Chapter five
"Gosh she's been sleeping for a long time." Anika awoke to the sounds of shuffling and voices above her but couldn't find the strength to lift her eyelids.
"Yeah, well you would to be too if you had to spend a car ride with that... that irritating, egotistical but so gosh darn beautiful god of a loser." Anika wanted to laugh out loud at the thick annoyance in the second mysterious voice.
"Yeah, you're right." the first voice sighed dreamily. "I don't know who I like more. Her, because she fought him or him because he's so... but then I don't know whether to hate her or not for hitting that amazing face."
"Trust me, once you hear him talk, that face isn't so beautiful." the two girls hovering over Anika jumped as she felt the last traces of grogginess disappear.
"Holy sh-"
"Language Keira." the second girl warned with a smirk. The first girl just sent her a glare. When Anika realized that they weren't going to back down from their staring contest, she took the time to study them.
The first girl had long golden blond hair that flowed over her shoulder and down past her waist in loose waves. Under the curtain of gold was a thin, leggy model of a body. A spark of envy lit in Anika's eyes as she eyed the gorgeous girl in front of her with all her exposed flawless skin where her short shorts and light grey tank top didn't cover. Her slender shoulders supported her long neck, which she used as an advantage to hold her head higher and look down on the second girl. Light pink lips were pressed firmly into a thin line just beneath her slightly pointed nose that divided the girl's high cheekbones. Anika's jealousy spiked even further when she noted the girl's emerald green eyes that glowed with the glare she was burning into the second girl's eyes.
The second girl seemed like the exact opposite of the first. She was much shorter than the first and to be honest, Anika thought even she would be taller than her by a few noticeable inches. The girl had a slightly more durable look about her with her longer board shorts and a matching grey tank top like the first girl had on. After the average height difference came the hair. The second girl's wild red curls were pulled untidily into a thick pony tale so her pale, freckled face was clear of the red mass. Anika decided it couldn't have been a natural red because it wasn't as orange as she'd seen others to be, but instead this red was flaming and fiery; something that suited her slightly boyish vibe. Her thick, pudgy lip was curled up in a confident smirk that hinted at something more evil. Anika knew right then that she didn't want to get on little red's bad side because even though she may be tiny, her caramel eyes darkened with each passing second with a fierce ferocity. Lastly, separating her full cheeks, sat a little round button nose. One thing was for sure, Anika thought, these girls were both intimidatingly beautiful in their own very different ways.
"Okay then... what the heck were you guys doing watching me all passed out and what not?" Anika asked, narrowing her own grey eyes at the girls.
The red head reached up to smack the blond upside the back of her head. Something the blond nor Anika was expecting. Either way, little Red shot her a smug grin as the blond flinched out of the match mumbling under her breath sulkily. Once she recovered, she took over the introductions seeing as little Red was now the one assessing Anika.
"Sorry about that, I'm Keira and this is Mel." Keira turned to slap little Red over her heart with the back over her hand.
"Short for Melissa." little Red grumbled as she snapped out of staring at Anika and turned her head to glare fire at Keira.
"Where's Genevieve?" Anika asked after sensing another glare battle brewing between the two.
"Probably with that kid you arrived with." Keira shrugged as she stepped away from the bed Anika was lying in and threw herself half graciously across another cot. Mel followed suit, except she turned a spare chair around and sat backwards on it so she could cross her arms over the back of the chair and rested her head on her arms.
After a quick glance around the small room, Anika realized that mostly everything was made of wood apart from the metal cot frames of the three beds on each wall besides the one that had a screen flap for the door. Other than that, the floors were dark stained wood planks with little black circles where the nails were driven in. The log walls were textured with the wood's natural knotted look giving the small space a cozy dry feel to it compared to the muggy atmosphere outside. Next to each head of the three cots was a four-drawer dresser complete with a battery charged lantern on top. But other than that, the room was bare.
"Homey isn't it?" Mel chuckled darkly, giving the place a look around as well. "The perfect little cabin to spend every summer night in." she mused.
"You know it's not that bad Mel." Anika could picture Keira rolling her glowing green eyes while she looked up at the ceiling, which was also made of wood.
"Just don't listen to her. She doesn't have any friends around here because she's too mean." the blond rolled over and propped herself up on her elbows, poking a tongue out at Mel.
"I'm not mean. I just don't like stupid people." she defended and turned to look at Anika. "And let me tell you this now, there are a lot of stupid people here."
A sigh brought Anika's curious gaze back to Keira. "Unfortunately, this is true. Though I do have to admit there are some mighty fine hunka-chunkas 'round here."
"Speaking of which..." Mel started off with a mischievous twinkle in her light caramel eyes that had Anika instantly suspicious.
"My golly, who is that fine piece of darling that you so shamelessly tried to ruin." Keira drawled with a hint of a southern accent that Anika never noticed before.
"Ryleigh?" Anika lifted a black brow in disgust just thinking about the demon.
"Is that the love's name?" Keira watched Anika like a kid waiting to be told the puppy in the Christmas box was actually her's.
"Eh, suits him well enough." Mel gave half shrug.
"No, Lucifer fits him well. The guy is the devil's twin brother. The more evil, arrogant one too." Anika growled making Mel smirk at her in amusement.
"A shame really. Such a hot bod to go to waste all because of he has a bum of a personality." Keira frowned.
"I'm sure he won't go to waste if he's all that arrogant like you say he is. Victoria is probably waiting outside his door right now." Mel's face darkened with undisguised hatred.
"Ew." Keira scrunched her nose and shook her head like she was trying to get rid of a bad mental image.
"Who's Victoria?" Anika dared to ask and both girls looked at her like they forgot she was even there.
"Icky Vicky?" Keira frowned.
"Only the poorest excuse for a delinquent." Mel scowled at the ground. It was clear to Anika that Mel, like most 'occupants' here at Silver Lake took pride in what the rest of the adult world saw as signs of a troubled teen.
"Seriously, I think I lose brain cells when her and her villains whine because I don't think you can classify that as talking." Keira flinched and made a show of covering her ears, then ripping her hair out and as a grand finale, clawing her eyes out.
"What did she do to get into a place like this?" Anika asked.
Mel scoffed from her backwards chair. "The bitch was caught shop lifting in a convenience. Honestly, who does that and gets caught?"
"Apparently her and her minions." Keira muttered.
"Which reminds me, I found a waterfall on the hike we took last week. It's not nearly high enough to end their pathetic lives, but there's plenty of rocks at the bottom that could do the job. Or at least knock 'em out so the rats will drown." Mel's forehead crinkled in thought.
Anika didn't know whether to be amused or appalled by her bluntness and knew she guessed right when she picked Mel out to be a little insane. Then again, she was in a correctional camp with other troubled kids.... some more troubled that others obviously.
"Oh Mel..." Keira sighed with a small smile tugging at her lips. "You'll have your chance." Anika's eyes widened and she struggled to contain her shocked face. Okay, so Mel was a straight give away for being more than a little crazy, but Anika couldn't picture the tall blond doing anything as drastic as killing a person.
Howls of laughter broke Anika out of her mind as she came back to find Mel and Keira reeling on the floor in fits of giggles.
"You should have seen your face!" Mel choked out, stomping her foot on the floor as she cried.
"Oh god, that was so good." Keira sobered slightly, but couldn't wipe the wide smile off her face as Anika continue to glare at her and Mel.
"So are you two deranged or not?" Anika snapped, feeling heat rise to her cheeks as she was continually being laugh at.
"Well if you count smashing every inch of your principles expensive car with a base ball bat deranged, then yeah." Mel stated nonchalantly sending Keira a smirk as she waited for the blond to tell Anika was she was 'in' for.
"That or stabbing your boyfriend with a fork when he has the balls to ask you to go to dinner the day you caught the snake in bed with another girl." The innocent smile that played on Keira's lips contradicted her sentence so much, that Anika didn't know who to fear more. Mel, who was outright crazy and didn't bother trying to hide it. Or Keira who seemed so sweet and angelic but was secretly a psychotic woman on the inside.
"Enough about us though." Keira waved her hand in a dismissive manner. "What about you? Who'd you kill?"
In all seriousness, Anika made her face go blank as she played her two room mates. "No clue who he was but all I know was that he cut off the wrong gal."Â Keira's mouth dropped open a little, clearly not expecting Anika to take her joke seriously.
"You have road rage too?" Mel beamed, seeming so happy that the newest Silver Lake member shared her short fuse disorder.
This time, it was Anika who bust out laughing when she couldn't contain it anymore. Keira looked at the shaking mess of Anika with a confused expression making her bottom lip pucker out a bit.
"You sly dog!" Mel grinned at Anika, immediately catching onto her. "Oh, you're good." she praised with a new respect for her in her caramel eyes.
"I'd like to think so." Anika wiped the tears from her eyes and pulled her legs in so she could sit cross-legged on her cot. A startled yelp left her lips as a flash of gold jumped at her.
"You have no idea how glad I am that you're not like another copy of Vicky." Keira squealed, still hugging a recovering Anika.
"Well, if that's your way of saying I'm not stupid then thank you." Anika chuckled and swatted the girl's arms away. She had a feeling these two were going to be quite the handful when they got to know each other more.
With another look over to a smirking Mel who was watching with amused eyes as Keira started to jump on her cot, yes, Anika thought. I could definitely fit in here. With the craziness and all.