Cool With A "K" PART 9 - CHAPTER 11

It was morning, I opened my eyes to see Chris snoozing peacefully next to me. I smiled, stroking his hair. One of the girls from the cabin, Audrey was her name, I believe, came and sat down by me. "Oh, your brother is so cute." She said quietly, giggling a little. I nodded, "Yeah."
"He's just so little." Audrey cooed, "Like a little kitty cat!" 
I tried not to laugh at her odd metaphor and I nodded in fake agreement. "Well," she said, "I'll see you later, Angela." She smiled one more time, looking at Chris and walked away. When will they stop? I thought, This is just ridiculous! What do they like about him? I must admit, Chris is extremely cute, that's for sure. But not really supermodel cute, more... more.... baby cute or, well, kitten cute. Hmm....
Chris's eyes fluttered open, he looked up at me. "Good morning, Angie."
I smiled, forget what I said, I love Chris! He's my little brother. "Morning, Buddy."
He yawned and sat up, looking around the room, a little confused. "The girl's cabin...." he whispered to himself before he remembered what had happened. When he gained his memory back, turning from sleepy Chris to awake and upset Chris, he looked at me sadly. "Leo...." he said quietly, sniffing a little. I opened my arms and gave him a hug. "I'm sorry, Buddy. But don't you listen to him, he doesn't know what he's talking about. People say things when they're mad, Chris."
Chris sniffed again, "I don't stalk him.... at least I don't think I do.... Ange?"
"No, no, no, Sweetie." I said, "Leo just... he just needs his space, and... Well, sometimes you can be a little clingy. Do you know what I mean, Hun?"
Chris sniffed again and nodded. We could hear all the girls in the cabin (except, of course, Mouse, Alice and I) giggling stupidly. Chris and I turned to look at them and they all stopped.
"I guess they're not used to having a boy in the cabin." I said. Chris chuckled, "Except for when they sneak their boyfriends in to show off." 
I laughed.


The boys all sat around two tables, staring grudgingly at Chris Harper. He was sitting at a table with his sister, Angela, and her two friends. Their table was surrounded by dozens of preppy girls, all giggling and asking Chris questions and talking about how adorable he was. One of Angela's friends, Mouse, the girl who had run away when the cheerleaders offered to give her a makeover, was laughing her heart out.
Zachary Jones sat in front, crushing the metal soup ladle he held in his hand. Some of the smaller boys in the cabin flinched a little when he did this. Zachary growled, "Why does that little wimp get all the girls' attention?! He even got to sleep in the girl's cabin!" 
"I-I don't know, Zack, um..." Stuttered one of his team members, Wick, "Well, Ken made him 'em sleep in the gals' cabin when Leo called him a f--."
Zachary thought about this, "Huh." he pondered, "'Cuz Leo was givin' him a hard time...." The entire boys' cabin soon perked up and ran over to Leo, who was sitting alone at a corner table. They called out things like, "Hey, hey! Leo, punch me!" "Hey, Leo, what's up man? Call me somethin' Come on, man!" Leo was so confused, he didn't know what to say, "Hey wait, woah woah woah, stop. First of all.... What?"
Zachary explained their master plan to Leo and Leo sighed, "Aye, you guys. Um... Look, that ain't cool."
Sitting a few tables away, but still within earshot, Chris started to listen to what Leo was saying.
Leo continued, "Uh.... What I said to Chris, that was wrong, and um.... I shouldn'ta done that."
Chris got up, slowly walking over to Leo. Leo went on, "Because.... insulting your buds.... you know, that isn't cool." He was facing Chris now, all the goons from the boys' cabin staring stupidly as Leo made his unexpected speech.
"Hey, uh..." Leo said, "So... d-don't use that as an excuse to get girls, 'cuz um, that ain't right." Leo was still attempting to apologize to Chris and still sound cool at the same time. Chris walked up to Leo, they were about the same height (which really bummed Leo out because this was not a very tall height). Chris looked Leo in the eyes, as if saying Come on, you can do better than that. Show me that forgiving you is the right thing to do. Leo sighed, "Hey, Chris." 
Chris nodded.
"Hey, um. Look, I'm sorry man. I...." Leo was half hoping that Chris would save him and just say, Hey, don't worry about it. and embarrassingly hug him like he usually would. But Chris just stood their waiting for Leo to finish. "I shouldn't have done that. It was wrong... I was wrong, you're a cool guy, Chris. Look I'm sorry, man."
Chris glanced over at me and I nodded. Chris sighed and smiled at Leo, "Apology excepted, Leo." Leo made a stupid Really? face and nodded. He held out a hand to Chris. Chris looked at it, not sure what to do. "Am I supposed to do some weird handshake, or..." he said. Leo sighed, "No. No, Chris. Just regular shake."
Oh... Chris was probably thinking and he shook Leo's hand.
Zachary and his gang started pretending to cry, "Oh, how touching!" They cried out, "They're friends again, I could cry!"
Chris looked at them, not knowing what to do. He looked back at Leo, a little afraid of what Leo was going to do. Leo shook his head, patting Chris on the back, "Let's go man. We don't need them."
Zack's gang kept hooting and making fun of them, but Leo and Chris ignored them. Leo came up to me and I smiled at him. "Well done, you swallowed your pride. Chris forgave you. Mission accomplished?" 
Leo grinned at me, chuckling a little, "Well, almost." he stepped towards me and I held out a hand to stop him. "Sorry Leo, not gonna happen." He looked annoyed, "Not even one little kiss?"
I gestured to Michelle, waiting for him by her clique's table. She fluttered her eyelashes at Leo. Leo looked at her and turned back to me, "For now, sure, but I'll wait for you."
I rolled my eyes, "Nice try, Leo." He nodded and ran over to Michelle. Ah, Sunny Day camp. What fun, right?
I patted Chris on the back, "I'm glad you guys are 'cool' now. Forgiving him was the right thing to do."
Chris looked at me doubtfully, "Are you sure about that, Ange? Are you sure I didn't mess up by forgiving him so quickly?"
"For now, Chris, for now." I said.


We went back home after a few surprisingly calm weeks. When Chris and I came into the kitchen, Mom smiled at us, "Hey, kids." She gave us both a hug, "So, how was camp? Do you want to go next year? I can sign you up."
"No thanks." Chris and I said at the same time. Mom studied our faces, "So... what did you do at camp."
Chris and I exchanged looks, "Nothing special." he said.

Cool With A "K" PART 9 - CHAPTER 10

I was talking to Alice and Mouse when the male counselor, Ken came in. Chris was with him, crying. Oh great, one of the guys probably put some poor animal in his sleeping bag or something. Ken gestured for me to come over to him. I did this and started to say, "What's wrong, Ken-" Chris hugged me and started sobbing. I hugged him, "Chris, what happened?"
"Leo!" He wailed, "I-it was Leo!" Leo?
"Don't worry, young man. He will be severely punished." Ken said in that annoying voice he had. "Um, what exactly did he do?"
Chris wiped his nose and looked around the room at all the girls staring at him. Ken nodded, "You can tell me in my office." He smiled kindly. Chris nodded and Ken lead him away.
Ken ended up instructing Chris to sleep by me in the girl's cabin, which didn't bother him at all. When it was time to go to sleep, I asked Chris, "So, um.... what did Leo do? You don't have to tell me if you don't want to."
"No, it's fine." Chris said, "He just, he got mad at me. He tried to apologize about the ipecac thing and I wouldn't listen to him. He got mad and I asked him why he did it...and....
he told me it was because he was tired of being stalked by a...." Chris's voice trailed off. He sniffed and whispered the word into my ear. I stared at him, "Leo?"
He nodded, "Yes, Leo." He sniffed again.
"I'm sorry, Chris. I shouldn't have asked-" I said.
"No, you had the right to know." Chris said. We were quiet for a long time before he said, "Hey, Ange, I'm tired. So, uh, I'll see you in the morning." I nodded and he instantly dozed off.
I glanced at the 33 girls who were staring at the only boy in the room. They stopped giggling and pretended to be asleep.
"Night girls." I whispered.

Cool With A "K" PART 9 - CHAPTER 9

Alice, Mouse and I met up with Leo and we sat down at a table in the Mess Hall. "Where's Chris?" I asked Leo. He grimaced, "Johnny Thomas owes me a new shirt." 
We all looked at him questioningly, "In the bathroom, reading the toilet." 
Alice gasped, "Leo! What did you do to the poor boy?"
"Nothing! I-" Leo stuttered. Just then, John Thomas passed by the table, "Hey, nice one, Leo! He's still projectiling!"
Leo scowled, "You owe me a new shirt!" I yelled stupidly. John held out his arms, as if to say What? 
Later that night in the boy's cabin, Leo went up to Chris, "Hey," he bent down, Chris had his nose in a book and wouldn't look at Leo. Leo tried again, "Hey man, I'm sorry. But it really wasn't my idea, I swear! He thought I was gay!"
Chris looked at him, "Oh, poor baby. Get away form me, asshole." This surprised Leo, Chris had just called him an asshole and he was not going to let him get away with it. "You don't call me that!" 
Chris stood up, "Why not? You deserve it!"
"Oh, I deserve it? I didn't even do anything and now you're callin' me an asshole!"
"Didn't do anything? Oh no, you did nothing at all, Leo! You only let that kid put ipecac in my water and laughed at me when I drank it! Why did you do that, Leo? Why?"
Leo was really mad now, "You wanna know why, Chris? Because I was sick and tired of being stalked by a f--" That was it, he had done it. Leo had called Chris the insult. The "f" word. No, not that F word, that other word. Yeah, that one. He had proved to the other guys in the cabin that he was not afraid to insult Chris. Quite the audience had gathered now. Chris stood, staring at Leo, a look of hatred in his hurt, bloodshot eyes. He swallowed, tears gathering in his eyes, "Look, Leo. Calling me names isn't going to do you any good. Calling me that isn't going to help you with your life. Calling me that may help you get some beautiful but heartless girlfriend, it may help you regain your pride, but not for long, Leonard White! Not for long!" Chris's voice got louder and louder until he was yelling on the top of his lungs. The counselor, Ken, came through the cabin door. "Now what on earth is going on in here?" Chris turned around, his face red and his eyes full of tears. "Now Chris, what on earth is wrong?" Ken said. Chris rushed up to him and started sobbing, hugging Ken like some sad little kid. Ken, looking confused, hugged Chris. "Will someone please tell me what is going on?"
The boys were silent, none of them dared tattle, the other guys would later torment them if they told on Leo, that would be weak of them.
Ken shook his head and directed Chris out the cabin door. Chris choked out, "Where's Angela? Where's my sister?"
"It's okay, she's probably still awake, if she is, I'll let you see her." Ken said gently.
Chris turned around and screamed, "I hate you, Leo!" He started sobbing all over again. Ken stopped, "Leo?" Chris glared at Leo, Leo shaking his head. Don't tell, Chris. Leo thought uselessly. Chris nodded, "Leo."
Ken told Chris to stay put where he was and walked over to Leo. "Leo, report to Kelly's office." Leo glared up at Ken. "Fine." he said, stomping out the door. Ken glanced around the room at all the other boys, who were staring stupidly at whoever spoke (Which was no one except for Chris, Leo, and Ken). "Gentlemen!" Ken shouted and all the boys started talking amongst themselves.

Cool With A "K" PART 9 - CHAPTER 8

I spotted Chris coming from the cabin, wheezing. I walked up to him, "Hey, are you feeling alright, Honey?" I said. 
Chris nodded, "Yeah, Ange. I'm fine." I put my hand on his chest. "Chris, did you take your asthma medicine?" He shook his head. I sighed, "Chris, you know how important it is!" He nodded, "I know." I took him to the camp nurse. Leo passed by us, "Hey, where you guys going?"
"I'm showing him the bathroom." I said. I don't know why I said this, but I did.


While Chris was "in the bathroom", Leo saw one of the campers, John Thomas, pick up Chris's water bottle. He opened it and started pouring a brown syrupy liquid into it. "Hey," Leo said, "What are you doing?"

John looked up and grinned, "Just sit back and watch." Leo snatched the water bottle, "What did you do? What did you put in it?"

"Calm down, kid. It ain't poison."

"What did you do? Is it gonna hurt him?" Leo snapped.

"Chill, man! What, is he your boyfriend?" John said.

Leo stared at John, furious that he would suggest that. "What was it? Not poison you say?"

John grinned, "Ipecac." 

Leo snorted, "Seriously?" he said, trying to act cool. "That's wicked awesome." John nodded. 

Chris came back and seeing John and Leo's expectant expressions, he walked over to them, holding his water bottle, "Hey, what's up you guys?" He said slowly.

"Nothing." John and Leo said at the same time. They started laughing stupidly as if they had planned it. Chris looked at Leo suspiciously. Leo nodded, "Ah, it's a hot day today, isn't it Chris?" he said.

"Uh, yeah." Chris said uncertainly. "I'll see you at, Lunch."

"Yeah." Leo and John both said. Chris walked away, taking a drink of the water. Leo and John started laughing out loud. Chris turned around, "What? What did you do?" he demanded. They laughed harder. "What?" Chris yelled at them.

"Now wait about ten minutes." John hooted. Leo laughed harder. Chris stared at them blankly. Leo patted him on the shoulder, "Nothing personal, Buddy. I couldn't stop him!" They both laughed harder. Suddenly, Chris bent over and projectile vomited all over Leo and John's shirts. They stopped laughing and stared in horror at Chris. "Angie!" Chris hollered. He looked at Leo and John, "What the hell did you do to my water?" He screamed.

"What the hell was that, John? You said it would take ten minutes!!!" Leo screamed.

"I... I put the whole bottle in...." John stared at Leo stupidly.

"You idiot! He has asthma! And a weak stomach! You could've killed him! Oh, gross!" 
Leo directed Chris to the bathroom, telling a counselor that Chris was sick and he ran off to change his shirt.

Cool With A "K" PART 9 - CHAPTER 7

Nope. Mouse screamed and ran right out the cabin door. The Fembot girls blinked. I'm sure that had never happened before in the history of Sunny Day camp. Alice and I started laughing uncontrollably. The girls all looked at us stupidly, their heads all cocked to one side. 
Michelle was the first to speak, "What was that?" she said stupidly. I tried to stop laughing, "Mouse." I said, "That was Mouse." 
The girls continued staring for while before turning back to one of the group to give a makeover to.

Cool With A "K" PART 9 - CHAPTER 6

Truth or Dare was weird. I felt like such an alien. It was all questions like "Have you ever been in love? With who?" and "I dare you to confess to Johnny that you love him!"  and that kind of crap. 
After Truth or Dare, one of the girls squealed, "Let's play Makeover!" Seriously? How old was she, four? Suddenly, 33 pairs of mascara-covered eyes fell on Mouse. Mouse backed against the wall, holding her arms out for defense. A sudden sea of Oh come on, Mouse, it'll be fun! You know, you could really use it. Pleaasee Mouse? Why not? I'll pay you! Mouse's eyes glimmered, her fingers twitched. "Oh my gosh, do you think...." Alice whispered to me. I shook my head, "No. T-there's no way.... right?" 
"How much?" Mouse said.
Oh my god! Did I seriously just hear that?! Alice and I exchanged looks. Was this really happening? The girl who had offered the money smiled, along with the rest of the Fembots, who came up from behind the girl, holding makeup of all sorts. Mouse's face fell. Oh my god, would she really......?

Cool With A "K" PART 9 - CHAPTER 5

Leo and Chris slowly approached the boy's cabin. Chris stopped walking.... again. Leo rolled his eyes.... again. He turned around, "Uh. Hey, you okay man?"
Chris stared at his feet, "I-I don't want to go in there. What if Zachary...."
"Dude! Enough about Zachary! That whole thing happened when you were five!"
"Seven."
"Whatever. He's not gonna remember that."
Chris was silent. Leo nodded and kept walking. Chris slowly followed him to the cabin.
Leo opened the cabin door. There was one thought that went through Chris's mind at moment; This is pure chaos. And it was; boys from the ages 14 to 17 ran around the room, took open packages of stolen food, etc.
Chris started to hide behind Leo and Leo stepped away so he couldn't do so. "This... is awesome." Leo said, his eyes twinkling. Chris stared at him, "Are you kidding? This is most definitely not awesome! This is hell! How can you-" But Leo had already run off to make some new friends. Chris stood in the doorway for a second longer, wondering what his chances of escaping would be if he made a run for it, but he realized that his home was almost four hours away. He sighed and then quickly dodged the egg that flew at him. It hit the wall and exploded . Chris stood back up, his eyes wide. This was not the place for him, he knew that much. 
Soon, one of the boys with sandy blonde hair, maybe 16 years old or so, hushed everyone, "Hey, check out what I swiped from Ken's office!" All the boys crowded around to see. The blonde boy pulled out a PlayBoy magazine. Everyone oohed and ahed and "how did you get that"d. Chris rolled his eyes. They're just a bunch of perverted thieves! He thought, walking over to a comfortable looking corner. He pulled out his ipod and a book, feeling that he was smarter and better than the goons drooling over a porn magazine. He smiled at his sudden feeling of superiority.
When it came time that the counselors came and made the boys go to bed, Leo rolled his sleeping bag out along with the rest of the cabin. Chris came and rolled his sleeping bag out next to Leo's. Leo stopped what he was doing, "Dude. What are you doing?"
Chris looked up at Leo with his big blue-green puppy dog eyes, "I want to be by you, 
they scare me." Leo stared at Chris, he could not believe he had just said that. "Uhg, 
how do I.... Look, Chris, you are fifteen, not five. Guys this age usually feel the slightest bit uncomfortable if.... Could you just give me a little bit of space?" Chris whimpered.
"Yeah, go on." Leo said. Chris looked down sadly and reluctantly pulled his sleeping bag about an inch away from Leo's.
"A little farther, Chris." Leo said, trying not to sound too annoyed. Chris pulled his sleeping bag about two more inches away.
"A little bit more than that." Leo sighed. Chris whimpered and pulled his sleeping bag about a yard away from Leo's.
"Thanks, Chris." Leo sighed and the boys got into their sleeping bags.
"Good night Leo." Chris said. Leo opened his eyes, facing away from Chris. ".... Good night, Chris." he said, thoroughly embarrassed and annoyed.
Chris lied awake for about five seconds before glancing over at Leo. He got up and pulled his sleeping bag over to Leo so that it was right next to his. Leo opened his eyes, glancing over at Chris, "Oh, you gotta be kidding-" he whispered to himself, putting his pillow over his head.

Cool With A "K" PART 9 - CHAPTER 4

After dinner in the "Mess Hall" (waaaaaay too cheesy, the food too. I don't like cheese.) Alice, Mouse, and I entered the girl's cabin. Mouse's eyes instantly widened in disgust (Ah, so much eye-widening. Any time someone's eyes are going to just pop out of their head.) The newest Lady Gaga CD was playing loudly (I only know what it was because Chris had begged me to let him get it a few months back, I said yes, big mistake.) and the room was filled with about 30 girls in variations of pink pajamas. I guess my old green ones might stand out a bit here. They sure did. As did Mouse's grey janitor's suit thing that she always wore. As did Alice's pale yellow long-sleeved nightgown (Of course she aimed for the most modest thing she could get). I guess all of I were dressed pretty modestly, especially compared to these skanks- uh *cough* girls, girls.... Most of them were wearing either very short pajama shorts and tank tops, short nightgowns, or simply underwear and their bra. I was surprised Katherine wasn't here... Oh, look! There's Katherine. Hi Mabel! Mabel was wearing a weird pink nightgown with green glitter and such.

Enough about pajamas, I dare not go farther. Mouse definitely stuck out the most. Most of the girls here where all giggly, why-doesn't-my-cell-phone-work-here, probably-can't-chew-gum-and-walk-at-the-same-time Fembots.

Eventually, one of them called out, "Let's play Truth Or Dare!" Mouse groaned loudly, but the Fembots paid no mind to her. Alice and I looked at each other and then turned to Mouse. We both started wringing our hand, not knowing what to say. "Um-" I started, but I didn't know what else to say, so Alice saved me. "Um, Mouse.... Why don't you give Truth Or Dare a try? I could be fun!" Mouse glared at Alice, "You trader."

"Now wait a minute, Mouse!" I said, "Don't be that way! We are going to play whether you like it or not! You can decide on your own if you want to play."

Mouse raised an eyebrow and me and then smirked, stepping back a step. I looked at Alice and then back at Mouse and sighed, "Come on, Alice." We joined the game.

Cool With A "K" PART 9 - CHAPTER 3

Once we finally got there, it was actually only 12:05 (We had to get up really early). We all hopped out of the bus, carrying our duffles and sleeping bags. I snorted and tapped Alice on the shoulder, pointing out Michelle, who had two suitcases and a sleeping bag, all of them a matching electric pink. We laughed even harder at the fact that Leo was trailing behind her, carrying most of it.

We all sat on benches in the big central area of the camp. Two counselors stood in front of all the benches, smiling cheesy, creepy smiles. "Why, HELLO THERE!" The female counselor hollered, her thick southern accent making it all the more annoying. "IIII'm Kelly," she said, the male counselor jumping in beside her, "And I'm Ken!" he said. Where they brother and sister Southern Sunny Day camp counselors, or were they just creepy K-named freakos? Maybe they were fake names.... and fake accents.

Chris and Mouse looked at me, probably thinking I was crazy for referring to this as 'fun'. Alice watched the camp counselors obediently and I shrugged at Mouse and Chris.

The boy's and girl's cabins were still thar and we kiddies got ta' sleep thar and play games thar and we would have a super duper time hee-ar. Why did I have trouble believing that?

Chris broke into it sweat when Kelly and Ken explained this part. I patted him on the back, "It'll be fine." I said, honestly not believing it myself.

After a looooong talk about how much fun we would have here and how great it would be, Chris ran into an old friend. Chris gasped, his eyes widening to an insane size. "Angie...." he whispered. I looked at him, following his gaze. There, standing a few yards away, was Zachary Jones. My jaw dropped, "Oh god..." I said. Chris bit his lip, but he didn't move. "Hey, Chris!" Zachary boomed, causing a squeak from Chris. Zachary bounded over, practically crushing Chris in a bear hug. "Where've ya been, little man?" Zachary boomed playfully. "Ahh...." Chris said, there was nothing more for him to say. Zachary patted him on the back, almost knocking him over. "So, looks like yer gonna get to stay with us this summer." Chris's eyes widened a bit and he squeaked out, "T-that's great, Zachary." Zachary laughed a laugh loud enough to shake the world and said, "Please, call me Zack." Chris nodded violently. Zack turned his attention to me, he was about a foot taller than me. "Well, look who we have here, Angela Harper. You sure have grown up, haven't you?" he reached out a dirty meaty paw to stroke my cheek, but I pulled away. "Now, now, Angela. Why do you resist?" he said, a smug look on his face.

I just stood there, scowling at him. Leo saw what was happening and went up to Zack. "Hey, leave her alone!" he said. Zack turned to Leo, Leo's confidence melting from his face like butter sliding off a frying pan. Zack was way taller and probably outweighed Leo by a hundred pounds at least. Leo backed up a little, Zack edging towards him. Leo glanced at me, Oh no, I thought, What would he do?

Zack put his face up close to Leo's, "What is it?" He said, "She yer girlfriend or something?"

Leo shook his head, "Nuh-uh." he said stupidly, pointing slowly to Michelle, who was far behind him, trying to find a place where her cell phone worked. Zack stared at Michelle, then Leo and laughed. "A little twerp like you gets a gal like that? In yer dreams."

Zack turned back to me, licking his lips creepily. He turned back to Chris, who was standing frozen where he was, eyes wide. Zach patted Leo and Chris on the back, "I'll see you ladies in the cabin." He laughed loudly and walked away. Leo glared at Zachary as he walked away. "That Dumbass. Are you okay, Angela?" 

I nodded, "Uh, yeah." I turned my attention to Chris. I went up to him, "You okay, Buddy Boy?"

He was breathing heavily as if he had just been running, and then he passed out. I caught him under his arms and, wondering if I should in front of the other guys, picked him up and carried him like a baby to one of the benches nearby. I put his head in my lap. He woke up, "Wha...?" he said. I shook my head, "It was nothing."

Right now was "Socializing Time" where all the Michelles got to meet up and screech, all the Zacks got to meet up and pat (more like hit) each other on the back, etc.

Me and my friends kind of stuck to the benches until I saw some I recognized; Mabel Oakfield! What was she doing here??? I stared at her stupidly for a while. She turned her head, she appeared to be looking right at me, but that wasn't possible, she was blind....

"Hey, Angela! Is that you?" She giggled happily. Holy hell, how'd she know- "Uh, hi Mabel." I said, Alice and Chris looking at me like I was totally losing it. Mabel giggled again, "What on earth are you doing here?"

"Oh, uh, my Mom sent us here this summer...." I said stupidly. Mabel cocked her head to the side, "Us? Who, him?" She thrust out a finger, pointing directly at Chris, who flinched.

"Uh, yeah." I said, "He's my... brother...."

"Your brother, eh? Oh, how cute!" She said, laughing. What was cute about it? He was just my brother. She couldn't be talking about how he looked physically, she couldn't see.... I was really lost now. Mabel grinned stupidly, which really wasn't a good description, because there was a good chance that she was smarter than us all. She gestured to Mouse and Alice, "And I see you two are here too!" Ironically phrased. Alice and Mouse nodded, probably half expecting her to be able to tell they were nodding and began saying things like Uh-huh. Yep! Oh, um yeah- yeah we're here. Mabel happily skipped off, leaving us more confused than ever.

Cool With A "K" PART 9 - CHAPTER 2

Alice, Chris, and I were at the bus stop, the bus to Sunny Day camp waiting for us. Alice and I were frantically attempting to pull Chris off of the stop sign pole he was clinging to.  "Um, Chris, t-that pole is no doubt covered in germs, you know." Alice said gently. Chris's eyes sprang open. "No doubt?" he hollered, "That was what Angie said when Mom told us about Camp! She said, "Oh don't worry Buddy Boy! Camp will have changed, no doubt! Well what if it didn't, huh?" Alice was silent, I leaned over to her, "Don't take it personally, he's just scared." We finally pulled Chris off of the stop sign pole and pushed him onto the bus. "Why?" Alice asked, her huge hazel eyes curious. 
Mouse and Leo were already on the bus. Alice sat down by Mouse. "Story time?" Mouse leaned in, seeing the grim look on my face. Chris sat next to me, window seat. He held onto my sleeve like a little kid. "Yes, Mouse. It's story time." I said. Chris whimpered from behind me. "You might not want to listen," I told him, "I'm telling them The Story." Chris whimpered again and curled into a little ball. Mouse and Alice's eyes got bigger with curiosity. I leaned in again, "Okay, so, eight years ago at Sunny Day camp, when Chris and I went for the first time."
"I was seven, Angela had just turned eight." Chris added.
I nodded, "There is a boy's cabin and a girl's cabin, at least there was eight years ago. The girl's cabin went to the archery field and the boy's went swimming." Mouse and Alice nodded eagerly.
"Chris refused to go swimming-" I started to say, but Mouse interrupted, "Why? He didn't want the guys to see him in a swimsuit?" Chris scowled at her and I sighed, "No, Mouse." I glanced at Chris and he nodded for me to go on. "He was afraid of water."
"Bet he still is." Mouse mumbled, Alice shushing her.
"Anyway," I began once more, "Chris refused to go swimming and the counselors asked him why, he didn't answer."
Chris broke in, his voice wavering, "And later that day, five of the other boys from the cabin, t-they were all a year or two older than me, came out to where I was sitting, by the shore, and one of them said, 'So, Chris, why didn't you go swimmin' taday?' I didn't answer him, I was afraid. He and his gang started slowly walking towards me and he talked. I could feel by bare feet crossing over from the soft white sand to the hard wood dock, but I didn't stop, I didn't want the boys to hurt me."
I pictured seven year old Chris, fully clothed in his spiderman t-shirt and khaki shorts, walking backwards on the Sunny Day dock.
Chris went on, a grim look on his face, "'You wasn't scared, were ya, Chris?' the leader boy had said, I shook my head no and he grinned. He and his gang had stopped walking, I stopped too. I had thought, Why was he smiling? What was there for him to be laughing about? Oh, I found out alright. Suddenly, out of nowhere, the lead kid pushed me, I fell off the dock and into the cold lake water below."
Mouse and Alice gasped, Alice drawing her hand up to her mouth to express surprise, "Oh my gosh, you poor thing!" she said quietly.
"The water was about eleven, twelve feet deep." Chris continued his story, "I couldn't breath, I couldn't swim." He paused dramatically. "I later woke up in the Main Hall of the Big Cabin, where the Mess Hall and such were, A counselor and dozens of girls and boys from camp stared at me. I looked around, searching for my sister. Soon, Angela came to the front, her blonde hair in two ponytails, one on each side. She was wearing a mustard yellow camp t-shirt."
I stared at Chris now, "You really remember this well, don't you?"
He nodded grimly, "I sat up and called for my sister, she looked at me, looking very worried, but didn't move. She looked scared too, as if she was afraid that some weird sea creature had bitten me and I would bite her if she came too close."
I bowed my head slightly, regretting not helping him sooner.
"The counselor gestured for her to come forward and she did, giving me a big hug." Chris went on, "As I cried into my sister's shoulder, I eyed the bullies who had pushed me into the lake, they were laughing. Laughing. They had just pushed a kid half their size into a twelve-foot-deep lake! I will never forget the look of pure evil on Zachary Jones's face that day." Chris stared straight ahead of him, thinking about the epic story of horror that he had just told us.
Mouse grinned and I shook my head at her, "Mouse...." I whispered. She grinned again, "I wonder if Zack still goes to this camp."
Chris grabbed my sleeve and started whimpering wildly, "No, Angie, no! Don't let him hurt me!" he moaned. I glared at Mouse, who was smiling triumphantly. "Don't listen to her, Chris." I said, eventually calming him down.
The bus ride was about three and a half hours long, Chris and Mouse both fell asleep eventually , Mouse drooling on the window, Chris sleeping peacefully with his head in my lap. I talked to Alice most of the time. Leo had happily discovered that Michelle was going to the camp to and he talked to her and listened to her chattering to her friends for almost an hour.

Cool With A "K" PART 9 - CHAPTER 1

No, Mouse! Put that frog back! Uhg, so annoying. Chris, no pudding for you. What?! Alice, where did that yogurt come from?! Beep beep beep. What?? Oh, clock. I shut off my alarm clock and got out of bed.
So, it all started this morning, when Mom made our breakfast, but instead of just giving us our food and going back to cooking, she sat down at the table, looking at both of us, smiling. Chris and I both looked up from our food. "Mom?" I said, my mouth full of eggs, "Why are you looking at us like that?"
Chris gasped, putting a hand to his mouth. "No, Mom! Not a baby! Right? RIGHT? No!!! I can't stand another Angie!" I punched him in the shoulder from across the table, "Hey! Don't be stupid! It's not a baby!" We both paused, out eyes widening, we turned our heads to look at Mom. "Right?" we said in unison. Mom laughed, "No, no! Of course not! You two have such wild imaginations!"
Dad came in and Mom was still laughing. "Hey Honey." he said.
"Hi." Mom laughed, she gave Dad a kiss. "What's so funny?" Dad asked her.
"Chris and Angela thought the news was that I was having a baby!" She started laughing all over again, "But I was really just going to tell them about camp!"
"Camp?!" Chris yelled, smacking his hands down onto the table, his eyes wide with fear. Mom calmed herself down. "Yes, Chris. Summer Camp, Camp Sunny Day. Remember it, Christopher?"
Chris stared at her, a I-can't-believe-you-would-do-this-to-me look in his eyes. He started breathing deeply and I sat him down in his chair, "It's okay Chris, it's been eight years. The camp has changed, no doubt!" I said. He looked at me, poor kid, he looked like a frightened little kitten. "N-no doubt?" He stuttered, his hand shaking.
I looked him in the eyes, "No doubt." I smiled at him. Chris sat back, sweating a bit. Mom looked at him, looking concerned. "Are you alright, Honey?"
"He's fine, don't worry." I smiled at her, looking back at Chris. "Think about it Chris, maybe it'll be fun."
He looked at me like I was crazy, "Fun? Camp Sunny Day, fun? Did you eat some bad eggs?"
I held up his fork, a piece of scrambled egg on the end of it. "You would've eaten the same bad eggs, Buddy Boy." He nodded again, taking a deep breath.
Mom broke in, "Um, well if it helps, your little friends Alice and Mouse and Leonard are going too." She smiled warmly. I grinned, "See Chris? You can follow Leo around in the cabin! You can have a friend there!"
 Chris groaned loudly, "I don't like Leo!"
"Don't be rude, Chris! It'll be fun, I'm sure of it!" I said.
Mom put a few brochures on the table, "Um, Camp starts next Monday, it's for three weeks. You can look at brochures if you want."
Chris stared at her. "Three weeks?" Then, only half to my surprise, he fainted. "Chris!" I said, "Oh crap!" I sat him up, "Aw, c'mon, Chris! Wake up buddy!"
Mom walked quickly out of the room, mumbling to herself, Maybe camp wasn't such a good idea after all.