Cabin Fever | ✓

Extra 1: Kingston High's Captain Asshole

" How would Aiden and Marley have met if 'Camp Where The Hell Are We' was cancelled at the last minute? "

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This is a one-shot, so it's a bit longer than a normal chapter: 5,500 words.

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Friday, November 4th 2017
[In the events of CWTHAW, this is the night of Dalton Kings' party - Chapters 35-40]

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There aren't many places where one can find Marley Hoover.

Her house, her best friend Gabby Collins' house, her school, the university library she works at, and, on an occasional day, the mall or the park. She's always been one to find solace in her comfort zone, and excitement in a good book or, maybe Combinatorics if she's feeling adventurous (there's nothing like the counting branch of mathematics to get a girls' heart racing).

However, tonight, she isn't in any one of her predictable places. She's somewhere that someone who knows her would assume aliens touched down on Earth and took over her body, before forcing her to said place.

A high school party.

In a gated community.

One of the newer members of the math league at Kingston High, Vivian, had been invited by the owner of the four-story house Marley had found herself in. He's a linebacker of the varsity football team, but that's all she knows about him. Vivan had practically begged the other ten members of math league (including Marley and Gabby) to attend the party as well, because 1) going to something like this is out of the general comfort zone of any math league member, and 2) she doesn't know anyone else here and wants friends to fall back on.

Naturally, she was mostly referring to Penny and Wyatt, her two closest friends, but the invitation had extended to the others who refused to pass up the opportunity. That's not to say Marley and Gabby had any plans to go, but ever since they got the news that their three-month biology camp was cancelled this year, they've been bummed enough that Mr. Collins practically dragged them off to the party himself.

Gabby's little brother Gavin was the one to spill the beans after overhearing the two of them discussing it in Gabby's room over their homework. He was hoping they'd be in trouble for it, spinning it in a way that they were planning to go without asking, but to all of their surprise, Mr. Collins nearly cried with joy. He even tried the reverse psychology method on getting the two of them to sneak out of her window to go to the said party, over dinner last night.

"I used to sneak out my window all the time to go to parties, honey. It's a right of passage. Not that I condone it, and you would be in serious trouble. But sometimes the fun is worth the consequence. But it's not allowed. Rules are also made to be broken. Gavin, can you pass me the salt?"

Gabby and Marley just shared an annoyed look before Gabby tried to use the 'no transportation in case they drink' excuse. That didn't work either. Mr. Collins knew them too well to ever assume they'd actually drink, and pleaded to drive them himself. He sped from the driveway almost as soon as the girls were out of the car, rightfully assuming that they'd want to change their minds.

The home they were standing in was cylindrical shapes and ivory towers: glowing windows and large, draping curtains. The inside of the house was high ceilings, pale hardwood and plush, grey and white furniture. The lighting left no corner of any of the winding rooms untouched, but they were dimmed considerably. It was around ten on a Friday night in November, so the weather was still reasonably warm even in the dark.