Ella Fitzroy didn't want to go to camp.
She didn't want to spend her summer around her peers, she already spent all school year with them, and she didn't want to have to participate in "team games" and she didn't want to have to be told what to do all summer by adults who weren't even her parents, or in some cases, only a few years older than her. But Ella Fitzroy was 12 and 12 year olds rarely get what they want. So, on the second week of her summer vacation, Ella Fitzroy packed her bags and got up in the morning to be driven to the drop off point, where the parents took their students for the camp bus pick up.
Sitting in the passenger seat of her fathers car, her luggage in the back behind her, she found herself just staring annoyed out the window, watching the cars go by them, knowing full well all the other kids she was seeing weren't being shuttled off to camp for the summer.
"You know," Martin, her father, said as he adjusted his rearview mirror as traffic idled, "You can write or call to us. We aren't going to be unable to talk to you. You're not going to be completely cut off or something, if that's what you're afraid of. They have post at camp, or at least they did when I went to camp."
"Why do I have to go?" Ella asked.
"It's character building. Teaching you how to get along with other kids, teamwork and stuff like that. You don't really do any extra carricular activities at school or any clubs or groups or anything. We think this'll be good for you, that's all. It's not about us not wanting you around or something."
"Forcing me to be around other kids isn't going to make me like them any more. If anything, it's just going to make me like you guys less for making me do this," Ella said meekly, "I don't want to hate you and mom."
"You're going to be back in a few weeks, sweetie, it won't be that bad, okay?" Martin asked, tossing her hair with his hand, smiling warmly at her. She did smile back, despite her annoyance at the whole situation. Maybe her father was right, maybe it wouldn't be too bad, and she would only be gone for a few weeks. Besides, she wouldn't be totally alone. She'd have her fish.
At the drop off point, her father gave her a hug and a kiss, told her to have fun and that he'd be back to get her in a few weeks. As she boarded the bus, among a dozen or so other girls, she couldn't help but feel completely out of place. These were girls who wanted to be going. Girls in t-shirts and shorts, girls who played sports and enjoyed hiking and camping. Ella liked the outdoors all well and fine, but she wasn't one of those girls. She liked to be inside more than out, liked the quiet, liked pretty clothes, not utilitarian clothes. She was completely out of place, but thankfully nobody was going to bring it to attention.
Ella took a seat in the back of the bus, with her old plastic suitcase on her lap, having refused to put it under the bus hatch with the rest of the luggage. As she sighed and ran her hand across the top of the suitcase, she heard something and looked to the seat across from her in the back, where a girl with leg braces had taken a seat. She watched this girl, with frizzy curly brown hair, dressed in a pastel blue blouse and a grey skirt, open the paper bag she had put on her lap after sitting and pulling out a small plastic container. The girl lifted the lid off gently and started eating apple slices, only noticing Ella watching her after a moment.
"Do you want one?" she asked, her somewhat buck front teeth giving her a bit of a lisp.
"I'm ok, thanks," Ella said, and the girl shrugged and just went back to eating apple.
"I have other stuff," the girl said, digging through the bag, "I also have some cheese and grapes and some meat. I think it's ham. My mom packed me snacks for the ride."
"...can I have some cheese?" Ella asked, and the girl smiled, nodded and opened another container, handing her some cheese blocks. Ella took them and ate one or two of them, before taking a moment to look at the other girls on the bus.
"You don't wanna be here either huh?" the girl asked.
"Not really," Ella said, "I didn't realize it was that obvious."
"I wanted to stay home for the summer," the girl said sheepishly, looking at her apple slices, rolling them around within the container, "...but my stepdad said it would be good for me, but really he just wanted to take my mom on vacation without being stared at."
"Stared at?" Ella asked, popping another cheese cube in her mouth, as her eyes made their way back down to the leg braces, "Oh...okay. That's kind of mean."
"It's not my fault," the girl said, "I can't help how I am. I didn't ask for this, but he sure treats me like I did....your suitcase is dripping."
Ella looked at one corner of the suitcase, and got scared for a moment. She pulled off the little backpack she had and pulled out a roll of duct tape. She ripped off a few pieces and put it over the corner where the leak was coming from. The girl watched, endlessly fascinated as to why a suitcase was seemingly full of water. After Ella had put the tape back into the backpack, she looked at the lid of the suitcase and sighed.
"...is your suitcase full of water?" the girl asked.
"...I brought my fish," Ella said, lifting the lid just a bit and showing the girl her fat goldfish swimming happily around in the suitcase full of water, then she shut it and locked it again, "I didn't want to be alone."
"Maybe we'll end up in the same cabin," the girl said, smiling a little, "Then you won't be alone. I'm Amie by the way."
"Ella," Ella replied, "Thanks for the cheese."
It would be about a 3 or 4 hour bus ride to the camp, but at least Ella had Amie to talk to, and of course, she had her fish. After a bit of quiet time, some of the girls started reading, quietly chatting or falling asleep. Amie had started reading as well, while Ella just sat and looked out the window. Suddenly, a bright bleach blonde head popped up over the back of the seat in front of Ella and stared at her. Ella jumped a little, surprised.
"I'm sorry," the girl said, "I didn't mean to scare you."
"It's ok," Ella said.
"I'm Ramona Gilly. You can call me Gilly. Everyone else does," the blonde said, talking fast and high pitched, "What's your names?"
"I'm Ella," Ella said, "And that's Amie," she added, pointing at Amie, who hadn't even looked up from her book. Gilly smiled at them both, then started sniffing the air a bit, her brow furrowing, like she was a dog trailing a criminals scent.
"I smell cheese," she said.
"That was me," Amie said, then quickly added, "Not, like...not fart wise, I mean, I brought cheese."
Ella laughed and Gilly looked at Amie, shuffling to the seat in front of Amie, looking at her.
"Can I have some?" she asked, and Amie sighed, then reached into her bag and pulled out the container again, giving Gilly a few blocks. Gilly thanked her and then started eating them, still staring at the bag, adding, "You brought snacks?"
"My mom made me snacks."
"But there's food at the camp," Gilly said, "Is this your first time going? 'Cause I've been there lots of summers."
"It's our first times," Ella said, holding firmly to the lid of the suitcase as the bus rode over a bump, "We've never been. We don't really want to go either."
"But it's great!" Gilly said joyfully, "I mean, the place is great, it's not so good...like...doing team stuff and stuff but the place is a lot of fun and it's really pretty. I'll show you some cool stuff to do there! Maybe we'll end up in the same cabin, that'd be great!"
"That sounds neat," Ella said, trying to be polite, but really tired of talking at this point, especially to someone so bubbly and peppy and full of spunk. Gilly looked back and forth between them and shrugged.
"Ok well, thanks for the cheese," she said to Amie, "Bye."
And she disappeared back into her seat. Ella sighed and leaned her head back as Amie chuckled to herself. Ella looked across the row at her.
"What?" Ella asked.
"Just...people like that," Amie said.
"Oh...yeah," Ella said.
She liked this Amie girl. She could tell she'd at least have one friend this summer. After a while, Ella herself fell asleep as the bus was starting to head into deep wooded areas, and the trees blocked all sunshine. She soon found herself in a dream, standing on a pier on a lake, watching another girl in front of her at the end of the pier just look out at the water. After a few moments, the girl turned around and smiled at her, the sunlight glinting her eyes, making them sparkle. Ella found she couldn't move, her feet were stuck to the pier by glue or some force of nature, and as the girl approached her, her long black hair flowing in the wind, Ella found herself wanting to do nothing more but turn and run. Run far far away. Finally, the girl reached her, looked at her, touched her cheek and then kissed her. Ella woke up, trying to breath, her nails scratching the lid of her suitcase. She opened the lid and looked at her fish, who just was swimming in circles. She put her index fingertip into the water and he swam over to it and started nibbling on it, giving her little fish kisses.
It helped, but it didn't make her forget about the dream. What really bothered her about the dream wasn't that she had it.
It was that she'd been having dreams like this for weeks now.
She didn't want to spend her summer around her peers, she already spent all school year with them, and she didn't want to have to participate in "team games" and she didn't want to have to be told what to do all summer by adults who weren't even her parents, or in some cases, only a few years older than her. But Ella Fitzroy was 12 and 12 year olds rarely get what they want. So, on the second week of her summer vacation, Ella Fitzroy packed her bags and got up in the morning to be driven to the drop off point, where the parents took their students for the camp bus pick up.
Sitting in the passenger seat of her fathers car, her luggage in the back behind her, she found herself just staring annoyed out the window, watching the cars go by them, knowing full well all the other kids she was seeing weren't being shuttled off to camp for the summer.
"You know," Martin, her father, said as he adjusted his rearview mirror as traffic idled, "You can write or call to us. We aren't going to be unable to talk to you. You're not going to be completely cut off or something, if that's what you're afraid of. They have post at camp, or at least they did when I went to camp."
"Why do I have to go?" Ella asked.
"It's character building. Teaching you how to get along with other kids, teamwork and stuff like that. You don't really do any extra carricular activities at school or any clubs or groups or anything. We think this'll be good for you, that's all. It's not about us not wanting you around or something."
"Forcing me to be around other kids isn't going to make me like them any more. If anything, it's just going to make me like you guys less for making me do this," Ella said meekly, "I don't want to hate you and mom."
"You're going to be back in a few weeks, sweetie, it won't be that bad, okay?" Martin asked, tossing her hair with his hand, smiling warmly at her. She did smile back, despite her annoyance at the whole situation. Maybe her father was right, maybe it wouldn't be too bad, and she would only be gone for a few weeks. Besides, she wouldn't be totally alone. She'd have her fish.
At the drop off point, her father gave her a hug and a kiss, told her to have fun and that he'd be back to get her in a few weeks. As she boarded the bus, among a dozen or so other girls, she couldn't help but feel completely out of place. These were girls who wanted to be going. Girls in t-shirts and shorts, girls who played sports and enjoyed hiking and camping. Ella liked the outdoors all well and fine, but she wasn't one of those girls. She liked to be inside more than out, liked the quiet, liked pretty clothes, not utilitarian clothes. She was completely out of place, but thankfully nobody was going to bring it to attention.
Ella took a seat in the back of the bus, with her old plastic suitcase on her lap, having refused to put it under the bus hatch with the rest of the luggage. As she sighed and ran her hand across the top of the suitcase, she heard something and looked to the seat across from her in the back, where a girl with leg braces had taken a seat. She watched this girl, with frizzy curly brown hair, dressed in a pastel blue blouse and a grey skirt, open the paper bag she had put on her lap after sitting and pulling out a small plastic container. The girl lifted the lid off gently and started eating apple slices, only noticing Ella watching her after a moment.
"Do you want one?" she asked, her somewhat buck front teeth giving her a bit of a lisp.
"I'm ok, thanks," Ella said, and the girl shrugged and just went back to eating apple.
"I have other stuff," the girl said, digging through the bag, "I also have some cheese and grapes and some meat. I think it's ham. My mom packed me snacks for the ride."
"...can I have some cheese?" Ella asked, and the girl smiled, nodded and opened another container, handing her some cheese blocks. Ella took them and ate one or two of them, before taking a moment to look at the other girls on the bus.
"You don't wanna be here either huh?" the girl asked.
"Not really," Ella said, "I didn't realize it was that obvious."
"I wanted to stay home for the summer," the girl said sheepishly, looking at her apple slices, rolling them around within the container, "...but my stepdad said it would be good for me, but really he just wanted to take my mom on vacation without being stared at."
"Stared at?" Ella asked, popping another cheese cube in her mouth, as her eyes made their way back down to the leg braces, "Oh...okay. That's kind of mean."
"It's not my fault," the girl said, "I can't help how I am. I didn't ask for this, but he sure treats me like I did....your suitcase is dripping."
Ella looked at one corner of the suitcase, and got scared for a moment. She pulled off the little backpack she had and pulled out a roll of duct tape. She ripped off a few pieces and put it over the corner where the leak was coming from. The girl watched, endlessly fascinated as to why a suitcase was seemingly full of water. After Ella had put the tape back into the backpack, she looked at the lid of the suitcase and sighed.
"...is your suitcase full of water?" the girl asked.
"...I brought my fish," Ella said, lifting the lid just a bit and showing the girl her fat goldfish swimming happily around in the suitcase full of water, then she shut it and locked it again, "I didn't want to be alone."
"Maybe we'll end up in the same cabin," the girl said, smiling a little, "Then you won't be alone. I'm Amie by the way."
"Ella," Ella replied, "Thanks for the cheese."
It would be about a 3 or 4 hour bus ride to the camp, but at least Ella had Amie to talk to, and of course, she had her fish. After a bit of quiet time, some of the girls started reading, quietly chatting or falling asleep. Amie had started reading as well, while Ella just sat and looked out the window. Suddenly, a bright bleach blonde head popped up over the back of the seat in front of Ella and stared at her. Ella jumped a little, surprised.
"I'm sorry," the girl said, "I didn't mean to scare you."
"It's ok," Ella said.
"I'm Ramona Gilly. You can call me Gilly. Everyone else does," the blonde said, talking fast and high pitched, "What's your names?"
"I'm Ella," Ella said, "And that's Amie," she added, pointing at Amie, who hadn't even looked up from her book. Gilly smiled at them both, then started sniffing the air a bit, her brow furrowing, like she was a dog trailing a criminals scent.
"I smell cheese," she said.
"That was me," Amie said, then quickly added, "Not, like...not fart wise, I mean, I brought cheese."
Ella laughed and Gilly looked at Amie, shuffling to the seat in front of Amie, looking at her.
"Can I have some?" she asked, and Amie sighed, then reached into her bag and pulled out the container again, giving Gilly a few blocks. Gilly thanked her and then started eating them, still staring at the bag, adding, "You brought snacks?"
"My mom made me snacks."
"But there's food at the camp," Gilly said, "Is this your first time going? 'Cause I've been there lots of summers."
"It's our first times," Ella said, holding firmly to the lid of the suitcase as the bus rode over a bump, "We've never been. We don't really want to go either."
"But it's great!" Gilly said joyfully, "I mean, the place is great, it's not so good...like...doing team stuff and stuff but the place is a lot of fun and it's really pretty. I'll show you some cool stuff to do there! Maybe we'll end up in the same cabin, that'd be great!"
"That sounds neat," Ella said, trying to be polite, but really tired of talking at this point, especially to someone so bubbly and peppy and full of spunk. Gilly looked back and forth between them and shrugged.
"Ok well, thanks for the cheese," she said to Amie, "Bye."
And she disappeared back into her seat. Ella sighed and leaned her head back as Amie chuckled to herself. Ella looked across the row at her.
"What?" Ella asked.
"Just...people like that," Amie said.
"Oh...yeah," Ella said.
She liked this Amie girl. She could tell she'd at least have one friend this summer. After a while, Ella herself fell asleep as the bus was starting to head into deep wooded areas, and the trees blocked all sunshine. She soon found herself in a dream, standing on a pier on a lake, watching another girl in front of her at the end of the pier just look out at the water. After a few moments, the girl turned around and smiled at her, the sunlight glinting her eyes, making them sparkle. Ella found she couldn't move, her feet were stuck to the pier by glue or some force of nature, and as the girl approached her, her long black hair flowing in the wind, Ella found herself wanting to do nothing more but turn and run. Run far far away. Finally, the girl reached her, looked at her, touched her cheek and then kissed her. Ella woke up, trying to breath, her nails scratching the lid of her suitcase. She opened the lid and looked at her fish, who just was swimming in circles. She put her index fingertip into the water and he swam over to it and started nibbling on it, giving her little fish kisses.
It helped, but it didn't make her forget about the dream. What really bothered her about the dream wasn't that she had it.
It was that she'd been having dreams like this for weeks now.