Different Doesn't Mean Broken

Chapter 5 - Alex

Sally said they were going to start introductions in the front room and to join when I felt better. I had no desire and no need to meet anyone in this godforsaken place, so I stayed on Caryn's bed.

I heard some commotion from the front, but I don't care enough to pay any attention. I heard someone say something was 'bullshit'. A little while later, I heard the front door to the cabin slam closed, and then open again and a name called out. Huh. Maybe I'm not the only one who wants out.

"Alright, Alex, let's test your blood sugar and then you can come join us," Sally said, pulling out my glucose monitor.

"It's fine. I just need to rest," I said.

"Well, I want to make sure you're in range, and then, if you are you can come meet the rest of the girls. It's not physical and we're not asking you to jog around the room. You can come and sit."

I wasn't getting out of this, I figured, so I let Sally test my sugar. She determined it was fine. It was.

She wouldn't leave without me getting up.

"Shouldn't you be going after whoever took off?" I said, as she pointed to the front room.

"That's taken care of, Alex. Come meet the rest of the girls," Sally said. Total pushover name, totally not a pushover. I sighed.

"Okay, everyone," Sally said, her voice picking up that annoying perky tone again. "This is Alex, and we'll let her introduce herself. She's feeling better, and so, let's continue."

I rolled my eyes as Sally indicated I should sit in an empty chair. I slumped into the chair with my arms crossed over my chest. I didn't want to be here. I didn't need to be here. This whole camp thing is stupid.

I didn't even listen to what anyone said. I don't know anyone's name but Caryn and Sally and Michelle.

"Alex, it's your turn," Sally smiled at me.

"I'm Alex," I said.

"That's it? That's all you want to say?"

"What more do you want to know?" I asked. "I'm here and I don't want to be."

"Homesickness isn't uncommon for first-time campers," Sally said. "But you'll see. We have so much fun stuff planned this month, you're going to want to stay longer than a month!"

"I doubt that very much," I mumbled.

"Well, we know you're diabetic," Caryn interjected. "Because you used my bed to wait out your low. So, what else?"

"There isn't anything else you need to know about me at all," I said, defiantly.

Caryn looked at me with a look that was at once sympathetic and skeptical. I didn't care. I'm not looking for friends, I don't need any new friends, and I certainly wasn't going to find any 'kindred spirits' among a bunch of gimps and morons.

"Where are you from?" The girl in the purple wheelchair asked.

"So, like, what's the deal with the girl who took off?" I asked, refusing to answer Wheelchair Girl's question.

"I don't know," Wheelchair Girl said. "She got upset that rule number one was 'no swearing' and said that's bullshit, because last year in the kids' group, we could swear."

"Big fucking deal," I rolled my eyes. But I'd found yet another rule to use to my advantage.

"Alex," Sally said. "Seriously. No swearing."

"I'm 15. You can't tell me I can't fucking swear," I challenged.

"Ah, we learned something more from you!" Caryn said. "You're 15."

I rolled my eyes at her again.

"What other 'rules' to make this even less fun did I miss?" I asked. I mean, I need to know what is going to get me sent home as soon as possible.

"The whole cabin goes to the infirmary for med time, which we told you before. We go as a group, we stay as a group and we leave as a group. No more stunts like you pulled this morning," Sally said. "You have to pass the deep end test to be able to swim in the deep end of the swim area. We'll do that tomorrow."

Little did they know, I was on my school's swim team. I was going to fail that test so hard, they'll make sure I stay far away from any body of water.

"We do everything as a group," Sally continued.

"Everything?" I asked. "Because I tend to like to go to the washroom, and take showers, by myself."

Sally frowned at me.

"Activities, Alex. We do our activities together as a group. There are special interest groups for you all to choose from for Hobby Time, and your free time is your own. You can hang out in the cabin, anywhere around camp. No going to the beach without a buddy and no going to the beach without the group. Basically, stay away from the beach if you're not swimming or canoeing."

Good god, I thought.

"Tuesday night is movie night and we will choose a movie as a group. We will all agree, or at the very least, a firm majority. We'll watch it here in the cabin in the front room."

"Are we stuck watching it if we really don't want to see it?" I asked.

"We'd like you all to stay together, but seeing as we're in the cabin, then no. You can stay in the bunk room and read or do whatever you'd like. But you're not going to be wandering around the camp by yourself at night."

"You are aware there are lights, like, everywhere and it's virtually impossible to get lost if you stay on the paths, right?" I snarked.

"You are aware that while you are here, we are responsible for you, right?" Sally countered. I rolled my eyes. Again.

"Lunch is in fifteen minutes," Sally announced. "Let's start heading over to the Mess Hall."

"But Mia's not back," Wheelchair Girl said.

"Michelle and Debrah will find her and bring her to lunch," Sally said.

Purple Wheelchair Girl looked upset and nervous. I don't know why. She's not the one missing.

I realized I was going to have to call Wheelchair Girl 'Purple Wheelchair Girl' because there was another girl in a wheelchair. Hers was blue. So, Blue Wheelchair Girl and Purple Wheelchair Girl. BWG, PWG. Then there was Crutch Girl, but I didn't see her. So maybe she's in a different group? No, she was in the cabin. She must be the missing Mia. Lucky duck already got away.

Sally, and the other two counsellors whose names I hadn't bothered to learn since I'd been lying down when they introduced themselves, for everyone ready to head to lunch. Caryn, Taryn and myself were the most able bodied, so we were waiting on the rest of the gimps. I could just see how this was going to play out. We'd be waiting for these girls all the time.

I let out a loud sigh.

"Something on your mind, Alex?" Sally asked.

"Yeah. Do we really have to stand around waiting for those guys? I mean, we have working legs and can walk. Can't we just meet you at the dining hall? I promise we won't get lost," I said, pointing at Taryn, Caryn and myself. I didn't include the other seemingly able bodied person in the group because she didn't seem to be paying anyone any attention.

"Yes, Alex. You have to wait. We travel as a group. That's part of camp. Being part of a group. It's not like we have to do more than get them unlocked. Besides, as you can clearly see, Riley is also capable of moving herself around," Sally said. She was not smiling. I rolled my eyes.

"Alright, let's get a move on, Cabin 8!" Sally said, that jovial voice returning, along with my nausea.

I followed everyone out of the cabin but purposefully lagged behind.

"Alex, come on! Get the lead out!" Sally called back to me, trying to sound peppy. I think I got under her skin.

I smiled to myself. Maybe I can get kicked out and sent home before dinner.