[Fiction] It Started at Camp

[daremaster 1]

Looks very interesting. Can't wait for more.

[shynessincarnate]

Zoe hadn’t spoken a word since she had gotten into the car with her parents, not that she needed to; she had brought her IPod along for the near-hour trip. The car pulled up to the grounds and Zoe let out a sigh before exiting and retrieving her suitcase from the trunk.

As she came up to the section reserved for the students of her school, Zoe saw at once how the camp officials had managed to find room for the girls; besides the fact that there were now a few tents scattered around the area, Zoe noticed that they had doubled up on the bunks in a few of the cabins. They would be living in cramped quarters. ‘Yay’, she thought sarcastically as she stepped forward towards one of the wooden buildings reserved for the girls.

Choosing a top bunk to allow her more privacy, Zoe started unpacking the few possessions she had brought with her. She stopped as her hands made contact with the box she had brought, feeling observed. When she lifted her head, she saw him; that boy from school. He was standing a few paces away from the doorway and was looking at her. They locked their gazes for a moment. Feeling slightly uncomfortable, Zoe dropped hers quickly and finished unpacking.

[themasterman]

Originally Posted by shynessincarnate

We actually work on GDocs so we can both see what the other person wrote. So far, we've written a couple of parts in advance of those that we have posted, that way, it allows us to adjust if need be before posting here. We also discuss the general direction we want the story to go in but the details remain our concern so even if we both know approximately what the other's going to write, we always have surprises when we actually get to reading the other part. I must say, I am really taking a liking to working this way as it combines two things that I love: writing and reading.

first let me say you both are so smart for thinking this
second let me say great new chapter im subscribing to this thread after i post this

[dareman 1]

Great story so far look forward to hearing more

[fleetfeetclogger12]

great story! can't wait to hear more! very creative to have 2 writers!!! i want towrite a story, any tips/tricks???

[SeeNaked]

By the time Luke reached the camp, most of the other students from his class were already there. The girls had ended up with an extra bunk house that the boys didn’t have, which meant he was assigned a tent with another boy. Only the first boys that had got there were given cots in the bunkhouse. Normally he might have been disgusted and complained, but already his mind was at work on how he could turn everything into having fun while he was at the camp. Having a tent meant that the boys got to pitch them wherever they wanted, as long as they weren’t ‘invading’ the girl’s private area.

What exactly the definition of ‘invading’ was, was another matter entirely. He found his tent-mate standing by the deconstructed pile of supplies for the tent, and immediately struck up a conversation. The two boys had seen each other about at school, and while they hadn’t talked much before, they fell in together quite nicely. The other boy’s name was David, and in contrast to Luke’s shock of blond hair, his was pitch black. It was a few minutes later that they started deciding where to set the tent up at. The other boys had erected their tents in various places around one side of the center of their camping area.

There was a large fire pit in the middle of an open grassy field. On either side of the field, back far enough to give some small amount of privacy, and under the overhang of some large trees, Were the bunkhouses. In front of the wooden structures, and around them, were where the tents were pitched. Luke had been considering the layout for a moment, and saw also that the bathroom facilities were actually a but farther away, and off to the side. There was one bathroom for each set of bunkhouses. “What say we put our tent up over a little further to the side here...” He suggested, pointing to a spot just a short distance away. David glanced in that direction, and shrugged, “Looks good...any reason in particular?” He bent to lift some of the jumble of pieces for the tent. Luke nodded and gestured over toward the girl’s side of the camp, “Let’s just say a better view.”

David chuckled at that, nodding, and the two of them set to work. Both had erected tents before, and it didn’t take them long before it was set up with their sleeping bags rolled out and suitcases tucked away, “I’m going to take a stroll.” Luke said, while David went about finishing up his side of the tent.

Luke meandered around for several minutes, walking around the boy’s side of the camp, listening to the conversation, laughing at jokes and generally joining the fun. He was an easy kid to get along with, or so most people told him. He seemed to be able to insert himself into most conversations. What most didn’t know was that Luke had a very definite mischievous streak, and that if something served his purposes, he would use others to get what he wanted. At last he drifted across the camp site, allegedly at first to help a girl with her tent, which she was having trouble with. He then just started browsing around and admiring the ‘sights’. He was surreptitiously glancing inside the bunkhouses when he came eye to eye with one of the girls from his class. She was pretty, quite gorgeous he thought, and seemed to be rather...nervous? He smiled at her, and she turned away to quickly finish what she was doing. He chuckled and turned around, thinking ‘she’ll bear some watching...’

[dareman 1]

Great new chapter! keep going want to read more

[em52388]

Thank you Shy for letting me know that you had started another story. I need to remember to check the initiator of the thread before just passing over a story. And the collaboration idea is a wonderful one. From what I've seen two heads are indeed better than one. Both of you keep up the great work.

[shynessincarnate]

Well, I was originally planning on getting this in tomorrow, but I am in a VERY good mood today so I figured I'd give you guys a treat and post it early. With this post, we are almost out of the introduction. You can expect very interesting things to start happening in my next one .

Thanks for the feedback so far; it really is something that is precious to writers. I hope you enjoy!

Shy

[shynessincarnate]

After having finished unpacking her things, Zoe decided to walk around the camp grounds a bit. As far as she could tell by the tents that had popped up everywhere and the amount of teenagers walking around or setting up, most everyone seemed to have arrived. As she walked about, Zoe smiled and exchanged silent greetings with the people who crossed her path. She found an elevated area and sat down on the patch of grass, leaning against a mature tree.

Zoe let out a sigh as she saw the teens from her class chatting about in little groups around the section that was reserved for their school. This is why she didn’t want to go to camp in the first place; though she wasn’t known for being unfriendly, she had always been very reserved and much preferred observing and listening to starting up conversations. She was fascinated and somewhat jealous at the ease with which some of her classmates could communicate with such ease.

Absorbed as she was in her observation of the micro-society that was before her, Zoe jumped when she heard the ring of the supper bell. She got up and made her way to the cafeteria, choosing to sit at the very edge of one of the tables reserved for the students of her school. She listened distractedly to the conversations that were buzzing around her as she ate her tasteless cafeteria food smirking slightly as she heard that the girls at her table were planning a prank on the boys during the night. As far as she could tell, this had become something of a tradition for the students of her class as the boys and girls competed to see who would pull off the best prank.

Thinking that it would be very amusing to observe everything that would happen during the evening, Zoe was quite taken aback when she heard her name come up in the conversation. She looked around and found a few pairs of eyes on her. “You’ll help us right, Zoe?”, Camille, one of the girls she secretly admired, asked. “You know, as we find and hide their underwear”.

[SeeNaked]

Originally Posted by em52388

Thank you Shy for letting me know that you had started another story. I need to remember to check the initiator of the thread before just passing over a story. And the collaboration idea is a wonderful one. From what I've seen two heads are indeed better than one. Both of you keep up the great work.

Thanks a ton Em for coming by to read what we've written. Glad you like what you have read so far and we look forward to all of the tips, suggestions, ideas and other feedback that you guys will be giving us.

As Shy said, feedback keeps us going...it's like food or energy drinks :P...

Also thanks to everyone else who has posted feedback, keep reading!!

[zac]

this is great xx keep it up!

[sm_limb]

Cant wait for more to happen

[SeeNaked]

After Luke returned from his ‘scouting’ mission on the girls’ side of the camp, he headed back to his shared tent and made sure that everything of his was in it’s proper place. The tent was really rather large, it was one of the newer ‘pop up’ models with the sleeping area in the middle, and then a small zipped area to the back, opposite the entrance, where luggage and other items could be put. It was technically meant to sleep three, but since they were the last two boys to arrive, and there were no others that needed a place, they had lucked out.

He put his suitcase at the back of the tent, inside the zippered area next to David’s, then opened it to rummage around and find his camera buried among the clothing. He pulled the device out and made sure that it was alright, which it was. The High resolution Camera had been a gift the previous Christmas, from his Uncle who was a photographer. Luke had always expressed fascination in the field of Photography, and so had been overjoyed to receive it. David had evidently gone to speak with some friends, he wasn’t there, so Luke settled down on his sleeping bag for a moment and turned on the camera, checking it’s viewfinder and lens. It had High-Def night modes and other automatic settings, but His uncle had taught him how to adjust the settings himself for the perfect shots in any light level. He had already created presets for Night and Day, so that he wouldn’t have to do more than minor adjusting.

He had just finished messing with the device, and tucked it to the side of his pillow, when the dinner bell rang out. His stomach rumbled a bit, and so he climbed out of the tent, and moved slowly through the crowd as all the kids in the area made their way to the cafeteria. He found his way to the table where David was seated, and plopped himself down next to his tent-mate. There wasn’t much to be said for the food, except that it was filling. He ate his share and then leaned on his elbows and listened. He was very good at listening. The boys around him were discussing everything that you would expect to hear, from video games, to movies, sports, and girls...especially the girls in the class that they were sharing the camping sight with. A few boys swore they were going to get laid while they were there, and Luke kept an eye on those, memorizing their faces and names...why he wasn’t sure, but it would come in handy if he ever needed anyone that would gladly help him in some fun.

As always, there was also the subject of pranks and jokes played between the boys and girls. There was always rivalry between the two gender groups, and it often led to embarrassing, humiliating or down right mean pranks being played. No one ever got hurt though. Several of the boys in the group had been there the year before, and there seemed to be some an unspoken rule that went around, that each year one of the groups started off with a prank the first night. The boys had done it last year, so it was the girl’s turn. At that point it turned to speculation on the part of the boys as to who would be hit and what would happen.

Dinner was over by this time, and everyone was simply socializing. The councilors came out and introduced themselves to their respective groups, told them how the schedules were organized. Some students had signed up for particular camp activities, others were simply there to do something more than lay around at home. Luke would have preferred to stay home, but his parents had wanted him to go, so here he was. That meant that he could pick and choose which activities he wanted to do, which was fine by him...he could do what he wanted. After that, they were dismissed, and everyone filed outside. There was no real curfew time, though it was ‘strongly suggested’ that the students be in their tents or bunkhouses by 9.

A couple of adults had built a large pile of wood up in the clearing, and lit it as the night began to settle in. The flickering flames sent shadows racing across the ground and painted them on the sides of the tents and the bunkhouses as the teens milled about. David and Luke returned to their tent, talking in low tones, “I don’t intend to get victimized this year.” David said with a chuckle, “Last year some chick stole every pair of my jeans and I was stuck wearing shorts the whole time.”

That sent Luke chuckling. A nearby boy that they passed scoffed, “That’s nothing. There was one year I heard about the girls taking a guy’s whole suitcase while he was in the showers. He only had the boxers that he had taken with him when he got out. The suitcase was never found.” He shook his head.

Luke patted David on the shoulder, “So we don’t have to get victimized...at least not without causing some havoc in return.” The boys ducked inside the tent, and David raised an eyebrow, “What do you mean?” Luke opened his suitcase and pulled out a few pairs of clothing, then unzipped his sleeping bag and tucked the clothes inside so that it would look like he was in there. “I brought a camera...maybe I can catch someone doing something and make sure that we don’t feel the effects of the pranks this year....” David brightened, “Hey cool idea...” he turned and began rummaging about in his own bag, then pulled out an ipod, “This has a recorder in it... let’s record the sounds of you sleeping, that will make the ruse extra effective.” Luke was all for that, and a short while later they had a very convincing setup. In the falling light, it looked just like he was sleeping, and sounded like it too. “Great...I’m taking the camera and I’m going to go out and sit in the trees and watch....you just pretend I’m in here and go to bed when everyone else does.”

David agreed, and Luke peeked out the tent flap. When he was sure no one noticed, he got out with his camera and zipped it back up. He made for their bathroom then, as if he was going to go, but instead slipped around the back and into the trees. He settled down against a tree, and waited.

[shynessincarnate]

Zoe was feeling fidgety. She kept playing with her hair, putting it up into a ponytail before taking the elastic out and putting it back in again. She couldn’t believe that she had agreed to be a part of the prank. However, she had made up her mind under pressure; when the camp councillor had come in the hall after supper, Zoe had hoped that she could weasel her way out of making up her mind, but Camille and the other girls had pressed on while the man was talking. Zoe had tried to say no, but to no avail; Camille just wouldn’t let it go. To make matters worse, the councillor had noticed the discussion that was going on near him and, pausing mid-sentence, had turned towards the chatty teenage girls with a reproaching glance. Not wanting to attract too much attention to herself on the first day, Zoe had finally caved in and muttered a curt ‘fine’ before turning her attention back to the speaker.

The rest of the evening went by quickly. Zoe had sat by the fire, absentmindedly hearing bits of conversations, letting the odor of the burning wood soak into her clothing. When the flames had started to die out, and students had started to walk away from the pit and towards their tents or bunkhouses, Zoe had followed suit.

Now, as she was sitting in her bunk, Zoe was wondering whether she should just back out or not. Deciding she should at least stop playing with her hair, the toned brunette put the elastic back into her hair and tried to find a better way to occupy her hands. Her brain almost immediately sent her an image: two inch-wide spherical objects. ‘Not exactly what they’re meant for, but what the heck’, she mused. Retrieving the black box she kept hidden, Zoe searched for and grabbed the two matching hollow metal balls. She put the box away and, placing the two spheres in her left hand, started to rotate them around with her hand.

It wasn’t long until Zoe saw someone enter the bunkhouse. “It’s time” the girl said simply before exiting. As a few girls left their beds and left, Zoe quickly pocketed the balls and, on a bout of inspiration, removed the small LED flashlight she kept with her keys before leaving to pull the first prank of her life. She was looking around, wondering where she should go when she saw the small tent that was planted in an almost isolated section. ‘I’ll do this one’ Zoe thought. ‘They look like they tried to hide their tent so they’ll probably think that they’re safe’.

Zoe tried to walk as silently as possible towards the tent and a smile drew across her face when she was only a few paces away. ‘They’re snoring’, she remarked, a smirk forming across her face. Keeping the small flashlight between her teeth, Zoe worked on unzipping the entrance to the tent as quietly as possible. Once she had enough space to crawl through, she entered. Zoe quickly spotted the two sleeping bags in what was the largest part of the tent. Both bags were obviously occupied; she could see the head of one of the two boys and hear the light snoring coming from the second. Remaining on all fours, Zoe surveyed the tent, finding that ahead of her lay another small area. ‘That is where they must have put their suitcases’, she thought, noticing that they weren’t in the main area of the dome. As quietly as possible, Zoe crawled towards the area she had spotted and stopped when she saw the suitcases. ‘Piece of cake’, she thought as she retrieved the very visible underwear from within each suitcase hugging it tightly in her arms as she made her way back out.

Despite having gone through the hardest part of the task without a hitch, Zoe’s heart was beating at a rapid pace when she finally extracted herself from the tent and closed it back up. She quickly made her way towards a dense patch of trees behind the tent, one of the areas chosen by the girls to hide their “loot”, never noticing the shadow wrapped around one of the larger trees she passed or the little red light accompanying it. She knew she was in a good spot when the light cast by the moon diminished considerably. Placing her artificial light source between her teeth again, Zoe looked around and hid the clothing in a rather large bush. Her heart was beating so loudly that she was totally unaware of what was going on around her; all she could think about was getting back in bed. It seemed, however, that fate had something else planned for her that night. As she turned around to make her way back to her bunk, her heart seemed to stop in its tracks as she came face to face with a familiar face. “Hello Zoe”, the person said. It was Luke.