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[02-
FRIENDS] The
group got some take-away from Jerry’s Fry and Grill, and Mark
and Cammy
split off to get changed at his place, organizing to meet the others
at the cinema later. Mark’s
hose was a small, cozy affair about 10 minute’s walk away, with
a small front yard bordered
by a low cement fence, and no backyard. Inside, the house had a cluttered,
lived-in feel
that contrasted Cammy’s sparse, utilitarian training and living
quarters in Shadoloo. “It’s
just me, my mom, and my big sister here, but we manage OK.”
Cammy had no idea to ask
about where his father was, as she had no knowledge of what an ordinary
family unit was. Just
then a woman of about 19 to 20 years emerged from one of the 4 doors
on the hallway, she
had shoulder length hair, brown, like Mark’s was a few inches
taller than Cammy, and a good
deal bustier. “Hey
M. who’s your friend?” she asked, leaning on the doorframe. “This
is Cammy. Those football guys were trying to start a fight again,
and one of them pushed me
into Cammy, and we fell into the gutter. Cammy jumped up and slugged
him one, knocked him
out cold. Really saved my butt.” The
woman pushed herself off the doorframe proffered her hand to Cammy.
“Nice to meet you, I’m
Brianna, but just call me Bri.” Cammy shook her hand, with a
firm grip. “Nice to meet you.” “Oh
yeah,” mark said, and turned to Brianna. “Bri, is it OK
if Cammy borrows some clothes while we
wash the muddy ones?” Brianna
shrugged. “Sure, I’ve got a whole box full of stuff that
doesn’t fit me anymore that would be
about right for Cammy. Follow me, sweetie.” She beckoned for
Cammy to follow her, and took her into what must have been the spare
room, there was a small single bed made up against the far wall,
and several boxes of varying sizes stacked in a corner. Brianna went
over to the boxes, looking at
the writing on the sides. “Lesse
now… ah, here.” She took some of the smaller boxes off
the top and hefted a large-ish box onto the bed. Unfolding the top revealed
the box was over-full with trendy teen clothes, little tops,
tight jeans, some knee length skirts, even a pair of decent sneakers. Brianna
stands back, allowing Cammy a closer look. “There you go, kiddo,
take your pick. The
bathroom’s just through there, when you’re ready to wash
up.” Cammy momentarily went all
misty eyed at the thought of a hot shower, and Brianna turned and
started heading down the hall. Just before she was about to re-enter
her bedroom, Brianna turned back to Cammy. “Oh,
and you’ll probably want to lock the bathroom door, there’s
no knowing what my perverted brother
might do,” “Hey!”
came Mark’s indignant shout from the kitchen. “Why,
he even once walked in on me. It was SO distressing!” Brianna
exclaimed mirthfully, enjoying
the chance to tease her brother so effectively. Mark’s
head popped around the kitchen/living room doorway, brandishing a
large kitchen knife, his face a bright red. “That
was and accident, and you know it! I thought I was gonna be blind
for a week!” Brianna
smiled slyly, winking at Cammy. “Yes, well, and we all know
what can send you blind, huh?” with
that, Brianna vanished into her room, the door closing behind her,
and Mark’s mortified cry of “Bri!!” echoing down the hallway. Mark stood
in the doorway, looking very embarrassed, he’d already changed
into
some faded blue jeans, and some dry sneakers and a T-shirt that said
“Space Monkey” on the front. He laughed nervously and shrugged his
shoulders. “Ah,
just ignore Bri, she loves stirring me up all the time. You hungry?
I’m making some grilled cheese on toast.” Cammy
nodded. “Sounds good” “OK,
it’ll be ready by the time you finish in the shower” Cammy
nodded once more, and Mark disappeared around
the doorway. Cammy
tried to get her head around the exchange between the two siblings,
and failing, she turned to the box
of clothes. After rummaging around for a few minutes, she came up
with some loose black pants, a light
blue top that had the words “Bad Grrrl” written across
the front, the sneakers, and a loose jacket which
said “BRATWARE” across the back in big bold letters. She
headed into the bathroom, locked the door, and quickly stripped off
her wet clothes. She
studied herself in the mirror a moment, noting the skinniness of her
frame and all the weight
she’d lost. She had big bags under her eyes from poor sleeping,
and she was pretty sure
she smelt a little bad. After
the quick survey of herself, Cammy turned to the shower, and turned
on the hot tap all the way, and the cold just enough that she
could just stand the heat. She undid her pigtails and eased
herself under the stream of water. The water pressure was fierce;
blasting off the months of
dirt that Cammy couldn’t remove with a basin full of soapy,
cold water. She
took a good long 15 minutes in the shower, a luxury compared to the
meager 5 minutes allowed at Shadoloo, but she sort of felt guilty
for taking advantage of such a luxury and forced herself to get out. After 10 minutes of drying herself and
her long hair, dressing, and putting her hair back into its trademark pigtails, few
months, or in the 5 years she had grown up in Shadoloo. Cammy collected
her dirty clothes, unlocked
the door, and went out into the hall. Mark,
who had just finishing putting the food on the small dining table,
and was coming to tell Cammy, was
halfway down the hall. “Food’s ready.” Cammy nodded.
“Where do I put these?” she asked, raising the
wet, slightly stinky clothes. Mark
took the proffered clothes, and headed for the laundry. “I’ll
go put these in the wash. You go ahead and start eating dinner.”
He grinned as he went into the laundry.
Cammy went off to the living room and sat down. Mark
dumped the dirty clothes on the floor next to the washing machine,
and checked that it was empty. He then tossed the various articles in
one by one, stopping at the odd blue garment. It looked like a swimsuit
or some odd gym outfit, made out of a thick, elastic tightly woven
material. What surprised and
baffled him most, however, was when he turned it around and looked
at what should have been the rear of the suit. “A
g-string? English really have odd fashion…” mark threw
the rest of the garments into the machine, added some
detergent, and turned it on. He
stopped at his sister’s door, and knocked. “What?” “There’s
some grilled cheese on toast if you’re hungry.” “Hang
on…” Brianna emerged from her room, tying her hair back
in a ponytail. “Let’s eat.” When
they entered, Cammy was sitting at the small table, munching on a
piece of toast and reading the
back of an orange juice carton. “You
like it?” Mark asked as he sat down. “Mm.
Mfft’s gdd.” Cammy replied around a mouthful of the toast
and melted cheese. “So,
how do you like America?” Brianna enquired, as she poured them
all a glass of juice. “It’s
very cold,” Cammy responded, after swallowing her food. “Oh?”
Brianna said, a little surprised. “I thought England would be
as cold, at least.” “It
is, but I haven’t been there for around five years. Up until
recently I lived in Thailand.” Cammy shrugged. “I
don’t really remember much about my home in England…” “So
are you out here with your parents?” Mark asked. “My
parents died six years ago. I lived in an English orphanage since
then.” Although
this was a lie, it was a well-practiced one, that Cammy had been trained
to say. “Oh,
I’m sorry to hear that.” Brianna said, sounding genuinely
concerned. “Are
you staying with anyone here in America?” “No.
I was treated poorly at the orphanage, so when we came on a field
trip to Hong Kong, I left the group and stowed away on a
boat bound for America.” Cammy
took another large bite of her slice of cheese on toast. “Oh
man, we better hurry up, we said we’d meet the others at the
entertainment complex at 6. We’re
gonna be late.” Mark noted, looking at the time on the clock. “I’ll
drive you guys if you want,” Brianna offered. “Thanks,
sis, that’d be great.” Mark said, getting up. “Ready?”
he asked Cammy. Cammy
nodded and also stood up.
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