The morning alarm blared throughout Camp Green Lake the next morning at
4:30. Squid fell out of bed. He had been having an exceptionally weird
dream earlier that had involved his mother and a girl who looked familiar
but he couldn't place her.
In his dream Squid had been in an odd park he had never seen before. It had been a bright and sunny day but he hadn't felt happy. He had been standing in the middle of this park as small kids ran around and played on the playground equipment. As he had looked around he'd spotted this girl on a tire swing in the distance. She had been a very pretty girl, smiling widely as she had rocked back and forth on the swing. Squid had tried to walk toward her but for some reason he couldn't; it was as if something or someone was pulling him back. Suddenly he began to hear someone sobbing. He had turned to see his mom, sitting at a picnic table, her face in her hands.
"Oh Alan, it's too late, it's just too late," she sobbed, but she didn't seem to be talking to Squid.
As Squid walked toward his mom, wanting to comfort her, he had heard the childish music of an ice cream truck, getting closer and closer. That's when Squid woke up.
He now pulled himself up off the ground, he was a little shaky, and after a moment of standing there looking around as everyone woke up he got ready for the day.
* * *
Chase wiped tears away from her face. She had woke up crying but she had no memories of what she'd dreamed of.
"Are you okay?" Zippy asked, she was leaning over Chase looking worried.
"Yeah," Chase said, she sat up. Almost all of the D tent girls were already ready and walking out of the tent towards the library.
"I heard you talking in your sleep last night," Zippy said, handing Chase her work clothes.
"Really?" Chase said, her throat was kind of sore and it hurt to talk. "What did I say?"
"Well a lot of it just sounded like gibberish," Zippy replied, sitting on Chase's bed while Chase got dressed.
"But I heard you say things like 'It's too late' and then you were like freaking out and crying while you said stuff like 'I can't reach it!' 'help, i can't get it'. It was really weird and kinda creepy."
"Did anyone else hear me?" Chase asked, tying her hair up into a pony tail.
"Well Rogue heard you, and she got really pissed off," Zippy said.
"Oh," Chase looked around the tent, Rogue had already left.
"Come on," Zippy said, handing Chase her shoes. "Mr. Sir will probably be mad if we're late."
After Chase finished up in the tent the two girls ran over to the library where there were only a few people left in line for their shovels, Squid was one of them.
"Here," he said, handing both Zippy and Chase a shovel when they reached the shovel line.
"Thanks," Zippy said smiling. Then she poked Chase in the ribs with her elbow and grinned.
"Yeah thanks," Chase said sourly.
"Come on Squid," Zippy said. "We gotta get out on the lake before Mr. Sir sees us over here."
Chase was not pleased with the way Zippy was behaving. But she couldn't escape walking out to the lake with Squid, so she had to learn to cope. She let Zippy walk in-between Squid and herself, which Zippy found disappointing. Another thing that Zippy didn't like was Chase never looked at Squid and she only said something when he asked her a question-but her responses were always crude and short.
"So Zippy," Squid said, as they got closer to the place where the rest of D tent was digging. "I've noticed you and Zero spend a lot of time together."
"Yup!" Zippy said, just the mention of Zero seemed to make her shimmer.
"Yeah," Chase said, "she won't shut up about her new boyfriend."
"He's not my boyfriend," Zippy said. "Not yet anyway!" then she added to Chase, "I can't wait, I've been dying to kiss him for ages now!"
Chase shook her head. "Oy vey."
"Nice of you three to join us," Mr. Sir said gruffly. They had reached D tent's digging site and Mr. Sir didn't look too pleased. "What took ya'?" he asked.
"Long line at the Library," Squid replied.
At first they didn't know if Mr. Sir believed their excuse but then he moved on to show each of them where they would dig their hole, without further questioning them about their early absence.
"Hey girls," Friction said late that afternoon. Today she was driving the water truck only, unlike Mr. Pendanski or Mr. Sir, she had the radio turned up full volume. Plus she hung around for a while, refilling everyone's canteens whenever they wanted more water.
"Sexy ladies wanna par wit' us, in da' car wit' us, they naw war wit' us," a couple of the girls, including Friction, sang along with the radio. They were listening to Sean Paul's song "Get Busy".
"Ergh," Chase groaned. She sat down in her hole and let her shovel fall to the ground.
"What's wrong?" Zippy asked.
"Another headache," Chase replied. "It's so hot!"
"Yeah I know," Zippy said, wiping some sweat from her forehead.
Chase stood up for a moment to measure her hole. "Looks like I got about five more inches deep I have to dig," she said. "And like two more inches wide."
"Well you're a lot further than I am," Zippy said, also measuring her hole.
"Hey look!" Lei cried, pointing towards the distant skies. "Rain clouds!"
"Yeah," Friction said, shading her eyes so she could look at the sky. "But those are miles and miles away. We'd need very strong winds to get them to blow over here."
"But there ain't no wind," Twitch said glumly.
"Nuthin' but dust and sunshine," Xray said, wiping his glasses off on his shirt so he could get a clearer view of the distant clouds.
"Aaaaaah!" Lei cried, holding her nose.
"What is it?" Friction asked, running over to Lei's hole.
"I gotta nothe b'eed," Lei said, her voice was weird as she was squeezing her nose.
"Sit in the truck for a little bit; it's cooler in there," Friction said, helping Lei up out of her hole. "Tilt your head back," she said, directing Lei into the old truck. "Here's some kleenex."
"I wanna sit in the truck," Magnetic complained.
"I'll bet you do," Magnet snapped, glaring at her.
Magnetic couldn't think of anything harsh enough to reply with, so she just continued digging.
"I hate it here!" Magnetic cried later that day when they had all finished digging. "Magnet is the STUPIDEST guy it has ever been my displeasure to meet!"
"Haha! 'Displeasure', haha!" Zippy laughed, no one else laughed though.
"So does that mean you aren't gonna come to the Wreck Room with us today?" Fidget asked Magnetic.
"NO WAY!" Magnetic replied
"So you're staying here with Rogue?" Zippy asked.
"Where else would I go?" Magnetic snapped.
So only five girls left the tent and headed out for the Wreck Room (it would have only been four if Zippy hadn't grabbed Chase's hand and pulled her out of the tent).
Zero quickly looked up as soon as the girls walked into the room. "Hey Zippy," he said, making room for her on one of the couches. She gladly sat down next to him.
All the girls moseyed on over to the guys they wanted to talk to. To Chase's relief Squid wasn't in the Wreck Room today. She sat down on a chair and watched as all the other girls laughed and enjoyed themselves.
"Hey babe."
Chase turned around quickly, surprised.
An older looking boy had just sat down next to her, his friends lingering around him.
"Hi," Chase said slowly, she was a little nervous.
"You enjoyin' the scene?" the boy asked.
"No, not really," Chase replied.
"Well that's cool, 'cause I know this scene you'll enjoy a lot."
"Really," Chase said, she wasn't amused. "And where would that 'scene' be?"
"My tent," the boy said, smirking, his friends laughed.
"Oh, well, that sounds great," Chase said. "But I'm not in the mood. Sorry," she said. Then she stood and began to walk over to the other D tent girls.
But the boy grabbed her around the leg before she could go very far.
"Sorry but 'no' isn't an option," he said, holding her tightly, his friends still laughing.
"Let go of me!" Chase demanded. She tried forcing her way away but it was no use; the older boy was too strong.
"What, you're about 15, 16, right?" the boy asked, pulling Chase towards him. His friends nodded. "Good; I like 'em young." He tripped Chase so that she fell on top of him. Then he held one of her arms so that she had trouble getting away. Chase tried her best to get away; she tried kicking him, hitting him, anything she could do with one leg and one arm-but nothing worked.
"Come on babe, give me a kiss," the boy cooed as he held her tight.
Chase struggled, but it didn't help, soon she was mouth to mouth with the stupid boy. Chase had to think fast-think of anything at all that she could do, then suddenly it came to her.
"ARGH!" the boy cried, letting Chase fall to the floor. He pulled back in pain, and his friends jumped away in surprise. The boy's lower lip was ripped, the cut very deep, streaming with blood. Chase had bit him while he had been kissing her, and she hadn't let go of his lip until he had thrown her off of him.
"Chase!" Zippy cried, running over to Chase's side and helping her to her feet. "Are you okay? I'm sooooo sorry! I was over there talking-I didn't see it when it started! I'm so, so sorry-"
"Yeah, okay," Chase said, wiping her mouth on her sleeve. "I'm fine Zip, really."
"He sure ain't fine though," Static said, pointing at the older boy who was now clutching his lip in pain, his friends standing around not sure of what to do.
"THAT'S IT!" Chase cried, marching back to D tent, Zippy chasing after her. "I hate it here! I want out!"
"Chase," Zippy cried. "It'll all get better if you just let it; you don't really want to leave."
"YES I DO!" Chase yelled. "It will NOT get better and i won't let it! I'm just gonna leave!"
"You aren't serious are you?" Zippy asked, she looked worried.
"I am positive."
In his dream Squid had been in an odd park he had never seen before. It had been a bright and sunny day but he hadn't felt happy. He had been standing in the middle of this park as small kids ran around and played on the playground equipment. As he had looked around he'd spotted this girl on a tire swing in the distance. She had been a very pretty girl, smiling widely as she had rocked back and forth on the swing. Squid had tried to walk toward her but for some reason he couldn't; it was as if something or someone was pulling him back. Suddenly he began to hear someone sobbing. He had turned to see his mom, sitting at a picnic table, her face in her hands.
"Oh Alan, it's too late, it's just too late," she sobbed, but she didn't seem to be talking to Squid.
As Squid walked toward his mom, wanting to comfort her, he had heard the childish music of an ice cream truck, getting closer and closer. That's when Squid woke up.
He now pulled himself up off the ground, he was a little shaky, and after a moment of standing there looking around as everyone woke up he got ready for the day.
* * *
Chase wiped tears away from her face. She had woke up crying but she had no memories of what she'd dreamed of.
"Are you okay?" Zippy asked, she was leaning over Chase looking worried.
"Yeah," Chase said, she sat up. Almost all of the D tent girls were already ready and walking out of the tent towards the library.
"I heard you talking in your sleep last night," Zippy said, handing Chase her work clothes.
"Really?" Chase said, her throat was kind of sore and it hurt to talk. "What did I say?"
"Well a lot of it just sounded like gibberish," Zippy replied, sitting on Chase's bed while Chase got dressed.
"But I heard you say things like 'It's too late' and then you were like freaking out and crying while you said stuff like 'I can't reach it!' 'help, i can't get it'. It was really weird and kinda creepy."
"Did anyone else hear me?" Chase asked, tying her hair up into a pony tail.
"Well Rogue heard you, and she got really pissed off," Zippy said.
"Oh," Chase looked around the tent, Rogue had already left.
"Come on," Zippy said, handing Chase her shoes. "Mr. Sir will probably be mad if we're late."
After Chase finished up in the tent the two girls ran over to the library where there were only a few people left in line for their shovels, Squid was one of them.
"Here," he said, handing both Zippy and Chase a shovel when they reached the shovel line.
"Thanks," Zippy said smiling. Then she poked Chase in the ribs with her elbow and grinned.
"Yeah thanks," Chase said sourly.
"Come on Squid," Zippy said. "We gotta get out on the lake before Mr. Sir sees us over here."
Chase was not pleased with the way Zippy was behaving. But she couldn't escape walking out to the lake with Squid, so she had to learn to cope. She let Zippy walk in-between Squid and herself, which Zippy found disappointing. Another thing that Zippy didn't like was Chase never looked at Squid and she only said something when he asked her a question-but her responses were always crude and short.
"So Zippy," Squid said, as they got closer to the place where the rest of D tent was digging. "I've noticed you and Zero spend a lot of time together."
"Yup!" Zippy said, just the mention of Zero seemed to make her shimmer.
"Yeah," Chase said, "she won't shut up about her new boyfriend."
"He's not my boyfriend," Zippy said. "Not yet anyway!" then she added to Chase, "I can't wait, I've been dying to kiss him for ages now!"
Chase shook her head. "Oy vey."
"Nice of you three to join us," Mr. Sir said gruffly. They had reached D tent's digging site and Mr. Sir didn't look too pleased. "What took ya'?" he asked.
"Long line at the Library," Squid replied.
At first they didn't know if Mr. Sir believed their excuse but then he moved on to show each of them where they would dig their hole, without further questioning them about their early absence.
"Hey girls," Friction said late that afternoon. Today she was driving the water truck only, unlike Mr. Pendanski or Mr. Sir, she had the radio turned up full volume. Plus she hung around for a while, refilling everyone's canteens whenever they wanted more water.
"Sexy ladies wanna par wit' us, in da' car wit' us, they naw war wit' us," a couple of the girls, including Friction, sang along with the radio. They were listening to Sean Paul's song "Get Busy".
"Ergh," Chase groaned. She sat down in her hole and let her shovel fall to the ground.
"What's wrong?" Zippy asked.
"Another headache," Chase replied. "It's so hot!"
"Yeah I know," Zippy said, wiping some sweat from her forehead.
Chase stood up for a moment to measure her hole. "Looks like I got about five more inches deep I have to dig," she said. "And like two more inches wide."
"Well you're a lot further than I am," Zippy said, also measuring her hole.
"Hey look!" Lei cried, pointing towards the distant skies. "Rain clouds!"
"Yeah," Friction said, shading her eyes so she could look at the sky. "But those are miles and miles away. We'd need very strong winds to get them to blow over here."
"But there ain't no wind," Twitch said glumly.
"Nuthin' but dust and sunshine," Xray said, wiping his glasses off on his shirt so he could get a clearer view of the distant clouds.
"Aaaaaah!" Lei cried, holding her nose.
"What is it?" Friction asked, running over to Lei's hole.
"I gotta nothe b'eed," Lei said, her voice was weird as she was squeezing her nose.
"Sit in the truck for a little bit; it's cooler in there," Friction said, helping Lei up out of her hole. "Tilt your head back," she said, directing Lei into the old truck. "Here's some kleenex."
"I wanna sit in the truck," Magnetic complained.
"I'll bet you do," Magnet snapped, glaring at her.
Magnetic couldn't think of anything harsh enough to reply with, so she just continued digging.
"I hate it here!" Magnetic cried later that day when they had all finished digging. "Magnet is the STUPIDEST guy it has ever been my displeasure to meet!"
"Haha! 'Displeasure', haha!" Zippy laughed, no one else laughed though.
"So does that mean you aren't gonna come to the Wreck Room with us today?" Fidget asked Magnetic.
"NO WAY!" Magnetic replied
"So you're staying here with Rogue?" Zippy asked.
"Where else would I go?" Magnetic snapped.
So only five girls left the tent and headed out for the Wreck Room (it would have only been four if Zippy hadn't grabbed Chase's hand and pulled her out of the tent).
Zero quickly looked up as soon as the girls walked into the room. "Hey Zippy," he said, making room for her on one of the couches. She gladly sat down next to him.
All the girls moseyed on over to the guys they wanted to talk to. To Chase's relief Squid wasn't in the Wreck Room today. She sat down on a chair and watched as all the other girls laughed and enjoyed themselves.
"Hey babe."
Chase turned around quickly, surprised.
An older looking boy had just sat down next to her, his friends lingering around him.
"Hi," Chase said slowly, she was a little nervous.
"You enjoyin' the scene?" the boy asked.
"No, not really," Chase replied.
"Well that's cool, 'cause I know this scene you'll enjoy a lot."
"Really," Chase said, she wasn't amused. "And where would that 'scene' be?"
"My tent," the boy said, smirking, his friends laughed.
"Oh, well, that sounds great," Chase said. "But I'm not in the mood. Sorry," she said. Then she stood and began to walk over to the other D tent girls.
But the boy grabbed her around the leg before she could go very far.
"Sorry but 'no' isn't an option," he said, holding her tightly, his friends still laughing.
"Let go of me!" Chase demanded. She tried forcing her way away but it was no use; the older boy was too strong.
"What, you're about 15, 16, right?" the boy asked, pulling Chase towards him. His friends nodded. "Good; I like 'em young." He tripped Chase so that she fell on top of him. Then he held one of her arms so that she had trouble getting away. Chase tried her best to get away; she tried kicking him, hitting him, anything she could do with one leg and one arm-but nothing worked.
"Come on babe, give me a kiss," the boy cooed as he held her tight.
Chase struggled, but it didn't help, soon she was mouth to mouth with the stupid boy. Chase had to think fast-think of anything at all that she could do, then suddenly it came to her.
"ARGH!" the boy cried, letting Chase fall to the floor. He pulled back in pain, and his friends jumped away in surprise. The boy's lower lip was ripped, the cut very deep, streaming with blood. Chase had bit him while he had been kissing her, and she hadn't let go of his lip until he had thrown her off of him.
"Chase!" Zippy cried, running over to Chase's side and helping her to her feet. "Are you okay? I'm sooooo sorry! I was over there talking-I didn't see it when it started! I'm so, so sorry-"
"Yeah, okay," Chase said, wiping her mouth on her sleeve. "I'm fine Zip, really."
"He sure ain't fine though," Static said, pointing at the older boy who was now clutching his lip in pain, his friends standing around not sure of what to do.
"THAT'S IT!" Chase cried, marching back to D tent, Zippy chasing after her. "I hate it here! I want out!"
"Chase," Zippy cried. "It'll all get better if you just let it; you don't really want to leave."
"YES I DO!" Chase yelled. "It will NOT get better and i won't let it! I'm just gonna leave!"
"You aren't serious are you?" Zippy asked, she looked worried.
"I am positive."