Code One Alarm

Kaykaya Taptapson

Cordelia and I ran to Camp 37- the closest Camp to us. At the entrance we were met by five security guards.

"Name?" One of them said. 

I put my hands on my knees and huffed. "Key- Keya Tap-" my breath hitched in my throat as I tried to speak again. "tapston. Keya Tap-"

"Kaykaya Taptapson. Funny name, girl."

"No," I said. Finally catching my breath. "That's not my name. It's Keya-"

A rough hand pulled on my shoulder and I toppled forward, straight into a hole. My stomach and hands banged against a hard metal surface, as I rolled forwards. Behind me, I could hear Cordelia coming. I tried to pull myself forwards so we wouldn't collide on the slide, but she was catching up to me faster than I could push forward. 

"Get out of the way, Keya!" She screamed. 

"That's what I'm trying to do, Corde-" 

I flew straight off the slide and into a hard mat against the wall. Cordelia came right after me, whizzing past like a rocket and banging her side on the mat.

"That was fun," she wheezed.

"Fun?" I said. "That was not fun! They pushed us into a hole!"

"That's how you get into the Camp 37, Keya. I mean Kaykaya."

"Don't you dare, Cordelia."

She laughed. "You're a miserable old slouch, you know what right, Kaykaya Taptapson?" Cordelia said and began walking down another corridor.

I groaned and pushed myself up onto my feet and followed her. "No, I'm not. You're just crazy."

When we arrived at the Camp Rooms there was only a single bed left.

"I call dibs!" Cordelia shouted. 

"No!" I shouted back. "That's not how it works!"

Our screams were met with a number of shushes. "Why is everybody trying to sleep in the middle of the day?" I asked.

"They probably don't know whether it's day or night down here."

"But the alarm went off less than an hour ago."

Cordelia rolled her eyes. "Then I dunno, but I'm gonna sleep as well." She shrugged off her shoes and began snuggling under the blanket.". 

"That's not fair, Cordelia. I won't sleep on the floor!" 

"Ok, don't."

"Then you're not allowed to sleep in the bed!"

The only reply I got was a loud snore.

Later, when everyone awoke, we all huddled together for warmth as we ate our dinner. It was a bit disturbing to sit so close to people I didn't know at all. When we went around the circle to introduce ourselves, Cordelia haughtily announced herself and then went on to introduce me as Kaykaya Taptappy. She promptly received a hard elbow in the stomach. Now everyone thinks my name is Kaykaya Taptappy and that I'm violent. 

Also, I couldn't keep down the soup that they served us, so I threw it all up. Cordelia is pretending she no longer knows me, as I am an embarrassment apparently. This isn't shaping out to be a good day. 

Actually, one good thing did happen. I was innocently minding my own business when I overheard the contents of a conversation:

A girl playfully slapped this man's arm and giggled, "Haven't you missed me?"

He jerked out of the way of her next playful slap and said, "I feel so upset without you, it's almost like having you here."

"Of course you felt upset without me, baby." She ran a hand through his silky brown hair. "I'm irreplaceable."

"Yeah," he muttered. "Sometimes I need what only you can proved: your absence."

While she laughed like an airhead, completely not understanding his blow, I genuinely laughed at his comment. He saw me from a little while away and I could have sworn he smiled slightly.