Chapter 2
Meeting the Unlikely Mix of Campers
First off the bus was a skinny, angry, brown-haired girl named Sarah Beth with an easy-to-spot teenage attitude. She had a two inch red streak in her hair which fell over one darkly outlined and heavily mascaraed eye and landed just above her chin. She tried to force her way out of the fully opened door. Behind her, close by was another girl named Jorgina. Both tried to be the first out; they looked like wild mustangs trying to break out of a corral. Sarah Beth began to develop a plan that would make it easy for her and Jorgina to run the camp and everyone in it.
Sarah Beth turned and playfully said, “Quit shoving me, Jorgina.”
Concerned, Cindi said, “Hey girls, break it up. You’ve been here-what?-two seconds? People aren’t even off the bus. Come on; cut it out. What are your names, so I can make sure you’re in the right place?”
“We’re just playing around, Miss,” said Sarah Beth as she told Cindi her name.
Immediately behind her was Jorgina, who had a big smile and fun in her eyes. High-fiving Sarah Beth, she turned to Cindi and said, “Sup.” She mumbled something else and she and Sarah Beth walked toward the large rock, as they pushed and shoved jokingly.
Cindi checked her list and both of their names were on it. She made a mental note to keep them separated as much as possible because they didn’t seem to bring out the best in each other. Distracted, she heard the sound of sobbing on the bus and stepped inside to see what the problem was. “Who’s crying?” Cindi asked.
The whimpering came from an overweight brown-haired boy who said in a shaky voice, “Me, I’m Charlie, and I’d like to call my mother and see if she can come get me. I want to go home.”
“Sorry but we don’t get phone service out here. You have to drive into town if you want to use the phone and we just….”
Before she could finish her sentence, a nerdy boy with suspenders, a calculator in one hand, and a briefcase in the other stepped up and said, “My name is Eugene Eddweiser. It will be okay, Charlie. I’m used to being bullied. See this calculator?” He held it up slightly. “It’s my best friend, so none of this bothers me much. I know Sarah Beth and Jorgina are a bit scary, but whenever I get scared, I put my thumbs under my suspenders, pop them, and just walk on.”
Cindi thought, he’s going to get seriously injured if he pops those suspenders every time he gets scared. Hopefully there are some normal kids here this year. When she snapped back to reality, she told the two boys to go stand by the girls. Charlie was still crying and Sarah Beth was glaring at him. With his head hung low, Charlie glanced back at Sarah Beth and oddly enough felt a smile cross his face. Quickly, his eyes focused on the dirt on the ground because he didn’t want Sarah Beth to see him staring at her.
A boy with ginger-colored hair came off next. He was 5'6, wearing purple skinny jeans, blue high top converse with yellow shoe strings and a see-through shirt.
"So what is your name?" Cindi asked.
"I’m Cody, Cody Richardson and I’m probably the sexiest thing alive.”
Cindi laughed a little. “What’s up with all these kids here? I thought this was a camp for rich kids like me,” he whispered.
Cindi said in a soft tone, “It used to be, but with the economy like it is, we had to get creative and get some government funding to keep things going.” Cody winked like he understood and then stepped off.
A few steps away by the large rocks, Eugene was determined to get away from the tough girls, as he wandered back toward the counselor. He overheard Cody’s conversation and said, “Excuse me but isn’t this Camp Creekwater, the National Honor Society Advanced Academics Camp for Natural Science?”
“No, this is Camp Clearwater, not Creekwater. We have no advanced academics. We specialize in behavior modification and help campers learn to take responsibility for their actions. We are a wilderness boot camp,” replied Cindi.
Panicked, Eugene shook his head. “I’m at the wrong place. My parents signed me up for the wrong camp. I knew I shouldn’t have left the registration up to them. Oh no, can I call them to come get me?”
“No, it’s like I told Charlie. We have no phones out here. Your name is on the list, and we don’t give refunds,” informed Cindi, thinking to herself that Eugene would need to learn some survival skills to make it through the next three weeks.
Cody looked at Eugene and said, “Be cool, try to fit in, relax.” To ease some tension he said, “Just watch and learn, Eugene,” as he sauntered over to the rocks. Smiling he said, “There sure are some pretty ladies here.” He turned around to make sure Eugene could take a lesson in how to be charm girls. No doubt he needed it. Unfortunately, Eugene was engaged in a conversation with his calculator and not with Jorgina and Sarah Beth, who were uninterested in Cody. They told him to bug off. Cody turned back toward the bus and headed towards a girl he knew from school named Luna.
Luna Elric had chocolate brown hair with bangs brushed to the side, and a smallish braid that rested on her left shoulder. Her best feature was her dark emerald green eyes which had golden streaks by her pupils.
She wore a long sleeve black shirt and sleeveless jacket, dark red skinny jeans, green knee-high converses with black and red shoe laces, a crescent moon choker with a dusk-colored stone in it, a belt with orange studs, skull ear rings, and sun glasses. Apparently, she was trying to flirt with Cody because she laughed at everything he said. She got as close to him as she could. In her left hand, she was holding a realistic stuffed red fox. It was a gift Cody had given her on her fourteenth birthday. She stumbled and was embarrassed by her clumsiness, as she quickly tried to reach Cody. Stumbling again, she caught herself before falling on her face, as she continued to hurry.
“Hey Cody, wait up. Don’t go off and leave me,” she said desperately. He stopped and turned around as she continued. “I’m not going to be friends with Eugene,” she babbled, trying to keep his attention on her. “I don’t like nerds or guys with bad people skills like that kid who was crying.”
Cody laughed and nodded. His eyes flirted back as they made their way toward the others. Trying to divert Cody’s attention from the other girls, she rambled on about how she played the guitar, liked to draw and sing. Cody nodded like he was interested in everything she said.
“Cody, will you come back with me? I have another suitcase I need to get,” Luna asked as she dropped the first one on the ground.
He saw Sarah Beth and Jorgina throwing in a few verbal punches at Charlie and Eugene and said, “Sure, I’ll go back and help you.”
They temporarily couldn’t get back on the bus because a girl named C. J. Valentine was blocking the entrance as she stepped off. C.J. began to speak, “I don’t know about this place. It’s not what I expected. I’m pretty much a loner, so I guess it won’t matter.”
She had her hair pulled back into a braid. As she pulled off her black sunglasses, Cindi couldn’t help but notice C.J.’s purplish-blue eyes. Wearing fingerless black gloves, C.J. had an athletic build. She also had a nose and lip ring and six earrings in each ear. The ones closest to the bottom of the lobe were black roses. Around her neck, she wore a gold wedding ring. Black platform boots, a gray long sleeve shirt, black vest, and blue jeans completed her outfit.
Right behind C.J. was a boy named Jacob. He was 5’8” and looked like he was debating whether or not to get off. He looked the type one would expect to be a football player. Timid, he stepped onto the dirt looking shell-shocked and as out of place as a sports coat on a cowboy riding a bull at a rodeo. As he exited, he was thinking about what he was doing in a place like Camp Clearwater. He felt like people were making fun of his brown hair, Levi’s, and Dallas Cowboys hoodie. Anger rose inside him. He avoided contact with Sarah Beth because he knew she was the reason he was there. Internally, he was telling himself to keep control and to not lose it before he had even made it off the bus.
Last off was Maria. At the final step off, with her head hung down, she mu
mbled, "Is this a therapy camp?"
"Well sort of,” said Cindi as she sighed knowing the next three weeks were not going to be easy. Trying not to stare, she couldn’t help but notice her downcast deep sunken eyes.
Cindi thought that both she and Maria would probably need some serious therapy after three weeks with this group. Never had she seen a more unusual and disjointed assembly of campers.
Cody and Luna went back on the bus and were taking their time catching up to the rest of the group. “Let’s head on to the bunkhouse,” Cindi urged as she forged the way.
When they all finally arrived, Charlie had stopped crying and asked, “Would you check to see if I have any mail yet?”
Cindi said, “Why don’t you go inside first, and we’ll worry about that later.” She turned to address the group. “Everybody, take your things inside and find a bunk; boys to the left, and girls on the right. When you finish, come outside, and we will have our first get- acquainted session.”
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