Call me Different *ON HOLD*

Chapter Three

Don't be a stranger!

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Chapter Three

After a little longer driving, we pulled into a diner I knew well. My parents, the hopeless romantics and sentimental beings they are, go to this diner at least once a year for ‘old times’ sake’. They met there when my mom was on the way to go see some friends, and my dad was heading back from an emergency call. They both tell the story from very different perspectives, my mom’s being that dad kidnapped her and locked her in the house until she could trust him. I always found it weird, hearing about dad’s actions and mom’s complete hatred towards him. I’d only ever seen them in love, and couldn’t imagine mom yelling and trying to escape.

As we pulled up to the diner, three cars were oozing familiar teenagers, who were spilling out onto the pavement and laughing their way inside. Ah, the familiar chaos of the teenagers of my pack.

“Ella! Get your ass over here now, girl!” Maria, Finn and his mate Lucy’s adopted daughter (Lucy couldn’t have kids, but they didn’t let that get in the way of starting a family) yelled at me from beside a car. Glancing at Jay, he squeezed my arm, smiled, and jogged off to go talk to a boy his age called Phoenix.

I stared after him, smiling slightly at how easily he could insert himself into a conversation. Always the charismatic.

“If you keep staring like that, you’ll catch flies.” I jumped slightly, and turned to see Maria grinning next to me.

“I don’t think that’s the right saying...” I laughed.

She just shrugged and threw an arm over my shoulder. “Who cares? Let’s go eat, I’m starving!”

Inside, most of the tables had already been pushed into the middle of the room and were occupied by the teenagers of the pack. Girls were laughing, boys were shouting and everyone was having a good time. That was one of the things I was grateful for – all the teenagers in the pack seemed to genuinely enjoy each others’ company. We were lucky, I guess, that we didn’t have any bullies or ‘cool’ kids.

The seats on the left of where Jay was seated were knowingly left empty. After so many years of being inseparable, it was a given that Jay and I were almost always together. No one questioned it.

“Miss me?” I slipped into the seat, with Maria on my right, and picked up the menu.

“Oh Ella! My heart nearly broke in your absence!” Jay crooned dramatically. I whacked him with the menu, but grinned at him.

“What are we getting?” He asked, scanning over the piece of paper he had snatched from my hands.

“You can get what you want, and I’ll probably get what you want too, because we both know that you’ll end up stealing half my food anyway.”

Jay tilted his head thoughtfully and snapped his fingers. “Always so bright Ella. I’m thinking the pizza looks good...or the burger! Oh, they have those bacon wedges...Let’s get those and the pizza!”

“No, please. Don’t bother with my opinion.” I muttered sarcastically.

“Well, do you want something different?”

I shook my head, and was laughed at. “Exactly.”

An hour later, the diner had probably run out of food and the adolescents of a huge wolf pack were sufficiently fed. A swipe of the pack card sorted out the bill, and everyone was piling back into their cars.

Jay and I drove in a comfortable silence through the slowly darkening highway, exchanging the occasional comment or joke. It wasn’t until the sun was long gone, as was the roaring motorway, replaced with gravel roads and huge trees, that we arrived at the turn off to the camp.

A huge sign, covered in a beautiful flowering creeper, showed the words “Lake Lyle”. My back straightened and my eyes widened in excitement as we drove across a small bridge, and began down a long, earthy road.

I couldn’t believe it! A huge smile stretched across my face as the excitement hit me – I was finally going to the camp I had wanted to go to for years! All the talk, planning, begging and promises had finally become worthwhile!

“You look like you’re going to pee yourself with excitement E.” Jay laughed.

I was too preoccupied drinking in my surroundings to even bother retorting. Dense forest bordered us, and it was too dark to see much, except for the fairy lights strung up in the trees closest to the driveway, guiding us slowly towards our destination.

Suddenly, the trees opened out to a clearing dotted with huge buildings. I couldn’t see what they looked like due to the dim lighting and distance, but I guessed they were made of a dark, beautiful wood, blending into the surrounding forest. Warm light spilled from most of the windows, and silhouettes were almost visible moving around inside. It was huge, but big enough for everyone?

As if reading my thoughts, Jay spoke up. “El that’s only the admin, and see the building just behind it? That’s the kids’ dorms and then the one to the left is the kitchen, dining and auditorium. There’s a line of trees, then behind that is where the teenagers’ stuff is.”

I nodded in understanding, my worries dulled. Jay drove the car closer and closer until we pulled up and parked in the steadily growing mass of cars. Everywhere, people were getting out of cars and driving in. Stifling an excited giggle, I whipped off my seatbelt and was out of the car before Jay could even cut the ignition.

“Hurry up hurry up hurry up!” I whined, as Jay lazily stepped out of the car.

He finally came to my side, and I grabbed his hand, pulling him towards... well I didn’t exactly know where I was going, so I skidded to a halt. Jay laughed and threw his arm around my shoulder, a gesture I was infinitlely familiar with.

“Welcome to the best summer of your life baby!”