Kitsa Isles: Camp Metanoia!

CHAPTER 2: HUMBLE BEGINNINGS

After my entire philosophy about my existence, I heard the door open. A familiar blonde-headed girl entered the room. "Dude, it's 11:30. Mrs. Gigi's gonna kill you." SHOOT! I overslept! Why didn't anyone wake me up? I realized I was sweating really bad, and my tail was fluffed out. "Someone had a bad dream. You wanna talk about it on the way to the auditorium?" I shook my head. Mint and I... didn't reconnect well after that incident. Cupid and Mint were very close. I know I'd disappointed her. I don't ever wanna bring it up again. "Well, hurry up and get ready. Or else Mrs. Gigi's gonna have both of our heads on display." I don't put much thought into getting dressed. I just wear a white shirt with a blue bandana. I don't remember getting that bandana.. I've just always had it. I like to think it's a gift from one of my parents. It has the word "Cosmo" written on the inside of it. It makes me feel more connected to the life I had before the kidnapping. I doubt I'm going to ever see them again, I've been living at Camp Metanoia for 3 years now. If they were looking for me.. They would've come by now.... Right? Maybe I'm just too pessimistic. I then realized I was just staring at the bandana. Mint tapped me on the shoulder. "Is there something on that bandana that's extremely interesting, or have you suddenly come down with a case of schizophrenia?" I blinked a couple times to reign my mind back into what I needed to be doing. "Sorry. Just got distracted." I mumbled.
Mint waited for me to get ready. Which surprised me, since we were like, 30 minutes late. Mint and I arrived in the auditorium at 11:50. Now almost an hour late, I thought to myself. The others were sitting in the usual spot. Thomas and Greg were arguing about what color Opal's hair was. (It's totally red.)
"It's so obviously pink dude. Look at it!"
"Are you colorblind? It's red!"
"It's not."
"Is too!"
"It's not!"
"Is too!"
Opal was shaking her head. "You guys fight like rabbits. It's definitely red." Thomas frowned. "NOOOOO!!!" Greg cackled. "I told you! It's red!" Thomas crossed his arms and refused to look at Greg. I couldn't help but laugh too. They acted so lighthearted. And yet, we all had come from dark backgrounds of some sort. I didn't really know what their story was, but Thomas' bandaged face always told me something bad had happened. He always looked so... nervous... around Sasha. Everything she gets close to him, he slides away and stares at her with fear. I don't know if anyone else has picked this up, but it makes me uneasy. Other than that, he seems comfortable around everyone else. The way Sasha eyes him down too... it makes me just as uneasy as his discomfort around her. Maybe it's just a natural fear. Maybe Sasha just... has that eerie vibe. She definitely does, but it's not enough to make someone genuinely scared of her. But I don't know what goes on in Thomas's head. We all started chatting again, but we were interrupted by a loud noise over the speakers. "Please direct your attention to the stage!" It's.. a miracle! It's introduction day! I'm not going to die for being late! Opal had told me there'd been a wave of new kids, so there'd be an introduction day any day now. I hated introducing myself. In fact, I hid on introduction days. There'd only been 2 since I'd gotten here. I'd faked sick once and the other time I hid in our room's closet. Today there was no escape. I hate talking to people. The only people here I feel remotely comfortable around are my roommates, and that's because I was forced to get comfy with them. I don't even talk to them much. I just nod my head. Mint always knows what I'm saying, somehow. It's like she's.. Inside of my mind. It's almost as scary as Sasha. But, for once it wasn't Mint who noticed my disheartened look. August put his hand on my wrist. "C'mon, it won't be but a couple words. Just tell everyone your name. You don't have to do anything else." His hazel eyes had a sympathetic look, and he was shooting me a pity smile. I gave him a small smile, but continued to fiddle with my.. Fingers? Technically not. I just have paws for hands. That's probably why nobody can read my handwriting. I can't either. I have no idea why I said nobody can read my handwriting. I literally have no idea how to write. I'm practically illiterate. "Quiet down," said the speakers once more. "-it's time for introductions!" I'd never actually been to one of these. I'd been here for 3 years and knew nobody's name. Nobody knew mine either. Ms. Gigi was standing on the stage with a microphone. Ms. Gigi was a short lady with curly black hair. She dressed like an office lady. She was strict on her rules, but she felt like a mother to everyone here. If someone had an issue, because, y'know, lots of people here have PTSD and other mental issues, they went to her. I've been to her once or twice. My favorite thing about her is that instead of always trying to respond, she's always there to listen. I don't talk to her a lot. I just go into her office and break down, and yet she is always comforting. I wonder if my parents would have done this for me. August tapped me on the shoulder. "Aqua, focus! You don't wanna embarrass yourself, right?" I shook my head and reigned my mind back in. Ms. Gigi pointed to the left side of the room. The room we were in was decently sized. There were two doors, and then there were seats on 2/4 out of the walls. The seats were similar to how a movie theatre was laid out, but the chairs were less comfortable. All the chairs were pointed towards the stage. The stage was also pretty large. We were on the right side of the room, so I had time to mentally prepare myself. There are about 200 kids at Camp Metanoia. 50 of them are in my age group, 12-14. The 12-14 age group were in the auditorium for introductions, because Ms. Gigi felt like it'd be less overwhelming if we only had kids our age around us. It didn't help at all, but it was a nice gesture. I'm sure it helped someone. She suddenly pointed at the first kid. A girl with curly black hair stood up. She seemed to be extremely athletic. "Name's Raven. I'm 13, and a fire/nature mix." She sat down. Then she pointed at the next kid. A tall, lanky kid with ginger hair stood up. "I'm Bubs! I'm 14 and I'm a nature/water mix."  I assume he was roommates with the other girl, because they immediately went to whisper. He sat, and Ms. Gigi pointed at the next kid. She was a dainty girl with short, fluffy brown hair. She was wearing an apron, which... was odd. For a camp at least. "My name is Cookie." She seemed just as nervous, because she didn't say anything other than that. I was far from her, but I could almost see the fear in her eyes. When she sat down, Bubs gave her a reassuring pat on the back. He seemed like a nice guy. A short kid with brown hair was sitting beside her. He had his head laid on the side of her arm, and he appeared to only be around seven years old. The younger kids here usually attach themselves to one particular person. It seems that kid had chosen her. Two kids stood up next. One had pale, white hair and the other had jet black hair, but they both had... goat horns? The white one spoke first. "I'm Casper, and this is my twin brother Milo." Milo looked at Casper like he was angry. "I can speak for myself!" Casper whipped around to face Milo. "Oh really? Prove it!" Milo and Casper were now having a fist fight in the auditorium. Everyone was dead silent for a minute, but then everyone started yelling various things. I saw Greg recording it with a malicious smirk. "Teehee." I rolled my eyes, but in my head I found it pretty funny. Suddenly, a loud voice came over the speakers. "SILENCE!" Everyone went quiet immediately. Milo and Casper stopped fighting. They didn't even look embarrassed. They just sat back down, and I could hear them whisper arguing. As a cat shapeshifter, I have enhanced senses. I couldn't hear what they were saying, but I could definitely hear whispering. Ms. Gigi, who was looking quite aggravated on the stage, sighed into the microphone. "Alright, now, we shall resume with what we were doing." She pointed at the next kid. The next girl also had goat horns, and she had long, black wavy hair. She had flowers in her hair, and freckles all over. "My name is Delilah." Wow. She's definitely the type of girl every guy would chase after. I had never been that girl. I'd never even been in an environment to be that girl. Nobody in the labs that had half a brain ever got too close to anyone. Hardly anyone made it out of that place. Mint and I were extremely lucky to even have survived. Mint got out without any missing eyes, limbs, or other important organs. I lost an arm and my eye. And yet, the mental pain was worse than anything. Because everything reminds of the labs. A simple introduction from a girl spiraled me back into horrid memories. August shook me again. "Seriously. Stop spacing out." I sighed and watched the introductions again. The next girl had long, wavy brown hair. She did a curtsy with her dress and said "My name's Bryne. I'm 14 and a nature/water mix." Nature and water mixes always had a calm, peaceful aura around them. The girl beside Bryne stood up almost immediately after Bryne sat down. She spoke so fast, I nearly didn't catch what she said. "HELLO I AM JAZZY" She looked like Bryne but blonde, so I assumed they were related. She had purple flowers in her hair. That must be a trend here, because at least 5 people in this auditorium have flowers in their hair. Greg squinted at Jazzy. "She looks really annoying. She probably is really annoying." Thomas elbowed him in the side. "Don't be rude >:(" Greg elbowed Thomas back. "Aw, you got a crush Tommy?" Thomas scowled. "Absolutely not! Dude, she looks like she snorts fun-dip." Greg snickered. "What happened to don't be rude? You switched up real fast." Thomas just groaned and elbowed Greg again. They really amused me a lot. Their conversations seemed a lot more lighthearted than Mint and I's. We just talked about the best way to die and stuff. Probably trauma, or something. Speaking of Mint, she had been awfully silent the entire time. August was beside me, but Mint was on the other side. She was squinting at Jazzy. Like, why did everyone have a problem with this chick? "What's on your mind?" I whispered to Mint. "You're staring at that girl like you want her to be smited off the Earth." She looked at me like she was confused. "Oh-! Sorry, I spaced out. Just thinking about what I'm gonna say." I could tell she was lying. Mint doesn't worry about these types of things, she's perfectly social. The fear and anger in her eyes... it said otherwise. She looked like she was in a different universe. Every person did their introduction, and soon it was at my group. August stood up first. Opal stood with him. "I'm August!" Opal spoke next.
"I'm Opal! We're twins, and we're fire/water mixes!" They sat down, and Greg stood up. "I'm Greg, I'm 13." He sat. Thomas stood up. I half-expected him to pull out a joke. "I'm Thomas, I'm 37, and I'm wanted in the islands of Fire and Water." We all had a dry sense of humor, and found this absolutely hilarious. Ms. Gigi even laughed a bit. Next, it was Sasha. The room went dead silent as she stood up. "I am Sasha." She said nothing else, then sat down. Everyone was just staring at her. Everyone else was just as uncomfortable. It was Mint's turn. She stood up. "My name is Mint. I am 12, and a hypno/nature mix." She sat down. Oh God, it's my turn. I stood up. I felt like everyone was staring dead at me. I hated speaking in general. This is a nightmare. I was shaking. I mumbled, finally,  "I'm Aqua." I stuttered a bit, but I usually trip over my words. I sat back down. Surprisingly, nobody laughed. Nobody said a word. They just moved on to the next kid. Mint gave me a smile. "See? That wasn't so bad." I just shook my head. It was that bad.