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8. Off to Camp
Already Gone ~ Kelly Clarkson
Daphne's point of view...
I sit on the ledge of my window, looking out at all the rain drenching the world outside.
The millions of droplets pitter-patter against the glass as I lay still on the purple checkered comforter over the window seat and wonder how everything became the way it is.
Only last month, I was playing with Andy and watching a new movie on Disney Channel, oblivious to the one person who would soon betray me. Yet he is also the one who will now hate my guts forever. And yet at the same time, he is the one person I haven't been able to stop thinking about ever since I first looked into his deep blue-green eyes. Those perfect orbs with gold flecks around the iris...
It all started a while back, when I went to camp for spring break a few months after Puck came back from Asia. He had been staying at Aladdin's kingdom in Baghdad--who knew the Arab Everafters were such good friends with Queen Titania?--and convinced Sabrina that life isn't all full of sadness and despair.
I wish someone could convince me the same...
Flashback
I stood there, against my bedroom banister, staring at everything I was gonna be leaving behind for the next fourteen days. I wonder if I'm gonna miss anything...or anyone...
Sabrina? Most likely not. She's been such a... well, such a bitch, lately. I know, I know. Wow, Daphne, that's such a big word for you! Are you sure you mean it? Maybe you just don't know what it means.
Hell, yeah, I know what it means. I know what hell means too, if you're wondering. I'm not innocent, little marshmellow, anymore. I've grown up. Everyone grows up, so why shouldn't I?
Would I miss Puck, though? Not his pranks, that's for sure. Definitely the way he thinks of me on the same level, not like I'm some little girl who needs to be babied and taken after all the time.
Mom, I would miss, definitely. She, at least, has moved her over-motherly ways to treating Andy with great care. Though it's a bit sad that I'll never be the family baby again. Sure, it's a great weight off my shoulders, but I sure do miss being the center of attention sometimes--
Hell, why am I being like this? That's the reason I'm going away, isn't it? To stop being in the great big spotlight my whole family seems to enjoy. At school, for Sabrina and Puck being popular, and in Ferryport Landing and the Golden Egg for the rest of the family, being part of the great Everafter War which put the Scarlet Hand in hiding. Everywhere I turn a grateful Everafter wants to shake my hand or thank me for everything me and my family's done or introduce me to fellow grateful Everafters.
At school, crowds swallow up my sister 'cause she willingly gets involved in middle-of-the-night parties that everyone talks about in school. And her prankster fairy boyfriend practically drowns in praises from female and a few male admirers for his, as he puts it, "hotness." His latest catch-phrase's even been "Don't hate me because I'm beautiful." But yeah, I'm grateful for the scolds he receives from Brina when he says that.
But it's just... I just wanna blend into the lockers for once. I know, terribly cliché. But that's why I've signed up for the Camp Eastwood Program. According to the booklet handed out by my English teacher, the district chooses three high schools to send sixty students to--twenty students per school; five from each grade--to spend two full weeks at some camp a few miles south. They said it was a good way to cure the deep rivalry between schools and a good way to make friends with random strangers our age. I rejoiced at the idea and begged Mom and Dad to sign the permission slip and give the school the 70 bucks so that I could go.
Sabrina and Puck certainly aren't going because their friends invited them to spend winter break in Honolulu, Hawaii. Strangely, Puck didn't wanna go. But apparently he's promised not to go anywhere without Brina or leave her alone anymore. So sweet, but it only reminds me that no one will ever promise me that. I'm not pretty, like my sister. I'm no famous Everafter, like most of my friends. I'm not even that smart, either, unless you count my talent for being fairly good at writing poetry.
"Daphne, hurry up!" I heard Mom calling. Carefully pulling along the new suitcase Goldi got me for this trip, I made my way down to the living room. There, Goldi and Mom were sitting, drinking their morning coffee. Ryan was trying to climb out of his portable crib--quite unsuccessfully, too--as Andy was mesmerized by The Wiggles dancing on a lonely, sandy beach on the television.
"Is the bus here, yet?" I asked.
"Not yet, sweetie. But be ready. Here, I'll get you some waffles. I've been up since the crack of dawn with Goldi, cooking and baking enough food so we wouldn't all still be hungry after that fairy's finally full. I could swear, that boy could eat twenty horses and STILL be hungry," she said, shaking her head.
I took another look at her. She was wearing an apron over a t-shirt and jeans. Her short newly-cropped hair was brought back into a half pony-tail to get the hair out of her face while she worked, and her apron was covered from top to bottom in flour and water.
At the mere mention of the waffles, I perked up.
"Are they the glow-in-the-dark kind that Granny makes?"
"Yes." She laughed. "I'll pour you some camel-hump syrup Relda sent from her farm, too, if you want."
"Mom, you're the best! I'm gonna miss you so much there!"
"Me, too, sweetie," she said, smiling. "Me, too."
Luckily, I was able to wolf down three helpings of delicious waffles before my stomach finally proclaimed that it couldn't handle more. Knowing I'd upchuck if I had even one more bite, I pushed my plate away and chugged down a glass of grape juice.
"You can always call, you know." I looked to my right. Mom was standing at the stove with her apron on, tears starting to well up in her eyes.
"Mom, it's only two weeks!" I reminded her, yet my stomach was battling butterflies, and it wasn't from all the food I ate.
"Still... Oh, and your father wants to talk to you. He's in his study."
Oh, great! And note the sarcasm.
Grumbling, I walked over to the door under the staircase and knocked. After a "come in" from inside, I turned the knob and entered.
Dad's study is basically a little room under the staircase with two walls lined completely with books. The other two had dark green wallpaper in a peacock feather pattern. Henry Grimm--a.k.a. ruler of the house and my sometimes-loving father--was sitting behind a mahogany desk, a pair of silver rimmed glasses on his nose, and a pen in his hands racing across a thick stack of papers. As I closed the door behind me, he looked up.
"Daphne," he said. "Sit down, sit down." I did, but I couldn't help noticing that he acted more as if I was client coming to see him about some business than his own daughter. "Now, you are going on a two-week trip with some friends to Camp Eastwood for spring break. When you are there I expect you to be on your best behavior and I better not get a call announcing that you got into any kind of trouble. Understood?"
I wanted to shoot back a sarcastic remark about me and trouble, because he knew I wasn't one to associate myself in anything of the sort. But he's been underestimating me ever since the day he and Mom finally woke him up. And every time I back-talked him, he would always punish me in some way. I didn't wanna end up spending spring break alone at home while Sabrina and Puck went to Hawaii with friends and Hayley went off to visit family with Red. So I clamped my mouth shut and nodded.
"Good... And, Daphne, I want you to know that...well, I don't mean to be the bully all the time. It's just... Well, you're growing up. You're not a sweet, innocent, little four-year-old girl anymore--No, no, you're still sweet and innocent...at times," he stammered.
I felt my face heat up in anger, but I knew that I should hold my tongue long enough to make it to the camp safely, with no punishments.
"But you are growing up and that's most times both a good and bad thing for a parent. Daphne, I expect the best of you while you're there. So I don't want any funny business. I do care about you, Daphne, and I don't wanna see you get hurt... So, if you got in any trouble, you'll be grounded for a week after you come back. Have fun, but don't over-do it," he finished, his tone serious but his eyes twinkling.
I smiled back. He really did care. But as I got up from the fancy armchair, he interrupted me. When I looked back, he was standing only a foot away.
"And Daphne...I love you." He then opened his arms and enveloped me in a bear hug.
It's true, all men are wusses. They like to think that they're tough and manly, never crying and only swearing when something hurt, but when they were alone, I was convinced that they cried like babies.
Even so, I hugged him back.
"And don't forget to send pictures and bring back souvenirs," he added. "Both me and your mother want to know if you're truly having fun for spring break. So don't forget to take pictures with your new camera. And here's some money to buy some things you might like, or some things for the family," he said, giving me five green hundred-dollar bills. I felt my eyes nearly pop and I started protesting, but he interrupted me again.
"No, Daphne, you deserve this. Especially with the way I've been treating you. But before you go, can you give your old man another hug?" And I did. He smelled like sweat and dirt, but what did I care?! I had five hundred bucks to spend!
As I walked out, I pocketed the money. Entering the living room, I found Sabrina bouncing Ryan on her lap and Puck holding the remote control right above Andy's head as my little brother tried to retrieve it so he can go back to his show.
"DAPHNE!" And suddenly I was sailing across the room, long blond hair in my face. After Sabrina pulled me back up from her tackle, she hugged me again. "Have fun, sissy. Don't forget to message me about what happens, especially if you a meet a particular guy," she said, waggling her eyebrows suggestively.
"Yeah, yeah. If I do. And I doubt it."
"Oh, come on, there's someone out there for everyone," she said with a wink and a wide smile, and I didn't have the heart to correct her.
"Hey, marshmellow!" I looked to my left and saw Puck, his hand now buried in a bag of cotton candy he and Sabrina must have gotten yester
"Now, you know I'm not big on hugs but seeing as how we won't see you for two weeks... " And suddenly I found myself being squeezed to death. I hugged him back, too, though not as hard. As he stepped back, he nodded and said, "Oh, and I want pictures and other souvenirs--"
"Not you, too!" I said.
"--stuff like cups and pictures of you falling on your face and stuff."
I sighed. Boys were impossible. Especially one with pink wings, an unhealthy addiction to pranking, and an appetite as big as his ego.
There was a moment of awkward silence before he filled it with, "But you should stay away from boys. It would make us worry less."
"Puck! Stop discouraging her!" Sabrina said, punching him lightly on the arm.
"Well, sor-ry for wanting our wedding to come before hers! Who knows, she could meet a guy, some leap-years pass, and before we know it, she'll be beating us to the big white day." As soon as he finished speaking, Puck began to blush profusely, realizing what he just implied.
"Puck, that made no sense at all," my sister said, scowling, but everyone could see that she was also turning as beet red a tomato at the mention of a wedding, the delicate subject Mom and Dad had been forcing the lovebirds to discuss.
I looked back to Mom. More tears were flooding her eyes and she grabbed my hands.
"Mom, what's wrong?"
"My baby girl is l-leaving..." she whimpered, her bottom lip quivering.
Sabrina, trying to lighten the mood, laughed. "Mom, she's just going to camp. She'll be back in two weeks. Meanwhile, I have one more year here before I leave for college, remember?"
But that only made her break out in tears. "My g-girls are l-leaving!"
"Mom, no worries, I'll be back soon," I said, and Sabrina and I hugged her tightly.
Over her shoulder, Puck was laughing and pointing at us. Sabrina and I stuck our tongues out at him simultaneously, and then I kissed Mom's cheek.
"Alright," she sniffled. "I... Umm... " Mom wiped her face with her floury apron. "I baked you cookies for the trip there and I packed your lunch," she told me, absentmindedly walking towards her ever-beloved kitchen.
Our grandparents on Mom's side had died a year back in a car accident, and so now she took anyone's leaving really hard.
"I want some cookies," Puck grumbled, following us into the main area of the house.
Sabrina smiled back victoriously. "Ask Mom to make some for you," she replied sarcastically, and went into the kitchen.
I smiled myself, knowing that even though Mom loved baking, she wouldn't make another batch for at least another week or so, and Puck would probably blow up Goldi's kitchen if he tried to make them himself.
When we got to the kitchen, I was welcomed by a giant box of cookies, enough to last two whole days, even if I sat on a couch all day and munched on them. "Mom! Wow! Thanks! But...how am I going to fit all this?" I asked, looking at my nearly over-stuffed lunch-box.
Mom just shrugged. "You'll fit it somehow," she said with a knowing smile and a sniffle, and wiped off her hands satisfactorily on her apron.
A few minutes later, I was all packed up and standing outside, waiting for the bus which seemed to take forever to arrive.
Mom, eyes now flooded with a fresh load of tears, opened her arms and rushed forward to hug me once more. "I remember," she said, "when you were still playing with Barbies and bubbles in the front yard. Now, you're all packed up, leaving me," she mumbled through her tears.
"Mom!" I exclaimed, trying to look at her in the eyes, but she wouldn't release her vice-like grip on me. "I'll be back! I promise! In two weeks, I'll be standing right here in this spot, and you'll run out to hug me, and welcome me home! I promise!"
Mom sighed, and sniffled again, her eyes starting to stop leaking already. "Alright. I love you, Daphne," she said, holding me at arm's length. Then, "I've got to go," she said. "Or I'll never let you leave."
She kissed me on the forehead and cheeks, and then left abruptly for her house with her head down. She really didn't want me to leave. While Andy was the baby boy, I would always be her baby girl, the more fragile of her three children. The more delicate. The more precious.
She would surely miss my company at night when the family sits down and watches a chick-flick that Puck always refuses to see. She would miss the fashion critique that I willingly offered sometimes before she left the house on dates with Dad.
But I could still call. Even if I did wanna escape all reality for a while, I'd still miss my family.
With another sniffle, Mom walked inside, and shut the door behind her.
Sabrina watched Mom leave. Then, she turned to me, arms crossed. "Well, I'll see you later, baby sis," she said.
I moaned. "How many times have I asked you not to call me that?" I asked her with a scowl.
My blond sister looked around and puckered her lips. "Ummm... " she thought out loud. "About...thirteen gazillion, fifty million, seven hundred and four."
I laughed. "That's not even a real number."
She nodded. "No, but four is, and it's the number of years I'm older than you," she said proudly, extending her arms.
So I launched myself right into them, and hugged her tight.
"Be good," she said. "But remember to have fun, even if Dad says not to over-do it and that he'll punish you if he gets a call about any trouble."
I opened my mouth to ask how she knew what he said but she interrupted me.
"How did I know? He pulled the same thing on me when I asked him if I could go with some friends to Hawaii for spring break. Money was no problem since I'd practically buried myself in work ever since we came back from Ferryport Landing, so all he could say was that I better not get in any trouble or else he'll ground me--What are you smiling about?!"
"Huh? Oh, nothing," I said, embarrassed.
"What is it this time, Daphne?"
"Nothing! Just that... Well, this is the first time we've ever been apart for longer than a day. In a really long time. And you're being really nice about it, not like how you were when...you know..."
"Yeah, yeah; I know. I was a bitch to nearly everybody, mainly you, ever since we came back. But for my defense, I wasn't complete. And it's never good when you attempt conversation with half a person, especially the very mad and pissed-off half. But when Puck came back..." she said, looking off into space with a smile on her face.
"You're so lucky, Brina. I wish I had someone like Puck."
"You could always go on a search for Peter Pan. Last I've heard he's somewhere down south, fighting with Cuban pirates."
"That's not what I meant," I said, playfully elbowing her in the ribs.
"Don't worry, Daphne; you'll find someone. And I bet you twenty dollars right here, right now, that you'll meet him at that camp."
Knowing she'd surely loose, I replied, "You're on, sister." And so we shook hands. Which led to hugs and more tears. Soon, the bus was around the corner and we were both wiping our eyes and the bus driver, a bald guy with a name-tag reading 'Tom', was helping me bring up my suitcase into the bus.
"Call me," she mouthed to me through the side window, a sad smile on her face.
I nodded and kept waving until we were all past a couple blocks and I couldn't even tell if anyone was there anymore.
Looking to my left, I saw an already fast-asleep Asian girl whom I vaguely remembered from school. Knowing the ride was gonna be long, I pulled out my iPod and drifted off to sleep listening to Kelly Clarkson sing about lost love.
A/N:
I am truly sorry for the long wait. Honestly and sincerely. I've just been so so so so so busy lately with school and stuff.
I also apologize for any OOC-ness up there. With school and everything, I rarely have time to bend the characters into their character. Plus, things make more sense if they act how I made them act. It kinda gets challenging to work around everything and make IC-ness fit in with the whole plot and junk. And I just don't have much time to check EVERYTHING anymore, so at least I updated.
So yeah. Thank you soooo much for reviews, you guys. And so, I'm mentioning you all in my acknowledgments for this chapter. Not because I'm copying this idea off Ayns and Sky! It's just 'cause I love reviews/reviewers and I practically praise you guys for telling me what you thought. Seriously, you guys are so AWESOME for reviewing! ^^
So thanks to 12grimmfan21(sorry for the long wait), Cookie-Dough-Always, JoshRamsayGrimmFever, Bluestocking Inc, NotSoNormal, brii, cathy83, Kloe, Alice Alee, BrendaReads-A-lot, ciarrah, and mindreadingweirdo for the fantabulous reviews! I hope to hear what you guys thought of this chapter, too. No pressure, though. You don't have to review, unless you'd rather wait for June for an update. Or maybe Christmas. ^^
So I would like 85 reviews before next update, please. Just consider it a belated birthday present, seeing as how my birthday was the 6th of this month. The party was good, though. Cake, excellent. Chocolate with purple icing. Mmm...
So review. Please?!
Luvvies,
Ly ^^