A/N: Sorry for the delay, these chapters have been a true labor of love & at times a real pain in the ass.
Corinne, What can I say that hasn't already been said? Thanks x
o~O~o
Chapter 13
Retreats and Recruits
Part 2
o~O~o
Beca made sure everyone was asleep before struggling out of her sleeping bag, crawling out of the tent and walking down to the lake. She was careful where to put her feet after Amy's antics a couple of hours before. She couldn't sleep; truth was she'd been having trouble sleeping since Jesse had left. She had gotten so used to him being wrapped around her like a vine every night, that sleeping without him was now damn near impossible. How had he become such a fixture in her life in such a short amount of time? And why couldn't she get him out of her head? She needed Luke to rein back in her thoughts and she cursed herself for not bringing her phone with her so she could text him. She didn't care that it was almost 3am, they never bothered about the time when they needed each other.
She never realized how quiet and peaceful a place like this was because she was so used to the sights and sounds of the big city. She hated herself for missing Jesse so much and even more so for the fact that he probably wasn't missing her at all. As she looked out over the still, calm lake and saw the reflection of the moon shimmering in the water, she began to cry and question why he had such a hold on her and why she couldn't just grow a set and get over him already?
Bending down, she picked up a couple of loose stones from the path that ran alongside the lake. Twisting them in her fingers, she watched as a lone tear splashed onto one of the darker stones, staining the smooth surface. She watched the small circle grow under the dim light of the walkway lights that appeared to act as a barrier between the path and the water.
'Throw your tears into the lake and man the fuck up.' She heard Luke's voice in her ear, as clear as if he were standing behind her. 'Become the badass Beca we all know and love.'
Beca knew Luke had a point. She hated feeling so pathetic and detached from everyone around her but as she threw one of the stones into the lake, she knew she wasn't going to achieve peace by looking for pinecones and singing stupid songs. After the fourth stone plonked into the water with a loud 'doink', she began to feel lighter and glad she had listened to the voice of Luke in her mind.
'One more minute of crying over your shitty little life, then you sack up bitch.' She told herself and walked along to one of the little stone benches that were dotted along the lake's perimeter. She sat and leant forward onto her knees and ran her fingers through her hair. The cool night air calmed her down and she became philosophical. She took a huge breath in and held it for a few seconds. As she puffed out her cheeks and expelled the air, she began to blow Jesse out of her life.
"Beca? You down there?"
Beca started furiously wiping the tears from her cheeks when she heard someone walking down the gravel path in her direction. She had no problem crying on her own but she sure as shit wasn't going to let someone other than Luke see her weeping.
Amy, dressed in a bright pink, velvet onesie, walked up behind Beca and started rubbing her shoulders. "What's up flat butt? Can't sleep?"
"I don't know what I'm doing here." She admitted.
"Livin' the dream." Amy said, looking out to the lake, spreading her arms out as if she'd won a marathon.
"If this is a dream, then I really don't want to have a nightmare."
"Bec… what's up? What's really going on? I mean, everyone has a down day but babe, I think you've forgotten how to crack a smile completely."
Beca sighed. Amy was her best friend and had been since they were kids. If anyone, other than Luke, could get the truth out of her, it was Amy. "I miss him." She whispered.
Amy shook her head as she took a seat next to Beca. She'd never seen Beca this upset about a guy before. "Beca, you need to pull your head out of your ass. He's gone and you have a career to save."
"That's easy for you to say Amy. You and Windshield Wiper-"
"-Bumper."
"Yeah, him. He's still around. He didn't leave you over something stupid."
"Beca, in all fairness, you were the one who kicked Jesse out. What did you expect would happen?"
"I don't know!" Beca said waving her hands in the air. She had been doing that a lot lately and for no apparent reason at all. Realizing what she was doing, she tucked her hands under her knees.
"I'm calling bull shit Beca."
"Ok fine! I wanted him to fight back! I wanted him to apologize. He was supposed to love me! He was supposed to be the one. I hate him for leaving me but at the same time I still love him." Beca said dropping her head into her hands. "God,do I love him."
"Now we're getting somewhere… finally!" Amy shouted, her voice echoing across the lake. In the distance a dog began barking but Amy didn't care. "It's ok to admit that you just wanted angry make-up sex."
"Amy! It's not about the sex… ok, so maybe it is because I'll tell you that man is a fucking legend in the sack but it's more than that." Beca admitted. "I'd been gone a week and he destroyed my house not once but twice. And now… now everything is fucked up. I'm in the fucking woods for some stupid reason and I'm gonna lose my fucking career because I can't seem to keep my head in the game. I just feel so distant and disconnected from everything and everyone."
"Well duh. Bec… we're here because we weren't working as a team. We were all doing our own thing and just barely getting by. A team is only as good as it's leader and well, our leader has been a little checked out lately. We want and need her back."
Beca looked up and smiled. Amy was right. She needed to get her head back in the game and she had a limited time frame to do that. It was time to buckle down and get shit done.
"Plus, Sawyer offered us a huge bonus if we agreed to come this weekend and dig you out of your funk."
"I knew there had to be money changing hands!" Beca laughed out. She leaned against Amy for a second, in what she hoped Amy would recognize as an accepting gesture. Amy responded by reaching out and squeezing one of Beca's boobs.
"Annnnnd we're back to being handsy." Beca said, in mock annoyance, slapping Amy's hand away.
Amy could see a little twinkle in Beca's eyes and she knew that the Beca she knew and loved for so long was on her way back to them. She was likely to be a little grumpy in the morning because she hadn't slept but she was back and Amy knew if she could get hold of some birthday cake Oreos, she might be able to calm the beast. Beca was surprisingly easy to bribe with food. Sawyer had been right to send them on the retreat. It was the kick in the ass they all needed to get their team back on track.
"So flat butt… what next?"
"Well… I say we kick that Alice chick right square in the ass! Show her that we really can be a team!"
"YES!" Amy yelled as she started patting her tummy like a drum. "The girls and I will be right behind you."
"Question… Do you think we should drug the others?"
o~O~o
The next morning, just as the sun was creeping up over the camp, Alice stood near their tent and blew a whistle right into the opening as loud as she could. "Up and at'em ladies! Come on! Let's go! Let's go! Wake up! Let's do this! Come on… pick up the pace ladies! COME ON!" Alice barked as the girls tumbled out of the tent, yawning broadly and rubbing their eyes. "Today, we're going back to the basics to relearn how to work as a team with enduring death defying team building trust exercises."
"What a great idea." Amy said excitedly, poking Beca in the ribs.
If looks could kill… Amy would have dropped dead right there. Beca had been up before the chickens, she hadn't eaten and there wasn't a Starbucks anywhere near the boonies. Deciding that something was better than nothing, she settled for a Red Bull from Lilly, she prayed Lilly hadn't laced it with something that would knock her dead on her ass, and her emergency granola bar from the bottom of her purse. It was pretty much a handful of crumbs and air and she lost most of it down her shirt. She was not a happy camper and Amy's excited puppy routine was not helping at all.
"Ok so, let's begin!" Alice said as she blew the whistle dangerously close to Beca's ear as she stumbled out of the tent for the second time, brushing crumbs from her shirt. She swore that Alice was going to be eating that whistle or blowing a tune out of her ass with it before the end of the weekend.
"'Cause the players gonna play, play, play, play, play
And the haters gonna hate, hate, hate, hate, hate
I'm just gonna shake, shake, shake, shake, shake
I shake it off, I shake it off
Heart-breakers gonna break, break, break, break, break
And the fakers gonna fake, fake, fake, fake, fake
Baby, I'm just gonna shake, shake, shake, shake, shake
I shake it off, I shake it off"
"Ok… that was two steps away from being almost fun." Alice said sarcastically.
"I'm sorry, what are we doing?"
"You're learning to work as a team, Beca." Alice sneered.
"Are we? Cuz this is stuff that we'll never use in everyday life or at the office." Beca straightened up to Alice.
"Beca, come on." Amy said giving her a sideways glance.
"No, none of us know how to work cohesively but I know it's not by building fires, fishing or rowing a fucking boat."
"These are exercises in finding togetherness." Alice started explaining with her patronizing Sunday school teacher voice and fake, plastic painted on Barbie smile. "Sometimes you have to break things down before you can build them back up-"
"-I've got more important things to do!"
"What could be more important than being here with us?" Amy asked. "I thought we had this conversation already?"
"Oh… I don't know… maybe like trying to find someone to sign to the label before I lose my job!"
"We know you've been checked out lately but I don't think it's that dire." Amy told her. "Quit being so damn dramatic."
"Amy…" Beca said rubbing her face. "Sawyer told me that if I don't sign someone in the next two weeks, then I'm fired."
"Oh!"
"Yeah… 'oh'!"
"Listen… I hate when we fight but-" Amy said looking sad.
"-Amy… I have shit to do! I have a career to save!"
"You can't just flake out on us now. Not when we're so close to kicking this teamwork shit in the ass. Plus I saw a workshop on how to make bunnies out of old socks and I wanted to-"
"-Oh my God Amy… really?! I just told you my job and essentially my career is on the fucking line and you're talking about fucking sock bunnies?!"
"It's your fucking fault we're here! We're all gonna lose our jobs if we don't figure this shit out!" Amy yelled, finally having enough of Beca's bullshit. She too was tired after their early morning chat and while she agreed that Alice needed to be taken down a peg or two, whining wasn't helping things at all. "You kicked Jesse out and he didn't fight for your relationship so you decided to throw down one hell of a pity party and wallow in it. If Luke hadn't dragged your sorry ass to the office on Thursday, you'd still be in bed crying over what could've been."
"You're a fucking bitch sometimes Amy! Fuck this shit. I'm out of here!" Beca said, ignoring the amused look on Alice's face as she stood back and watched the interaction. Beca stormed off in the direction of the camp exit.
Kimmy saw where Beca was headed and clapped her hands together loudly as she tried to warn her, "Beca the sign!", but it was too late. Beca was swallowed up by a netted bear trap as quick as a flash and was soon precariously dangling from a tree while squealing like a stuck pig at the slaughterhouse.
"Oh my God! Oh my God! What the hell? What the? I'm seeing spots! I'm seeing spots!"
"Well, well, well… look who needs our help ladies." Amy said in her bitchiest tone, as she gathered the others around her.
"Not cool guys!"
"No, what's not cool is you taking out your frustrations on us!" Amy yelled at her.
"Really? That's what you're going to say to me right now! Help me!" Beca pleaded. "I'm dying! I'm dying!"
The bear trap slipped slightly from the branch causing Beca to start squealing again. The girls realized this was no longer a joking matter, if Beca fell from the tree, she or someone else was going to get hurt.
"We need to get her down!" Kimmy told them, motioning for everyone to gather round to formulate a plan.
"Yeah… we need a ladder." Amy said as she turned toward Alice.
"No, we don't believe in ladders. They suggest a corporate hierarchy that's counterproductive to my team building program." Alice said, an evil smirk on her face.
"What the hell kind of operation are you running here?" Amy yelled. She looked back up into the tree and saw genuine panic on Beca's face.
"Ok… if I'm about to die, I'm sorry… I'm really sorry. I didn't mean any of that stuff I said. I love you. I love you awesome weirdos … I'm just so stressed out right now. This thing with Jesse hit me hard but I was wrong to wallow in it. I'm sorry." Beca whined as she clung to the net for dear life. "Please get me down."
"Beca… don't worry, we're gonna get you down." Amy said, much more kindly.
"Or, we could leave her up there for a bit." Kimmy told her. "Is now a good time to talk about my raise?" She turned as Amy pulled her into the group discussion.
"I'll get you a damn raise… just get me down!"
Beca watched as the girls formulated a plan to get her down. They had it all worked out and Amy had just started gesticulating wildly and grabbing at her boobs when suddenly, Beca fell out of tree, tangled up in all of the netting. She hit the ground hard, taking them all out like a bunch of bowling pins. They all looked up into the tree and saw Lilly hanging by her shoelaces from the branch above where Beca had just been swinging.
"I sleep upside down like a bat."
"Oh geez, she's off again." Amy laughed out as she reached down and picked Beca up in one easy movement.
And just that quickly, Lilly was back on her feet and standing next to Beca. She saw Kimmy staring and quickly put her hand over Beca's eyes. "Don't look at her … she'll turn you to stone." Lilly whispered loud enough for both Beca and Amy to hear.
"Watch out Medusa!" Amy said pointing a stick at Kimmy.
"I need to go and lie down for a bit." Beca said, rubbing her back. She brushed off the leaves and dirt as she turned to Alice. "What kind of wicked fucked up establishment are you running here?! My boss paid good money for us to be here to learn to be a team and yet you're not feeding us or giving us a place to sleep!"
"Yeah!" Amy agreed pointing to Beca. "Look at her… she's so malnourished that her belly button is fighting with her backbone!"
"Oh shut up Amy!" Beca barked, rubbing her tummy protectively.
"Ok ladies… look, you've just earned cots." Alice said cryptically.
"Cots?" Flo asked. "Do we to act like babies too?"
"But to keep the cots, you have to surrender something." Alice said.
"Like what?" Beca asked. "You already have my iPad."
"Your cell phones. All of them. I've been watching you."
"Are you a creeper?" Amy asked.
"Only when I need to be and I have to say, you are all glued to them. Try looking up every now and then." Alice continued.
"Phones for cots?" Beca questioned.
"Yes."
"Deal!" Beca exclaimed.
"But Beca-" Kimmy Jin began.
"-Save it for someone who cares. In fact, here's a quarter… find a pay phone and call someone who gives two shits." Beca said, digging around in her pocket for her phone. Everyone else did the same thing, shooting surprised looks at Beca who seemed overly keen to submit her phone. "Where do we get the cots from?"
"The camp store." Alice said as she finished gathering everyone's mobile devices.
"What the-" Amy began as she handed her only link to Bumper to the girl who looked like she was constantly sucking on a lemon.
"-I got us cots, didn't I?"
*WHISTLE*
"Damn it Amy! You're doing shit on purpose to make her blow that bloody whistle because you love Taylor Swift!" Beca pouted.
Amy giggled. "She said bloody!"
*WHISTLE*
This time the whistle was a lot louder than it was the first time Alice blew it, causing the girls to cover their ears. Just as Alice raised the whistle to her lips again the girls began singing.
"'Cause the players gonna play, play, play, play, play
And the haters gonna hate, hate, hate, hate, hate
I'm just gonna shake, shake, shake, shake, shake
I shake it off, I shake it off
Heart-breakers gonna break, break, break, break, break
And the fakers gonna fake, fake, fake, fake, fake
Baby, I'm just gonna shake, shake, shake, shake, shake
I shake it off, I shake it off"
"Very well done ladies!" Alice clapped.
"What's on the torture task list for today?" Beca asked.
"Today, you'll need to row a canoe across Kidd Cove to Treasure Island-"
Amy fist bumped the air. "-YES! Treasure Island… I've always wanted to go there."
"Amy… you should know that folklore says the island is haunted, so beware. I, personally, have never come across anything weird when I've been over there, but others haven't been so lucky." Alice retorted.
"That's cuz she scares the damn ghosts into dying another death." Amy whispered to Beca, causing both girls to start giggling.
"Ahem!" Alice cleared her throat to get their attention back on her. "Now… your canoe is by the dock." She said pointing. "Follow me ladies."
Flo walked closely to Beca, linking their arms together. "Miss. Beca, I don't do well with ghosts."
Beca patted her arm. "Flo, I don't think we have anything to worry about. Besides, we have Amy, Kimmy and Lilly to protect us."
"Ok… if Mr. Luke trusts you, then so can I."
Alice suddenly stopped walking and turned around to face the group. "This is where I leave you but don't think for a minute that I won't be watching and listening to everything that goes on."
"How do we know where to go?" Beca asked.
"There's a map with coordinates with your life vests." Alice told them. "Have fun ladies."
"But… without the GPS on our phones what good are the coordinates?" Kimmy pointed out.
Alice smirked. The girls were getting really sick and tired of that smirk. "This is where your team building skills will get put to the test."
"We're fucked!" Beca announced.
o~O~o
The girls collected their life jackets and walked the rest of the way to dock. Mentally, Beca was trying to figure out how in the world they were all going to fit safely in the canoe. There didn't appear to be much room but somehow, some way they all had to fit; leaving someone behind was not an option.
As Lilly, Kimmy and Flo loaded themselves into the canoe, Beca stood shaking her head. She wasn't really sure this was going to work. How were five women going to row a canoe across a damn lake? Alice was out of her fucking mind if she thought they were ever going to get more than ten feet away from the dock. Shrugging her shoulders at the absurdity of it all, she grabbed her oar, got into the canoe and waited for Amy to join them.
When Amy finally loaded up, the canoe creaked and sighed. She sat behind the stern seat of the canoe which immediately sent the bow of the boat into the air and jostled the other girls. "Let's do this!" She bellowed.
One of the camp employees pushed the canoe away from the dock and instructed the girls to start paddling. The girls were paddling furiously but didn't seem to be going anywhere at all. Beca stopped to look back and saw Amy laid out, sunbathing.
"AMY!"
"What?"
"Oar. Paddle. Now!" Beca pointed.
"Yes, you were doing well." She said waving her hand around like she was Queen Elizabeth. "Proceed!"
Beca stood in the bow of the boat and told the others to duck so she could swing her oar at Amy without hitting any of them. "Amy… you're not going to be acting like a Queen when I shove that oar up your ass! Pick the oar up and start padding… and put some of that ass you are so proud of into it, will ya?!"
"Alright! Alright! Geez!" Amy said sitting up and reaching for her oar causing the canoe to rock violently. The girls stopped rowing and turned to glare at Amy.
"Be careful! You almost tipped us over!" Kimmy squawked. Amy responded by flipping her the bird.
The girls rowed for what seemed like forever when they realized that they hadn't looked at the coordinates and had no idea where they were headed. Lilly looked at the map and the coordinates before licking her index finger and holding up in the air. She maintained that position for several minutes before lowering her hand to grab her oar. They were a little off course, but she knew where they needed to go. Gently, she steered the boat in a slightly different direction and put them back on course to Treasure Island without saying a word to the others. The rest of the group turned to look at Beca for explanation but she just shrugged her shoulders and started paddling.
They rowed quietly across the calm, peaceful cove, occasionally passing another group of campers in another canoe. Rowing wasn't actually a bad task to have been assigned, but they all kept in mind that anything could happen once they arrived on Treasure Island.
Amy sighed. "It is entirely too quiet. Can we play a game… or something?"
"What kind of game?" Flo asked.
"We could ask more getting to know you questions." Lilly suggested.
"Yeah! That's cool. Amy said. "What is your favorite childhood memory?"
"Oh! That's easy." Flo said. "My favorite memory is being reunited with my family after my brother sold me for a chicken."
"Um, what?" Kimmy Jin asked but Beca shook her head as if to say, 'don't ask!'.
"Lilly, what about you?" Flo asked.
Lilly gave an evil grin. "Eating my twin in the womb. KJ… it's your turn."
Beca just shook her head. They were back to weirdness. She knew what her favorite memory was but she wasn't going to share it unless the girls asked her specifically to share a memory. Seriously, what was wrong with them rowing in silence?
"Becoming a black belt in Tae-kwon-do at seven years old."
"Wow!" Beca said finally breaking her silence. "That's impressive."
"Beca… it's your turn." Amy announced.
"Ugh… do I have to?"
"Yes, everyone else answered."
"No, you didn't say what your favorite childhood memory was." Beca reminded.
"Well... umm... I'm, oh tiny one… I'd have to say that meeting you in dance class was my favorite." Amy said, quietly.
"Aww…" The girls said in unison.
Amy and Beca both blushed. Beca remembered the day she met Amy like it was yesterday. Four year old Amy tapped her way into the studio while eating a chicken leg. When Miss. Sandy, their dance teacher told her that they weren't allowed to eat in the studio, Amy shrugged her shoulder, waved the chicken leg around and said "Fine, have it your way but if my blood sugar pummels (she'd actually meant plummets), and I get dizzy, I'll fall on my face and my Oma and her award winning beetles (she meant beagles) will hunt you down."
Beca laughed at the memory. She knew she wanted Amy on her side. She never wanted to go up against her. From that day on, Amy had been her best friend and together they faced the world and all that it threw at them. She honestly couldn't imagine her life without the weirdo. There was never a dull moment when Amy was around, she made things fun and interesting.
"Bec?"
"Oh... sorry." Beca apologized for zoning out. "Ummm… my favorite childhood memory is Tutu Tuesdays."
Kimmy's eyes were bugging out of her head. "Tutu Tuesday?"
"Yeah, I wanted to wear my tutu and tap shoes to school everyday but my mom wouldn't let me. So we compromised and she agreed to let me wear my tutu to school on Tuesdays only."
The girls, with the exception of Amy, started laughing. They couldn't imagine Beca in a Tutu much less enjoying it or saying it was her favorite memory. Something else they didn't know was that Beca was an accomplished dancer. She might just keep that tucked under her hat for a while longer, there was no need to divulge everything in one weekend.
"What's your favorite bumper sticker?" Lilly asked.
"Bwhahaha!" Beca laughed so hard she almost dropped her oar in the water. "Amy is my favorite bumper sticker cuz Bumper sure does love to stick'er!"
All of the girls started laughing uncontrollably and the canoe started the shake.
"Nah uh… a real bumper sticker."
"Ok, ok…" When Beca finally stopped laughing, she answered the question. "I saw a bumper sticker the other day that said, "If you're gonna ride my ass, at least pull my hair."
"I saw one that said 'Dance like your vaginas on fire'." Flo told them. "But why would my vagina be on fire?"
"Do not meddle in the affairs of Dragons, for you are crunchy and good with ketchup." Lilly told them.
Beca wasn't sure if Lilly mentioned the dragon bumper sticker because Flo said something about vaginas being on fire or not but it was perfectly timed. Lilly was very good about timing things just so which was why she and Kimmy were always going at each other for one reason or another. Surprisingly, they were known to work on projects quite well together, when they absolutely had to.
The girls continued to play twenty questions as they paddled across the cove. It was a gorgeous day. The sun was shining and there was a slight breeze blowing. They couldn't have asked for a better day to be out in the open. Everything was going great and their spirits were high until a bumblebee, which had been interested in the honeysuckle body spray Lilly had used, got caught in Flo's hair and she freaked out. She dropped her oar in her panic and flailed her arms about as she tried to get away from the bee that was clearly not going anywhere soon.
As Flo stood up, the canoe began to rock. Lilly attempted to help Flo get the bee out of her hair but ducked when she saw Amy stand and swing her oar. Unfortunately, Flo wasn't as lucky. Amy hit her in the stomach with her oar, sending her into the cove with a loud splash that drowned out her shriek. When Kimmy and Beca had tried to reach out and grab her hands to keep her from falling over the side, the canoe capsized and the rush of cold water had them all squealing.
Everyone came coughing to the surface of the water at the same time. "Fuck Amy! Was that really necessary?" Beca asked, as she shot daggers in Amy's direction.
"I was only trying to help!" Amy protested.
"By taking Flo out with an oar?" Beca said as she wiped her eyes and reached for the side of the canoe.
Suddenly Flo screamed like someone was trying to kill her. "Miss Beca… something just brushed my leg. I think there's sharks in this water! My Abuela told me that I'm not from the meat ministry and that I should stay out of the sharks house."
Just then Lilly popped up slowly out of the water with a witchy smirk on her face. Clearly, she had had been what had just brushed Flo's leg.
"Flo… calm down. There are no sharks in this water. Everyone grab onto the canoe and help me flip it back over." Beca said in the best authoritative tone she could muster.
Everyone looked at Beca but didn't dare question what she'd told them to do because, for the first time since they'd arrived, she was taking her role as leader seriously. It was best to just follow orders. Once the canoe had been flipped, which was no easy task but between them they eventually managed it, the girls collected the oars and threw them in. Lilly swam the fifty yards or so to retrieve the oar that drifted towards the bank and nobody even thought to question why she was quaking like a duck as she pulled the oar back with her teeth.
When they were ready to get back in the canoe, Beca stopped them. "We need to figure this out." Beca told them. "We shouldn't have tipped over so easily."
The girls agreed. "Yeah, I think Amy should be in the middle of the canoe." Kimmy told them.
"Why's that?" Amy asked.
"So we all get a fair share of your awesomeness." Beca said, using all her strength not to roll her eyes.
"Well that's something I can work with." Amy laughed. "Who's gonna give me a boost?"
"Ames, we're standing in three feet of water."
"It looks more like four in your case." Amy retorted.
"Ok Amy… hop in!" Beca told her. "And I'll forget that remark in return for you behaving yourself for the next hour."
"Deal!" Amy said and Lilly, Kimmy and Flo held on side of the boat still so Amy could jump up.
Once in, Amy settled herself quickly and even managed to retrieve the Twinkie she'd had hidden under her original seat. She was tempted to hold it aloft like Rafiki held Simba in the Lion King but sensing the underlying tone in Beca's words just a few seconds ago and the fact that her friend was shivering, Amy swallowed her joke and held out her hand to help the others get in and they were soon back on their way.
o~O~o
When they arrived on Treasure Island, over two hours later, the girls tied the canoe to the dock and removed their life vests. While they had almost dried off from their unplanned dip, their tennis shoes had soaked up most of the lake and squelched loudly as they walked across the wooden dock. Amy, having received the blame for the childish noises, protested it wasn't her and kindly offered Lilly a piggy back as she had seemingly lost her flip flops in the water. They began following the path that lead them away from the dock and left wet footprints on the absorbent tiles. Within a few minutes of wandering, almost aimlessly, they came across a campsite that looked a lot like their own back at The Lodge. Upon further inspection, they realized that in fact, it was their campsite.
"Wait just a cotton picking minute!" Amy said as she stomped back toward the campsite they had just passed. "What are our things doing here?"
"More importantly… HOW did our things get here?" Kimmy asked.
"Look… there's a note." Flo pointed to the piece of paper pinned to Beca's bag.
Beca unpinned the letter and began reading…
"Ladies, I know you stole the tent you slept in last night. I hope you enjoyed it. As a consequence of your actions, you'll be spending the night on the island, without your stolen tent, and cannot return to the main campground until you've learned to work through everything you come across as a team. Sweet Dreams! ~Alice~"
Beca threw the note on the ground. "That fucking bitch!"
"Now what do we do?" Flo asked no one in particular. "Where's Lilly?"
Everyone began looking around for Lilly. She'd clearly disappeared, for what seemed like the tenth time that day, but because she was always so quiet no one knew where she'd gone. Beca and Flo looked close to their camp while Amy and Kimmy wandered the island a bit looking for Lilly. They searched the island for over an hour and still hadn't found her, worry was starting to set in. If anyone could survive the island alone it was Lilly but that didn't make them worry any less.
They decided to start gathering things like firewood, kindling and stones that could be used to contain their fire. At least they'd be warm at night, even if they didn't have a tent. Now they just had to pray that it didn't rain. Beca organized the girls efficiently giving them each a task to do and everyone went off to do their jobs for the day.
Flo was sticking to Beca like a second skin. She was convinced that the ghosts had got Lilly and if they were coming to get her, Flo decided that she wasn't going alone, she was taking Beca with her.
Another hour passed and Beca was itching to row back to The Lodge to report Lilly missing. She suggested to the group that she make a quick schedule and they take it in turns to scout the shore line of the island while a couple remain around their fire. They all agreed that this was a good idea and Amy volunteered to take first patrol.
As the girls sat around their new campfire, huddled together to keep warm, they stared at each and wondering where the fuck Lilly had gone, Amy stood up rather suddenly and took a couple of steps away from the group before she stopped in her tracks and started sniffing the air like a bloodhound. "I smell… I smell…" Amy said continuing to sniff the air like a hungry puppy. She looked triumphantly at the three girls sat tightly together on the large log. "I smell... a quarter pounder!"
"She's lost it." Flo whispered to Beca.
Beca leaned in, "She never had it."
"What are you guys doing?"
"LILLY!" Beca yelled, scaring the bejesus out of Flo. "Where the fuck have you been?"
Lilly smiled. "I went out for dinner. I did tell you but I don't think you heard me." She told them as she removed her backpack from her back. She pulled out a large brown paper bag. "See!"
"Oh my God! Lilly, I love you!" Beca said she she took the quarter pounder that Lilly offered her. She unwrapped the burger and was about to take a bite when it hit her. She paused and cast her eyes sideways as Lilly handed out burgers to the other girls. "Wait! How did you get to a McDonald's?"
She shrugged. "Snoop loaned me his water skis."
"Snoop?" Beca asked.
"Yeah! Snoop... D... O... double G. He's over there…" Lilly turned and pointed toward The Lodge.
The girls turned to look in the direction Lilly was pointing in but all they saw was a young girl taking off a set of water skis at the edge of the lake. Too hungry to care who she was, Beca began eating her dinner and finished in record time.
Lilly had brought them food and it was the best damn thing they had eaten since they left Beca's house the day before. It was Amy who suddenly remarked on the teenager between a mouthful of burger and a few loose fries that she'd stolen from Lilly's bag.
"Hey, who's the teenage dream?"
"I found her sitting in McDonalds." Lilly said, brushing the errant salt off of her clothes.
"You found her?"
"Yes, she was sitting all alone. I tasered her and she-"
"-Tasered? You what?" Beca hissed. She unwound Flo from her side and tried to stand up.
"How was I supposed to get her to come with me if I didn't?" Lilly asked.
"Why the fuck did you bring her with you?" Beca asked as she slipped her soggy Chucks back on. "You kidnapped her."
"Not exactly."
"How do you mean 'not exactly'?" Beca said incredulously as she began walking towards the girl who was standing awkwardly by the edge of the lake.
"Well, she isn't a kid." Lilly remarked as she stuffed a couple of fries into her mouth and looked victorious.
Beca hurried down to the lake and approached the tall, lanky girl with caution.
"Hi."
"Erm, hello?" Beca said, confused that the girl didn't seem scared at all.
"I can't believe I've met the woman who has single handedly created some of the best sounds in the world."
"Um, what?" Beca said.
"Your friend was muttering something about if I followed her, all my dreams would come true. You're Beca Mitchell, right? From Warner's?"
"And you believed her?" Beca asked, stunned at what was unfolding before her eyes. Amy soon joined them, brandishing a large stick that she'd found. She stood in front of Beca and shielded her from the teenager.
"Behold!" Amy yelled out, still enjoying the word that she'd discovered the night she was sliding down the staircase. "None shall pass!"
"You must be Amy? It's an honor to meet you!"
"An honor to... wait, what?" Amy asked, confused. She began to poke at the girl with her tree branch.
"Lilly has told me everything about you all. I'm so excited to meet you."
"Enchanté!" Amy said, and held out her hand which the girl awkwardly shook. Beca immediately noticed her hands were tied together but that fact didn't seem to be bothering the perky teen; something that she thought was a little odd.
"So, what's your name?" Beca asked, as she loosened the rope around the young girl's wrist.
"I'm a Junk."
"What did you say about your junk?" Amy asked, continuing to prod at the long haired brunette with the stick she'd found.
"No, my name is Emily. Emily Junk."
"Junk as in..."
"Yep. I took my Mom's name. My Dad's name is Eric Hardon and I-"
"-Yeah, no explanation needed." Beca said, tossing the rope that she'd pulled off of Emily's wrists onto the ground. "Why did Lilly snatch you out of McDonalds? Why did you follow her so easily? Why were your wrists tied?"
"Oh, she just mentioned you were at The Lodge and my cousin works here so I thought I'd hitch a ride. She tied my hands up so I could ski over the lake."
"Who is your cousin?"
"Alice. Alice Junk. She's a camp counsel-"
"-Alice's surname is Junk?!" Amy yelled, a little too loudly. A couple of birds flew out of the trees.
"Yeah." Emily confirmed, looking up to the trees where Lilly, Kimmy and Flo were watching their interaction. "Oh, you have a fire going?"
"You want to go and get warmed up?" Beca asked, giving Amy a shove to get her moving. Amy jabbed her with the stick so Beca snatched it out of her hand and snapped it in half over her knee.
The three girls walked back to the camp fire and Lilly moved over so that Emily could sit down. She put her hands out to the fire and rubbed them together for a couple of minutes.
"Why are you guys all here?" Emily asked.
"Boss Lady had a meltdown. So we are here to reconnect her dots." Flo said motioning toward Beca.
"So what, you are a bunch of girls who what, hang out?" Emily asked.
"No, we all work together. Except Flo... she works for my best friend over at Universal." Beca answered.
"Oh cool." Emily said, continuing to rub her fingers together near to the flames. "I like fire."
"I set fires to feel joy." Lilly mumbled as she stared at the burning embers. Amy began to sing loudly in response, grabbing a glowing branch and twirling it around her head.
"I'm the trouble starter, punking instigator.
I'm the fear addicted, danger illustrated.
I'm a firestarter, twisted firestarter,
you're the firestarter, twisted firestarter."
"Do you like singing?" Kimmy asked Emily, ducking as the shower of sparks flew all around them.
"I guess so. My Mom says I've got a pretty decent singing voice."
"Well, let's hear it then." Flo said, encouragingly.
"What do you want me to sing?"
"Whatever floats your boat."
"Or water skis." Lilly mused.
"Well, I was working on my own sound in McDonalds. The wifi is free in there and I just, you know, thought I'd sound out some words when Lilly found me."
"Let's hear it then." Beca said quietly.
"When tomorrow comes
I'll be on my own
Feeling frightened of
The things that I don't know
When tomorrow comes
Tomorrow comes
Tomorrow comes"
Beca looked over to Lilly as Emily sang out her song. She wasn't note perfect but Beca liked the way she sounded.
"And though the road is long
I look up to the sky
And In the dark I found, I stop and I won't fly
And I sing along, I sing along, then I sing along"
Beca was still staring at Lilly as Emily began to do some fair clunky dance moves as she continued to sound out the words.
"You're welcome." Lilly whispered and Beca grinned. This fresh sound was exactly what Warner's needed. Beca knew that she could work with the girl if she'd be open to some suggestions but she could also see Sawyer's face as Kimmy Jin started tapping her knees to create a beat. Emily continued to sing.
"I got all I need when I got you and I
I look around me, and see sweet life
I'm stuck in the dark but you're my flashlight
You're gettin' me, gettin' me through the night
Can't stop my heart when you shinin' in my eyes
I can't lie, it's a sweet life
I'm stuck in the dark but you're my flashlight
You're gettin' me, gettin' me through the night
Cause you're my flash light
You're my flash light, you're my flash light"
"You wrote that?" Beca asked, clearly impressed. Emily was a little screechy in places but knew that with some vocal coaching and autotune that they could iron out those kinks in no time.
"Sure did."
"How old are you?"
"I'm eighteen."
"Wow."