The Miscreants of Xiphoid Camp [NOT UPDATING CURRENTLY]

» 2130 « Chapter 11 - The rankings

At six-thirty in the evening precisely, Caryn rose from her chair in the dining hall and cleared her throat. "As most of you already know and some are about to learn, here at Xiphoid Camp we keep an ongoing game throughout the time camp is in session," she said.

Interesting. Avior leaned forward. Arin hadn't mentioned anything about a game.

"Andy, would you please retrieve the rankings' board?" Caryn continued, addressing the twitchy, nervous junior counselor. Andy stood wordlessly and walked stiffy out of the dining hall. A still, apprehensive sort of hush fell over the room. He returned pushing a long, thick wooden board painted white and mounted on four wheels. He came to a stop just off to the side of Caryn's chair.

"This," Caryn said, gesturing to the board, "is the game. For each inter-cabin activity your cabin wins, you will be moved up the amount of notches that we see fit. There are nine places, and five notches between each place. Whichever cabin is at the top by the end of the year wins. Understood?"

"There are other ways to move up, as well!" Fred Finch interjected. "We will reward good deeds and displays of chivalry and heroics, and, alternatively, your cabin will be moved down if you do something absolutely nasty. With that said, let the game begin!"

Avior wasn't sure if he liked this idea of a game or not. It seemed easy enough, but, knowing Xiphoid, it was certainly going to turn into a disaster.

The next few weeks were a flurry of competition and the occasional bit of sabotage and, of course, the unending obsession with the rankings. Tertius currently sat in fourth place, neither close to losing nor winning, much to its occupants' dismay.

"I don't get how we're still stuck there," James agonized one night after the fifty-seven residents of Xiphoid had clustered around the board to inspect the rankings. "We're just as good as, if not better than Quartus, Senio, and Octavo!"

"You see, James," Todd said sagely, "those cabins are all girls' cabins. And who controls the rankings? Caryn. A woman,"

James sat up straighter. "You may be on to something there!" he said excitedly. "Why, that's blatant bias!"

"Or," Bradley reasoned, ever the diplomat, "it's pure coincidence. Let's all just focus on bettering ourselves instead of tearing down others!"

Blah. Avior hated that the rankings meant he had to spend more time with this lot. The introduction of the rankings had driven each cabin to sit at their designated colorful tables, which meant that Avior and Arin had had to abandon their usual spot, lest James panic and interrogate Avior for an hour about 'scheming' and 'sabotage'. It was embarrassing, to be associated with those manic fools. Avior had much more pressing issues to focus on than some stupid competition.

By which, of course, he meant the demons. He hadn't returned to Malvolio's mansion since that one night. There was plenty to do at Xiphoid, and it had become increasingly difficult to break away from Bradley, Todd, and James, who it seemed were constantly trying to flag him, Nicolas, and Marcus down to discuss 'winning strategies'.

And, of course, there was the ever-present issue of the newfound certainty that it was Marcus who the demons were after. Why else would his parents have actually sat him down and talked to him about the demons when he was so young? That left three things Avior was preoccupied with: school, the rankings, and watching his worst enemy's back.

He had grown to resent the inter-cabin activities, for the sole reason that they were filled with such dramatics and competition that it made it difficult to enjoy winning and impossible to lose without James screaming. He was in desperate need of a break. perhaps another journey into the forest was in order.

The following passage is an excerpt from the notes app on Marcus Gill's phone, which he uses as a sort of virtual journal. He does not know that his private thoughts have been released to the public. Please do not tell him.

August twenty-seven, 2130

There's something sketchy about Avior Viator. I don't trust him at all.

He always hangs around that kid from Nonus. Nonus! Everyone knows what happens in Nonus!

There I was, all excited to meet the new cabinmate who would be filling Clark's place (miss that guy), and then it turns out to be some undersized, scheming weirdo who looks like a vampire and hates my guts.

We're always arguing with each other. He can start fights over the dumbest, pettiest shit. I'm sick of him.

Bradley says I'm being paranoid and that Avior is "perfectly nice" and "wouldn't hurt a fly".

Haha. No way.

He's probably hiding some sort of really dark and evil secret.

Like maybe he's a serial killer.

Or an actual vampire.

A werewolf maybe?

Even a demon!

Who freaking knows?

End excerpt.