lvcid
Elder Member
girls’ night
cabin 2
A
s Ramona stepped into the sanctuary of Cabin 2, she was immediately plunged into near-darkness. The shadows of trees outside cast elongated shadows through the open curtains, branches reaching like bony, gnarled fingers across the worn, wooden floor.Her hand flew to the wall beside the door, running along the paneling until she bumped the switch, effectively illuminating the space.
Heaving a sigh, Mona dragged herself across the room, barely allowing herself the time to kick off her dirty sneakers before flopping onto the bed, the force of the action causing the old mattress to squeak beneath her weight. Her head rested on the pillow as she picked at her nails, body curved somewhat uncomfortably to allow her feet to dangle off the side, but she couldn’t bring herself to care. Bright light aside, five more minutes alone and still, and Ramona was sure that sleep would take her into its grasp, creeping in and settling over her tired mind like a thick fog, though she doubted she’d be so lucky—living with five other girls, moments of peace were few and far between.
Riley couldn’t say she was surprised to see that the lights were on and that someone had beaten her back to the cabin already. Seems she wasn’t the only one who was ready to turn in for the night. Her hand lifted to cover her mouth as a yawn forced its way through as Riley climbed the steps.
Pushing open the door she blinked her eyes a few times to adjust to the bright light. “Hey Mona.” Riley greeted despite the fact that it hadn’t been that long since she’d seen her friend, dinner had literally just ended, but she also knew that with the way Mona was laying on the bed that she wouldn’t have immediately known who was walking through the door.
Ramona glanced up for the first time since lying down, brown eyes finding Riley where she stood by the doorframe. “Hi, Riley,” she answered, forcing her mouth into a wavering smile.
Kicking off her sneakers Riley bent down to place them next to Mona’s. With this many girls staying in one cabin she silently hoped that they could all be adults and keep their shared space clean. Riley hated when things got messy.
Walking over to the bed she’d claim earlier Riley pulled her suitcase from under her bed. She began pulling out her toiletries and the pajamas she planned on wearing to bed tonight. As much as Riley wanted to crawl under the covers and sleep there was no way she’d be able to comfortably without feeling gross if she didn’t brush her teeth, and take a shower. Plus the other girls still had to come back and get ready themselves, even if she did lay down she wouldn’t be able to sleep with the lights on and people talking around her.
“I’m claiming the bathroom first.” Not having to wait her turn to clean up was a godsend and Riley was disappearing into the bathroom and closing the door behind her before Mona could respond.
“Be my guest,” Mona murmured.
"Dibs on the bathroom second, then," Isla announced her arrival with the claim as soon as she was through the door, removing her shoes and placing them beside Riley's and Mona's, "Hello, Ramona, it's nice to see you."
They walked to the bunk they had chosen, finding their trunk and pulling it out. Isla deftly hid the totem they found earlier in a little compartment and covered it before pulling out their toiletries and pajamas for the night. They removed any jewelry they wore, carefully placed it back into the box they brought for it, and closed the trunk.
With the trunk closed and put away again, Isla placed her pajamas and case of toiletries on her bed before climbing onto the top bunk and sitting with her back against the wall, long legs hanging over the side of the bed.
At the addition of a third voice, Ramona’s head swiveled toward the entrance yet again to find Isla positioned there now—an easy guess, given their distinctly proper way of speaking.
Mona may not have cared all that much that Renee’s and Paige’s fates had been left open-ended, but she could sympathize with Isla. Out of all of the people at camp, she was the one Ramona could truly believe was pained the most by her sisters’ disappearances—not like the many others using their supposed “deaths” as an excuse to act badly or place themselves on a pedestal, claiming to want to do better in the names of Renee or Paige. They didn’t deserve Mona’s pity, and while she knew Isla likely wouldn’t want any, she was the only person who deserved it, save for Jonathan, perhaps.
“Hi. It’s good to see you, too, Isla.”
Despite her warning against it to Cooper, Ramona was tempted now to go for a walk of her own. Rest had evaded her, forgotten entirely now that she had company, and she needed to do something to calm herself down for the night. Typically, she’d read, but her mind was far too restless for that, and besides that, Riley’s rather noisy shuffling around in the bathroom would’ve made it almost impossible to concentrate.
Mona propped herself up on her elbows, careful to not raise herself all the way up, lest she smack her head on the bottom of the bunk above her. “Do you guys wanna do something?” she asked, loud enough that both of her current companions could hear.
It didn’t have to be a hike around the camp’s borders—Mona would settle for just about anything at this point.
“Do what?” Riley asked, calling out from the bathroom, pulling her hair into a ponytail so that she could brush her teeth and wash her face without worrying about it getting in her way. She wouldn’t mind doing something depending on what it was, she wasn’t sure she had the energy to go hiking right now–hell she hardly had the energy to do what she was doing right now but she’d be willing to push her tiredness aside if what her cabin mates suggested was tempting enough to.
She stuck her head outside of the bathroom, brown eyes looking at Mona curiously. “Whatever it is, you better figure it out before I decide to get in the shower. Once my pajamas are on I’m not leaving this cabin.”
"While I would prefer to stay in the cabin, there isn't much to do here," Isla mused, head tilting to one side thoughtfully, "I do have an idea that could make this first night more fun. Why don't we borrow the TV and a couple of movies from the lodge?" She sat up with a smile, looking down at Mona from her top bunk.
"It isn't like anyone will stop us, and if they do I'll use my charm and Evergreen privilege to get us out of it," Isla hopped down from the bunk, her eyes lighting up with excitement, "Or to distract them while the rest of you grab the TV and movies." She shrugged, twirling a strand of hair with her finger absentmindedly.
“You want to steal the tv?” Riley asked, turning her head to look at Isla. It did sound kind of tempting...
Ramona’s gaze brightened, grin—the first that’d been genuine all day—breaking out across her face as her attention turned to the blonde. Judging by Isla’s enthusiasm, they needed it just as much as she did.
It was the kind of scheme that Mona would’ve taken part in as a child, and though her partners in crime would be different now, she couldn’t help the way her mood lifted at the prospect of familiar antics.
“That’s perfect,” Ramona agreed. “We could get snacks from the kitchen, too. Of course, Juliette might still be there, but we could take her.”
The girl got to her feet, ducking out from beneath the top bunk, and circled her bed to lean against one of the posts as she peered at Riley expectantly. “What do you say? Is it worth postponing your shower for?”
Leaned up against the bathroom door Riley thought for a few moments. It would be nice to watch some movies tonight, they had to wait for the others to come anyway and at least this way they’d be entertained while doing so. Plus with Isla with them what was the worst that could happen? What were they going to do-write up Johnathon’s daughter?
“Yeah I’m down.” Riley nodded her lips lifting into an amused smile. She stepped out of the bathroom, closing the door behind herself. This better be worth it, if they came back and someone was in the shower and she had to go in when it was already wet and steamy she’d be pissed. “Is your dad still here or did he leave already?” Riley targeted the question towards Isla as she went to put her shoes back on.
If he was then Isla would be the perfect person to distract him while Riley and Mona grabbed the tv and movies.
"I don't think so," Isla followed Riley's lead and pulled their shoes back on, "From what I could tell he had to meet with someone, probably in town if I had to take a guess."
They paused, expression thoughtful, "If by some random chance we run into Hugo or Eva, leave it to me. They're family, so it'd be a nice time to distract and catch up with them." Isla nodded to herself, content with that plan.
“Guess we better get moving then,” Ramona decided, already crossing the room toward the line of shoes. “No telling how long that meeting will last.”
Mona held the door open for the others to follow her outside. There were still quite a few groups of stragglers scattered throughout the village, prolonging their inevitable curfew for as long as the counselors would turn a blind eye to their preteen rebellion. Among those was the girls Ramona had had an awkward conversation with only a few minutes ago—they still maintained their posts by the fire, presumably delved into another bout of gossip, though Mona made a conscious effort to ignore them as she passed this time.
It was a longer trek to the Lodge than Ramona had remembered, something that would inevitably create a bit of an unexpected hiccup as the three of them rolled the TV back to their cabin, though she didn’t dare bring it up and risk putting a damper on their otherwise upbeat attitudes.
Overhead, the sky had turned to a murky blue—not quite nightfall yet but a promise that it would be soon enough.
Riley stepped out of the door, placing her hands into her pockets as she went down the steps. Just as she had predicted hours ago there were still a few groups of kids hanging around, probably more out of spite than anything else. Kids always hated being told what to do, especially at a summer camp when they were there to have fun not be held down by strict rules and a curfew that had never been implemented before.
As they grew closer to the lodge she looked towards Isla, “So what’s the plan when they inevitably notice that the tv is missing?” The dvds probably wouldn’t be noticed right away, they had so many that they weren’t going to miss the handful(s) that the girls took with them but they only had one tv on camp grounds and sooner or later someone was going to realize its absence.
"Leave it to me," Isla smiled, casting a side glance at Riley, "I'll call my dad and let him know we can't find the TV. With it being the start of the session, it shouldn't be too difficult to replace."
“Wow, I’m impressed, Isla,” Mona said, eyebrows raising. “I’ve known you all these years and never noticed you were an evil genius.” Her words may have sounded insulting if not for the way her mouth curved upward approvingly.
Riley shook her head with a small smile. Mona was right, Isla was definitely an evil genius but she was also the only person who could pull something like this off. Even if Johnathon put two and two together he wouldn’t punish the only daughter he had left- especially not for a tv of all things. “If we weren’t friends I might be worried about how big your brain is.” Riley joked, lifting her arm to playfully nudge Isla in the side with her elbow.
Isla laughed as she walked beside them, the corners of her eyes crinkling slightly, "Oh, you're too kind."
After a few more minutes passed the trio finally reached the lodge. Pushing the cart with the tv all the way back to their cabin was going to be a bitch.
“Isn’t the lodge locked at night?” She asked, her tone curious. Riley couldn’t accurately remember, it had been a while since she’d ever had to come here late at night.
"There's a very simple answer to that question," Isla twirled around on their toes and pulled a bobby pin from their hair, holding it out along with a pick, "This is actually the second answer. The first is we try the door to see if it's unlocked because it's possible it still is. It's worth checking."
Ramona stepped forward, peering first through the window to see if anyone inside was close enough to realize they had company, then, upon deeming the coast was clear, tried the knob. As expected, it was sealed tightly for the night. “Second option it is,” she announced, turning back to the others. Her gaze settled on Isla before asking, “Do you want to do it or should I?”
"Would you like to rock, paper, scissors for it?" The corners of Isla's lips quirked upward into a smirk, wiggling her eyebrows playfully.
“You two have at it.” Riley was content to stand off to the side and act as a sort of referee. Plus she had no idea how to pick a lock anyway so there was no point in her trying to participate in their little game. “I say whoever loses has to help push the cart back with me.”
Mona gave it her best attempt, but Isla was a worthy opponent. Despite multiple ties—proof that the two were fairly evenly matched in terms of strategy—the blonde came out on top. “It’s about time I put my brute strength to good use, anyway,” Ramona said as she looked to Riley, jokingly flexing her arm before breaking out into a laugh and moving aside to allow Isla through to complete her task.
“With those noodle arms, I might be better off just pushing it on my own.” Riley teased as she watched Mona goof off.
Isla couldn't stop their smile from widening, "Don't worry, if you end up needing an extra hand I'll help out," Turning towards the locked door, they worked their magic and swung it open mere moments later, "After both of you~" They took a step back, holding the door for Mona and Riley to enter and bowing slightly as they walked past.
"It doesn't look like anyone is around, but we should still be careful with how loud we are and probably shouldn't turn on any lights," Isla commented as she followed, closing the door quietly behind her.
Standing off to the side along with Mona Riley watched as Isla expertly unlocked the door to the cabin. Silently Riley found herself wondering how often Isla had done this over the years because they did that a little too good for it to just be something they picked up randomly one day. “You’re going to teach me how to do that.” Riley commented as she passed by the blonde and stepped into the dark that was the lodge.
"I'm not sure how well I'll be able to teach, but I'll certainly try my best."
Thankfully it wasn’t completely black and Riley could still see though just barely. It would be smarter to keep the lights off just to make sure no one saw them sneaking around but jeez her eyes were straining to see in here.
“Isla you want to grab some movies while Mona and I get the tv?” It seemed only fair that Isla be delegated the easier task of the two since she was the one who had gotten them in here and the one who would ensure none of them got in trouble if they were unfortunately caught.
"Yeah, I'll grab them," Isla replied, walking ahead and digging through the small library of films they had collected over the years.
“Don’t get any scary ones,” Ramona suggested on her way past. “It’s too late, and I don’t wanna go to bed irritated.” While most people would’ve been afraid of a restless sleep filled with nightmares, she was more concerned with not wanting to keep the neighbors up with her incessant complaints at the characters on-screen who seemed more intent on tripping over air and making as much noise as possible than they were on actually surviving to the ending credits.
As the door at last fell into place—quietly, thanks to Isla—the room was cast immediately into shadows. Mona stood still, listening for signs of any movement from deeper within the Lodge before beginning to pick a path forward, careful to stick to the wall and avoid any loose boards she knew of.
“Definitely get some scary ones,” Riley dropped her voice to a faux whisper, low enough to make it sound like she was trying to be sneaky but loud enough that she clearly intended for Mona to hear. If it wasn’t so dark she might have thrown Isla a wink before following after Mona.
Ramona groaned. “At least get good scary movies,” she called back over her shoulder. “If I have to see another ditzy camp counselor running through the woods half-naked, it’ll be too soon.”
"Don't worry, I'll be sure to get good ones," Isla promised, lips curling upward into a smile the other two couldn't see. Humming softly, they swayed back and forth as they examined the films. They squinted, biting their lip as they tried to decide what to bring and what to leave behind.
Isla sighed a moment later, turning to the girls with a small selection of films, "I wasn't going to share this information, but I did bring some of my movies from home." She hesitated, now biting gently at the inside of her cheek, "As long as you promise not to say anything, I'll add them to the selection of movies."
Mona felt along the wall behind the TV cart for the outlet, stopping just long enough to glance over her shoulder in the direction of Isla’s voice to say, “Your secret’s safe with us.” She could respect not wanting to share personal belongings, to have them fall into the wrong hands and be damaged. Ramona herself was very particular about who she lent books to, and even then, it was a rare occurrence. Not everyone knew how to care for things properly, inanimate object or not.
Finally, Mona found the cord attaching the television to the wall. She gave it a tug before winding the wire up to tuck it safely onto the shelf storing the VHS player. “Ready?” she asked, peering around the TV at where she hoped Riley was.
Riley followed closely behind Mona, doing her best not to trip over any exposed wires or anything else that would cause her to fall face down onto the ground. Standing behind the shelf, Riley peered around to give a nod. “Yeah, I’m ready.” She confirmed, before beginning to pull the cart backwards as Mona pushed. “Just try not to run my feet over please, this tv is heavy and I don’t want to lose a toenail.”
“I’ll do my best,” Ramona promised, slowly beginning to inch the television set forward at Riley’s prompting. “You can set the pace if you want. I’ll just be here to keep it steady and steer.” As if on cue, a doorframe emerged from the shadows, and Mona was quick to veer the TV in the opposite direction with a quick warning of, “Look out,” to her traveling companion.
Somehow Riley managed to not get hit by the door, side stepping as Mona changed the course the cart was going in. “Jesus this is dangerous.” She muttered to herself. From now on Riley she was going to look over her shoulder as she pulled before she gave herself a damn concussion.
It took a bit of time and some finessing but eventually the duo managed to successfully pull the cart back to the front of the lodge.
"Be careful," Isla warned as she walked past them, one arm full of movies, to get the lodge door, "We can replace the TV, but there's no replacing the two of you. I'd hate for either of you to get hurt." She stepped out of the building, moving to the side to hold the door open so Riley and Mona could push the TV out.
“You and me both,” Ramona agreed, swinging the television cart to the side so that it now faced the ramp attached to the porch—a more recent addition to the building to accommodate a wider audience of camp attendees. “I wouldn’t be much use to anyone as a pancake—I’m the only farmer that seems to want to do any work this year, so I don’t know what they’d do without me.”
It was a prideful thing to say, truly, but Mona wasn’t often one to bite her tongue when it came to voicing her opinion. The development had been a key point of frustration that afternoon and now a large factor in why Ramona needed a fun note to end the night on—with one counselor still mysteriously M.I.A. and the other, Lou, to be exact, too preoccupied elsewhere, the brunette had been left with the sole responsibility of tending to the garden plots in preparation of meals and readying them for the campers’ grubby hands as activities picked up for the season. Usually, she didn’t mind extended time in nature, but with it being as hot as it was, an extra hand or two wouldn’t have been frowned upon. Mona could only hope that it wasn’t a foreboding sign of how things were going to be in the weeks to come.
There was a slight jolt as the TV stand reached the end of the ramp, bumping down to the dirt below, but Ramona was quick to extend a hand to stabilize the bulky electronic. “Still good?” she called to Riley.
“Yeah, still good!” Riley even took a moment to raise a hand over the edge of the tv to give Mona a thumbs up. Thank god for the ramp, the idea of having to pick up both the tv and the cart was exhausting on its own. It still felt a bit sketchy with Riley pushing and Mona changing positions but Mona was taller than Riley was so she didn't have to worry as much about being squashed. Honestly, this was all going a lot smoother than she had initially believed it would. No one had been at the lodge to question what they were doing and they had not crashed and broken the tv yet.
Riley turned her head for a moment to glance at Isla. “You mind getting in front of us and making sure we don’t get caught on anything?” One wrongly placed tree branch, or rock, and there was a good chance the cart would tip over and the tv would fall and break before Riley or Mona could catch it.
Isla lifted her free hand and gave Riley a thumbs up, "That was the plan, just give me a second." She took the time to lock the door again, testing it before turning and strolling to the head of the pack.
"Alright, let's get back to the cabin." Isla shifted the movies in her arm to carry them more comfortably, kicking some larger sticks off the path as she went.
Their methodical way of transporting the TV proved to be fairly efficient; save for the occasional stray tree root that snaked across their path, Isla did a good job at keeping obstacles at bay, and the trio arrived back at Cabin 2 with their loot, unscathed and largely left to their own devices—the prying eyes of any nosy campers on their journey were easily dismissed with a quick reminder that it was getting late. In fact, things were going so smoothly that it had lulled Ramona into a false sense of comfort.
“That was so much easier than I thought it’d be,” she remarked as she unfurled the cord and attached it to the vacant outlet on the wall opposite their line of bunks. “Getting snacks will be a breeze.”
Mona straightened and turned toward the entrance again. She was almost outside when the sight of another of their roommates at the base of the cabin’s porch steps stopped her in her tracks, grasp tightening on the door knob as she paused mid-action of passing through. “Oh. Hi, Liberty…” Ramona shifted on her feet, moving as if to attempt to block the television set from view. If there was anyone that’d tattle on their adventure, it was the tightly-wound blonde.
At the sight of Mona—same cabin again—Liberty stills, one foot placed on the porch step. She eyes the girl suspiciously at her futile attempts to block the view from inside the cabin. “Uh, hi?” She stresses the word, bewildered by Mona's wariness. What is she trying to hide?
With that thought, Liberty’s hand slips into her back-pocket—the postcard would be nigh impossible to hide without the prying eyes of her roommates. Proceeding up the porch steps, Liberty catches sight of the newly acquired television behind Mona's shoulder and she gives her a look that says seriously?
Too exhausted to argue the particulars of stealing from the lodge, she gives a quick shake of her head and notes. "There'll be some bored campers tomorrow if that television isn't returned to the Lodge before lessons start. You realise that, right?" After her night, Liberty wouldn't mind some television to assist with some sleep so she shrugs one shoulder and makes to push past Mona. "Hope you grabbed something decent to watch."
Ramona’s jaw twitched, eyes narrowing at Liberty’s incredulous gaze. “We’ve got it covered, thanks,” she muttered, glancing down to where the blonde had her hand stuffed awkwardly into her back pocket as she passed. “You’ll have to ask Isla, but I trust their taste.” That was the only explanation that Mona offered to Liberty before making a swift escape to the porch. Then, she looked to the others and asked, “Anyone else coming?”
“Do you guys have to act like this every time you meet?” Riley asked, her eyes scanning over the multiple dvds that Isla had grabbed from the cabin. “We went through all this trouble to bring the tv here and I want to watch them in peace so if you two start fighting you’re getting kicked out until you learn to behave.”
The scoff that escaped Ramona was involuntary, but she held up her hands in defense. “There’s no problem here,” she insisted.
Suppressing an eye-roll, Liberty heads for one of the remaining bottom bunks and kicks her shoes off. "No problem at all."
Isla watched them, an eyebrow raised at Mona's and Liberty's unfriendly exchange, but was quick to disregard it, "Fret not, Little Bird," Isla hummed, gliding gracefully past the group and into the cabin, "I'll call my dad about the TV first thing in the morning." She was confident he'd be understanding, and if he did eventually find out about it she'd be more than willing to pay back whatever the cost. It isn't as though he couldn't afford it, but it was the principle of it.
"Now, I grabbed a few movies from the Lodge," They began, laying them out for the girls to see, "But I do have others." Isla turned, digging around in their trunk and lifting two of the movies they brought, announcing the titles with a smile, "Misery and Beetlejuice."
Liberty heads for her own trunk, where she'd unceremoniously dropped it off with no time to unpack. Bending at the waist, she fishes around for her copy of Fever 1793, intending to flip through the pages as they watch the movie. "I'm voting for Beetlejuice." She didn't mind either way, having just reread Misery during winter. One of her favourite past-times was to observe the differences between the pages and screen.
She crosses the short distance to Riley after closing the trunk—making a mental note of hiding the postcard after changing into pajamas—pulling the girl into a one-armed hug. "Hey Deetz. Glad you chose to return, I was starting to miss you."
“It’s a Beetlejuice night for sure,” Ramona agreed, casting a sideways glance at Liberty from where she still lingered in the open doorway. Then, at the others’ lack of interest in their additional movie night task, she added, “I’ll be back with snacks in a bit,” and started to retreat down the steps.
Riley reciprocated the hug liberty gave her, leaning her head against the blonde’s shoulder. “You’re just trying to butter me up because you want me to say beetlejuice three times in a row, you're not fooling me.” She quipped, playing into the running joke she and Libby had going on. Turning her head she watched as Mona began to leave. “Make sure you get the good chips!”
“Will do!” Ramona promised, sending a thumbs up over her shoulder.
"You're not wrong." Rubbing Riley's back once, she releases her and chucks the book on one of the bottom bunks, effectively claiming her bed. "I'll go with Mona. Someone's gotta be the buffer between her and Juliette."
“Have fun, I'm finally going to take my shower.”
With no intention of rushing after Mona, Liberty leisurely crosses the cabin and follows her down the porch steps. If there was anyone at camp that Mona got on with less than herself, it was Juliette and the exchange would be too amusing to miss out on. Wincing at the humidity of outside, Liberty fans herself briefly whilst giving a stern look to some lingering campers outside of their cabins as they cross the bridge to The Village.
Ramona’s head snapped round at the sound of approaching footsteps, but when she realized who had chosen to join her, she frowned, facing forward again. “I can hold my own with Juliette,” she said. “I’m a big girl. I don’t need your help.” Her tone softened slightly before continuing, “But if you just came to help me carry everything out of the goodness of your heart, thank you.”
Liberty hides a small smirk, turning her face to glower at the crooked lanterns. Going out of the way to help Mona is a cute idea. Inaccurate, but cute.
"Purely selfish reasons, I'm afraid. But I'll let you think otherwise if it means some peace and quiet." Truthfully, Liberty never minded when Mona spoke—it was mildly frustrating how often she found herself agreeing, depending on the circumstances. Between Marquis' outburst at dinner, the long-winded apology that wasn't really an apology, Alton and Connie... With a small sigh, Liberty picks up her pace to join Mona side-by-side, letting her guard drop just slightly to not spook the girl into believing she wants a confrontation. Not now, anyways.
“Whatever. I’ll take it, I guess.” Ramona exhaled sharply, glancing up. It had gotten dark rather quickly, and a handful of stars had begun to twinkle against the inky, blue expanse.
In all actuality, the brunette didn’t find Liberty to be particularly bad company—she always made for intelligent conversation, which was better than she could say for a concerningly large portion of their other fellow counselors.
Take Juliette, for example; she wasn’t dumb, per se, but her idealistic way of viewing the world wasn’t viable at the end of the day.
Mona trudged up the Dining Hall’s short set of stairs and wrenched open the door, holding it for Liberty to pass through before following her inside. Despite the amount of time that had passed since dinner, the clanking of dishes could still be heard coming from the back kitchen, confirming, along with the glow of light emanating from the gaping doorframe, that they would not be left to their own devices during their search.
Regardless, Ramona remained quiet as she ducked into the front kitchen to rummage through the various snacks they had stored there. While the main chunk of selection was of the healthy type—various fruits, trail mix, granola bars—there were a couple of cabinets set aside for occasions such as this, when high salt and sugar intake could be deemed acceptable.
Liberty navigates to the bulletin board, taking the ballpoint pen hanging from a string between her fingers. She looks over at the handful of snacks Mona is gathering—potato chips, chocolate bars, gummies—she jots down the correct amount they're taking, an inventory that Eva can run into Easthallow town and restock for.
"You'd think we're twelve." She quips under her breath, adding a period to the end of gummies and tucking the pen onto the ledge of the board.
From the sounds in the kitchen, Juliette clearly isn't finished. Liberty nods her head in the direction of the noise, "Want to say hi to your ex before we go?" Knowing Mona, and her insistence on never letting Liberty have her way so easily, she purses her lips and heads towards the back kitchen before Mona could say otherwise. "Never mind, we should. Juliette was close with Renee, I should do my job and make sure she's handling the return to camp. Don't you think?"
She'd never be able to guess the reasons for their breakup. She wasn't close to either of them, fortunately. But it was fun to speculate in front of Mona, getting a small thrill anytime Liberty might see herself getting an edge over her. So, Liberty can't help herself when she says, "Or is Renee a sore subject between the two of you?"
Liberty didn't have to be as perceptive as she was to see the way Juliette hung on every word that passed through Renee's lips. She stops at the door frame, one hand gripping the door knob as she throws an expectant look towards Mona, wondering if she'll bite.
“Fun food doesn’t have an age limit,” Ramona insisted, tucking the last bag of chips into her already-full arms and bumping the cabinet door shut with her hip. “We should—”
Mona’s attempt at suggesting they leave before Juliette could notice their presence was interrupted with a question implying the opposite, which the brunette met with a deadpan expression, lips slipping into a frown. She watched as Liberty moved in the direction of the back kitchen anyway, paying no mind to Ramona’s silent disapproval of the idea. “Oh, yeah,” she muttered. “Go do your job, Miss Perfect. Don’t let my lackluster love life stop you.”
At least that makes two of us, Liberty thinks cynically, recalling Levi’s brisk exit earlier that morning.
She didn’t know why she bothered offering her opinion—nothing Mona said would dissuade Liberty from charging onward, leaving the brunette no choice but to shuffle after her.
Ramona’s jaw tensed. “I think Renee’s a sore subject for everyone right now.” She didn’t dare delve into the details of her break-up with Juliette and how the newly-blonde girl’s obsession with the Evergreen sister had played a starring role in it—Mona didn’t consider herself to be high maintenance when it came to requiring attention from significant others, so she’d called it quits when it had dawned on her that she’d have to compete with Renee for Juliette’s time. Judging from Liberty’s coyness, she probably already had her own suspicions regarding the matter, but that didn’t mean that Mona had to confirm it. Not at the moment.
Liberty's jaw tenses as Mona voices her own thoughts. It is a sore subject, why is no one else talking about it? Rather than dwell on that dilemma with Wednesday Addams outloud, she gives her an innocent shrug in response, showing her agreement.
As the pair neared the back, voices could be heard beneath the din of dishes clattering and rushing water—Juliette and…
Clarisse. Yet another person from Ramona’s past that she’d nearly cut out altogether, though not as intentionally as Juliette’s eviction had been. Truthfully, they’d just grown apart as they’d matured—it was a natural tragedy; as people chose who they wanted to become, it sometimes meant that they no longer had need for certain friends in their lives. Mona wasn’t the reckless kid she once was, but Clarisse had stayed on that path. It was simply a matter of differing interests, but the two remained friendly any time they intersected.
It wasn’t long before Clarisse descended to where Liberty and Ramona were, looking more confused than anything. This was a duo she never thought she would see outside of like very professional settings— like meetings or forced proximity because they got paired up. She raised a hand. “Yo, uh… Juliette wanted me to give you guys this.” Though, she specifically moved to Ramona and handed her the note before pulling back upon realizing just how full Ramona’s arms were with snacks. Well, that solved that mystery, didn’t it?
Instead, she switched targets and held out the note to Liberty. “Well, she said she runs the place now. Paige used to let us take some snacks but…” She trailed off. Talking about one of the Evergreen sisters shouldn’t really be the first thing out of her mouth for her first meeting with either of them since the disappearance. Sure, Liberty had heard a lot of her ache during the past year— but never in person after the initial breakdown. Clarisse didn’t want to start now. She had to convince Liberty she was fine.
As Clarisse shifted tactics upon realizing Ramona’s hands were severely lacking in terms of free space, the dark-haired girl still managed to catch a glimpse of the writing scribbled onto the sticky note, and she rolled her eyes. “I’ll do more than think about it,” Mona grumbled, grip tightening around her stash of snacks. “It’s not like she’s gonna come down here and do anything about it, anyway.”
Coward.
“Well, she’s running the place like someone who wants to clean out a bunch of food that’s gone bad at the end of the summer.” Mona spun on her heel and started back down the steps. “Does that answer your question?” The inquiry was directed at Liberty—she may not have gotten the chance to assess Juliette’s behavior up close, but her attempts at disguising her desire to push everyone away as keeping order were telling from an observant perspective.
Liberty takes the note and bites back a bewildered snicker. Juliette must be fine. Her attention was better focused on the subject before her, anyhow—Clarisse. She scans the girl from head to toe, searching for signs of distress or torment; the way she had sat in the cabin with her after that scene with Renee, deciding that her distaste of the Evergreen shouldn't be taken out on the friend coming to a horrible realisation.
Deciding to not outwardly ask and cause a scene, lest Mona pull a Marquis and admonish her loudly for opening her mouth, Liberty places her hand on Clarisse's elbow—one of comfort and a greeting.
Clarisse gave Liberty a smile of acknowledgment, patting her hand as a response. She cleared her throat to dispel the weird tension that settled between her two new companions and tilted her head. “What are the snacks for anyway? Stew didn’t fill you up?” Sure, dinner wasn’t as delicious as it should be but it was packed with enough nutrients for the night, right? And dinner had just barely been an hour ago, surely they weren’t hungry already?
Ramona’s attention turned to Clarisse again. “We’re having a movie night.”
She conveniently left out the fact that she hadn’t eaten all of her dinner, like a petulant child lying to their parents in exchange for dessert.
"Beetlejuice." Liberty continues where Mona left off, not missing the way the brunette's back stood on end after glancing at the note herself. Like a spooked cat. Guess Renee is a sore subject.
"I could use the movie distraction after today, don't know about you." Dropping her hand from her elbow, nudging her own into Clarisse's side, and headed for the door that Mona lingers by, snacks in hand. She eyes the crinkle-cut potato chips greedily, intending to devour the packet whilst pretending to watch the movie and flip through her book.
“A movie night…? Well, I’ve never watched Beetlejuice before.” Even in the midst of her confusion on how the hell they were going to hole up in the lodge, Clarisse still followed Liberty out before holding the door open for the both of them to leave. Sure, some part of her felt guilty for going against Juliette’s orders but it wasn’t like she wanted to start anything either either Liberty or Ramona. She would just have to ask if she could make a quick trip to East Hallow to buy back the stuff they ate.
“How are you guys even having a movie night? I thought the TV was locked up in the Lodge.” Wisely, she kept her tone down so that no one else would hear about this little conspiracy that seemed to be happening.
“We’re borrowing it for the night,” Ramona answered, shooting a glance toward Liberty. She wasn’t sure how much the blonde had pieced together yet, regarding Isla’s earlier promise to discuss the TV situation with their dad, but Mona would be damned if she would be the one to throw them, along with their well-placed intentions, under the bus.
“What do you- oh. Okay.” Well, if it was being wheeled into the cabin then Isla probably knew about it, right? Therefore, she had this all under control and they wouldn’t have to explain this all to Mr. Jonathan. As much as she was in his good graces, she doubted he would let her slide for “borrowing” an entire television. Isla, on the other hand, was another thing entirely. “Fun, guess no one’s planning on turning in early.”
Liberty kept her mouth shut as they walked, allowing her eyes to wander around the campsite as Mona and Clarisse discussed their 'heist' for the television. It was effectively past curfew now and she can't help the unease crawling along her skin. The same time the girls were last seen. She subtly quickens her pace, eager to get back to the Village and inside with her roommates.
"I doubt anyone from cabin one will be doing the headcount tomorrow." She speaks up, her hands coming together to rub circles into her left palm as she remembers the three men that stalked towards the Sunspot. Her gut tells her none of them will be on time for their duties the following day. Her eyes roll as she realises that means she is one of the few delegated to perform a headcount. "Either of you want to join me and make that task easier?"
“I can, sure.” It wasn’t like she had any pressing duties and being a substitute did mean she had to cover bases whenever someone was lacking manpower. Then, she let out a groan. “Ugh, I promised Ricky I would patrol tonight but I got held up so… I’ll just make up for it tomorrow.” Right, time had completely slipped by while she was with Juliette. Hopefully, he didn’t take it to heart. Maybe Kayden had kept him busy all this time and decided to turn in after their little walk.
Ramona’s gaze slid between the two girls. “I would,” she said, “but we’re short a pair of hands at the farmyard, which means I have to get up and feed the chickens tomorrow.” A subconscious shudder ran down the girl’s spine at the very mention of her looming task. As miserable as headcount could be, she’d take that on over fighting the farm’s brazen birds any day, but much to the brunette’s dismay, her fate had already been laid out for her. “Good luck with that, though.”
Liberty's only acknowledgment of her roommates' words was an understanding nod, keeping her eyes peeled on the tree line. It didn't sit well, this new feeling of paranoia that began setting in from that same morning—used to operating off logic and facts, not baseless theories cemented in the conspiracy surrounding Renee and Paige. She has half a mind to discuss it with Mona but presses her lips together as it would be in bad taste to say so with Clarisse close by. She didn't see the girl as fragile, but Liberty suspected the hurt would surely linger now that she's returned to camp.
"Finally." She mutters as they approach the Village, widening her strides to make for the bridge separating campers from counsellors. She turns, about to offer to carry some of the load in Mona's arms when she sees three distinct figures in the distance. She nods towards them with a coy smile. "Looks like the supervisor might confiscate our find."
Ramona’s brow furrowed as she followed Liberty’s motion, dark eyes trailing across the hazy property line until they landed at last on the trio emerging from the edge of the woods. At first glance, her stomach dropped—in the faded light, she could almost convince herself that somehow, after all this time, the Evergreen sisters had been found, but as her vision focused, she realized the figures were far too tall. Leon, not Renee.
Mona snorted. “He’ll have to catch us first,” she countered, emptying some of her food supply into Liberty’s waiting grasp.
Leon, along with his companions, had adapted a sluggish, unsteady way of walking—intoxicated, by the looks of it. The brunette bit back a comment about how they’d only been there a day and had already resorted to drinking away their problems—really, she had no room to talk. Ramona’s less-than-ideal start at camp had driven her to thievery.
They all had their issues.
With the howling still on his mind, Leon attempts to stay vertical on his own two feet as he, Thomas, and Levi continue their trek from the Sunspot to the Row. The twenty-minute walk has done little to sober him up, the last swigs of the drink only now beginning to affect him as his eyes blur at the edges and he pounds his chest whenever a hiccup slips free.
Through his inebriation, Leon spots the girls loitering outside of the cabins and half-heartedly points towards them when he notices the bundle of snacks in Mona and Liberty’s arms. "I want some."
“Uh, oh. We’ve been spotted.”
Thankfully, the 20-minute walk had helped him sober up a little bit - considering he hadn’t drank much in the first place, he’d just drank too fast. He’d figured that he wasn’t going to miss a beered-up shirt and he was not in the mood to have a shirt that smelled of beer sitting in his laundry for the entire duration of camp. His standards were low, but that was a little too low. And so he walked with Leon and Levi, gaining a little more stability with each passing step. However, when he looked up and saw the girls, a part of him wished that he hadn’t seen anything. Ramona…Liberty…Clarisse…well would you look at that. It’s all my circles of hell in one place. The words didn’t quite come out of his mouth but they were clearly spelled out on his face. He wanted to be anywhere but here right now. However, he needed to stay to make sure Leon at least got back okay. And given that, in the last 20 minutes, his mind seemed to have gone back 15 years, it was starting to look like a taller order by the minute.
"Yeah, that's a no," Levi said, politely putting Leon's hand down and raising a brow at the group as he eyed the snacks piled in Mona's arms. "Looks like we weren't the only ones who got busy." It seemed they were lucky enough to cross paths—the group looked like they were in a hurry. Squinting at Mona with her bundle of goodies, Levi pointed out, "There's no way she let you get away with that." It was common knowledge about the breakup between Juliette and her, and as far as he remembered, those two didn’t end on good terms.
Ramona’s head tilted at the cynical tone in Levi’s statement, her own gaze narrowing to match his as she nodded toward the note in Liberty’s grip. “She couldn’t even be bothered to come out and stop me herself. She’ll live.” Then, the corners of her mouth tilted upward almost imperceptibly. “Besides, I don’t need her permission to have a good time anymore.”
Ditching Leon, Levi moved to catch up with Liberty, the two hanging back a bit from the crowd as they made their way toward the cabin. "How are you holding up? I saw you..." Levi cleared his throat, awkwardly shifting his gaze away to look ahead at the others' backs. "With Marquis."
Thomas couldn’t help but smirk as his ears caught the faintest mention of Marquis’ name as Levi pulled back to talk with Liberty. Had his little jest gotten to the palm tree after all? In his now-tipsy state, he was almost tempted to apologise for the tease earlier, knowing he’d meant nothing by it. But there was still a little too much rebel in him to allow that.
As Levi moved away in favor of a private moment with Liberty, Mona’s attention swapped to Leon. “Here,” she offered, handing him the bag of chips—a spare picked up along with Riley’s request—that he’d been ogling.
A lump in his throat, Leon gratefully takes the packet of chips Mona offers and immediately rips the bag open, overwhelmed by her kindness. "Mona. You're my new favourite." He moves to stand beside her and take in the scene before them, dropping his voice low. "Don't tell Levi that. It’s just 'cause he ditched me."
The smile that Ramona produced now spread across her entire face, amusement dancing in her brown irises. “It’s okay,” she assured Leon, playing along with his drunken confession. “I won’t tell anyone—can’t risk losing my new title so soon.”
It was subtle but Thomas noticed something that caused his brow to raise in discomfort. Levi’s pulled Liberty aside…Leon is whispering to Ramona…I’d rather gargle thumb tacks before talking to Clarisse…damn Mode. You’re surrounded by six other people and still somehow alone. It’s so sad it’s almost impressive. He’d usually be able to keep such thoughts at bay, but with the alcohol doing whatever it felt like in his head, it was hard to suppress the thought…or the frown that came from it as he sunk deeper into his own thoughts.
Isla stopped talking mid-sentence, ears pricking as she turned toward the door at the sound of distant voices. With the towel she used to dry her hair still draped over her shoulders, Isla stepped into her shoes and out of the cabin, standing in front of the door with her hands on her hips.
"What are they doing here?" Isla called out, eyes narrowed and a brow raised.
“What is it?” Riley asked when Isla suddenly stopped talking, peering over the side of her bunk bed to look down at the blonde who was turned towards the door. With a huff of air, Riley pushed away her covers. She had been so comfy under her blanket but fomo was going to kick her ass if she didn’t get up to see what was bothering Isla.
She climbed down the ladder before putting on her slippers and moving to stand behind Isla. “Who’s out there?” Riley asked, peering her head to look beyond Isla and into the relative darkness. At first, she noticed Mona carrying an armful of snacks which took them long enough to get, both she and Isla managed to take their showers before they got back. When she took in the sight of both Leon and Levi walking toward their cabin she pulled back. “Nevermind forget I asked.” She was not dealing with this tonight. Especially not when Leon was clearly staggering as he walked after Mona so Riley was ninety percent sure he was drunk and if Leon was drunk that meant Levi was also drunk. She already didn’t want to talk to him that much and there was no way she was doing it when he wasn’t even sober. “Please do not let them come in and stink up the place.”
Thomas spotted Isla and Riley pop up at the door and couldn’t help but roll his eyes. Ah, guess I was wrong. Ramona, Liberty and Clarisse aren’t all my circles of hell; there’s four and five right there.
"Don't worry, I'd never let them in. Why don't you get everything set up for movie night? I'll stand guard." Isla's tone was playful as she offered Riley a small smile, "We can continue our conversation later."
Liberty ignores the warmth in her chest as Levi bends his head towards her own─she takes his chin in hand, pinched between her thumb and forefinger. She moves his head from one side to the other, searching for any sign of drugs—relieved when there's nothing but the faint scent of whiskey on his breath. Liberty didn't suspect he'd be so stupid as to bring the addiction to camp, his care for the campers one of his endearing qualities. But she was more than aware of what the last year brought him, brought a lot of them. Satisfied it was only a couple of drinks and his concern frustratingly endearing, Liberty drops the quip on her tongue and gives him a half-hearted shrug.
"Marquis─"
As Isla turned to face the group approaching, her sweet expression evaporated immediately, "Really? It's the first night of camp and you boys are already getting drunk?" She scrunched up her nose, visibly disgusted; the smell alone was vile, but she dreaded their behavior more. Isla planted herself directly in front of the door, clearly determined to keep them out.
Liberty slowly looks away from where Isla is barking orders to face Levi with a look that clearly says Evergreens, huh?
Levi returned the gaze—they had shared that look one too many times before. He jerked his head toward the cabin, a clear sign he had overstayed their welcome. "We’ll catch up tomorrow. Promise."
Isla's gaze flicked to Liberty and they said nothing, but their eyes narrowed further. Their patience was wearing thin.
With a resigned nod and smile, Liberty says, "First thing, Jackson." Don't run away this time.
Ramona didn’t think she had it in her to even begin to question why Thomas’ shirt was notably absent—instead of lingering in the boys’ chaos any longer than necessary, she took Isla’s sudden appearance at the door as her ticket to escape. She slunk away from the ragtag group that had gathered at the base of their porch without another word, slipping past Isla as they took up an intimidating post to block any intruders hoping to get inside their cabin.
“I got your chips!” Mona announced, tossing the bag onto Riley’s bed as she passed before depositing the rest on her own mattress to be distributed once the last of their roommates made it inside.
Riley offered a thumbs up at Isla’s suggestion, more than happy to sneak away and not have to interact with any of the extra guests who decided to follow Mona and Libby. She walked over to the stash of dvds Isla had brought back from their trip to the lodge, shuffling through them until she found Beetlejuice. “Thank you!” Riley gave the compliment over her shoulder as Mona came into the cabin. After putting the dvd into the player she turned, ready to climb back up into her bed. “How long were those two following you guys?”
“Not long,” Ramona promised. “They just got back from the Sunspot, I think.” She shoved the snacks to the end of her bed, making room for herself by the pillow. The brunette pried off her sneakers, allowing the shoes to fall clumsily beside the bunk’s frame before bringing her socked feet onto the mattress, knees tucked against her chest as she reached for the bag of gummies. “Weird timing, though,”
Clarisse stood there damn near frozen when Liberty and Ramona acknowledged the presence of three other counselors— and two of them were people she'd rather not see. Sure, Levi and her had gotten along during dinner and that was nice and she even offered to help him with Liberty but that was over now and she'd rather not see what would happen if they interacted while he was drunk. Then there was Thomas and that same feeling of shame and anger flared up.
This wasn't the time for that. While the group was numerous, she figured no one would notice as she quickly followed after Ramona to retreat into the cabin. The others would understand. This was her own way of peacekeeping as she waved at Riley and Isla before grabbing some clothes to change into for the night and disappeared into the bathroom.
Thomas noticed Ramona and Clarisse peeling off and quickly realised what was happening. They’d all made excuses for themselves to leave and were going to be dropping one by one. As such, Thomas absolutely refused to be the last person left here. After all, he still had a lot to think over - most of them not even willingly. The loss of his shirt; his admission to Levi and Leon; what he’d done to Renee. He let out a sigh, throwing a two-fingered salute over his shoulder at whomever happened to be looking at him. His mind went back to the drink, shaking his head as it hung low. “...I knew you were a bad idea, whiskey.”
Liberty follows the others inside, stealing one last glance at Levi and Leon as the supervisor shoves a greedy handful of chips in his mouth as he enters his own cabin.
Snatching her book from the bunk, she dusts the sheets of her bedspread and mentally thanks Hugo for at least vacuuming inside before the session started. Liberty spreads herself across the bed and props her head up on one hand, as the other opens to her dog-eared page. She's positioned herself closer to the television, close enough to peak at the screen. She says nothing to announce the fact she's ready for the movie to start, already scanning the words before her with rapt attention. I'll put the postcard inside the book, she thinks as she reads the plight of a town riddled with disease.
"Goodnight, boys~" Isla waved at them dismissively, reentering the cabin and closing the door behind her with a click. Removing her shoes and placing them beside the door, she finally climbed onto her top bunk and settled for the night.
The title card flashed across the television screen to a backdrop of Danny Elfman’s jaunty opening tune, but somewhere between the Deetz family moving into the Maitlands’ old house and the dead couple’s extended stay in the Netherworld’s waiting room, Ramona had stopped watching. Her candy lay discarded at her side, eyelids growing heavy, and the last thing she heard before drifting to sleep in a somewhat awkward position—sprawled across the top of her sheets, body still adorned in her outside clothes for the day—was Juno’s husky voice telling Barbara and Adam that she’d almost given up on them.
Hearing that everything was relatively safe, Clarisse emerged from the bathroom in her night clothes. The others had settled in for the movie in their own beds. She put aside her dirty laundry and sat down on the floor in front of her shared bunkbed with Isla and leaned against the bedframe. She reached back to grab a pillow and hugged it to herself for a more comfortable position. The tiredness of the day was beginning to creep into Clarisse’s body as she continued watching until the movie, yet it had intrigued her enough to keep up with its contents. She knew finishing this movie would take a heavy toll on her rest but she kept watching anyway.
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