TVH/No Way
From Create Your Own Story
"No way!" you say. "I was here first. Why can't you take the other top bunk so you guys can talk across to each other?"
"Um, hello? If I wanted that bunk I would have taken it already," Megan answered, hands on her hips. "I want this bunk!"
"Oh, and you always get what you want?" you counter.
"She was there first," another voice pipes in. The girl with the "Camp Ferris Rocks!" baseball cap and twin braids is standing in the doorway with her hands in the pockets of her jeans.
"Who asked you, Susie?" asked Stacy from above.
"My name is Susan," Susan corrected, "and no one has to ask me to stand up to you, Stacy."
Megan shoots her a nasty look, but climbs up onto the other top bunk. She and Stacy grumble loudly to each other about Susan. Apparently they have some history together. You avoid Susan's gaze. You are not a victim. You so totally had everything under control. You glance over at the lower bunk across from you. The girl sitting cross-legged on the mattress looks so much like a shadow that you almost didn't register her existence. Black hair, pale gray skin, and dark clothing stay motionless while thickly-lined eyes stare back at you. Even her sleeping bag and suitcase are black.
Melissa sticks her head in the doorway. "Anybody hungry? The Great Dining Hall is open!" She disappears into the other room, bearing the same message to the others.
Stacy snorts as she and Megan climb down from their bunks. "Great Dining Hall? Why don't they just say Cafeteria?"
"Because this is the Middle Ages, Stacy. Cafeterias didn't exist yet."
Thank you Miss-Know-It-All," huffed Megan. She and Stacy brushed past Susan whom you'd forgotten was still standing there.
Melissa pokes her head in the doorway. "Dinner is served in the Great Dining Hall of Ferris Castle. Anyone hungry?"
Stacy snorts. "Seriously?"
Melissa ignores her and claps her hands. "That was a rhetorical question. Come on, girls, let's go."
Megan and Stacy roll their eyes, but they obediently follow. You move toward the door and look to see if the shadow girl is following. To your surprise, she's already gone. You enter the first room just in time to see her disappear outside just ahead of you. The two of you join the group and troop down the three flights of stairs and across the path to the cafeteria.
The Great Dining Hall was indeed more of a typical log-cabin-style camp cafeteria than an elegant medieval hall despite the coats of arms, antique shields, and tapestries lining the walls. You catch sight of your little sister across the room, beaming and chattering with her new friends. There was never any doubt she would love it here. The question is: will you?
As you eat, your counselor explains the final step of registration. "Every camper must choose one of three classes. These classes will determine the activities you do and the role you will play in any skirmishes that might come up between the Kingdom of Ferris and it's rival, the Kingdom of The Glade. You will get to choose your class as soon as everyone has finished eating and we have all cleaned our table area. The options are: Rogue, Knight, and Diplomat."
"Diplomat?" sneers a bold, stocky girl with thick black hair and matching eyebrows. "Why is that even an option? That sounds like the most boring class in the world!"
"You'd be surprised, Kim," Melissa replies with her eyebrows raised. "The life of a royal diplomat could be full of all kinds of adventure and intrigue."
Kim huffs, rolls her eyes, and takes a big bite of mashed potatoes. The rest of the meal is filled with lively discussion about the classes. Stacy and Megan are so excited about being diplomats and wearing fancy dresses that they are hardly able to find time to eat between run-on sentences. Susan, who, judging by her Camp Ferris baseball cap, has been to Ferris LHC before, speaks mostly with Melissa as the other girls are not excited about conversing with her. Katrina, an average girl with sandy-blond hair and boring brown eyes says that she wanted to be a diplomat, but you're not really sure who she was talking too as no one seems to be listening. The shadow girl, whose name, it turns out, is Rachel, says nothing.
The meal ends and it is time to decide:
