There are some lines where it's you and, like, maybe two other people. Then there are lines like these. Hi, I'm Kitty Pryde and I'll be narrating this next chapter! Nah, Chicks is kidding with you people. Anywho, she, like, wanted me to let you know that she, like, doesn't own XME, Granite Hills Youth Camp, or Jell-o pudding.
Sometimes, when faced with a really long line, you get lucky and get there first, so all the poor saps have to wait behind you. Sometimes you get stuck at the back and you just give up. The mutant population of Granite Hills was somewhere in the middle. The mess hall had huge, screenless windows, and it was through these that young Jubilee had been staring longingly. "Aw man! They have the food out and everything, why won't they let us in?" There was suddenly a banging noise, and a voice screamed out over the crowd. "WE'RE GONNA PRAY!" Students began bowing heads, closing eyes, and 'shh'-ing one another. Mystique clasped her hands and bowed her head, followed by Jean and Rahne, but most of the others just looked around hesitantly. The woman said a quick prayer asking God to bless the food, adding in a small 'and please don't let it kill anyone...' under her breath. She took in a deep breath, called out "AMEN!" and dove to one side, throwing the door open in the process.
Students immediately trampled their way inside. "So, like, I didn't expect you to show up here. What made you, like, decide to come?" questioned Kitty, quirking an eyebrow at Wanda. "Hey, we didn't want to come. Our resident psycho blue den mother piled us all in to a van and drove us up here. You should have heard the boys when we got here, I thought they were gonna blow the lid off the van." Kitty shrugged, noticing the line had stopped. "Hey, what's, like, going on here?" They peered around and saw a cluster of girls standing around talking. People began to move around them and eventually Wanda and Kitty got to the front of the line. "Hi there!" chirped Kitty, trying to be friendly. The cafeteria worker just handed her a pate and shooed her away. Kitty gasped angrily and took her plate to a table, grabbing a salad on the way.
Wanda sat down next to Kurt Wagner and took a long, hard stare at her burger. If it could be called that, anyway. The thing was a hockey puck on a gritty-looking bun, she opened it, smothered it liberally with ketchup, and took a tentative bite. She chewed... and chewed... and chewed some more... then noticed Kurt staring and gave a forceful "Mmm..." before gulping it down. She took another bite, noticing the teen next to her doing the same, and continued the process until she could stand it no longer. She then jumped up, took her burger to the trash can and dumped it, wincing as it literally clattered off the bottom. She walked outside, greeted by the sight of Mystique gulping down what looked to be orange soda. She gave Wanda a guilty look. "Pop stand." Wanda groaned and walked back in the general direction of their dorms, settling down in the grass. She was joined fairly soon by Rogue and a slightly frazzled-looking Jean. "Kitty kept making faces at the food... She's so picky, I swear!"
They watched a few of the guys goof off on the inflatables for a while. "So when we get back to the dorms... Wanna paint each others' nails?" asked Rogue randomly. Wanda nodded solemnly. "I brought black, red, purple and neon orange." Suddenly, Jai walked past with a long pole in hand. She walked over to the large bell and reached the pole up, going for the bellrope... and fell short by nearly a foot. After a few minutes of hopping around, one of the teenage guys came up, took the pole, and used it to give the rope a good pull. *BONG* *BONG* *BONG* The three girls covered their ears, then finally looked up. "That can't be the dinner bell..." began Rogue. "Nah." said Jean, pointing. "People are starting to head in there." She pointed to the building nearest to them, a massive structure with a cross atop its roof. "Oh boy. Churchin' time." moaned the Southern belle, but began heading inside.
They found themselves seated near several of the Institute boys. A surprisingly bouncy little man with a goatee came running up to the stage. "How many of you are ready for camp?" The teens screamed and yelled. "I mean just really excited!" More screams and yells. "Oh, come on, you're more excited than that!" The teens nearly screeched themselves hoarse, as did Raven. They continued to holler and yell until there were nearly four hundred people crammed into the room. Once they had all arrived, the man gave a bitty preliminary speech and introduced himself as Pastor Tim Black. Then he announced something truly unique. Teams. The kids were split up into groups by dorm to play a whole bunch of rec games and other... junk like that. The girls were landed on a team called the Facebook Creepers, while their guys ended up on the Peppy Tweet-Tweeters. After sharing a good laugh about that, the ladies headed back to the popstand dorms.
"Alright, girls, listen up." said Mystique once all of the girls were squeezed into one dorm. "There are a few camp rules you should know. One: No purple." The girls all gave mixed 'huh' noises. "Alright, how to put this... Boys are blue, girls are pink. NO. PURPLE." said the shapeshifter firmly. "That includes any personal displays of affection beyond hand-holding, and keep to your own gender during the altar calls. However... If you're being called to pray for someone of the opposite gender, you can lay hands on them. Just don't... start tackling them or something." She tossed her hair. "Oh-kay... No spaghetti straps, but lasagna straps are fine... Shorts must come past your fingertips with your arms flat at your sides... keep your clothes on unless you are in the bathroom or shower stall, in case people open the door. You can text during meals, free times, and while in the dorms... Don't leave camp... And don't eat the tacos. That should be it." She closed the binder. "Free time until church service, so go run wild... within reason, of course." The girls trooped out, filled with apprehension at the thought of a night of preacher prattle.
"So..." said Mystique, turning to Storm once the girls had left. "I have a bit of a personal question." Ororo looked at her apprehensively. "Yes...?" Mystique twiddled her thumbs nervously. "Ah, can I... do your hair?"