Camp Wisahickon

Chapter Eleven

Most definitely my favorite chapter so far. Enjoy, vote, and comment! Xo

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Dragging myself out of bed to go to the stupid dining hall to clean the stupid mess that every other stupid camper left was the stupidest, and hardest, thing I've ever had to do.

My body was still sore from the miles of hiking and climbing. When we got back, I went straight to bed, skipping out on dinner because I simply couldn't bear to wait in the food line. Pathetic, I know, but I didn't care. But when nine o'clock rolled around and I had to get out of bed despite my body aching in protest, I wanted to scream at Marcus for being so stupid and giving me such a punishment.

I dragged myself there, though, and shuffled around the room with the broom in hand and music from the dusty old radio playing. There was no sight of Carter, nor did I actually expect him to be there, so I had long since accepted the fact I'd be doing all the work alone tonight. With each passing minute of cleaning with the static radio as my only source of companionship, I thought I was going to lose my mind... and my legs.

That is, until the screen door opened and Carter walked in. I didn't have to look up to know it was him; I just did. "What do you want, Carter?"

"Well aren't you a ray of sunshine?" He asked sarcastically, and when he saw the blank look on my face, he sobered up. "I'm here to help."

I refrained from rolling my eyes and returned my gaze to the ground while I continued working. "Why? It's not like you minded leaving me to do this work alone last night."

That shut him up. I looked up to see him looking at me with a furrowed brow, like I was a difficult math equation he couldn't quite figure out, his eyes studying me. I just shook my head and gathered the broom as I finished sweeping.

"That's what I thought," I muttered as I began bringing the broom back to the supply closet.

His footsteps followed mine, but I ignored him and instead focused my attention to the box of frozen chicken patties sitting on the counter with a note from Ruth instructing me to put them in the freezer. I set the broom down and grabbed the box as Carter entered the kitchen, looking at me with guilt in his eyes.

However, instead of an apology, he asks, "So that's why you're mad? Because I left you alone with the work you were assigned to do?"

I figured it was a last ditch effort before he had to apologize, but it still fueled me with enough anger to snap at him.

With one hand on the handle to the freezer, I whip around and glare at him. "Don't even go there, Miller. You and I both know that the only reason I'm stuck wiping tables and taking out trash is because I covered for you."

Once again, guilt swam in his eyes, and this time his expression softened to show he regretted what he said. I shook my head and opened the freezer, leaving the door open as I walked in to set the box down on a shelf beside similar looking boxes.

"I know, I'm sorry," Carter finally apologizes, and then I hear a thud.

The kind of thud that a door makes when it closes.

I whip around to see Carter standing right behind me, confused at my panic stricken expression as I stared at the closed freezer door behind him. Ruth's words replayed in my mind almost instantly: it locks from the outside when the door closes, so if you're in there and there's no one else here, you'll likely freeze to death.