Chapter Two
July Maplefax
Going off to war alone would be awful; but going with your dad is even worse. At least, for me it is. But my father seems to be enjoying himself. Maybe he’s trying to hide his true emotions or whatever, but he’s been smiling ever since we left our log-cabin-style house, out in Starkell Forest.
Not a lot of people live in Starkell Forest, which is nice considering how large it is, but it gets lonely sometimes. My father has been preparing for Camp Nervalex for a long time now, him being a trainer and all, and I don’t have any friends out here, so I’ve basically just had myself as company. It’s not all that bad at first, being alone. But after a while, you just want someone to talk to.
I start to think about what it’s like to live in an actual city, but my thoughts are interrupted by my father shouting, “July, we’ve made it past the forest, hurry, we’ll be late!” He’s not usually as stern, but he wants to make a good impression on the first day of his new job.
“Okay,” I reply. We both have backpacks strapped to our backs, containing clothes, water bottles, and books. We’ve decided to walk to the bus station instead of taking our car, for exercise purposes. My father wants us to be as prepared as possible for what’s coming.
I’m not excited about it, to say the least. I don’t support the war, and neither does my father. You may see that as a contradiction, but he’s only a trainer at camp so he can spend more time with me, in case I, y’know, die.
“Dad?” I say, fidgeting with the cap on my water bottle.
“What?” he turns towards me. “Are you out of water? I’ve got tons in my bag,” he says, reaching for his backpack.
“No, that’s not it. I wanted to ask you how you feel about this. About me going to war.”
He sighs. I don’t get an answer. I didn’t really expect to get one either, he never answers me when I ask about the war. We walk in silence the rest of the way, which is a long way away from Starkell Forest on foot.
We arrive at the bus station, and we’ve got to wait a while for our bus. “See?” I smirk. “We’re early. You didn’t have to rush.”
“I just wanted to be on time. If I’m fired, I have to go back to the forest,” he says.
I don’t say anything back, because I know we would both be uncomfortable anyways. The bus arrives, but before we board on, my father bumps into a girl with curly brown hair. He apologizes, and then we step onto the bus, along with a family of six people, two teenage guys, and an older man wearing a name tag that says ‘Frankie’.
“Do you wanna sit towards the back?” my father asks.
“Yeah, sure,” I sit down in the second to last row. The teenage guys sit across from me. They’ve got bags, and I begin to wonder if they’re going to Camp Nervalex, too.
“Hey,” says one of the guys. “Are you going to the camp?”
I turn towards him. “Yes.”
“So are we. I’m Seth. And this,” he gestures to the other guy, “is Maxwell.”
“Hi,” I give a nod in Maxwell’s general direction.
“Hey,” Maxwell replies.
My father glances over, and seems to notice for the first time that I’m talking to them. “Hey! Are you two going to the camp as well? I’m George, George Maplefax. I’ll be your agility trainer! This is my daughter, July. She’s going to camp, too, if you didn’t know.”
Seth and Maxwell give an inward glance at each other, and then Seth says “Yeah, we’re going.”
“That’s great! You know, I’ve got some great tricks up my sleeve. I can’t wait to start training, this is so exciting!”
“Hey. Dad,” I interrupt their conversation. “Um, why don’t you go ask the bus driver how far away we are from Camp Nervalex?”
“Oh. Oh, sure,” he says, seeming to realize how forward he was with Seth and Maxwell. “I’ll just… I’ll just go ask him.” He walks to the front of the bus, engaging the driver in a conversation.
“Sorry about him,” I say.
“He’s not a supporter of the war, is he?” Maxwell tenses.
“No, of course he isn’t!” I nearly shriek. “He’s just eager to get to know everyone. He’s only at this job for me. He wants to make a good impression.”
Maxwell seems to relax a little. “I just don’t see how anyone could support this. Sending us off, and making us fight against another planet’s army of people just like us, and basically making us commit suicide.”
“My father is totally against it. He wouldn’t be here if he wasn’t. He would be back in Starkell Forest, rooting for Kalem.” I tell him.
“My father supports the war,” Seth murmurs. “I haven’t talked to him in years.”
A look of pity crosses over my face. “Did you ever try to talk him out of it?”
“Yeah, almost every day up until about four years ago,” Seth chokes out.
I can tell talking about his dad really upsets him, so I change the subject. “So what did you guys pack?”
“What?” Seth says, apparently having been deep in thought. “Oh, erm… I just brought some snacks and comics. And my lucky shield.”
“I brought some cleats and t-shirts, and some sun lotion,” Maxwell says.
Seth smirks. “Sun lotion?”
“I get burned pretty easily,” Maxwell replies sheepishly. I hadn’t realized how pale he was up until now. His skin is almost… translucent. He catches me staring, and I look away awkwardly, my hair splaying out messily over my shoulder and my bobby pin slipping out of my side bangs.
“I just brought some snacks, too. And my favorite books. They were written forever ago on planet Earth, but I love the classics. Uncle Tom’s Cabin, Little Women, Moby Dick… they’re all so fascinating.” I say, adjusting my hair.
“I’ve never heard of any of those,” Seth laughs.
“Oh,” I reply, a little embarrassed that I had such an interest in such an unpopular time period for books.
“What are they about?” Maxwell asks, leaning forward.
“Uh, well. I don’t think you guys would be interested anyways,” I finally snap the pin back in place.
My father suddenly walks back towards us, saying “About another hour and a half.” He takes his seat behind Seth and Maxwell.
Seth groans. “I hate long car rides.”
“This is a bus,” Maxwell points out.
“Buses are even worse. I have to sit with a bunch of smelly people I don’t know,” Seth says. Then he realizes what he’s said. “I didn’t mean you, July, I meant… just other people… bus-goers in general.”
“I know what you mean,” I reply, recalling my past experiences on buses. Not pleasant.
Maxwell takes out one of his comics. “I just got this yesterday, I haven’t read it yet.”
“What is it?” Seth inquires.
“Fox-man and The Ruby-Eyed-Snakes,” Maxwell shows us the cover.
“What?! Oh, man, I thought that wasn’t out for another month!” Seth slaps his knee.
“Well, you’ve got other comics, just read those,” Maxwell says.
“Hey, I’ve got some old comics you two can read!” my father butts in, once again.
“Like what?” Seth asks, seemingly excited for the first time to hear my dad speak. I turn towards the window, letting them have their comic-book-fun.
We arrive at Camp Nervalex about an hour and a half later, as the bus driver had predicted. I read almost the whole time I’m on the bus, with only the occasional comment about ‘how exciting’ this whole experience is from my father and ‘how cool’ the new Fox-man comic is from Maxwell. Maxwell and Seth grab their bags, Seth nods toward me and my father, and they exit the bus.
I grab my backpack and start down the long aisle between the seats of the bus, my father right behind me. When we get off, Seth and Maxwell are waiting for us. I guess we’re friends now. The four of us take in what’s around us. We’ve been dropped off directly in front of the camp. I guess the bus driver didn’t feel like going the extra sixteenth of a mile to get to the bus station ahead of us. There’s a building that resembles a motel, some smaller cabin-looking buildings behind it (which I can only assume is where we’ll be staying), and lots of directory signs.
My father leads us into the motel-ish building, and we’re greeted by a woman dressed in all black. “Hi! How are you guys?” she beams at us. It’s the last thing I expected her to say. “Oh, you must be George! George Maplefox?” she looks in my father’s direction.
“Maplefax,” he corrects her. “With an ‘a’.”
“Ah,” she replies. “Well, it’s nice to meet you, George,” she shakes his hand. “These three can’t possibly be your children, can they?” The woman jokes.
“No, no. Just July, here,” my father says, putting his hand on my shoulder.
“And who are they?” she points at Maxwell and Seth. It seems kind of rude in my opinion, but I don’t say anything.
“I’m Seth, and this is Maxwell,” Seth says, motioning towards Maxwell.
“Great,” she says. “Oh, I’m Sarah, by the way,” she walks into a room in the back, and returns a few moments later with a stack of papers. “You’ll all need to fill these out” she passes me the papers.
At first, I think it’s a lot of paperwork, until I realize I’m supposed to pass Maxwell and Seth their forms, too. I smile at Maxwell and hand him his stack of papers, and Seth takes his papers as well.
“You could sit down if you’d like,” Sarah offers.
“That would be great,” my dad smiles, taking a seat in a bean bag chair that doesn’t really fit in with the rest of the furniture in the vintage-looking office.
I sit down on the sofa, and Maxwell sits next to me. Seth sits on the floor next to my dad. We all start filling out our papers, and I’m almost done with the first page when I catch Maxwell glancing down at my paperwork. I look up at him, curiously.
“Maplefax?” he asks. “That’s your last name?”
“Yes,” I reply. “My father already said it when he introduced himself to Sarah.”
“That sounds made-up,” Maxwell ignores my previous statement, chuckling.
“Uh, well,” I look down at his clipboard. “Teagan doesn’t sound made-up?”
“Hey, now! I know someone named Teagan. I think it’s pretty common.”
“Yeah, well-“ I start to say, but I’m interrupted by my father whispering at me.
“July, are you finished?” he asks.
I count the pages I have left. Fourteen? “Um, no, not quite,” I say.
“Well, please hurry. Sarah hasn’t got all day, y’know,” he states firmly, smiling over at Sarah. I know he’s just buttering her up, but apparently Sarah thinks his intentions are completely genuine, because she smiles back.
“Sorry,” is all I can come up with. I turn towards Maxwell, “Stop distracting me!”
“How many pages do you have left?” Maxwell asks me.
“Fourteen.”
“Man, you’re slow,” he laughs. “I’ve only got two.”
I glare at him, and then return to filling out the papers. I finally finish about twenty minutes later. Most of the questions asked on the sheets seemed entirely pointless, but I filled it all out anyways. I stand up, hand my papers to Sarah, and return to my seat, waiting for her to file our forms and tell us what to do next. I fidget with the buttons on my coat, and I’m about to start some small talk with Maxwell when I hear a loud bang behind me. I turn around and see a coffee table tipped over, magazines scattered all over the floor. “Sorry,” Seth says awkwardly, tipping the table back over. He places the magazines in a messy stack on top, and then hands Sarah his paperwork.
“Everyone’s done then?” Sarah asks.
“We sure are,” my father replies.
“Great! Now we can sort out the cabins. There are ten people per cabin, and there are twenty-one cabins. Twenty of them are for you wonderful little Symbols,” Sarah gestures towards me, “and one is for the staff, like you, George. Now, we try our best to pair up girls with girls, and boys with boys, but you know we don’t have even numbers here, so there may be a bit of a mix up, but as I said, we’ll try our best to get everyone in the appropriate cabins.”
“Don’t you think it would make sense to have a few extra cabins so boys don’t have to bunk with girls?” I ask.
“Well, that’s not up to me,” Sarah says in an irritated tone. I’m starting to think she doesn’t like me very much. But her smile returns right after, and she faces my father. “George, you can go set your bags in the staff cabin. Number twenty-one.”
“Ah, will do,” my father replies. “Be back in a few minutes,” he grabs his bags, does this weird salute-thing in my direction, and then leaves.
“So,” Sarah says. “What to do with you guys… how about we have July in cabin sixteen? And then…” she shuffles some papers around in her hands, “Maxwell and Seth in cabin seven. Is everyone okay with the arrangements?”
I nod, followed by Maxwell and Seth.
“Alrighty, then, off you go,” Sarah smiles. “Zarlo’s out with some other Symbols, just go to your cabins, I’m sure he’ll come around soon to give you your shirts and start some training. Just settle in, I guess.”
We grab our bags, and leave the office. We walk towards the circle of cabins out back. “See you later, July,” Maxwell waves.
“See ya!” Seth smiles. They walk towards the other side, and soon they disappear into their cabin.
I walk to my cabin, number sixteen. I turn the knob, and step in. It looks almost exactly like our house in Starkell Forest, besides the bunk beds and strangers. “Hi,” one of the girls says. She’s sitting on top of a bunk bed, reading a book, and she’s one of the few people that are actually girls in the cabin. “What’s your name?” she asks.
“July Maplefax,” I reply.
“I’m Millicent Charling,” she says, her voice a bit shy. I smile in return and walk towards an empty top bunk in the middle of the room. I would have liked a corner bed, but I guess that’s what I get for arriving so much later than everyone else. There’s only two other empty beds, one below me, and another on my left, also a top bunk. Overall, the cabin is actually kind of nice. I could get used to this. But half the time we won’t even be here. Instead, we’ll be training to fight to our death.

Chapter Three
Jaylar McGroven
Have you ever felt like your heart could just explode right out of your chest from overwhelming sadness? Well I have only experienced that feeling for the first time very recently, when I met a homeless girl, named Iris Florence, on the street outside my mother’s bakery. Since she’s homeless and has nobody to care for her except me, I give her any edible bakery items that can’t be sold. If it weren’t for me, she wouldn’t eat much. She is a Symbol, destined for greatness, like me. We were both accepted to Camp Nervalex last week, so I volunteered to be the driver for our long trip. I even brought some snacks along for the ride, including a box of thin mint cookies because they’re our favorite. I’m on the highway, trying to concentrate on my driving. I sneak a glance over towards Iris. She is looking out of the passenger’s side window, the green streaks in her hair shining in the afternoon sunlight. I love how Iris’s hair is the same color as mine; black with dark green streaks. We also have the same color eyes, so we look like we’re brother and sister. However, when it comes to Iris and I, looks are the only thing we have in common besides being Symbols and having mild-thin-mint-addictions. Then I smile to myself, thinking, well, opposites attract. I quickly snap out of it when some guy in the lane next to us almost rams right into my new car. Slowing down a bit clearly doesn’t seem to be enough for this dude, so he speeds up and within two seconds, he’s in my lane and flying down the road. He won’t be so smug when he gets pulled over by the SOKs. Fortunately, no damage was done to my girl. I mean my car, not Iris, by the way. Not like I wouldn’t want anything to happen to her, it’s just Iris isn’t ‘my girl’ and even if she was, she would definitely slug me if she ever heard me call her that. Thinking about my car reminds me of how my life was before I met Iris.
I was the most popular guy in my whole school, much less my grade. When I moved to Veraclock three years earlier, for my freshmen year, I never thought that I would have even half of the friends that I have. Well, had. Once everyone got to know me that first year, I became one of the most well-known students at Veraclock High School. Not just with the students, but the teachers also. I got very used to random teachers that I didn’t even know, coming up to congratulate me on a job well done. My grade point average was the highest the school had ever seen. I took every opportunity to get extra credit points, even though I already scored one-hundred percent in all of my classes. During my sophomore year, I became close friends with the football players and some of the cheerleaders. But one of them stood out to me. A cheerleader, named Amy Kane, who was not just the prettiest, but also the smartest girl at VHS. Of course, I asked her out the day I met her, because upon meeting with one’s dream, or shall I say ideal, woman, it is most definitely appropriate to skip the ‘friends stage’. From then on, we were labeled ‘cutest couple’ or ‘couple that will most likely get married’ and many others I probably haven’t even heard about. Shortly after starting a perfect relationship, my friends, Jeff Racko, Willie Saw, and Flynn Saunders, and I formed a band called “Jupiter’s Moons”, even though Jupiter has, like, over seventy known moons, and there are only four of us. At first, nobody had really heard about the band, but when Amy’s sweet sixteen was being planned, she asked if we wanted to play at the party. We happily accepted her offer and once the fliers had been handed out; there was no turning back for Jupiter’s Moons. We had total strangers asking us to play at their weddings, birthday parties, and even 25th High School Reunions. What had started as a new after school activity had turned into a full-time job. But, of course, we weren’t complaining since that’s as close to being famous as we’ll ever get. Life seemed like it couldn’t possibly get better than it already was.
I woke up one morning, fully prepared to enjoy my first day off since before Amy’s birthday. I had planned to hang out with my friends that weren’t in the band. No offense to the guys, but they were most likely thinking the same thing; we spent enough time together, playing at events, practicing, writing, planning, and so much more. I also told my mom that I would stop by and help at the bakery later that day. After catching a movie with Amy, her friends, and some guys that were on the football team, I did exactly that. However, I did not expect to see a homeless girl that was probably my age or younger, sitting on the corner of the street, when I arrived. Staring at her actually attracted her attention, believe it or not, (insert sarcasm here). We just froze and watched each other. That is, until my mom came outside to ask why I was just standing there. I tried to erase the moment from my brain so I could focus on work, but I found that to be harder than I originally thought it would be. By the time my mom was about to close up shop, I couldn’t resist the urge to see if the girl was still in the same spot, though I seriously doubted that she would be. It was worth a try. Little did I know that that moment would completely change my life; for the better or worse, I haven’t yet decided.
Of course, when I stepped out the front entrance to the bakery, the girl was still there, hunched over with a coat covering her. If her green hair didn’t stand out so much, I would have missed her.

“Hey, Iris,” I say before my brain can catch up with my mouth. She turns away from the window, appearing bemused. I’m sure that I have interrupted a deep thought.
“Yeah?” she replies, her expression softening.
“Uh, how about we play a road trip game?” I suggest. That will break the silence, great plan, self.
“Okay, like what?” she grins. Okay, now what do I do? I can’t think of any stupid games. What was that one my mom always made me play on camping trips? I spy? Something like that, just go for it, I think to myself.
“I spy?” I finally say. The smile on her face makes me think that she knows the game. Surprisingly, things are going better than I thought they would.
“Jaylar, you can’t play that in the car, especially when you’re going eighty-miles-per-hour. The thing you spot will be long gone before I can guess it,” she construes. Oh, man, I’m the planet’s biggest idiot. I laugh at myself, which, fortunately, makes her laugh too.
“If you want to talk to me instead of just sitting in silence, let’s play twenty questions. You can ask twenty questions about me, and then I’ll ask twenty about you,” she suggests.
“Sounds fun, I’ll start. First question; why are you homeless?” I ask, trying not to sound too nosey. I’ve just been wondering that since the day I met her. She looks uncomfortable with the question and I realize I’ve made a mistake. She takes a deep breath.
“My parents abandoned me when I was ten. I was staying with my best friend up until last year when she was killed in a car accident. After she was gone, I had nowhere to stay, so I packed up only what I could fit in my purse and a box and left her apartment to live on the streets.”
I’m not sure what to say. What do you say after someone tells you something like that? I decide to just move onto the next question.
“Second question; what’s your natural hair color? It can’t possibly be black and green with a name like Iris.” She laughs and I’m glad that she’s not upset anymore.
“It’s purple, actually. I dyed it when I was thirteen with the friend I was living with. She had bright red hair and she suggested dying it. I agreed because I was only thirteen, you know? But I kept it like this because it reminds me of her,” she smiles.
“Seems logical, next question; what was this friend’s name and how did you meet her?” I ask.
“That was two questions, but I’ll answer them both. Her name was Gwen and I met her when I was eight, at school. She was getting picked on by some kids two grades above us, and I stepped in to defend her. We became inseparable after that day, so when my parents left, she offered up half her bedroom. She moved out of her parents’ house when she turned sixteen, so we got the apartment I told you about.”
“I see, you’ve had a pretty radical life, you know that? All I can say about my life is that I’m rich and my mom owns a bakery,” I say, realizing that we’re only an hour away from Pluvalore by looking at my GPS. Iris smiles, but it’s an awkward smile.
“Question five; why did you choose to live outside my mom’s bakery?” I was sure that this wasn’t a coincidence.
“Okay, fine, I saw you go in there a couple times and…” She trails off, leaving me hanging.
“What?” I ask, utterly confused.
“Nothing, I can’t tell you right now. Move on to the next question,” she responds, looking out the window again.
Reluctantly, I think of another question. “Okay, question number six; what’s your middle name?” She looks at me, suddenly.
“Why do you want to know that?” she asks, looking puzzled.
“I don’t know, I couldn’t think of anything else,” I admit.
“You’re absolutely terrible at this game, Jay. And I don’t have a middle name so you just wasted a question,” she laughs. I know she’s right, I’m not good at small talk, so how could I be good at twenty questions?
“Since I’m so terrible, how about you ask the questions now?” I say, not at all hiding the smirk on my face.
“Giving up already? Fine, my turn; how are you so darn rich?” I knew this was coming.
“My dad is just a hard worker, I guess. My mother told me that they were broke the first two years of my life.”
“Too bad you can’t remember what it’s like to live like me. Next question; why were you so nice to me the day we met? You didn’t even know me so why bother being friendly?” She’s looking out the window again, her expression blank.
“I don’t know that’s just how I am, I guess. There’s never a reason not to be friendly. That’s my motto. If you mean, why I helped you that day, then the answer is that I have no idea. I just saw you sitting there… and I had to do something,” I sigh, trying to concentrate on the road again.
“Let’s take a break from this game, okay?” She’s still looking out the window. I don’t know why I keep pointing that out. Maybe it’s because every time she looks out the window, I feel like she doesn’t want to be here.
“Okay. I’ll just turn on the radio, if that’s alright,” I say, inching my hand toward the power button on my stereo system.
“I don’t care, you can if you want,” she replies, closing her eyes, still facing the other direction. What I thought would be a fun road trip and a chance to get to know Iris better, has turned out to be the most awkward situation of my life. I turn on the radio to my favorite station. They’re playing “Raindrops” by The Broken Life, my favorite band and my all-time favorite song. I start bobbing my head because for a moment, I forget that Iris is sitting next to me. I see her look at me and smile out of the corner of my eye, so I keep jamming out to the music. We listen to that station until we arrive at Camp Nervalex.

I’m holding my suitcase, Iris’s bags, and her new purse that I paid for, since she didn’t have one, as we walk up to the Camp Office, only because I still felt bad about what happened in the car ride here. This place doesn’t look very fancy but no way am I saying that out loud. Iris will think I’m nothing but a rich boy who can’t handle living in undesirable places. I open the door for her and when she steps inside, I follow her. There are two other Symbols sitting on a love seat in the corner of the room, and a woman wearing all black going back and forth from her office to the lobby. She gives us a friendly smile and says that she’ll be with us as soon as she can. A few seconds later, she hands us the same packets that the other two Symbols are filling out. One is a girl with curly brown hair, the other, a guy that’s surprisingly taller than me, with short brownish blond hair. The guy is too busy filling out his paper work to acknowledge our entrance, but I can sense the girl watching us from across the room. When Iris and I are sitting across from them, they look up. The girl smiles, but the guy doesn’t look happy whatsoever.
Suddenly, a very young-looking guy appears in the lobby. He picks up a clipboard off the front desk and tucks a pen behind his ear. All of us are staring at him as he gets closer to where we’re sitting.

“Welcome to Camp Nervalex, I am the Camp Owner, Zarlo Katrina. Let’s begin your two weeks of training,” he says, barely looking up from the clipboard. The four of us stand up, hand Sarah our paper work, and follow Zarlo through the building all the way to the very back. He opens the only door in sight and sunshine bursts into what used to be a capacious, nearly pitch black, room. My heart is beating insanely fast as we walk outside. I see a copious amount of teenagers that are already talking with camp directors and trainers, who are wearing black jackets with yellow capital letters that read “Camp Nervalex Instructor”. Zarlo hands us each a yellow t-shirt with a number on it. I’m number one hundred-ninety-five and Iris is one-hundred-ninety-six, but I’m too busy putting my t-shirt on to notice which of the two numbers Steven and Ella got.

“Alright, everyone, please stop what you’re doing,” Zarlo shouts into a megaphone. Every single person in the field stops cold, including me. A few kids walk out into the field, oblivious to what’s happening. They are obviously the last ones to arrive because they don’t have their t-shirts yet. I’m not usually intimated easily by anyone, but this guy is a very rare exception.

“I definitively know that none of us want to be here. I am no exception, so don’t waste my time.” I definitely agree with that. Zarlo keeps glancing down at the clipboard, to see if everyone is here, I’m guessing. Then he raises the megaphone to his mouth again.

“Anyone that does not have a cabin yet, please come forward at this time,” he says, in a dull tone of voice.

Iris, Steven, Ella, and I are the only ones that start the walk of shame towards the scary man with the megaphone. Even the kids that got here after us already have their cabins. We awkwardly stand there in front of him until he asks, “What are your names and how old are you?” I speak up first, which annoys Steven. I can tell he likes to think of himself as a big tough guy, but odds are, I’d probably beat him in a fight. Not that it should ever come to that for any reason. I don’t exactly like pounding people’s faces in.

“Okay, Jaylar McGroven and Steven Kaleb, you’re in cabin sixteen. Ella Daggerlight you’re in cabin eleven, and Iris Florence, cabin four,” Zarlo explains, looking at his clipboard. I swear his eyes are glued to that thing.

“Here, take your schedules. Off you go, get settled and then meet the instructors,” he commands. We shuffle away towards the circle of cabins. Looks like I’ll be spending a lot more time with Steven than I had originally planned. Cabin sixteen, okay, where the heck is that? How unorganized this place is boggles my mind. Steven says goodbye to Ella, which makes me think that I should see Iris before we go. And I would, except she is already at her cabin on the other side of the circle. Mental sigh.
When I finally find the cabin, I notice that Steven is right behind me. I push open the wooden door, which looks like it could fall apart at any moment, and drop my stuff down on the floor, making a loud sound. Some kids sitting on their beds look at me like I’ve just murdered a puppy. I go on with my life, unpacking my suitcase on one of the lower bunk beds. Some girl with bright blonde hair is on the bunk above mine. She smiles at me and I awkwardly don’t do the same. I’m not here to make friends with Miss Sunshine-On-A-Cloudy-Day. No offense to her or anything but why try to make this any better? We’re most likely going to die. Every single one of us.
“HEY! We have to go meet the instructors now! Zarlo said so, come on guys!” A scrawny-looking short kid shouts to everyone in the cabin. He must be one of the younger ones.
I finally finish getting settled into the small area that I am provided with, so I decide I should listen to Shorty and go meet my new instructors. As soon as I step foot out the door, I’m knocked down, face first. Someone pushed me, I felt it. When I get up no one is there so I just move on. The camp instructors are all lined up, waiting for everyone to come out of their cabins.
“Hello, everyone welcome to Camp Nervalex! I am Reyna Bluesberg, your battle advisor. I hope you have all settled in nicely. We were planning on having you all meet the instructors first, but Zarlo thinks we should figure out what your powers are! Is everyone excited?” A short brunette woman says, smiling into a microphone. No one says anything so she fetches Zarlo from the back of the line; of course he was looking at that clipboard of his. I wonder what he has on it. He grabs the microphone from Reyna Bluesberg and takes his sunglasses off for the first time since I’ve been here.
“Okay, this is obviously going to take a long time since there are so many of you. Therefore, an instructor will be assigned to each cabin and that instructor will help you discover your powers. I have already assigned them, so everyone go to your cabins and wait for someone to knock on your door. Off you go.” Well what a waste of time. We all walked over here, all two hundred of us, and now five minutes later we have to go right back because of their sloppy, unorganized schedules. Man, I hate this place already.