I'm squinting right now...can you see? I'm so terribly
sorry for this long wait, you guys! I'm SO SO SO SO SO SO
sorry. I really hope you haven't forgotten about my little
camp story, and that you still want to give it a chance...
please...for me? *bats eyelashes*
I really hope you like this final chapter! Give me all your
opinions afterwards, too. I hope it was worth the unGodly
long wait. Thanks again!
--Adrial--
*****************************
Last time in Ch. 8---
"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." Darien's 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."
***********************************************
*****************************
"Camp Kiwachee"
Chapter 9: Lawsons' Blunder
Author: Adrial
E-mail: Adrial_06@yahoo.com
*****************************
Meanwhile in Cabin C...
"And 1 and 2 and 3 and 4, COME ON! I know you can do it!
6, 7, 8, 9, feel the burn ladies!"
Puffing and dripping with sweat, Brianna wiped her brow
and crunched her abs as hard as she could bear, raising bearly
three inches from the floor before falling back again.
"Feel-the...BURRRN!" She huffed out, forcing out her
500th sit-up. She remained on the ground, chest rising and falling
heavily, and lifted a heavy hand to punch the STOP button on the DVD
player she'd had installed the day before. Alexia "Abs" Walker's
chipper voice cut off abruptly as she deomonstrated a flying
squirrel squat to a team of anorexic teenagers.
Daddy Lawson was bringing a camera crew with him
when he arrived, and there was no way any social society could
see Brianna Lawson bloated. She cursed her feminity and popped a
Midol between her lips, guzzling it down with half her liter of
water. Unlike her scatter-brained, bulemic "friends", she adamantly
refused to take laxatives to lose weight. (But only her gyno
knew that they gave her a rash).
Raye snorted loudly from her perch outside their cabin. She,
Mina, Kyle, Amy, Jason, Lita, Matt and Zach were all squeezed together
on the hill that sat on the opposite side of the building, watching
Brianna's hilarious work-out session through a window pane and trying desperately to contain their laughter.
Mina slapped Raye's arm, unable to hold back her grin, though.
"Wait," She whispered, "It get's better."
Jason and Zach rubbed their hands together in anticipation.
Oblivious to the fact that she was putting on a show, Brianna
heaved her sweating body from the floor and walked over to her vanity.
Mascara had drizzled down her cheeks in inky squiggles and dripped off
her jawbone and onto her lap unchecked, doing little to improve her
sodden appearance.
"Damn these things," She muttered, tearing her hands through her
incredibly messy and sweaty hair and removing various clips from
within the mass of red. Beneath the sweaty layers of skin, her muscles
were screaming and felt as if they were being cortorted into un-Godly
positions.
Ignoring the pain, she stared frustratedly into the mirror
and tore her hands through her hair faster.
Jason and Zach exchanged dumbfounded expressions, and Mina
was practically bouncing on the balls of her feet, which annoyed Raye
who was trying to watch over her head bobbing up and down repeatedly.
Brianna sighed and stood up, stretching like a chershire
cat--a chershire cat with a crew cut.
The mop of blazing hair that had been actually ON her
head (Zach and Jason would soon testify that such had exactly
been the case two minutes before) was now a mound of red tangles
on the dresser.
Mina gasped, ignoring her friends's muffled squeals of
utter histeria, and watched the figure walking towards the cabin.
She gave a sigh of relief when it turned out to only be Serena. Only
Ser-
"OH MY GOD! NO!" She exclaimed, scrambling to stand. But
she was too late; they all watched as Serena swung open the screen
door and entered the room. Everyone but Matt squinted their eyes,
knowing what would happen.
...
"Alright. Why isn't she covered in left over beef-o-roni
and screaming bloody murder?" Mina questioned, staring accusingly
at Matt.
He snapped his fingers. "I knew I forgot something!"
"OW!"
Lita didn't stop there and began raining blows on his head
and anywhere else she could get to until he was rolled up into a
ball on the ground, whimpering for help.
Mina rolled her eyes. But at least they'd gotten the cake.
They could live without icing.
From the doorway, Serena nearly choked on the wad of
bubblegum she had been working on chewing before stumbling
upon what could have possibly been the most disturbing sight
she'd ever seen in her life.
Brianna fingered her boyishly short hair with disgusted
strokes and scoffed, stuffing the mound of tangled hair into a
bag and picking up her shower caddy.
Deciding it was better to let Brianna know she was no
longer alone, Serena cleared her throat loudly and stepped into
the room.
"Lovely afternoon, isn't it?" She bit down her giggles
and rushed past the the girl's sheet white face and to her bed
where a lone suitcase lay open with a few shirts folded (more
like rolled into balls that slightly resembled clothing) inside.
Snapping back into reality, Brianna shrieked and stormed
over to the grinning blonde, anxiously smoothing down the uneven
strands of hair near her forehead.
"How much did you see?" She grabbed Serena's arm roughly,
forcing her to look into her furious green eyes. Serena began to
doubt that even they were real.
All she could do was snort and succomb to the
laughter aching at the back of her throat.
"Too much, obviously," She managed to get out.
Growling, Brianna tightened her grip and spat, "You
tell anyone about this and I'll rip out those horribly revolting
little blonde meatballs you're so fond of."
Serena glared at her and pryed her fingers off of her
bruising arm.
"Well I'm sure you could get me a good deal on a wig, BRIA."
The blue of her eyes flashed, and she brushed past her, turning
around with a coy smile and adding, "Or should I say, G.I. Jane?"
Grinning at her cleverness, she began to throw all of her
clothing into the suitcase hapazardly.
Brianna growled and stumbled clumsily back in front of
her, "Listen you two-faced little bi-"
"Nuh-uh uh. Play nice," Serena advised, an uncharacteristic
sneer spreading across her face.
Brianna paused for a moment, nearly to the point of
attacking the insufferable girl in front of her, but the thought
of a ruined reputation forced her lips to purse and fear to rise
the auburn hair on her neck.
"Please, Serena. If this gets out, I'd be ruined!"
Serena stared at her blankly for a moment, tabulating every
cruel and obnoxious thing Brianna had put her through the past two
weeks and fighting to keep them running through her mind.
Brianna's bottom lip successfully began to tremble and she
opened her large 'green' (--Questionable? Yes.) eyes as wide as
she could without them actually popping out.
And Serena relented. Damn her mother for teaching her
morals. She promised herself the minute she got home that she
would write a letter to Barney and Seasame Street complaining
that loyalty and kindness were a load of crap and that what kids
should be learning is how to seek revenge properly--No mercy.
"Lucky for you, Brianna, I'm not that cruel," She hated
every stupid word she'd said, but she forced them out anyway,
making sure they were laden with as much hate and contempt as she
could muster.
Brianna's eyes popped back in their sockets and she
was close to tackling Serena to the ground (though she would
have stopped herself before touching someone of such a lower
standing than herself at the risk of contamination) but a door
slammed and they both whirled around.
"But we are."
Serena gasped. Mina, Raye, Lita, and Amy (with a resentful
frown on her pretty face) were standing in the doorway, and Jason shoved
his way through, jiggling a camera in his hand and smirking.
"Say Bloomingdales!"
"N-" Was all Brianna got out before the camera flashed,
capturing the image for all of blissful eternity.
When the blurry lights ceased to flash in front of her,
Brianna shrieked.
"YOU!" She lunged at Jason, who stepped out of the way
before she could maul him with her outstretched fingernails. Raye
and Lita took it upon themselves to restrain her, and Mina produced
Amy's beloved video camera, having already rewound the tape to
play back Brianna's work out session and removal of faux-hair.
At that moment Serena could have kissed all of her
friends, but the deafening roar of a helicopter exploded around
them suddenly. She quickly covered her ears to smother the
escalating noise lest they rupture her ear drums.
Everyone followed suit, and Mina quickly ushered Serena
out of the door.
"Go, Serena! We'll handle her! Get to Karen before she
starts signing anything!"
Serena cast Brianna one more disgusted look and flung
her arms around Mina's shoulders in a speedy embrace before
taking off towards the baseball field where the chopper would
be landing. In the distance Darien stood waiting for her, an
anxious expression covering his face. But as soon as he saw her
racing towards him, all anxiety melted away and he could
barely hear the chopper anymore over the beating of his
own heart.
Serena had no idea what kind of fight she'd be able to
put up against Lawson, but for some reason, knowing that Darien
would be right there beside her and fighting, too, made her
believe that as long as they were together they'd be able
to do anything.
*****
"Take her down easy, Leon!" Frederick Lawson
adjusted the silk tie on his neck and flicked invisible
dust from a blazer that reaked of Armani and one-thousand
dollar bills.
The burly man who was piloting the chopper wrapped his
hand firmly around the joystick and nodded with a grunt.
The thick blanket of green waiting beneath them
rustled and blew in all directions, as if it knew the
kind of powerful cargo the incoming helicopter held and
what it could potentially do to their home for the past
million or so years.
Lawson's secretary, a meek quiet little thing with
coke bottle glasses and wide, brown eyes flitted around
her boss combing his extra-gelled hair, spit-shining his
glossy black shoes ("Minerva! What the hell do you
think you're doing?!"), and running a lint-roller up and
down his suit.
"Fifty news broadcasters, Mr. Lawson. Fifty." She
stressed each word as if it would mean something
more if she did so and started to re-adjust his tie.
Sure enough, outside, camera crews and news anchors
were spilling out of vans and cars and piling around the landing
area with notepads and tape-recorders clasped in their hands and
eager, blood-sucking looks plastered across their faces.
"Is that Angela Segal from Channel 6?" Lawson squinted
his eyes through his sunglasses and scowled, "That nosy wench
was the cause of my third divorce."
"Forth, boss," Minerva muttered and slapped his hand
away from his glass of wine, "You've already had three, sir!"
"Oh, pish posh," He retorted but let go of the glass
anyway.
"Brace yourselves!" Came the call from the cockpit.
Lawson and his eerily silent lawyer remained calm, whereas
Minerva squinted her eyes shut and gripped her briefcase until
her knuckles turned white.
Reginald Scott sat in the farthest corner, probably
performing some lawyer-like ritual in which one prepares to lie
through his/her professionally bleached teeth much like the time
Frederick was caught feeling up his housemaid by his second
(or was it third?) wife. Scott had to convince her that Frederick
was merely retrieving his pen, which had accidentally fallen
between Veronica's legs when she'd been stradling his waist
peforming CPR on him because he'd suddenly passed out.
From stress, you know.
Sadly, it was true. Frederick's choice of significant
others became dumber and dumber as the months rolled on, but
it was just as well. He kept them happy with sprees on the
Champs Elysèe and yahts in the Carribean, and they, in return,
asked no questions.
The chopper landed with an abrupt jolt and Minerva
immediately began taking deep, urgent breaths, accepting the
tissue Frederick held out to her with a bored expression and
began dabbing at her forehead and neck.
Reginald suddenly came to life, rattling off his
traditional lawyer mumbo-jumbo (a lot of BS, as Raye would
have so eloquently put it) to Frederick who had heard it a
million times already and was half listening as he patted down
his hair (that was so stiff, it looked like El Niño itself
couldn't have made one strand budge) in front of the mirror
Minerva was now holding up for him.
"Perfect," He stated with a sleezy, business-like
smirk.
Outside, the buzz was more deafening than the helicopter
itself as reporters quickly introduced the segment to cameras and
readied themselves for the interview of their life. The NY Times'
Elizabeth Maleski hurriedly prattled off what would become the
headline for all major newspapers within a few hours:
BUSINESS TYCOON FREDERICK LAWSON TAKES OVER ORPHAN CAMP:
Like Taking Candy from a Baby.
In the midst of chaos, Karen stuffed her trembling hands
deep into her pockets and gulped. Mr. Lawson had offered her an
unimaginable sum of money when he'd revoked his sponsorship and bought
the land Karen would have otherwise been forced to sell. She had
no choice but to take it. She tried to think of what good the
money would do for the orphanage, but even that couldn't ease
the throbbing in her heart.
Reginald called the crowd to order, gripping the sides
of a wooden, portable podium (you never know when you might need
to make a speech to millions of people watching live) with practiced
ease and began his statement on behalf of his client.
"The intentions of my client, Mr. Frederick Lawson III,
are not to destroy the happiness of children unfortunate enough
to be without parents; However, he, by purchasing this land from
Miss Karen Ellerby, will prolong their happiness by creating a
place where children of all ages might enjoy themselves.
Juuban Orphanage has monopolized this land for far too
long. Its buildings are falling upon the very foundations they
were built. Mr. Lawson's daughter, herself, suffered a broken
ankle just three days ago in one of the camp's many crumbling
facilities. Imagine what would happen if one of these children
suffered such an injury? Undoubtedly, the orphanage's insurance
could not cover the cost. It is unsafe and unhumane to allow
this camp to proceed any further, and that is why my client
has opened his heart and his mind to embrace what might
become of this unkempt land.
Do not seek to paint Mr. Lawson as a vicious
thief, but see the selflessness with which he extends his
fortune to help these children better their own lives. What
is one week at summer camp when measured against years of
commercial success for a place that has been isolated for
decades by one small organization?
Mr. Lawson does not wish to see lives ruined, but
more created for those lives. He intends to give, not take
away. We thank for your time, and now I believe we have some
papers to sign, isn't that right, Ms. Ellerby?" He turned
his beatle-like eyes and greasy grin to Karen. She didn't
bother to hide her scowl of contempt as she walked forward,
issuing more questions from the reporters and the
flashes of countless cameras.
"Miss Ellerby, how does it feel to be giving up this camp
after running it for the past two decades?"
"Miss Ellerby, where will the children go next summer?"
"Do you have any thoughts on the destruction of Camp Kachobee?"
"Do the children cry at night?"
"It's to my knowledge that you and Mr. Lawson are romantically
involved, would you like to comment?"
"Miss Ellerby, how do *you* sleep at ni-"
"THAT will be enough!" Barked Karen's respective attorney.
He straightened his polyester tie and cleared his throat at the
silence that ensued.
"No, Miss Ellerby will not be making any statements as of
now. If you wish to have your petty questions answered, you may
attend the press conference scheduled for next week at Lawson's
New York location in Greenwich Village."
Karen touched his arm and gave him a grim smile.
"Actually. Miss Ellerby would like to make a brief statement."
She walked steadily towards the podium and raked a hand through her
graying hair.
"WAIT!!" Two voices boomed over her first words, followed by
the collapse of many reporters and cries of "Oops!" and threats of
lawsuits until they were able to break through.
Serena panted, hair astray and the sleeve of her shirt
ripped. Darien's clothing remained in tact, but his face was
distraught and hair equally crappy looking.
Neither cared.
"Don't sign anything, Karen!" Serena ripped Karen away
from the mic and from the crowd. Darien gave Mr. Lawson a healthy
glare and followed them.
Karen's face was between utter shock and complete awe.
"Serena? Darien? What are you doing?" She whispered so as
not to be overheard. She could practically see the reporter's ears
stretching out by the inch to eavesdrop on their conversation.
Serena swallowed over her parched throat, "You can't give
up like this, Karen."
Darien nodded and grabbed her hands, "Because you love this
place too much to just forget about it."
"Because you know what these kids are losing."
"And because we won't let you," Darien finished.
Karen stared at them, wondering if she should listen to
what they were saying. She desperately wanted to. She knew they
were right, but she also knew that she didn't have any other option.
"Oh, Darien...Serena..." She forced out the words, "It's over."
"NOOOOO!!!!"
Darien, Serena, and Karen whipped around, throwing their
hands over their ears in the process to ease the piercing shriek
that bombarded their eardrums like a thousand sledge hammers.
Looking as if she'd just been run through a car wash (sans the
actual car) and then rolled down a very uneven hill, Brianna hurtled
herself through the crowd and to her father. In the distance, 8 bodies
jogged closely after her.
Serena and Darien exchanged glances. She hadn't had time
to tell him about her startling discovery about Brianna's fetish
for fake hair, but she didn't think it mattered anyway. One
photograph of a bald Brianna would only embarass the hell out
of her, not save the camp.
I think... She thought to herself, unable to stop
the lurch of hope that jumped into her throat.
When Brianna reached her father, it was clear that
she'd been through hell and back up at the cabin. She'd
thrown an old baseball cap, which Darien recognized as the
one he'd seen Jason wearing earlier that afternoon, over her
head. It did little to compliment her crisp black business
suit (she'd had it specially made for the occasion),
though, and she grabbed her father's shoulders, dragging
him away. When they were a safe distance away from the throng
of nosey reporters, she spoke.
"Daddy you can't buy the camp!"
"But, Sweet Pea, I've already--"
"No, Daddy! It was all my fault! I-I fell on my own!"
"Brianna, sweetheart, light of my life," He threw a nervous
glance behind his shoulder at the buzzing crowd, "What the HELL
are you going on about?"
"Listen to me! You can NOT buy this camp."
"Are you kidding me? I've been planning to snatch up
this property ever since I started sponsoring the godforsaken
dump!"
"Uh...what about the-the children?" It appeared being
sincere was not one of Brianna's strong-points as her nose
scrunched up before it got a sniff of her own faux sincerity.
"What about the little brats? I'm talking billions of
dollars in profits. Do you have any idea what is at stake here?"
"Daddy, but-"
"If I'd have known sending you here as a ploy would
have turned you into some kind of blasted humanitarian, I
would have divorced Sharon weeks ago and sent you to Maui
like we'd planned."
"Cheryl, Daddy."
"Whatever."
"And what do you mean *ploy*?"
"I mean that I had to have an excuse to revoke my
contract. Do you realize what kind of politcal hell it would
raise if I stopped funding some wishy-washy play house for child
rejects without a solid reason? With you and your tendency to
cause law-suits, I knew I'd have it easy. Now, let me finish
talking to all these flaming baboons and I promise I'll-I'll
have the entire damn cast of Passions flown out this weekend!
I know how you love your soaps, sweetie."
Darien was enraged. He wanted to jump Lawson and beat
him into politcal sumbmission. He wanted to rip out his eyeballs
and let Timmy and Tommy use them to play ping-pong. He wanted to
chain him to his stupid chopper and sink him to the bottom of Lake
Kiwachee like the load of garbage he was.
Serena shared similar sentiments of her own but had a little
more self-control and had to use her entire body to hold Darien from
making his own dreams come true.
By then Mina and the rest of her crew had arrived and
heard the entire thing. Their mouths were hanging open, and Brianna's
candid video lay long forgotten in Mina's hand.
Somehow in the middle of the Lawson's heated exchanged,
a sneaky reporter had snugged up to a tree beside them and recorded
it with a look on her face like she'd struck oil.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk," She uttered, revealing her presence
to the red-faced duo and wiggling the recorder in her palm with
a smirk, "And I thought the Great Divorce of '97 was good."
Too involved in his daughter's sudden personality
change, Frederick had failed to notice her presence. And when
he did, he was not a happy camper.
He whirled on her and growled, lunging towards her.
"Segal!"
"Nuh-uh, Freddy-boy. Wouldn't want attacking innocent
reporters to be added to your pile of suits. Boy, they just seem
to keep stackin' up there, don't they?" She grinned coyly and
her mop of blonde hair bobbed as she laughed loudly.
Behind them, Reginald Scott, dedicated attorney of the
Lawson legacy for nearly three decades, cleared his throat behind Mr.
Lawson and threw his briefcase at him.
"You're on your own this time, buddy," And he bounded
off, whistling through two fingers in his mouth. A limo strolled
around the corner and he disappeared into it. As it rolled off,
he slid through the sun-roof and laughed like a mad-man, his
middle finger raised for all the world to see.
A few cameras flashed by those who weren't too shocked
to remember that their jobs were riding on this event.
Frederick looked fit to cry. Brianna stood dumbly beside him;
she seemed confused on what particular face she should be wearing
at the moment. Citing it as a lost cause, she settled for a blank
stare in the general direction of the long-gone limo.
...
"Does this mean I'm not going to get to meet the cast
of Passions?"
******
An hour later, after all the news reporters had departed
and Frederick and his daughter had sulked off in what would be later
called the ultimate Walk of Shame, Serena, Darien, Karen, and
everyone up at camp piled themselves into the coach bus, this time
with the security of knowing that they'd be back.
Jason tossed a shiny black video tape between his hands
and smirked at Kyle's inquisitive gaze.
"What? I'm sellin' this baby to Dateline."
Kyle rolled his eyes at his friend's antics and heaved
what seemed to be the hundredth freakin' bird house underneath
the bus. One of them stubbornly rolled back out of the compartment,
but before he could reach to pick it up, a pair of small hands
had already retrieved it.
Kyle shot up like a bolt of lightening. Mina had to stifle
her grin and matching giggles. She bent over and slid the cage
into a more secure position between the mass of crafts and luggage
in order to avoid his deer-in-headlights gaze. When she'd risen
to her full height again, Kyle was still standing stiff as a
board and appeared to be competing for the world's closest
resemblance to a tomato.
"Uh...I...uh..." Kyle began, eliciting a snort from
Jason, who was promptly tugged off by a grumbling Raye. She
turned around to throw Mina a "Say something or I'll let Jason
out of his cage" glare and disappeared onto the bus.
Mina's heart was beating a million miles a minute
and she'd nearly nibbled a hole through her bottom lip before
Kyle said anything remotely coherent.
"I guess this is it," He began. Mina balanced her weight
on the heels of her shoes and rocked back and forth, a habit that
she was notorious for when she had no idea of what the heck to say.
"Yep." Oh come ON! Ask me out already! A movie, a milkshake,
SOMETHING!
Kyle grinned stupidly. He was slowly but surely gathering
a small pile of courage in the back of his mind. Mina's steadfast
gaze on him was doing little to help.
"Look, Mina--"
"I'd love to!" Mina burst out, blinding him with the force
of her grin.
Kyle stared at her dumbfounded for a few seconds, trying
to contemplate what had exactly happened, before breaking out in
a smile himself.
"Great, um, yeah. So..."
"We should!" She said exuberantly.
"Of course. We should definitely--"
"How about next week? Friday?" She supplied, her
eyes shining like twin blue fairies.
Kyle, by then, could barely grasp the edge of his
mind to figure out what in God's name she was talking about,
but if it was making her this happy, he sure as hell didn't
want to ruin it.
"Yeah. Friday's great. Maybe I'll--"
"Here's my phone number," She grabbed his arm and
the pen stuck behind her ear from when she'd been crossing
off the roll before and scribbled ten digits onto his palm.
When she'd finished, Kyle could only nod gratefully.
Mina was so sublimely happy at that moment that she could barely
see straight. She should have started going to camp years
before!
"Then it's a date!" She exclaimed, not waiting for
his response before bounding onto the bus, leaving him with a
priceless look of male obliviousness on his face.
"Date?" The idea took a while to marinate in his mind,
but when he put two and two together, he felt as if he might
be sick.
"I have a date? With--but...when did this happen?"
Zach was passing by at the moment, looking smug about
something, and heard Kyle's baffled rambling.
"Dude, you have a date? With who?" He was thrilled
that Kyle "The Rock" Warner had finally gotten some guts and
asked a girl out--hopefully Mina. He'd been sweating her since
the minute he'd laid eyes on her, and all the guys had been
rooting for him after that shameful apple juice incident.
Kyle shook his head at his friend wearily.
"I wish I knew."
Lita and Matt were seated on the bus, entirely in
their own happy little bubble, and bickering over which of
the Lawson's had looked more hilarious. Brianna, with her
pitiful buzz cut and hopelessly flabbergasted expression of
bewilderment, or her father, Frederick, who was nearly in
tears as he and his daughter were chased down the dirt road
by a histerical papparazzi with cameras rolling. They agreed
to disagree and settled on the stunned newscaster who had
taken a mouthful of Lawson's projectile imported toupèe.
Lita promptly curled up against Matt's side, feeling
more at home than she ever had been in her life. She opened
her eyes to look around at the tiny children laughing (or
plotting, in the Chai Monsters' case) and then at her
friends who were placing new pieces to the jumbled puzzle
that was their lives right before her very eyes. A grin
stretched across her face, and she burrowed her head deeper
into Matt's arm, knowing that for once, things were looking
up for them.
"EEWW! THERE'S A BUG IN MY HAAAAIIIRRRR!!!!"
Dutifully, the pair rose from their seats (although
Matt was a little less enthused than Lita about it) to
assess the situation. In other words, they would chain Tommy
to the back door and Timmy to the driver's seat and pray
that they hadn't recovered the spare key Karen had
stashed away in her office from the last time.
Serena slung her duffle bug over her shoulder and sighed
jubilantly. She couldn't have been more happy, and she'd gone on a
hugging rampage for a full twenty minutes before Raye had finally
threatened to chain her to a tree and leave her there until next
summer after her fifth tear-filled embrace.
Darien watched her silently, wondering if even after all
that had gone on, they would go back home and resort to petty name-
calling and verbal wars again.
They were the last ones left outside the bus. Serena felt
his gaze on her, but didn't turn around at first. She had to tame
her intense case of anxiety first. After throwing her bag under the
bus, she had no choice but her meet his gaze and she took her sweet
time in turning around.
Darien wasn't sure what to say when she wrapped her arms
around his waist after an infinite moment of silence. It was the
first time she'd actually acknowleged his presence since the
whole Lawson ordeal, and he returned her embrace gladly.
When she'd felt like she'd squeezed the life out of him
enough, Serena released her grip on him and smiled.
"Thanks, Darien...you know, for not giving up or anything.
I-I almost did for a minute, but you were so sure about everything,
and I...believed you. So, thanks," She finished, and by this time was
nervously digging a hole to China in the ground with the toe of her
shoe.
Darien swallowed over the odd thing that was clogging his
throat. He had no clue what it was. Really. He didn't. (snort)
"Y-yeah, you too. I mean, you were great...and everything."
"Yeah..." She started to turn, offering him a bright smile
and one last chance to make his move.
"Um, Serena. One more thing," He ran hand through his
hair.
"Yes, Darien?" She smirked at his awkwardness. She kind of
liked watching him squirm like that. It was cute.
"I, uh, I was just wondering. You know, we did kiss and
*cough* everything--"
He was cut off by her fingers over his lips.
"Maybe you could sit by me on the way home?"
He grinned.
"Only if you promise not to play any of that God awful
music the entire way home."
Scoffing, she flipped a pony-tail over her shoulder and
sniffed, barely hiding the smile in her eyes, "Don't worry. Jason
let me borrow his Jay-Z CD."
She patted his shoulder and bounced onto the bus. Rolling
his eyes, Darien stuffed his bag under the bus and closed the latch,
bounding after her as if he were 7 and she had poked him in the
ribs on the playground.
"You know, Meatball Head, I'm not above throwing it out
the window."
"Hey! You better not be talking about my CD!"
"Shut up, Jason!!" Both yelled. Raye patted Jason's
knee comfortingly and let him pout against her shoulder. The
better part of the bus moaned. Serena and Darien were back.
They'd just plopped into their seats as the bus rumbled
to life and took off. It only took one glance at each other to
know that they would never, in fact, be the Serena and Darien
everyone knew and loved again. They'd gotten more out of Camp
Kiwachee than a birdhouse they'd never use and pasta chain
necklaces. The summer wasn't over yet, after all.
5 minutes later...
"You're so lame!"
"I get it from you."
"'Uh, *cough* you know, we did *kiss* and e-everything...'"
She mocked, adding a sniffle at the end for good measure.
"Don't act like it didn't blow you away."
"Puh!"
"Denial."
"Jerk!"
"Meatball Head."
"GIVE IT UP, YOU TWO!"
************************THE END******************************
4/9/03
Ta Da! *Phew* Finally...after how many months? Nine...WOW. I
feel awful for having left you guys hanging like this all that
time! You have no idea what a junior year in HS can do to a
girl! I'm suffering from pre-exam trauma and post-SAT depression.
Really. I am.
;-) j/k! Thanks so much to those who have sent me encouraging
e-mails over the months. I appreciate your support and I promise
that this summer, I'll be back on track with new stories and a LOT
more free time to write them. Thanks again for reading!
*muaH*
~Adrial~
Adrial_06@yahoo.com
REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW!
sorry for this long wait, you guys! I'm SO SO SO SO SO SO
sorry. I really hope you haven't forgotten about my little
camp story, and that you still want to give it a chance...
please...for me? *bats eyelashes*
I really hope you like this final chapter! Give me all your
opinions afterwards, too. I hope it was worth the unGodly
long wait. Thanks again!
--Adrial--
*****************************
Last time in Ch. 8---
"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." Darien's 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."
***********************************************
*****************************
"Camp Kiwachee"
Chapter 9: Lawsons' Blunder
Author: Adrial
E-mail: Adrial_06@yahoo.com
*****************************
Meanwhile in Cabin C...
"And 1 and 2 and 3 and 4, COME ON! I know you can do it!
6, 7, 8, 9, feel the burn ladies!"
Puffing and dripping with sweat, Brianna wiped her brow
and crunched her abs as hard as she could bear, raising bearly
three inches from the floor before falling back again.
"Feel-the...BURRRN!" She huffed out, forcing out her
500th sit-up. She remained on the ground, chest rising and falling
heavily, and lifted a heavy hand to punch the STOP button on the DVD
player she'd had installed the day before. Alexia "Abs" Walker's
chipper voice cut off abruptly as she deomonstrated a flying
squirrel squat to a team of anorexic teenagers.
Daddy Lawson was bringing a camera crew with him
when he arrived, and there was no way any social society could
see Brianna Lawson bloated. She cursed her feminity and popped a
Midol between her lips, guzzling it down with half her liter of
water. Unlike her scatter-brained, bulemic "friends", she adamantly
refused to take laxatives to lose weight. (But only her gyno
knew that they gave her a rash).
Raye snorted loudly from her perch outside their cabin. She,
Mina, Kyle, Amy, Jason, Lita, Matt and Zach were all squeezed together
on the hill that sat on the opposite side of the building, watching
Brianna's hilarious work-out session through a window pane and trying desperately to contain their laughter.
Mina slapped Raye's arm, unable to hold back her grin, though.
"Wait," She whispered, "It get's better."
Jason and Zach rubbed their hands together in anticipation.
Oblivious to the fact that she was putting on a show, Brianna
heaved her sweating body from the floor and walked over to her vanity.
Mascara had drizzled down her cheeks in inky squiggles and dripped off
her jawbone and onto her lap unchecked, doing little to improve her
sodden appearance.
"Damn these things," She muttered, tearing her hands through her
incredibly messy and sweaty hair and removing various clips from
within the mass of red. Beneath the sweaty layers of skin, her muscles
were screaming and felt as if they were being cortorted into un-Godly
positions.
Ignoring the pain, she stared frustratedly into the mirror
and tore her hands through her hair faster.
Jason and Zach exchanged dumbfounded expressions, and Mina
was practically bouncing on the balls of her feet, which annoyed Raye
who was trying to watch over her head bobbing up and down repeatedly.
Brianna sighed and stood up, stretching like a chershire
cat--a chershire cat with a crew cut.
The mop of blazing hair that had been actually ON her
head (Zach and Jason would soon testify that such had exactly
been the case two minutes before) was now a mound of red tangles
on the dresser.
Mina gasped, ignoring her friends's muffled squeals of
utter histeria, and watched the figure walking towards the cabin.
She gave a sigh of relief when it turned out to only be Serena. Only
Ser-
"OH MY GOD! NO!" She exclaimed, scrambling to stand. But
she was too late; they all watched as Serena swung open the screen
door and entered the room. Everyone but Matt squinted their eyes,
knowing what would happen.
...
"Alright. Why isn't she covered in left over beef-o-roni
and screaming bloody murder?" Mina questioned, staring accusingly
at Matt.
He snapped his fingers. "I knew I forgot something!"
"OW!"
Lita didn't stop there and began raining blows on his head
and anywhere else she could get to until he was rolled up into a
ball on the ground, whimpering for help.
Mina rolled her eyes. But at least they'd gotten the cake.
They could live without icing.
From the doorway, Serena nearly choked on the wad of
bubblegum she had been working on chewing before stumbling
upon what could have possibly been the most disturbing sight
she'd ever seen in her life.
Brianna fingered her boyishly short hair with disgusted
strokes and scoffed, stuffing the mound of tangled hair into a
bag and picking up her shower caddy.
Deciding it was better to let Brianna know she was no
longer alone, Serena cleared her throat loudly and stepped into
the room.
"Lovely afternoon, isn't it?" She bit down her giggles
and rushed past the the girl's sheet white face and to her bed
where a lone suitcase lay open with a few shirts folded (more
like rolled into balls that slightly resembled clothing) inside.
Snapping back into reality, Brianna shrieked and stormed
over to the grinning blonde, anxiously smoothing down the uneven
strands of hair near her forehead.
"How much did you see?" She grabbed Serena's arm roughly,
forcing her to look into her furious green eyes. Serena began to
doubt that even they were real.
All she could do was snort and succomb to the
laughter aching at the back of her throat.
"Too much, obviously," She managed to get out.
Growling, Brianna tightened her grip and spat, "You
tell anyone about this and I'll rip out those horribly revolting
little blonde meatballs you're so fond of."
Serena glared at her and pryed her fingers off of her
bruising arm.
"Well I'm sure you could get me a good deal on a wig, BRIA."
The blue of her eyes flashed, and she brushed past her, turning
around with a coy smile and adding, "Or should I say, G.I. Jane?"
Grinning at her cleverness, she began to throw all of her
clothing into the suitcase hapazardly.
Brianna growled and stumbled clumsily back in front of
her, "Listen you two-faced little bi-"
"Nuh-uh uh. Play nice," Serena advised, an uncharacteristic
sneer spreading across her face.
Brianna paused for a moment, nearly to the point of
attacking the insufferable girl in front of her, but the thought
of a ruined reputation forced her lips to purse and fear to rise
the auburn hair on her neck.
"Please, Serena. If this gets out, I'd be ruined!"
Serena stared at her blankly for a moment, tabulating every
cruel and obnoxious thing Brianna had put her through the past two
weeks and fighting to keep them running through her mind.
Brianna's bottom lip successfully began to tremble and she
opened her large 'green' (--Questionable? Yes.) eyes as wide as
she could without them actually popping out.
And Serena relented. Damn her mother for teaching her
morals. She promised herself the minute she got home that she
would write a letter to Barney and Seasame Street complaining
that loyalty and kindness were a load of crap and that what kids
should be learning is how to seek revenge properly--No mercy.
"Lucky for you, Brianna, I'm not that cruel," She hated
every stupid word she'd said, but she forced them out anyway,
making sure they were laden with as much hate and contempt as she
could muster.
Brianna's eyes popped back in their sockets and she
was close to tackling Serena to the ground (though she would
have stopped herself before touching someone of such a lower
standing than herself at the risk of contamination) but a door
slammed and they both whirled around.
"But we are."
Serena gasped. Mina, Raye, Lita, and Amy (with a resentful
frown on her pretty face) were standing in the doorway, and Jason shoved
his way through, jiggling a camera in his hand and smirking.
"Say Bloomingdales!"
"N-" Was all Brianna got out before the camera flashed,
capturing the image for all of blissful eternity.
When the blurry lights ceased to flash in front of her,
Brianna shrieked.
"YOU!" She lunged at Jason, who stepped out of the way
before she could maul him with her outstretched fingernails. Raye
and Lita took it upon themselves to restrain her, and Mina produced
Amy's beloved video camera, having already rewound the tape to
play back Brianna's work out session and removal of faux-hair.
At that moment Serena could have kissed all of her
friends, but the deafening roar of a helicopter exploded around
them suddenly. She quickly covered her ears to smother the
escalating noise lest they rupture her ear drums.
Everyone followed suit, and Mina quickly ushered Serena
out of the door.
"Go, Serena! We'll handle her! Get to Karen before she
starts signing anything!"
Serena cast Brianna one more disgusted look and flung
her arms around Mina's shoulders in a speedy embrace before
taking off towards the baseball field where the chopper would
be landing. In the distance Darien stood waiting for her, an
anxious expression covering his face. But as soon as he saw her
racing towards him, all anxiety melted away and he could
barely hear the chopper anymore over the beating of his
own heart.
Serena had no idea what kind of fight she'd be able to
put up against Lawson, but for some reason, knowing that Darien
would be right there beside her and fighting, too, made her
believe that as long as they were together they'd be able
to do anything.
*****
"Take her down easy, Leon!" Frederick Lawson
adjusted the silk tie on his neck and flicked invisible
dust from a blazer that reaked of Armani and one-thousand
dollar bills.
The burly man who was piloting the chopper wrapped his
hand firmly around the joystick and nodded with a grunt.
The thick blanket of green waiting beneath them
rustled and blew in all directions, as if it knew the
kind of powerful cargo the incoming helicopter held and
what it could potentially do to their home for the past
million or so years.
Lawson's secretary, a meek quiet little thing with
coke bottle glasses and wide, brown eyes flitted around
her boss combing his extra-gelled hair, spit-shining his
glossy black shoes ("Minerva! What the hell do you
think you're doing?!"), and running a lint-roller up and
down his suit.
"Fifty news broadcasters, Mr. Lawson. Fifty." She
stressed each word as if it would mean something
more if she did so and started to re-adjust his tie.
Sure enough, outside, camera crews and news anchors
were spilling out of vans and cars and piling around the landing
area with notepads and tape-recorders clasped in their hands and
eager, blood-sucking looks plastered across their faces.
"Is that Angela Segal from Channel 6?" Lawson squinted
his eyes through his sunglasses and scowled, "That nosy wench
was the cause of my third divorce."
"Forth, boss," Minerva muttered and slapped his hand
away from his glass of wine, "You've already had three, sir!"
"Oh, pish posh," He retorted but let go of the glass
anyway.
"Brace yourselves!" Came the call from the cockpit.
Lawson and his eerily silent lawyer remained calm, whereas
Minerva squinted her eyes shut and gripped her briefcase until
her knuckles turned white.
Reginald Scott sat in the farthest corner, probably
performing some lawyer-like ritual in which one prepares to lie
through his/her professionally bleached teeth much like the time
Frederick was caught feeling up his housemaid by his second
(or was it third?) wife. Scott had to convince her that Frederick
was merely retrieving his pen, which had accidentally fallen
between Veronica's legs when she'd been stradling his waist
peforming CPR on him because he'd suddenly passed out.
From stress, you know.
Sadly, it was true. Frederick's choice of significant
others became dumber and dumber as the months rolled on, but
it was just as well. He kept them happy with sprees on the
Champs Elysèe and yahts in the Carribean, and they, in return,
asked no questions.
The chopper landed with an abrupt jolt and Minerva
immediately began taking deep, urgent breaths, accepting the
tissue Frederick held out to her with a bored expression and
began dabbing at her forehead and neck.
Reginald suddenly came to life, rattling off his
traditional lawyer mumbo-jumbo (a lot of BS, as Raye would
have so eloquently put it) to Frederick who had heard it a
million times already and was half listening as he patted down
his hair (that was so stiff, it looked like El Niño itself
couldn't have made one strand budge) in front of the mirror
Minerva was now holding up for him.
"Perfect," He stated with a sleezy, business-like
smirk.
Outside, the buzz was more deafening than the helicopter
itself as reporters quickly introduced the segment to cameras and
readied themselves for the interview of their life. The NY Times'
Elizabeth Maleski hurriedly prattled off what would become the
headline for all major newspapers within a few hours:
BUSINESS TYCOON FREDERICK LAWSON TAKES OVER ORPHAN CAMP:
Like Taking Candy from a Baby.
In the midst of chaos, Karen stuffed her trembling hands
deep into her pockets and gulped. Mr. Lawson had offered her an
unimaginable sum of money when he'd revoked his sponsorship and bought
the land Karen would have otherwise been forced to sell. She had
no choice but to take it. She tried to think of what good the
money would do for the orphanage, but even that couldn't ease
the throbbing in her heart.
Reginald called the crowd to order, gripping the sides
of a wooden, portable podium (you never know when you might need
to make a speech to millions of people watching live) with practiced
ease and began his statement on behalf of his client.
"The intentions of my client, Mr. Frederick Lawson III,
are not to destroy the happiness of children unfortunate enough
to be without parents; However, he, by purchasing this land from
Miss Karen Ellerby, will prolong their happiness by creating a
place where children of all ages might enjoy themselves.
Juuban Orphanage has monopolized this land for far too
long. Its buildings are falling upon the very foundations they
were built. Mr. Lawson's daughter, herself, suffered a broken
ankle just three days ago in one of the camp's many crumbling
facilities. Imagine what would happen if one of these children
suffered such an injury? Undoubtedly, the orphanage's insurance
could not cover the cost. It is unsafe and unhumane to allow
this camp to proceed any further, and that is why my client
has opened his heart and his mind to embrace what might
become of this unkempt land.
Do not seek to paint Mr. Lawson as a vicious
thief, but see the selflessness with which he extends his
fortune to help these children better their own lives. What
is one week at summer camp when measured against years of
commercial success for a place that has been isolated for
decades by one small organization?
Mr. Lawson does not wish to see lives ruined, but
more created for those lives. He intends to give, not take
away. We thank for your time, and now I believe we have some
papers to sign, isn't that right, Ms. Ellerby?" He turned
his beatle-like eyes and greasy grin to Karen. She didn't
bother to hide her scowl of contempt as she walked forward,
issuing more questions from the reporters and the
flashes of countless cameras.
"Miss Ellerby, how does it feel to be giving up this camp
after running it for the past two decades?"
"Miss Ellerby, where will the children go next summer?"
"Do you have any thoughts on the destruction of Camp Kachobee?"
"Do the children cry at night?"
"It's to my knowledge that you and Mr. Lawson are romantically
involved, would you like to comment?"
"Miss Ellerby, how do *you* sleep at ni-"
"THAT will be enough!" Barked Karen's respective attorney.
He straightened his polyester tie and cleared his throat at the
silence that ensued.
"No, Miss Ellerby will not be making any statements as of
now. If you wish to have your petty questions answered, you may
attend the press conference scheduled for next week at Lawson's
New York location in Greenwich Village."
Karen touched his arm and gave him a grim smile.
"Actually. Miss Ellerby would like to make a brief statement."
She walked steadily towards the podium and raked a hand through her
graying hair.
"WAIT!!" Two voices boomed over her first words, followed by
the collapse of many reporters and cries of "Oops!" and threats of
lawsuits until they were able to break through.
Serena panted, hair astray and the sleeve of her shirt
ripped. Darien's clothing remained in tact, but his face was
distraught and hair equally crappy looking.
Neither cared.
"Don't sign anything, Karen!" Serena ripped Karen away
from the mic and from the crowd. Darien gave Mr. Lawson a healthy
glare and followed them.
Karen's face was between utter shock and complete awe.
"Serena? Darien? What are you doing?" She whispered so as
not to be overheard. She could practically see the reporter's ears
stretching out by the inch to eavesdrop on their conversation.
Serena swallowed over her parched throat, "You can't give
up like this, Karen."
Darien nodded and grabbed her hands, "Because you love this
place too much to just forget about it."
"Because you know what these kids are losing."
"And because we won't let you," Darien finished.
Karen stared at them, wondering if she should listen to
what they were saying. She desperately wanted to. She knew they
were right, but she also knew that she didn't have any other option.
"Oh, Darien...Serena..." She forced out the words, "It's over."
"NOOOOO!!!!"
Darien, Serena, and Karen whipped around, throwing their
hands over their ears in the process to ease the piercing shriek
that bombarded their eardrums like a thousand sledge hammers.
Looking as if she'd just been run through a car wash (sans the
actual car) and then rolled down a very uneven hill, Brianna hurtled
herself through the crowd and to her father. In the distance, 8 bodies
jogged closely after her.
Serena and Darien exchanged glances. She hadn't had time
to tell him about her startling discovery about Brianna's fetish
for fake hair, but she didn't think it mattered anyway. One
photograph of a bald Brianna would only embarass the hell out
of her, not save the camp.
I think... She thought to herself, unable to stop
the lurch of hope that jumped into her throat.
When Brianna reached her father, it was clear that
she'd been through hell and back up at the cabin. She'd
thrown an old baseball cap, which Darien recognized as the
one he'd seen Jason wearing earlier that afternoon, over her
head. It did little to compliment her crisp black business
suit (she'd had it specially made for the occasion),
though, and she grabbed her father's shoulders, dragging
him away. When they were a safe distance away from the throng
of nosey reporters, she spoke.
"Daddy you can't buy the camp!"
"But, Sweet Pea, I've already--"
"No, Daddy! It was all my fault! I-I fell on my own!"
"Brianna, sweetheart, light of my life," He threw a nervous
glance behind his shoulder at the buzzing crowd, "What the HELL
are you going on about?"
"Listen to me! You can NOT buy this camp."
"Are you kidding me? I've been planning to snatch up
this property ever since I started sponsoring the godforsaken
dump!"
"Uh...what about the-the children?" It appeared being
sincere was not one of Brianna's strong-points as her nose
scrunched up before it got a sniff of her own faux sincerity.
"What about the little brats? I'm talking billions of
dollars in profits. Do you have any idea what is at stake here?"
"Daddy, but-"
"If I'd have known sending you here as a ploy would
have turned you into some kind of blasted humanitarian, I
would have divorced Sharon weeks ago and sent you to Maui
like we'd planned."
"Cheryl, Daddy."
"Whatever."
"And what do you mean *ploy*?"
"I mean that I had to have an excuse to revoke my
contract. Do you realize what kind of politcal hell it would
raise if I stopped funding some wishy-washy play house for child
rejects without a solid reason? With you and your tendency to
cause law-suits, I knew I'd have it easy. Now, let me finish
talking to all these flaming baboons and I promise I'll-I'll
have the entire damn cast of Passions flown out this weekend!
I know how you love your soaps, sweetie."
Darien was enraged. He wanted to jump Lawson and beat
him into politcal sumbmission. He wanted to rip out his eyeballs
and let Timmy and Tommy use them to play ping-pong. He wanted to
chain him to his stupid chopper and sink him to the bottom of Lake
Kiwachee like the load of garbage he was.
Serena shared similar sentiments of her own but had a little
more self-control and had to use her entire body to hold Darien from
making his own dreams come true.
By then Mina and the rest of her crew had arrived and
heard the entire thing. Their mouths were hanging open, and Brianna's
candid video lay long forgotten in Mina's hand.
Somehow in the middle of the Lawson's heated exchanged,
a sneaky reporter had snugged up to a tree beside them and recorded
it with a look on her face like she'd struck oil.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk," She uttered, revealing her presence
to the red-faced duo and wiggling the recorder in her palm with
a smirk, "And I thought the Great Divorce of '97 was good."
Too involved in his daughter's sudden personality
change, Frederick had failed to notice her presence. And when
he did, he was not a happy camper.
He whirled on her and growled, lunging towards her.
"Segal!"
"Nuh-uh, Freddy-boy. Wouldn't want attacking innocent
reporters to be added to your pile of suits. Boy, they just seem
to keep stackin' up there, don't they?" She grinned coyly and
her mop of blonde hair bobbed as she laughed loudly.
Behind them, Reginald Scott, dedicated attorney of the
Lawson legacy for nearly three decades, cleared his throat behind Mr.
Lawson and threw his briefcase at him.
"You're on your own this time, buddy," And he bounded
off, whistling through two fingers in his mouth. A limo strolled
around the corner and he disappeared into it. As it rolled off,
he slid through the sun-roof and laughed like a mad-man, his
middle finger raised for all the world to see.
A few cameras flashed by those who weren't too shocked
to remember that their jobs were riding on this event.
Frederick looked fit to cry. Brianna stood dumbly beside him;
she seemed confused on what particular face she should be wearing
at the moment. Citing it as a lost cause, she settled for a blank
stare in the general direction of the long-gone limo.
...
"Does this mean I'm not going to get to meet the cast
of Passions?"
******
An hour later, after all the news reporters had departed
and Frederick and his daughter had sulked off in what would be later
called the ultimate Walk of Shame, Serena, Darien, Karen, and
everyone up at camp piled themselves into the coach bus, this time
with the security of knowing that they'd be back.
Jason tossed a shiny black video tape between his hands
and smirked at Kyle's inquisitive gaze.
"What? I'm sellin' this baby to Dateline."
Kyle rolled his eyes at his friend's antics and heaved
what seemed to be the hundredth freakin' bird house underneath
the bus. One of them stubbornly rolled back out of the compartment,
but before he could reach to pick it up, a pair of small hands
had already retrieved it.
Kyle shot up like a bolt of lightening. Mina had to stifle
her grin and matching giggles. She bent over and slid the cage
into a more secure position between the mass of crafts and luggage
in order to avoid his deer-in-headlights gaze. When she'd risen
to her full height again, Kyle was still standing stiff as a
board and appeared to be competing for the world's closest
resemblance to a tomato.
"Uh...I...uh..." Kyle began, eliciting a snort from
Jason, who was promptly tugged off by a grumbling Raye. She
turned around to throw Mina a "Say something or I'll let Jason
out of his cage" glare and disappeared onto the bus.
Mina's heart was beating a million miles a minute
and she'd nearly nibbled a hole through her bottom lip before
Kyle said anything remotely coherent.
"I guess this is it," He began. Mina balanced her weight
on the heels of her shoes and rocked back and forth, a habit that
she was notorious for when she had no idea of what the heck to say.
"Yep." Oh come ON! Ask me out already! A movie, a milkshake,
SOMETHING!
Kyle grinned stupidly. He was slowly but surely gathering
a small pile of courage in the back of his mind. Mina's steadfast
gaze on him was doing little to help.
"Look, Mina--"
"I'd love to!" Mina burst out, blinding him with the force
of her grin.
Kyle stared at her dumbfounded for a few seconds, trying
to contemplate what had exactly happened, before breaking out in
a smile himself.
"Great, um, yeah. So..."
"We should!" She said exuberantly.
"Of course. We should definitely--"
"How about next week? Friday?" She supplied, her
eyes shining like twin blue fairies.
Kyle, by then, could barely grasp the edge of his
mind to figure out what in God's name she was talking about,
but if it was making her this happy, he sure as hell didn't
want to ruin it.
"Yeah. Friday's great. Maybe I'll--"
"Here's my phone number," She grabbed his arm and
the pen stuck behind her ear from when she'd been crossing
off the roll before and scribbled ten digits onto his palm.
When she'd finished, Kyle could only nod gratefully.
Mina was so sublimely happy at that moment that she could barely
see straight. She should have started going to camp years
before!
"Then it's a date!" She exclaimed, not waiting for
his response before bounding onto the bus, leaving him with a
priceless look of male obliviousness on his face.
"Date?" The idea took a while to marinate in his mind,
but when he put two and two together, he felt as if he might
be sick.
"I have a date? With--but...when did this happen?"
Zach was passing by at the moment, looking smug about
something, and heard Kyle's baffled rambling.
"Dude, you have a date? With who?" He was thrilled
that Kyle "The Rock" Warner had finally gotten some guts and
asked a girl out--hopefully Mina. He'd been sweating her since
the minute he'd laid eyes on her, and all the guys had been
rooting for him after that shameful apple juice incident.
Kyle shook his head at his friend wearily.
"I wish I knew."
Lita and Matt were seated on the bus, entirely in
their own happy little bubble, and bickering over which of
the Lawson's had looked more hilarious. Brianna, with her
pitiful buzz cut and hopelessly flabbergasted expression of
bewilderment, or her father, Frederick, who was nearly in
tears as he and his daughter were chased down the dirt road
by a histerical papparazzi with cameras rolling. They agreed
to disagree and settled on the stunned newscaster who had
taken a mouthful of Lawson's projectile imported toupèe.
Lita promptly curled up against Matt's side, feeling
more at home than she ever had been in her life. She opened
her eyes to look around at the tiny children laughing (or
plotting, in the Chai Monsters' case) and then at her
friends who were placing new pieces to the jumbled puzzle
that was their lives right before her very eyes. A grin
stretched across her face, and she burrowed her head deeper
into Matt's arm, knowing that for once, things were looking
up for them.
"EEWW! THERE'S A BUG IN MY HAAAAIIIRRRR!!!!"
Dutifully, the pair rose from their seats (although
Matt was a little less enthused than Lita about it) to
assess the situation. In other words, they would chain Tommy
to the back door and Timmy to the driver's seat and pray
that they hadn't recovered the spare key Karen had
stashed away in her office from the last time.
Serena slung her duffle bug over her shoulder and sighed
jubilantly. She couldn't have been more happy, and she'd gone on a
hugging rampage for a full twenty minutes before Raye had finally
threatened to chain her to a tree and leave her there until next
summer after her fifth tear-filled embrace.
Darien watched her silently, wondering if even after all
that had gone on, they would go back home and resort to petty name-
calling and verbal wars again.
They were the last ones left outside the bus. Serena felt
his gaze on her, but didn't turn around at first. She had to tame
her intense case of anxiety first. After throwing her bag under the
bus, she had no choice but her meet his gaze and she took her sweet
time in turning around.
Darien wasn't sure what to say when she wrapped her arms
around his waist after an infinite moment of silence. It was the
first time she'd actually acknowleged his presence since the
whole Lawson ordeal, and he returned her embrace gladly.
When she'd felt like she'd squeezed the life out of him
enough, Serena released her grip on him and smiled.
"Thanks, Darien...you know, for not giving up or anything.
I-I almost did for a minute, but you were so sure about everything,
and I...believed you. So, thanks," She finished, and by this time was
nervously digging a hole to China in the ground with the toe of her
shoe.
Darien swallowed over the odd thing that was clogging his
throat. He had no clue what it was. Really. He didn't. (snort)
"Y-yeah, you too. I mean, you were great...and everything."
"Yeah..." She started to turn, offering him a bright smile
and one last chance to make his move.
"Um, Serena. One more thing," He ran hand through his
hair.
"Yes, Darien?" She smirked at his awkwardness. She kind of
liked watching him squirm like that. It was cute.
"I, uh, I was just wondering. You know, we did kiss and
*cough* everything--"
He was cut off by her fingers over his lips.
"Maybe you could sit by me on the way home?"
He grinned.
"Only if you promise not to play any of that God awful
music the entire way home."
Scoffing, she flipped a pony-tail over her shoulder and
sniffed, barely hiding the smile in her eyes, "Don't worry. Jason
let me borrow his Jay-Z CD."
She patted his shoulder and bounced onto the bus. Rolling
his eyes, Darien stuffed his bag under the bus and closed the latch,
bounding after her as if he were 7 and she had poked him in the
ribs on the playground.
"You know, Meatball Head, I'm not above throwing it out
the window."
"Hey! You better not be talking about my CD!"
"Shut up, Jason!!" Both yelled. Raye patted Jason's
knee comfortingly and let him pout against her shoulder. The
better part of the bus moaned. Serena and Darien were back.
They'd just plopped into their seats as the bus rumbled
to life and took off. It only took one glance at each other to
know that they would never, in fact, be the Serena and Darien
everyone knew and loved again. They'd gotten more out of Camp
Kiwachee than a birdhouse they'd never use and pasta chain
necklaces. The summer wasn't over yet, after all.
5 minutes later...
"You're so lame!"
"I get it from you."
"'Uh, *cough* you know, we did *kiss* and e-everything...'"
She mocked, adding a sniffle at the end for good measure.
"Don't act like it didn't blow you away."
"Puh!"
"Denial."
"Jerk!"
"Meatball Head."
"GIVE IT UP, YOU TWO!"
************************THE END******************************
4/9/03
Ta Da! *Phew* Finally...after how many months? Nine...WOW. I
feel awful for having left you guys hanging like this all that
time! You have no idea what a junior year in HS can do to a
girl! I'm suffering from pre-exam trauma and post-SAT depression.
Really. I am.
;-) j/k! Thanks so much to those who have sent me encouraging
e-mails over the months. I appreciate your support and I promise
that this summer, I'll be back on track with new stories and a LOT
more free time to write them. Thanks again for reading!
*muaH*
~Adrial~
Adrial_06@yahoo.com
REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW!