Higher Expectations
Episode 10: Dan
"It is hard to fight an enemy who has outposts in your head" Sally Kempton
AN: Sorry for not putting quotes in the last two chapters.. I got lazy and forgot about them. Anyway, I'll start doing that and if you notice I'm forgetting, include that in your review. Two chapters in two days! Yay! Go me. I'm feeling quite jolly right now.
*****
"All right, Mr. Gideon, you can go now. I want to see you back here next week for your one week check up and then after that, you wont have to come back here any more than once a month or whenever you happen to get hurt." The doctor said and ushered Gid out of the room where a small curly haired boy was waiting for him.
"Uh.. hey," Gid said hesitantly. The curly haired boy smiled and stuck out his hand.
"Hey, I'm Ezra. I'm your first week buddy, and another one of the Cliffhangers. Peter told me to show you around since I failed to introduce myself to you last night." The curly haired boy said. Gid looked at him strangely but shook his hand anyway.
"Mainly what I'm going to do is take you to the boys dorm so you can unpack your stuff there, and I'll give you a bed and stuff. Then I'll show you around to your classes that you're scheduled to have and to the main parts of campus like the cafeteria and lodge. After a while of being here you'll learn just about everything else about the school. It's not as big as you might think it is." Ezra explained to Gid. "I never got your name. What is it?"
"Ah.. I'm Gid."
"All right, then. I guess we should be off to the lodge to get your stuff and then back to the dorm. I'll show you the guys of the group and then..." Ezra smiled, "Then, I'll show you the ladies!" Gid rolled his eyes at Ezra's comment but walked on with him to the lodge.
*****
"Okay, Cliffhangers. I'd like to introduce you to Gid, the new member of the Cliffhangers. Okay, Gid here's what we do. Starting off we're going to do the tribal yell, to let off some steam. Then we'll pass the staff and finish the sentence with 'I feel..'" Peter explained. "Don't worry," Peter said in response to Gid's confused stare. "You'll understand pretty quickly. Okay guys, let's start the tribal yell. One, two.."
The Cliffhangers burst out into an extremely loud scream, rather than a yell, that made Gid shove his fingers in his ears.
"Ah, God!" Gid yelled out. Peter smiled at him, thinking he was participating.
"Good, Gid. See, I knew you'd catch on." He said, grabbing the staff from behind the circle." Gid rolled his eyes while Peter was turned around and sighed.
'This is going to be a long day.' He thought to himself. Peter turned back around with the Staff and smiled.
"Okay, guys. 'I feel..' Auggie?" He passed the staff to a Latino boy who caught it with ease.
"I feel.. excited." He said and passed the staff to a brunette, skinny girl. "Jules?"
"Ah.." The girl, Jules, said scrunching up her nose. "I feel stupid." She said. Peter looked at her with concern. She passed the staff to Ezra who was sitting beside her. "Ezra?"
"I feel ecstatic!" He exclaimed, still holding onto the piece of paper from earlier. Gid looked at him like he was stupid. He didn't really like this Ezra boy. "Scott?" He said and passed the staff to the blonde, athletic looking boy beside him.
"I feel in love." He said hugging the pretty blonde girl sitting beside him. "Shel?" He asked, giving her the staff.
"Ah, I feel anxious.." She said, then looked at Scott. "But I'm always in love with you." A silent laugh came from across the circle. Another curly haired boy was holding his stomach.
"You have something to say, 'bro!" Scott said, glaring at the boys.
"David! Scott! Enough. Shelby give the staff to Jess." Peter commanded. David stopped laughing but Scott still glared. Shelby gave Jess the staff. Jess looked just as confused as Gid.
"I also feel anxious." She said. Gid guessed that the two girls, Shelby and Jess, were feeling the same way because of the same thing. Shelby smiled at the younger girl and gave her a small hug. Jess passed the staff to Daisy, who was sitting beside her. "Daisy?"
"Thanks, Jess." Daisy took the staff. "I feel.. as if someone is hiding behind a mask again." She said and looked at Gid who looked around. "Yes, you," Daisy said. "The new one. Don't hide behind a mask. I can see right through you." She said, giving Gid the staff.
"Ah... uh, I feel.. nervous now." Gid said, scooting away from Daisy quickly and passing David the staff.
"I, uh, I feel hurt." David said seriously. Peter looked at David with amazement. Was he showing emotion? Finally?
"Good guys, why don't you tell us why." He passed the stick back to Auggie.
"I feel excited because we have a new member. But I'm also feeling different now. I'm starting to feel bad because Jules feels stupid." He said handing Jules the staff.
"I feel stupid because of what I did earlier." She said frowning. "I'm sorry guys. I'm okay now though" She said, smiling again. Daisy looked away, obviously thinking Jules was putting on another mask. Jules handed Ezra the staff.
"I'm feeling ecstatic because I may have found my birth parents!" He said. A whoop erupted from the rest of the Cliffhangers, minus Gid, who didn't understand. He handed Scott the staff.
"I feel in love because I love you, Shelby." This time David didn't crack up, but looked longingly at Scott.. like he was envious. Shelby smiled at him.
"I'm anxious because of the trial." She said. Scott hugged her. "Also I love Scott.." She said, smiling again. "Jess?" She asked, handing Jess the staff.
"I'm feeling anxious for the same reason." Her voice cracked a little. "I don't want him to get off.." She trailed off as a tear slipped down her face. She handed Daisy the staff. Daisy took the staff and layed it down. She gave Jess a big hug and then picked it back up again.
"You all know why I feel as if someone is wearing a mask." She stated and tossed Gid the staff because he was now far away from her.
I feel nervous because of what you're saying." He said and quickly gave David the staff.
"I feel hurt because.." He closed his eyes tightly.
"Go on, David." Peter said. Daisy gave him a reassuring glance. He opened his eyes again and threw the stick down and stood up.
"I'm hurt because I'm tired of my dad hurting me! I'm tired of him hitting me! I just want to be able to go home without being scared! I hate him!" He yelled out. Sophie stood up and pulled David into a short- lived hug. David pushed her away and sat down again. Gid looked at David with wide eyes. Maybe he wasn't alone.
"Don't worry, David. We'll help you." Peter said and picked the staff up from the middle of the circle. "I want you guys to take a short five minute break to cool off before I give you guys some news." He glanced at Sophie who looked down. "Just five minutes guys. And David I wanna see you after Group."
The group walked off for five minutes and by the time they got back to sit down, a new man had taken Sophie's seat. They all looked at him strangely for a second.
"Guys," Peter started. "This is Dan. Dan will fill in for Sophie while she takes a while off... planning our wedding." Peter smiled genuinely for the first time since before he heard about Frank. The whole group of Cliffhangers whooped again.
Jess looked up at her new, temporary counselor. She was still very uncomfortable around men.. and the way this guy was surveying the group was disturbing somewhat. She decided to give him a chance though. She had to be open minded about Horizon or she would never get any better.
"Okay, guys. Settle down" Peter laughed. Sophie came up behind Dan and patted him on the shoulder. Dan looked up and smiled at Sophie. "You aren't gonna give my kids a hard time, now are you?" She asked, smiling somewhat.
Dan turned back toward the group.. his eyes settled upon Jess and he laughed in a strange way, "No," he started and a disturbing cover drifted over his eyes, "Of course not."
*****
Night fell upon Horizon early that day it seemed. Gid scampered back off to the guy's dorm to be alone for a while because he wasn't allowed to talk. He flopped down on his bed and grabbed the purple journal Peter had given him. He stared at the questions written inside and rolled his eyes.
"Oh, boy!" He exclaimed to himself. "I get to bare my soul to these people I don't even know in this stupid little journal." Gid laughed at the journal but then his face became straight. He hated to lie. His dad had made him lie about everything for so long and he had gotten tired of it.
He decided he'd answer these questions as truthfuly as he could, just so long as he didn't give any of his secrets away. He opened the journal again and read question number one.
"What's your full name?" Gid laughed, "Don't these people know anything?" He asked and wrote "Thomas Joseph Gideon" in the blank. Then he went onto the next question, "If you could live anywhere, where would you want to live?" He had to think for a moment but finally an answer came to him. "Duh," He said outloud and scribbled down his answer. He sighed and put the book down, exausted suddenly from that day.
Gid threw the book under his bed and layed back on the matress and soon fell asleep.
*****
Okay, tha's all for now, lol. I'm all written out... I'll write more in a while. Enjoy- read- and review! :P
Episode 10: Dan
"It is hard to fight an enemy who has outposts in your head" Sally Kempton
AN: Sorry for not putting quotes in the last two chapters.. I got lazy and forgot about them. Anyway, I'll start doing that and if you notice I'm forgetting, include that in your review. Two chapters in two days! Yay! Go me. I'm feeling quite jolly right now.
*****
"All right, Mr. Gideon, you can go now. I want to see you back here next week for your one week check up and then after that, you wont have to come back here any more than once a month or whenever you happen to get hurt." The doctor said and ushered Gid out of the room where a small curly haired boy was waiting for him.
"Uh.. hey," Gid said hesitantly. The curly haired boy smiled and stuck out his hand.
"Hey, I'm Ezra. I'm your first week buddy, and another one of the Cliffhangers. Peter told me to show you around since I failed to introduce myself to you last night." The curly haired boy said. Gid looked at him strangely but shook his hand anyway.
"Mainly what I'm going to do is take you to the boys dorm so you can unpack your stuff there, and I'll give you a bed and stuff. Then I'll show you around to your classes that you're scheduled to have and to the main parts of campus like the cafeteria and lodge. After a while of being here you'll learn just about everything else about the school. It's not as big as you might think it is." Ezra explained to Gid. "I never got your name. What is it?"
"Ah.. I'm Gid."
"All right, then. I guess we should be off to the lodge to get your stuff and then back to the dorm. I'll show you the guys of the group and then..." Ezra smiled, "Then, I'll show you the ladies!" Gid rolled his eyes at Ezra's comment but walked on with him to the lodge.
*****
"Okay, Cliffhangers. I'd like to introduce you to Gid, the new member of the Cliffhangers. Okay, Gid here's what we do. Starting off we're going to do the tribal yell, to let off some steam. Then we'll pass the staff and finish the sentence with 'I feel..'" Peter explained. "Don't worry," Peter said in response to Gid's confused stare. "You'll understand pretty quickly. Okay guys, let's start the tribal yell. One, two.."
The Cliffhangers burst out into an extremely loud scream, rather than a yell, that made Gid shove his fingers in his ears.
"Ah, God!" Gid yelled out. Peter smiled at him, thinking he was participating.
"Good, Gid. See, I knew you'd catch on." He said, grabbing the staff from behind the circle." Gid rolled his eyes while Peter was turned around and sighed.
'This is going to be a long day.' He thought to himself. Peter turned back around with the Staff and smiled.
"Okay, guys. 'I feel..' Auggie?" He passed the staff to a Latino boy who caught it with ease.
"I feel.. excited." He said and passed the staff to a brunette, skinny girl. "Jules?"
"Ah.." The girl, Jules, said scrunching up her nose. "I feel stupid." She said. Peter looked at her with concern. She passed the staff to Ezra who was sitting beside her. "Ezra?"
"I feel ecstatic!" He exclaimed, still holding onto the piece of paper from earlier. Gid looked at him like he was stupid. He didn't really like this Ezra boy. "Scott?" He said and passed the staff to the blonde, athletic looking boy beside him.
"I feel in love." He said hugging the pretty blonde girl sitting beside him. "Shel?" He asked, giving her the staff.
"Ah, I feel anxious.." She said, then looked at Scott. "But I'm always in love with you." A silent laugh came from across the circle. Another curly haired boy was holding his stomach.
"You have something to say, 'bro!" Scott said, glaring at the boys.
"David! Scott! Enough. Shelby give the staff to Jess." Peter commanded. David stopped laughing but Scott still glared. Shelby gave Jess the staff. Jess looked just as confused as Gid.
"I also feel anxious." She said. Gid guessed that the two girls, Shelby and Jess, were feeling the same way because of the same thing. Shelby smiled at the younger girl and gave her a small hug. Jess passed the staff to Daisy, who was sitting beside her. "Daisy?"
"Thanks, Jess." Daisy took the staff. "I feel.. as if someone is hiding behind a mask again." She said and looked at Gid who looked around. "Yes, you," Daisy said. "The new one. Don't hide behind a mask. I can see right through you." She said, giving Gid the staff.
"Ah... uh, I feel.. nervous now." Gid said, scooting away from Daisy quickly and passing David the staff.
"I, uh, I feel hurt." David said seriously. Peter looked at David with amazement. Was he showing emotion? Finally?
"Good guys, why don't you tell us why." He passed the stick back to Auggie.
"I feel excited because we have a new member. But I'm also feeling different now. I'm starting to feel bad because Jules feels stupid." He said handing Jules the staff.
"I feel stupid because of what I did earlier." She said frowning. "I'm sorry guys. I'm okay now though" She said, smiling again. Daisy looked away, obviously thinking Jules was putting on another mask. Jules handed Ezra the staff.
"I'm feeling ecstatic because I may have found my birth parents!" He said. A whoop erupted from the rest of the Cliffhangers, minus Gid, who didn't understand. He handed Scott the staff.
"I feel in love because I love you, Shelby." This time David didn't crack up, but looked longingly at Scott.. like he was envious. Shelby smiled at him.
"I'm anxious because of the trial." She said. Scott hugged her. "Also I love Scott.." She said, smiling again. "Jess?" She asked, handing Jess the staff.
"I'm feeling anxious for the same reason." Her voice cracked a little. "I don't want him to get off.." She trailed off as a tear slipped down her face. She handed Daisy the staff. Daisy took the staff and layed it down. She gave Jess a big hug and then picked it back up again.
"You all know why I feel as if someone is wearing a mask." She stated and tossed Gid the staff because he was now far away from her.
I feel nervous because of what you're saying." He said and quickly gave David the staff.
"I feel hurt because.." He closed his eyes tightly.
"Go on, David." Peter said. Daisy gave him a reassuring glance. He opened his eyes again and threw the stick down and stood up.
"I'm hurt because I'm tired of my dad hurting me! I'm tired of him hitting me! I just want to be able to go home without being scared! I hate him!" He yelled out. Sophie stood up and pulled David into a short- lived hug. David pushed her away and sat down again. Gid looked at David with wide eyes. Maybe he wasn't alone.
"Don't worry, David. We'll help you." Peter said and picked the staff up from the middle of the circle. "I want you guys to take a short five minute break to cool off before I give you guys some news." He glanced at Sophie who looked down. "Just five minutes guys. And David I wanna see you after Group."
The group walked off for five minutes and by the time they got back to sit down, a new man had taken Sophie's seat. They all looked at him strangely for a second.
"Guys," Peter started. "This is Dan. Dan will fill in for Sophie while she takes a while off... planning our wedding." Peter smiled genuinely for the first time since before he heard about Frank. The whole group of Cliffhangers whooped again.
Jess looked up at her new, temporary counselor. She was still very uncomfortable around men.. and the way this guy was surveying the group was disturbing somewhat. She decided to give him a chance though. She had to be open minded about Horizon or she would never get any better.
"Okay, guys. Settle down" Peter laughed. Sophie came up behind Dan and patted him on the shoulder. Dan looked up and smiled at Sophie. "You aren't gonna give my kids a hard time, now are you?" She asked, smiling somewhat.
Dan turned back toward the group.. his eyes settled upon Jess and he laughed in a strange way, "No," he started and a disturbing cover drifted over his eyes, "Of course not."
*****
Night fell upon Horizon early that day it seemed. Gid scampered back off to the guy's dorm to be alone for a while because he wasn't allowed to talk. He flopped down on his bed and grabbed the purple journal Peter had given him. He stared at the questions written inside and rolled his eyes.
"Oh, boy!" He exclaimed to himself. "I get to bare my soul to these people I don't even know in this stupid little journal." Gid laughed at the journal but then his face became straight. He hated to lie. His dad had made him lie about everything for so long and he had gotten tired of it.
He decided he'd answer these questions as truthfuly as he could, just so long as he didn't give any of his secrets away. He opened the journal again and read question number one.
"What's your full name?" Gid laughed, "Don't these people know anything?" He asked and wrote "Thomas Joseph Gideon" in the blank. Then he went onto the next question, "If you could live anywhere, where would you want to live?" He had to think for a moment but finally an answer came to him. "Duh," He said outloud and scribbled down his answer. He sighed and put the book down, exausted suddenly from that day.
Gid threw the book under his bed and layed back on the matress and soon fell asleep.
*****
Okay, tha's all for now, lol. I'm all written out... I'll write more in a while. Enjoy- read- and review! :P