Post by silent.lullaby on Apr 28, 2009 23:16:32 GMT -5
Boot Camp For Terribly Twisted Teens [Chapter 01] Incarcerated
Laughter rang through the air.
It took me a good thirty seconds to realize it was mine.
Once I got the laughter under control I chugged down the rest of my bottle of beer. My sight so fuzzy from the alcohol I couldn’t read the label, my memory wasn’t helping out that mystery at the moment either. I didn’t even really know the three guys I was with. We had been at a house party, that I vaguely remembered, but I couldn’t remember how we got to this park.
And honestly I didn’t really care either. I smiled, a smile I hoped looked flirty enough to earn me another drink, I couldn’t even feel the face muscles respond. Perhaps that was a sign that I was beyond wasted, though it wasn’t something I was going to admit out loud. My look must have looked pathetic enough at least because the blonde handed me another bottle, even took the cap off with his teeth. What a gentleman.
I took in a deep breath of the cool autumn air. “Darlin... where is your shoe?” I looked up one of the dark haired boys seemed to be the one talking to me. What a stupid question. They were on my feet. I looked down to see the right one was missing. Huh. I looked up and I think I may have smiled that time, a smile that once more broke out into laughter. He smiled and sat down on the metal bench beside me, he put his arm around me and kissed my alcohol laced lips, I inhaled deeply, all I could smell was the beer.
“SHIT, COPS.”
The alert brought me out of my mellow. I looked to the guy I had been kissing, he grabbed my arm and tugged on me, once on my feet, he let go and took off running. So much for chivalry. Then again if I was him I wouldn’t want to be held back by a someone completely tanked, running from the cops with only one shoe. Still I really wished he had waited.
Still I ran like my life depended on it. I hoped a low fence into someone’s back yard, and in the darkness I tripped into someone’s kiddy pool. Fan-fucking-tastic. I got back to my feet but someone’s hand grabbed around my upper arm. “Claire?!” I turned and groaned.
I sat in the cell for a while. A long while. Didn’t I get my one phone call? Then again I hadn’t spoken, it would have only come out as slurred as my thoughts. I recognized the cop though, I guess he probably called my dad. Great. The cop was Nick Greene. He was a five years older than me, his family moved when I was ten. I didn’t know he’d moved back, apparently after graduating police college.
The cell unlocked and I was surprised when he walked in with his uniform jacket, “you’ve got to be cold.” I stared blankly at him as he stood there his arm extended holding the jacket for me. He gave up on that after a few seconds. “Claire, what the heck were you doing?” I simply stared once more at him.
“CLAIRISSA VICTORIA KEEDS!”
I looked down to my feet, one soaked sock, one shoe. “Hello Mr Keeds.”
“Nick?” My father sounded surprised, “when did you get back in town?”
“Just this week, still unpacking, they moved me up here, needed more manpower around.” Nick responded with ease. My father had always liked Nick, after all Nick had spent most of his time around my older brother, they were the same age, played football and basketball together. “Hey how is.”
“Dad can we go home?” I asked loudly, I’d had to force the words to come out right, and even though they sounded correct to me in my state, I was sure they were slurred.
“Jesus Claire, what have you gone and done this time?” My father, who seemed to only now remember I was even there, asked sounding exhausted.
“Public intoxication, evading a police officer,” Nick answered for me.
“I’m sorry Nick, I honestly don’t know what I’m going to do with this girl.”
“Don’t worry about it Mr. Keeds, happens to the best of us, just make sure she doesn’t do it again.”
I hear Sargent Joe Kelp laugh, as he came through the door, “gee you’ve graced us with your presence once again Clairissa?”
“What is a Friday night without my visit?”
Nick looked quite surprised by this news. He shook his head, in denial or disappointment? I couldn’t tell, I didn’t care. Or at least I told myself I didn’t. He looked at my dad, and I knew he was going to ask, and I couldn’t stand to hear it, I started staggering toward the exit. I just couldn’t walk fast enough to miss hearing Nick ask, “so how is Daniel?”
“I guess you didn’t hear,” I heard my father speak, I could see his forehead crinkle in my mind, it always does when he has to tell someone. “There was an accident.”
I got outside before I had to hear more. I took gulps of the icy autumn air, and I had to come to terms with the fact that winter was coming faster than I would have liked. How I hate the winter. I walked down the steps carefully my hand on the banister. Made my way clumsily to my fathers truck and pulled myself into the cab. I wish he’d hurry, my still soaked clothing and the lack of a shoe was making me very cold. I shivered in my deep purple cocktail dress my one ballerina flat missing the tiny sock that just covered slightly less than the shoe did next to nothing. I was practically walking around barefoot, I kicked off the other shoe that had a small puddle of water inside I dumped it out the door and shut it again.
It took my dad another ten minutes before he came out. He turned on the truck and I turned on the radio. He turned it back off and I stared out the side window in silence. It was our Friday ritual, of course it wasn’t always drunk and disorderly. I liked to shake things up.
“What happened to you?” My father asked quietly. I didn’t answer. He said nothing more.
I woke up in the morning with only vague memories of the night before. Mostly I remembered the cold, the police station, Nick and my father talking, then the truck. I didn’t remember walking in the house. I had my bets that my father had carried me in. I was stripped down to my undergarments, my wet socks had been removed and been put in bed. I’d never sleep with my bra on, no matter how intoxicated I was. So I determined I must have passed out in the car and slept through the night.
I stepped in the shower, the warm water breaking off cold that still clung to me. Melon scrub washed away the scent of alcohol, I used my favourite coconut shampoo and conditioner. Brushing my teeth took five minutes, since I wasn’t paying attention to the little timer on my brush holder. Still it was nice to have the stale beer breath gone.
I stepped into my walk-in closet with a towel wrapped around my small frame. I grabbed my favourite pair of sweat pants and a baggy t-shirt and prepared for a day to lounge right out. I walked down stairs and went to get some food from the kitchen, I got a bowl of cereal and opened the fridge for some milk. I noticed the pink sticky-note and took it off the fridge.
-gone to work, please clean house, Cory will be home at 3:30 today.
I ate my cereal and read over the note a few more times. Cory was my little brother, quiet kid, mostly likes to read, or colour. Since dad wasn’t around I lit up a cigarette and started sweeping the linoleum floors occasionally stopping for a moment to tap the ashes off the cancer stick.
The rest of the day was spent vacuuming, dusting, doing dishes, before I played a bit of blackjack on the computer. Not for money, I wasn’t that good yet. That and I didn’t have the money to pay up if I lost. My cell blinked and I grabbed it off the table, a text message. I flipped open the phone and clicked on the new message.
- BBQ @ Dormer and 1st! 2-3 u coming?
*Tori
I debated for moment, I shockingly wasn’t hang over in the least. Cory didn’t come home till three thirty. I deliberated and yawned walking into my closet, I had been wanting a reason to wear that little black dress with my snake skin metallic gold stilettos...
I quickly responded to the text, informing Tori I would in fact be there. It was rather rare that I would turn down any form of social gathering. I mean honestly, who did she think she was talking to?
It didn’t take long to get ready. I walked into the bathroom and adjusted my blonde locks of hair, they were wavy from the shower and dried nicely. I put on just a bit of makeup to make my blue eyes pop. I grabbed my snake skin metallic gold matching handbag threw in twenty dollars and a lip gloss and headed down the stairs carefully in my heals.
I stopped at the bottom of the stairs suddenly and ducked holding the banister. There was a sound coming from the kitchen. I swallowed the lump in my throat. Had someone broken in? I mustered up my courage and put down my hand bag and grabbed the wooden bat by the door. Cory still enjoyed baseball on Thursday nights after school. His equipment always sat by the door. Many times I cursed it since I would trip over the straps of his bag, but this was the first time I was relieved to see the bat.
I grabbed it and slowly made my way to the kitchen, half way there I took off my heals that would have clicked once I stepped from carpet to the hardwood of the hallway, and the linoleum would have made noise too.
I tightened my already white-knuckle grip on the bat and took another few steps forward. I heard more movement in the kitchen. Holding the bat to my far side I took a peek around the corner. Someone tall, standing in the shadows of the kitchen, the blinds were all drawn. I mean of course they would be, wouldn’t let me get a good look at the guy.
I took a few shaky steps forward into the kitchen, praying to whoever might be listening that he didn’t turn around. Of course, my prayers had never been answered. He turned around. Or it did. The skin was peeled off the face like it had melted in a fire, the muscle underneath was blackened, and part of white bone stuck out from the cheeks.
“No,” my voice was meek, my breath rapid with panic. This simply couldn’t be happening!
Boot Camp For Terribly Twisted Teens [Chapter 02] Dead Man Walking
“Hello, Claire.”
“This can’t be happening.”
The figure leaned back in the shadows, “do we really have to do this every time, you know I can’t hurt you... unless I really try. Don’t piss me off girly.”
I dropped the bat, it wasn’t offering me a comfort. It would do no harm to him. I forgot about why I was dressed up, forgot about my matching shoes and handbag. Forgot that Tori was waiting for me to get off the bus on 2nd street and would walk with me to Dormer and 1st. I forgot about Cory who would be home in a few hours. Or my father who surely would have wanted the garbage taken out. All of it was unimportant next to this.
“What do you want?” I asked my voice shook even though I had tried my best to make it sound strong and confident.
“I want you to send me on, I mean honestly I’ve been here forever, where’s that white light I was promised, huh? I did my time on earth I want to leave it.”
“I never promised you a light,” I growled at him. This couldn’t be happening. Not here. Not again.
The figures features twisted into a smile... or what I could assume was suppose to be a smile. “True, you didn’t promise it, but you people who can see us dead, you can send us on. My families been sent on, I want to go with them.”
“And like I told you before I can’t help you.”
“Then you are stuck with me till you see things my way.”
I took a deep breath. This wasn’t the first time I’d encountered this spirit. When my dad took Cory and I on vacation, I’d seen him in Florida. Which was where I assumed I’d left him. Spirits generally don’t do the long distance travel thing. I took another deep breath. “I’m leaving, I have things to do.”
“Hey you are going to help me!”
“The hell I am, I’m alive, I have a life. I don’t have to worry about you!” The lights started flickering, “ooooh I’m so scared.” Actually... as sarcastic as it sounded I was pretty freaked out every time that happened. It was annoying at least.
I opened the fridge and took out a mini Jack Daniels. I took off the lid with haste and chugged the mini and threw the bottle in the recycling, I grabbed a few other mini drinks with high alcoholic content and chugged them too. When I turned around the spirit was gone. Or if it was there my mental awareness wasn’t high enough to detect it. Get a little drunk your mental awareness goes down. I tried getting high for the same purpose, unfortunately it just made it worse with horrible delusions. Haven’t touched so much as Advil since.
I grabbed a few other minis and headed back sliding into my shoes and putting the little alcoholic beverages into my bag and headed out the door. I caught the bus and sat down in the very back, the few other passengers in front of me, I didn’t like having someone I didn’t know sit behind me. You get all kinds of weirdos on busses.
When I stepped off on 2nd Tori was standing with a cigarette in hand. Her long brown locks were blowing in the wind, but kept out of her face with the clip that kept the majority of her hair out of her face. She was wearing the red strapless dress she wore to the last semi-formal it looked stunning on her curvy frame. “Thought you would have caught the last bus,” she said seeming a little agitated by my lateness. Still she passed me the cigarette and I took a drag before handing it back to her.
“You know I don’t leave the house looking any less than fabulous.”
The comment made Tori grin as we walked down the sidewalk, I could feel the cold wrapping around my legs giving them goose bumps. I shuddered, but I didn’t give up fashion for warmth. “So who’s shindig is this?”
“You remember Matheson from first year of highschool?”
I tried to think back, “the cute blonde with the freckles?”
“That would be the one.”
“Didn’t he move?”
“Yeah, he was a military kid you know, but his dad was one of the soldiers killed in Iraq. His mom decided moving back here might do him and his brother good... or so I hear.”
We arrived with a few other people and headed into the back yard. There was beer in a cooler with ice. Someone was barbequing, though I had zero interest in that, I could feel the effects of the minis wearing off, I took one of the beers using the opener sitting on the table and started sipping off of it. Tori was already talking to a guy from school, a few more joined them after that.
I could have joined. Been social as I typically am. Still the entire dead guy in my kitchen had my brain pre-occupied and I wanted to drown the thoughts in my beer. I finished the first one in the first ten minutes of being there and took another before I started to walk around a little. I talked to a few of the boys from class, spoke briefly to Penelope about our English assignment. Still I wasn’t in the mood for this.
“Clairissa Keeds, glad you could make it,” It was Liam Matheson I smiled at him, he’d grown up nice in the past two years he’d been gone.
“Hey Liam,” I responded with a smile, “nice little shindig you have here.”
“Figured it might be a good way to talk to people I haven’t seen since grade nine.”
“Geeze that sounds so long ago now.” Sure we were both only in grade twelve now, still the sound of the ninth grade sounded childish to me now.
“Has been awhile, especially since I’ve been gone. Weird seems like everyone is nearly all grown up and they all just seem different.”
“You’re different too you know,” I said touching his arm lightly before retracting it back to my side in a smooth movement.
“Really?” His voice lowered and our conversation automatically seemed more private. “How so?”
I looked up to him, and smiled, “well for one I distinctly remember being able to easily look you in the eye in grade nine. Your hair has gotten longer, you’ve just... grown up.” I looked down for a moment then looked up at him from under my heavy eyelashes. I seen his adams apple bob and I grinned a little. It was like Tori always said ‘like shooting fish in a barrel.’
“You can’t ignore me forever.” My smile faded and I chugged the rest of the bottle, not exactly classy in the least but I didn’t even want to have the image enough of my mind to reform. I didn’t want to see it anymore.
“W-would you like another?” Liam asked.
“Um, yes, please.”
Liam left and I took one of the small bottles from my handbag and downed in a fluid motion and shoved the empty back in before anyone could catch me. I let out a breath, no voices, no spirits. This was good. The buzz was keeping them at bay. How long could I stay drunk though, honestly.
I couldn’t have easy conversation with anyone knowing spirit was still behind me wether I could see him or not. I stood uneasily. Liam had gotten caught talking to a few guys from the football team, two drinks in his hand, one for me, one for him. I grabbed a napkin and wrote in eyeliner...
-Sorry, my father called, I need to get home, hope to see you again soon.
~Claire
I walked calmly to the side of the house and found a fence, I looked behind me, there was on one. I hopped the fence with efficiency I shouldn’t have in such a thing. I continued on walking my stilettos were actually pretty comfortable considering as they clicked against the side walk. I hoped the mini I downed would keep the spirit at bay till I returned home. Occasionally I accidentally answered spirits and people think you’re really weird. I was going to have to buy a headset sometime so when it happened I could just shrug and point to my ear.
I caught the bus just in time and took the spot at the back. By the time I reached my house (after transferring busses at the terminal) the effects of the alcohol had worn away. I glanced at the clock when I got in the house, “aw shit.”
“Where the hell were you?” My father yelled coming toward me from the kitchen, “I found Cory locked outside when I got off work at four!”
“There was this barbeque,” I tried to explain, my father was rubbing his temples, “he just moved back.”
“Who’s he?”
“Liam Matheson,” I responded with hope growing, Liam’s mom had worked briefly with my father, I crossed my fingers behind my back for luck.
“The Matheson’s are back in town,” my father seemed a bit surprised by the news. Then he shook his head, “that still doesn’t excuse your behaviour!”
“But dad!”
“No, go to your room, just stay there.”
I rolled my eyes before stomping up the stairs, a little too hard, my heel snapping on the final step. “God dammit!”
“CLAIRE!”
“Fuck,” I muttered quietly, if my father didn’t like me taking the Lords name in vain, he sure wasn’t going to like his little girl saying the f-word.
I turned toward my room to see Cory, “fuck,” he repeated with a grin.
“SHHH!” I put my hand over his mouth, “don’t be saying that!”
His words came out muffled so I removed my hand, “you said it!”
“I’m older, smarter, and prettier, I’m allowed.”
“Fine I’ll tell dad!”
“Don’t you dare,” I grabbed his arm as he ran for the stairs.
“Thought you said you wouldn’t get in trouble.”
“Don’t tell dad and I’ll give you a quarter.”
“Make it a dollar.”
Boot Camp For Terribly Twisted Teens [Chapter 03] Fighting Shadows
Once I got Cory his dollar he let me be. I sat down on my bed, I don’t know why my father thinks sending me to my room is punishment, I spend most of my time there anyways. My wireless internet for my laptop, a DS, my cd player which I turned on and watched the cd start to twirl. It started playing ‘Call Me When Your Sober’ by Evanescence.
I plugged in my phone to make sure it stayed charged and I could smell lasagna cooking, its scent reaching me through the vents. I peeked through the one vent that I could see into the living room with. Cory seemed content watching Ben 10. I stood back up and decided I should probably change into something else. I kicked off my broken heals and stripped off my dress changing back into the sweats from the morning. I turned to my computer as the song changed to ‘For a Pessimist I’m Pretty Optimistic’ by Paramore. I smiled and bobbed my head rather contently to the song.
“Are you done drowning in alcohol yet?”
I frowned and turned around, the spirit was standing in front of my door. “Fuck off,” I said quietly, the last thing I needed was for Cory to hear me fighting with no one.
“That’s pleasant.” The spirit responded, “but you should consider me a guest in your home, I mean come on you should be doing everything I ask.”
“Normally guests are invited,” I retorted angrily.
The spirit waved a blackened hand, I really think he must have been burned alive. “Now, now, no need to get testy. Just send me on, that’s all I want.”
“And we’ve had this discussion before.” I really wished I had more alcohol, but alas, I had to get past him in order to get more... and I’d have to get past dad too. “I can’t send you on. So go get lost, find someone else to bother.”
“You are the only one I’ve found that can see me.” The spirit stepped out of the shadows, though the darkness clung to him swirls of it latched on to him and spun around my room. My light started flickering and the blinds fell down at once. I let out a frightened shriek, but it was quiet, no one called to see if I was okay.
“Piss off!” I said it a lot more strongly than I felt.
“Your really starting to piss me off,” he responded. The shadows started clinging on to me and I found that the shadows, darkness, had a tight grasp on my upper arms. “All I want is to leave this fucking world, is that to fucking much to ask!”
I tried to jerk out of the shadowy grasp, I let my knees buckle but it just jerked my arms up making my shoulders feel like they would rip my arms clean off. I couldn’t help it I screamed loudly. “LET ME GO!” I could feel tears sliding down my face. The shadows through me into the bed post and I felt weak, but I didn’t pass out. The darkness faded back to normal shadows and my lights stopped flickering.
My dad busted open the door and looked at me, a heap on the floor. My head was bleeding. “What the hell?”And what could I say? Tell my father that a spirit controlling shadows did this to me? He would send me to an asylum, say it was for my own good. No, I’d deal with this on my own. No nut house for me. “Are you drunk?”
Aw shit, not this again. “No dad,” I muttered feeling the back of my head.
He stood back assessing me. “You are drunk.”
“I’m not,” I said putting more feeling into it.
“Then explain what you were yelling about.”
That I had nothing for, “I might be a little drunk.”
“Fuck Claire!” My father shouted, he was obviously frustrated with me.
“Fuck!” Cory said from the doorway.
“Don’t repeat that Cory!”
“Claire said it too!”
“Hey! Backstabbing twirp!”
“Enough!” My father yelled, Cory flipped me off since dad was facing me. I glared because it was the best I could do with out getting me in more trouble. The fire alarm went off, “get cleaned up Claire, burnt lasagna will be downstairs when you get there.”
Cory was sticking out his tongue at me when I slammed the door in his face. “Fucking hell,” I muttered before sticking my head under cold water willing the blood to clot up. I wrapped a towel around my wet hair and walked downstairs.
Dinner was eaten in silence, and I headed back up the stairs for a night of silence. Hopefully. I figured the spirit had to have used up a lot of energy to do the lights and the shadows and the blinds. He would have to recharge before he could bother me. Hopefully that would take me to morning at least.
I fell asleep quickly after taking a sleeping pill with Jack Daniels that I had snuck up after dinner.
My dream was something about leprechauns being in the mafia. I had to start remembering not to down pills with alcohol. I took my anti-depressant I had been on ever since... I shook my head and took the pill just with saliva, I took a record fast shower and got dressed in boot cut jeans and a black tight fitting t-shirt and put my hair up into a pony-tail, it was wavy from the water but looked fine.
I walked down the steps and realized it was Saturday, Dad had Saturday’s off and Cory was eating a chocolate cereal. I skipped going into the kitchen where I could see Dad reading the paper and went into the living room for some mindless cartoons. “Claire?” My father called before I got there. I frowned but continued down the hallway past the living room and into the kitchen where my father was sitting with a bunch of papers. He put the news down and I looked at the pictures on one of the leaflets. It was a picture of a building with a vast grounds. “What the hell,” I picked up another before my father could move it from me. “Kennedy Boot Camp For Unruly Teens!”
“I’ve thought about this a lot Claire,” my father started, I wanted to cut him off but my jaw was still hanging on the floor from the shock. “Ever since Daniel’s accident.”
I finally found the ability to speak again at mention of my older brother, “don’t even start with that shit dad.”
“I know it came to a shock to everyone.”
“Dad.”
“And you’ve been coping in all the wrong ways! I mean I can’t have you out at all hours of the night, drinking, smoking, doing God knows what with God knows who!” My father was red faced with the rage in the speech. “This will be good for you.”
“The hell it will!” I yelled.
Cory came in still in his pajamas, “what is going on?”
“Nothing son.”
“Dad’s just sending me away nothing major,” I said with heavy sarcasm and a casual wave of my hand. I couldn’t believe he was doing this to me, “you loose one kid, send the other away.”
“Clairissa! Don’t you ever say that. You need help, help I can’t give. I’ve tried to give you time to deal and straighten out but it’s been six months of you saggaring in drunk, smelling of drugs, you sneak out all the time... you need help. These people can give you help.”
“I have friends here dad!”
“And they obviously haven’t been any kind of proper influence on you, now have they?”
“Dad!”
“No, this isn’t up for discussion,” Dad said standing, “and you better start packing what you will need, I’ll be dropping you off bright and early tomorrow morning.”
“You... you can’t!”
“I can, and I am. Don’t argue with me!” He said before I could argue further. “Just... just pack your things.”
“I’ll do better dad!” I begged, “I’ll straighten out!”
“No, you won’t that’s the problem. You need help,” he put his hand on my shoulder, “these people have fantastic records. They will help you.”
I stared at him blankly. “Please dad...”
“Go pack.”
I stared at him for a moment before turning on my heal and nearly knocking Cory over with my power stride, “hey!” Cory yelled at me but I kept moving. I stomped up the steps and slammed the door behind me. What’s worse an asylum or boot camp? “FUCK!” I shouted throwing my glass lamp it shattered to fragments I turned on my over head light and grabbed my suitcase from my closet.
I simply couldn’t believe that this was happening to me.
Boot Camp For Terribly Twisted Teens [Chapter 04] Kennedy Grounds
I threw the open red suitcase onto my bed and started shoving in my belongings. Shirts, skirts, pants, dresses, belts, shoes, socks, undergarments, I threw in my phone and charger, my DS and all of its games, a pack of bubblegum, and a bottle of whiskey I had stole from the kitchen last night. I grabbed my mp3 player and tossed it in after spending a half hour finding my headphones. I packed up my laptop strapping it carefully into it’s case.
Once packed up and had the bags sitting by the door, it was rather late. I took a great deal of time packing everything perfectly, unfolding and re-folding. I didn’t want this awful time to think, I’d spent all day packing, un-packing, re-packing more efficiently, blowing a few hours on MSN telling Tori what was going on, and to tell everyone a lie. Any lie. Just not to tell anyone at school where my father was actually sending me.
I sat on my bed hoping for another ghost-less night. And maybe I would get that every night. Spirits don’t do long distance. Besides it would take him a while to catch up.
There was a knock, “go the fuck away,” I yelled throwing my pillow at the door.
“Claire...”
“Seriously, fuck off. You’ve ruined my life enough for one night!” I screamed at him. I knew it would hurt him, but had he taken my feelings into consideration when he decided he was going to send me hours away in to the back woods of society and make me participate in a boot camp! No he didn’t. Fuck ‘em.
No one came to my door again for the rest of the night. I slept soundly after taking a sleeping pill with water this time.
My father woke me up early in the morning. I took the time to blow dry and straighten my hair, do my make up perfectly, I had left out a nice outfit consisting of a pair of skinny black jeans with a pair of biker styled black boots, I put on a black shirt that was ruffled along my v-neck and sleeves that floated away from my arms gracefully that only went down to my elbows. I put on a simple gold chain and my two rings, one with my birth stone, the other a diamond.
I walked down the stairs with my suitcase and laptop case. My dad took my suitcase from me silently, I waved goodbye to Cory who was sitting in the livingroom with the babysitter. I didn’t really feel like goodbyes. Cory didn’t seem to mind.
The ride in the truck was awkward silence. I feared turning on the radio so I stared out the window as the small city vanished into residential area, then fields, then forest. Then some more forest, and some more forest. I looked to dad with my eyebrow raised, surely he must be lost but he kept looking forward. Suddenly there was a third person in the cab with us. My father was oblivious though. I swallowed and looked out the window pretending to be oblivious.
“You can see me,” the spirit said, “I know you can. Just fucking send me on, honestly hasn’t this gone on long enough. Just send me on!”
I ignored the spirit, that was all I needed to start talking to people who aren’t suppose to be there. Talking to people who no one else can see is a one way ticket to a asylum. I wasn’t going there. I wasn’t. I wasn’t. I wasn’t. I would stay silent and oblivious. I took a peek in my peripheral and saw the spirit was gone. He must still be tired from making my room into a nightmare.
Suddenly there was a break in the trees, the paved road turned to gravel and we bumped over the potholes. I could see the impressive front grounds, flowers and fountains. There were three buildings. I assumed one was for schooling, one building for boys dorms and the other for girls dorms.
My father parked in the lot and we walked into the first building, the big one in the centre. I was the school, he started to do the finishing touches on the paperwork for the angry looking woman behind the desk. She looked like she would hulk out at any second, “you have to sign too,” the woman said waving the pen in front of my face.
I smirked, “and what if I don’t?”
The woman smiled cheerily, “look, here at Kennedy, you do things the easy way or the hard way. You can sign the documents, or you can run laps till you change your mind.”
“I’m not one to run laps,” I replied folding my arms over my chest.
“Well with your attitude I’m sure you’re going to grow accustom to running them.” The woman seemed to be taking enjoyment from my discontentment. “Look, I can go to the dean and have him sign you in himself, your under aged which means we just kind of do this as a formality of the contract. It doesn’t need to be done, but if you read over the document you might just have a heads up about some things.”
I simply couldn’t loose to this woman, “you might want to get walking to the dean then,” I replied with a smirk, showing off my dislike of authority figures.
The woman glared at me, but refrained from saying anything to cruel since my father was there, she stood and went into another office for a few moments and came out with a stamp on the sheet. “There all taken care of. Mr. Keeds you may go now.”
My father turned to me, and I stared blankly at him, he put his arms out a little but I turned my body slightly away and he let them fall, “bye dad.”
“Goodbye Clairissa.” My father walked out.
“Follow me,” the woman said smirking at me.
“Isn’t there something to help move my bags?”
“No, now pick them up and come on. I don’t have all day.”
I muttered ‘bitch’ under my breath as I picked up my bags and started following her. We walked through the centre building and I swear she picked the longest possible route but didn’t bother to tell me what was in any of the rooms. I heard a whistle and some shouting so I figured there must be a gym near by.
We got out to the grounds of Kennedy boot camp, and she stopped for a minute. I stood awkwardly being held down by my bags as she checked her sheets. “You are in the B building. All buildings are co-ed. Rooms are not. Teachers and other staff live on the bottom floor of each building. Lock down is at 8. You get locked out, you sleep on the floor in the gym and there is a teacher who has to stay up with you failures so they make sure you don’t get much sleep at all. You are in B-5-4 which means your on the fifth floor, room four. Oh and there are no elevators. Have fun carrying those up.” I didn’t have a free hand so she shoved my keycard into my mouth before walking away.
I put down my bags for a moment to take the keycard out of my mouth, “fucking bitch.” I shoved the key into the back pocket of my pants and picked up my bags. Turns out I had to use the keycard to get into the B building, then to get into the stairwell, then into my hallway, and again to get into my room.
I shoved the door open angrily and walked in dropping my bags. A blonde strutted out of the kitchen slurring what appeared to be chocolate milk. She stopped and stared at me took a drink from her straw and looked me up and down, “so you’re the new kid.”
“Yeah, I’m Claire.” I responded shoving my blonde locks away from my face.
“Stay out of my stuff,” was how she responded before she continued down the hall and went into the last room on the left.
“Nice to meet you too,” I muttered before picking up my bags. There was a very small kitchen to my left, then a living space that consist of a table with three chairs shoved in the back corner by the kitchen, to the right of that was one couch and a thirteen inch television set, as far as I could tell it didn’t have satellite or cable. I bet it only got educational channels.
I opened the first door on the left and found it was filled with stuff and dirty laundry on the floor, apparently this person liked blue and wasn’t in at the moment. The other door on the left was smaller and held toilet paper, towels and feminine hygiene products.
On the right was the bathroom, which was rather large. There were three showers that were separated by walls, no curtains or glass doors at the back either. As I inspected them further they also had a timer on them. Goodbye long showers. There were three toilets that were luckily in stalls. There were three sinks and three mirrors. I walked out of the bathroom rather depressed and into the last room on the right.
My room was the last room for a reason. It was probably the smallest, squished by the measurements of the large bathroom. It was painted white but had peeled in places like someone had taped pictures up and ripped them down. It smelled as if it had been closed up for a long amount of time, the carpet had mystery stains that I tried not to dwell on.
I put down my bags and opened the window trying to get some fresh air in. The one benefit of my room was it had a sliding door that lead out to a balcony. Unfortunately the balcony looked like it might break under my weight. Still I stepped out, at least my dad could sue if anything happened. Here less than an hour and already a little suicidal. I looked to my left there was another balcony, and to my right another a good long stride away.
I walked back in and collapsed on my new bed, and ended up falling asleep soon after.
Boot Camp For Terribly Twisted Teens [Chapter 05] The Day I Met...
I awoke to a loud buzzing, “for fuck sakes noob! Get your ass out here!” I stumbled out of bed and opened my door. The blonde was in a pair of little plaid shorts and a tight fitting t-shirt. “Grab your keycard and come on.” I felt it in my back pocket and followed her. “Now swipe,” the girl said pointing at a box on the wall that was between all our rooms that was screaming now. I quickly swiped it and it shut off. “The second you hear that next time you come out here and you swipe or I’ll rip your fucking skin clean off.” She turned on her heal and walked toward the kitchen.
I noticed the second girl standing against the wall, her keycard poking out of her black denim jeans, “so who the heck are you?” She looked me over and I looked her over, her olive green shirt was tucked into her pants, she had choppy chocolate coloured hair that was slightly wavy and I couldn’t really tell if her eyes were a green or a blue.
“Claire,” I responded, “and you would be?”
The girl stared at me for a moment, “the names Nina, the psychotic blonde is Robyn. I take it you decided to be a smart ass and not sign your sheet?”
I stared for a moment, “uh, yeah how did you guess.”
“Didn’t figure you would let the alarm clock go off for that long if you knew anything. I’m shocked that Robyn didn’t just slit your throat just to get your keycard.”
“She that nuts?”
“No one knows why she’s here but in her first week here she sent five people to the hospital. One chick and four guys. One of them was the biggest guy I’d ever seen. She took him down so fast.” Nina grinned, “stay close to me today. If you start gettin’ in shit it’s bad for Robyn and I. People start actin’ up you get everyone they are associated with in trouble. So then when you come back here already in trouble with the staff you also then have to deal with your pissed off roomies.”
“I’m not going to do anything.”
“Yeah whatever, look you want to be on your own, fine. Deal with this place on your own.”
“I didn’t mean it like that.”
“Look just stay close and keep quiet.”
We ate breakfast. Which after looking through all of kitchen I found it was all nutritional. All of it, including the drinks. Water, juice and milk. That’s it. I wondered to myself what would happen when my alcohol supply ran out.
I took a shower quickly after that, as did the others. Ten minute showers. The walls separated us and I realized why the curtains weren’t needed. Everyone here was in sync. The showers went off at the same time and we grabbed out towels hanging just outside the walls that separated us. I wrapped it around me and walked to the sinks, Nina and Robyn did the same, we all brushed out teeth and went to our separate rooms. I got dressed slowly picking out a nice outfit. “Hurry up the next alarm is going to go off soon for first class,” Nina shouted at me. I put on a black skirt with black tights and a blood red shirt. I put on mascara before the alarm went off I ran out with my key. It wasn’t coming from the one by our room but the one by the entrance to our dorm.
We all slid in the keycard and walked out into the hallway. I didn’t even have my hair done but I kept by Nina who was in a white collared t-shirt the first few buttons left undone, tucked into high wasted dark blue jeans. Robyn didn’t speak to either of us but kept close to Nina, I just realized how much taller she was. Nina and I were about the same height but Robyn stood about a head taller, she wore baggy pants and a tight black tank, she looked ready for a fight.
Everyone else was coming out of their dorms at the same times, boys and girls alike. I realized why they didn’t need to separate us by floors. Our dorms would only open if we used our keys which if we used at any other time other than the alarms a teacher would be flagged to get us.
The stairwell sucked everyone moving slowly waiting for people in other floors to go. Outside it was chilly as everyone from the B building walked toward the school in the centre. Nina explained that A building was ten minutes ahead of us so there would be as many getting into the school at the same time.
Classes were built up by floors. Everyone in B-5 was in my class. We were B-5. Known as B-5 and no teacher cared to know our names. We were all B-5. English was my first class, Robyn sat down, Nina sliding in beside her. Two seater benches and work areas. “Another B-5,” The teacher said when he came in seeing me standing awkwardly. “You stupid or something, sit down at the only empty spot.”
He was right of course. Each dorm and each floor was made up of the same numbers. Therefor the rooms were made up of the same numbers as that. I took the only empty seat which was behind Nina and Robyn and beside another female. She had scars on her face and wrist she looked at me before flipping me off.
Well what do you know, I’m making friends already.
English was hell. So was math. And I don’t even want to talk about Geography. The teacher called on me. As B-5 of course so I wasn’t paying attention... I don’t want to talk about he embarrassing pushups he made me do with my atlas balanced on my head.
“So have you learned now that this isn’t a fashion show?” Nina asked as we went into the hallway. And had to wait in a long line to swipe our card for the cafeteria. We also had to swipe our cards before every class. Someone goes missing in this place and there is hell. “No skirts. I tuck in my shirt, Robyn wears tight ones because occasionally they make you do handstands and hold them for two minutes.”
“I don’t even think I can do a handstand.”
“Well you’ll have to keep trying till you do two minutes otherwise they make you start over.”
“That’s just great,” of course it was the opposite of great. The food was horrible. Super nutritious I’m sure, but very bland. Served with juice. One glass, you don’t get seconds here.
“We have gym tonight at six to seven thirty,” Nina informed me. I checked my watch it was only one. “Till then we have to either go to the pool, study hall, the athletic outdoor centre, the library, or our dorms.” I stared at her, “keycards let them know where we are at all times. So you have to go into somewhere. I’m going to the study hall, I have an assignment I need to finish.” Nina took the time to tell me where everything was and informed me I had seven minutes to get there before my lack of sign in would send out the hounds.
I decided to go up to my dorm since I didn’t have a swim suit. Robyn was already up there she didn’t say anything to me I turned on the tv. Manually of course, no easy going ride here. I was right there was only three channels, the news, the discovery channel and a channel that was in Spanish. I turned it off and went to my room.
I was starting to get a grip on how everything here was designed to break you, the tasteless food, the lack of tv, the gym classes I had yet to experience, the teachers and how they called on you. I already knew how much I was going to hate it here.
I went out onto the balcony and sat down my head leaning against building. I looked through the bars. The grounds was all an obstacle course. I wasn’t looking forward to that, and a track that went around it.
I heard a door slide open and I looked to the left a guy stepped out onto his balcony and leaned against the bars looking around. He was absolutely gorgeous, his hair was a dark brown spiked up, clean cut, bright blue eyes, he defiantly had to be a foot taller than me, maybe even more, I could see his muscles through his tight black shirt, his blue jeans were a bit baggy but didn’t show his boxers. I looked away before he caught me staring.
“Hey B-5!” I raised and eyebrow and turned to him, “sorry, I don’t know your name.”
“It’s Clairissa Keeds,” I responded with a little smile. He sat down in the corner of his balcony, the closest to my balcony. He stared through the bars at me, his blue eye so bright it seemed unnatural, that’s right, his blue eye. His other eye (I had only been staring at his profile so I only seen the one) was a chocolate brown. His miss-matched eyes left me a little unsettled. “What’s your name?” I asked sounding a little shy. A little timid. Which I have never been around anyone. He’s just a fish in a barrel. Still I couldn’t think of him as a fish. Not him, he was different.
“B-5,” he responded with a little grin, “Leon Kane,” he reached his hand through the bar and I did the same, “nice to meet you, mind if I call you Claire?”
“Not at all, everyone usually does anyway.”
“Leon, I swear I’ll fucking cut off your left nut if you don’t get out here and help me with this assignment.” I heard banging on the wood door of his room and I raised an eyebrow.
“Sorry my dorm-mate is such a dick, excuse me a moment.” Leon stood and opened the glass door and disappeared inside. Silence for a moment before I heard his voice again. “Do your own fucking shit, if you don’t fucking pass this I’ll cut off your sweaty ball sack after we finish laps and force feed you them!” Leon reappeared and shut the glass door behind him. “Again, I apologise.”
My jaw was still a little slack from disbelief of what I had just heard. Yet I figured it was something I was going to have to get use to. People here aren’t the polite polished people of home. I had to remember this place is full of ‘unruly’ teens. “No problem,” I responded when I finally found my voice again.
Leon smiled, “so how are you liking this place so far?”
“Its absolutely hellish,” I responded with a bit of a frown. I could only hope the spirit gave up, but lets face it. People die everyday. Sure not here... maybe I could get away with seeing nothing while I was here. Silence on the sixth senses. That would be a nice change. I realized I was spacing and I looked back to Leon, “how long have you been here?”
His jaw grew tight, “a while,” he responded quietly. Somehow I got the feeling that it was a lot longer than a nice little stay. He seemed to be the one spacing, he suddenly shook his head and looked at me, “you ready for gym tonight?”
“Not really,” I replied honestly, “only took the one I had to take in grade nine. I’m not big on the fitness thing.”
“You still look in good shape,” he said with a wink and I could feel heat coming to my cheeks. This was ridiculous. I Clairissa Keeds, do not blush! I make men weak at the knees, I speak with confidence, and smile seductively. I don’t do this. I looked down so my hair fell in front of my face hiding the sudden colour to my cheeks.
“Thanks,” I responded with out looking up, I couldn’t believe this. I was blushing, though I could feel the heat leaving and I felt safe enough to turn back to him again. His miss matched eyes boring into me.
Boot Camp For Terribly Twisted Teens [Chapter 06] You Know What That Means...
“Leon?” I heard someone call before the glass door slid open. A tall guy stood looking down at Leon, short cut brown hair and copper coloured eyes, he looked ridiculously muscular. “Did you hear?...Oh... perhaps another time,” he said eyeing me for the first time.
“No what is it?” Leon asked slowly taking his eyes from me.
“Girl in A-4 went missing last night. The staff is trying to keep it hush-hush but I heard it from one of the B-2’s at the basketball court.”
“You think it’s true?”
“Yeah he heard it from one of the girls roommates. The chick is a mess, but details are fuzzy, they took both the girls who were living with the runaway to counselling, and you know what that means.”
Leon looked deep in thought as he looked up to the clouds. Finally I asked, “what does it mean?”
Leon looked to his dorm-mate then to me, “something happens here they take the dorm mates for ‘counselling’ but as far as everyone can tell... they don’t ever come back.”
“Maybe they go home,” I suggested with an eyebrow raised.
“Maybe,” Mr. Tall-Muscular-and-Handsome says, “by the way I’m Thayne.”
“Claire,” I introduced myself.
The three of us sat around talking for a little while longer before Thayne and Leon’s third dorm-mate started having a mental breakdown about his assignment and they decided they better go help him otherwise they would all get laps.
I went inside soon after they did and took a nap.
I woke up close to five and changed into a pair of black biking shorts and a tight fitting blue tank-top for gym class. I had to hunt for nearly ten minutes for my pack of elastics so I could tie back my hair. I glanced in the mirror, I looked like I belonged in a gym class.
I went into the kitchen and grabbed something to eat, a bowl of cereal with milk and grabbed a bottle of water. Nina came in and changed into an outfit similar to my own only her shorts were a bit baggier and her top was green. “Where is Robyn?” She asked looking around. I simply shrugged, Robyn wasn’t my problem. “Robyn!” Nina shouted.
“Yeah, I’m coming,” Robyn shouted back from her room sounding angered.
“Why did you bother?” I asked.
“Haven’t you gotten it yet?” Nina asked sounding exasperated. “Something happens to one of us we all suffer. Robyn is late for class we all do laps. Do you want to do laps? I for one most certainly do fucking not.”
Robyn came out with her keycard in her bra strap since her navy blue shorts didn’t have pockets. Her black tank was skin tight and quite frankly she looked pretty ripped. And while I’m being honest, Robyn scares the crap out of me.
We waited until the door alarm started screaming and we slid our cards in and the door opened in the hallway I saw that Thayne and Leon were coming out, another guy in tow. The third guy looked like a bit of a geek. He wore glasses, had long black emo styled hair, had a few freckles, and wore dark clothing. He was cute... for a geek.
In the slow moving stairwell Leon came up behind me and tapped my shoulder, “sorry about the intrusion today.” I smiled and he continued, “this is our obnoxiously need to be correct at all times third, Scott.”
“Hi,” I said to Scott who was actively ignoring me.
“Scott, this is Claire. Stop being an antisocial douche-bag and say hello.”
Thayne muscled Scott into turning around, and he gave me a slight wave. “He has issues,” Thayne said with a booming laugh. I decided I would have to start working out, the more I saw the people I was around the more I realized everyone looked very strong while I looked very weak. While Scott was rather twig-ish, I could see the muscle in his arms, and I bet if he had a tighter shirt, he probably had abs too.
“So what do we do in gym class?” I asked.
Nina turned around and responded, “depends, we just finished up basketball before you came. Every Thursday and Friday is the obstacle course.”
I thought for a moment before I realized today was Thursday. Aw, shit. “I don’t think I can do it!” I started to panic as the cool air hit my skin.
“You’ll do fine,” Nina responded, “everyone gets nervous the first time. Everyone fails the first time and Robyn and I know you will.”
“Encouraging.”
“It’s realistic. They don’t give you instruction you just go. Try to stay close to Robyn and I and we will give you a hand.”
“But you better do your best, I still don’t like the idea of doing laps because you’re too weak. The slower you do the course the more laps we have to do.” Robyn explained, “anything under four minutes is a pass. Every minute after it is a lap, which we as roommates will have to do with you.”
“This sucks,” I muttered and I heard Thayne laugh.
“This is boot camp, you didn’t think it was going to be a stay at the Holiday Inn did you?” Robyn asked. “God you probably did. Though it was like your Hollywood rehab or something.” I heard her mutter something after that, which sounded a lot like ‘spoiled prep.’
I didn’t respond. I had other things to worry about. Like the obstacle course which I now stood before. It was in a cage and we all had to swipe in to get into the locked up field. Since we were on the top floor I figured that I would have a good shot at being able to watch others go first. Unfortunately the teacher had it randomized to keep us on our toes.
“B-5-8.” The teacher called and I felt my heart skip a beat. Even though it wasn’t mine every time he started calling out a room I got nervous. He called out another five before he called out, “B-5-3” Which was Leon, Thayne and Scott’s room. The three of them dashed off, for someone as gangly as Scott he made up for it with speed. Intense speed and could the white boy ever jump. “B-5-4.”
Nina grabbed me and hauled me along with her. Her fast powerful strides left me stumbling to keep up. I was completely unbalanced from the start. Nina and Robyn helped me over the first wall before Robyn used her speed, and strength to run up and pull herself up. She put down a arm and pulled Nina up by herself.
We had to pull at this string till we got the zip-line to where we were, then hold on to the little handles for dear life I wasn’t strong enough and fell a quarter of the way into a sand pit. Nina and Robyn made it to the end where they dropped into the frigid waters of the pool. I ran across the sand pit as fast as I could but it had to have taken a minute all on it’s own.
I dived into the pool and followed Robyn and Nina under a tunnel filled with water which we had to hold our breaths for all the way to the other side which I sincerely though I was going to drown. I gasped for breath as I broke the surface and there was still another bit to swim. I lagged behind while Robyn was bouncing on her toes in anticipation, and Nina was already reaching out to help me up even though I was still ten strokes away.
Nina hulled my wet, heavy body from the water and we ran across another sand pit to where we had to climb up a rope ladder, a very high rope ladder as far as I was concerned when my muscles were already jell-O. On top of the huge pillar we had to jump. That’s right jump to another pillar. Sure there was a safety net, but fucking hell were they trying to kill us!? “Come on, come on!” Robyn shouted at me. I took a step back for a run up and jumped I caught myself on the side and had to pull myself up, nearly falling down twice.
I jumped across the second pillar and knocked the wind out of myself when I landed on my chest on the third pillar and had to pull my legs up. I tried to catch by breath but Robyn grabbed the back of my shirt and pulled me as she jumped down a level and another and another till we were on sand again. One last sprint to the finish and I collapsed to the ground. “Eight minutes and 45 seconds. Round that to nine minutes and you have five laps. Get started.”
I flipped off the teacher while his back was turned, “that could have been another lap right there,” Nina said quietly. “How are you feeling?”
“Like hell.”
“Well come on, we are all going to feel like hell after these laps.”
Laughter rang through the air.
It took me a good thirty seconds to realize it was mine.
Once I got the laughter under control I chugged down the rest of my bottle of beer. My sight so fuzzy from the alcohol I couldn’t read the label, my memory wasn’t helping out that mystery at the moment either. I didn’t even really know the three guys I was with. We had been at a house party, that I vaguely remembered, but I couldn’t remember how we got to this park.
And honestly I didn’t really care either. I smiled, a smile I hoped looked flirty enough to earn me another drink, I couldn’t even feel the face muscles respond. Perhaps that was a sign that I was beyond wasted, though it wasn’t something I was going to admit out loud. My look must have looked pathetic enough at least because the blonde handed me another bottle, even took the cap off with his teeth. What a gentleman.
I took in a deep breath of the cool autumn air. “Darlin... where is your shoe?” I looked up one of the dark haired boys seemed to be the one talking to me. What a stupid question. They were on my feet. I looked down to see the right one was missing. Huh. I looked up and I think I may have smiled that time, a smile that once more broke out into laughter. He smiled and sat down on the metal bench beside me, he put his arm around me and kissed my alcohol laced lips, I inhaled deeply, all I could smell was the beer.
“SHIT, COPS.”
The alert brought me out of my mellow. I looked to the guy I had been kissing, he grabbed my arm and tugged on me, once on my feet, he let go and took off running. So much for chivalry. Then again if I was him I wouldn’t want to be held back by a someone completely tanked, running from the cops with only one shoe. Still I really wished he had waited.
Still I ran like my life depended on it. I hoped a low fence into someone’s back yard, and in the darkness I tripped into someone’s kiddy pool. Fan-fucking-tastic. I got back to my feet but someone’s hand grabbed around my upper arm. “Claire?!” I turned and groaned.
I sat in the cell for a while. A long while. Didn’t I get my one phone call? Then again I hadn’t spoken, it would have only come out as slurred as my thoughts. I recognized the cop though, I guess he probably called my dad. Great. The cop was Nick Greene. He was a five years older than me, his family moved when I was ten. I didn’t know he’d moved back, apparently after graduating police college.
The cell unlocked and I was surprised when he walked in with his uniform jacket, “you’ve got to be cold.” I stared blankly at him as he stood there his arm extended holding the jacket for me. He gave up on that after a few seconds. “Claire, what the heck were you doing?” I simply stared once more at him.
“CLAIRISSA VICTORIA KEEDS!”
I looked down to my feet, one soaked sock, one shoe. “Hello Mr Keeds.”
“Nick?” My father sounded surprised, “when did you get back in town?”
“Just this week, still unpacking, they moved me up here, needed more manpower around.” Nick responded with ease. My father had always liked Nick, after all Nick had spent most of his time around my older brother, they were the same age, played football and basketball together. “Hey how is.”
“Dad can we go home?” I asked loudly, I’d had to force the words to come out right, and even though they sounded correct to me in my state, I was sure they were slurred.
“Jesus Claire, what have you gone and done this time?” My father, who seemed to only now remember I was even there, asked sounding exhausted.
“Public intoxication, evading a police officer,” Nick answered for me.
“I’m sorry Nick, I honestly don’t know what I’m going to do with this girl.”
“Don’t worry about it Mr. Keeds, happens to the best of us, just make sure she doesn’t do it again.”
I hear Sargent Joe Kelp laugh, as he came through the door, “gee you’ve graced us with your presence once again Clairissa?”
“What is a Friday night without my visit?”
Nick looked quite surprised by this news. He shook his head, in denial or disappointment? I couldn’t tell, I didn’t care. Or at least I told myself I didn’t. He looked at my dad, and I knew he was going to ask, and I couldn’t stand to hear it, I started staggering toward the exit. I just couldn’t walk fast enough to miss hearing Nick ask, “so how is Daniel?”
“I guess you didn’t hear,” I heard my father speak, I could see his forehead crinkle in my mind, it always does when he has to tell someone. “There was an accident.”
I got outside before I had to hear more. I took gulps of the icy autumn air, and I had to come to terms with the fact that winter was coming faster than I would have liked. How I hate the winter. I walked down the steps carefully my hand on the banister. Made my way clumsily to my fathers truck and pulled myself into the cab. I wish he’d hurry, my still soaked clothing and the lack of a shoe was making me very cold. I shivered in my deep purple cocktail dress my one ballerina flat missing the tiny sock that just covered slightly less than the shoe did next to nothing. I was practically walking around barefoot, I kicked off the other shoe that had a small puddle of water inside I dumped it out the door and shut it again.
It took my dad another ten minutes before he came out. He turned on the truck and I turned on the radio. He turned it back off and I stared out the side window in silence. It was our Friday ritual, of course it wasn’t always drunk and disorderly. I liked to shake things up.
“What happened to you?” My father asked quietly. I didn’t answer. He said nothing more.
I woke up in the morning with only vague memories of the night before. Mostly I remembered the cold, the police station, Nick and my father talking, then the truck. I didn’t remember walking in the house. I had my bets that my father had carried me in. I was stripped down to my undergarments, my wet socks had been removed and been put in bed. I’d never sleep with my bra on, no matter how intoxicated I was. So I determined I must have passed out in the car and slept through the night.
I stepped in the shower, the warm water breaking off cold that still clung to me. Melon scrub washed away the scent of alcohol, I used my favourite coconut shampoo and conditioner. Brushing my teeth took five minutes, since I wasn’t paying attention to the little timer on my brush holder. Still it was nice to have the stale beer breath gone.
I stepped into my walk-in closet with a towel wrapped around my small frame. I grabbed my favourite pair of sweat pants and a baggy t-shirt and prepared for a day to lounge right out. I walked down stairs and went to get some food from the kitchen, I got a bowl of cereal and opened the fridge for some milk. I noticed the pink sticky-note and took it off the fridge.
-gone to work, please clean house, Cory will be home at 3:30 today.
I ate my cereal and read over the note a few more times. Cory was my little brother, quiet kid, mostly likes to read, or colour. Since dad wasn’t around I lit up a cigarette and started sweeping the linoleum floors occasionally stopping for a moment to tap the ashes off the cancer stick.
The rest of the day was spent vacuuming, dusting, doing dishes, before I played a bit of blackjack on the computer. Not for money, I wasn’t that good yet. That and I didn’t have the money to pay up if I lost. My cell blinked and I grabbed it off the table, a text message. I flipped open the phone and clicked on the new message.
- BBQ @ Dormer and 1st! 2-3 u coming?
*Tori
I debated for moment, I shockingly wasn’t hang over in the least. Cory didn’t come home till three thirty. I deliberated and yawned walking into my closet, I had been wanting a reason to wear that little black dress with my snake skin metallic gold stilettos...
I quickly responded to the text, informing Tori I would in fact be there. It was rather rare that I would turn down any form of social gathering. I mean honestly, who did she think she was talking to?
It didn’t take long to get ready. I walked into the bathroom and adjusted my blonde locks of hair, they were wavy from the shower and dried nicely. I put on just a bit of makeup to make my blue eyes pop. I grabbed my snake skin metallic gold matching handbag threw in twenty dollars and a lip gloss and headed down the stairs carefully in my heals.
I stopped at the bottom of the stairs suddenly and ducked holding the banister. There was a sound coming from the kitchen. I swallowed the lump in my throat. Had someone broken in? I mustered up my courage and put down my hand bag and grabbed the wooden bat by the door. Cory still enjoyed baseball on Thursday nights after school. His equipment always sat by the door. Many times I cursed it since I would trip over the straps of his bag, but this was the first time I was relieved to see the bat.
I grabbed it and slowly made my way to the kitchen, half way there I took off my heals that would have clicked once I stepped from carpet to the hardwood of the hallway, and the linoleum would have made noise too.
I tightened my already white-knuckle grip on the bat and took another few steps forward. I heard more movement in the kitchen. Holding the bat to my far side I took a peek around the corner. Someone tall, standing in the shadows of the kitchen, the blinds were all drawn. I mean of course they would be, wouldn’t let me get a good look at the guy.
I took a few shaky steps forward into the kitchen, praying to whoever might be listening that he didn’t turn around. Of course, my prayers had never been answered. He turned around. Or it did. The skin was peeled off the face like it had melted in a fire, the muscle underneath was blackened, and part of white bone stuck out from the cheeks.
“No,” my voice was meek, my breath rapid with panic. This simply couldn’t be happening!
Boot Camp For Terribly Twisted Teens [Chapter 02] Dead Man Walking
“Hello, Claire.”
“This can’t be happening.”
The figure leaned back in the shadows, “do we really have to do this every time, you know I can’t hurt you... unless I really try. Don’t piss me off girly.”
I dropped the bat, it wasn’t offering me a comfort. It would do no harm to him. I forgot about why I was dressed up, forgot about my matching shoes and handbag. Forgot that Tori was waiting for me to get off the bus on 2nd street and would walk with me to Dormer and 1st. I forgot about Cory who would be home in a few hours. Or my father who surely would have wanted the garbage taken out. All of it was unimportant next to this.
“What do you want?” I asked my voice shook even though I had tried my best to make it sound strong and confident.
“I want you to send me on, I mean honestly I’ve been here forever, where’s that white light I was promised, huh? I did my time on earth I want to leave it.”
“I never promised you a light,” I growled at him. This couldn’t be happening. Not here. Not again.
The figures features twisted into a smile... or what I could assume was suppose to be a smile. “True, you didn’t promise it, but you people who can see us dead, you can send us on. My families been sent on, I want to go with them.”
“And like I told you before I can’t help you.”
“Then you are stuck with me till you see things my way.”
I took a deep breath. This wasn’t the first time I’d encountered this spirit. When my dad took Cory and I on vacation, I’d seen him in Florida. Which was where I assumed I’d left him. Spirits generally don’t do the long distance travel thing. I took another deep breath. “I’m leaving, I have things to do.”
“Hey you are going to help me!”
“The hell I am, I’m alive, I have a life. I don’t have to worry about you!” The lights started flickering, “ooooh I’m so scared.” Actually... as sarcastic as it sounded I was pretty freaked out every time that happened. It was annoying at least.
I opened the fridge and took out a mini Jack Daniels. I took off the lid with haste and chugged the mini and threw the bottle in the recycling, I grabbed a few other mini drinks with high alcoholic content and chugged them too. When I turned around the spirit was gone. Or if it was there my mental awareness wasn’t high enough to detect it. Get a little drunk your mental awareness goes down. I tried getting high for the same purpose, unfortunately it just made it worse with horrible delusions. Haven’t touched so much as Advil since.
I grabbed a few other minis and headed back sliding into my shoes and putting the little alcoholic beverages into my bag and headed out the door. I caught the bus and sat down in the very back, the few other passengers in front of me, I didn’t like having someone I didn’t know sit behind me. You get all kinds of weirdos on busses.
When I stepped off on 2nd Tori was standing with a cigarette in hand. Her long brown locks were blowing in the wind, but kept out of her face with the clip that kept the majority of her hair out of her face. She was wearing the red strapless dress she wore to the last semi-formal it looked stunning on her curvy frame. “Thought you would have caught the last bus,” she said seeming a little agitated by my lateness. Still she passed me the cigarette and I took a drag before handing it back to her.
“You know I don’t leave the house looking any less than fabulous.”
The comment made Tori grin as we walked down the sidewalk, I could feel the cold wrapping around my legs giving them goose bumps. I shuddered, but I didn’t give up fashion for warmth. “So who’s shindig is this?”
“You remember Matheson from first year of highschool?”
I tried to think back, “the cute blonde with the freckles?”
“That would be the one.”
“Didn’t he move?”
“Yeah, he was a military kid you know, but his dad was one of the soldiers killed in Iraq. His mom decided moving back here might do him and his brother good... or so I hear.”
We arrived with a few other people and headed into the back yard. There was beer in a cooler with ice. Someone was barbequing, though I had zero interest in that, I could feel the effects of the minis wearing off, I took one of the beers using the opener sitting on the table and started sipping off of it. Tori was already talking to a guy from school, a few more joined them after that.
I could have joined. Been social as I typically am. Still the entire dead guy in my kitchen had my brain pre-occupied and I wanted to drown the thoughts in my beer. I finished the first one in the first ten minutes of being there and took another before I started to walk around a little. I talked to a few of the boys from class, spoke briefly to Penelope about our English assignment. Still I wasn’t in the mood for this.
“Clairissa Keeds, glad you could make it,” It was Liam Matheson I smiled at him, he’d grown up nice in the past two years he’d been gone.
“Hey Liam,” I responded with a smile, “nice little shindig you have here.”
“Figured it might be a good way to talk to people I haven’t seen since grade nine.”
“Geeze that sounds so long ago now.” Sure we were both only in grade twelve now, still the sound of the ninth grade sounded childish to me now.
“Has been awhile, especially since I’ve been gone. Weird seems like everyone is nearly all grown up and they all just seem different.”
“You’re different too you know,” I said touching his arm lightly before retracting it back to my side in a smooth movement.
“Really?” His voice lowered and our conversation automatically seemed more private. “How so?”
I looked up to him, and smiled, “well for one I distinctly remember being able to easily look you in the eye in grade nine. Your hair has gotten longer, you’ve just... grown up.” I looked down for a moment then looked up at him from under my heavy eyelashes. I seen his adams apple bob and I grinned a little. It was like Tori always said ‘like shooting fish in a barrel.’
“You can’t ignore me forever.” My smile faded and I chugged the rest of the bottle, not exactly classy in the least but I didn’t even want to have the image enough of my mind to reform. I didn’t want to see it anymore.
“W-would you like another?” Liam asked.
“Um, yes, please.”
Liam left and I took one of the small bottles from my handbag and downed in a fluid motion and shoved the empty back in before anyone could catch me. I let out a breath, no voices, no spirits. This was good. The buzz was keeping them at bay. How long could I stay drunk though, honestly.
I couldn’t have easy conversation with anyone knowing spirit was still behind me wether I could see him or not. I stood uneasily. Liam had gotten caught talking to a few guys from the football team, two drinks in his hand, one for me, one for him. I grabbed a napkin and wrote in eyeliner...
-Sorry, my father called, I need to get home, hope to see you again soon.
~Claire
I walked calmly to the side of the house and found a fence, I looked behind me, there was on one. I hopped the fence with efficiency I shouldn’t have in such a thing. I continued on walking my stilettos were actually pretty comfortable considering as they clicked against the side walk. I hoped the mini I downed would keep the spirit at bay till I returned home. Occasionally I accidentally answered spirits and people think you’re really weird. I was going to have to buy a headset sometime so when it happened I could just shrug and point to my ear.
I caught the bus just in time and took the spot at the back. By the time I reached my house (after transferring busses at the terminal) the effects of the alcohol had worn away. I glanced at the clock when I got in the house, “aw shit.”
“Where the hell were you?” My father yelled coming toward me from the kitchen, “I found Cory locked outside when I got off work at four!”
“There was this barbeque,” I tried to explain, my father was rubbing his temples, “he just moved back.”
“Who’s he?”
“Liam Matheson,” I responded with hope growing, Liam’s mom had worked briefly with my father, I crossed my fingers behind my back for luck.
“The Matheson’s are back in town,” my father seemed a bit surprised by the news. Then he shook his head, “that still doesn’t excuse your behaviour!”
“But dad!”
“No, go to your room, just stay there.”
I rolled my eyes before stomping up the stairs, a little too hard, my heel snapping on the final step. “God dammit!”
“CLAIRE!”
“Fuck,” I muttered quietly, if my father didn’t like me taking the Lords name in vain, he sure wasn’t going to like his little girl saying the f-word.
I turned toward my room to see Cory, “fuck,” he repeated with a grin.
“SHHH!” I put my hand over his mouth, “don’t be saying that!”
His words came out muffled so I removed my hand, “you said it!”
“I’m older, smarter, and prettier, I’m allowed.”
“Fine I’ll tell dad!”
“Don’t you dare,” I grabbed his arm as he ran for the stairs.
“Thought you said you wouldn’t get in trouble.”
“Don’t tell dad and I’ll give you a quarter.”
“Make it a dollar.”
Boot Camp For Terribly Twisted Teens [Chapter 03] Fighting Shadows
Once I got Cory his dollar he let me be. I sat down on my bed, I don’t know why my father thinks sending me to my room is punishment, I spend most of my time there anyways. My wireless internet for my laptop, a DS, my cd player which I turned on and watched the cd start to twirl. It started playing ‘Call Me When Your Sober’ by Evanescence.
I plugged in my phone to make sure it stayed charged and I could smell lasagna cooking, its scent reaching me through the vents. I peeked through the one vent that I could see into the living room with. Cory seemed content watching Ben 10. I stood back up and decided I should probably change into something else. I kicked off my broken heals and stripped off my dress changing back into the sweats from the morning. I turned to my computer as the song changed to ‘For a Pessimist I’m Pretty Optimistic’ by Paramore. I smiled and bobbed my head rather contently to the song.
“Are you done drowning in alcohol yet?”
I frowned and turned around, the spirit was standing in front of my door. “Fuck off,” I said quietly, the last thing I needed was for Cory to hear me fighting with no one.
“That’s pleasant.” The spirit responded, “but you should consider me a guest in your home, I mean come on you should be doing everything I ask.”
“Normally guests are invited,” I retorted angrily.
The spirit waved a blackened hand, I really think he must have been burned alive. “Now, now, no need to get testy. Just send me on, that’s all I want.”
“And we’ve had this discussion before.” I really wished I had more alcohol, but alas, I had to get past him in order to get more... and I’d have to get past dad too. “I can’t send you on. So go get lost, find someone else to bother.”
“You are the only one I’ve found that can see me.” The spirit stepped out of the shadows, though the darkness clung to him swirls of it latched on to him and spun around my room. My light started flickering and the blinds fell down at once. I let out a frightened shriek, but it was quiet, no one called to see if I was okay.
“Piss off!” I said it a lot more strongly than I felt.
“Your really starting to piss me off,” he responded. The shadows started clinging on to me and I found that the shadows, darkness, had a tight grasp on my upper arms. “All I want is to leave this fucking world, is that to fucking much to ask!”
I tried to jerk out of the shadowy grasp, I let my knees buckle but it just jerked my arms up making my shoulders feel like they would rip my arms clean off. I couldn’t help it I screamed loudly. “LET ME GO!” I could feel tears sliding down my face. The shadows through me into the bed post and I felt weak, but I didn’t pass out. The darkness faded back to normal shadows and my lights stopped flickering.
My dad busted open the door and looked at me, a heap on the floor. My head was bleeding. “What the hell?”And what could I say? Tell my father that a spirit controlling shadows did this to me? He would send me to an asylum, say it was for my own good. No, I’d deal with this on my own. No nut house for me. “Are you drunk?”
Aw shit, not this again. “No dad,” I muttered feeling the back of my head.
He stood back assessing me. “You are drunk.”
“I’m not,” I said putting more feeling into it.
“Then explain what you were yelling about.”
That I had nothing for, “I might be a little drunk.”
“Fuck Claire!” My father shouted, he was obviously frustrated with me.
“Fuck!” Cory said from the doorway.
“Don’t repeat that Cory!”
“Claire said it too!”
“Hey! Backstabbing twirp!”
“Enough!” My father yelled, Cory flipped me off since dad was facing me. I glared because it was the best I could do with out getting me in more trouble. The fire alarm went off, “get cleaned up Claire, burnt lasagna will be downstairs when you get there.”
Cory was sticking out his tongue at me when I slammed the door in his face. “Fucking hell,” I muttered before sticking my head under cold water willing the blood to clot up. I wrapped a towel around my wet hair and walked downstairs.
Dinner was eaten in silence, and I headed back up the stairs for a night of silence. Hopefully. I figured the spirit had to have used up a lot of energy to do the lights and the shadows and the blinds. He would have to recharge before he could bother me. Hopefully that would take me to morning at least.
I fell asleep quickly after taking a sleeping pill with Jack Daniels that I had snuck up after dinner.
My dream was something about leprechauns being in the mafia. I had to start remembering not to down pills with alcohol. I took my anti-depressant I had been on ever since... I shook my head and took the pill just with saliva, I took a record fast shower and got dressed in boot cut jeans and a black tight fitting t-shirt and put my hair up into a pony-tail, it was wavy from the water but looked fine.
I walked down the steps and realized it was Saturday, Dad had Saturday’s off and Cory was eating a chocolate cereal. I skipped going into the kitchen where I could see Dad reading the paper and went into the living room for some mindless cartoons. “Claire?” My father called before I got there. I frowned but continued down the hallway past the living room and into the kitchen where my father was sitting with a bunch of papers. He put the news down and I looked at the pictures on one of the leaflets. It was a picture of a building with a vast grounds. “What the hell,” I picked up another before my father could move it from me. “Kennedy Boot Camp For Unruly Teens!”
“I’ve thought about this a lot Claire,” my father started, I wanted to cut him off but my jaw was still hanging on the floor from the shock. “Ever since Daniel’s accident.”
I finally found the ability to speak again at mention of my older brother, “don’t even start with that shit dad.”
“I know it came to a shock to everyone.”
“Dad.”
“And you’ve been coping in all the wrong ways! I mean I can’t have you out at all hours of the night, drinking, smoking, doing God knows what with God knows who!” My father was red faced with the rage in the speech. “This will be good for you.”
“The hell it will!” I yelled.
Cory came in still in his pajamas, “what is going on?”
“Nothing son.”
“Dad’s just sending me away nothing major,” I said with heavy sarcasm and a casual wave of my hand. I couldn’t believe he was doing this to me, “you loose one kid, send the other away.”
“Clairissa! Don’t you ever say that. You need help, help I can’t give. I’ve tried to give you time to deal and straighten out but it’s been six months of you saggaring in drunk, smelling of drugs, you sneak out all the time... you need help. These people can give you help.”
“I have friends here dad!”
“And they obviously haven’t been any kind of proper influence on you, now have they?”
“Dad!”
“No, this isn’t up for discussion,” Dad said standing, “and you better start packing what you will need, I’ll be dropping you off bright and early tomorrow morning.”
“You... you can’t!”
“I can, and I am. Don’t argue with me!” He said before I could argue further. “Just... just pack your things.”
“I’ll do better dad!” I begged, “I’ll straighten out!”
“No, you won’t that’s the problem. You need help,” he put his hand on my shoulder, “these people have fantastic records. They will help you.”
I stared at him blankly. “Please dad...”
“Go pack.”
I stared at him for a moment before turning on my heal and nearly knocking Cory over with my power stride, “hey!” Cory yelled at me but I kept moving. I stomped up the steps and slammed the door behind me. What’s worse an asylum or boot camp? “FUCK!” I shouted throwing my glass lamp it shattered to fragments I turned on my over head light and grabbed my suitcase from my closet.
I simply couldn’t believe that this was happening to me.
Boot Camp For Terribly Twisted Teens [Chapter 04] Kennedy Grounds
I threw the open red suitcase onto my bed and started shoving in my belongings. Shirts, skirts, pants, dresses, belts, shoes, socks, undergarments, I threw in my phone and charger, my DS and all of its games, a pack of bubblegum, and a bottle of whiskey I had stole from the kitchen last night. I grabbed my mp3 player and tossed it in after spending a half hour finding my headphones. I packed up my laptop strapping it carefully into it’s case.
Once packed up and had the bags sitting by the door, it was rather late. I took a great deal of time packing everything perfectly, unfolding and re-folding. I didn’t want this awful time to think, I’d spent all day packing, un-packing, re-packing more efficiently, blowing a few hours on MSN telling Tori what was going on, and to tell everyone a lie. Any lie. Just not to tell anyone at school where my father was actually sending me.
I sat on my bed hoping for another ghost-less night. And maybe I would get that every night. Spirits don’t do long distance. Besides it would take him a while to catch up.
There was a knock, “go the fuck away,” I yelled throwing my pillow at the door.
“Claire...”
“Seriously, fuck off. You’ve ruined my life enough for one night!” I screamed at him. I knew it would hurt him, but had he taken my feelings into consideration when he decided he was going to send me hours away in to the back woods of society and make me participate in a boot camp! No he didn’t. Fuck ‘em.
No one came to my door again for the rest of the night. I slept soundly after taking a sleeping pill with water this time.
My father woke me up early in the morning. I took the time to blow dry and straighten my hair, do my make up perfectly, I had left out a nice outfit consisting of a pair of skinny black jeans with a pair of biker styled black boots, I put on a black shirt that was ruffled along my v-neck and sleeves that floated away from my arms gracefully that only went down to my elbows. I put on a simple gold chain and my two rings, one with my birth stone, the other a diamond.
I walked down the stairs with my suitcase and laptop case. My dad took my suitcase from me silently, I waved goodbye to Cory who was sitting in the livingroom with the babysitter. I didn’t really feel like goodbyes. Cory didn’t seem to mind.
The ride in the truck was awkward silence. I feared turning on the radio so I stared out the window as the small city vanished into residential area, then fields, then forest. Then some more forest, and some more forest. I looked to dad with my eyebrow raised, surely he must be lost but he kept looking forward. Suddenly there was a third person in the cab with us. My father was oblivious though. I swallowed and looked out the window pretending to be oblivious.
“You can see me,” the spirit said, “I know you can. Just fucking send me on, honestly hasn’t this gone on long enough. Just send me on!”
I ignored the spirit, that was all I needed to start talking to people who aren’t suppose to be there. Talking to people who no one else can see is a one way ticket to a asylum. I wasn’t going there. I wasn’t. I wasn’t. I wasn’t. I would stay silent and oblivious. I took a peek in my peripheral and saw the spirit was gone. He must still be tired from making my room into a nightmare.
Suddenly there was a break in the trees, the paved road turned to gravel and we bumped over the potholes. I could see the impressive front grounds, flowers and fountains. There were three buildings. I assumed one was for schooling, one building for boys dorms and the other for girls dorms.
My father parked in the lot and we walked into the first building, the big one in the centre. I was the school, he started to do the finishing touches on the paperwork for the angry looking woman behind the desk. She looked like she would hulk out at any second, “you have to sign too,” the woman said waving the pen in front of my face.
I smirked, “and what if I don’t?”
The woman smiled cheerily, “look, here at Kennedy, you do things the easy way or the hard way. You can sign the documents, or you can run laps till you change your mind.”
“I’m not one to run laps,” I replied folding my arms over my chest.
“Well with your attitude I’m sure you’re going to grow accustom to running them.” The woman seemed to be taking enjoyment from my discontentment. “Look, I can go to the dean and have him sign you in himself, your under aged which means we just kind of do this as a formality of the contract. It doesn’t need to be done, but if you read over the document you might just have a heads up about some things.”
I simply couldn’t loose to this woman, “you might want to get walking to the dean then,” I replied with a smirk, showing off my dislike of authority figures.
The woman glared at me, but refrained from saying anything to cruel since my father was there, she stood and went into another office for a few moments and came out with a stamp on the sheet. “There all taken care of. Mr. Keeds you may go now.”
My father turned to me, and I stared blankly at him, he put his arms out a little but I turned my body slightly away and he let them fall, “bye dad.”
“Goodbye Clairissa.” My father walked out.
“Follow me,” the woman said smirking at me.
“Isn’t there something to help move my bags?”
“No, now pick them up and come on. I don’t have all day.”
I muttered ‘bitch’ under my breath as I picked up my bags and started following her. We walked through the centre building and I swear she picked the longest possible route but didn’t bother to tell me what was in any of the rooms. I heard a whistle and some shouting so I figured there must be a gym near by.
We got out to the grounds of Kennedy boot camp, and she stopped for a minute. I stood awkwardly being held down by my bags as she checked her sheets. “You are in the B building. All buildings are co-ed. Rooms are not. Teachers and other staff live on the bottom floor of each building. Lock down is at 8. You get locked out, you sleep on the floor in the gym and there is a teacher who has to stay up with you failures so they make sure you don’t get much sleep at all. You are in B-5-4 which means your on the fifth floor, room four. Oh and there are no elevators. Have fun carrying those up.” I didn’t have a free hand so she shoved my keycard into my mouth before walking away.
I put down my bags for a moment to take the keycard out of my mouth, “fucking bitch.” I shoved the key into the back pocket of my pants and picked up my bags. Turns out I had to use the keycard to get into the B building, then to get into the stairwell, then into my hallway, and again to get into my room.
I shoved the door open angrily and walked in dropping my bags. A blonde strutted out of the kitchen slurring what appeared to be chocolate milk. She stopped and stared at me took a drink from her straw and looked me up and down, “so you’re the new kid.”
“Yeah, I’m Claire.” I responded shoving my blonde locks away from my face.
“Stay out of my stuff,” was how she responded before she continued down the hall and went into the last room on the left.
“Nice to meet you too,” I muttered before picking up my bags. There was a very small kitchen to my left, then a living space that consist of a table with three chairs shoved in the back corner by the kitchen, to the right of that was one couch and a thirteen inch television set, as far as I could tell it didn’t have satellite or cable. I bet it only got educational channels.
I opened the first door on the left and found it was filled with stuff and dirty laundry on the floor, apparently this person liked blue and wasn’t in at the moment. The other door on the left was smaller and held toilet paper, towels and feminine hygiene products.
On the right was the bathroom, which was rather large. There were three showers that were separated by walls, no curtains or glass doors at the back either. As I inspected them further they also had a timer on them. Goodbye long showers. There were three toilets that were luckily in stalls. There were three sinks and three mirrors. I walked out of the bathroom rather depressed and into the last room on the right.
My room was the last room for a reason. It was probably the smallest, squished by the measurements of the large bathroom. It was painted white but had peeled in places like someone had taped pictures up and ripped them down. It smelled as if it had been closed up for a long amount of time, the carpet had mystery stains that I tried not to dwell on.
I put down my bags and opened the window trying to get some fresh air in. The one benefit of my room was it had a sliding door that lead out to a balcony. Unfortunately the balcony looked like it might break under my weight. Still I stepped out, at least my dad could sue if anything happened. Here less than an hour and already a little suicidal. I looked to my left there was another balcony, and to my right another a good long stride away.
I walked back in and collapsed on my new bed, and ended up falling asleep soon after.
Boot Camp For Terribly Twisted Teens [Chapter 05] The Day I Met...
I awoke to a loud buzzing, “for fuck sakes noob! Get your ass out here!” I stumbled out of bed and opened my door. The blonde was in a pair of little plaid shorts and a tight fitting t-shirt. “Grab your keycard and come on.” I felt it in my back pocket and followed her. “Now swipe,” the girl said pointing at a box on the wall that was between all our rooms that was screaming now. I quickly swiped it and it shut off. “The second you hear that next time you come out here and you swipe or I’ll rip your fucking skin clean off.” She turned on her heal and walked toward the kitchen.
I noticed the second girl standing against the wall, her keycard poking out of her black denim jeans, “so who the heck are you?” She looked me over and I looked her over, her olive green shirt was tucked into her pants, she had choppy chocolate coloured hair that was slightly wavy and I couldn’t really tell if her eyes were a green or a blue.
“Claire,” I responded, “and you would be?”
The girl stared at me for a moment, “the names Nina, the psychotic blonde is Robyn. I take it you decided to be a smart ass and not sign your sheet?”
I stared for a moment, “uh, yeah how did you guess.”
“Didn’t figure you would let the alarm clock go off for that long if you knew anything. I’m shocked that Robyn didn’t just slit your throat just to get your keycard.”
“She that nuts?”
“No one knows why she’s here but in her first week here she sent five people to the hospital. One chick and four guys. One of them was the biggest guy I’d ever seen. She took him down so fast.” Nina grinned, “stay close to me today. If you start gettin’ in shit it’s bad for Robyn and I. People start actin’ up you get everyone they are associated with in trouble. So then when you come back here already in trouble with the staff you also then have to deal with your pissed off roomies.”
“I’m not going to do anything.”
“Yeah whatever, look you want to be on your own, fine. Deal with this place on your own.”
“I didn’t mean it like that.”
“Look just stay close and keep quiet.”
We ate breakfast. Which after looking through all of kitchen I found it was all nutritional. All of it, including the drinks. Water, juice and milk. That’s it. I wondered to myself what would happen when my alcohol supply ran out.
I took a shower quickly after that, as did the others. Ten minute showers. The walls separated us and I realized why the curtains weren’t needed. Everyone here was in sync. The showers went off at the same time and we grabbed out towels hanging just outside the walls that separated us. I wrapped it around me and walked to the sinks, Nina and Robyn did the same, we all brushed out teeth and went to our separate rooms. I got dressed slowly picking out a nice outfit. “Hurry up the next alarm is going to go off soon for first class,” Nina shouted at me. I put on a black skirt with black tights and a blood red shirt. I put on mascara before the alarm went off I ran out with my key. It wasn’t coming from the one by our room but the one by the entrance to our dorm.
We all slid in the keycard and walked out into the hallway. I didn’t even have my hair done but I kept by Nina who was in a white collared t-shirt the first few buttons left undone, tucked into high wasted dark blue jeans. Robyn didn’t speak to either of us but kept close to Nina, I just realized how much taller she was. Nina and I were about the same height but Robyn stood about a head taller, she wore baggy pants and a tight black tank, she looked ready for a fight.
Everyone else was coming out of their dorms at the same times, boys and girls alike. I realized why they didn’t need to separate us by floors. Our dorms would only open if we used our keys which if we used at any other time other than the alarms a teacher would be flagged to get us.
The stairwell sucked everyone moving slowly waiting for people in other floors to go. Outside it was chilly as everyone from the B building walked toward the school in the centre. Nina explained that A building was ten minutes ahead of us so there would be as many getting into the school at the same time.
Classes were built up by floors. Everyone in B-5 was in my class. We were B-5. Known as B-5 and no teacher cared to know our names. We were all B-5. English was my first class, Robyn sat down, Nina sliding in beside her. Two seater benches and work areas. “Another B-5,” The teacher said when he came in seeing me standing awkwardly. “You stupid or something, sit down at the only empty spot.”
He was right of course. Each dorm and each floor was made up of the same numbers. Therefor the rooms were made up of the same numbers as that. I took the only empty seat which was behind Nina and Robyn and beside another female. She had scars on her face and wrist she looked at me before flipping me off.
Well what do you know, I’m making friends already.
English was hell. So was math. And I don’t even want to talk about Geography. The teacher called on me. As B-5 of course so I wasn’t paying attention... I don’t want to talk about he embarrassing pushups he made me do with my atlas balanced on my head.
“So have you learned now that this isn’t a fashion show?” Nina asked as we went into the hallway. And had to wait in a long line to swipe our card for the cafeteria. We also had to swipe our cards before every class. Someone goes missing in this place and there is hell. “No skirts. I tuck in my shirt, Robyn wears tight ones because occasionally they make you do handstands and hold them for two minutes.”
“I don’t even think I can do a handstand.”
“Well you’ll have to keep trying till you do two minutes otherwise they make you start over.”
“That’s just great,” of course it was the opposite of great. The food was horrible. Super nutritious I’m sure, but very bland. Served with juice. One glass, you don’t get seconds here.
“We have gym tonight at six to seven thirty,” Nina informed me. I checked my watch it was only one. “Till then we have to either go to the pool, study hall, the athletic outdoor centre, the library, or our dorms.” I stared at her, “keycards let them know where we are at all times. So you have to go into somewhere. I’m going to the study hall, I have an assignment I need to finish.” Nina took the time to tell me where everything was and informed me I had seven minutes to get there before my lack of sign in would send out the hounds.
I decided to go up to my dorm since I didn’t have a swim suit. Robyn was already up there she didn’t say anything to me I turned on the tv. Manually of course, no easy going ride here. I was right there was only three channels, the news, the discovery channel and a channel that was in Spanish. I turned it off and went to my room.
I was starting to get a grip on how everything here was designed to break you, the tasteless food, the lack of tv, the gym classes I had yet to experience, the teachers and how they called on you. I already knew how much I was going to hate it here.
I went out onto the balcony and sat down my head leaning against building. I looked through the bars. The grounds was all an obstacle course. I wasn’t looking forward to that, and a track that went around it.
I heard a door slide open and I looked to the left a guy stepped out onto his balcony and leaned against the bars looking around. He was absolutely gorgeous, his hair was a dark brown spiked up, clean cut, bright blue eyes, he defiantly had to be a foot taller than me, maybe even more, I could see his muscles through his tight black shirt, his blue jeans were a bit baggy but didn’t show his boxers. I looked away before he caught me staring.
“Hey B-5!” I raised and eyebrow and turned to him, “sorry, I don’t know your name.”
“It’s Clairissa Keeds,” I responded with a little smile. He sat down in the corner of his balcony, the closest to my balcony. He stared through the bars at me, his blue eye so bright it seemed unnatural, that’s right, his blue eye. His other eye (I had only been staring at his profile so I only seen the one) was a chocolate brown. His miss-matched eyes left me a little unsettled. “What’s your name?” I asked sounding a little shy. A little timid. Which I have never been around anyone. He’s just a fish in a barrel. Still I couldn’t think of him as a fish. Not him, he was different.
“B-5,” he responded with a little grin, “Leon Kane,” he reached his hand through the bar and I did the same, “nice to meet you, mind if I call you Claire?”
“Not at all, everyone usually does anyway.”
“Leon, I swear I’ll fucking cut off your left nut if you don’t get out here and help me with this assignment.” I heard banging on the wood door of his room and I raised an eyebrow.
“Sorry my dorm-mate is such a dick, excuse me a moment.” Leon stood and opened the glass door and disappeared inside. Silence for a moment before I heard his voice again. “Do your own fucking shit, if you don’t fucking pass this I’ll cut off your sweaty ball sack after we finish laps and force feed you them!” Leon reappeared and shut the glass door behind him. “Again, I apologise.”
My jaw was still a little slack from disbelief of what I had just heard. Yet I figured it was something I was going to have to get use to. People here aren’t the polite polished people of home. I had to remember this place is full of ‘unruly’ teens. “No problem,” I responded when I finally found my voice again.
Leon smiled, “so how are you liking this place so far?”
“Its absolutely hellish,” I responded with a bit of a frown. I could only hope the spirit gave up, but lets face it. People die everyday. Sure not here... maybe I could get away with seeing nothing while I was here. Silence on the sixth senses. That would be a nice change. I realized I was spacing and I looked back to Leon, “how long have you been here?”
His jaw grew tight, “a while,” he responded quietly. Somehow I got the feeling that it was a lot longer than a nice little stay. He seemed to be the one spacing, he suddenly shook his head and looked at me, “you ready for gym tonight?”
“Not really,” I replied honestly, “only took the one I had to take in grade nine. I’m not big on the fitness thing.”
“You still look in good shape,” he said with a wink and I could feel heat coming to my cheeks. This was ridiculous. I Clairissa Keeds, do not blush! I make men weak at the knees, I speak with confidence, and smile seductively. I don’t do this. I looked down so my hair fell in front of my face hiding the sudden colour to my cheeks.
“Thanks,” I responded with out looking up, I couldn’t believe this. I was blushing, though I could feel the heat leaving and I felt safe enough to turn back to him again. His miss matched eyes boring into me.
Boot Camp For Terribly Twisted Teens [Chapter 06] You Know What That Means...
“Leon?” I heard someone call before the glass door slid open. A tall guy stood looking down at Leon, short cut brown hair and copper coloured eyes, he looked ridiculously muscular. “Did you hear?...Oh... perhaps another time,” he said eyeing me for the first time.
“No what is it?” Leon asked slowly taking his eyes from me.
“Girl in A-4 went missing last night. The staff is trying to keep it hush-hush but I heard it from one of the B-2’s at the basketball court.”
“You think it’s true?”
“Yeah he heard it from one of the girls roommates. The chick is a mess, but details are fuzzy, they took both the girls who were living with the runaway to counselling, and you know what that means.”
Leon looked deep in thought as he looked up to the clouds. Finally I asked, “what does it mean?”
Leon looked to his dorm-mate then to me, “something happens here they take the dorm mates for ‘counselling’ but as far as everyone can tell... they don’t ever come back.”
“Maybe they go home,” I suggested with an eyebrow raised.
“Maybe,” Mr. Tall-Muscular-and-Handsome says, “by the way I’m Thayne.”
“Claire,” I introduced myself.
The three of us sat around talking for a little while longer before Thayne and Leon’s third dorm-mate started having a mental breakdown about his assignment and they decided they better go help him otherwise they would all get laps.
I went inside soon after they did and took a nap.
I woke up close to five and changed into a pair of black biking shorts and a tight fitting blue tank-top for gym class. I had to hunt for nearly ten minutes for my pack of elastics so I could tie back my hair. I glanced in the mirror, I looked like I belonged in a gym class.
I went into the kitchen and grabbed something to eat, a bowl of cereal with milk and grabbed a bottle of water. Nina came in and changed into an outfit similar to my own only her shorts were a bit baggier and her top was green. “Where is Robyn?” She asked looking around. I simply shrugged, Robyn wasn’t my problem. “Robyn!” Nina shouted.
“Yeah, I’m coming,” Robyn shouted back from her room sounding angered.
“Why did you bother?” I asked.
“Haven’t you gotten it yet?” Nina asked sounding exasperated. “Something happens to one of us we all suffer. Robyn is late for class we all do laps. Do you want to do laps? I for one most certainly do fucking not.”
Robyn came out with her keycard in her bra strap since her navy blue shorts didn’t have pockets. Her black tank was skin tight and quite frankly she looked pretty ripped. And while I’m being honest, Robyn scares the crap out of me.
We waited until the door alarm started screaming and we slid our cards in and the door opened in the hallway I saw that Thayne and Leon were coming out, another guy in tow. The third guy looked like a bit of a geek. He wore glasses, had long black emo styled hair, had a few freckles, and wore dark clothing. He was cute... for a geek.
In the slow moving stairwell Leon came up behind me and tapped my shoulder, “sorry about the intrusion today.” I smiled and he continued, “this is our obnoxiously need to be correct at all times third, Scott.”
“Hi,” I said to Scott who was actively ignoring me.
“Scott, this is Claire. Stop being an antisocial douche-bag and say hello.”
Thayne muscled Scott into turning around, and he gave me a slight wave. “He has issues,” Thayne said with a booming laugh. I decided I would have to start working out, the more I saw the people I was around the more I realized everyone looked very strong while I looked very weak. While Scott was rather twig-ish, I could see the muscle in his arms, and I bet if he had a tighter shirt, he probably had abs too.
“So what do we do in gym class?” I asked.
Nina turned around and responded, “depends, we just finished up basketball before you came. Every Thursday and Friday is the obstacle course.”
I thought for a moment before I realized today was Thursday. Aw, shit. “I don’t think I can do it!” I started to panic as the cool air hit my skin.
“You’ll do fine,” Nina responded, “everyone gets nervous the first time. Everyone fails the first time and Robyn and I know you will.”
“Encouraging.”
“It’s realistic. They don’t give you instruction you just go. Try to stay close to Robyn and I and we will give you a hand.”
“But you better do your best, I still don’t like the idea of doing laps because you’re too weak. The slower you do the course the more laps we have to do.” Robyn explained, “anything under four minutes is a pass. Every minute after it is a lap, which we as roommates will have to do with you.”
“This sucks,” I muttered and I heard Thayne laugh.
“This is boot camp, you didn’t think it was going to be a stay at the Holiday Inn did you?” Robyn asked. “God you probably did. Though it was like your Hollywood rehab or something.” I heard her mutter something after that, which sounded a lot like ‘spoiled prep.’
I didn’t respond. I had other things to worry about. Like the obstacle course which I now stood before. It was in a cage and we all had to swipe in to get into the locked up field. Since we were on the top floor I figured that I would have a good shot at being able to watch others go first. Unfortunately the teacher had it randomized to keep us on our toes.
“B-5-8.” The teacher called and I felt my heart skip a beat. Even though it wasn’t mine every time he started calling out a room I got nervous. He called out another five before he called out, “B-5-3” Which was Leon, Thayne and Scott’s room. The three of them dashed off, for someone as gangly as Scott he made up for it with speed. Intense speed and could the white boy ever jump. “B-5-4.”
Nina grabbed me and hauled me along with her. Her fast powerful strides left me stumbling to keep up. I was completely unbalanced from the start. Nina and Robyn helped me over the first wall before Robyn used her speed, and strength to run up and pull herself up. She put down a arm and pulled Nina up by herself.
We had to pull at this string till we got the zip-line to where we were, then hold on to the little handles for dear life I wasn’t strong enough and fell a quarter of the way into a sand pit. Nina and Robyn made it to the end where they dropped into the frigid waters of the pool. I ran across the sand pit as fast as I could but it had to have taken a minute all on it’s own.
I dived into the pool and followed Robyn and Nina under a tunnel filled with water which we had to hold our breaths for all the way to the other side which I sincerely though I was going to drown. I gasped for breath as I broke the surface and there was still another bit to swim. I lagged behind while Robyn was bouncing on her toes in anticipation, and Nina was already reaching out to help me up even though I was still ten strokes away.
Nina hulled my wet, heavy body from the water and we ran across another sand pit to where we had to climb up a rope ladder, a very high rope ladder as far as I was concerned when my muscles were already jell-O. On top of the huge pillar we had to jump. That’s right jump to another pillar. Sure there was a safety net, but fucking hell were they trying to kill us!? “Come on, come on!” Robyn shouted at me. I took a step back for a run up and jumped I caught myself on the side and had to pull myself up, nearly falling down twice.
I jumped across the second pillar and knocked the wind out of myself when I landed on my chest on the third pillar and had to pull my legs up. I tried to catch by breath but Robyn grabbed the back of my shirt and pulled me as she jumped down a level and another and another till we were on sand again. One last sprint to the finish and I collapsed to the ground. “Eight minutes and 45 seconds. Round that to nine minutes and you have five laps. Get started.”
I flipped off the teacher while his back was turned, “that could have been another lap right there,” Nina said quietly. “How are you feeling?”
“Like hell.”
“Well come on, we are all going to feel like hell after these laps.”