Hey, it's me again! This is my second chapter. I'm kind of disappointed that I only got...*sob* 5 reviews for my first chapter, but I know that my horrible summaries don't appeal to everyone! Thank you to those who have reviewed!
Annjirika- Awww thanks for your review! That made me really happy to hear you say that. And you actually signed in! I'm touched! I love your style of writing too, and I really thought that "I Saw the Sign" was cute!!!
Deplora- Thanks for your review! You've reviewed for *almost* every one of my stories, so that's great. Geez...I see your reviews pop up everywhere! Ha ha, where do you find the time to read so many stories? And then you write so many? And you're in college?!?!? Whoa...
Pingpong867- Thanks for your review! It's great that you like my story! Yeah, you'll be able to see Aerith might possibly have a heart attack over the kids. More like...gremlins. You're another one who I see a lot for my reviews. Actually...it seems like all of your names are familiar! Hmm...
BlueEyedDemon10- YAY! You like my story! Hee hee, it makes me happy when I get reviews! They're a popular addiction among fellow fanfic-ers. Ah...I just love reviews!!!
Regno Cuore- Another review GREATLY appreciated. First chapters are important to get reviews because it's one of the things people look at (at least I do) and the summary, and I can't write summaries in that little space. I know, I got the same "traffic" thing today too, but only on this one story. And if Yuffie chased an innocent (yeah right) little kid around she would get punished and sent home! And what kind of story would that be?
Okay! I don't think I missed anyone. If I did then I am soo sorry, but sometimes the website gets messed up and doesn't show me all of my reviews. Grrr...!
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Summer Nights
Chapter Two:
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Yuffie put her hands on her hips, glaring at that little Cindy brat.
"Okay guys, c'mon, let's go, into the cabin to pick out bunks. First one there gets first pick!" Kairi shouted.
The kids stomped into the cabin without bothering to take off their shoes and leaving a mess on the carpet. Yuffie shook her head and leaned on Kairi's shoulder.
"You know Kai, you really should pick out a better job next summer," she said with a slight smile. Kairi rolled her eyes and ducked under Yuffie's arm to follow the kids, whom Yuffie had officially named, "The Gremlins."
Yuffie followed her in and stood by the doorframe of the cabin, her arms crossed. The Gremlins were all climbing onto one certain top bunk when there were two other ones to claim. She could have sworn she even heard growling.
"I want this one!" came a high-pitched child's voice.
"No, I do!"
"Me!"
"ME!"
"NOO ME!"
"I was here first!"
"NO I WAS!"
Fed up with the screaming, Yuffie climbed onto the step ladder where they were all fighting for a spot and picked up the first two girls she saw and handed them to Kairi who was waiting at the bottom.
Kairi carried the girls and put them on separate top bunks. Yuffie grabbed the last two girls off the other bunk and put them on the ground to let them choose from the remaining floor beds.
Before they could moan or whine that they wanted the top bunk, she said quickly, "We'll switch beds every so often, so quit crying!"
They gave her a wide-eyed stare and went to sit on their bed. Yuffie breathed out, satisfied.
"Wow, Yuf, you may be able to do this job!" Kairi said with a laugh.
"Oh, ha ha..." Yuffie said sarcastically. Kairi ignored her comment, although she wasn't used to Yuffie acting so sarcastic and rude. Hopefully they would have time to talk later...
"All right, guys, hurry up and unpack into the drawers and put up your decorations. From what I've heard, we're going to start something soon!" Kairi said with a clap of her hands. Yuffie exited the room and collapsed onto the couch in the sitting area.
She watched from her spot on the couch as The Gremlins put up posters, Christmas lights, blankets, pillows, stuffed animals, and the like. As each one finished, they shyly sat on their beds and looked at Kairi.
"All right, everyone into the living area for some time to get to know each other," she heard Kairi say. There was shuffling sounds and the Gremlins shyly made their way into the room and sprawled out on the couches, floor, and step on the fireplace.
"I'll start. My name is Kairi Harp; I'm 17 years old, I love little animals, and my favorite food is tofu."
Yuffie rolled her eyes with a friendly smile to Kairi and said, "My name is Yuffie Kisaragi; I'm eighteen years old, I like to eat little children, and my favorite food is brains."
Their eyes widened and one of them screamed.
"Yuffie, you're impossible! Guys, she was kidding. She really likes Chinese food and she loves to write poetry."
"Well you're a party-pooper," Yuffie retorted.
"Next!" Kairi said and glanced at Cindy.
"My name is Cindy Young; I'm seven and a quarter, I like my stuffed pig Googy, and yummy stuff is cookies," she said in a soft voice. Yuffie just knew she was putting on an act for Kairi.
The little girl next to her started. She was the smallest one, with feathery blonde hair that went to her shoulders and bright blue eyes. "My name is Lexi Jeanine; I'm six, I like my color crayons, and I like popsicles."
Yuffie smiled at her. She seemed so quiet. Maybe she would be a little more relaxed in the days to come.
A young girl with long black hair with thick curls and dark brown almond eyes said, "My name is Mai Yukiko, I'm eight, I like my mommy's special egg rolls, and also I like my pretty necklace," she said happily and opened up her clutched hand to reveal a plastic bead necklace.
All of the girls put their hands to their mouths and made cooing sounds.
"Shut-up, it's my turn! I'm Sarah Jones..."
"I'm Kara Custard..."
"My name is Val Lemmings..."
The last three girls out of the six stated a few facts about themselves. Just as everyone was finishing up, a loud announcement was heard.
"All counselors bring their kids to the outdoor stage!" shouted a voice. "I repeat, all counselors bring their kids to the outdoor stage!"
Yuffie stood up and headed towards the door.
"Yuffie, where are you going?" Kairi called.
"Umm...to the outdoor stage?"
"We need to take the kids there, we can't skip ahead. Besides I have to show you where it is!"
"Oh yeah..." Yuffie muttered.
"Stop being so down. Come on. Okay, kids, let's all sing the Camp Kaman song on the way there!"
They walked down a trodden path to the outdoor stage, the Gremlins singing the horrible Camp Kaman song that went to the tune of "I Want Candy" and was repeated incessantly over and over :
Camp, camp, camp—camp—camp!
Camp, camp, camp—camp—camp!
You know that place where I belong?
Camp, camp, camp—camp—camp!
Yelling all night and day in song!
Camp, camp, camp—camp—camp!
You know that place called Kaman?
Camp, camp, camp—camp—camp!
It just makes me say, "Amen!"
Camp, camp, camp—camp—camp!
I want Kaman!
I want Kaman!
When they finally reached the stage, almost all of the chairs were filled up with both boys and girls, young and old, and all of the counselors were standing around the stage.
"Oh no, I hope we can find some spots," Kairi said and searched for open seats.
"Right over there," Yuffie said and pointed to the very back right corner of chairs.
Kairi spotted it and herded the kids to the seats. Yuffie looked at all of the counselors, particularly male. There was a tall, blonde one wearing a peculiar blood red cape that made him look foolish, and hair that stuck up in unimaginable ways.
She saw an attractive silver-haired boy (How strange, she thought) and another crazy-haired loony wearing unbearably warm looking clothes.
Then, she saw him. The man from the gas station. He was leaning against the stage, his arms folded and a blank, nonchalant look on his face. Long russet bangs fell into his icy blue eyes. He glanced over at her. She looked away quickly, embarrassed about being caught staring.
"Yuffie! What are you doing?" Kairi gasped. She shook her head and sat down the last girl and made her way to the stage. Yuffie sprinted to catch up with her and took her place next to Kairi with the other counselors.
Someone had plugged in a microphone, and a long, blaring noise filled the air, making everyone groan. There was a tapping sound, and one of the instructors from earlier came out onto the stage, tapping the top.
"Testing...testing..." he said. "Good. Quiet down everyone—hey! I said...I SAID QUIET!" he yelled.
Immediately a hush fell upon the young audience.
"Thank you. I would just like to say, welcome to Camp Kaman!"
There was a loud cheer and applause.
"Over the summer you will all be involved in a schedule of fun, planned events and you will develop lasting friendships. Your stay is only four short weeks, so make the best of it. We all hope everyone..."
Yuffie's mind wandered and she cast a sidelong glance at the man that had been called Squall Leonheart. What a mysterious name. Just like him. She sighed and stared into his eyes. She felt like she could be lost in those beautiful eyes forever.
He looked at her again.
"Damnit!" Yuffie cursed. It was the second time he had caught her staring. She felt a sharp jab in her side. She looked up quickly, and hissed a sharp, "What?"
Kairi's eyes were wide, and she noticed a dead silence. She looked to see that somehow the four instructors had gotten on the stage without her knowing, and they were all staring at her. She covered her mouth.
How loud did I say that?
Her eyes lowered to her feet and she felt a slight blush on her cheeks. Why did everyone have to stop what they were doing just because she had sworn?
Sheryl cast her a sharp glance and continued on talking. Yuffie crossed her arms and sighed, listening intently just so she wouldn't be caught off guard again.
The rest of the day passed by rather slowly, ending in a large campfire in an open clearing with all of the kids and counselors roasting hot-dogs and marshmallows.
Yuffie bit into her hot-dog and listened as everyone familiarized and told each other jokes. Kairi sat next to her, looking at her hot dog in disgust. She raised it to her lips for another bite, but Kairi couldn't stop staring at it.
"What?" she asked.
"How could you eat that? It was just an anima—"
"Kairi—please—not again!"
"Well, you know how I feel about that..." she trailed off when the silver haired boy and the crazy boy passed by them, looking around.
"Who is that?" Kairi said in a hushed whisper.
"Silver bells?" Yuffie asked, immediately nicknaming him. She realized she had a nickname for almost everything.
She shook her head. "No, the brown haired one."
"The crazy-head?!" she gasped. The two boys looked in her direction, then approached them. Kairi dug her nails into Yuffie's arm.
"O-Ow...uhh—ouch! Hi..." Yuffie said.
"Hi, my name is Sora, and this is Riku. Mind if we sit with you? There are no other open logs," said the crazy-haired boy. He gave her a strange look.
"Yes! Sit with us," Kairi said quickly.
They sat down, holding their hot dogs carefully.
"So...are you counselors here, too?" Yuffie asked around a bite of hot dog.
"Uh-huh," Silver bells, or Riku, answered in a deep voice.
"Just ignore Riku. He doesn't talk much. I think he's missing some brains," Sora said and started laughing.
Riku shoved him a little and took a bite of hot dog. Sora turned to Kairi and held up his hot dog.
"You don't have a hot dog? You should get one. They're so good here," Sora said, and proceeded to jam the whole thing into his mouth. Mustard and relish was smeared all over his cheeks.
Kairi nodded vigorously. "Oh yes! I love hot dogs!"
Yuffie turned around and stared at her. "But I thought you just said—"
"Don't I Yuffie?" she said slowly.
"Uh...yes, I mean, you are definitely not a vegetarian, no way, no how," Yuffie replied with a little grin. "Those fattening hot dogs of lard just really get you excited!"
She glared at her and Yuffie broke down into giggles.
"So, what are your names?" Sora asked when he finally managed to swallow.
"My name is Yuffie, and this is Kairi. We have some other friends here, but we can't seem to find them..."
"Their names aren't Aerith and Vanera, are they?" Silver bells asked.
"Yes! Have you seen them?" Yuffie asked anxiously while she felt Kairi scooting closer to Sora.
"Yeah, we know them. They were looking for a Yuffie and Kairi."
"Hear that, Kai?" Yuffie asked, and switched her gaze to Kairi. She was watching Sora stuff himself with another hot dog that someone had handed him.
"Kairi? Hello?" Yuffie called in a long, exaggerated voice.
"Yes?" Kairi asked.
"Did you hear that?"
"What?"
She sighed. "Sil—Riku said that Aerith and Vanera was looking for us."
"Mmm..." she murmured.
Yuffie raised her eyebrows. She had never seen Kairi so taken with anyone before. It was almost...disgusting. Her indigo eyes were round and shining. No one in their right mind should swoon over one dumb guy like that!
"Come on, Kai, dinner is almost over and we have to find Aerith and Vanera before we round up the Gremlins."
"The Gremlins?" Silver bells inquired.
"Yeah," Yuffie said sheepishly. "Our kids."
"Oh," he said with a smirk, then went back to eating his hot dog and staring into the fire.
"Kai! Kairi!" Yuffie said. She grabbed her arm and started to pull her up.
"I'm coming, I'm coming!" Kairi said. She brushed herself off and seemed to come back to hers senses. "Sorry...bye Sora! Bye Riku!"
They waved goodbye.
"You really like him don't you?" Yuffie asked while looking around.
"Was it that obvious?"
"It was so obvious I can't even believe you asked me that question."
Kairi had a smile on her face.
Someone tapped her on the shoulder. She turned around quickly and was confronted by large green eyes and behind them a pair of light blue ones.
"Aerith! Vanera!" Yuffie exclaimed as she reached out to hug them both. Aerith was dressed in her counselor outfit, as well as Vanera. They both had their thick auburn hair swept up into a ponytail.
"You never wear your hair in a ponytail," Yuffie said.
"I know, but with the bugs and the mud and the kids..." Aerith trailed off. They had gotten the picture.
"What's up with her?" Vanera asked. She stared at Kairi, who was staring off into the fire.
"She met some boy that made her flip. She even said she loved hot dogs."
Vanera widened her eyes. "Wow. That's amazing. Who is the lucky guy?"
"Sora."
"No way! Sora? He's one of my close friends!"
"He told us you were looking for us," she said with a nod.
"Not to change the subject, but what cabin are you in?" Aerith cut in.
"I'm with Kairi in G9."
"That's great! Vanera and I are counselors for G2."
Yuffie nodded and walked closer to the fire. The air was chillier outside at night, while the afternoons were unbearable.
Sheryl cupped her hands around her mouth and said, "Counselors gather your kids and take them back to the cabins! Get ready for bed then report back to the fire clearing!"
Vanera stood next to Yuffie without moving until Aerith had to drag her to help her get their kids. Kairi turned to her, coming out of thought.
"All right, I think I saw Mai and Lexi over there," Kairi said. They rounded up all of the girls and followed the path back to the cabin. They made a quick stop at the bathroom and had them brush their teeth and wash their faces.
"Why do we need to wash our faces?" Lexi asked.
"Uhh..." Yuffie stuttered. "So you don't get pimples when you're a teenager.
They hurried and left to the cabin. Yuffie had to hoist Lexi onto her waist. She had almost fallen asleep in a bush. Finally, they made it to the cabin. Yuffie held the door open for everyone and the tired Gremlins dragged themselves into their rooms. But they looked more normal now, like drained and exhausted girls.
They started to fall down onto the floor and collapse onto the couch.
"Ah, ah, ah! Everyone into their beds, come on, get up!" Kairi said. They moaned a little but seemed too tired to do any more protests. They climbed into their beds and almost immediately fell asleep.
"Guess we should turn off the lights early," Kairi whispered. Yuffie gave her a reproving nod and flicked off the lights. They stumbled through the darkness into the outdoors, which was only slightly lighter from the moonlight.
The path that led to the fire clearing was easy to spot, since it was marked with a flashy neon marker. Already, other groups of counselors were coming down the path. They caught up with Aerith and Vanera and walked in their small group.
Sheryl and the other woman stood by the fire, waiting for the counselors.
"Everyone, over here!"
They gathered around. It gave Yuffie a chance to see how many counselors there were. There were quite a few, not too much, or too little.
"All right, the cabins are just down that path, and four counselors will be living in each one. The occupant's names will be posted on the door along with the cabin number. Understand? They're just over that bridge."
Sheryl pointed to a small creek with a bridge crossing over the top of it. She could see cabins and lights coming from their windows. She couldn't believe she didn't notice it before.
"Well, get moving! Don't just stand there," Sheryl urged, and the counselors started down to the bridge.
Yuffie skipped ahead of everyone else to get a first glance at where she would be living for the rest of her stay. She observed the doors for names, but neither hers nor her friend's names showed up.
On cabin number four, she finally found her name.
"Guys, over here! We're all in a cabin together!" she called happily. They bounced over to her and all tried to get into the doorway. Yuffie stomped her foot. "Wait for me!"
The inside was one large room, with two large closets, a couch, a mini-refrigerator, and four twin beds. Their stuff was already set down by the door.
Yuffie collapsed onto the bed with a sigh. "I am so tired..."
Vanera nodded and yawned. She pulled her ponytail out and shook out her hair.
"We should go to sleep quickly and get up our rest," Aerith advised.
"You don't have to tell me twice," Yuffie murmured, already kicking off her shoes and taking off her clothes to sleep in her camisole and underwear. She crawled under the sheets as someone turned off the lights.
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This isn't one of my favorite chapters ever, but it was really long. I have so much planned for them already it's not even funny. I never realized the possibilities with having the setting of the story in a camp! I finally finished this late at night...well, early morning. I'm going to collapse on this keyboard if I don't get some sleep. So this gets posted tomorrow...review, as always...
~October Breeze~