Marked (The Pack)

by Cox, Suzanne

  I almost gave a sigh of relief. At least this was something I could answer easily. “Well, they were kind of tied up. One was in rehab for the summer, and two others were going to some kind of camp, and another one was going to be on probation all summer. She’d have to wear a band on her leg and stay at home. That would have been way too difficult.” I used my fingers as an imaginary list to tic off each one of my friends who were having much worse summers than I was. In reality I’d have given anything to be home right now.

  Channing flipped her blonde hair over her shoulder and I could tell she was debating whether or not to believe me so I stared straight into those blue eyes. Another thing I’d learned- never let them think you really care if they like you.

  “You should stick with us this summer, if you want to have something to do. It may look like the definition of dull here, but you’d be surprised.”

  Jana and Celina smiled, nodding in agreement. I let go a small breath and relaxed a fraction. Getting in with the right crowd made all the difference in the world. Once I’d finally learned the method of mixing with the popular people, it was like following a recipe, cup of this, cup of that, stir and bake. Though I’d yet to figure out exactly what the end product of my recipe was. I was always too busy mixing it.

  Channing made a move toward the door. “I guess we better go let your aunt assign us a kiddie group to work with today.”

  I followed them inside. “You guys work at the day camp, too?” Now that was one thing my Chicago friends would never have done. Work? Really?

  Channing gave a bored smile. “Yeah, my dad says it will look good when I get ready to go to college, helping the less fortunate and all that.” She popped her gum so all of us would know she didn’t care one bit about the less fortunate.

  By lunchtime I hadn’t had a chance to dwell much on striking up a friendship with Channing and her two tag-a-longs. Who could think logically when faced with entertaining a group of six-year-olds?

  “That’s a great color blue on the top of your birdhouse, Katie.”

  The cute blonde smiled at me. “Thanks, my uncle that visits sometimes when my dad is gone to work says I color and paint really great.”

  I frowned, trying to follow the statement, but Katie made a big O with her mouth and threw a hand over it. Unfortunately, her hand still held a paintbrush and droplets of paint went flying, splattering anyone nearby.

  “I’m not supposed to tell about my uncle that visits,” she lowered her voice to a whisper, “It’s a secret.”

  I wasn’t sure if I should laugh or crawl under the table, so I wiped paint from Katie’s face with a paper towel. “It’s okay, now it’s our secret, but you probably want to be sure and not tell anyone else.”

  I made a mental note not to tell these kids anything I didn’t want the whole world to know. When I finished cleaning up Katie, I blotted at the half dried paint on the others who’d been splattered by her and were now whining about paint on them and their birdhouses.

  “I think you should leave these spatters of paint on yours Jessie. It looks kind of cool. Maybe we could add some more and it would look even better.”

  Jessie seemed unsure, but I knew the splotches of paint were already dry and couldn’t be wiped off. Besides, they were neat, and I was certain with a few more splatters the birdhouse would be a work of art. Well, okay, that was a stretch, but it wouldn’t be bad at all.

  Flicking the paintbrush, I helped Jessie splatter some paint on the roof. “See that’s not bad, huh?”

  Jessie grinned and kept going until I had to stop her. There was splatter painting, then there was a mess. Something I learned in one of the many arts and crafts classes my mom had sent me to in the past.

  I stepped back with Jessie to admire our handiwork while it dried, then moved on to another kid who wanted me to help paint a “trim” color around the windows. I tried not to giggle or ask her why a six-year-old knew what the heck a trim color was on house.

  I’d never worked with young children before, but I was beginning to get the hang of it, or at least I seemed to be. No one had thrown a fit or been injured since I started. That was good, right?

  I checked my wrist watch. “Okay guys, time to let all this dry and eat lunch.”

  “What’s for lunch ‘Lexis.” Katie had been interested in lunch for awhile. She was a skinny kid so she was probably hungry.

  “I don’t know, maybe the same thing you normally have.” I helped them arrange their birdhouses in the center of the table to dry.

  “Chicken nuggets and macaroni is my favorite, think we’ll have that?”

  I shrugged, then gathered the group and led them to the dining room. Katie hung on to one of my hands and Jared, a boy with long black hair and brown eyes, grasped the other. Kids hanging on to me was a new experience, and though I’d never admit it to Aunt Louise, I kind of liked it, a lot.

  I got the midget crew settled at a table and spotted Channing, Jana, and Celina. They’d crammed their kids at a couple of tables so the three of them could sit together. They waved at me and I started toward them. My shirt tightened across my chest. The black haired boy, Jared, had a death grip on my shirttail.

  “You’re not going to sit with us?”

  “I’m going to…” I stopped to take a breath.

  “Please sit with us,” Jared begged.

  “I thought I might sit with those girls.” I pointed in the direction of Channing’s table.

  Katie stepped in front of me. “You’re ‘posed to eat with us in case we need help.”

  I frowned. “Katie, you’re six. You don’t need help eating.”

  “We might.”

  “But those girls aren’t eating with their class.”

  “They don’t never do what their ‘posed to do, not like a teacher should. You’re the teacher, ‘Lexis, you need to eat with us.”

  I sighed. I was probably going to ruin my chances for the summer. “Okay, I’ll sit with you guys.”

  I waved at my three new friends like I hadn’t understood they wanted me to sit with them and slid into the chair next to Jared. Between the questions and spilled food, I scanned the rest of the dining room. My aunt and the other adults sat at a table to one side of the room. The teenage leaders had been banished to eat with the little kids. Typical.

  I spotted Myles a few tables away and waved. He waved back. At the table just past Myles’ was a girl with dark red-brown hair, one of those beautifully unusual colors that only a few people have. Other than that she was fairly average with freckles, no make-up, and a kind of forgettable face. Not that there was anything wrong with that. I always figured I had a more than forgettable face, too.

  After my last little one had finished eating, I herded them into a big room next to the dining area with all the rest of the campers. I helped them grab mats and blankets if they wanted them so they could lie down and rest while they listened to a story read by Mr. Branton. Myles leaned against the wall near an outside door. I stepped past small resting bodies to get to him.

  “Hi.” I leaned my back against the wall and pretended to listen to the story.

  “How’s your day been so far?” He asked.

  “Good so far. I met this girl Channing and two of her friends. They seem like they’ll be fun to do things with this summer.”

  Myles didn’t answer. His eyes narrowed and he never took his gaze off my face. It made the hair on the back of my neck stand up. Or it could have been the sing-song voice of his dad reading the story that made me feel like I was zoning out of the room. Mr. Branton’s voice was like water pouring over me. I crossed my arms and rubbed my skin. Myles finally shrugged and turned to check on his group of kids.

  A movement across the room caught my eye. Celina and Jana were already disappearing through another exit door to the outside and Channing waved, pointinng to a door next to me. I didn’t even bother to ask whether or not we were supposed to leave our sleeping or nearly sleeping charges. With a quick turn and push I escaped
into the heat. It was too freaky being inside listening to the story which made me feel a little scared, and it wasn’t even a scary story. Possibly I was beginning to suffer from anxiety and claustrophobia along with my nightmares and sleepwalking. Outside, the thick humid air enveloped me, but I could actually breathe better here than in the air-conditioned room. Yep, definitely claustrophobia.

  On a bench under a nearby tree, Channing and her friends sat looking bored. I strolled their way at a leisurely pace. Since Channing and Celina sat on the bench I dropped to the ground next to Jana.

  “New girl…” Channing started.

  “Alexis.” I corrected. So that was how it was going to be. I had to be reminded that as of yet my name wasn’t worth knowing. So maybe these people weren’t exactly like the ones in Chicago.

  “Right, Alexis. Please tell me what you were doing talking to Myles.”

  “I… his dad’s friends with my aunt and he seems nice.” What else was there to say?

  “Look, hun.” Channing leaned forward trying to make her point extremely clear. “He’s cute, but you’re wasting your time. He’s got some serious girlfriend. She came once for a few days. She’s very pretty and spending the summer at a college camp for extra smart people.”

  I was certain Channing would never say another girl was “very pretty” except to let me know that I didn’t measure up. Why she thought I was interested in Myles, I didn’t know. Though I imagine she was simply setting the ground rules.

  Trying not to smile, I pretended to be soaking in all the good advice. A sneer cut across Channing’s face that made her cool, pretty features look like something in a comic book.

  “He doesn’t drink, doesn’t smoke, doesn’t party ‘til two in the morning, and doesn’t get near drugs.”

  Myles sounded exactly like the kind of guy my mom and probably even my aunt would want me to like. I didn’t share that insight with Channing. I only nodded.

  She leaned her back against the tree. “He hangs with little carrot top, and you’ll do well to stay clear of them.”

  I nodded again, trying to appear appreciative of her advice.

  “Speaking of parties, we’re getting together tomorrow afternoon about four o’clock.” Channing flicked her hair away from her face. “My parents will be out of town, so we’re all meeting at my house on the lake. It’s there.” She pointed across the lake. I twisted trying to see, but the lake was too wide.

  “Okay, I guess my aunt can tell me where it is.”

  “Well don’t tell her my parents won’t be there.”

  “I think I know better than to mention things like that to my aunt.” I bit back sharply.

  “Never know.” Channing scratched at an imaginary spot on her shorts then stared at me.

  I stiffened, narrowing my eyes at her. Tension crackled in the air and the other two girls sat uncomfortably quiet. After a few seconds Channing glanced toward the buildings.

  “Oh well, break’s done.” Celina nodded her head toward the cabin door. “There’s Mrs. Sanford calling us to our duties.”

  On the porch of the cabin stood a tall thin woman with the same dark red-brown hair as the girl beside her. It was the girl I’d seen at lunch. This had to be who Channing had referred to as carrot top.

  “Who’s that?”

  The other three girls stared at me. Finally, Jana shook her head. “You don’t know anything do you? Mrs. Sanford and her husband help your aunt run this camp. The mini-twin beside her is her daughter Brynna.”

  “They say she’s some kind of genius.” Celina added.

  Following the three of them back to the cabin, I found myself desperately wishing my mother would cut her trip short and come back home. I didn’t like it here and I didn’t want to have to find new friends, not even new so-called friends. We passed Mrs. Sanders and Brynna on our way through the door.

  “You girls need to stay with your groups even during naptime.”

  Ahead of me Celina snorted, Jana sighed and from the movement of Channing’s head, I could tell she was rolling her eyes. Wiping at the beads of sweat on the back of my neck, I nodded and said “yes” while staring at the woman’s feet.

  The kids in my group were still lying on their mats either sleeping or pretending to. I dropped to the floor onto an empty mat and pinched the bridge of my nose with my thumb and forefinger, feeling a headache fast approaching. Everything in my life had been getting more and more difficult for the past year. Being sent here seemed like the ultimate test, only I couldn’t seem to figure out who exactly was doing the testing or why. I took a deep breath and closed my eyes wishing the headache away, and praying that whatever this exam was, I wouldn’t fail.

  Chapter Five

  “What? I can’t go?” I stared at Aunt Louise who hadn’t said a word yet. The woman seemed to be weighing the idea of allowing me to go to Channing’s house tomorrow afternoon. The yellow sparkles in her eyes got bigger and I tried to take a deep breath, but couldn’t. A huge band seemed to tighten around my chest, and the longer I tried to match Louise’s stare the tighter the band became. I glanced down at my plate and stirred in the beans, rice and sausage mixture that was dinner. Then I breathed in. That was better.

  “I didn’t say you couldn’t go.” Aunt Louise pulled off a piece of crusty French bread and chewed on it, then washed it down with tea. “It’s going to be Channing and her friends, right?”

  I nodded. She didn’t respond immediately, but started eating again.

  “You know, I’m trying to meet people, make new friends. Isn’t that what I’m supposed to do? I don’t think it’s too much to ask.”

  Louise seemed to ponder that for a few seconds before she answered. “You can go, but I want you home before dark, which will be right around eight o’clock.”

  The clatter of my fork hitting the plate caught her attention. “You’ve got to be kidding. Eight o’clock is too early.”

  “It’s a weeknight.”

  “But it’s summer.”

  Louise’s mouth thinned to a tiny strip. “You still have to go to work the next morning. Remember, I am paying you to help at the camp. It’s not as if you’re volunteering and can miss whenever you want.”

  “I’m not going to miss. I can get home at ten or eleven and still be up on time.” I flung myself against the back of the chair. I wasn’t used to anyone being so particular about when I came and went.

  “Do you not remember the sheriff saying a woman had been attacked after dark?

  “No, I haven’t forgotten, but I don’t intend on wandering around in the woods after dark. I’ll be at someone’s house.”

  “And how do you intend to get there?”

  I fiddled with the paper towel in my lap, now for the hard part. “I know how to drive. I hope you’ll let me borrow your car.”

  Louise choked on the food she’d just swallowed and a coughing fit followed. Her voice rasped when she was finally able to speak. “You don’t have a license, so that’s not going to happen.”

  “I’ll have one soon. I was about to get my learner’s permit before I had to come here. I can’t help it if my birthday is late.”

  “But right now, at this point, you don’t actually have the piece of plastic do you?”

  I ground my teeth. “No, I don’t.”

  “Then you’re not getting in my vehicle and driving on the public road while I’m responsible for you.”

  “My mom would let me drive, and she would let me stay out until at least eleven.” I knew that was a stretch, mostly the driving part, but maybe she wouldn’t call mom to verify it.

  Aunt Louise’s face darkened, her eyes sparking again. She was getting really angry. I knew because I looked the same way when I got mad.

  “I’m calling the shots right now and I don’t care what your mother would do. I’ll take you to Channing’s house and pick you up.”

  My stomach knotted. Being dropped off was not acceptable, not with people like Channing. I knew because my friends in Chica
go were never driven anywhere by their parents. They all had their own car. Occasionally, they’d pick me up and more recently I’d told my mom I was getting picked up when in reality I walked or rode a not so safe city bus. Unfortunately, since I wasn’t anywhere near a city there’d be no bus down the road, safe or otherwise and judging by the size of the lake it would be an enormously long walk. Unfortunately, walking might be my only choice.

  “Come on. I’ll look like an idiot. Can’t I walk?”

  Aunt Louise took a drink of her iced tea without ever taking her eyes off me. The tight feeling around my chest returned. The woman was good at raising your anxiety level. When I finally couldn’t meet her stare any longer, she leaned back and sighed.

  “Tell you what. You can ride the four-wheeler on the trail that runs around the lake to her house. But you have to be home by eight because you can’t be on that trail after dark. Otherwise I’ll have to take you and pick you up.”

  I didn’t have to debate that. I’d come home early rather than be dropped off. “A four-wheeler, that’s an all terrain vehicle, right?”

  Aunt Louise snorted. “You really are a city girl aren’t you? And to answer your question, yes, it’s an all terrain vehicle.”

  I took a drink of tea and wiggled in the chair. “I’ve never ridden a four-wheeler.”

  “I’ll teach you after dinner.”

  Just like that, everything was settled. Louise never questioned whether or not I’d be able to drive the thing, so I took confidence in that and tried to finish my meal.

  ***

  “Push this button to start it.”

  I pushed the button Louise pointed to and the engine of the ATV growled to life. The seat underneath me vibrated while I grinned uncontrollably. This might be fun. I glanced at Aunt Louise, who smiled. If she let me ride the four-wheeler this summer things would be fine. She threw her leg across the seat behind me.

  “Let’s see how you do. It shifts automatically so give it the gas and go. No super sharp turns, though, because you can flip it over.”