by Rankan

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Chapter 3: Kind of what I expected, But not really

“I’m sorry you got lost, that shouldn`t have happened.”, said Counselor Jack. “It must have been scary for you to be wandering out there.”

He saw Bridget write something on her notepad, right before she held it up to him.

It read: “Not really.” The counselor made a small laugh.

Jack sighed internally. If this took any longer he was going to feel like wile E. coyote in no time.

“So, you’re in cabin 6, right?”, said the counselor, trying to pass time in the waiting room. “Your cabin leader is Reina. She’s pretty cool, but given the girls she has to watch over she’s going to be stressed out soon.”

Jack looked at the window. He honestly didn`t care what the counselor was saying, as he was going to be on a car home in a few hours, However he continued on regardless.

“They made quite a scene last year, they even snuck in a TV and had it undiscovered for over a month! But I suppose it’s not all their fault, there’s just that one girl…”

At that moment, the door to the outside opened, and a girl who looked barely older than Jack walked in.. Only a few inches taller than him and with short, straight hair, a textbook in hand, and thin, black-rimmed glasses, Jack was unnerved that in his feminine guise, he almost looked like a hypothetical younger sister to her.

“Hello…Bridget?”, she said in a calm, slightly annoyed voice.

“I`m sorry.” said the counselor.” Reina, this is Bridget, she’s mute, so that’s why she has the notebook. Bridget this is Reina. She’ll be your counselor.”

Bridget quickly scribbled two sentences down and showed one to the counselor.

It read;” She’s my counselor? She’s barely older than me.”

Jack smiled, and whispered a reply. “Actually, she’s 19.”

Questioning the information’s validity, Bridget scribbled out the sentence and showed the other one to Reina, with a fake, cheery smile.

“Hello Reina! My name is Bridget! It’s nice to meet you.”

Reina raised an eyebrow. “Eh…okay.”

Jack was taken aback by her reaction. She was the first person he had met that found his overly cheery behavior suspicious. He would have to be a lot more cautious.

“Anyway Jack, I can take her from here.” Reina grabbed Bridget’s hand and led her out the doorway.

About halfway to the girls’ cabins, Reina started to speak to Bridget sarcastically, “Hey new girl, I don`t know what you’re up to, but I have a feeling you`ll fit in just fine with Hell Mel and the others.”

“What the heck was up with her?”, thought Jack. She’s obviously smarter than the average jock if she knew the polite thing was just an act, and anyone called “Hell Mel” couldn`t be the friendliest person in the world either. Quickly, Jack struggled to write a note as he was walking and showed it to Reina.

“Hmm..Yeah, I guess you’re pretty good if you can handle everyone with that
act of yours. As for me knowing why? Listen Bridget, I invented that sweet innocent girl act to get free time. It won’t work on me, kid.”

Although Reina spoke condescendingly, she ended the sentence with a smile and a small giggle. Jack didn`t know why, but he felt Reina was a lot more at ease with Bridget than before.

Jokingly, Bridget passed her another message.

It read: “You didn`t invent it! Thousands of smart women before us have used it to their advantage. BTW, I don`t care how much crap some people might feed you about being “handi-capable”, it sucks not being able to speak.”

Reina let out a big laugh. “You know something Bridget, you’re pretty cool.”

“Maybe she wasn`t as smart as she thought.”, thought Jack. Then again, no one would expect a triple bluff, let alone the third being the person’s own gender.

Finally, the pair reached the girls’ cabin area. Like the main camp, ten cabins on either side of a large field with all kinds of sports equipment in the middle. On the right side were cabins 6-10, with cabin 6 unfortunately closest to the lake.

”That’s number 6 right there. Let me let you in and, um.. meet your roommates. Be warned, some things should not be seen by mortal eyes.”, said Reina in a fakely creepy voice.”

Jack was honestly scared. He had no idea what to expect. Just who were these girls?

Cautiously, Reina opened the door to the innocent-looking cabin, and quickly darted into the room.

Jack wanted to ask what happened, but remembered his ruse. He began to wonder if it was still worth it, as he was suddenly under a bright light as an unfamiliar, reverberating voice shouted out.

“BWAHAHAHA!!! Welcome to cabin 6, gentle newcomer! Please allow the Legendary Five to introduce ourselves, and bask in the glow of our majesty!”

Loud rock music began playing, and the voice shouted once again as a new spotlight was on a red haired girl facing away from him.

“First in our group is the graceful Cecilia Warren, master of time and space!”

The girl turned around nervously and waved her hand. The expression on her face clearly told she did not approve of whatever spectacle was taking place.

“Actually.”, said Cecilia. “ I just have a digital watch and a map.”

Undeterred, the original voice shut off the spotlight and turned on another one, revealing another girl that turned around, this time taller and with long, dark hair.

“Next, we have the brave and agile Jenna Clay, capable of feats beyond those of mortal women!”

“But… a lot of girls can do spli…”

“BEYOND THOSE OF MORTAL WOMEN!”

“okay..hehe…”she said, sounding more scared than nervous.

Jenna’s spotlight shut off, and a third one turned on, this time a girl with short blonde hair and a figure she simply had no business having at age 15.

“Now, we come to Sarah Jackson, my crucial second in command and master of organization!”

“All I did was organize your uniforms…”

At that moment, all the lights went out, and a hand could be heard fumbling with a CD player. A drumroll started playing as a dim light lit up in the center of the cabin, revealing a girl slightly taller than Bridget but with shoulder Length black hair and eyes that almost seemed to glow with determination. Curiously, what appeared to be a large yellow bow was on top of her head.

“And finally, I the leader of the Legendary Five sworn to make this camp not completely suck, Melody Hatchett!(but call me Mel) “

At that moment, all the lights came on, revealing all the girls together in the center of the room, all looking like they really didn`t want to be there except for Mel.

“and together, we are…

THE LEGENDARY FIVE!”

At that moment, the music stopped, and Mel gave a big sigh.

“ Whew! That rocked! I love it when we do that..”, said Mel, stretching. “Oh, hello Reina, where might our new bunkmate be?”

Reina sighed and pointed to the open door.”Oh, you mean Bridget? She ran out of here about a minute ago.”

Mel blushed and stepped back, grinning sheepishly. “You think we might have scared her off?”

“No..of course not. She just ran off in terror because it’s her favorite thing to do in the whole wide world.”

“……”

“You want me to go bring her back?”, said Reina.

“Please do, I`ll explain everything.”, said Cecilia.

Jack could not have thought of a time he wanted to scream more. He had to get out of this looney bin and home as fast as possible. Running into the middle field, he realized he had to get to the boys’ cabins and a uniform as fast as possible. This was not under any circumstance, what he wanted to be doing at camp.
All of a sudden, he felt a pull at his neck, vaulting him backwards. It was Reina, dragging Bridget back to the cabin.

“Hey, I told you it would be scary.”

Scary, yes. Mind bogglingly terrifying…no. “Hell Mel is actually pretty okay once you get to know her. It’s best not to dwell on first impressions with her.”

If she was so ‘okay’, why did she have a nickname like that and act like a psychopath? Jack was literally trembling as he was brought back to the cabin.

“Look at her, Mel! She’s scared to death!”, said Sarah. The Blonde girl stood straight up to the much more confident looking Mel, who merely looked to the side, avoiding the gaze of both Bridget and Sarah.

‘Oh come on, don`t be too hard on Mel. She’s done far worse and far better.”, said Cecilia.

“Come on.. Bridget, was it? I`ll explain everything.”, said the red haired girl, smiling at the trembling creature next to her.

At that moment, Mel stood up and walked directly over to Bridget, who cringed. Even though she was only a bit taller, the strength of her presence was unimaginable as she stuck out her hand.

“I, Melody greatly apologize for frightening you. I assure you, my intention was to welcome you. If you can believe me… and I sincerely hope you will even though I have given you no reason to, my reason for being here is the complete opposite of what you just felt. If you would do me the honor.. I beg that you forgive me.”

Jack had never been more confused? Clearly, this girl was crazy. She spoke like she was in the middle ages and some kind of knight errant. And yet, the look in here intense green eyes and the conviction of her voice said that she was being completely honest. He was quite sure that he had never met such a person in his entire life.

In a decision that Jack had no idea the repercussions of, he shook her hand.

“T..thank you.”, said Mel, with a sigh of relief.

“Wow.”

“That’s a first.”

“That’s great Mel!”

Jack was confused at the reactions from the peanut gallery, until Reina stepped forward and whispered into his ear.

“Hey Brid, apparently she sees something special in you. Hell Mel never apologizes, not even to me or Dr. Ballard.”

Reina then stepped back and spoke up.

“ooooooookay.. now that the horrific incident of terror is over, allow ME to introduce your newest cabinmate. This lil’ four-eyes over here is Bridget Alden. She’s a bit of a bookworm, but has an attitude inside that silence so I think if she decides to join your group she’ll fit right in. By the way, she can`t talk. But if anyone makes a crack about it…well, tell me and they’ll wish they hadn`t.”

Jack looked around and saw all the girls looking at him. Although he wasn`t showing it, he was nervous as hell. He’d never been around this many girls before, let alone this many that weren`t gossipy sluts. He scribbled something down on his notepad and showed it to the girls.

It Read: Honestly, I think you`re all nuts. But in a good way. By the way, why are you called the Legendary five if there are four of you?

All the girls looked dumbfounded, and Jenna spoke out, “that… is another story all together. We’ve actually got lots of stories about stuff that’s happened here. Some good, some bad. You don`t have to be a part of it, and I`d understand if you don`t want to, but will you think it over?”

Jack wasn`t fooled. These people seemed genuinely nice, but nothing was ever what it seemed. Why would they so readily accept him into their little club? He had heard something about making the camp not suck, which probably meant kicking around all the uncool people.

Bridget wrote another note: “I`ll think about it, but.. can I go for a little walk first?”

Reina, leaning back on one of the banisters of the bunk beds, spoke. “Sure, but dinner is almost ready. Can you take the walk afterwards?”

Bridget grudgingly nodded. It would be a long meal.

The dining hall was in the same building as Dr. Ballard’s office and the computer room, so it was a large part of an already large building.

Jack’s stomach felt queasy as he and his cabin walked in. It reminded him of the school lunchroom, which was a place that never held good memories for him.

He tried to sit at a table alone like he did at school, but Mel insisted she sit with their group. Reina was at the counselors’ table. All of them were plastic, but made to look like wood, much like the cabins and main building.

Surprisingly, the meal was served to them rather than having to get up and get it themselves, something which Jack liked, as it brought less attention to himself. It was a decent plate of fried chicken and peas. Although he hated vegetables, the chicken was enough, and he started to eat.

As usual, there was plenty of time left after the meal in the allotted dinnertime to talk, and the usual social groups were now overrepresented due to the nature of the camp. The popular girls were gossiping to his right and left, along with the jocks.

Looking back, it could be seen as if Jack was in a living nightmare. Surrounded by people who would love to hate him, in a place that he hated, dresses in girl’s clothes and wearing a bra stuffed with paper towels, Jack couldn`t take it. He started to cry.

Mel and her friends were chatting with each other, and didn`t notice his tears. Quietly, Jack got up, and left the room, but not without being seen by Mel, who saw a tear drop to the floor as the new girl walked out the door.

It had taken him over a half an hour, and the sun had almost gone down, but he had found the bus with his bags. He knew his mom had said he didn`t need to pack clothes, but knowing her, she just might have packed an extra set of clothes for him.

Tears flowing, Jack struggled to open the bus’s compartment with his bags. He had had it up to here with this nightmare. He was going home.

Finally, he was able to open the compartment, and dragged his bags into the forest where he could hopefully change.

It was at that moment that a group of girls holding what looked like cigarettes came up to him. Jack vaguely recognized them, but they looked like some of the girls that were at the lunch table across from his.

“Hey, you. “, said one of them in a firm voice. “ Why did you come here?”

Jack was terrified that he couldn`t answer. The forest was getting darker, and he could see that the girls were holding marijuana. If anyone knew about it, they would likely have a police record and the rest of their lives would be affected and tarnished. They weren`t messing around.

“I said, why did you come here?”, the six girls were coming closer, and some of the more nervous ones put out their lights. On girl in particular looked down and tried to hide behind a tree.
“I think she’s gonna snitch to the Doc on us. Aren`t you?”
“Yeah, that’s right”, said another.
“Little miss goody two shoes.”

Jack’s tears changed from those of sadness to fear as he was punched and then tripped, by two of the girls, sent crashing to the forest floor. Protecting his identity was a small price for protecting his life. He had to scream…

“Greetings, Malcontents. First substance abuse, now gang violence?”

The druggie girls grimaced. It seemed that they knew this newcomer. “We don`t have to take your shit this year Hell Mel. This chick was gonna squeal on us.”

Jack was stunned. How on earth did Mel know he was there? And why on earth was she defending him?

“Oh, I`d say right now you have bigger problems than her, you filthy skanks.”

That was all it took. One of the girls rushed her, but Mel caught her fist in her hand and slammed it to the ground, the girl’s body following with it. Two others came at her and Mel delivered a quick one-two punch to the chest of one followed by a kick to the midsection of the other. Both fell.

Mel stood above them smiling confidently. Jack couldn`t help but be amazed at her strength and ability, and her determined eyes lighting the dark forest.

“You idiots! You took on Hell Mel! What the fuck were you thinking? Lets just get out of here!”, said one of two girls who looked ready to run. They and their downed comrades started to escape, only to be greeted by a tall figure.

“I suggest you drop those things in the river.”, said a looming Jenna. The five girls shrank back and dropped their marijuana, which Jenna immediately stepped on and smashed into the ground, destroying the wrapping and scattering its contents around the forest floor.

“You think you can just get away with beating us up?”, said one of the running girls. “Once the Doc hears about this you’ll be kicked out for good!”

“Oh, I doubt that.”, said Reina leaning against a tree. “He wouldn`t want to know what you girls were doing here in the first place, now would he?” The girls shrank back again, this time knowing there was nothing they could do in their favor.

Back where Mel still stood, Jack could not believe what he saw. Just who was this Hell Mel? How did she know they would be here, and set up Jenna and Reina to cover for her.

“Oh My God!”
“Bridget, are you okay?!”

Jack heard two familiar voices, and Cecilia and Sarah came rushing up to Bridget picking her up.

Jack gave a confused nod, as Mel wasn`t finished there quite yet.

“Anne, I know you’re hiding there. It’s okay to come out.”, said Mel, in a voice so caring he could not have imagined that this was the same Hell Mel who beat 3 girls without breaking a sweat.

From behind a tree a short girl with long blonde hair stepped out cautiously. “Hell Mel.. I`m sorry… they told me they wanted to hang out and…”

“Don`t worry.. I know how they operate. That girl only brings a few hits to smoke at the beginning of the summer, a sort of.. initiation to her group. Are you in her cabin?”

“N..no..”

“That’s good. Reina, if you would be so kind as to take her back to camp.. I have to talk to Bridget.”

“Sure thing Hell Mel.” replied Reina, from the tree. She went over to Anne and took her hand. “Come on, let’s get back and I`ll get you some chocolate from the cafeteria. No one needs to start a summer like this.”

At that point, Mel turned around and helped Bridget up.

“I…I see I have quite a bit to explain.” Said Mel.

Although Jack had heard someone say that several times today, he was far too relieved to be safe to be annoyed. These girls, these “Legendary Five” had saved his life even though they knew next to nothing about him. Why? Why? It made no sense! "Why would she help me!", he thought.

Then, almost spontaneously, Jack leapt up and hugged Mel tightly while crying. He had never been more confused in his life, but he did know one thing. She was the first person to ever help him deal with a confrontation, something no teacher or aide had ever done, and that at least earned her his thanks.

TBC: Ch. 4 The Belle known as Hell Mel

Notes: Sorry this chapter got a bit dark. I promise next time will be lighter.^_^ But Mel is one of my favorite charachters, and she needs situations like this to show her true side, much in the same way that Bridget needed a situation like this in order to trust someone, because he had been betrayed so much in the past.

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To Be Continued...