ÂÂChapter seventeen
"Throw it up." Anika stretched her arm out as she held onto the tree branch closest to her. The bon fire was set to start in an hour but it would be another half hour before people started to show up to help set up.
Anika had shimmied up the tree over one of the sitting logs around a fire ring.
"What makes you think he'll sit here again?" Ivy asked as she watched Skinner throw up a rope they found in the supply closet.
"Where else would he sit? People keep the same seats every night." Keira shrugged from her spot in a tree over a different sitting log. Mel had sneakily snuck back into the kitchen after dinner and grabbed another dozen of eggs.
"Okay, but I still don't see how the bucket with be triggered to fall." Ivy wearily eyed Keira as she almost lost her balance.
"The egg filled bucket rests on a branch." Anika double check that the said bucket wouldn't fall prematurely.
"A rope is tied to the handle and is wrapped around the trunk once, just so it won't dangle and be noticed. The rope is dropped down," Anika jumped from her branch and landed in a crouch before she continued with her explanation. "The rope is laid out on the ground over to our seats."
"We cover it with leaves so it's out of sight." Skinner added.
"Exactly, then when we're all here," Anika gestured to their seats, "and he's over there," she pointed to his seat, "We pull!"
"And the sky rains eggs and he gets splattered!" Keira cheer as she dropped out of her tree after placing her bucket up on a branch.
"So who is that bucket for?" Ivy pointed to Keira's tree.
"Victoria." Mel shrugged casually.
"We've given her some slack for too long." Keira added with a smirk.
"It'll be an interesting night, that's for sure." Anika chuckled at the evil glint in her cabin mates' eyes.
"I'm so glad I'm not your enemy." Ivy smiled in relief.
"Nah, you're pretty chill." Keira slung an arm around Ivy's boney shoulder.
"If that means you won't play evil tricks on me and dump a pale of rotten eggs on me, then thank you." Anika chuckled at Ivy's words and thought back to when she had said the same thing along those lines.
"Alright, the ropes are covered. Let's head back to your cabin." Skinner brushed his hands off on his shorts and turned to Mel who led the way back to her cabin.
"You have any threes?" Keira stifled a yawn.
"Nope, go fish." Skinner replied, looking over his hands of cards.
"Mel, do you have any sixes?" Skinner grinned as the red head rummaged through her cards and reluctantly handed the desired card to Skinner.
"Keira, do you have any eights?"
"Go fish." Ivy turned to Skinner and blinked innocently. "Skin, would you happen to have any threes?"
"Maybe." the blond grinned cheekily and held out his card to her between his index and middle finger.
"I just asked you for a three!" Keira lightly glared at Skinner.
"I just picked one up." he shrugged.
Mel scoffed. "No you didn't. You had the damn three the whole time."
"Cheater." Keira grumbled and dropped her cards on the floor in front of where she was sitting.
"Okay, so apparently we can't play a simple game of cards without Skinner cheating." Ivy gave him a mock disproving stare.
"And to think I was going to give you my three." he shook his head with a slight frown.
"You were supposed to give it to Keira when she asked for it first." Ivy explained.
"Give it up Ivy, you can't teach a dumb kid rules." Mel smirked.
"Anyway... the fires should be lit by now." Skinner gave Mel a playful glare and walked out of the cabin with the rest following him.
"Let the show begin." Keira beamed widely.
As Skinner said, the fires were being lit and about three quarters of the camp's occupants were seated in their normal seats with the exception of Ivy, who was now sitting next to Skinner.
"Alright, when are we going to do it?" Keira leaned over to ask Anika.
"In time. He just got here." Anika subtly directed her gaze to where Ryleigh entered the clearing and was stalking over to his log seat. His dark blue eyes looked black as the last rays of the sun disappeared. They locked with Anika's stormy grey one's and a hint of a smirk played on his lips before he turned his head away and took his seat.
"Is Victoria here yet?" Anika asked Mel who was staring off in another direction.
"Yes. She's in position too." Mel never took her eyes off the flirting brunette.
"When Gelsey starts, we'll pull the ropes. Okay?" Anika checked with everyone.
"Sounds good to me." Keira linked eyes with Victoria, waved and smiled. Vicky snorted and ignored the blond and her friends.
"Oh, you're going to wish you got up this time girly." Keira let out a laugh.
"How's everyone doing tonight?" Gelsey entered the circle and sat at the end of one log.
"I'd be doing fine if it didn't smell like rotten eggs." a few agreements erupted from the group and the other surrounding circles at the random voice. The girls suppressed their giggles and watched as most people sniffed the air before crinkling their nose.
"It does, doesn't it?" Gelsey looked around the ground.
"On three." Anika whispered.
"Maybe it's a dead animal." a girl shifted uncomfortably in place on her log.
"One..."
"A dead animal would smell like rotten flesh, not eggs." a boy corrected her.
"Two..."
"Or maybe it's another prank." Keira said low enough for only the group to hear. Anika grinned and caught Ryleigh's eye.
"Or maybe it's revenge." Anika spoke normally. She didn't waist anytime at taking in all the confused stares and the rare few that followed her hands to the rope hidden behind her log.
Ryleigh's eyes widened in alert but nothing would prepare him for the slimy egg yolk dripping down his neck after the dozen eggs splattered on his head. He shot out of his seat with raised hands in surprise and glanced at the bucket on the ground. His shock turned into anger in a flash and Anika was ready to sprint back to her cabin when his heated glare fell on her face. His mouth dropped open, ready to spew more threats and dark promises when another blood curling scream pierced the air.
All eyes turned to the circle of kids where the girl responsible for shattering everyone's eardrums sat. Splinters of eggshell stuck out of Victoria's hair. A well-manicured hand slowly rose to touch the warm yellow, smelly slim that coated her chocolate brown hair. The two girls beside her were also splattered with some of the egg and held identical looks of shock.
"Is that how you keep your hair so soft Vicky? A little dose of rotten egg?" a random boy teased and everyone laughed.
"Sorry, but I don't think it's working for you hun." Keira smiled sadly at Victoria. The brunette snapped her gaze to Keira, Mel, Anika and Ivy.
"You!"
"Always the same reaction." Mel rolled her eyes. Anika followed Victoria with her eyes as she stood up and marched over to the girls.
"Don't do anything too rash now." Mel warned her as she stomped a foot in front of them.
"Ugh!" Vicky screamed and lunged at Keira with her claws out.
Keira let out a quiet 'umpf' sound as she tripped over the log with the weight of Victoria thrown at her. Vicky's hands instantly buried themselves in Keira's golden blond locks.
"Girls!" Gelsey stood up and carefully avoided the fire as she approached Keira and Victoria rolling on the ground. Having fallen on Keira, Victoria had the upper hand for the beginning of the fight. One hand untangled from Keira's hair but the other still remained clamped. She brought back her free hand and slapped Keira across the face.
Anika watched with slight worry as Keira stilled. She looked to Mel who just shook her head and nodded her head back to the fight.
With a growl, Keira bucked Victoria's light weight off of her and used the few stunned seconds she hand to fling her body at her. Victoria shrieked and squirmed under Keira but the blond had both of her arms pinned beneath her knees and was unloading a series of punches on Victoria's face and chest.
"Alright, Keira. Enough." Mel jumped over the log and caught Keira's raised hands. The golden blond girl whipped her head to the side to see Mel's soft frown and shake of her head.
"Come on, get off her. She won't attack again, right?" Mel directed a steely gaze at Victoria who flinched at the red head's glare. Crimson red liquid was smeared over her cheeks, chin and forehead from various scrapes and gashes and her lip was split open and bleeding profusely along with her nose.
With a hefty tug, Mel dragged Keira off of Victoria. Blood and egg yolk covered her hands and then her shorts as she wiped them on the material.
"Carry on. We'll be back." Mel called to everyone and slowly disappeared with Keira who sported minimal gashes and crescent moon shaped marks on her arms from Victoria's nails.
A safe time passed before Gelsey sent the two girls that were also half covered in yolk with Victoria to the infirmary and then to the showers. Gelsey, although not very pleased with the girl's prank, was thankful that Ryleigh didn't go after Anika. She heard about what he did with flipping their canoe over earlier in the day and one kid even showed her the video. She didn't approve of this war going on between her newest members, but figured they would have to deal with each other's presence sooner or later. Gelsey just hoped it would be the former.
"Settle down." Her commanding voice rose over the building chatter among the campers. "I think we need to restart this fire tonight." she mumbled more to herself.
Anika gave Gelsey a sheepish look but the blond lady just gave a slightly amused smile before taking her seat at on the opposite side of the circle. Ryleigh sat more towards Gelsey than Anika so he could continue his glaring at her.
The next thought that ran through Anika's head was what was he going to do now?