Boot Camp Blues

by Megan Sparks

  Chapter Eleven

  An hour and a half later, after filling out forms and hearing some high-energy speeches from the Head Coach of the Illinoisies (who were sponsoring the camp) and a few of her team’s veteran players, the thirty boot-campers were on their way to settle into a dorm.

  The group was being guided by two young women who would be their counsellors and coaches for the next seven days. At registration, they’d been introduced to the campers by their roller derby names, Cherry Bomb and Mad Donna. They were both proud members of the local team, the Great Lakers, as well as the Illinoisies All-Star team. Cherry, who was fierce-looking, with purple hair and too many tattoos and piercings to count, looked to be in her early twenties. She was a graduate student right here at the university. Her counterpart, Mad Donna, was a bit older and worked as a librarian in one of the campus libraries. When the coaches had stood up to be introduced, Mad Donna had blushed and dipped her head demurely. Cherry, on the other hand, had flexed her inked biceps and let out a war whoop.

  Annie laughed. To her, these coaches perfectly represented the opposite ends of the roller girl spectrum.

  As they walked across the idyllic campus, Annie admired the manicured pathways and stately buildings.

  Holly admired the boys. And, not surprisingly, the boys admired Annie’s flame-haired friend right back.

  They were walking with two girls Holly had befriended about three seconds after arriving at registration. Annie was glad she had Holly there – she wasn’t sure if she’d have been bold enough to simply introduce herself to strangers as Holly had.

  Their new friends were “Sue Nami” (real name Suzanne, she was originally from Alabama, but like Annie recently relocated to the Chicago area), and Luna Tortelli (a Jersey girl), whose derby name was “Luna Tick”. They had met each other at a roller derby camp in Texas the summer before, and, like Annie and Holly, would be rooming together this week. Sue, with her long golden hair and porcelain skin, was exactly what Annie would have imagined a graceful Southern Belle to be. Luna was a dark-haired girl of Italian descent, who stood just shy of five feet and spoke with a thick Jersey accent.

  “Hey, Legs,” teased Luna, as a cute guy gave Annie the once-over in passing, “Joe College just checked you out big time.”

  Annie laughed. “How do you know he wasn’t looking at one of you three?”

  “Oh, he was definitely looking at you,” Sue confirmed. “And Luna’s right. He couldn’t take his eyes off your legs.”

  Pint-sized Luna eyed Annie’s long limbs, which were clad in a pair of skinny jeans. “I’d kill for stems like yours,” she said. “How long are those babies, anyway?”

  “Long enough to make her one of the best jammers here,” said Holly.

  The compliment took Annie by surprise. She smiled gratefully at her teammate.

  “Well, Joe College was cute,” Luna conceded, “but he’s nothing compared to that boyfriend of yours.”

  For a moment, Annie was flummoxed.

  Sue laughed at the expression on Annie’s face. “She’s talking about your ride,” she explained. “The boy who dropped you off at orientation. We saw you in the car outside the student centre.”

  “Oh!” Annie giggled. “He’s not my boyfriend.”

  Sue raised her eyebrows. “Why the hell not? He’s ten different kinds of gorgeous.”

  “What would you know about that?” Luna said, laughing.

  “I might be gay, but that doesn’t mean I can’t recognize a hot boy when I see one!” retorted Sue, punching her friend’s shoulder affectionately.

  “Oh,” said Annie, blushing. “Jesse and I aren’t dating. He’s just a really good friend.”

  Both Sue and Luna turned doubtful looks to Holly, who just shrugged and rolled her eyes.

  By now, they’d arrived at their lodgings. The campers had been given the entire ground floor of a freshman dormitory. Great Lakes University held all kinds of programmes for high schooler pupils throughout the year – everything from Model UN conferences to chess competitions – so the housing department had a special floor devoted to hosting short-term visitors. Annie was glad she and the other girls would all be staying in close proximity to each other. It would make camp much more of a bonding experience. And not sharing a bathroom with college guys was a definite plus.

  Cherry Bomb and Mad Donna read off the room assignments and distributed card keys. Annie was pleased to discover that the room she would be sharing with Holly was just across the hall from Sue and Luna.

  “You will find a detailed camp schedule in your room,” Mad Donna said in her sweet, efficient way. “Most of the clinics are mandatory, but there are also several skill-specific electives to choose from.”

  “We’ve provided campus maps as well,” said Cherry Bomb. “Dinner will be in the south dining hall at six o’clock. That gives you plenty of time to unpack and get yourselves acclimated. A few late arrivals who missed registration will join us for dinner.”

  “Campers are also strongly advised to steer clear of the part of campus known as Fraternity Row,” Mad Donna added in a serious tone. “It’s populated primarily by upperclassmen, and since there’s not a great deal of supervision there, we’d prefer you to avoid it.”

  To underscore her fellow coach’s point, Cherry Bomb flexed her biceps again, as though to hint at the wrath that would be brought to bear upon any misguided camper who chose to break the rules.

  Mad Donna gave the campers a serious look. “Boys will be boys, after all.”

  “And roller girls will be roller girls,” Holly whispered with a grin.

  Annie wasn’t sure what Holly meant by that exactly, but decided not to press it. “Let’s unpack,” she said, tugging Holly towards their room. With any luck, Holly would forget about meeting college boys and Annie could focus on what she’d come here for.

  Roller derby, roller derby, and more roller derby!

  * * *

  After making their beds, unpacking their clothes, and a quick stop at the campus bookstore (where Annie bought her dad a Great Lakes University T-shirt and treated herself to travel mug with the school logo) Holly and Annie arrived in the dining hall. The campers were assigned a handful of tables in a far corner, but there were plenty of university students there as well.

  As Annie carried her tray she overheard two students having a lively discussion about Woody Allen’s latest film. At another table she passed, a group of earnest-looking students were involved in a heated debate about third world debt. Annie found it thrilling and tried to imagine herself, four short years from now, living in a dorm and eating with friends in a college dining hall like this one. It seemed a completely different world to high school, where the main topic of conversation in the cafeteria was who was going out with whom.

  “Eat up, campers,” Cherry commanded. “We’ve got a big day planned for tomorrow.”

  Sue and Luna joined Annie and Holly at their table. Three other girls introduced themselves and sat down, too. They were Cheryl Madigan (Cher Madness), Carrie Ann Dempsey (Carrie A. Grudge) and Elle Sommers (Elle on Wheels).

  The girls chatted pleasantly as they ate their dinner. When it was time to head back to the dorm, Annie picked up the remnants of her meal and followed the others to the tray-return.

  As she made her way through the stream of college students, Annie was so entranced by the activity around her that she didn’t notice the girl who had stopped short in front of her.

  Annie’s tray collided with the girl’s back, and what was left of her cranberry juice spilled all over the back of the girl’s shirt.

  “Hey, what the—?” The girl spun to level a look at Annie.

  They got the shock of their lives when each girl realized who the other one was.

  “Figures it’s you,” snarled the girl who was dripping with cranberry juice. “The Duchess of Dork.”

  Annie scowled. “Dee Stroyer,” she said dryly. “How lovely to see you.”

  Dee snorted, dropping her emp
ty tray onto the conveyor belt and attempting to dry her shirt with a clump of napkins. “Shouldn’t you be back in Liberty Heights baking cupcakes?”

  “Actually, I thought my time might be better spent here,” said Annie, breaking into a smile, “learning new and improved ways to kick your butt.”

  Holly, who was standing behind Annie, snickered.

  Dee Stroyer glared, but for the first time seemed unable to come up with a snappy retort. With a glare, she turned on her heel and stomped out of the dining hall.

  Luna gave Annie a pat on the back. “Way to spit game, Legs,” she said, impressed. “Not bad, for a girl who ain’t from Jersey.”

  “Let me guess,” Sue giggled. “Friend of yours?”

  “Hardly,” sighed Annie. “More like my arch nemesis.” The last thing she wanted was for her camp experience to be tainted by the presence of the mean-spirited Dee.

  “Think of it this way,” Luna advised as they exited the cafeteria. “Now you’ve got something to shoot for over the next week. Your goal is to make her life more miserable than she makes yours.”

  Annie gave her new friend a half-hearted smile. She knew Luna meant well, but to Annie’s mind, derby wasn’t about making someone else miserable. Competition was one thing – it made the game fun. But animosity was another thing all together.

  As they headed back to the dorm in the chilly twilight, Annie looked around at the thirty or so other girls who were part of the boot camp. Maybe with so many roller girls around she’d be able to avoid Dee entirely.

  She was certainly going to try! She only had one week here and she wasn’t about to let anyone ruin it for her.

  * * *

  Annie had just pulled on the oversized Elvis Costello T-shirt she’d brought to wear as a nightshirt (having decided that her tattered Winnie the Pooh one was definitely not cool enough for derby camp) when there was a knock on the dorm room door.

  She threw Holly, who was wearing checked fleece pyjamas, a curious look.

  “Maybe it’s those cute guys we talked to on the way back from dinner,” Holly guessed, her eyes twinkling.

  “God, I hope not,” sighed Annie, opening the door a crack and peering out.

  “Hi!” said Carrie Ann. “You guys up for some company?”

  “Sure!” Annie swung open the door and beamed when she saw seven more girls in the corridor. “Come on in!”

  She and Jesse had been so busy talking they hadn’t touched the cookies and scones she’d brought for their drive, so she dug them out of her bag and set them on the desk. “Help yourself,” she said, delighted that her and Holly’s room had become the gathering spot.

  In addition to Carrie Ann, their guest list included Sue, Luna, Elle, and Cheryl. Cheryl had brought along her room-mate, Eve, and the two girls from the room next to theirs, Ashley and Charlotte.

  As the girls shared the baked goodies, they settled in around the room, flopping onto the beds, chairs, or the carpet. One of the first things Annie noticed was Charlotte’s gorgeous, strawberry-blond curls. Charlotte had swept them up into a mass on top of her head. Long, red-gold tendrils bobbed around her face.

  “I love your hair,” said Annie. “It’s such a pretty colour.”

  “Thanks,” said Charlotte. “It’s how I got my derby name ... Ginger Snapped!”

  This kicked off a discussion of how they chose their roller derby monikers. Annie was pleased when Ashley (who went by Ashes to Ashes on the track) guessed that the name Anne R. Key was a nod to the Sex Pistols song.

  “Well, you’re obviously from the UK,” Ashley giggled. “It makes sense.”

  “Are you into punk?” Annie asked.

  Ashley nodded. “My older brother doesn’t listen to anything else,” she explained, nibbling a scone. “I was singing along with the Dead Kennedys back in the fourth grade!”

  “In Jersey, it’s all about Springsteen and Bon Jovi,” Luna said.

  “Speaking of music...” Holly dug out her iPod and the girls started dancing around the room to Jay-Z’s latest hit. Suddenly, there was a loud pounding on the door. The girls froze.

  “Cherry Bomb?” Elle guessed in a whisper.

  “We’re dead,” gulped Carrie Ann.

  Holly turned off the music and opened the door.

  But it wasn’t an angry coach she found on the threshold. It was worse. Much worse.

  It was Dee Stroyer.

  All ten girls gaped at her, as she stood there in her nightgown.

  Annie felt a pang of pity for Dee, standing there alone – maybe she was homesick. Perhaps she’d knocked because she heard all the fun and wanted to be included. Annie was just about to open her mouth to invite her to join in, but Dee spoke first.

  “Keep it down!” she barked. “Some of us are trying to rest up for tomorrow’s workout.”

  “Sorry,” Sue muttered.

  “Don’t be sorry,” Dee spat. “Be quiet!” Then she left, slamming the door behind her.

  Luna was shaking her head in disgust. “I think tomorrow I’m gonna have to open up a can of Jersey whoop-ass on that witch!”

  “Good!” said Ashley. “She’s got it coming. Can you believe she had the nerve to tell us off for having fun?”

  Annie could definitely believe that. But what she couldn’t believe – what had her in a complete and total state of shock – was what Dee Stroyer, the meanest girl Annie knew, had been wearing. The tough-talking roller girl slept in an old-fashioned pink satin nightgown with lace trim and ribbons!

  “That was unexpected,” Annie whispered to Holly.

  “Yeah,” Holly agreed. “I’d never have imagined Dee to be the frilly nightie sort.”

  Annie laughed, shaking the image of Dee’s pink nightgown out of her head. Camp was turning out to be more of a learning experience than Annie had ever dreamed.

  Chapter Twelve

  The next morning, Annie awoke to the sound of her phone alarm. She was momentarily disoriented, unable to place the bare breeze block walls and institutional furniture.

  Then it all came crashing back to her – where she was and why she was there – and she sat up in bed, grinning.

  “Wake up!” she called out to Holly. “Camp starts in half an hour.”

  Holly groaned and rolled over, pulling the covers over her head.

  It took some prodding, during which Holly begged for “five more minutes” of sleep, but finally Annie was able to rouse her room-mate.

  She was glad to find Carrie Ann and the others waiting for them in the corridor to go to breakfast.

  Again, Annie got a huge thrill out of dining with the college crowd. She noticed that many of them looked exhausted and bleary-eyed.

  “I guess they were all up late studying,” Annie said.

  “On a Saturday night?” Holly hooted with laughter. “I’m sure they were up late, but I doubt they were studying.”

  Annie noticed that the girls were getting several curious looks from the university students. Well, of course they were. They were all decked out in their derby gear – hot pants, colourful tights, and T-shirts with their derby names and numbers emblazoned on the back.

  “Do you think they think we look silly?” Charlotte asked, her hand going self-consciously to her mass of strawberry curls.

  “Who cares?” asked Holly.

  “Good point,” said Charlotte, laughing. She stared down a snooty-looking sorority girl and shook out her mane like an angry lion.

  The girls had a quick breakfast, then hurried over to the gym, arriving right on time.

  Annie scanned the group, and saw that, like herself and Holly, most of the girls had broken off into smaller groups.

  All except for Dee. Dee stood alone.

  For a moment, Annie almost felt sorry for her. But then Dee noticed her looking and shot her such a vicious look that Annie lost all sympathy. No wonder she was by herself. Frilly nightgown or no frilly nightgown, the girl was just too mean to make friends.

  Cherry Bomb wasted no time getting
things started. She assembled them all in the middle of the gym where there was a makeshift track marked out with electrician’s tape. Then she held up a pack of playing cards.

  “Ooh,” joked Holly. “I love card tricks.”

  “Our first warm-up,” said Cherry, smiling rather sinisterly, “is called Deck of Death. Each suit corresponds to a particular callisthenic. You’ll each draw a card and whatever suit you get will determine which exercise you’ll be expected to execute.”

  “Hearts are sit-ups,” Mad Donna explained. “Diamonds are lunges, spades are jumping jacks, and clubs are squat thrusts.”

  This elicited a groan from the campers.

  “Who wants to be the first victim?” asked Cherry.

  Annie wasn’t surprised to see Holly’s hand shoot into the air. “I’m game,” she said, stepping forward to join Cherry in the middle of the track.

  Cherry spread the deck into a fan, and Holly plucked one from it.

  “Ugh,” she said, waving the seven of clubs for her camp-mates to see. “Seven squat thrusts.”

  “Let’s go, ladies,” barked Cherry, and Mad Donna gave a shrill blast of her whistle.

  Obediently, the campers did the exercise – a deep knee bend to touch the floor, into a quick extension by kicking the legs back, then back to the squat position and exploding into an upward jump.

  “That’s one!” Mad Donna cried.

  Again, the girls crouched, then planked, then propelled themselves upward.

  “Two,” Cherry counted off. “Five to go. Bend deep, jump high! Make it burn!”

  “Oh, it burns all right,” muttered Holly.

  By the third squat thrust, Annie could feel her thighs sizzling. It was a good pain that signalled the strengthening of her muscles.

  “Seven!” Mad Donna announced finally. A few of the girls crumpled dramatically to the floor, laughing. Others shook out their legs while breathing deeply.

  Annie couldn’t believe how strenuous the exercise was. I thought I was in shape, she marvelled silently. This is harder than I thought.

  A girl from California went next and chose the three of diamonds. Three lunges. Nowhere near as challenging as the squat thrusts, but still tough.