A Silver Summer

Chapter 10

Chapter ten

Anika tossed and turned on her cot but no matter which way she moved, she couldn't get comfortable. With an inaudible sigh, she sat upright and looked over to her roommate's cots. Mel was curled into a ball facing the wall with her red hair spread over the pillow like a flowing river of lava. Keira on the other hand was sprawled over her sheets. One arm covered her eyes while the other and a leg hung over the edge of the mattress. Her other limb bent in a different direction. A soft snore rumbled in back of the golden blond's throat. With a tired chuckle, Anika gathered her lantern from her dresser, her new iPod and headphones and walked out of the cabin. She didn't bother to check the time as she guessed it was a good half hour before the sun would rise. The camp was silent except for the slight breeze that rustled the leaves overhead that she could barely make out the outlines of. The lantern swung in her hand as she meandered to the lakeshore. Swimming wasn't her strong suit, but she could at least dip her feet in the water off the dock. 

Since she didn't bother to put on her sneakers, her bare feet softly padded on the dirt path as the beach came into view. A lazy orange stained the sky through the trees on the other side of the lake and cast a reflection on the glass surface of the water. Before coming to the camp, Anika had only sprayed landscapes like this one on the sides of buildings. 

Once at the end of the dock, Anika sat and hesitantly dipped her toes in the chilly black water. Soon, the water was up to the middle of her shins and she started to swing her feet under the surface. She muffled the frightened scream that instinctively caught in her throat when something wrapped around her foot. The water rippled as a dark pink head emerged from the black inky water. 

"Ow!" the girl groaned, her hand coming to rub her head while the other moved out around her so she treaded in the water.  

"Are you alright? How long have you been down there?" Anika asked her, placing a hand over her wildly beating heart. 

"Hold on." the girl muttered and disappeared under the surface and a second later resurfaced with her pale face clear of her short pink hair. 

"Are you alright?" Anika asked again. The girl groaned a bit as she pulled her thin figure from the water and jogged down the dock back to the beach. 

"Hey!" Anika growled after her and considered chasing the pink head girl. 

"Don't hey me." the girl said over her shoulder as she walked over to a large boulder at the sand's edge. 

"And quit yelling. You're going to get us caught." she reached behind the rock and pulled a hidden white towel out. After wrapping it around her shoulders, the girl walked down the dock and sat besides a standing Anika who just stared down at her. After a few seconds of silence, the girl turned her baby blue eyes up to stare Anika in the face with a raised light brow.

"I'm not leaving now that you're here. I was here first." 

"I'm not leaving." Anika shook her head. 

"Well then have a seat. You're making me feel awkward standing up like that." the girl turned her heart shaped face away to look over the water. 

"Okay..." Anika slowly lowered into a crouch as she cautiously peered over the dock's edge. 

"It's just me." The girl assured and Anika caught her rolling her eyes with a small smile playing at her slightly blue tinged lips. 

"Can't blame me for checking. What were you doing down there anyway?" Anika asked, finally deciding that no one else would spring out from under the water as she dropped her feet into the water again. 

"Couldn't sleep any longer." the smile dropped from her face as a flicker of annoyance crossed her baby blue eyes. 

"Me neither." Anika said.