I finished my meal just seconds before a towel clad Kim walked out of the showers. She hurried over, taking one clean finger, and wiped some sauce that had gotten on my face off, and then she put that in her mouth. Maybe she was hungry? Did she not eat after I fled the mess hall? I know there are probably a dozen people who would rather eat without me present, so why wouldn’t she have eaten.
She then wandered back toward her bunk area, “You can peek, you know. I don’t mind showing off a little.”
I turned away, determined not to be a creep and peek. She probably had a guy back home who would kill me. Oh, crap, what if he finds out about her kissing me? Oh damit, I’m so dead. Why?!? Who did I piss off enough to sentence me to this hell?
Brittany looked annoyed again, so I directed the conversation back to more important topics.
“So what are we doing about the events tomorrow?”
“Well, I was about to check in and see what skills we have at our disposal. I think Coach gave us some hints earlier though. Something about a transvestite Olympic athlete and a girl in the junior reserves?”
We called everyone into the main meeting room after letting everyone shower and get into PJs. Kim came in pouting, muttering about wasting time trying to put on a show for someone, but everyone else assembled quickly and orderly. The only ones who hadn’t taken time to shower and change were myself and Tanya, for obvious reasons.
“Right, so… Tomorrow we have three events. Archery, a race, and whatever survival crafts is.” I started. “Now we’ve been given a information that makes choices for one or two of those easy choices.”
Everyone was listening intently, so I didn’t really need to pause, but I was super nervous. Girls don’t listen to guys like me, they tell me what they want from me and walk away. The fact that these girls were basically hanging on every word was the opposite of what I was good with.
“Um… so… yeah… uh… Tanya, we were given the impression that you’re somehow linked to the Olympics?” I said lamely.
She nodded, “My mom’s a trainer for the US team. She’s gone for a large chunk of the year, and I get to use her equipment whenever. So I’m pretty good at distance running, swimming, and gymnastics.”
Dominiqu snorted, trying to suppress her laughter. “I bet you have the best one piece swimsuit. Really hides the important bits, right?”
I was about to reprimand her for being insensitive, but Tanya beat me to it.
“I actually have a wonderful floral bikini. The frills really distract from the bulge. Oh, no wait, that’s the sheath that I put between my skin and the suit. Really makes me look girly, well more than you do at least.”
“OKAY! That’s enough. We’re a team here, not enemies. We’ll have Tanya cover the race. Dominiqu, you seem really talkative, what are you good at?” I interceded.
She curled her arm upward and slapper her bicep, “I’m training to go into the military. My stepdad is a redneck, so he showed me how to hunt and fish. I’ve been working to get into the junior ROTC program at school, so I’m basically the strongest one here. I’ll arm wrestle you, prove I’m tough.”
“No, that’s not necessary. What I need to know is if you’re familiar at all with bows or crossbows.” I said, moving things along.
“What part of my stepdad was a redneck did you not get?” she asked, her braided black hair falling across her ebon skin.
I sighed, “Yes, you said his gun rack has a gun rack. But did his redneck training include hunting with non-gunpowder powered tools?”
She nodded vigorously. “Bow, crossbow, slingbow, slingshot, regular sling, snares; you name it, I can kill with it.”
I clapped, “Good. You’re our archer then for tomorrow. Last thing we need is someone who knows how to make survival gear from tree parts I guess. I’m assuming that’s what survival crafts are? Anyone know enough to prove me wrong?”
“I can make lanyards! I’ll make one for you with some of my hair in it if you want.” Kim chimed in when nobody else said anything. She leaned in, getting real close, and grabbing my arm. It took a moment for me to process why this felt different from earlier, but then it hit me, I felt my arm surrounded on both sides be softness instead of feeling just another arm around mine. I turned to look and found she was holding my arm hostage between her curves. I immediately turned back to the rest of the team and tried to focus on anything else.
“Jenny, Taylor, Jasmine, any skills you girls might have that would come in handy?” I asked, my voice cracking left and right.
Kim lit up, “I’ll gi-“
“No.” I stopped her from saying whatever was about to come out of her mouth. “I don’t know what you’re on, or how much you’ve been using, but I think you need to come down from it before we get too much further along. I can’t take team members into events that are stoned, drunk, or otherwise effected by drug use.”
Kim slumped, “But I’m not on any drugs…”
As Kim started to brood and squeeze my arm, I turned my focus back to the other three girls. Jenny grew up on a farm, so she was used to rough environments and wrangling animals. Taylor was an adrenaline junkie, anything that got the blood pumping got her out of bed in the morning. And Jasmine, well, she liked to plan and run tactical games. So I assigned Jenny to the survival crafts event, hoping it had enough overlap that her skills would be useful.
“So that just leaves Sarge and I…” I muttered, trying to think of what skills I had that might help here at camp.
“I’ve got some basic medical training. Following Chelsea around and patching her up when she runs off bullies is basically a part time job.” Brittany said, looking at me. I know, I’m the reason for her getting all banged up, I’m the worst…
I nodded. “Well, sorry to disappoint, but I’m just a tech nerd. This outdoors thing is me out of my element. Put me in a lab, ask me to fix a computer, ask me to hack things, I’m your guy. Out here I’m less than useless.”
I felt a little depressed, I was letting them all down because I was useless. I couldn’t do anything helpful, I was just a drain on resources…
“Hey, you ignored me.” Cathy said, raising her hand.
I looked up, blinked, and nodded.
“I’m just short of being a genius. Give me information and I can give a solution, but there’s one person who unseated my reign as top student.” She said, crossing her arms over her chest.
I cocked my head to the side, “And who would that be? You were in pre-calculus as a freshman, there’s no way anyone else is that smart in this camp.”
She adjusted how she was sitting, “That was the one course that someone got higher scores than me. Some jerk names Jace Fergus. So if he’s here, he’s smarter than me by just a hair.”
“Um… you know that I’m-“
“Yes, I know that’s you! I’m trying to make you feel better. You’re at the very least the second smartest person in this room, but you’re acting like that’s not something you can be proud of.” She interrupted my and chewed me out all in one shot.
We sat in silence for a little longer, and then Brittany suggested that Tanya and I go take our showers. She said she would keep watch on my door, too many people she didn’t trust or something. So I went, got cleaned up, and since I didn’t want to show off how much less attractive I was without a shirt and trousers on, I kept my clothes in the shower room with me.
Stepping out I was greeted by Brittany and Kim locking hands and trying to push one another across the floor. I would have swore they seemed like they were fighting, but I had no idea why. So I took my dirty clothes over to the basket at the foot of my bunk and dropped them off. Tanya came out of the other shower minutes later dressed in a very frilly nightgown, carrying her own dirty clothes, and sat in the bunk next to mine.
“Hey, Tanya, can I ask a personal question?”
She turned to look at me, “Why do I cross dress? Why the hormones?”
I blushed and looked away but nodded.
“You know that rock song about going into the guy’s mom’s room when he was young and trying on dresses?” She asked, taking time to fluff her hair so it didn’t wet the nightgown.
“Yeah, and the guy’s dad puts him in therapy, right?” I responded quizzically.
She nodded. “My dad didn’t feel the need for therapy. He sat me down and talked about it. When I was ten, I was getting picked on because I was fairly frail and fair skinned. So, to cover the pain, I decided I would be the prettiest girl I could be. It’s terribly petty, and I know there are people out there who would say I’m the reason trasgender people get a bad rep, but I love leading on those big burly types and suddenly whipping out a bigger penis than they have.”
I sputtered, surprised. “Are you kidding me?”
“Nope. I don’t plan to have a sex change or anything, I just like my revenge to be complete.” She said.
I took a breath, “So you go after guys then?”
“Only to cause strife. I’m actually interested in women, but not a lot of them want a girlfriend with a Johnson, if you get my meaning.”
A crash was heard from the meeting room and Kim raced over. She pointed at Tanya and shouted, “That’s my bunk! You harlot!”
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