Chapter 33

We took off the journey to the summer camp house at exactly 2:00pm. There was some unavoidable delay, and so we left an hour after the decided time. Some students didn't arrive early, including two of our counselors--Uncle Robinson, Mrs Amanda. They arrived an hour later because as they claimed, there was traffic on the way down to school. Besides, our flights were delayed for one and a half hour more. We had two airplanes booked for the journey but they were both delayed for reasons unknown to us.

These two teachers, Uncle Robinson and Aunty Amanda, alongside Miss Veronica were going to be our camp counselors. Reports had it that we were going to have one or a couple more counselors to attend to us at the camp. It wasn't surprising when Uncle Robinson arrived with Mrs Amanda tagging along, one hour later. They were always together, or near each other even they didn't like each other. It was ironical and confusing.

As soon as they arrived, the rest of the other students arrived too. We were 114 in total who attended the camp. I looked around for Vera, but she was nowhere to be found. Amy, Peter, Lily and a couple of other brats in my class were also present. They all held each other's hands, talked in low tones and giggled. It looked like they were very eager about the year's camp. I heard them talk about the previous year's. I heard both bad and good stories about the camps. They talked about how low the cabins were, and how it was so hot at night, and warm in the day, they talked about the other day when a snake had crawled in through a hole in the kitchen cabin and had eaten all their packaged food and fruits and left without harming anyone. They said the snakes were very hungry and didn't harm humans. They also discussed how Uncle Robinson ran a race round the field with the students wearing only a pair of shorts because it was so hot, and he won the race but was badly sunburned because he didn't wear enough sunscreen. That moment, i checked my bag to see if mom packed some suncream for me. Sun made my skin itch apart from the sunburn it gave. I preferred being warm, or slightly cold, not the freezing kind of cold though. Thankfully, mom packed some, she also added some local portable fans, and a torch in case the heat was too much in the cabin and there was no power.

I continued to listen to my classmates. They also discussed how a friend of theirs, whom they called Melinda got missing on the third day of the camp, and was not found until the last day, and she was found lifeless and gored by a shark at the seaside. It was sad to hear. That was the first time I was hearing that kind of story and I didn't know whether to believe it or not.

Well, we were going to a different place this time, so hopefully stuff like those wouldn't happen, and it'd be a smooth experience God-willing. I hated snakes and death and heat and darkness. I eavesdropped as they talked and I hoped I would not feel lonely in the camp. No one was talking to me , so even though they weren't, it felt like they were talking about me. At a corner near the front of my classroom though, I saw Marie standing alone, leaning on the pillar. She was going with us after all. She seemed to be very quiet. Perhaps she was still mourning her sister's death. But something was obvious and critical about her expression and quietness--She was quiet but looked like she had something planned in mind.

I went up to her to initiate a conversation because it was starting to get embarrassing being alone and not being talked to. "Hey Marie"

She turned to look at me. I could see she was itching her skin and rubbing a spot constantly. "Are you okay?" I asked.

"Yeah thank you" she said looking away quickly. She looked confident but withdrawn. I don't know how to explain it but she looked like she had something all figured out and was waiting for a time to execute her plan.

"But you don't look okay. Did you get bitten by a bug?"

"No. I itch my skin when I am nervous or scared. Like this" she said rubbing that spot for the hundredth time, and wincing in what seemed to be pain. "I can't stop it, it's a reflex sorry" she said glaring at me. She looked so innocent. I had never seen her like that. I mean, I've never seen her rub her body that much.

"Do you need some cold compress or a gel or something?"

"No I'm fine, it'll go when I get over my fear" she said and half-smiled. "Thank you" she added and turned her whole body away from me. She was so sweet but that moment, she just wanted to be left alone, I figured.

"Why are you scared?" I asked, willing to keep the conversation going. It was cool to finally find someone to chat with.

"The plane. I lost my dad in a chopper last two years, so I hate anything flying in the sky. Even birds irk me" she said and half-winced

Before I could say anything back, she added, "Sorry I have to run along" and then she ran off to another class room.

Now I was left all alone again. I felt so sorry for the little girl. She must be feeling just as miserable as I was feeling. I felt sorry for her for having to go through grief at such a young age. She had no mother, and now she told me she has also lost her father. She's been living with Anita and her mother but now that Anita was gone, it was going to be really hard on them both. Things little children went through that got them withdrawn from the society. More so, I felt more sorry for myself. I felt alone. Uncle Robinson was giving me attention but I didn't want it. I had made up my mind not to talk to him anymore or meet his gaze after realizing what he wanted but I knew I couldn't do that for long. He was going to prepare me for the competition that night. We might possibly be alone together, and he'd use the opportunity to let his wolf out in my presence and ask for the umpteenth time that I be his mate.

I loathed that thought. I missed Joe that moment. If he were alive and at the school ground with me, he'd bully me and call me fat in my two piece denim and track shorts because my stomach popped out of my top and my arms filled every space in the armholes. But at least I'd have someone my age-rank give me attention. Or maybe he would be nice to me and told me I looked good.

Miss Veronica gathered everyone of us after a while that everyone answered present, and then said some prayers about protection and peace, we all said "Amen" with our hands clasped together in respect towards heaven, and afterwards, we all went into the buses available, about six buses available to convey us to the airport because we were flying. And our flights would be ready in thirty minutes.

The next day was the competition with the Bright Boys, that's what they were called. Bright Boys, were the boys from another school, Daffodils College whom I was going to be competing with. Actually only one of them--Nick.

I was going to meet this Nick for the first time and compete with him. Maybe Vera felt bad because she was not the one to win the award, and so was too ashamed to face Nick whom she liked. I wouldn't know, but i knew that they were both vampires. Did vampires fall in love with each other? Did Nick like Vera? If he did, then they were going to gang up against me. Vera did promise to get back to me in full force for 'rigging the scores'. That didn't sound good. I wasn't prepared to be harmed. And for many reasons, I was very scared of vampires. I could still cope with werewolves but vampires irked me because they sucked blood, and because they were immortal. They would definitely kill me. I thought about all these things as we flew to the States for our holiday camping. And I made a decision in my heart to not get on the nerves of any vampire, Nick or Vera or whoever.

We were so tired when we arrived at the States that most of us slept off outside on the spread tents on the ground. The air was warm but it was hot in the cabins. When we got to our campground, everyone went into their cabins and tents and dumped their stuff there, their backpack, boxes and stuff and then undressed and went outside to sleep. Most of them did not undress. We were really tired out. I was, in fact feeling very sleepy but I wanted to scrutinize my environment first. It was dark, so I didn't know if the cabins looked nice. I could only feel them because my torch was not even helping that much. There was no power for the night. We were told that a terrible hurricane happened, many houses away about nine days before, and so there hasn't been power since then. I hoped it'd be restored too because I hated darkness.

I wanted to enjoy my experience at the camp, but with bright light everywhere. I did not only hate darkness; I dreaded it. Moonlight shone brightly outside where every one was sprawled on the ground, asleep but I was uncomfortable sleeping among many tired bodies. Our counselors went to bring food for us after telling us that we could not stay outside for long. That it was not so safe out there.

They didn't leave us alone. They asked for help from other counselors and two of them stayed and watched over us. I got up and told one of them that I was going to check out the beds in the cabin and unpack my stuff. He was a young man who seemed to have lost an eye. He looked like he had been a warrior in his previous life. He was hefty and cool, calm and collected but he looked so young, yet confident.

He said I could go in after checking out my torch. His eyes trailed me as I walked towards the cabin. There were several long cabins and tents, too many that I was rest assured each of us could have a bed to ourselves.

There were four beds in a cabin. I wanted to pick out a comfortable bed, to ease my experience in the camp. I needed to at least sleep well every night. There was a door and two small windows in each cabin. Each room had a door that led to another. I heard it was made that way in case anyone had to escape from a room to another for emergency reasons. The floor was hard and cold and the ceiling was rough but the rooms looked good. The beds were in good condition as well. I could live there forever if there was power, as long as it was safe. But still, I preferred my bed back at home, my big, gorgeous,modern bed. Either ways, it was cool.

I chose the bed nearer to the second window and farther to the door. I sat on the soft, mushy bed and the wood at the sides creaked. The bed sank under my weight. I sighed, stretched and sighed again, and finally opened my first bag. I picked out my diary but changed my mind because there was not enough light to write.

I was about pushing it back into the other bag where I had some change of clothes when power was restored. The bright light almost blinded me. Bright white light illuminated the room and flattered its contents. Now I looked around the cabin more carefully. It looked good indeed. But I noticed there were paintings on the wall everywhere. Paintings of animals of the cat family--Fox, tiger, leopard, cat and--wolf. It looked beautiful and scary at the same time-- it depended on how you chose to view it. I wondered if it was a coincidence to find something like this here at the camp. I stood up and felt the paintings with my hands. A voice stopped me from touching much.

"What are you doing inside all alone?"

I looked up. It was Uncle Robinson. He was holding something that looked like a tray of food. Actually it was.

I could smell it even-- Fried Chicken breast and chips plus ketchup and toppings.

"I was looking around" I said, avoiding his gaze

"Join us outside. It's quite safer now that there's power. It's hot in here, come out quick" he said and left, hoping that I followed him. I hesitated for a while and then followed him. The aroma of the food already made my intestines dance.

Outside, everyone was sitting on the spread tents munching chicken and chips, and sipping from a bottle. Everyone had a bottle of water with him. Some were struggling with sleep but the counselors tried to keep them awake, because "Tomorrow, we're having a race after the competition, we need strength"