Metamorphosis

-Chapter Four-

I spent the rest of the day by Peter's side. We played around on the banks of the lake, among the towers of trees, and once in a while, we would terrorize the adults around camp. We did everything that we could to get our minds off the current situation. Sometimes Peter would play too rough and Glenn would have to scold him, but despite the consequences, Peter and I found amusement for most of our day.

A little past noon, Glenn pulled Peter and me back to camp to welcome some new arrivals. I hid behind Glenn and Peter, watching two messy-looking men jump out of their truck with two kids behind them; one boy and one girl.

The boy had freckles spitting his face with dazzling blue eyes and short shaggy white hair. The girl looked almost exactly like him, except she was younger than he was and her hair was nicer kept. Dale greeted the new arrivals and I hid further into Glenn. The new people appeared to be mean, but Peter was nearly bouncing out of his shoes to go meet them. I didn't want them to make fun of my toys or how I speak. Kids at school always made fun of the way I talk. Peter was my only friend at school.

After a short while, Peter inched toward the new kids and started talking to them. How can he be nice to people that look so mean? Then he pointed at me and my fight or flight kicked in. I covered myself with Glenn's jacket, my head resting against his back and his maroon t-shirt clenched in my hands. Glenn chuckled and tried to uncover me.

"Go talk to them." I shook my head and clung to him tighter. He breathed out a heavy sigh and walked us over to the new family. Glenn introduced us both, but I refused to look at them. His jacket provided me with comfortable protection from mean people. "Anya, say hi." I peeked out at the messy people, their eyes pinned onto me as they waited for me to speak. I loosened my grip on Glenn and softly waved to them.

The two men were a lot scarier and meaner up close. They had very short hair with wrinkly and stained clothes. Their jeans had holes in them and their skin was covered in dirt spots. The two kids repeated my action, showing no interest in being here either. However, they talked somewhat nicely to Glenn and Peter. I wish I could talk to people like they do. I want to be a social butterfly like Peter. But, people make me nervous and I don't like being made fun of.

After a while, my legs grew weak and I had to sit down. I took a seat by the empty firepit and I played with my dolls. Peter and the new girl got accustomed quickly and were playing all sorts of games. All of which took us through the rest of our day. Peter had invited me to play with them, but I was too scared to hang around the girl--Edith was her name. Whenever I looked her way, she shot back an evil glare--almost as if she was trying to tell me to stay away from her and Peter.

"Anna, why don't you go and play with the other kids?" I looked up at Dale. He reminds me of Ded Moroz. I like him.

I shook my head and looked back down at my Russian nesting dolls. "I don't want to."

He said, "Are they being mean to you?" I shook my head and continued playing. He thankfully wandered off without another word.

A few days passed and Edith and Danny -the brother- were growing closer to everyone at camp. Edith started inviting me to play with them and she made sure to include me in everything they did. She finds amusement in the way I talk. She's patient when I have a hard time trying to talk in her language and sometimes she would help me find the word I was looking for.

We had a lot in common. From our favorite television shows and colors to the games we play, we had a lot to talk about. I showed her my dolls and when asked to hold them, she took precise caution not to ruin them.

"How long do you think we will live here?" Edith asked me as she drew her idea of what a fish looked like in the dirt.

I shrugged, patting my mud mountain to smooth the edges. "I'm not sure...I don't think anyone knows." She frowned and carried on with her drawings.