Before I left the dingy cabin, I made a mental note of my belongings:
A long-sleeve tee, jeans, underwear, bra, soap, and three towels.
Oregon can get pretty cold, even in the summertime. I guess it doesn't help that it's 4 in the morning, but still - I don't want to forget something and do the walk of shame from the communal bathrooms all the way back to the makeshift dormitory in that kind of weather.
I only have to survive like this for two months. It should be easy enough now that I've memorized everyone's schedules.
Amy is usually the first to get up. She's one of those athletic types whose only personality trait is her daily 5 mile run. Despite claiming to love mornings, her alarms always wake everyone up. Every day at 5AM, the eight of us are blessed with an early start to the day as Amy fumbles half-consciously with her phone to shut it off. At least she doesn't snooze it, right?
As annoying as it is, I'm actually thankful for her inconsiderate behavior because it helped me create my morning routine. Communal bathrooms are always a dangerous place. I figured that out quickly during our first night here. I had just shut the curtain to one of the (thankfully) bathtub shower combos when Nicole burst in, blabbing on her phone. Fucking Nicole. Do you have any idea how limited your mobility is when you don't have legs? I had to scoot myself close enough to the nozzle to stop the water flow and then dry myself without drawing any attention. Thankfully, Nicole was so absorbed in her wonderful conversation about her 5th hookup that night that she didn't notice the suspicious amount of steam coming from the shower.
Today, all of the girls are going to the lake. Partying, boys, drinking - what else would you expect? If I'm being honest with myself, it actually sounds like a ton of fun. Still, I can't go. No amount of fun is worth the risk of turning into a fish in front of the entire summer camp.
I wash my hair quickly using a technique I developed during the first year of my ailment. I use the nozzle settings on the shower head to create a narrow stream that I make sure doesn't touch my scalp. A towel between my back and my hair ensures that there's no contact there either. Even with such painstaking attention to detail, mistakes still happen, and today is one of those days as I fall on the floor of the basin and find myself staring down at my long, scaly appendage. Sighing, I shut off the water (which I was luckily right next to this time) and curl my fist into a ball over the orange tail. A soft sizzling noise indicates the efficacy of my effort, and in a few seconds I'm greeted with the return of my legs. Whatever, I can't let that deter me. I have a big day of surfing the internet and listening to music ahead.
As I'm heading back to the cabin, I'm surprised to see a girl walk in the opposite direction. At first, I thought it was Nicole because this girl was also on the phone. I didn't get a good look as we passed each other, but her voice wasn't Nicole's. The conversation was just as lackluster though - something about sunscreen brands. Anyway, I sneak back into the room, climb up onto my assigned bed, and prepare to sleep for the next few hours. I'm grateful that the rest doesn't take long to come.
I'm shaken back to reality by the gentle rays of sun that peak through the windows. That and the fact that Rena was physically shaking me to get up.
"Claire. Get up."
I groaned, "What? What time is it?"
Claire responded with enthusiasm, "It's 8 on the dot! Come on we're gonna be late!"
"Late for what?" I asked. "I feel super nauseous, just let me sleep."
Rena had been the only person I had been able to tolerate at the camp. She was super bubbly and always genuine. I hated lying to her, but I knew she would try to convince me to go to the lake and blame herself if I didn't.
"What?" she questioned. "It's our first lake day! There's gonna be live music and everything."
Wow. This thing was a bigger event than I thought. Of course, "live music" probably just meant that a few of the counselors who knew how to play music got together and learned a few tracks from the Hot 100.
"Maybe later," I started, "but you should definitely go enjoy yourself. I just think I need some rest before going out and partying like that. I don't want to throw up on everyone."
"Yeah," she said "I guess thats not the best way to make friends. Anyway, is there any other reason you aren't coming?"
Yes.
"Of course not," I said, "I promise, its not like body image issues or whatever. I got over that in middle school."
That seemed to satisfy her for now.
"Okay, well just try to come out before the cannonball contest starts. I'm definitely gonna win!" she said somewhat sarcastically before she turned back to her bed and started getting her change of clothes together.
I managed to catch some more sleep even with the commotion in the dormitory. Everyone was super excited to have the time of their lives. Good for them.
I woke up a few hours later, probably around 10 or 11. There was no more chatter - it seemed everyone had already made it to the lake. I decided to get my day started with some YouTube. Or maybe I would do some more research today, if no one was there to interrupt me. Hell, maybe I would try to refine my powers later. There's nothing worse than losing control in a burst of emotion, especially if you're not a fan of pyrotechnics. My string of thoughts was interrupted when I noticed that someone was still in the room. She was sitting upright in her bed, a few over from mine and on the opposite side of the room. Her curly, platinum blonde hair was hardly held back by her ridiculously oversized headphones. She had her eyes closed and was bobbing her head, probably to some shitty "indie" song. I don't know, she just seemed the type. Maybe I'm too judgmental.
I quickly became aggravated with her presence. If she was there, how could I conduct my "experiments"? Why wasn't she at the lake anyway? Was she too cool to hang with boys and party? I calmed myself down and acknowledged the hypocrisy in my statements. Maybe she thought the same thing about me. We could actually have stuff in common. I mean, I do quite enjoy shitty indie music. It wouldn't hurt to make friends.
"Hey," I began, tapping her shoulder gently to get her attention, "can you hear me?"
"Shit!" she jumped. "What did you say?"
Fantastic start.
"Oh, I just wanted to introduce myself," I said, "I figured maybe we could hang out today since everyone else is going to the lake."
"What makes you think I'm not going to the lake?" she asked.
"Well, are you?" I replied.
It seemed like we both knew the answer. "Okay," she started, "well I was kind of planning on being by myself today. No offense."
"None taken" I said. "I just figured that at least going out to lunch might be more interesting than sitting in the place all day."
As anxious as I was, I don't think it showed - she seemed convinced.
"Okay." she said with a defeated tone. She stuck out her hand, "I'm Rikki."
"Claire." I smiled. "How do you feel about sushi?"