Esther County Camp

Astrid sighed as her car hit some bumps in the gravel road. She could have been doing so many better things than just babysitting a bunch of delinquents at camp, but she was already stuck here for a month of her summer. She sighed again, giving this one a more dramatic edge to it. How long was the drive anyway? As if on cue, a sign up ahead read "Esther County Camp" without any cheesy sugarcoats like "Have a magical summer!". It was a good, straightforward sign. Astrid's car stopped as she pulled into a small dirt parking lot. Could Esther County not afford pavement? She stared at the camp's outside view. It looked like prison. One huge fence wrapped around the entire camp, barbed wires decorating the top. Astrid chuckled. She guessed the delinquents had attempted escape a couple of times.

Astrid took a deep breath and hopped out of her car. She put a happy smile on her face, a mask she didn't intend to take off. She walked through the dirt and muck to the front gate, a welcome center sitting in the only opening in the fence. She figured you walk through the center to actually get in the camp, so she pushed open the doors and stepped in, some alarm going off at her presence. Metal detector... A security guard rushed to stop her, but she pulled out her badge, which had slipped down into her shirt. It was a little plastic piece of paper on a lanyard that read "Astrid Kingston- Counselor". It saved her skin for when the security guard saw it, he stopped.

"Sorry, ma'am. We position guards to check the doors, but you're early so we hadn't had anyone here yet." Ma'am? Astrid was liking this already.

"It's okay, chief," she said, smiling. "Sorry I came too quickly."

He directed her to the girl's cabin. She'd have to be rooming with... delinquents... She shivered at the thought. What if they killed her in her sleep? Astrid knew there wasn't a very big chance of that, but she figured to be on her guard just in case. She threw her stuff on a top bunk and sighed. "This is going to be a long month..."



Josh sat in the back of his parent's car, feeling like a child. They had taken away almost everything from him after his little shoplifting incident; his car, his phone (which they gave back for camp, but erased all his contacts), and all other means of entertainment or connection. Josh and his parent's hadn't spoke to each other the whole ride down, save Josh's occasional "Can you turn the radio up?" Was he mad about his parents sending him to correctional camp? Of course. Josh could fend for himself, sure, but he didn't want to be locked away with a bunch of other delinquents...

The car pulled to a stop in front of the camp, which didn't look very pleasant. His parents got out of the car. He was hesitant, but finally unbuckled and stepped out. He had a horrible feeling about this, but his parents obviously didn't for they walked right to the welcome center and stepped right in. Josh looked back, staring at the outside world for one last time. "Goodbye, cruel world," he muttered before stepping in and having an alarm almost deafen him. The security guard was on him in a second, ordering him to empty his pockets. Josh knew exactly what had set the alarm off and groaned, pulling it out and dropping it, letting it skid across the floor. The security guard picked it up and looked at it. A pocket knife... The security guard stuck it in his pocket.

"Lift your arms please," he ordered. A pat down? Was this necessary?! Josh shot his parents a pleading look, but they just shook their heads. Josh groaned and lifted his arms, looking back at his parents.

"You're locking me in a camp with a bunch of delinquents. I wasn't going to use it, but it'll make me feel better just to have it." His parents shook their heads. Once Josh was able to go, his parents didn't even hug him.

"I'm sorry it has to be this way, son," was all that his father said before turning and leaving, the doors shutting behind him. Josh sighed. Marvelous...

---

---

Leda slumped on the black leather seats of the limo, burrowing her body as far as it could go into the cool fabric. Crossing her pale arms over the stomach portion of her tank top, the delinquent merely said, ”Roll up the divider.”, the tone holding a menacing quality to it. Immediately, the driver, choosing to avoid the conflict that would ensue if he didn’t follow her orders, pressed the button, Automatically, a thick sheet of blackened glass slide up, separating the back and front proportions of the vehicle. Once secluded from the her deliverer to hell, Leda let out an annoyed sigh. Stupid parents.. what the hell?! Sending me to a delinquent camp! What the f$$k did I ever do!? Sure, I mean, I did send that kid to the hospital... and 13 others...... and I broke her nose... and his arm.... but I mean really?! It isn’t that big of a deal! Lilly could have con-. Immediately, the delinquent's outraged thoughts were halted at that traitorous word. A lump rose up within her throat as her train of thought did a backtrack. Lilly. echoed that one word, continuously replaying.

---

Soon enough, the limo had stopped and Leda was being ushered out into the sun. Immediately, the watery sunlight begun to attack her crystal blue optics with it’s painful UV rays and intensity. Curling a lip in hateful disgust, the girl merely put on a pair of simple black Ray Bans before crossing the gravel parking lot, her butler following in close suit. ”You said my bags have been delivered already?” came her biting tone, the small man nodding a tad bit too quickly. Reaching the front door, Leda merely lifted an eyebrow of questioning surprise seeing the security guards stand there.

---

Taking the clue of what she meant, one imposing figure looked at the other before opening the door. Passing through the frame, her body walking with a commanding and attention grabbing grace (something of which she had learned from her time modelling), the violent delinquent strolled up to the welcome desk. Speaking up, demanding the attention of the stout woman who was busy typing away, Leda clipped out. ”Adela-Rose Quinn.”. Taking this as a clue to bring out her papers, the rather short man that had escorted the Quinn here pulled out a file-folder, all of Leda’s documents and passports neatly sealed away. Cautiously eyeing the teen, the woman from behind the desk slowly reached forward to take the folder, wariness shining in those dark brown eyes. Heh.. might as well as stamp: I don’t trust anyone here: on your forehead lady.. I wonder, is everyone here spineless? hissed her thoughts, each word dripping with scorn. Boredly, the female malefactor eyed the disbelief that appeared in the secretary’s eyes, a smirk playing on Leda’s rosey-pink colored lips. So it’s either A) she found out I’m a model or B) she saw my history.. heh their reaction’s never get old~ came her gleeful thoughts seeing the woman repeatedly glance up from the papers to study Leda before quickly returning her gaze to the file.

---

It had taken them what seemed like forever to check in.. even longer to go through security. They hadn’t believed her when Leda protested she had no weapons on her.. but then again, when she went through the metal detector; it went off like crazy. Of course, being the idiots they were, Leda had to go through the detector about 10 times before receiving a pat down. However, here she was now, standing a few feet beyond the checkpoints, unsure what to do or where to go. What useless people.. not even giving me any direction on where to go! God.. I swear. seethed the outraged voice, her crystal blue eyes scanning from behind her shades before spotting a another teenager a few feet away.

Harry Ellinghart ~

An undercover cop car. A freaking. Undercover. Cop. Car. She wasn't a fugitive! So what if she blackmailed a few people? She wasn't a murderer or anything. But of course, being a foster-child who decided to 'screw things up and bribe several powerful men' didn't really gain you much in the direction being delivered to a camp for delinquents in something more suitable then an undercover squad car.

At least they were letting her sit in the passenger seat instead of the back. Granted, there were two cops in the car and the door beside her had a child-safety lock, along with the window being locked and, to the most extreme, a pair of handcuffs were locked around one of her wrists, the other end attached to what she liked to call the 'Oh-Shit handle'.

The gravel crunched loudly underneath the tires of the squad car as it turned onto a road that undoubtedly led to the camp. A sign saying plainly 'Esther County's Camp for Delinquents' in block-like, bold black letters proved her right.

Not only did her record show her previous transgressions of bribery of even a senator, of all things, but it also stated plainly her history of fighting and her usage of deadly weapons when doing so. She had only ever been charged severely when it came to the bribery, however, which was precisely why she was at the camp. Not that it sounded menacing in any way. She would undoubtedly be looked down upon by the other so-called-delinquents as soon as they found out her misdeed that had sent her there - at least, until she proved that there was more to her past then they would see on the surface.

There was a large bump that sent her two inches off of the seat as they pulled into the parking lot and up to the front of the camp.

"It's a freaking prison camp," she said bluntly as her startling eyes peered out the window. They rolled a few more feet before stopping completely behind a car that was only just pulling away. The driving officer placed the car in park and turned it off, removed the key, and climbed out. After letting out the officer that sat in the back of the car, they both made their way around the car and opened her door. After unlocking the cuff that was snapped around the handle, they allowed her from the car and unlatched the other cuff. Flanking her on both sides, Vera was led by the officers to the gates, and they stood outside the detector as she passed through it.

She had already been stripped of any and all weapons, but the Barrett in her hair sent it beeping. A hand-held detector was whipped out and, more than used to this thorough search, she held her arms out in a 'T', spread her legs to shoulder-width a part, and rolled her eyes as they waved the detectors. As the pat-down began, she sighed, but when a hand went just a little to close to a certain personal area, she shot a glare at the guard.

"Watch it, bub. Either you pay or keep those hands where they're supposed to be," she snapped. The guard quickly yanked his hand back to the appropriate areas, and once the search was completed, the officers left and she was allowed to be on her 'merry way', as one stated. They chucked her bags through the monitors, where they were thoroughly searched before being given to her, and she slung them over shoulders before making her way over towards the check-in.

The lady was grumpled and frumpled, and more than a bit mumpled, in her own words, of course, but after exchanging a few words, the woman and the girl became at least on decent terms with one another. She was handed a map of the camp, along with a few papers filled with the schedule for the duration of her stay there, along with one with the rules, a list of the counselors, and the different 'activities' they would be allowed to participate in. She stacked them in her hands, her duffle-bag's straps over either of her shoulders, and glanced down at the map.

"So the cabin isn't too far from the guys's cabin ... Interesting," she practically purred, a slight gleam in her eye and a mischievous grin on her lips. "Very interesting ..." With that, she fixed on of her bag's straps, flipped her fiery hair out of her face and down her back, and started towards the cabin.

---

---

After checking in, it didn't take Josh long to find the male cabin. It was a quaint room with a couple bunk beds and a couch. No TV, no radios, no connection with the rest of the world. Great, because isolating the delinquents always helps their behavior. Josh crossed his arms, but quickly uncrossed them so he could throw his bag onto a bottom bunk. He crashed onto the bed and pulled his phone out. He turned it on, but the screen stayed black. He rummaged through his bag, but quickly realized he hadn't brought his charger for his dead phone. "Crap," he groaned, tossing his piece of junk cellular device onto his bag. He sighed- he could stay and wait for the other delinquents to get in here, and they must be on their way to the cabin, or he could go see if there was a hole somewhere in the fence. He chose the latter, hopping off of the bed and stepping outside. He began to walk through the camp, hurrying past other delinquents. He decided to take in his surroundings.

Off by the corner of the gate was a big lake that he reminded himself to stay away from considering his fear of water and the fact he couldn't swim. A huge pile of wood sat behind the cabins with logs surrounding it. Josh couldn't help put laugh. Delinquent campfire time- where shop lifters and murderers can bond, telling stories and roasting marshmallows! Josh rolled his eyes and continued his hike.

There really wasn't much else to the camp besides a few cabin-like structures that he assumed were like cafeterias. By the gates it looked like a miniature jungle was growing, a thick area of trees making the gate not even visible. Despite trying as hard as he could to look for some opening in the gate, there were none to be found. "Fine," he said to himself. "I'm sure someone will make some eventually."

So, Josh decided to hike back to his cabin. The other male delinquents were probably claiming the other beds, which made him glad he got there fast enough to get a bottom bunk. He really didn't want to meet the others, but he had to remind himself it was only one month...

---

---

---

---

Leda gave a slight sigh before shoving her pale hands into the back pockets of her strategically ripped, faded black skinny jeans. Giving one last glance around from behind her Ray Bans, the model decided check out the cabin designated for those of the female gender. Striding over the gravel, a slight smirk painted it’s way onto the delinquent's angelic face as the crunch resonated loudly, each step in her combat boots sounding eerily like bones snapping. You would know what that sounds like.. wouldn’t you? echoed the taunting thoughts, the tone holding a disturbed joy. Giving a small scoff and choosing to ignore such a dangerous train of thought, Leda mildly noted how close the male cabin was in relation to the female one. However, despite the coming and goings of the male delinquents, Leda didn’t feel that compelled to get their attention nor talk to them.

---

Walking inside the dingy cabin, the model’s lip curled in mild disgust seeing the lack of technology. ”Great... isolation.. at least that butler was right about my bags being delivered.” mused Leda, her words slightly biting with scorn practically dripping from each syllable. Fixing her gaze on the duffle bag with a skull print and a carry on made of similar fabric, Leda suppressed an eyeroll seeing the two bags resting neatly, side by side, on the wooden floor. Giving a ‘tch’ of annoyance, the seemingly frail girl lifted both bags with ease before dumping them on a bottom bunk.

---

It was at this time that a girl, obviously another convict, had strolled into the cabin, a mischievous smirk placed on her lips. Curiously, Leda looked at the girl from behind her shades before finally turning to face the newcomer. As she did this, the linked chain around her neck clattered slightly, her bubblegum pink hair swaying at the sudden movement. She was about to say something but decided against it. Instead, Leda turned back to her luggage but, every so often, would glance at the girl from behind the concealing sunglasses.

It was humid, bright, and there were a crap-load of bugs.

"Son of a bitch," Vera muttered, a dark glare in her eyes as she swatted a mosquito as she neared the girl's cabin. "I swear that I will rip every single one of you stupid bug's wings off!" she snapped, her decent mood gone. She didn't encounter any people on he way to the cabin, but when she arrived, well ... What was another story entirely.

There was already one girl there, who had light pink hair and eyes that were hidden behind large sunglasses.

Oh God, she's a richie ... This will be fun ...

Sarcasm at it's finest. As she made her way in, she noted that there were two sets of bunk beds and a single bed.

So I get to share a bed with a jerk ... Awesome!

Giving an eye-roll, she chucked one of her bags onto a top bunk - the one that the girl hadn't already taken the bottom of - and stood on the ladder that led up to the top bunk, unzipping one of the bags.

Another girl entered as she was unpacking, but instead of even looking over at her, Vera focused on unpacking. Her idle chatter was annoying, and her voice was bothersome, but through sheer willpower, Vera managed to refrain from dropping down and slapping the girl.

By the time that she had finished putting her things away, she was a hair away from punching the girl.

Surprisingly, Vera dropped calmly from the ladder, turned her face towards Lana, and said in a very soft voice, "You're annoying me. Shut up," before she easily turned on her heel and strode to the door. Outside once more, she was assaulted by bugs again, which she took care of with a bit of bug spray that she had stuffed in her bra - a very convenient place to keep things - and she began to make her way towards the front of the camp.

Only to be knocked to the ground by a figure that she had definitely not seen coming.

"Hey!"

When she landed, she landed hard and directly on her bottom, undoubtedly bruising her tailbone and staining her jeans-shorts.

"---hole," she muttered, shaking her head to straighten her thoughts, her fiery hair bouncing slightly as she did so. When she looked up, it was to glare slightly at the young man that stood before her. His hair was an odd blonde with dark streaks through it, his eyes were charming, and he was quite a bit taller than her own 5'5" state. Vera managed to push herself up, her hands patting her bottom in a useless attempt to rid it of dirt, and she tilted her head back to look up at him. Her eyes were slightly narrowed, but a sly smile curved the corners of her lips up.

"You know, you're a dick for knocking me over and not apologizing, but ... A very attractive one," she purred, stepping back to look the boy up and down, but his apparel gave her pause.

"Unless I'm mistaken, you're one of the stuck-up, holier-than-though kids, aren't you?" she asked, raising a brown. A light suddenly dawned in her eyes, her hand lifting to snap two fingers together. "I know who you are! Theodore Stevensson, right? You sold meth to my foster bro not to far back. Guess you slipped up, didn't you?" she joked, lightly punching his upper arm. "I thought druggies were discreet about what they did," she said, rolling her eyes.

(I'm so sorry from the choppiness. My mind was elsewhere while I wrote this ><)

---

---

Astrid watched the other girls walked in from her place in the top bunk. She was concealed by her position, sitting in a way she was a bit hard to see from below. Deciding she wasn't in the mood to get someone's bags thrown on her, she sat up, her lanyard almost flopping off her neck. She looked (attempting not to glare) at the delinquents below. They were definitely not people she intended to make friends with, but to avoid being stabbed to death in her sleep, having her throat slit, or any other creative ways these things would kill her, she put on a happy, friendly face.

She watched as they were already fighting with each other, acting like idiots. How the heck would they last a month together in this prison camp? Some seemed to be making conversation, so she decided not to intrude. Just let them make friends and be done.

Hopping down from her bunk, she wriggled her nose, eyeing the girls around her in the cabin. She allowed her lanyard to fall into her shirt, hiding her name tag in which she wouldn't be persecuted for being a Counselor- what they didn't know didn't hurt them.

She grabbed her iPod from her pocket and shoved her headphones in her ear, Coldplay "Fix You" almost instantly blasting in her ears at maximum volume. She had heard horror stories about how she would go deaf if she kept it that loud, but she really couldn't care less about stupid people's opinions. She quickly corrected herself in her mind. Be NICE. She gnawed on her lip, quite in the mood for some sort of frappe, but she doubted she'd find a Starbucks in a prison camp- not even for the Counselors, who were supposed to get "special treatment". That was bull crap.

___________________

---

---

Stepping into the cabin, he let the musty smell flow into his nostrils. He began heading to the bunk where his things were sitting when he realized someone else was in the cabin, sitting on the bunk above his. Startled, Joshua jumped, but quickly regained his composure. "Sorry, didn't see you there," he said giving the guy a sort of smile, which, due to his mood, was mainly just a quirk of his upper lip.

He hopped onto his half of the bunk and snagged his dead phone, tapping it with his thumb as if to preform CPR. At least others may have been able to bring technology. He was going to die here, suffering, without any communication with the outside world. Josh brought his knees up to his chest and exhaled, wondering what was happening outside. Were his parents feeling bad they locked him up in this horrible place?

Of course not.

Josh sighed, rummaging through his bag, wrinkling up neat, folded clothes that his mother had packed. Oh, would she have laundry to do when he got back or what! Sure, he was nineteen, he could do it himself, but when getting home he would just want to curl up in his bedroom and take a long nap, watching all the TV show episodes he missed. He felt a bit happier, reminding himself there would be an end to this nightmare, a month with no technology but a dead phone. Then a thought occurred to him- why not ask the other delinquent in the room if he could borrow a changer, assuming he had one? Josh counted the odds the stranger would be willing to choke his belongings up to a random guy, but maybe he could ease the guy into it with conversation.

"So," Josh began, awkwardly, "what are you in for?"

Vera frowned slightly at the tone of voice that the boy had taken with her. Obviously, he wasn't the type of guy who would let his pants do the talking, instead of his brain. He was actually one of the intelligent ones. An attractive, intelligent one, nonetheless. With a slight sigh, Vera looked at the mass of trees over his shoulder, and turned her face to his only when he spoke.

"I'll play along that you being on the ground is my fault, I suppose."

She managed a slight smile, her eyes narrowing slyly. "In all honesty, I should probably accept the fact that it was my fault. I can be clumsy sometimes," she began, running a hand through her hair in order to remove it from her face. "And I have a tendency to not pay attention to where I'm going when I'm walking," she added with a nod, her hand dropping from her hair and to her side, where it curled slightly underneath the bottoms of her her shorts. "So, I'm sorry," she finished.

"Unless I'm mistaken, you're one of those judgmental but makes a piss poor effort to act otherwise kids, aren't you?"

She flushed a light pink, her eyes widening, and a bit of a grimace crossed her rosy lips. "Um, yeah, about that ... I was just a little more than pissed. You probably feel the same way, though. You don't want to be here either, I'm hoping. It's a pretty boring place, from what I can tell, and I can't really take 'country life'," she said, making quotations with her fingers. "Or, well, the camping life, either. I'm not really equipped for it," she joked, a small glint of humor in her eyes.

"Pleased to make your acquaintance, but sorry- I sell a lot of drugs to a lot of people, difficult to know who's who."

His answer didn't surprise her in the least. When you meet as many low-life druggies as he undoubtedly did, it would often be difficult to remember names, let alone connect them to faces. Not that it really mattered to her; her foster brother had been a useless junkie who had turned out to be a sniveling worm looking for enough money for his next fix.

He was the reason that she was here.

But there was no helping what had happened. She was locked up in this hellhole, and he was back in the place that had been her apparent 'home' for two years. She would benefit more if she just accepted the facts and didn't mull over how unlucky she was for being there.

"I'm sure they are. And may I have the pleasure of knowing your name, then?"

Vera jerked back to the current conversation that she was in, and the boy that she was speaking to. As she had said before, she had a tendency to drift off and into her thoughts.

"Vera. Vera Venus Vale," she said, holding a hand out in his direction. "But most people just call me V or Vale. You can call me whatever you want, so long as it isn't annoying," she said with a smile. "It's nice to met you, Theodore. By the way, did I tell you that I liked your name?" she asked, tilting her head slightly.