the pits of hell. My dad was an absolute nutcase, if you said that you broke something like a glass, or a plate, he would get so pissed off that he would smack you, or hit you over the head with a bottle, or lock you in a closet with no food for a day. My mother was a strong woman. Not of strong brain power, or with strong choices (after all, she DID marry my father), but with a strong body. Whenever I did something 'bad', he'd get my mother in the room, and she'd pull my hair, kick me in the stomach, punch me, anything to get me quiet. Then they'd throw me into a closet, where the mice were my only friends."
Armpit asked, "How did you get the casts?"
Jules cleared her throat and continued. "That was a moment I will never forget. I was 11. The family was going to see my aunt Johanna up in Maine, so it was a long drive. We had a horse that we wanted Johanna to have, so my parents picked me to stay with the horse for the ride (don't ask me how we got the horse). I went to the horse trailer and looked after the horse. I had forgotten it was the winter, and some where around the New York area, I froze to the inside of the trailer. When we got to Maine, my dad told me to get out of the trailer. When I told him I couldn't get out, he got my mother and she actually RIPPED me from the trailer. My skin ripped off of my limbs and I was screaming. The doctors could do nothing except put the casts on. It hurts to this very day."
The room was very still and silent, all of the people were staring at her. She needed to break the silence, so she looked at her watch. "It's 11:30, we should really be headng out, don't you think?" They kept staring. "Right?" Still staring. "Now it's 11:31." Staring. "For God's Sake, MOVE!" They all jumped, and moved out without a word. Stan and Maria glared at each other with pure hatred, and they were the last out. Jules strolled out without a word, and Mr. Pedanski stayed there the entire night, staring at the empty space.
