Sunnyside Up with Red Ketchup

by Andrews, Ashley

  "Miss Hart?"

  She turned slowly and Casper did too, looking down at the two figures that were standing at the bottom of the stairs. She examined both girls, one of which had long, beautiful blonde hair and the other who had short, stylish brunette hair. They were both standing with their arms folded and a moody expression on their faces.

  She smiled at them, wondering how they knew her, and then looked back up at Casper, who was still staring at the girls, except with a displeased look. It was the first time she’d seen him look so serious.

  "I’m going to speak to them. I'll see you around." She waved happily, and then hopped back down the stairs to stand in front of the two girls.

  "Wow, you both look so beautiful close up," she complimented them, unable to stop herself. It was true. They were like the female versions of the boys. They ran their eyes from her head to her feet before finally moving.

  The blonde linked her arm with hers and led her away from the stairs, her friend following close behind.

  "My name's Tiffany. That's Henrietta." She jabbed her thumb at the girl behind us.

  She smiled at them both in greeting. “I'd give you my name, but it looks like you already know it." She laughed nervously.

  Tiffany began to lead her out of the dorms and towards the gardens. The girl smiled brightly at her. "Well, you see, everyone knows your name. You're a legend around here."

  She perked up, surprised.

  Tiffany pulled her arm out of hers and she observed her surroundings quickly. They were behind the dorms.

  "A legend? Wow, really?" She said in disbelief. She had no idea that so many people had warmed to her! She opened her mouth to speak again, but her shoulders were shoved backwards, causing her to stumble to the ground. For a moment, everything was silent. Then a low buzzing echoed around her head, before she felt the pain.

  Scrunching up her eyes to block it out and get rid of the stars, she rolled back over so she was facing up.

  "What—" She was interrupted when a sharp object was pressed into her ankle. She attempted to sit up and grab it, but it pressed down harder. When she opened her eyes, she saw Tiffany leaning over her, the sun behind her head causing her beautiful face to be shadowed. Her arms were folded and her spiked heel was pressed hard into Red’s foot.

  "The legend is that a worthless, unknown, filthy tomboy made it onto the third floor and dared to socialize with Tiffany Burton's man. The clueless girl actually thought that she could be friends with Seth Cooper, the future husband of the prettiest woman in the world. THAT is the legend." She crunched down her heel, pressing harder.

  Red let out a quiet moan and struggled to reach her foot. A thousand ways to get out of such an incident rushed into her head. Lots of moves, blocks, and violent ways to break out of such a position presented themselves. She grunted. So, she DID know some of the training. But she wasn't used to feeling so much pain. She could barely move, and she certainly couldn’t fight back. "Please… get off," Red choked out. It hurt so much. She yelped again when she felt her hair being pulled back. It irritated the bump that had risen at the back of her head from her tumble to the ground.

  Henrietta was bent down over her and raised one, manicured finger in front of her face.

  "We came all the way back from the hike to congratulate you on pretending to faint like that. It was a plan I should have used earlier," Tiffany said cruelly, pressing her heel down harder.

  Red winced.

  "We're going to let you go," Henrietta said from behind her, placing the nail she had raised along her jaw line. Slowly and painfully, the girl dragged the nail down her neck.

  It made Red lash out. She raised her arm to grab Henrietta.

  Tiffany ground her heel in harder. "After we've let you go, I want you to pack your bags and get out of Sunnyside. That's your punishment for attempting to steal Seth Cooper."

  Suddenly, Red was released and by the time she could breathe again, she found herself laying in the dorm gardens, completely alone.

  Damn.

  She slowly limped back into the dorm, totally miserable. What had she done? She was hated by everyone except Casper and Seth. Well, hopefully. She wasn't sure if they were really friends.

  She winced at every step up the stairs, resisting the urge to reach down and rub her ankle. She had an ugly purple bruise there and a cut that wouldn't stop bleeding. She'd never liked heels.

  She rubbed the back of her sleeve along her jaw line, hoping the flow of blood from that cut had stopped and that it wasn't noticeable. The last thing she needed was to be seen by someone, and have them run up and ask questions.

  Not like that was going to happen. If what Tiffany said was right, she was hated by everyone. No one cared what happened to her.

  She was being hated for doing her job. The worst part about it was that she couldn't leave, because she still had to complete her mission with Zane.

  Perking up, she realized something. She fumbled in her upper shirt pocket for the dog pin she had placed into there after her conversation with Dexter and realized it was gone. She groaned. All she had was the boat mic—which didn't work unless it was within a foot of the dog earpiece—and the camera.

  She hobbled back into her room quickly, grabbing a piece of paper from her drawer and scribbling 'lost the earpiece' onto it. She placed her football pin in front of it, hoping that Dexter would see it at some point.

  She was just about to head to the bathroom when there was a knock at the door. She considered just ignoring it, when a voice rang out from the other side.

  “I know you're in there, Red. I just saw you limping down the hall. Let us in!"

  Panic filled her. It was Casper. And judging by the 'us', he wasn't alone.

  Swallowing, she made her way over to the door, opening it slightly. Seth and Casper stood there, staring warmly at her. Zane stood behind them, his arms folded and his gaze directed at a picture in the hallway. Usually, she would have welcomed them inside happily. But—

  Casper kicked the door open, causing her to jump back. She looked at him in alarm and then noticed the piece of paper saying she’d lost the earpiece. Hurriedly, she ran over to it and shoved it under her bed. When she straightened up, Seth and Casper were staring at her.

  "You're—" Seth started.

  "—hurt." Casper finished, moving forward quickly to move her face sideways, examining the cut. She held in her sigh. She didn't want this. It was nice to be worried about, but she didn't want to answer any questions.

  "It's nothing – I fell," she lied uneasily. Well, she’d never had to lie once in her entire life. She probably didn’t do it very well. Way to go Red. This entire camping trip is a lie.

  She moved out of Casper's grasp and wiped the small trickle of blood off her face that had seeped out of the cut. She started to walk into the bathroom, trying hard to hide her hobble.

  “You’re limping." Zane's cold voice came from by the door.

  She froze. Suddenly, she was swept off her feet and set on the bed.

  Casper had a concerned expression on his face. He was frowning like he was on a mission. He bent down and pulled her trouser leg up, tugging her shoe off.

  She bent down to try and keep it on, but it was useless.

  Casper sucked in a breath when he saw the mark and touched it gently with his finger.

  "Ow," she said quietly, bending down to push his hand away.

  Seth had joined Casper's side. "Who did this?" His calm, smooth voice asked her.

  She frowned and moved her leg away from Casper. “I told you already. I fell—“

  "You're an awful liar." Zane had finally entered the room and had decided to contribute. He looked down at her foot and lifted one of his hands to point at her ankle. "That hole in your foot is the perfect shape of a stiletto heel and that," he moved his hand to point at her face, "Was done by a manicured nail."

  Wow. For a guy, he really knew a bit about girls like Tiffany. She swallowed a lump that had risen in her throat and bru
shed her bangs out of her eyes. She stared defiantly at Zane and raised a hand to point at her ankle.

  "That is the perfect shape of an unexpected branch sticking out of a tree and this," She tapped the cut on her jaw line, "Was done by a thorn branch when I fell."

  There was silence in the room. It was nice to see that Seth and Casper were concerned about her, but she was tired. She'd had an eventful day, collapsing and then being injured by two girls she didn't even know.

  "Why did you come over here?" she asked, not noticing that her tone was strained and laced with slight irritation. She didn't know that – She'd never felt annoyed before.

  Zane finally met her eyes with his. "Casper was worried about you." He said calmly. He unfolded his arms and leaned forward, resting his hands on the bed. "At times like this, you're supposed to say 'thank you for worrying about me', or 'I’m alright, really, but thank you so much.'" He frowned, looking more furious than he ever had. "Looks like Casper's concern meant nothing to you, right?"

  She broke eye contact and raised a hand to rub the bump on the back of her head. She just felt like going to sleep. The words Zane threw at her were going in one ear and out the other, just like they had before she collapsed. It was all, blah, blah, blah…

  When she didn't reply, Casper and Seth moved toward the door. At some point, Zane left too.

  Sighing, she laid back on her bed, passing out completely.

  Chapter 9: White

  The second day of camp activities included a group gathering for pianists. It wasn’t really a class, but just a place to talk about their passion for music and why they wanted to continue to pursue it. She didn't want to pursue the dream as a pianist. She was just at Sunnyside to complete a mission.

  A mission that looked like it was failing. When she woke the next morning, she remembered what Zane said. Typical. It was then she realized that she had been incredibly rude to everyone—since she’d been so exhausted, she hadn’t really paid attention to what she’d said, or done.

  She hobbled her way to class, smiling at Rupert who she passed on the way there. He didn't greet her like he had in the past. He just glanced at her quickly before continuing on, like he didn't even know her.

  Great. So even the person she didn't need as a friend was ignoring her. Was she poisonous?

  When she arrived at the class, she looked at the other campers. They all looked average. Only two people caught her attention, one was a girl with bright red hair, and piercings covering her face—simply because she was so different from everybody else.

  The other was Tiffany. Tiffany was a pianist.

  Just great. Besides feeling uneasy about approaching any of the guys, she just happened to get stuck in a group with Tiffany and Henrietta. They weren't happy to see her. She knew that they weren't happy she was still living across the hall from, Tiffany's man. She guessed she’d never thought about how the other girls would feel if she started to be friends with Zane Noble. It was clear he was much loved. But it wasn’t Zane the stalker girl was interested in…it was Seth. She sighed. Great.

  She felt her daggers digging into her chest as she sat opposite the crazy teenager. Swallowing, she looked up at the lecturer and attempted to be happy about her warm greeting.

  It was going to be a long class.

  * * * * *

  She went outside after the gathering and breathed in fresh air. It was nice to not have the suffocating aura of Tiffany's hatred around her. She headed back towards the dorm, frowning up at the sky. It was gray. Since she’d been above ground, she’d never seen the sky gray.

  She stopped when water splashed on her nose. Then it splashed onto the ground beside her. She stared at it, finally realizing. It was starting to rain. Feeling a little better, she held out her hands and let the rain cover her from head to toe. It was her first time experiencing rain in so long, that it was hard not to react so unusually.

  After she’d enjoyed the summer shower, she went through the black gates and headed back to the dorm. It looked kind of unwelcoming and cold with gray rainclouds looming above it.

  The door creaked open and she peeked down the hallway. The lights were off, so the dull beam that came in through the windows gave it a creepy ambiance. She realized that she was sopping wet, trailing water through the hall. She slowly made her way up the stairs. Where was everyone? Activities were over and it was raining outside, so they should all have been in the dorms. Maybe everyone was in their rooms.

  She didn't hear the doors open behind her. Just before she went up the last flight of stairs to her floor, she heard a thump behind her. She looked over her shoulder to see what it was.

  And was pelted with bags of flour. She didn't even get to identify who the culprits were—by the time she could open her eyes and the white haze cleared enough for her to see, they had returned back into their rooms. She looked down at herself.

  This really was too much.

  Slowly she set off up the stairs again, hurrying as fast as her sore ankle would let her. When she made it to the third floor, she saw Zane leaning against her door with his arms folded. He noticed her walk up, moved his head to look in her direction, and then scanned her from head—to—toe.

  She walked slowly towards him, not taking her eyes away from his face. “I can put up with this," she said quietly and determinedly.

  He raised his eyes to look at her, his head bent.

  She took another step. “I'll endure anything. I’m not leaving this floor." She hobbled forward a few more steps and stood in front of him.

  He stared back, his lips pressed together, as though in thought.

  She coughed nervously and bowed her head low. Here goes nothing…"I’m sorry I was rude yesterday. I’m sorry I’m being so annoying. I’m sorry I've ruined your time at camp. I’m sorry I’m being so stubborn and won't leave." She swallowed and looked up at him. "But thank you."

  Zane watched her apologize without changing the expression on his face. That didn't mean his eyes weren't showing anything though. He stood up straight, lifting his weight off of her door.

  "Why did you just thank me?" He said, the hidden curiosity slipping through the tone of his voice.

  She smiled at him brightly, brushing her flour clogged hair out of her eyes. "For allowing me to say sorry."

  * * * * *

  When the door had closed to her room, Zane remained where he was, staring at the same spot without realizing that she’d left. What had she said? That he'd allowed her to say sorry?

  No. He hadn't done that. She got it wrong. But why had he waited for her?

  He shook his head, looking around to see if anyone noticed his momentary lapse in personality. He had wanted her to beg and plead for his forgiveness. He had wanted to tell her that she may as well leave Sunnyside, especially Royal Haven, because it was obvious no one was going to leave her alone until she did.

  But seeing her, covered in flour, drenched from head to toe and still limping…it had been a pretty pitiful sight. At first he’d felt vindicated. Or at least that’s what he thought he felt. It was a little mixed up. Jumbled in his mind.

  He'd timed it perfectly. He'd seen the weather and knew that she was still at her class, and that she’d left without an umbrella. All he had had to do was take advantage of the group idolization, mention to a few people what he wanted done, and they’d sucked the suggestion in like a vacuum.

  Since she wasn’t responding to his efforts to get her to leave, he figured that the only other way to get rid of the girl was to have her bullied. He wanted her to hurt. She'd made him lower his guard, show emotions he hadn't expressed for such a long time and mocked him at every opportunity.

  So she had to pay for it.

  He stormed back into his room, slamming the door hard. Red was vulnerable. She would cave under the bullying, eventually leaving the school, or at least Royal Haven. He couldn't take her fake innocence act, anymore. Rich kids were stubborn, snobby and full of themselves, so she should be too.

  Zane
threw himself onto the bed, placing both hands underneath his head after raking a hand through his wild hair. She'd thanked him. That was what made it worse. THANKED him, as though thanking him for getting her bullied.

  And she’d said it like she’d known it was him.

  “I can put up with this. I'll endure anything. I’m not leaving this floor."

  Zane turned over and let out a frustrated sigh. Why? Why the third floor? Why Royal Haven? Why him? He liked his life the way it was, his feelings set and cold. He didn’t like Red stirring everything up. So it was simple, he had to get rid of her.

  * * * * *

  Why Zane Noble? Why a summer camp? Why her?

  She considered pulling out of the mission. She wasn't getting anywhere. All she needed was to be close enough to one person, so that she could remain at his side, ready to prevent any attack by Blaine.

  And what would she do. Blaine was bound to turn up eventually and if he did, she didn't have a cell phone, earpiece or a gun to defend herself with.

  According to Dexter, having a gun on her at all times would wreak havoc. One, if it was accidentally discovered, her cover would be blown. Two, she was so naïve that the possibility of point one happening was pretty big. Three, she had no idea if she was actually good enough with a REAL gun. Sure, she’d used simulators and practiced with wooden pistols. But she'd never shot a REAL gun.

  She sighed and slumped on her bed. It was only 7pm and it already felt past midnight. She'd showered and changed, noticing with relief that the bump on her head had gone. The swelling on her ankle had even gone down a little and that was good, considering it had only been a day.

  She was bored. She'd been above ground for probably a week and a half and she was already bored. She guessed you needed friends if you really wanted to have a good time. Rising to her feet, she decided she would go and visit Casper. He wasn't her priority, but being friends with him had brought her considerably closer to Zane.

  There was a knock at the door. She froze for a second, a cold chill running down her spine. Would it be Zane? What was she supposed to say to him?