Short Story: The pitiable and the prosperous
There is a place where the sidewalk ends
And before the street begins,
And there the grass grows soft and white,
And there the sun burns crimson bright,
And there the moon-bird rests from his flight
To cool in the peppermint wind.
Let us leave this place where the smoke blows black
And the dark street winds and bends.
Past the pits where the asphalt flowers grow
We shall walk with a walk that is measured and slow,
And watch where the chalk-white arrows go
To the place where the sidewalk ends.
Yes we'll walk with a walk that is measured and slow,
And we'll go where the chalk-white arrows go,
For the children, they mark, and the children, they know
The place where the sidewalk ends.
By Shel Silverstein
It was the first day of Summer Camp, and I couldn't be more relaxed. This emotion was most probably due to the fact that I was going there as the former most popular teenager of them all and that it was my third time going there. Summer Camp was fun, in its own way; its basically a camp that tried to get teens to interact with each other and come together even though they could be complete opposites, and other several fun activities. In fact, they even did this whole Christmas special, which never made sense to me, but I didn't oppose it. I didn't truly know what it was about me that attracted so many females, but I chose not to question it, for I was satisfied with the mobs of screaming girls. I wonder what they would do to me now, now that I was supposed to be one of the leaders, and still be the actor/musician/ model/no longer a teenager. Quite disappointment for those young girls, to have to have me, Jai Walia, be their camp counselor/ teacher/ leader/ what ever it may be called.
I sighed as I digested the different reactions I was expecting, particularly from the female population. I exited my car and saw that everyone was already divided. There were the rich, pretty, and popular girls, the nerdy girls, the emo girls, the far too girly girls, the too shy ones, and the rock band ones. Quite diverse, I should add.
"Welcome ladies and gentlemen to Summer Camp here in Summerton, New Jersey. Here you all are going to be able to relate to each other through fun activities even though you all may seem really different. I, along with these lovely people standing next to me, are going to be your teachers/counselors. So, we are all going to get to know each other a lot better later on, until then, we will assign you all your camps. And yes, they will be shared."
I smiled at all of the girls who were grinning at me sheepishly with a dreamy look in their eyes. I stepped off along with my co-workers and I took on a group of people that crowded themselves around me. Soon everyone gathered around, anxiously waiting for the announcements.
I began to read off the names on the list.
CAMP ONE:
~Tanya Millard, Lauren Mallory, and Jessica Stanley
CAMP TWO:
~Angela Sinclair, Monica Gonzales, and Sapna Bharti
CAMP THREE:
~Joseph Margarine, Tom Jacob, Lawrence Young, and Zack Martin
CAMP FOUR:
~Sherin Sanchez, Melissa Hearts, Geri Garcia, and Hillary Margaret
CAMP FIVE:
~Nadia Villan, Mia Jones, and Bani Dixit.
Now that I was finished reading these names out loud, I pointed to where the camps were and they all walked into their log cabins. All except for three.
These three simply stood there in front of me, confused and innocent, as a child would be on her first day of school. Just then, my uncle came up to me.
"Oh, I forgot to tell you something Jai. These three girls need this pink band, which represents that they are mentally ill."
Then I remembered, every year, my uncle, being the gracious man he is, would allow mentally ill people to attend and participate in camp activities. He felt that they should be able to do everything others could. I further inferred that these pink bands were there so that no one misunderstood them.
I starred back at those girls and gave them their bracelets. I watched with sympathy as they struggled to put their bracelets on. so I chose to help them. Two of the girls giggled loudly as I helped them, and then I approached the third. This one was so gorgeous. She had straight black hair that shifted gently off her shoulder and had perfectly tweezed eyebrows above innocent chocolate eyes that starred deeply into mine.
She looked as if she were afraid of me, and, for some strange reason, all I wanted to do was comfort her. Her wrist was so tiny and fragile, I wondered if any body ever fed her. I touched her wrist ever so slightly and placed the bracelet on her, yet I didn't want to let go of her hand. I wanted to protect her, this creature standing in front of me, and I didn't even know her name.
I looked at her name tag then, and saw her name was Bani. Bani Dixit. Wow. A beautiful name to go with a beautiful person.
What was it about her that caught my eye? I didn't know. All I know is that I am not going to let her go.
She starred at me blankly and confused. I decided it was time for me to say something.
"Hello. My name is Jai." I said stupidly.
"H-h—hi" She managed to say. She was obviously afraid of me for some reason.
I chose to smile her my "flashing smile", or so they call it, to comfort her.
It didn't seem to work though. During that awkward moment of pure silence, a few jerks passed by and pushed Bani. She was about to fall, but I caught her right in my arms.
She starred up at me and neither of us moved.
*note to the followers of my FF on this forum: chillax…that is definetly first priority. I just randomly wrote this and I would feel bad if I didn't do anything with it.
I hope you all liked it and please comment. Next part will come soon.
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