Lila sat up on one of the beds and
started reading. She didn’t notice how quite the room was because everyone was
looking at her. After a few minutes of this unusual silence everyone remembered
why they were here and started unpacking, they all did it except Lila. The
little girl still thought that her being in such a wonderful place was just a
dream and looking back on her terrible and full of sad surprises life she
nearly knew that any minute someone is going to take her away from this
paradise. She didn’t want to think like that she wanted to think optimistically
because she was happy but something really deep in her core told her it would
all end in a wink of an eye so she just continued to read her book. Suddenly
the quite stopped…
“Oh my
Goodness how are all my clothes meant to fit in this little thing” Abigail
complained.
Erika laughed in a low voice loud enough
for everyone to hear except Abi who was too busy trying to close the lovely
painted and carved recycled crate which was stuffed with her clothes. The other two also giggled. Lila stopped reading and put down her book.
She finally decided to unpack herself but even though she was very independent
she struggled to do it with one arm. Suzie decided to help her since she was
done unpacking and had a sister her age at home.
“You need
help?” Suzie asked politely, unzipping Lila’s suitcase.
“Thanks”,
Lila answered quietly and smiled faintly.
The little girl was surprised and a
little embarrassed and ashamed of herself. All her life she has been very
strong, independent and the exact opposite of shy, but here she was not able to
talk because she was too shy it just was not like her. Then suddenly she
decided there was no reason to be scared, she was in the most beautiful and
wonderful place on earth and she was very happy. Now after the belongings were
out of her bag she was bursting with excitement and all the bed feelings went
away. Erika was feeling miserable, all she could think about is how all the
popular girls and soccer players from her school that she totally hates are at
great vacations all over the world. All other poorer and less popular kids will
probably have much more fun than she will. Abi also had very dark thoughts, she
just could not bear the fact that her worst enemy Jennifer Fleet will have a
better summer than she will and will brag about it, then tell the other rich
kids how bad Abigail’s was and everyone was going to laugh at her. Suzie was
thinking the exact opposite and deep down she knew this was going to be the
best summer ever.
Suddenly they heard a loud knock on the
door. The girls looked at each other, they were too lazy to go open the door.
The person outside got tired of waiting and banged on the door as loud as
possible. Finally after 5 minutes of staring into the girls eyes Susan decided
to get up and open the door to the stranger. She didn’t know what amazed her
more, the sky already getting dark in what seemed to her like such a short
period of time or the strange costume the man was wearing. She looked at the
watch; 2 hours had passed since she was sent to her cabin. Her eyes went up
again and examined the person in front of her. He was about 2 meters tall and
had big brown eyes but they could have belonged to the costume, she wasn’t
sure. It was a costume of a bear, monkey or maybe a monster, it seemed like a Sasquatch, with tick dark hair covering
it’s inhuman shape. The costume was very convincing and realistic and if she
was a few years younger she would probably believe it was a real monster.
“Sorry for
keeping you waiting, hello”, she said smiling at the strangely dressed human.
He just
grunted and handed her a lovely light green envelope and walked away in the
direction of the next cabin.
“What did
that creep want?”, Erika asked.
“He just
dropped of this letter, by the way my name is Susan nice to meet you guys”, she
answered and looked at the letter.
“Like we
care what your name is, now tell us what it says!”, Abigail joined the
conversation.
Dear girls
I am very happy that you have safely
reached the camp. This is a very special place and holds many mysteries. My job
is to take care of you and make sure you have fun. I will teach you creativity,
survival skills and much more. In time you will discover the beauty and secrets
of this magnificent forest. To keep everyone safe and happy there needs to be
some simple rules.
1. Do not wander into
the forest without a member of staff.
2. No cursing or
swearing.
3. Always listen to the
member of staff and do exactly as you are told.
4. Be in your room
before midnight unless you’re told differently by me.
5. Have a great time.
There are not many
rules to follow so I hope you obey them. I wish you all a wonderful time here. I
would also love you all to attend the camp fire tonight at eight o’clock in the
terrace.
Your Ann.
“Let’s get
ready if we don’t want to be late it starts in 15 minutes,” Suzie said happily
and put the letter down on her chest.
Abi started looking for her coat, she didn’t really want to go but she
was curious of the mysteries and secrets. Lila was already waiting at the door
for the others; she was ready, excited and as happy as a human being could be.
Suzie was also about to leave but noticed Erika was still seating on her bed. “Are
you not coming?”, Susan asked softly. Erika just shrugged, she was clearly not
happy. “Just go we’ll catch up with you
two, k”, she shouted and sat down beside Erika. “It’ll be fun trust me, there
might even be marshmallows”, she said encouragingly and moved closer to her. “If
I go will you leave me alone,” she answered quietly and put on her coat. The
sky was clear, the stars shone very brightly. The girls didn’t talk all the way
to the bonfire and when they got there they sat in different places.
There were around 40 girls sitting
around the fire. Lila expected more children but she remembered it was the
first time the camp opened. She sat on the bench, Abigail sat beside some teens
her age and started talking to them (of course they were not as good as her
wealthy friends but better than nothing), Suzie also sat down beside girls her
age. The only girl that sat alone was Erika because none of the girls seemed to
suit her. Lila was sitting beside a girl a year older than her with rosy cheeks
and golden locks. At first the plump girl seemed more interested in Lila’s
missing arm than her but later they changed the topic and started a very nice
and enjoyable conversation. It was a little chilly but no one felt cold because
of the blazing fire. Not many people would notice how beautiful it was; Suzie
did because she was a writer and noticed a lot of details. It seemed like the
orange flames were hypnotizing her and the spark danced in the air. She
wondered why something so beautiful, comforting and made you so warm could also
destroy life. While Susan was imagining all Abigail could think about was how
dirty her new boots were.
Suddenly a very tall, skinny and tan
woman walked over. She wore designer leggings (a present from Catherina) and a
cheap a little too big jumper (she bought herself) and purple runners. She
looked young around 22 years old. She had a little bit of lip-gloss on her tin
lips and her hair was quite messy as usual. Everyone recognized her as soon as
the light from the fire shown on her; it was Anna the camp owner. “ Hello
girls, I’m very happy you all made it here tonight and I’m very excited about
getting to know every single one of you, now if we could just over the rules
before we go back to having fun …” she said very nicely sat down on a log and
started reminding the children of the policy of the camp. Even thou Lila didn’t mean to be
disrespectful and was very interested in everything she stopped listening after
the first rule was mentioned. She went into a world inside her head. She looked
around and her eyes started playing tricks. Something like rainbow colored
sparks seemed to be flying beside a big oak tree. She blinked and then the
lights disappeared. She would have thought she imagined it but then Erika said
“Did you see that?” It was a very fun and interesting night but Suzie was too
tired to stay at the campfire. Abigail went with her because she was very
unhappy because a mosquito bit her. Getting to know Abe better was hard because
of her personality but Susan tried to understand that maybe some people didn’t
like the camp like her. She tried to be nice to the stubborn teen but it didn’t
work. “ So, how was your evening?”
“Not great,
and I have no intention of becoming your friend so don’t try so hard” she gave
Susie a sour smile and walked quicker towards the cabin.
Lila was one of the last to go to her hut.
She was nearly there and still had half an hour until the time when you had to
be in your room. She was happy and excited but also confused. What were those colorful flying lights and I
think I should tell Anna about them, Erika saw them too. She kept thinking
about it and then she heard something, footsteps. She felt frightened, she was
strong but she couldn’t defend herself with only one arm. Suddenly Erika came
out of the shadows and she pushed little Lila against a wall, gentler than she
did at school when she wanted something because of Lila’s condition. It was
hard enough to leave a bruise on her delicate skin. Pushing her to the wall was
not difficult, Erika did it to boys, so a light seven years old was not a
challenge. “Now listen you little thing”, she said roughly, “I don’t want to
hurt you and you know why”, it really hurt Lila inside did Erika go easy on me because I am disabled, I don’t need her
pity. “I know you saw the lights too, I saw the amusement in your eyes, I’m
already as unhappy as I am now and I don’t want you to tell anyone about
tonight. I’m no weirdo. If you mention it everyone is gonna think we are mad, I
don’t want that. So please keep that lovely mouth closed. I’m sorry about it
all but you just don’t get it. Go!” Erika was definitely in a bad mood but what
she did was absolutely terrible and Lila knew that. She kicked Erika in the
knee and ran away. Erika didn’t bother to chase her, she was so sad. Lila went
to bed, Erika’s bed was empty, she was very angry at her but also understood
what Erika was feeling. Why can’t she just stop playing the mean
girl she is actually quite nice when she’s not mad and maybe she is just
confused .Lila was asleep when Erika came in, she got into her pajamas and
went to bed. She couldn’t sleep. She kept thinking how bad and cruel she was,
Lila was only small. Her knee hurt, a little girl with a lot of strength. She
just couldn’t have people looking down at her like she was mentally insane, like
when she changed school and everyone found out about her anger issues and
appointments at the psychiatrist, it was a few years ago but the pain was still
there. Maybe the lights were not even real, keep
telling yourself that she thought. I really didn’t mean it but I had to do
something. When she finally fell asleep she had nightmares.