Hello lovelies! I am ecstatic to present to you chapter six! Yay! Anyways, happy reading!
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I woke up instantly now. I rolled out of my cot and straightened up, neglecting my bindings for the day. We were going through an especially hot spell, and the extra layer was only annoying. I zipped up my jumpsuit then sat and pulled my boots on. Tired, we exited the tent into the early morning darkness, still rubbing our eyes. Breakfast rolled smoothly, as I was so tired that I failed to remember the new arrival, and the strange attraction I had to him. The morning was routine. We went to the library, and I elbowed my way through the crowd to get the shorter shovel. It was ¾ of an inch smaller than all of the others. Shorter shovel meant less dirt. Normally, X hassled us for the shovel, but I wasn't in the mood this morning. He opened his mouth, and I glared at him. Wisely, he shut his mouth, and we began walking. Mom showed us our dig site, and with full canteens, we started digging. It was only half an hour until the sun rose, but in that time I had a good six inches done already. I was well on my way to being a faster digger than Zero, but I needed more water breaks than him. I usually finished less than an hour after him anyways. During the time I'd spent there, they'd worn me down, and now I sang for them every day. True to form, I began singing early on, though this song was one of my own inventions. I hadn't worked out the verses yet, but the chorus was replaying over and over again in my head. I let my imagination come up with the tune, and soon I was working on a few verses. The guys were used to it; I usually made up songs for them, having run out of new ones to sing.
"Redeem Me
Forgive me
I'm so sorry,
If I could take it back I would
Every night I think of you,
You're starring in my dreams
Redemption
Redemption."
When I'd completed a foot, I took a break for some water, and then started digging again. "Okay guys, I'm taking requests now."
There was silent, just rhythmic breathing in time with shoveling noise, and X made the first request. The requests usually worked their way down the water line, and each one wanted a different song, though they knew I usually only knew their choruses. I would sing the broken ones a few times, and the ones I remembered fully once.
"Down to the river."
I smiled, for I had known he'd pick this. It had a gospel feel, and was deep enough where my voice got throaty to accommodate it.
"When I went down to the river to pray,
Studying about that good old way,
And who shall wear the starry crown,
Oh lord, show me the way.
Oh brother's let's go down,
Let's go down,
Come on down
Oh brothers let's go down,
Down to the river to pray."
That was all I knew, so I sang it twice, and soon Armpit called out his choice. "The one with Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum."
This one was from a musical I'd been in at one point in time, and I absolutely loved it,
"The daisy mugged the brother's tweedle dum and Dee,
They rolled right out of there and played, Parcheesi
You've gotta act you've gotta choose
Decide and decree
Hey hey babe, you've got responsibility."
That was the largest segment I could remember, but I wove it in with other fragments I remembered of the song, and put in words that rhymed. I sang it a couple times as well, and he applauded loudly from his hole. Squid didn't always ask for a song, but today he wanted to hear the one by Fergie, Big Girls Don't Cry. A few guys heckled him for the choice, but I ignored them. Softly, I hummed the beginning, and then burst into one of my better songs.
"The smell of your skin lingers, on me now.
You're probably on your flight back to your hometown
I need some shelter of my own protection baby
And I foresee the dark ahead, if I stay.
I hope you know, I hope you know
That this has nothing to do with you
It's personal myself and I,
We've got some straightening out to do
And I'm gonna miss you
Like a child missing his blanket
And I've gotta get a move on with my life,
It's time to be a big girl now,
And big girls don't cry." I sang the rest of the song leaning against the edge of the hole. The shoveling was interrupting the beautiful song. When it faded from the air, the guys were quiet, save digging noises, until Magnet called out his song of choice, "Cuba libre."
He knew I only knew the chorus, but I'd remembered a few lines from the beginning and decided to sing them to surprise him. He hooted with joy, and then sang along with the chorus.
"Quiero, mi Cuba libre,
Pa que la gente pueda,
Pa que la gente pueda bailar.
Quiero, mi Cuba libre,
Pa que la gente pueda,
Pa que la gente pueda bailar."
This time all of the guys clapped and Magnet did a comical bow from his hole. Ziggy said he'd pass, and Zero requested my favorite song ever, the one he knew I loved. I decided it was an excellent time to take a break, and leaned on the ground outside of my hole. By now, I had three feet done, and judging by the sun, the lunch truck was about due. We'd already gotten the water truck, in between Armpit and Squid's songs.
"Small town homecoming queen,
She's the star of this scene,
There's no way to deny she's lovely.
Perfect skin, perfect hair,
Perfumed hearts everywhere
I tell myself that inside she's ugly,
Maybe I'm just jealous,
I can't help but hate her
Secretly I wonder if my boyfriend wants to date her
"She is the prom queen,
I'm in the marching band
She is a cheer leader,
I'm sitting in the stands
She gets the top bunk,
I'm sleeping on the floor,
She's Miss America,
And I'm just the girl next door."
The guys were sitting on their dirt piles now, watching me sing.
"Senior class president,
She must be heaven sent
She was never the last one standing"
Here I improvised a few of the words; I could never remember the right two.
"Really sheik, debutante,
Everything that you want
Never too harsh or too demanding
Okay I'll admit it,
I'm a little bitter,
Everybody loves her
But I just want to hit her
"She is the prom queen,
I'm in the marching band
She is a cheer leader,
I'm sitting in the stands
She gets the top bunk,
I'm sleeping on the floor,
She's Miss America,
And I'm just the girl next door."
I glanced around as I caught my breath, and noticed a few of them swaying to the song.
"I don't know why I'm feeling sorry for myself
I spend all my time wishing that I was someone else.
She is the prom queen,
I'm in the marching band
She is a cheer leader,
I'm sitting in the stands.
I get a little bit,
She gets a little more
She's Miss America,
She's Miss America,
And I'm just the girl next door."
I received thunderous applause from my six audience members, and now the lunch truck was in sight. Grateful, I chugged the remainder of my water and Ziggy pulled himself out of his hole and sat next to me, "How come you're so much better at that song than the other ones?"
I laughed, "Are you saying I'm not good at the other ones?"
He realized his mistake and backpedaled, "No, you're great, but you seem so much better than your usual perfection when you sing that."
He seemed pleased with his careful wording and I chuckled, "Ya see Zig, I love that song. I love it because I feel like I can relate to it. Therefore, it means more to me, and I put emotion into it, which means it sounds better. Okay?"
He nodded, but Magnet spoke up, "What do you mean relate? To the cheerleader right?"
For that I smacked him upside the head and everyone laughed. Like I'd ever be a cheerleader. Mr. Sir had brought us our lunch today; we took our lunch quickly, and we sat down together to eat. I had just about forgotten about the question, but Armpit brought me back to it, "Answer the question."
I sighed and swallowed my food, "I feel like the girl next door when I'm at home." The group was silent for a few minutes; everyone was too hungry to have a proper conversation, but finally Squid broke into the conversation, or, lack thereof.
"Why?"
I shrugged and sipped some water, "I don't quite fit in with other girls."
Magnet looked confused, "But why?"
I sighed, but X beat me to it, "Well duh. If she gets along with us this well, it means she doesn't hang out with girls much, probably because she's too busy fighting."
I nodded and he grinned with triumph. "About right. I don't regret it for a second though. I love fighting. Sometimes though, I think I'm not feminine enough."
They scoffed, and Armpit spoke up, "Hon, trust us, you are definitely feminine enough."
"Really?"
"Really. Gents, how many times a week would you say you have a wet dream about this young lady?"
I cringed, but cringed worse at the answer. The answer was a nearly unanimous five nights and up. Zero didn't answer the question, and neither did X.
"I didn't need to hear that. Get outta my hole; I have two feet left to dig."
They cleared out, grumbling about the heat. I tried to smile at their answer, they were just trying to be sweet, and it wasn't their fault they didn't know how to be.
We were pretty quiet for a while, after all, it was the hottest part of the day, and everyone knew that it wasted energy to sing, they weren't gonna ask me for it. When I finally finished digging, I dragged myself out of my hole and sat on the edge, reveling in the endorphins that digging brought me. I took a deep sip out of my canteen, and leaned back, "Okay guys, one more song before I go. Which one?"
They all shouted over each other and I sighed, "Okay, I'll pick."
They settled down and I started singing,
"Kiss me too fiercely,
Hold me too tight
I need help believing
You're with me tonight
My wildest dreamings
Could not foresee
Lying beside you
With you wanting me
Just for this moment,
As long as you're mine
I'll wake up my body
And cross some borderlines
And if it turns out,
It's over too fast,
I'll make every last moment last
Just for this moment."
I took a breath, and sipped a sip of water, letting the whole musical
break play before I opened my eyes. Usually I sang the male part
too, because my voice could reach just low enough to hit the notes. I opened my mouth, but someone else's voice slipped in and started
singing.
"Maybe I'm brainless,
Maybe I'm wise
But you've got me seeing
Through different eyes
Somehow I've fallen under your spell
And somehow I'm feeling
It's up that I fell
Just for this moment
As long as you're mine
I'll wake up my body
And make up for lost time
Borrow the moonlight,
Until it is through,
And know I'll be here wanting you."
I turned to face the voice, and my eyes widened in shock when I saw Beast leaning against his shovel with a sly grin on his face.
"You sing!"
He didn't respond to my comment, instead he commented on my singing, "I didn't figure you were into singing Ladybug, but if you're good at something, I guess you would be into it."
I barely registered his compliment, I was so shocked. He could sing? There was no possible way.
"Heading back to camp?"
I nodded, making my mind up to throw my brick wall back up. I'd had just about enough of this weakness crap.
"Me too."
He held out a hand to hoist me to my feet. I glanced at my boys, and saw no help from them. When I met Armpit's eyes, he nodded. I grabbed Beast's hand, and he pulled me to my feet, a little too hard. It seemed like slow motion to me. I fell into his chest, and his scent filled my nostrils. The masculine aroma filled me to the brim, and I felt every cell of my body crying out for him. Trying to recover my composure, I tried to scoot away from him, but he pulled me to his body, staring into my eyes. Before he could try to kiss me, I kneed him in the groin, hard. The guys laughed, and I picked up my shovel and canteen, then started walking back to camp, a swing in my step.
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Hahahaha! I know this chapter is mostly filler; I was struck with inspiration for the next chapter halfway through, so I didn't know what to do with this one. Beast can sing? Gasp! Just a poll real quick, what does everyone think of Beast?
Okay, perhaps many of you know the author Queen Bee's story "Poison Ivy"? Well, there is a new character in her story loosely based off of Lacey! She's actually made several appearances already, so go read it! I'm psyched!
You know the drill, please review! If you took this long to read my entire story, you can take another thirty seconds and review, it's not hard. I know it's not.
Have a good day!
Em.