The Spoken Truth

Chapter Two: The Campfire

The beach here was a lot quieter than the beaches my dad and I used to go to. I liked these beaches a lot better; there weren’t as many people. The sky was my favorite shade of blue without a cloud in sight.

“Hey Marcie!” I heard from around my shoulder. It was Kacie. “I went to your house but you weren’t there, I didn’t know you were staying for the school year! This is going to be great!”

         She kept screaming like it was the best thing she has heard in a long time. Kacie has long brown hair and dark brown eyes; she is pretty tall and is sixteen like me. We have decided that we are going to get our driver’s licenses together.

“Yeah, I thought you knew,” I commented.

“Nope, that’s OK. Hey, where is Mag?” She wondered.

         We decided to go look for her and talk.

“So what going on in Los Angeles?” she questioned, as if I were going back in a few days. She knows that I have already tried staying with my mom.

“My dad is directing a new movie. I don’t know what it’s called though. What about here?”

“That sounds cool! There’s a campfire tonight, if you want to come with me and Maggie.”

“Sounds fun.”

“Yeah, it is. You always go back too soon. It’s only for people who are going to Rock Hill. It’s a way to meet the new people who are gonna go to school here.”

“That’s great I would love to come!” I said with as much excitement as I could give her.

         We finally found Maggie back at my house, talking to my mom about private art lessons. Kacie and I have both seen Maggie draw and she is amazing! When mom saw us come in she immediately stopped talking as if it were a huge secret that they were trying to keep from us.

“Hey there you guys are!” Maggie said abruptly.

“Yeah, here we are. Didn’t I say that we were going to the beach?” I asked.

“No, I assumed you would be here unpacking your stuff still.” She said annoyingly.

“You really shouldn’t assume anything!”

“Well then let’s going do to the beach now!” Kacie said trying to stop the argument before it got worse. Maggie and I didn’t get along as well as Kacie and I did.

         When we got to the beach the campfire had already started. There had to be at least four to five hundred teenagers there. I did not like big crowds at all, but I had Kacie and Maggie to help me get to know some more people. Most of them were talking and standing around the fire. Some of them were crazy enough to get in the water. I went over to touch the water with my big toe. 

 It gave me a shiver down my spine. They’re probably drunk, I thought to myself.

         When the sun finally went down the school principals separated the people by their grade, because this was still a school-sponsored event. So when we were all in our groups they told us to mingle with our own grade. I stayed with Kacie and Maggie most of the time; they introduced me to many people, though I still felt like a child hiding behind her mother’s leg.

         I kept telling myself that I would meet more people when I go to school. Which I know is true, but I still am “the new girl.” 

“Hey!” a voice called around my shoulder. I quickly spun around to look where the voice had come from. A girl with dark black eye stared up at me.

“Are you new here?” she asked, trying to be friendly. “I’m Hanna! And you are…?”

         I felt like I was being pressured. “I’m Marcie!” I shouted above the crowd.

“Nice meeting you!” She ended the conversation just like that! And she was off to see if anyone else was new.

         It was almost ten and I hadn’t eaten dinner yet so Kacie, Maggie, and I went to my house to order pizza.  They didn’t sleep over; they only live up the street from my house, so they walked home after we finished the pizza.

         The next morning, Mom had to go to the grocery store, just to get the usual weekly supply. I went with her, because I wanted to know my way around Monterey before I got my license. She agreed to take me wherever I wanted to go.

“There’s this amazing Italian restaurant just around the corner from your high school,” she said with excitement. “It’s where most of the kids your age go to lunch.”

“OK show me!” I tried to match my tone to hers.

         We drove to my new school because she wanted me to know how to get to the restaurant from there. We went into the parking lot and then back out. First we made a right and then a left into the pebble car park.

         The restaurant was very nice looking; it had many fountains and lovely greenery. It looked pretty expensive though.

         As if reading my mind, Mom says, ”Looks a lot more expensive than it really is.”

“Can we eat here?”  I asked hopefully. I wanted to see if their food matched up with their style.

         As we walked in our waiters greeted us politely.

“Welcome to Blue Bird, how many?” One of them asked.

“Table for two?” Mom replied 

“Right this way,” said the greeter; she was carrying two very neat menus, all blue, of course.

“Thank you,” Mom murmured.

         The inside was very roomy, with a lot of blue birds hanging from the ceiling. The silverware was already on the table when we arrived. We didn’t have to wait very long for a new waitress to come along.

“Hello, I’m Alice, and I will be your server this afternoon. Can I get you anything to drink?”

“One ice tea, please,” I asked

“Two,” Mom added.

“I’ll be right back.”

“Thanks,” I said as she turned toward the kitchen door.

Mom waited until she was in the kitchen to speak again. “So how do you like it here so far?” She sounded curious.

“Great, though I haven’t made many friends yet.” She is my mother so I have to tell her the truth.

“Yeah, I’m positive that will change next week,” she said in a very certain tone.

         When we finally finished our spaghetti and meatballs, with garlic bread, we went home. I decided to read my book until dinner.