Chapter 5 – Jacob's Ladder
At eleven o'clock they were all finished and Pike declared that Group 2 had won, again. That meant it was 2-1 to Group 2. Bones sighed as he slipped off his harness, gingerly rubbing between his legs as blood rushed back. That harness had been pretty darn tight!
Handing his harness to Pike, he followed the rest of his group back to the dining hall for lunch. His eyes scanned them tiredly, resting briefly on Spock. The boy had surprised them all and Bones couldn't help but feel a small bubble of admiration. He had been seriously brave.
Drawing up with Jim, Bones proceeded to complain about lunch. "We had sandwiches yesterday, and I'll be damned if we have sandwiches today!"
"Oy, sandwiches are tha best," Scotty snapped from somewhere behind him.
Bones stumbled on a tree root but caught himself quickly. "Right, yeah, I'll believe it when I see it. We better have somethin' good. I'm tired of this awful Camp food."
"Maybe they'll let you make a marble cake and top it with rainbows," Jim replied absent-mindedly, giggling at his 'genius'.
Bones narrowed his eyes. "Oh, hardy-har-har buster, that was a good one. I'm rolling on the ground with laughter." He face-palmed when he saw Jim's wicked grin, knowing he'd fallen into a trap.
"You look remarkably clean for someone who's just been down and dirty."
"Jim!" George shouted. "What was that?"
"It was a friendly jibe," Jim replied. He wrung his hands together. "Dad always takes things the wrong way."
"Sometimes I have to." George came level with them. "Watch your language kid. I'm watching you."
"Yeah, not creepy at all," Jim said sarcastically.
They arrived at the dining hall and went in to eat, Jim giggling madly as the groups that had just had canoeing and raft-building squelched in looking sullen. Quite a few of them sported a mud-streaked hairdo and several had brown, soaked clothes. They had to get their food and eat outside.
"I'm glad we've got all the wet stuff out of the way," Bones sighed, moving forwards in the line. "I'm also glad that we've got hotdogs today."
"That's basically a sandwich with a sausage in the middle."
"Hey, you can't go wrong with a hotdog. I love 'em."
Jim took a plate and got two bread rolls, taking a sausage, cheese and barbecue sauce for each one. Bones did the same and the two boys glanced over the tables, looking for a friend. Seeing Spock, Bones nudged Jim and the pair joined the lone boy.
Spock looked up in surprise, adjusting his glasses. "Hi. You guys lost?"
"No," Jim said, sitting beside him.
Bones sat across from Jim and wrinkled his nose at the bread roll on Spock's plate, filled with some kind of green and rad sausage. "What is that?" he demanded.
"I'm vegetarian and this is a spinach and beetroot sausage," Spock replied. "It's very nutritious."
"Nutritious my ass," Bones muttered. Jim gasped.
"Watch your language! Your dad could be nearby."
Bones grumbled. "Whatever. I'm grumpy when I don't have coffee."
"You're always grumpy."
"That's because I never get coffee. My parents don't think I should be drinkin' it at this age, somethin' about 'shunting my growth'. If I want coffee, I'll drink coffee. I'm supposed to be about six feet when I finish growing anyway."
"Bones, you're twelve. You haven't even started growing yet. Boys have to wait until they're fourteen or fifteen." Jim took a bite of hotdog and spoke while chewing. "We grow up real slow."
"You'll never grow up," Bones muttered, tucking into his lunch. It wasn't as bad as he thought, but his mum could definitely whip up a much better hotdog. Camp food sucked.
"What activity do we have next?" Spock asked, wiping stray crumbs from the corners of his mouth.
"We've got something called 'Jacob's ladder'," Jim shrugged. "I've never heard of it."
"Me either. It sounds tall."
"Hence the word 'ladder'," Jim nodded. The pair continued to debate on what it actually was while Bones finished off his hotdogs and stretched back tiredly in his seat. Lunch finished not long after and they joined Pike, George and their teams on the grassy expanse. Ayel hadn't arrived yet, so Bones used that time to ask about their activity.
"What's Jacob's ladder?" he asked Pike.
"You'll know it when you see it." Pike winked and grinned as Ayel joined them, looking flushed. The sixteen of them went back through the bush, past the rope course and further in. Chatter came mainly from the girls as they discussed whatever it was girls talked about. Bones kept his eyes away from Christine, knowing that she wasn't interested. It would save him from some awkward explanation if someone caught him staring.
The Jacob's ladder turned out to be basically a huge ladder, its rungs separated about Pavel-height (which means that they weren't that far apart, but far enough to be bigger than a usual ladder). Two thick metal ropes made up the sides of the ladder, while the rungs were made up of thick wooden logs that were so wide that Bones couldn't fit both hands around it if he tried. At the very top of the ladder was a hanging orange ball, swaying from side-to-side. Bones groaned and shoved his hands in his pockets, not looking forward to this at all.
"As you probably guessed, this is Jacob's ladder," Pike said cheerfully. "Like with the rope course the team with the fastest averages wins."
George rolled his eyes. "Basically just get to the top as fast as possible."
"Yeah, that," Pike muttered. He raised his voice. "Okay! We need to get those harnesses on again. Allow me to give you another explanation…"
As they each took a harness and proceeded to tighten it around their waist and legs, Bones noted with some satisfaction that their team had an advantage over the others.
Group 2 had Keenser.
He was loath to be critical of his friend, but Keenser was tiny. He would have a hard time navigating up the logs with arms that small and no amount of screaming from Khan and Nero could make him taller. Bones silently pitied Keenser for the whopping he was sure to receive.
Pavel on the other hand was good to go. He was more nimble and light-footed and had no problem with heights. Plus he wouldn't be shouted at by his teammates if he was too slow. Pavel was such a cutie that only really nasty people could shout at him.
Like… ahem… Khan and Nero! Bones coughed guiltily and flicked his eyes to the two sour-faced boys. They had their backs to each other, no doubt from whatever their recent argument was about. He yawned and lifted his arms, allowing Pike to check his harness. When it was cleared he joined Jim in staring up at the ladder.
"It's big," he commented.
"No duh Sherlock," Jim sighed.
"Oh, keeping your mouth clean? Did daddy wash it out with soap?" Bones teased. Jim chuckled.
"No, this is precisely why I'm keeping it clean. I have no desire to experience that again. Should I go right away after Khan and Nero?"
"Yeah, get it over with. I want to go as soon as possible so we can get back before afternoon tea." Bones glanced at the others, standing a short distance away as their harnesses were checked, and lowered his voice. "I'm worried about Keenser. He's a bit short for this and those two jerks might give him hell for it."
"Good point," Jim murmured. "I'll tell Pike and dad. They might put the jerks on water duty or something, just to get them away."
"Smooth move. Do it while they're busy doing the course themselves."
Jim and Bones stepped back to join the others, waiting for Khan to strap on his helmet. Once he was up and away they approached Pike and told him of their worries. He took them seriously and said that he would get Khan and Nero to go his cabin and fetch his camera when it was Keenser's turn. Both boys were very grateful and returned to stand with their group, minus Nyota who was sitting cross-legged with her friends. Bones flicked his eyes to rest briefly on Christine's blonde hair, clipped up in a ponytail. She really was pretty and quite nice too. What? He was twelve and it was well within his rights to have a crush on a girl.
Shaking his mind from thoughts of her, he watched as Khan reached the top of the ladder and triumphantly smacked the orange ball, kicking away from the swaying ladder and letting the rope-pulley-system gently lower him to the ground. He sneered at Jim and Bones, sneaking a rude gesture which made Jim cry out in indignation.
"When I get my hands on that smarmy…" he trailed off. "No, he's not worth it."
Khan unclipped himself from the rope and handed it to Nero, as well as his helmet. The short-haired boy had a smirk on his face as he tied the helmet on and clipped the rope to his doughnut. Bones narrowed his eyes in annoyance and rearranged his face into a scowl that would have made his dad cringe if he wasn't stuck with Group 12. Then Bones would have had his ear flicked and no one would be the wiser.
Jim went after Nero, both boys finishing at decent times. They weren't incredibly fast, nor were they slow. Bones knew his climb would be like that as he secured himself on the rope and adjusted his helmet for the third time.
"Well," he murmured, "let's do this thing."
He rested his feet on the first rung, both arms wrapped on the log above it. Putting all his strength in his arms, he managed to hoist himself up so he was wrapped around the rung. He stayed there a moment and took a shaky breath before sitting up, squeezing the rung with his thighs, and reaching up above. It was a relief to grasp the wood above solidly and use it to pull himself to his feet, where he swayed dangerously with the movement. Jim called out support and Bones smiled grimly, keeping his eyes aimed upwards. As he got higher he knew that the temptation to look down would become too much to bear, so there was no use in starting now.
Fighting the pull to lower his eyes, he continued to crawl his way up the ladder rung by rung until he was five metres up. He wobbled as he stood on the last rung, holding the side of the ladder to keep himself steady, and he slapped the orange ball. Cheers erupted from his group. Then he looked down.
His breath came in shallow pants and his eyes expanded to the size of dinner plates. He was so high up! Deciding there and then that he wasn't going to abseil down like Khan, he began the slow climb back down, heart thumping in his throat.
No, he wasn't afraid of heights. He was just afraid of falling.
When his feet finally touched the ground he almost cried out in joy, but supressed it in time. He didn't want to seem weak in front of his friends. So he smiled and detached himself from the rope and helmet, handing it over to Scotty.
"Here you go," he said light-heartedly, "may it serve you well in the line of duty."
Scotty snorted. "Gee, thanks, I'm glad tha' ye have such faith in me."
Bones leant in close. "It's harder than it looks," he murmured.
"I know tha'. Wish me luck."
"Good luck."
Bones stepped back and allowed Scotty to have his turn, the redhead finishing surprisingly fast. He was a lot quicker than Bones expected, but he was really good at math and judging movement so it was only expected. Damn Scotsman.
Nearly everyone was slower with the ladder than the rope course, but this activity was also harder so that came as no surprise. When Keenser's turn rolled around Pike kept to his word and sent Khan and Nero away to get his camera so he could 'take some photos of the interesting flora'. Keenser was visibly relieved that the boys weren't present and he did very well for someone of his size, even though he didn't make it to the top. Ayel also took advantage of his brother's absence and took his turn before the two returned. He didn't make it to the top either.
Bones was getting seriously hungry and the water he drank just seemed to make him hungrier. His mumbling was starting to drive Jim insane.
"We'll have afternoon tea soon," the blonde snapped, "then after that there's more free time and then dinner and a movie. Pike told me."
"I swear that they're trying to brainwash us," Bones mumbled, "making us watch tons of movies."
"It's only two…"
"Whatever."
An irritable Bones was not the best company. He was sullen and silent as they finished with the ladder, though he did cheer up slightly when Pike revealed that Group 1 had won (probably owing to the fact that both Keenser and Ayel had failed to complete the ladder). Khan and Nero had a hissy fit and ran ahead, muttering curses under their breath.
Now they were 2-2 and the result depended completely on orienteering tomorrow.
Bones was so happy when they left the bush and arrived back at the Camp. He went straight to the dining hall and grabbed fruits and biscuits, stuffing them into his mouth. The fruit wasn't as good as the peaches his mum had grown back in Georgia, but he ate it anyway. This meagre meal was enough to satiate his hunger for now, but he would definitely be getting hungry again in an hour or two. Hopefully the bell would ring around that time so he wouldn't be hungry for long.
Licking his fingers, Bones left the mingling students at the dining hall and sought out Jim. He wasn't that difficult to find – he was in their cabin grabbing a handball.
"Come on!" Jim cried. "Let's play handball!"
"I'm going to beat you to the ground!" Bones yelled back.
Scotty burst in the room, Keenser trailing behind. "We're doin' four squares!" the Scotsman shouted.
"Well I'm Ace," Jim declared, bouncing the ball on the timber floor. It didn't go straight in the air like Jim expected, but bounced to the left and hit Bones in the shoulder. He cried out in alarm and ran from the cabin, more than a little miffed at Jim for his carelessness. The careless boy ran after Bones, guffawing and waving the ball in his right hand as if it would threaten the older brunette.
To Bones' delight, as Jim was running he tripped over a loose bit of pavement and face-planted, the ball rolling from his grip. Bones scooped it up and roared with laughter as Jim scrambled to his feet indignantly. Expecting some witty remark, Bones was surprised when Jim smiled at him.
"What?" Bones asked, confused.
"Spock!" Jim shouted, approaching the older boy. Bones turned around and understood; Spock sat behind him, a book lying crumpled on the ground beneath his bent leg. Immediately Bones realised what must've happened. Spock had been walking along and Bones had almost run into him, causing the other boy to attempt to move out of the way but he ended up on the ground.
"Oh, I'm sorry man," Bones said quickly, grabbing the boy's hands and hauling him to his feet. Jim came to level with them and picked up the book, dusting the top and handing it back.
Spock blushed. "Thank you. I should watch where I'm going."
Scotty and Keenser joined them as Jim had a bright idea. "Hey Spock, you should play with us! We're playing handball!"
"I don't… know…"
"Don't know how to play? That's okay! We'll teach you." He glanced at his friends. "Won't we?"
"Oh yeah, yeah sure," Bones said quickly, feeling a bit bad for Jim's face-plant and Spock's butt-plant. "It's a fun game."
"Well…" Spock hesitated, "okay."
Giggling, Jim swiped the ball from Bones and led them to an undercover area that had a big square, separated into four sections, painted on the ground. Jim labelled the squares as Ace, King, Queen and Dunce and explained the basic rules to Spock: he just had to hit the ball so it bounced once in his square before going into someone else's square. If someone missed the ball, or it bounced twice in their square, or it didn't bounce in their square, they were sent out.
Ace always served, and Jim was predictably in Ace position. Spock watched for a while before getting the gist and deciding to have a go. The others encouraged him and he actually hit the ball a few times! Granted, he spent most of his time either in the Dunce square or out, just like Jim spent most of his time in the Ace square. Jim was easily the best at handball.
Just as Spock had made it to King (where his next step was Ace) the bell for dinner rang. Bones' head perked up immediately.
"Dinner!" he shouted happily. "Come on suckers!"
The five boys ran to the dining hall and joined the line for butter chicken. Bones shifted from foot-to-foot and almost bowled over the students in front of him in his attempt to get to the food. He was surprised that the general chatter drowned out his thunderous stomach.
At last! He had his food and he took a seat at an unoccupied table, tucking in as the others came and joined him. Even Hikaru and Pavel sat with them, though they mainly talked to Scotty and Keenser.
Bones went up for seconds and thirds but wasn't allowed fourths. Although desserts was served shortly afterwards (slightly dry chocolate slice with cream) and he had two servings of that. After that he was satisfied and patted his stomach contentedly.
"You seem to have enjoyed that," Jim commented casually. "Is the Camp food really so bad?"
"If this Camp food wasn't so unfulfilling I wouldn't have eaten so much," was Bones' reply. Jim seemed to consider that before he shook his head and grinned.
"No, you liked it! Your reputation as the grumpiest person ever has been ruined! How will we live?"
Bones was saved from answering by the movie call. He helped several of the bigger boys stack all the chairs and move all the tables out of the way so they could settle on the ground for the movie. Jim brought his sleeping bag for him and they settled down in the centre of the room with their friends. The grumpy boy really didn't pay much attention to the movie, instead putting all his focus on sneaking some of Scotty's popcorn.
When it finished and they went back to their cabin, Jim stayed up talking with Scotty. Bones and Keenser were out like lights. However Bones did have to get up in the middle of the night and go to the toilet because his gut was seriously hurting him.
"Damn Camp food," he muttered into the dark bathroom.