Ella opened her eyes to bright sunlight coming in through a window; as she blinked a few times, waiting for her eyesight to adjust, she looked around and saw she was in her bed in her bedroom, in her pajamas. She sighed and sat up, carefully running her hands through her hair until she realized it was soaking wet, and suddenly the room was starting to flood, the floor filling up with water, her bed beginning to float. She glanced across the room at Gordons fishbowl and saw it sliding off the table. Ella crawled quickly to the end of the bed and reached her arms out, but she couldn't reach it. Then she heard shouting, and she glanced around the bed, seeing Gilly, Rachel and Amie all sinking, drowning, in various spots. Ella started to panic, there was nothing she could do, but she had to act...her friends were going to die.
"Ella!" Gilly shouted, sounding legitimately terrified. Ella spun her head from Gilly to Rachel, who had crawled onto a floating dresser and seemed to be okay. Ella looked to Amie, who was also struggling to stay above water. Ella had to make a decision. She grabbed a jacket and, holding onto one sleeve, tossed it out over the water towards Gilly, who grabbed the other sleeve, and Ella reeled her in. As Gilly got onto the bed with her, she threw her arms around Ella, sobbing, and Ella stroked her soaking wet hair as she watched Amie slowly drown in front of her. Ella shut her eyes and started crying too. There was nothing she could've done. Not everyone can be saved.
And then she woke up. The wind was howling, and her right cheek was scraped and bleeding a bit from where she'd fallen face first into a tree stump at the bottom of the small hill. She groaned, trying to use her elbows to push herself up. Once she was finally sitting upright, she grabbed the tree and tried to stand, and then realized the tupperware with Gordon was nowhere to be found. She started to hyperventilate as she searched around on the ground for it, and finally found it, a few feet from her, and he was perfectly fine. Gordon, and his tupperware had fared much better than she had. She picked it up and kissed it, before looking around and trying to get her bearings.
"Help!" a voice cried out over the darkness, and Ella instantly knew it was Amie. She immediately took off in that direction without a second thought.
***
"You're going because we need some time," Thomas said as he sat in the car by the bus stop, Amie in the passenger seat, brooding. She had her arms folded, softly swinging her legs, the brace squeaking a bit, making Thomas grimace.
"Just admit it, you don't like being around me around other people," Amie said under her breath, "I understand. I don't want to be around me either."
"Amie, it isn't that," Thomas said, sounding exhausted at having this conversation again, "Your mother and I just haven't been on vacation alone in a long time, and we really want to do this. Plus, you might make friends at this camp. It's all girls, and girls are much nicer than boys are, so they're less likely to-"
"Girls are not nicer than boys," Amie said, "You just think that because you've never had to deal with them. They can be just as vicious. Girls are the ones who mostly make fun of me in class, so yeah, I don't think I really want to be friends with anyone, anywhere, at any time."
"Amie, god...I...I just want you to have a good time."
"Then let me come with you guys!"
"No, this is just for us and-"
"Why can't I come?!"
"Because we don't want you there!" he finally shouted, slamming the steering wheel, honking the horn and scaring her. Amie looked away as he rubbed his forehead and reached out to touch her shoulder, but she grabbed her backpack and got out of the car. She swore she'd never speak to him again, and considering how things were going currently, that looked to very much come true.
Sitting against this tree as the area around her started to flood, Amie figured this was it. This was how it ended for her. She didn't want to die like this, alone, cold, terrified, but in a way, it was almost fitting for her life. She'd always be the loner, the scared little girl. As she wiped her eyes on her sleeve, she suddenly could hear Ellas voice, and her eyes widened. She waved her arms above her head and shouted.
"Ella!!" she yelled, "Ella, I'm over here!"
She saw Ella coming over a large rock, rising water starting to surround her. Ella shined her flashlight towards Amie, and Amie for one brief moment couldn't believe this. Someone...had come looking for her? Someone cared, and was worried, and had come to get her? This couldn't be happening. This wasn't supposed to happen to her. Nobody was supposed to like her.
"Amie! How do I get to you?" Ella shouted, and Amie just shrugged.
"I...I don't know!" she shouted back, "Be careful! The water is really powerful!"
Suddenly, they heard a cracking sound, and Ella looked at the large tree behind the rock she was standing on, and it was starting to come down. Amie screamed, as Ella fell backwards while the tree came slamming down on the rock. For a few seconds, Amie wondered if Ella was alive, until she came back up from the water and climbed onto the now fallen tree.
"Swim to me!" Ella shouted, and Amie pointed at her leg braces, making Ella smack her own forehead, forgetting her friends handicap. Amie looked around as they heard something else now, something louder, some sort of rumbling. The water that had come flowing down above her had finally fully crested the ridge and was now coming at her in full force. She had no choice, and she grabbed her pack and took off towards Ella. The water was deep, but not so deep she couldn't wade to the tree, as the water came and surrounded them more. Lightening crackled across the sky, as Ella helped her friend up on the tree trunk and hugged her tightly.
"Are you okay?" Ella asked.
"Are you okay?" Amie asked, touching the scrape on Ellas face, making Ella smile.
"I'm fine, I'm just glad you're alright. What're you doing out here?" Ella asked, and Amie looked embarrassed as she reached into her pack and pulled out a small canister and handed it to Ella, making her ask, quizzically, "What is this?"
"It's Scrambles," Amie said, finally sobbing, "It's Scrambles" she repeated.
"Scrambles?"
"When I first got my braces, my mom got me a support dog. He was this big fluffy German Shepard, and he was my best friend. He slept with me and made me feel better when I was sad. My stepdad left the gate open while doing yard work one afternoon and Scrambles got out and was hit by a car. I told him I'd let him go out here, because he liked being outside so much. I was going to dump him out here."
"...Amie," Ella said softly, "I...why didn't you just come to me? You know I have Gordon, you know I'd understand, so why-"
"Because I needed to do it by myself, and how was I supposed to know this would happen?" Amie replied, "...if you can just get me somewhere where I can dump him safely, I'd be so thankful. Please help me Ella, nobody else ever does."
Ella nodded, knowing how that felt, and decided then and there she had to help Amie finish this mission, as dangerous as it had become.
***
Back in the cave, Rachel standing at the opening to the cave and looking out and Gilly sitting on a rock in front of a fire Rachel had started, the girls felt worried that their friends may never come back. Rachel was swinging a stick, thinking to herself about Ella, and what a good person she was. How she was going out to search for her friend, no matter the weather conditions. Behind her, Gilly sniffled and wiped her nose on her arm. Rachel turned and the two locked eyes.
"She'll come back," Rachel said softly, "Don't be scared."
"I know she'll come back," Gilly said, "I just hate myself. I didn't stop Amie from leaving this morning, and I caused all of this."
"You didn't cause anything, Gil," Rachel said, "These things aren't your fault."
"Everything is my fault!" Gilly screamed, "Everything is my fault! Ask anyone around here! Everyone thinks I'm weird and is scared of me, and nobody wants to be my friend, and everything that goes wrong is because of me! Just like Jessica! This is just like Jessica!"
Rachels brow raised, curious now, "Jessica?"
"...last year, there was this girl named Jessica, and she was an intern who was working with my cabin leader," Gilly said, trying not to cry, "She actually wanted to be my friend, and I was so happy. She actually took an interest in me, and always took the time to talk to me, and...and she suggested we go on a hike, so I thought it'd be fine. It was fine, at first, and then...I don't know...an hour or so into the hike, we got to this clearing, and it had this tent and a campsite, and we didn't know where it had come from. We started to look inside it, and it had a sleep bag and stuff, so it looked like it was being used."
"...that's...creepy," Rachel said, Gilly nodding in agreement, her tears rolling down her cheeks.
"And then she zipped the tent up while we were in it, and she told me it was her camp site, so she'd lied about not knowing where it'd come from, and she told me this was where she came to get away from people and stuff, and I understood because I guess growing up she also was made fun of a lot and that's why she liked me because she saw a lot of herself in who I was. She told me...."
Gillys voice cracked, as if struggling to speak, so Rachel sat beside her and rubbed her back.
"She told me that what the world needs is to love one another so that nobody ever feels left out again, and that we should start that right now, and she..."
Gilly looked at Rachel, who finally understood where this story was going. Rachel put a hand to her mouth in shock, shaking her head as Gilly broke down and sobbed.
"Oh god, oh, Gilly, I am so...god...did she get fired, or?"
"I never told anyone," Gilly said, "She said she'd done this to other girls too, that she was helping us, but it didn't feel like help..."
"Gilly, you...you need to tell-"
"Why bother, she isn't here anymore," Gilly said, "Nobody would listen anyway. Nobody listens to me, and everyone would say I deserved it anyway, or was lying, so who cares. I did deserve it."
"You did not deserve that!" Rachel said, "Nobody deserves that! Gilly, I am so so sorry that happened to you."
Gilly didn't talk, she just started sobbing harder, laying on her side on the floor of this cave, while Rachel sat beside her. Now Rachel understood why Gilly felt so bad...because these really were the first true friends she had, and she felt like she'd lost them now. She felt like she deserved to lose her friends. Rachel was finally starting to understand this broken group of girls she'd aligned herself with.
***
Amie and Ella had fought their way up to the top of a hill, despite all reasoning not to, and were now standing looking out over the forest below. Ella handed Amie back the canister and she took it carefully, unscrewed the lid and exhaled slowly.
"Scrambles, I wish you could've met Ella, because she's a good friend, and she would've liked you a lot. As much as I loved you, I'm glad knowing you weren't in pain, and I have people who care about me now, so while you did a really good job, you can rest knowing I won't be alone. I love you Scrambles."
And with that, she tossed it into the air over the cliff, and Amie suddenly hugged Ella, taking her by surprise, but Ella wasn't too bothered by it. She just smiled and hugged her friend.
"You're right," Ella said, "You have friends. You really do."
"I know."
"Come on, we have to get Gilly and Rachel," Ella said, "And then I want to sleep for a few days straight."
The girls laughed as they headed off back through the woods, the storm dying down, as they went back to find the cave with their friends. For the first time in her life, Amie didn't feel alone. When they finally reached the cave, Rachel was happy but Gilly was ecstatic, and hugs went all around. After Amie told them why she'd come out in the first place, Rachel and Gilly gave their condolences and understood, and wanted to go back to camp and sleep a few days off as well. This whole experience had been downright exhausting. As the girls packed up and headed off, Rachel stopped Ella, grabbing her arm.
"What's up?" Ella asked.
"I just want you to know that you're a really good friend, and a great person," Rachel said, "I hope you know that. These girls really need you."
Ella blushed, "Come on, I can't be that-"
"I really like you, Ella."
Rachel put her hands on Ellas shoulders and kissed her, Ella happily kissing her back. Outside, Amie asked Gilly where the other two were, and as Gilly glanced back into the cave, she felt a terrible pain in the pit of her stomach. Gilly didn't say a thing the rest of the walk home.
***
The following morning, in the cafeteria, the girls were seated at the breakfast table eating.
"Why would you want shark teeth?" Rachel asked.
"Because I could chew through anything!" Gilly said, "I'd be unstoppable! Plus maybe they'd make a cartoon after me. Shark Girl!"
"That would be pretty cool, she's right," Ella said, as Amie came and stood by the table, Ella looked up and smiled, "Good morning. Sitting with us?"
"If that's okay."
"It's always okay," Rachel said, as Amie took a seat with them. With her friends.
With her first best friends.
"Ella!" Gilly shouted, sounding legitimately terrified. Ella spun her head from Gilly to Rachel, who had crawled onto a floating dresser and seemed to be okay. Ella looked to Amie, who was also struggling to stay above water. Ella had to make a decision. She grabbed a jacket and, holding onto one sleeve, tossed it out over the water towards Gilly, who grabbed the other sleeve, and Ella reeled her in. As Gilly got onto the bed with her, she threw her arms around Ella, sobbing, and Ella stroked her soaking wet hair as she watched Amie slowly drown in front of her. Ella shut her eyes and started crying too. There was nothing she could've done. Not everyone can be saved.
And then she woke up. The wind was howling, and her right cheek was scraped and bleeding a bit from where she'd fallen face first into a tree stump at the bottom of the small hill. She groaned, trying to use her elbows to push herself up. Once she was finally sitting upright, she grabbed the tree and tried to stand, and then realized the tupperware with Gordon was nowhere to be found. She started to hyperventilate as she searched around on the ground for it, and finally found it, a few feet from her, and he was perfectly fine. Gordon, and his tupperware had fared much better than she had. She picked it up and kissed it, before looking around and trying to get her bearings.
"Help!" a voice cried out over the darkness, and Ella instantly knew it was Amie. She immediately took off in that direction without a second thought.
***
"You're going because we need some time," Thomas said as he sat in the car by the bus stop, Amie in the passenger seat, brooding. She had her arms folded, softly swinging her legs, the brace squeaking a bit, making Thomas grimace.
"Just admit it, you don't like being around me around other people," Amie said under her breath, "I understand. I don't want to be around me either."
"Amie, it isn't that," Thomas said, sounding exhausted at having this conversation again, "Your mother and I just haven't been on vacation alone in a long time, and we really want to do this. Plus, you might make friends at this camp. It's all girls, and girls are much nicer than boys are, so they're less likely to-"
"Girls are not nicer than boys," Amie said, "You just think that because you've never had to deal with them. They can be just as vicious. Girls are the ones who mostly make fun of me in class, so yeah, I don't think I really want to be friends with anyone, anywhere, at any time."
"Amie, god...I...I just want you to have a good time."
"Then let me come with you guys!"
"No, this is just for us and-"
"Why can't I come?!"
"Because we don't want you there!" he finally shouted, slamming the steering wheel, honking the horn and scaring her. Amie looked away as he rubbed his forehead and reached out to touch her shoulder, but she grabbed her backpack and got out of the car. She swore she'd never speak to him again, and considering how things were going currently, that looked to very much come true.
Sitting against this tree as the area around her started to flood, Amie figured this was it. This was how it ended for her. She didn't want to die like this, alone, cold, terrified, but in a way, it was almost fitting for her life. She'd always be the loner, the scared little girl. As she wiped her eyes on her sleeve, she suddenly could hear Ellas voice, and her eyes widened. She waved her arms above her head and shouted.
"Ella!!" she yelled, "Ella, I'm over here!"
She saw Ella coming over a large rock, rising water starting to surround her. Ella shined her flashlight towards Amie, and Amie for one brief moment couldn't believe this. Someone...had come looking for her? Someone cared, and was worried, and had come to get her? This couldn't be happening. This wasn't supposed to happen to her. Nobody was supposed to like her.
"Amie! How do I get to you?" Ella shouted, and Amie just shrugged.
"I...I don't know!" she shouted back, "Be careful! The water is really powerful!"
Suddenly, they heard a cracking sound, and Ella looked at the large tree behind the rock she was standing on, and it was starting to come down. Amie screamed, as Ella fell backwards while the tree came slamming down on the rock. For a few seconds, Amie wondered if Ella was alive, until she came back up from the water and climbed onto the now fallen tree.
"Swim to me!" Ella shouted, and Amie pointed at her leg braces, making Ella smack her own forehead, forgetting her friends handicap. Amie looked around as they heard something else now, something louder, some sort of rumbling. The water that had come flowing down above her had finally fully crested the ridge and was now coming at her in full force. She had no choice, and she grabbed her pack and took off towards Ella. The water was deep, but not so deep she couldn't wade to the tree, as the water came and surrounded them more. Lightening crackled across the sky, as Ella helped her friend up on the tree trunk and hugged her tightly.
"Are you okay?" Ella asked.
"Are you okay?" Amie asked, touching the scrape on Ellas face, making Ella smile.
"I'm fine, I'm just glad you're alright. What're you doing out here?" Ella asked, and Amie looked embarrassed as she reached into her pack and pulled out a small canister and handed it to Ella, making her ask, quizzically, "What is this?"
"It's Scrambles," Amie said, finally sobbing, "It's Scrambles" she repeated.
"Scrambles?"
"When I first got my braces, my mom got me a support dog. He was this big fluffy German Shepard, and he was my best friend. He slept with me and made me feel better when I was sad. My stepdad left the gate open while doing yard work one afternoon and Scrambles got out and was hit by a car. I told him I'd let him go out here, because he liked being outside so much. I was going to dump him out here."
"...Amie," Ella said softly, "I...why didn't you just come to me? You know I have Gordon, you know I'd understand, so why-"
"Because I needed to do it by myself, and how was I supposed to know this would happen?" Amie replied, "...if you can just get me somewhere where I can dump him safely, I'd be so thankful. Please help me Ella, nobody else ever does."
Ella nodded, knowing how that felt, and decided then and there she had to help Amie finish this mission, as dangerous as it had become.
***
Back in the cave, Rachel standing at the opening to the cave and looking out and Gilly sitting on a rock in front of a fire Rachel had started, the girls felt worried that their friends may never come back. Rachel was swinging a stick, thinking to herself about Ella, and what a good person she was. How she was going out to search for her friend, no matter the weather conditions. Behind her, Gilly sniffled and wiped her nose on her arm. Rachel turned and the two locked eyes.
"She'll come back," Rachel said softly, "Don't be scared."
"I know she'll come back," Gilly said, "I just hate myself. I didn't stop Amie from leaving this morning, and I caused all of this."
"You didn't cause anything, Gil," Rachel said, "These things aren't your fault."
"Everything is my fault!" Gilly screamed, "Everything is my fault! Ask anyone around here! Everyone thinks I'm weird and is scared of me, and nobody wants to be my friend, and everything that goes wrong is because of me! Just like Jessica! This is just like Jessica!"
Rachels brow raised, curious now, "Jessica?"
"...last year, there was this girl named Jessica, and she was an intern who was working with my cabin leader," Gilly said, trying not to cry, "She actually wanted to be my friend, and I was so happy. She actually took an interest in me, and always took the time to talk to me, and...and she suggested we go on a hike, so I thought it'd be fine. It was fine, at first, and then...I don't know...an hour or so into the hike, we got to this clearing, and it had this tent and a campsite, and we didn't know where it had come from. We started to look inside it, and it had a sleep bag and stuff, so it looked like it was being used."
"...that's...creepy," Rachel said, Gilly nodding in agreement, her tears rolling down her cheeks.
"And then she zipped the tent up while we were in it, and she told me it was her camp site, so she'd lied about not knowing where it'd come from, and she told me this was where she came to get away from people and stuff, and I understood because I guess growing up she also was made fun of a lot and that's why she liked me because she saw a lot of herself in who I was. She told me...."
Gillys voice cracked, as if struggling to speak, so Rachel sat beside her and rubbed her back.
"She told me that what the world needs is to love one another so that nobody ever feels left out again, and that we should start that right now, and she..."
Gilly looked at Rachel, who finally understood where this story was going. Rachel put a hand to her mouth in shock, shaking her head as Gilly broke down and sobbed.
"Oh god, oh, Gilly, I am so...god...did she get fired, or?"
"I never told anyone," Gilly said, "She said she'd done this to other girls too, that she was helping us, but it didn't feel like help..."
"Gilly, you...you need to tell-"
"Why bother, she isn't here anymore," Gilly said, "Nobody would listen anyway. Nobody listens to me, and everyone would say I deserved it anyway, or was lying, so who cares. I did deserve it."
"You did not deserve that!" Rachel said, "Nobody deserves that! Gilly, I am so so sorry that happened to you."
Gilly didn't talk, she just started sobbing harder, laying on her side on the floor of this cave, while Rachel sat beside her. Now Rachel understood why Gilly felt so bad...because these really were the first true friends she had, and she felt like she'd lost them now. She felt like she deserved to lose her friends. Rachel was finally starting to understand this broken group of girls she'd aligned herself with.
***
Amie and Ella had fought their way up to the top of a hill, despite all reasoning not to, and were now standing looking out over the forest below. Ella handed Amie back the canister and she took it carefully, unscrewed the lid and exhaled slowly.
"Scrambles, I wish you could've met Ella, because she's a good friend, and she would've liked you a lot. As much as I loved you, I'm glad knowing you weren't in pain, and I have people who care about me now, so while you did a really good job, you can rest knowing I won't be alone. I love you Scrambles."
And with that, she tossed it into the air over the cliff, and Amie suddenly hugged Ella, taking her by surprise, but Ella wasn't too bothered by it. She just smiled and hugged her friend.
"You're right," Ella said, "You have friends. You really do."
"I know."
"Come on, we have to get Gilly and Rachel," Ella said, "And then I want to sleep for a few days straight."
The girls laughed as they headed off back through the woods, the storm dying down, as they went back to find the cave with their friends. For the first time in her life, Amie didn't feel alone. When they finally reached the cave, Rachel was happy but Gilly was ecstatic, and hugs went all around. After Amie told them why she'd come out in the first place, Rachel and Gilly gave their condolences and understood, and wanted to go back to camp and sleep a few days off as well. This whole experience had been downright exhausting. As the girls packed up and headed off, Rachel stopped Ella, grabbing her arm.
"What's up?" Ella asked.
"I just want you to know that you're a really good friend, and a great person," Rachel said, "I hope you know that. These girls really need you."
Ella blushed, "Come on, I can't be that-"
"I really like you, Ella."
Rachel put her hands on Ellas shoulders and kissed her, Ella happily kissing her back. Outside, Amie asked Gilly where the other two were, and as Gilly glanced back into the cave, she felt a terrible pain in the pit of her stomach. Gilly didn't say a thing the rest of the walk home.
***
The following morning, in the cafeteria, the girls were seated at the breakfast table eating.
"Why would you want shark teeth?" Rachel asked.
"Because I could chew through anything!" Gilly said, "I'd be unstoppable! Plus maybe they'd make a cartoon after me. Shark Girl!"
"That would be pretty cool, she's right," Ella said, as Amie came and stood by the table, Ella looked up and smiled, "Good morning. Sitting with us?"
"If that's okay."
"It's always okay," Rachel said, as Amie took a seat with them. With her friends.
With her first best friends.