Disclaimer: I own nothing about Higher Ground except for Emma, Fred, Belle, the Rivergliders, and the stables.
Peter sat facing the four boys. They all looked resolutely at him. They all had to let Scott talk first-he was the one who had started the actual fighting, they all knew why, but they knew also knew that Scott was one to want a say in his things.
"What happened out there? Scott?" Peter asked, unimpressed.
"Why did you immediately ask me?" Scott asked indignantly.
"Because you always seem to have a hand in these things. I know it doesn't sound fair, but there you go."
"Well, if you ask me I think you should talk to Alex. He's the one who started everything."
"Fine, Ezra, what happened?"
"Well, Scott and Shelby weren't doing anything wrong, just talking, and then this Alex guy comes up to Scott and starts talking trash about Shelby," Ezra finished with a sidelong glance at Scott. He didn't seem to be too happy with Ezra's statement, but had to admit it was pretty accurate.
"What sort of trash?"
"Well, Alex said stuff like 'a slut'll stay a slut' blah blah blah. It was pretty harsh, man."
"Thank you Ezra. Auggie, David, is that what happened?" They both nodded in agreement. "Alright, thanks guys. Now, go right an essay on why using your fists is not the way to solve a problem. I want 500 words on my desk by tomorrow morning."
"What? Man, we didn't do anything!" Auggie yelled out.
"Ya, you helped in the fight instead of trying to verbally solve it."
"Had we tried to verbally solve it, we'd still be in here... for use of profanity," David said sarcastically. The other Cliffhangers couldn't help but smile, he was so right.
"Well, either that, or go start a week's worth of chopping wood."
"Fine I'll take the essay," Ezra said unenthusiastically.
"Me too," joined in David.
"Nah, meat, I take the wood. I'll start now. How many hours?"
"20 hours," was Peter's incredulous reply.
"Fine, see you at dinner," was all Auggie said, getting up, and leaving the office. The other two got up as well, leaving Scott behind.
"Now, Scott, although I would love to give you the essay as well, I have to think of the friction between you and Alex. There's too much of it. You need to be able to work things out without bursting like this. After Horizon, what are you going to do if you can't keep a job because you're always fighting?" Scott remained motionless. "Okay, buddy hike-back it is then."
"Aw, come on Peter. This is so unfair. Alex is a raging lunatic for god's sake! He'll probably try to kill me in my sleep!"
"Well, I'll just make sure Sophie's alert to that. See you tomorrow in the lodge, crack of dawn. Oh, and bring some extra socks, it tends to get pretty wet out there with all the snow." Scott did not look amused. He knew that Peter was right though. He had to figure out how to cooperate with people despite the fact that they made him sick. But how could Alex say something like that to Shelby? How could he, Scott, Shelby's protector, stand by and pretend to not care? As he walked out of Peter's office, he thought about these things. His thoughts were only interrupted when Alex walked into his side, deliberately trying to trip him.
"Hey, don't you think you're in enough trouble already? Ah, I'd go to the infirmary if I were you. That black eye doesn't look too good. And, I know from experience that girls, especially Shelby, aren't to keen on black eyes," Scott said, in mock caring.
"Yo, whatever man, I just think you'd better stay the hell away from me."
"Ah, you won't be able to, and neither will I. You'll see," and with that, he left, leaving Alex to try and figure out what on earth he was talking about. When he came out of Peter's office, half and hour later, he knew exactly, and he wasn't too pleased with it. This was the worst thing ever. How on earth was he supposed to survive in the forest, let alone with Scott tied to his leg, and Sophie following. She would probably have them bond and work out their differences or some kind of crap like that. Those were his thoughts as he walked out of the office. The other two had gotten the essay or wood choice. James took the essay as he hated chopping wood, but Andrew hated writing even more, so he took the wood, the lesser of the two evils.
Andrew went directly to the wood shed to begin his twenty hours. There, he found Auggie hard at work.
"What are you doing here? You should probably be eating," Auggie said.
"Nope, I got twenty hours on wood-chopping duty to do."
"Oh, you chose wood over the essay?"
"Yup, I hate writing. I had a terrible English teacher when I was at school. She didn't know squat about what she was saying. Sometimes, I swear I could've taught that class better than her. What's your excuse?" Andrew asked, making conversation.
"Ah, I just don't like writing much," Auggie didn't like to share the fact that he was dyslexic.
"I see," was the only response Auggie got. He hated working in silence, so he asked another question.
"So? Meat, how do you like Horizon? Why are you here by the way?"
"Ah, it's okay. I got into some drugs and my dad would beat me."
"You might want to talk to David. His story's pretty similar."
"Oh ya? That's cool, I guess, although I never thought that what happened to me would happen to anyone else. I guess it's chill that I have someone to talk to." Auggie just laughed. "What? What is it?"
"Ah, I wouldn't suggest that you talk to David that much. At least don't tell him stuff that you wouldn't say in group because that's where it's eventually going to end up. David sort of has a big mouth and love for annoying people."
"Uh-oh, not a good mix," Andrew said as he laughed. "Well, I guess we might as well get working."
"Ya, guess so." And so they worked. They kept on going until Sophie appeared and told them they had ten minutes before lights out if they wanted to get a quick snack. They did since chopping wood isn't the easiest thing in the world. They ate and talked. Andrew, or Maynes, as everyone was calling him now, found out about the other Cliffhangers. He already knew about them, but he found out the stuff like when to keep his mouth shut, what not to say to some people, whom he shouldn't challenge to a fight, and which girls not to touch,
"Now, you know Jules is my girl, right?" Auggie continued. "Well, Shelby's Scott's and if you mess with her, just as if you mess with Jules, you're gonna have to answer to one of us, or maybe both, cause we're all tight and shit. Just, Scott has been known to get pretty violent if anything bad happens to Shelby. You would be considered something bad in his eyes. With me so far?" Andrew nodded. He was taking mental notes of everything Auggie was saying. "Good. Now, Daisy, she's with David. I wouldn't suggest messing with him either. He's here cause he beat a kid at his old school to a bloody pulp." Andrew winced at that thought. "Now, Emma and Jess, they're basically fair game. I think Ez might have his eye on Jess, but that's all I know. Just be careful with Jess. She's Shelby's sister and if something bad happens to her, it happens to Shelby and thus you get beat up by Scott." Andrew chuckled at his reasoning.
"Alright, I understand. So, basically, I can't mess with anyone except Emma, right?"
"Right. But meat, I'm telling you now. You do anything bad with anyone in the Cliffhangers and we're personally gonna make sure you get your fair share of ass kicking. Take it as a hint."
"Thanks man, I guess." At that point, Sophie came in the cafeteria and told them it was lights out in about a minute. They ran off to their dorm and went straight to their beds. Scott wasn't there. And in the girls' dorm, Daisy was noticing the same thing about her best friend. She left for the boys' dorm and Auggie left for the girls'. They met halfway.
"What are you doing up?" Daisy asked.
"Same to you."
"Well, I'm looking for Shelby... and you're probably looking for Scott," she said as the whole incident became clear to her. She knew that Scott had landed a buddy-hike back with Alex and she knew that every time that happened, him and Shelby met at the docks after lights out. It had happened in a blizzard, in a lightning storm, in the middle of the summer, nothing changed the fact that they met at the docks if they weren't going to be able to see each other the next day. Daisy and Auggie both left for their respective dorms, with smiles on their faces, light hearts, and no more words apart from their "good nights".
Peter sat facing the four boys. They all looked resolutely at him. They all had to let Scott talk first-he was the one who had started the actual fighting, they all knew why, but they knew also knew that Scott was one to want a say in his things.
"What happened out there? Scott?" Peter asked, unimpressed.
"Why did you immediately ask me?" Scott asked indignantly.
"Because you always seem to have a hand in these things. I know it doesn't sound fair, but there you go."
"Well, if you ask me I think you should talk to Alex. He's the one who started everything."
"Fine, Ezra, what happened?"
"Well, Scott and Shelby weren't doing anything wrong, just talking, and then this Alex guy comes up to Scott and starts talking trash about Shelby," Ezra finished with a sidelong glance at Scott. He didn't seem to be too happy with Ezra's statement, but had to admit it was pretty accurate.
"What sort of trash?"
"Well, Alex said stuff like 'a slut'll stay a slut' blah blah blah. It was pretty harsh, man."
"Thank you Ezra. Auggie, David, is that what happened?" They both nodded in agreement. "Alright, thanks guys. Now, go right an essay on why using your fists is not the way to solve a problem. I want 500 words on my desk by tomorrow morning."
"What? Man, we didn't do anything!" Auggie yelled out.
"Ya, you helped in the fight instead of trying to verbally solve it."
"Had we tried to verbally solve it, we'd still be in here... for use of profanity," David said sarcastically. The other Cliffhangers couldn't help but smile, he was so right.
"Well, either that, or go start a week's worth of chopping wood."
"Fine I'll take the essay," Ezra said unenthusiastically.
"Me too," joined in David.
"Nah, meat, I take the wood. I'll start now. How many hours?"
"20 hours," was Peter's incredulous reply.
"Fine, see you at dinner," was all Auggie said, getting up, and leaving the office. The other two got up as well, leaving Scott behind.
"Now, Scott, although I would love to give you the essay as well, I have to think of the friction between you and Alex. There's too much of it. You need to be able to work things out without bursting like this. After Horizon, what are you going to do if you can't keep a job because you're always fighting?" Scott remained motionless. "Okay, buddy hike-back it is then."
"Aw, come on Peter. This is so unfair. Alex is a raging lunatic for god's sake! He'll probably try to kill me in my sleep!"
"Well, I'll just make sure Sophie's alert to that. See you tomorrow in the lodge, crack of dawn. Oh, and bring some extra socks, it tends to get pretty wet out there with all the snow." Scott did not look amused. He knew that Peter was right though. He had to figure out how to cooperate with people despite the fact that they made him sick. But how could Alex say something like that to Shelby? How could he, Scott, Shelby's protector, stand by and pretend to not care? As he walked out of Peter's office, he thought about these things. His thoughts were only interrupted when Alex walked into his side, deliberately trying to trip him.
"Hey, don't you think you're in enough trouble already? Ah, I'd go to the infirmary if I were you. That black eye doesn't look too good. And, I know from experience that girls, especially Shelby, aren't to keen on black eyes," Scott said, in mock caring.
"Yo, whatever man, I just think you'd better stay the hell away from me."
"Ah, you won't be able to, and neither will I. You'll see," and with that, he left, leaving Alex to try and figure out what on earth he was talking about. When he came out of Peter's office, half and hour later, he knew exactly, and he wasn't too pleased with it. This was the worst thing ever. How on earth was he supposed to survive in the forest, let alone with Scott tied to his leg, and Sophie following. She would probably have them bond and work out their differences or some kind of crap like that. Those were his thoughts as he walked out of the office. The other two had gotten the essay or wood choice. James took the essay as he hated chopping wood, but Andrew hated writing even more, so he took the wood, the lesser of the two evils.
Andrew went directly to the wood shed to begin his twenty hours. There, he found Auggie hard at work.
"What are you doing here? You should probably be eating," Auggie said.
"Nope, I got twenty hours on wood-chopping duty to do."
"Oh, you chose wood over the essay?"
"Yup, I hate writing. I had a terrible English teacher when I was at school. She didn't know squat about what she was saying. Sometimes, I swear I could've taught that class better than her. What's your excuse?" Andrew asked, making conversation.
"Ah, I just don't like writing much," Auggie didn't like to share the fact that he was dyslexic.
"I see," was the only response Auggie got. He hated working in silence, so he asked another question.
"So? Meat, how do you like Horizon? Why are you here by the way?"
"Ah, it's okay. I got into some drugs and my dad would beat me."
"You might want to talk to David. His story's pretty similar."
"Oh ya? That's cool, I guess, although I never thought that what happened to me would happen to anyone else. I guess it's chill that I have someone to talk to." Auggie just laughed. "What? What is it?"
"Ah, I wouldn't suggest that you talk to David that much. At least don't tell him stuff that you wouldn't say in group because that's where it's eventually going to end up. David sort of has a big mouth and love for annoying people."
"Uh-oh, not a good mix," Andrew said as he laughed. "Well, I guess we might as well get working."
"Ya, guess so." And so they worked. They kept on going until Sophie appeared and told them they had ten minutes before lights out if they wanted to get a quick snack. They did since chopping wood isn't the easiest thing in the world. They ate and talked. Andrew, or Maynes, as everyone was calling him now, found out about the other Cliffhangers. He already knew about them, but he found out the stuff like when to keep his mouth shut, what not to say to some people, whom he shouldn't challenge to a fight, and which girls not to touch,
"Now, you know Jules is my girl, right?" Auggie continued. "Well, Shelby's Scott's and if you mess with her, just as if you mess with Jules, you're gonna have to answer to one of us, or maybe both, cause we're all tight and shit. Just, Scott has been known to get pretty violent if anything bad happens to Shelby. You would be considered something bad in his eyes. With me so far?" Andrew nodded. He was taking mental notes of everything Auggie was saying. "Good. Now, Daisy, she's with David. I wouldn't suggest messing with him either. He's here cause he beat a kid at his old school to a bloody pulp." Andrew winced at that thought. "Now, Emma and Jess, they're basically fair game. I think Ez might have his eye on Jess, but that's all I know. Just be careful with Jess. She's Shelby's sister and if something bad happens to her, it happens to Shelby and thus you get beat up by Scott." Andrew chuckled at his reasoning.
"Alright, I understand. So, basically, I can't mess with anyone except Emma, right?"
"Right. But meat, I'm telling you now. You do anything bad with anyone in the Cliffhangers and we're personally gonna make sure you get your fair share of ass kicking. Take it as a hint."
"Thanks man, I guess." At that point, Sophie came in the cafeteria and told them it was lights out in about a minute. They ran off to their dorm and went straight to their beds. Scott wasn't there. And in the girls' dorm, Daisy was noticing the same thing about her best friend. She left for the boys' dorm and Auggie left for the girls'. They met halfway.
"What are you doing up?" Daisy asked.
"Same to you."
"Well, I'm looking for Shelby... and you're probably looking for Scott," she said as the whole incident became clear to her. She knew that Scott had landed a buddy-hike back with Alex and she knew that every time that happened, him and Shelby met at the docks after lights out. It had happened in a blizzard, in a lightning storm, in the middle of the summer, nothing changed the fact that they met at the docks if they weren't going to be able to see each other the next day. Daisy and Auggie both left for their respective dorms, with smiles on their faces, light hearts, and no more words apart from their "good nights".