Camp Red Lake

Chapter 6. School

"Ugh..." I groaned and squinted as my eyes adjusted to the light. "Where am I?" I croaked. My back and shoulders aching when I sat up.

"Welcome back." A stoic voice mumbled from the corner. I turned to see Croy who had been slouching on the foldout chair. "What happened?" I asked curiously as I rubbed my stiff neck. "Last thing I remember was cleaning that stupid floor."

"Someone thought mixing chemicals was a good idea." Croy chastised as he stood next to my hospital bed. I glanced down at the medical bracelets around my wrist.

"How long was I out?" I asked wearily.

"About a day and a half, and to top it off, you didn't even finish cleaning." He muttered bitterly. A knock on the wall made us glance up.

"Can we come in?" She asked before peeking her head through the curtain. Croy took a step back as Myra, Allison and Jason walked into the room.

"How are you feeling?" Allison asked as she stood next to Croy. Myra and Jason stood on the opposite side of the bed.

"Good, a little sore, but good." I said with a smile.

"We were super worried girl, what happened?" Myra asked as she sat next to me.

"I was being stupid." I admitted sheepishly as I rubbed my neck again.

"I gotta go, see you guys." Croy waved before moving the curtain and stepping out of the makeshift room.

"Croy, wait up!" Jason called out before following him out of the room.

"He really hates me huh?" I asked with a sigh.

"No, he doesn't." Myra assured as she sat down at the edge of the bed. "He may not have said it, but he was actually quite worried. He was the one that carried you here." My eyes widened.

"He also cleaned up everything you missed after he brought you in." Allison turned just as Jason re-entered the curtain. "Croy?" She asked curiously, to which Jason replied with a shake of his head. "I'm gonna use the toilet." She mumbled before making her way out of the room.

"Don't judge him too harshly, it's just he still doesn't trust you." Jason clarified as he rubbed the back of his neck.

"Yea, he'll warm up to you, just like he did with all of us!" Myra enthused.

"Okay." I managed to mutter before they opened the curtain and said goodbye for the night.

A week passed after the incident with the chemicals. They released me the morning after everyone came to visit. After contacting my mother, she told them she was not surprised. She was more than used to my "accident-prone ass," and told the Doctor I was going to be a handful. The Doctor still recommended I take it easy for the rest of the week, so with a note from her, I managed to skip my exercise drills for three days. Thankfully, this meant I didn't have to deal with Croy's sulking.

Just like that, I completed three weeks at Camp Red Lake.

The day after my note expired was the first day of school. On the days we were to attend classes, we didn't have to wake up for drills at 04:30, instead we woke up at 06:00 to be at school at 07:00. They altered our exercise regimen so that we didn't have to clean or work-out on the days we attended. They wanted us to complete our homework without interruption.

That morning, after I had showered and put on a fresh pair of uniform, I picked up a plain binder from the ones they gave us. They also supplied us with grey messenger bags to carry our books in. Anxiously, I stood by the door of the cabin as Myra and Allison finished getting ready. I watched as Allison lined her eyes with pink eye-shadow and black liner.

Myra brushed through her bob excitedly before fastening a camo bow to her head. I brushed my fingers through my tangled hair anxiously. Watching them made me feel self-conscious. Being sort of a tomboy, I never gave much importance to looks. But as I watched my pretty roommates get ready for the day, I began to wish I had.

"You ready?" Myra asked, snapping me out of my trance. I nodded as Allison draped the bag strap over her shoulder. "Cool, let's head out then!" She enthused as she walked out of the cabin. "You sure you're okay?" Myra asked again a few minutes later.

"Just a little anxious. Being the new kid really sucks." Myra smiled and placed a reassuring hand on my slouched shoulder.

"Don't worry girl, you'll be fine."
The educational wing of the camp was a ten-minute walk away from our living quarters. We had to follow a narrow path through the trees on the east side of the camp. The pale building stood at the very end where the large fence faced an actual stretch of highway. Right behind the school was about half an acre of land covered in foliage that led back to the lake.

I followed my roommates up the green steps just as a loud bell echoed through the hallway. "That was the first bell, it gives us about ten minutes to get to class." Myra explained as she stopped in front of a row of lockers.

"I'll go on ahead." Allison waved before disappearing around the corner. Myra nodded as she turned the small circular lock. "You can share my locker, just don't give out the combination to anyone. I don't wanna get my shit stolen." She said before handing me a small paper with the combination. I nodded and stuffed it in my pocket. "Do you have your program card?" She asked after retrieving her books from the rectangular compartment.

"Yea, they gave it to me when I first got here." I muttered as I pulled it out of my pocket and handed it to her.

"Oh, you've got chemistry with Mr. Darin in room nineteen, that's my first class too! This is gonna be an interesting year!" She enthused before closing her locker and leading the way.

"Welcome! You must be Miss Gallego!" Mr. Darin exclaimed when he saw me standing by the doorway. Myra made her way in and took a seat towards the back of the class. "So nice to have you on board. Please, take a seat!" He urged after signing my program card.

After taking the paper, I shuffled awkwardly towards the back and picked up a textbook from a table in the corner. Then I made my way over and took a seat next to Myra. "You'll like this class, Mr. Darin is really nice and he's a great instructor. I had him for biology last year!" She assured just before the second bell.

"Okay class, open your textbooks to page 20..."

(A/N: Stay in school peeps! Thank you for reading! :P)