July Writing Craze: Day 25!!

Hi there!  Happy reading!!

Chapter Ten:  Velvet

Life is a Bowl of Merry

The wind broke against Velvet with every striding pace she took.  Velvet’s mind was a whirl of worry and contemplation.  Where was Yori?!

            “That walkie talkie call didn’t sound so promising, Brody,”  Velvet said, pacing still.

            “It sure didn’t,”  Brody replied, keeping an eye out on the continuous Capture the Flag game.

            “We’ve gotta do something.  I mean, we can’t just let Yori hang out there, can we?”  Velvet said, her pacing speeding up.

            “What can we do, Velvet?  We’ve already tried convincing Katie.  But this isn’t based on right or wrong or if Yori was in the woods or if she wasn’t, this is based on Katie making up her mind because of her complete tyrannical actions,”  Brody replied.  Velvet folded both of her hands over the bill of her Camp Sing-Song cap and sighed. 

            “Do you think Yori will just go home?  Do you think she actually cares about this camp?”  Velvet asked, her hands moving to the back of her head.  She lifted her chin, squinting into the Sun.

            “I think she does,”  Brody said.  “You were right all along about Yori, Velvet.  She was trying something new, getting her feet wet.  And after a few hits and misses, I think she’s come to really like it here.  And even though, me and her and you and her had some bumps, I think she likes us…and for whatever reason, she’s growing on me, too.”  Velvet stopped pacing and looked at Brody.   Why did he have to be so perfect?

            “You know, I was right.  And truth be told, I like Yori, too.  I feel like there’s something deep inside her that we didn’t know about her that made us misunderstand her.  It’s funny…say, you aren’t mad at her for…”  Velvet didn’t know how to put it.

            “Lashing out at me?  No…because, I found that I can like her…for who she is, attitude and all.  Besides, I found someone else I would rather be with, anyway,”  Brody responded.  Velvet had heard Brody a couple of hours before, saying he was in love with her, but she hadn’t been listening.  Now, what Brody was saying then, Velvet was really listening to.

            “Really?  Who is that?”  Velvet asked, smiling.

            “Velvet, will you be my girlfriend?”  Brody asked, glimpsing at his feet.

            “Brody, you know I would love—“

            “Huddle up!  New plan, new team, Katie isn’t getting me out of here!”  Yori yelled, storming down the pavement to the main field with the secretary promptly behind her with a clipboard in hand.  Velvet could have screamed.  That was her moment!  She was having the moment that all the soap opera stars had and Yori just blew right through it.

            “I need your help,”  Yori announced, forcing Velvet and Brody to break their gaze and focus on Yori.  Velvet knew the moment would come again and at least she had the adrenaline of the anticipation for that moment to come again to help Yori with whatever she needed.

            “You got it,”  Brody said.  Velvet glanced at Brody right as he glanced at her.  They smiled at each other and refocused.

            “Hi Jane,”  Velvet jumped in, waving at Jane who smiled back and mouthed ‘hi.’

            “I’m being suspended because—wait, can you get me my pumps?  I can’t feel important unless I’m tall,”  Yori said, pointing to her silver pumps lying carelessly on the ground by the Capture the Flag game.  Velvet got them and gave them to Yori who immediately slipped into them, flipped her hair over her shoulders, and cleared her throat.  She looked back at Jane and nodded at her.  Jane looked intently at Yori, her pen poised over the blank paper on her clipboard.  Velvet and Brody side-glanced at each other, confused and on the brink of laughter. 

            “I’m being suspended because the press is coming tomorrow, right?”  Yori restarted.

            “Right!”  Jane cried out.  Velvet jumped.

            “Katie is suspending me because she thinks I’m trouble and will get in the way, right?”  Yori explained to Velvet and Brody. 

            “Right!”  Jane piped up again.  Brody snickered.  Yori rolled her eyes.

            “Honestly, I have no idea why she would think I would get in the way, but—“

            “I know!”  Jane chirped, flinging her pen upright in the air.  Jane’s wide smile illuminated her eyes and Velvet thought it was so adorable.  Yori slowly turned around and annoyed, asked, “What?”

            “I know why Katie thinks you’ll get in the way.  She listed the reasons off to me, actually.  There’s, let’s see…you’ll disrupt physical appearance order since you never wear your uniform and even if you did you wear it, as Katie said, ‘you clunked it up.’  What else…oh yes!  She said you would distract her from being the… ‘best head of Sing-Song by asking her stupid questions and trying to get what you…want.’  She said, you would make the camp look opposite of what it was by wearing inappropriate clothes for an outdoor and sports camp…and…”

            “Jan,”  Yori snapped.  “Are you on team GAKTOY or team RELKK?”  The blur of initialisms practically winded Velvet.

            “Teams?  Are we…playing a game?”  Brody interrupted.

            “No.  Team GAKTOY, is Go Away Katie, Thanks Of Yori.  And team RELKK is, Ruin Everyone’s Lives, Keep Katie.”

            “You need new names,”  Velvet blurted out and then covered her mouth.  She hadn’t meant to say it out loud.  Brody burst out laughing.  Jane smothered a giggle as well.

            “It doesn’t matter, Velvet.  The point is…Jan, here, has been pushed around for years by Katie.  Katie hasn’t listened to Jan’s ideas, Katie’s threatened Jan her job to get Jan to do her work, Katie even pushed Jan once…”  Yori shared.  Velvet gasped.  Katie was abusive?

            “Well, no she didn’t…that was my cousin.  Remember, I was telling you about my aunt’s wedding and how my cousin pushed me into a tree and I scraped my elbow…that hurt,”  Jane cut in.  Velvet nodded her head to Jane in sympathy.  It was too bad her cousin had pushed her, but mostly Velvet was glad that Katie wasn’t actually abusive.  That would’ve been scary.

            “Anyway, since Katie is being unfair and mean, Jan and I have decided to plot against Katie, prove to the ‘big boss’, whoever that is, that Katie isn’t right for Camp Sing-Song and get her out of here.  That way, we won’t have to deal with Katie, Jan will have less work to do, and I’ll get to stay!”  Yori filled Velvet and Brody in, smiling.  Velvet loved when Yori smiled.  She had such a nice smile, Velvet wished Yori knew how to smile more.  And not her regular smug one, her genuine I’m-having-a-great-time smile.

            “Sounds perfect.  We also just recently found out how unfair Katie is.  It sounds like she told me and Velvet the same thing she told you… about suspending you no matter what and all,”  Brody added.

            “Sounds like it.  You in, Velvet?”  Yori asked.

            “Of course!  What’s the plan?”  Velvet replied.

            “Brody!  Was she over the cone line or not?”  Brent squeaked, running up to Brody and tugging at his shirt.  Brody looked nervously at Velvet and Yori and started to stumble over his words.  Neither Velvet nor Brody were watching the game like they were supposed to.

            “Well, I-I wasn’t—“

            “She wasn’t quite over, sonny,”  Jane said.  “I saw, I was facing the game.”

            “Ha!  I told you, Tegan!”  Brent yelled and ran back into the game.

            “Thank you, Jane,”  Brody responded, smiling gratefully at the secretary.  Velvet loved his smile…Jane better not smile back!  Even though her and Brody’s relationship wasn’t officially confirmed didn’t mean it wasn’t close to being confirmed!  Jane could tuck away her smile right then!  Right then!!

            “The plan, you said?  Easy, Jan and I thought of it…two seconds, that’s all it took!”  Yori bragged, grinning a smug, smug smile.

            “Before you say…does Katie know you’re down here?”  Velvet asked uneasily.

            “Doesn’t matter!  I called the prank hotline,”  Jane started.  “I gave them Katie’s office number right as Yori and I were about to leave.  Katie will be talking to a knob seller for hours!” 

            “That one was Jan’s idea,”  Yori bragged for Jane as the two of them laughed manically.

            “Maybe not for hours,”  Velvet said.  “Here comes Katie now, and she doesn’t look too happy.”  Katie was stamping down the pavement, her ugly brown shoes banging against the cement.  Yori and Jane halted their laughter and spun around.

            “Okay, stay calm and…run!”  Yori belted and the four of them bolted.          

            “Where are you going?”  the campers questioned as they whizzed past.

            “Just run with us!”  Yori yelled.  Velvet saw the eight campers look at each other, shrug, and race after the four almost-adults and adult. 

Thanks for reading!  Hope you enjoyed it!

And remember guys:  Try to avoid words like, 'good', 'bad', 'very,' 'really', 'sad', 'happy.'  They are addicting words!  They're easy to put in because they describe what you are trying to say perfectly, but they make for boring reading.  Once in a while is okay, but too much is too much.  Don't worry, I need to work on it, too.  You can do it!  Good luck! :)

ABC 123,

                Maddie