7/5/03
*****************************
"Camp Kiwachee"
Chapter 8: You and Me
Author: Adrial
E-mail: Adrial_06@yahoo.com
*****************************
Okie dokie! Here's chapter 8. Well...a cut down Ch.8,
actually. I realized how long it's taken for me to get
this chapter out and if you wanna know why just read the
AN's for To Go, Please ch. 11. you can probably imagine,
though. :D newaiz, I chopped off the last half b/c I want
to add a LOT more on the end. It's nearly finished, guys!
One last chapter to go! An epilogue? Uh...we'll see..?
Enjoy!
********************************************************
All her life, Brianna Celine-Elizabeth Lawson VI
had had anything her heart desired. Everything she touched
turned to gold, it seemed, and she called all the shots around
the silver spoon that had been permanently planted in her mouth
since birth. With grace and poise and a glare that could pierce
a hole through the forehead of any who dared deny her of her
wishes, she stomped her way through the fantasy life her daddy
had created for her on thousand-dollar heels, and in her wake,
heads turned in either raw jealousy or muted loathing.
Elite acadamies in Sweden, vacations in the south
of France...Only the finest for the daughter of gazillionaire
Frederick Lawson X. But for all the buisness savvy he possessed,
Freddy sure had a soft spot for his youngest of six daughters.
He was, in a word, whipped.
Brianna thought of this as she twirled a lock of
glossy hair around her index finger, staring at the delicious
specimen of man currently eyeing her with a tortured pair
of colbat eyes--a sight she found utterly pleasing.
Licking ruby lips, she smiled seductively and sauntered
towards Darien like a cat on the prowl.
Darien's Brianna Radar was going full blast,
ringing inside his ears like the sirens of a fire engine.
Think about the kids, Dare. Think about Karen.
Think about--Oh, God, she's touching me again!
"Brianna--" He paused at the scolding glare
she gave him and swallowed, "*Bria*, just...try and
hear me out one last time, alright?"
Brianna nodded (as if she was really listening
to what he was saying anyway) and wrapped her arms around
Darien's neck, running blood red fingernails through his
mane of ebony silk.
"Yes, Dare Darling?" She cooed.
Darien had the sinking feeling that she wasn't
paying attention to a damned word he was trying to say
but he continued, nonetheless.
"Look. What you saw last weekend was--well, it
was me and Serena kissing, obviously, but it has absolutely
*nothing* to do with Camp or Karen or--" He gulped again and
back-stepped when she stuck a hand in his back pocket, "Let's
just take that outta there, shall we?" He forced a smile and
removed the hand gripping his ass like a vise.
Pouting slightly, Brianna took his hand in her own,
brought it slowly to her lips and placed a moist kiss on his
finger tips, finishing by taking his index finger between
her lips and sucking.
"Gah, Jesus!" Darien ripped his finger from her mouth
and backed as far away as humany possible in the close quarters
of the girls' cabin.
This is going nowhere. He wiped his wet finger off
on his shorts and tried again.
"Brianna, your father can't shut down Camp Kiwachee.
Not only is it crazy and completely unnecessary but it would
hurt so many lives. Can't we just talk it out? You know, like
mature adults?" He resolved to using Lita's bed as a barrier
between them.
For the first time, Brianna's eyes lost their sparks
of lust and glazed over in annoyance.
"But what about ME? And my ANKLE!" She lifted a
bandaged foot off the floor and suddenly felt compelled to
limp, though she had been perfectly fine nipping at Darien's
heels all afternoon, not the least bit of pain tinging her
heavily blushed face throughout.
"I am a delicate, fragile young woman and that crazed
camp-lady knew better than to put me in such an ATROCIOUS
environment without the proper accomadations!" To put the
icing on the cake, she managed to squeeze two fat tears out
of her eyes, "And I'll p-probably never *gasp* be able to
wear Jimmy Chu again!" She set the water works into full
blast, "And I was his b-best customer!"
Darien muffled his growl and clenched his fists.
"So you're honestly telling me that getting your
father to cut off sponsorship to this camp has NOTHING to
do with Serena and me kissing?"
Brianna glared. Hard. "Don't even mention that
insufferable little wench's name in my presence!" Her eyes
softened suddenly, "But don't worry, Darien," She slid up
beside him again, "I know better than anyone how deceptive
little girls can be," Her whispers slid over his ears like
slime, "And I completely forgive you."
Darien's blood practically boiled underneath his
skin. He moved to spit fire at her, demand her to take back
what she'd said about Serena, but she'd chosen that moment
to launch a full assualt on his lips with her own, smearing
red lip gloss all over his mouth and chin.
The slam of a door broke him out of his stupor;
angry footsteps pounding on wood echoed behind him as he
shoved Brianna's distraught face away from his and whirled
around. He caught a glimpse of gold whipping in the breeze
before launching himself out of the door and down the steps,
a bad taste spreading through his mouth like oil.
Behind him Brianna shrieked, "Where do you think
YOU are going?! COME BACK HERE! IF YOU GO AFTER HER YOU CAN
JUST FORGET ABOUT CAMP KIWOOCHEE! DO YOU HEAR ME, DARIEN?
DARIEEEEEEEEEEEENNNN!!!"
But he was gone, sprinting down the dirt hill and
past the mess hall, the back of Serena's fleeing body and
how far he'd dug himself into the proverbial pit blocking
out all of his senses.
*******
"Stupid, stupid, stupid, *OUCH!*, stupid, stupid,"
Serena pounded across camp grounds, huffing and puffing,
knocking through bushes and kicking anything that hindered
her path towards--well, she wasn't sure where she was going,
but she sure as hell was not going to stick around in that
cabin watching her newest arch enemy tongue wrestle with her
former arch enemy like something off of Sex and the City.
Former...? She wondered when Darien-the-egotistical-and-
obnoxiously-gorgeous-jerk had become a thing of the past.
When the fifth shrub fell victim to the sole of
her Nikes, she growled low and took an extra few seconds to
grind it into the grass until it was nothing but a green blur.
She couldn't believe she was actually going to apologize
to that creep! And she wasn't even sure WHAT she had to apologize
for. It was all his fault, anyway. Whatever it was that was
making her so blindingly angry as to murder hapless greenery,
she was sure Darien was to blame.
She was disgusted to find that she'd been crying
when she lashed her hand across her face to wipe away what
she thought was sweat. A cool breeze dried the salty trails
on her cheeks and ruffled her hair gently. Sighing, she tore
her eyes open, having barely realized she'd closed them in
the process, only to find herself standing in front of
Lake Kiwachee.
"Of course!" She yelled to the placid waters,
"Of COURSE I'd come here." Sniffling, she stormed away from
the bank and towards the docks. It was Friday, the last day
of camp--forever.
Karen and she had spent hours talking over the situation
the night before. Serena had begged her not to give up, to get a
lawyer and fight back, but Karen had only given a defeated sigh
and shook her head wearily. Serena knew it was a lost cause.
So this was it. Mina and the other female counselors
were helping the campers pack up their few belongings into Hello
Kitty duffle bags and Blues Clues backpacks, while the senior
male counselors went about gathering all the extra things they'd
need to bring back to the orphanage.
A brand new shiny Greyhound had rumbled into the
driveway at the crack of dawn that morning, a consolation
gift from Lawson & Bedford Inc., complete with a balding
driver who smelled curiously of chewing tobacco and moth
balls. Mr. Lawson was due to make his grand arrival at
3:30 that afternoon to escort his daughter from the camp
via chopper and have his lawyer deal with all the legal
handlings concerning his revoked sponsorship on his own.
Brianna had let it slip that her father would not only
be ending his sponsorship, but buying out Camp Kiwachee to be
replaced with a strip-mall. And if that didn't add insult to
injury, the fact that the old plantation house she and Darien
had taken refuge in the week before had been bought from its
embezzling owner and would soon become infested with acne-faced
teenagers fighting over the last Big Mac.
Karen hadn't had the heart to break the news to the
children yet and only the counselors could see the tears she
sucked up during the annual camp photo that had been snapped on
the very dock Serena now stormed across the previous afternoon.
The corners of her mouth begrudgingly turned upwards
at the memory of Jason sneaking in a kiss on Raye's cheek right
before the flash went off. It had taken three of the largest male
counselors to fish him out of the lake and five whole hours before
they finally quit busting on him for forgetting to bring his
floaties.
They'd gone to bed full of a special chocolate cake,
compliments of Lita Kino, and reeling from an over-dosage of
a Disney inspired party, this time leaving their ears ringing
from repeated playings of "Hakuna Matata."
And Serena was probably the most miserable of them all.
She'd barely set foot on Camp Kiwachee's soil before it had all
come tumbling down, thanks to her and her stupid hormones. Guilt
couldn't begin to describe it.
But feeling guilty about it would get her absolutely
no where, even she could see that, which was why she'd resorted
to blaming it all on Darien. And that brings us back to the
present.
Serena stared across the rippling lake and swung her
feet over the edge, leaning back on her palms and soaking up
the sun's rays. Try as she might, Darien and Brianna's
slobbering visages refused to leave her thoughts and she
swung her legs even harder, barely flinching when one
of her feet dipped into the frigid lake water.
Fine. Let them be together. They're perfect for
each other. She was now purposefully flinging her feet into
the water and splashing it all over the place.
'Snookums, please all me Bria', 'Oh, Dare DAR-ling,
could you open up this can of Diet Coke for me. I've just had
my oh-so precious nails done.'
"Puh!" Serena spat. True, she'd never actually HEARD
Brianna call Darien 'snookums', but it sure did sound like
something the obnoxious red-head would call him.
What she wouldn't give to rip out every single last
strand of tomato colored hair from Brianna's over-inflated
head. She wondered if it might actually float away without
the ten pounds of hair spray to weigh it down anymore.
With those thoughts playing evily inside her mind,
Serena grinned and laid back on the wooden pier, hands folded
underneath her head and eyes making out objects in the puffy
white clouds floating lethargically across the vivid blue sky.
Even when one of them began to look unmistakably like a
certain blue-eyed jerk, she didn't stop the sigh that
escaped her lips.
********
"I can't believe you talked me into this!" Amy
grumbled, stomping over to her bookbag and ruffling through
it. She was trying desperately to look stern. Unfortunately, she
was incapable of actually pulling off what she and others had
dubbed a "Raye" and had to settle for a tight frown.
Mina tapped her foot impatiently beside her, casting
a nervous look at the clock. 2:17 PM. That gave them thirteen
minutes to get back to the cabin.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know. This is immature and wrong
and we shouldn't be this cruel. We've all heard it a thousand
times by now, Ames." She grinned coyly at her scowling friend
and squealed when Amy plopped her five-hundred dollar Sony Digital
Camera into her palms. Amy had spent an entire eight weeks slaving
away at a part-time job at a computer software store to save up
for it so she could tape the progress of her various science
projects for further experimentation and could hardly
believe that it was being put to such childish use.
Biting her lip, Amy fought to let go. When an arm snaked
around her shoulders and squeezed comfortingly, she turned and
stared into Zach's reassuring eyes. She winced as her fingers
slowly uncoiled from around the silver object.
Mina bounced with excitment, eliciting an exasperated sigh
from Raye and a twitch from Kyle's set mouth.
"Ames, you are a lifesaver!" Turning around, Mina smothered
her smile and gave everyone who had gathered in the mess hall an authoritative glare.
"Now. Everyone knows what to do, right?"
Collective nods and a snicker from Jason.
"Good." She gave her watch a final look. "Alright,
It's 2:23. Brianna usually starts around 2:30 so we HAVE to
be ready in...seven minutes!" Suddenly, she started shouting
commands as if the Russian Army was about to drop a nuclear
warhead on their heads, "GO! GO! GO! Raye and Kyle get the
ladder and get to our cabin ASAP, I'll meet you there in a
few. Lita and Matt keep the kids and Karen AWAY from the
cabins! Jason...uh...just sit there and look cute, OK?"
"Hey! I'd like to think that my devestatingly good
looks aren't the only thing I'm good for!" Jason scowled and
crossed his arms over his chest defiantly.
Mina grinned sheepishly, "Aw, we love your sense of
humor, too!"
Jason gave her a mocking smile which was quickly
smothered by the boyish grin he flashed at Raye before she
could cause any bodily harm to him. Mina watched as everyone
scattered.
Now only she, Amy and Zach were left.
"As for you two, " She fiddled nervously with the camera
in between her fingers and bit her lip. Staring bewilderedly at the
endless variety of buttons and keys on it, she scrunched up her nose,
"Show me how to work this thing."
******
"Ssshhh! Watch it!" Raye whispered harshly to Kyle who
was struggling to hold the ladder steady on his shoulder and push
his way through the jungle of bushes located beneath the cabin's
windows at the same time.
He risked glaring at the impatient girl standing before him
and shifted the ladder's weight. He mumbled incoherently underneath
his breath and reminded himself to stick up for Jason the next time
the guys gave him a hard time about something. The poor kid must have
been emotionally scarred from having to endure 24 hours of Raye everyday.
He couldn't even begin to imagine what dating her would be like.
Raye ignored his glare and gazed up at the window, wondering
why it had to be so freaking high anyway. Good thing Kyle was the next
best thing to the Jolly Green Giant. No one else could reach it, even
with the aid of a ladder.
She held the metal railings steady as Kyle carefully stepped
onto it, throwing her a reproachful gaze as if she would at any moment
start jiggling it for fun. He was deathly afraid of heights as it
was.
Raye sighed at him, "I've got it, don't worry."
Fat chance. Kyle muttered subconciously and took another
cautious step up. He managed to get up a few more before Raye spoke
abruptly, throwing him dangerously off balance.
"So, you're trying to get with my best friend, huh?"
If it hadn't been for the lethal grip he had on the sides
of the ladder, Kyle was sure he would have become greatly acquainted
with the ground at that moment.
"Uh-hem. Can we discuss this some other time? Like when
I'm not climbing a ladder?" He didn't dare look down at her.
Raye shrugged. "You better not screw around with her, Warner."
Kyle gulped. The culmination of potentially falling off a ladder
and being decked by a 17 year old girl did little to ease his dwindling
nerves.
"You're a good friend, Raye," He managed to choke out, "Good,
but kinda scary. And I wouldn't hurt Mina in any way intentionally."
Raye seemed pleased with his words and grinned.
"See anything yet?" She glanced over her shoulder. Mina
was taking forever with that stupid camera. And she didn't even
know what they were filming. All Mina had told them was that whatever
was going to save the camp from being turned into a strip-mall would
be occurring at 2:30 in their cabin that day. She tried to remind
herself that Mina wasn't as air-headed as she seemed to be and
that she was fully capable of going through with her goals and
succeeding.
Just when Kyle was about to open his mouth to answer her,
the loud 'BOOM BOOM' of a CD player emerged from the open window.
"Here we go," Kyle said underneath his breath.
A loud rustling of leaves startled them both out of their
thoughts, and Kyle nearly fell off the ladder for the second time
in the last five minutes. He mentally swore to God that he'd never
commit a sin for the rest of his mortal life if He just let him live
through this afternoon.
Mina's slightly flushed face appeared within the mass of
branches and Raye let out a sigh of relief.
"About time, Mina!"
Mina took a second to glare at her friend and produced
the camera from the bag slung over her shoulder. It had taken
extra begging on both her and Zach's part to convince Amy to
give up one of her Hyrdoglycerin documentations for their use,
but they'd managed to somehow pull it off.
"Cool it, Raye." Mina carefully stepped onto the ladder
to hand over the camera to Kyle, who set it gently on the window
ledge, closing the window on it so that it wouldn't fall off.
As he did so, he caught a glimpse of the scene from inside
and had to bite the inside of his cheek to keep from laughing out
right.
Down on solid ground, Mina and Raye were quietly watching
him.
"Now will you tell us what exactly we're supposed to be
filming and how you're the only one who knows about it, Mina?" Raye
asked, amazed at how even she hadn't been aware of what went on
behind the closed doors of Cabin C while they were busy making
birdhouses and Indian head dresses out of feathers and paper
plates.
Mina grinned, "As for your first question, no. The
second, I'm just good, that's all," She giggled, visibly pleased
with herself, and a mischevious glint sparkled in her eyes, "And
the real show doesn't even start for another 30 minutes at least."
Kyle gingerly descended the ladder, inwardly elated that
they would have a chance to put Brianna Lawson in her place. When
his feet touched ground, he could have kissed it, but being the
manly man he was, he merely let out a large breath and chanced a
smile at Mina.
Tugging his elbow and Raye's shirt, she dragged them out
of the bushes, "Come on. I know where we can get a better view."
Raye and Kyle couldn't help but grin silently at each
other.
*******
It hadn't taken much work on Darien's part to track down
Serena after she'd run away like the demons of hell were nipping
at her heels. All he had to do was follow the trail of brutalized
foliage.
Slightly out of breath, he took his time covering the distance
down the length of the pier. At the end, Serena was lying on her back, seemingly oblivious to his existence and staring silently up at the sky.
She looked beautiful. It nearly knocked him over, experiencing
the full impact of how genuinely amazing she was as if he were just
meeting her for the first time.
When he was within a few feet of her and she still hadn't
stirred, he inhaled deeply, shook his head of all blundering thoughts
about her apppearance and loomed over her body, casting a shadow
across her placid face.
I must be getting sleepy. This cloud is starting to look
a lot less cloud-like and a lot more...Darien-like. I'm delirious.
Completely and utterly--
"Serena...?"
Serena shot up like a bolt of lightening, reality smacking her
in the face like a two-ton load of bricks.
Darien grinned bemusedly and watched her scramble to her feet.
"Sorry," He automatically stated. He didn't really know what
he was sorry for, though. Scaring the living day-lights out of her, or
for being mauled by Brianna earlier?
Serena dusted off her hands on her jeans and stared at him
blankly.
Darien gave a weak smile that sent the butterflies in her
stomach into over-drive and nearly knocked her into the lake, but
all possiblity of such an occurrence was lost when she noticed
familiar fire engine red lip gloss smeared across his lips
and chin.
"You know, red just might be your color, Darien," She
brushed past him, all anger and resentment flooding back
into her mind instantly at the disgusting sight.
Darien stared at her retreating back with a perplexed
frown before it finally dawned on him. Cursing his stupidity,
he lashed the back of his hand across his mouth and started
after her.
"Serena, wait."
She halted but didn't turn around. He took her silence as
an invitation to go on.
"Uh..." Come on, Darien. Think of something. Something
that doesn't sound totally moronic. "I've heard I look better
in blue."
DING DING DING!!! And we have a winner for the world's
biggest idiot! He really could have (and should've, if you
ask me) smacked himself.
Serena winced inwardly and whirled on him.
"You can't be serious."
Darien raked a nervous hand through his hair and exhaled.
"OK. That wasn't what I meant to say."
"Well then? What did you *mean* to say? Because I have some
packing I need to do before we leave today. And if you haven't
forgotten, you were just swapping spit with the REASON this place
is going to become home to the next Baby GAP."
Inside her pants pockets she had locked her hands into
fists, begging for the cool frown on her face to stay there.
Darien's patience snapped. "You know, I'm just as upset
as you are about the camp being shut down. Probably more, for
that matter. So I'd appreciate it if you'd stop for just two
seconds and hear me out instead of running away from me all the
time!" He was breathing hard now, unsure of what her reaction
would be to his outburst but feeling strangely calm all of
a sudden.
Serena stared at him for what could have only been
seconds but felt like eternity for both of them.
Suddenly, to both of their shock, she reached out one
of her hands towards his face and smeared away a blotch of
sticky red left on his chin.
"You missed a spot," she stated bitterly.
"I didn't kiss her back."
"It's not about that, Darien."
"Then tell me what it *is* about, Serena."
She was taken aback. Why *was* she acting so out of
character? She had never remembered feeling so angry and
miserable and dizzy at the same time before. But what she did
recall was how big of a jerk she'd been to Darien over the
past few days.
"You're right," She kicked the ground with the toe of her
shoe, not trusting herself to meet his gaze, "I didn't even think
about what losing this place would do to you...I'm sorry."
Darien's hardened gaze melted and he could barely find the
nerve to be angry at her anymore.
"It's not about me. I've had my time here and I'll always
have those memories," He paused and took a long look across the
lake, "But these kids--all they've got is Karen and the helpers
at the orphanage. This is the one place they can go where people
don't stare in the windows, feeling sorry for them for not
having parents. You know, where they can feel *normal* for a
change and not like they're rejects of the human population."
As her eyes filled steadily, Serena slipped her hand into
Darien's and squeezed, praying that it would in any way comfort
him.
"It's not fair," She managed to get out over the lump
rising in her throat, "How can she be so--so selfish?" A deep
hate boiled within her chest for Brianna and she gritted her
teeth, unconciously squeezing Darien's hand so tight that the
blood had to fight to circulate through his fingers.
He ignored the numbing in his hand and wrapped an arm
around her shoulders, pulling her to him in a loose embrace.
"I'm not giving up. There has to be a way to stop this.
When Lawson arrives, I'm going to do whatever it takes to
change his mind." His voice was so determined, so strong.
Serena couldn't help but believe every word he'd said and
new hope swelled inside of her.
She leaned into his body more and looked up at his
profile. When he felt her gaze on him, he gazed down at her
and at the incredible amount of sincerity and strength
illuminated in her eyes.
"You *and* me."
The grin that split across his face made her heart rise up
in her throat and her feet seem to leave the ground.
"That's right, Meatball Head. You and me."
*******
8/22
CRITIQUE CRITIQUE CRITIQUE CRITIQUE CRITIQUE CRITIQUE!!!
*****************************
"Camp Kiwachee"
Chapter 8: You and Me
Author: Adrial
E-mail: Adrial_06@yahoo.com
*****************************
Okie dokie! Here's chapter 8. Well...a cut down Ch.8,
actually. I realized how long it's taken for me to get
this chapter out and if you wanna know why just read the
AN's for To Go, Please ch. 11. you can probably imagine,
though. :D newaiz, I chopped off the last half b/c I want
to add a LOT more on the end. It's nearly finished, guys!
One last chapter to go! An epilogue? Uh...we'll see..?
Enjoy!
********************************************************
All her life, Brianna Celine-Elizabeth Lawson VI
had had anything her heart desired. Everything she touched
turned to gold, it seemed, and she called all the shots around
the silver spoon that had been permanently planted in her mouth
since birth. With grace and poise and a glare that could pierce
a hole through the forehead of any who dared deny her of her
wishes, she stomped her way through the fantasy life her daddy
had created for her on thousand-dollar heels, and in her wake,
heads turned in either raw jealousy or muted loathing.
Elite acadamies in Sweden, vacations in the south
of France...Only the finest for the daughter of gazillionaire
Frederick Lawson X. But for all the buisness savvy he possessed,
Freddy sure had a soft spot for his youngest of six daughters.
He was, in a word, whipped.
Brianna thought of this as she twirled a lock of
glossy hair around her index finger, staring at the delicious
specimen of man currently eyeing her with a tortured pair
of colbat eyes--a sight she found utterly pleasing.
Licking ruby lips, she smiled seductively and sauntered
towards Darien like a cat on the prowl.
Darien's Brianna Radar was going full blast,
ringing inside his ears like the sirens of a fire engine.
Think about the kids, Dare. Think about Karen.
Think about--Oh, God, she's touching me again!
"Brianna--" He paused at the scolding glare
she gave him and swallowed, "*Bria*, just...try and
hear me out one last time, alright?"
Brianna nodded (as if she was really listening
to what he was saying anyway) and wrapped her arms around
Darien's neck, running blood red fingernails through his
mane of ebony silk.
"Yes, Dare Darling?" She cooed.
Darien had the sinking feeling that she wasn't
paying attention to a damned word he was trying to say
but he continued, nonetheless.
"Look. What you saw last weekend was--well, it
was me and Serena kissing, obviously, but it has absolutely
*nothing* to do with Camp or Karen or--" He gulped again and
back-stepped when she stuck a hand in his back pocket, "Let's
just take that outta there, shall we?" He forced a smile and
removed the hand gripping his ass like a vise.
Pouting slightly, Brianna took his hand in her own,
brought it slowly to her lips and placed a moist kiss on his
finger tips, finishing by taking his index finger between
her lips and sucking.
"Gah, Jesus!" Darien ripped his finger from her mouth
and backed as far away as humany possible in the close quarters
of the girls' cabin.
This is going nowhere. He wiped his wet finger off
on his shorts and tried again.
"Brianna, your father can't shut down Camp Kiwachee.
Not only is it crazy and completely unnecessary but it would
hurt so many lives. Can't we just talk it out? You know, like
mature adults?" He resolved to using Lita's bed as a barrier
between them.
For the first time, Brianna's eyes lost their sparks
of lust and glazed over in annoyance.
"But what about ME? And my ANKLE!" She lifted a
bandaged foot off the floor and suddenly felt compelled to
limp, though she had been perfectly fine nipping at Darien's
heels all afternoon, not the least bit of pain tinging her
heavily blushed face throughout.
"I am a delicate, fragile young woman and that crazed
camp-lady knew better than to put me in such an ATROCIOUS
environment without the proper accomadations!" To put the
icing on the cake, she managed to squeeze two fat tears out
of her eyes, "And I'll p-probably never *gasp* be able to
wear Jimmy Chu again!" She set the water works into full
blast, "And I was his b-best customer!"
Darien muffled his growl and clenched his fists.
"So you're honestly telling me that getting your
father to cut off sponsorship to this camp has NOTHING to
do with Serena and me kissing?"
Brianna glared. Hard. "Don't even mention that
insufferable little wench's name in my presence!" Her eyes
softened suddenly, "But don't worry, Darien," She slid up
beside him again, "I know better than anyone how deceptive
little girls can be," Her whispers slid over his ears like
slime, "And I completely forgive you."
Darien's blood practically boiled underneath his
skin. He moved to spit fire at her, demand her to take back
what she'd said about Serena, but she'd chosen that moment
to launch a full assualt on his lips with her own, smearing
red lip gloss all over his mouth and chin.
The slam of a door broke him out of his stupor;
angry footsteps pounding on wood echoed behind him as he
shoved Brianna's distraught face away from his and whirled
around. He caught a glimpse of gold whipping in the breeze
before launching himself out of the door and down the steps,
a bad taste spreading through his mouth like oil.
Behind him Brianna shrieked, "Where do you think
YOU are going?! COME BACK HERE! IF YOU GO AFTER HER YOU CAN
JUST FORGET ABOUT CAMP KIWOOCHEE! DO YOU HEAR ME, DARIEN?
DARIEEEEEEEEEEEENNNN!!!"
But he was gone, sprinting down the dirt hill and
past the mess hall, the back of Serena's fleeing body and
how far he'd dug himself into the proverbial pit blocking
out all of his senses.
*******
"Stupid, stupid, stupid, *OUCH!*, stupid, stupid,"
Serena pounded across camp grounds, huffing and puffing,
knocking through bushes and kicking anything that hindered
her path towards--well, she wasn't sure where she was going,
but she sure as hell was not going to stick around in that
cabin watching her newest arch enemy tongue wrestle with her
former arch enemy like something off of Sex and the City.
Former...? She wondered when Darien-the-egotistical-and-
obnoxiously-gorgeous-jerk had become a thing of the past.
When the fifth shrub fell victim to the sole of
her Nikes, she growled low and took an extra few seconds to
grind it into the grass until it was nothing but a green blur.
She couldn't believe she was actually going to apologize
to that creep! And she wasn't even sure WHAT she had to apologize
for. It was all his fault, anyway. Whatever it was that was
making her so blindingly angry as to murder hapless greenery,
she was sure Darien was to blame.
She was disgusted to find that she'd been crying
when she lashed her hand across her face to wipe away what
she thought was sweat. A cool breeze dried the salty trails
on her cheeks and ruffled her hair gently. Sighing, she tore
her eyes open, having barely realized she'd closed them in
the process, only to find herself standing in front of
Lake Kiwachee.
"Of course!" She yelled to the placid waters,
"Of COURSE I'd come here." Sniffling, she stormed away from
the bank and towards the docks. It was Friday, the last day
of camp--forever.
Karen and she had spent hours talking over the situation
the night before. Serena had begged her not to give up, to get a
lawyer and fight back, but Karen had only given a defeated sigh
and shook her head wearily. Serena knew it was a lost cause.
So this was it. Mina and the other female counselors
were helping the campers pack up their few belongings into Hello
Kitty duffle bags and Blues Clues backpacks, while the senior
male counselors went about gathering all the extra things they'd
need to bring back to the orphanage.
A brand new shiny Greyhound had rumbled into the
driveway at the crack of dawn that morning, a consolation
gift from Lawson & Bedford Inc., complete with a balding
driver who smelled curiously of chewing tobacco and moth
balls. Mr. Lawson was due to make his grand arrival at
3:30 that afternoon to escort his daughter from the camp
via chopper and have his lawyer deal with all the legal
handlings concerning his revoked sponsorship on his own.
Brianna had let it slip that her father would not only
be ending his sponsorship, but buying out Camp Kiwachee to be
replaced with a strip-mall. And if that didn't add insult to
injury, the fact that the old plantation house she and Darien
had taken refuge in the week before had been bought from its
embezzling owner and would soon become infested with acne-faced
teenagers fighting over the last Big Mac.
Karen hadn't had the heart to break the news to the
children yet and only the counselors could see the tears she
sucked up during the annual camp photo that had been snapped on
the very dock Serena now stormed across the previous afternoon.
The corners of her mouth begrudgingly turned upwards
at the memory of Jason sneaking in a kiss on Raye's cheek right
before the flash went off. It had taken three of the largest male
counselors to fish him out of the lake and five whole hours before
they finally quit busting on him for forgetting to bring his
floaties.
They'd gone to bed full of a special chocolate cake,
compliments of Lita Kino, and reeling from an over-dosage of
a Disney inspired party, this time leaving their ears ringing
from repeated playings of "Hakuna Matata."
And Serena was probably the most miserable of them all.
She'd barely set foot on Camp Kiwachee's soil before it had all
come tumbling down, thanks to her and her stupid hormones. Guilt
couldn't begin to describe it.
But feeling guilty about it would get her absolutely
no where, even she could see that, which was why she'd resorted
to blaming it all on Darien. And that brings us back to the
present.
Serena stared across the rippling lake and swung her
feet over the edge, leaning back on her palms and soaking up
the sun's rays. Try as she might, Darien and Brianna's
slobbering visages refused to leave her thoughts and she
swung her legs even harder, barely flinching when one
of her feet dipped into the frigid lake water.
Fine. Let them be together. They're perfect for
each other. She was now purposefully flinging her feet into
the water and splashing it all over the place.
'Snookums, please all me Bria', 'Oh, Dare DAR-ling,
could you open up this can of Diet Coke for me. I've just had
my oh-so precious nails done.'
"Puh!" Serena spat. True, she'd never actually HEARD
Brianna call Darien 'snookums', but it sure did sound like
something the obnoxious red-head would call him.
What she wouldn't give to rip out every single last
strand of tomato colored hair from Brianna's over-inflated
head. She wondered if it might actually float away without
the ten pounds of hair spray to weigh it down anymore.
With those thoughts playing evily inside her mind,
Serena grinned and laid back on the wooden pier, hands folded
underneath her head and eyes making out objects in the puffy
white clouds floating lethargically across the vivid blue sky.
Even when one of them began to look unmistakably like a
certain blue-eyed jerk, she didn't stop the sigh that
escaped her lips.
********
"I can't believe you talked me into this!" Amy
grumbled, stomping over to her bookbag and ruffling through
it. She was trying desperately to look stern. Unfortunately, she
was incapable of actually pulling off what she and others had
dubbed a "Raye" and had to settle for a tight frown.
Mina tapped her foot impatiently beside her, casting
a nervous look at the clock. 2:17 PM. That gave them thirteen
minutes to get back to the cabin.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know. This is immature and wrong
and we shouldn't be this cruel. We've all heard it a thousand
times by now, Ames." She grinned coyly at her scowling friend
and squealed when Amy plopped her five-hundred dollar Sony Digital
Camera into her palms. Amy had spent an entire eight weeks slaving
away at a part-time job at a computer software store to save up
for it so she could tape the progress of her various science
projects for further experimentation and could hardly
believe that it was being put to such childish use.
Biting her lip, Amy fought to let go. When an arm snaked
around her shoulders and squeezed comfortingly, she turned and
stared into Zach's reassuring eyes. She winced as her fingers
slowly uncoiled from around the silver object.
Mina bounced with excitment, eliciting an exasperated sigh
from Raye and a twitch from Kyle's set mouth.
"Ames, you are a lifesaver!" Turning around, Mina smothered
her smile and gave everyone who had gathered in the mess hall an authoritative glare.
"Now. Everyone knows what to do, right?"
Collective nods and a snicker from Jason.
"Good." She gave her watch a final look. "Alright,
It's 2:23. Brianna usually starts around 2:30 so we HAVE to
be ready in...seven minutes!" Suddenly, she started shouting
commands as if the Russian Army was about to drop a nuclear
warhead on their heads, "GO! GO! GO! Raye and Kyle get the
ladder and get to our cabin ASAP, I'll meet you there in a
few. Lita and Matt keep the kids and Karen AWAY from the
cabins! Jason...uh...just sit there and look cute, OK?"
"Hey! I'd like to think that my devestatingly good
looks aren't the only thing I'm good for!" Jason scowled and
crossed his arms over his chest defiantly.
Mina grinned sheepishly, "Aw, we love your sense of
humor, too!"
Jason gave her a mocking smile which was quickly
smothered by the boyish grin he flashed at Raye before she
could cause any bodily harm to him. Mina watched as everyone
scattered.
Now only she, Amy and Zach were left.
"As for you two, " She fiddled nervously with the camera
in between her fingers and bit her lip. Staring bewilderedly at the
endless variety of buttons and keys on it, she scrunched up her nose,
"Show me how to work this thing."
******
"Ssshhh! Watch it!" Raye whispered harshly to Kyle who
was struggling to hold the ladder steady on his shoulder and push
his way through the jungle of bushes located beneath the cabin's
windows at the same time.
He risked glaring at the impatient girl standing before him
and shifted the ladder's weight. He mumbled incoherently underneath
his breath and reminded himself to stick up for Jason the next time
the guys gave him a hard time about something. The poor kid must have
been emotionally scarred from having to endure 24 hours of Raye everyday.
He couldn't even begin to imagine what dating her would be like.
Raye ignored his glare and gazed up at the window, wondering
why it had to be so freaking high anyway. Good thing Kyle was the next
best thing to the Jolly Green Giant. No one else could reach it, even
with the aid of a ladder.
She held the metal railings steady as Kyle carefully stepped
onto it, throwing her a reproachful gaze as if she would at any moment
start jiggling it for fun. He was deathly afraid of heights as it
was.
Raye sighed at him, "I've got it, don't worry."
Fat chance. Kyle muttered subconciously and took another
cautious step up. He managed to get up a few more before Raye spoke
abruptly, throwing him dangerously off balance.
"So, you're trying to get with my best friend, huh?"
If it hadn't been for the lethal grip he had on the sides
of the ladder, Kyle was sure he would have become greatly acquainted
with the ground at that moment.
"Uh-hem. Can we discuss this some other time? Like when
I'm not climbing a ladder?" He didn't dare look down at her.
Raye shrugged. "You better not screw around with her, Warner."
Kyle gulped. The culmination of potentially falling off a ladder
and being decked by a 17 year old girl did little to ease his dwindling
nerves.
"You're a good friend, Raye," He managed to choke out, "Good,
but kinda scary. And I wouldn't hurt Mina in any way intentionally."
Raye seemed pleased with his words and grinned.
"See anything yet?" She glanced over her shoulder. Mina
was taking forever with that stupid camera. And she didn't even
know what they were filming. All Mina had told them was that whatever
was going to save the camp from being turned into a strip-mall would
be occurring at 2:30 in their cabin that day. She tried to remind
herself that Mina wasn't as air-headed as she seemed to be and
that she was fully capable of going through with her goals and
succeeding.
Just when Kyle was about to open his mouth to answer her,
the loud 'BOOM BOOM' of a CD player emerged from the open window.
"Here we go," Kyle said underneath his breath.
A loud rustling of leaves startled them both out of their
thoughts, and Kyle nearly fell off the ladder for the second time
in the last five minutes. He mentally swore to God that he'd never
commit a sin for the rest of his mortal life if He just let him live
through this afternoon.
Mina's slightly flushed face appeared within the mass of
branches and Raye let out a sigh of relief.
"About time, Mina!"
Mina took a second to glare at her friend and produced
the camera from the bag slung over her shoulder. It had taken
extra begging on both her and Zach's part to convince Amy to
give up one of her Hyrdoglycerin documentations for their use,
but they'd managed to somehow pull it off.
"Cool it, Raye." Mina carefully stepped onto the ladder
to hand over the camera to Kyle, who set it gently on the window
ledge, closing the window on it so that it wouldn't fall off.
As he did so, he caught a glimpse of the scene from inside
and had to bite the inside of his cheek to keep from laughing out
right.
Down on solid ground, Mina and Raye were quietly watching
him.
"Now will you tell us what exactly we're supposed to be
filming and how you're the only one who knows about it, Mina?" Raye
asked, amazed at how even she hadn't been aware of what went on
behind the closed doors of Cabin C while they were busy making
birdhouses and Indian head dresses out of feathers and paper
plates.
Mina grinned, "As for your first question, no. The
second, I'm just good, that's all," She giggled, visibly pleased
with herself, and a mischevious glint sparkled in her eyes, "And
the real show doesn't even start for another 30 minutes at least."
Kyle gingerly descended the ladder, inwardly elated that
they would have a chance to put Brianna Lawson in her place. When
his feet touched ground, he could have kissed it, but being the
manly man he was, he merely let out a large breath and chanced a
smile at Mina.
Tugging his elbow and Raye's shirt, she dragged them out
of the bushes, "Come on. I know where we can get a better view."
Raye and Kyle couldn't help but grin silently at each
other.
*******
It hadn't taken much work on Darien's part to track down
Serena after she'd run away like the demons of hell were nipping
at her heels. All he had to do was follow the trail of brutalized
foliage.
Slightly out of breath, he took his time covering the distance
down the length of the pier. At the end, Serena was lying on her back, seemingly oblivious to his existence and staring silently up at the sky.
She looked beautiful. It nearly knocked him over, experiencing
the full impact of how genuinely amazing she was as if he were just
meeting her for the first time.
When he was within a few feet of her and she still hadn't
stirred, he inhaled deeply, shook his head of all blundering thoughts
about her apppearance and loomed over her body, casting a shadow
across her placid face.
I must be getting sleepy. This cloud is starting to look
a lot less cloud-like and a lot more...Darien-like. I'm delirious.
Completely and utterly--
"Serena...?"
Serena shot up like a bolt of lightening, reality smacking her
in the face like a two-ton load of bricks.
Darien grinned bemusedly and watched her scramble to her feet.
"Sorry," He automatically stated. He didn't really know what
he was sorry for, though. Scaring the living day-lights out of her, or
for being mauled by Brianna earlier?
Serena dusted off her hands on her jeans and stared at him
blankly.
Darien gave a weak smile that sent the butterflies in her
stomach into over-drive and nearly knocked her into the lake, but
all possiblity of such an occurrence was lost when she noticed
familiar fire engine red lip gloss smeared across his lips
and chin.
"You know, red just might be your color, Darien," She
brushed past him, all anger and resentment flooding back
into her mind instantly at the disgusting sight.
Darien stared at her retreating back with a perplexed
frown before it finally dawned on him. Cursing his stupidity,
he lashed the back of his hand across his mouth and started
after her.
"Serena, wait."
She halted but didn't turn around. He took her silence as
an invitation to go on.
"Uh..." Come on, Darien. Think of something. Something
that doesn't sound totally moronic. "I've heard I look better
in blue."
DING DING DING!!! And we have a winner for the world's
biggest idiot! He really could have (and should've, if you
ask me) smacked himself.
Serena winced inwardly and whirled on him.
"You can't be serious."
Darien raked a nervous hand through his hair and exhaled.
"OK. That wasn't what I meant to say."
"Well then? What did you *mean* to say? Because I have some
packing I need to do before we leave today. And if you haven't
forgotten, you were just swapping spit with the REASON this place
is going to become home to the next Baby GAP."
Inside her pants pockets she had locked her hands into
fists, begging for the cool frown on her face to stay there.
Darien's patience snapped. "You know, I'm just as upset
as you are about the camp being shut down. Probably more, for
that matter. So I'd appreciate it if you'd stop for just two
seconds and hear me out instead of running away from me all the
time!" He was breathing hard now, unsure of what her reaction
would be to his outburst but feeling strangely calm all of
a sudden.
Serena stared at him for what could have only been
seconds but felt like eternity for both of them.
Suddenly, to both of their shock, she reached out one
of her hands towards his face and smeared away a blotch of
sticky red left on his chin.
"You missed a spot," she stated bitterly.
"I didn't kiss her back."
"It's not about that, Darien."
"Then tell me what it *is* about, Serena."
She was taken aback. Why *was* she acting so out of
character? She had never remembered feeling so angry and
miserable and dizzy at the same time before. But what she did
recall was how big of a jerk she'd been to Darien over the
past few days.
"You're right," She kicked the ground with the toe of her
shoe, not trusting herself to meet his gaze, "I didn't even think
about what losing this place would do to you...I'm sorry."
Darien's hardened gaze melted and he could barely find the
nerve to be angry at her anymore.
"It's not about me. I've had my time here and I'll always
have those memories," He paused and took a long look across the
lake, "But these kids--all they've got is Karen and the helpers
at the orphanage. This is the one place they can go where people
don't stare in the windows, feeling sorry for them for not
having parents. You know, where they can feel *normal* for a
change and not like they're rejects of the human population."
As her eyes filled steadily, Serena slipped her hand into
Darien's and squeezed, praying that it would in any way comfort
him.
"It's not fair," She managed to get out over the lump
rising in her throat, "How can she be so--so selfish?" A deep
hate boiled within her chest for Brianna and she gritted her
teeth, unconciously squeezing Darien's hand so tight that the
blood had to fight to circulate through his fingers.
He ignored the numbing in his hand and wrapped an arm
around her shoulders, pulling her to him in a loose embrace.
"I'm not giving up. There has to be a way to stop this.
When Lawson arrives, I'm going to do whatever it takes to
change his mind." His voice was so determined, so strong.
Serena couldn't help but believe every word he'd said and
new hope swelled inside of her.
She leaned into his body more and looked up at his
profile. When he felt her gaze on him, he gazed down at her
and at the incredible amount of sincerity and strength
illuminated in her eyes.
"You *and* me."
The grin that split across his face made her heart rise up
in her throat and her feet seem to leave the ground.
"That's right, Meatball Head. You and me."
*******
8/22
CRITIQUE CRITIQUE CRITIQUE CRITIQUE CRITIQUE CRITIQUE!!!