Ruby slowly shuffled her way into the family kitchen where the Johnson matriarch was busily preparing lunches for her children to have a snack on the way to camp. When she looked up and saw Ruby there she quickly gave the look she had become famous for in their little suburb.
”Mamá, before you say anything I got all my stuff packed last night. I actually planned ahead this time.” The woman looked at her eldest daughter and rolled her eyes, “Have you showered yet?”
”Yes, mamá. All I need before leaving is breakfast. Where’s Dani?” As if on cue, Daniela descended from the stairs and made her way into the kitchen, head down and hair covering her eyes. This was how she often looked in public, but rarely in the house. The truth was, she was nervous and apprehensive about this trip, but she was going because she did want to change. She looked up, and the anxiety clear in her dull eyes confirmed this.
”Morning, mom. Morning, Ruby,” she muttered, taking her place at the table.
Ana Sofia eyed her two daughters before passing them each their favorite breakfast. Ruby quickly woke the rest of the way up at the smell of food and sat in her usual spot. She barely heard her mother say, “Good morning, Dani. Are you all packed and ready to go?” Ruby eyed her omelette that was hopefully packed with all her favorites before rapidly digging in. “Ruby, slow down. No need to choke on your breakfast.” Ruby swallowed what she had already inhaled and replied,
”Fine. Hey, Dani, whatchu think first day is gonna be like?” Ruby didn’t know what to expect but hoped that they were gonna start off with some sort of bang. All she knew though was that as long as she got to show off her skills it’d be epic.
“Yeah, mom. I finished packing this morning. I packed all the new vests, but I put one sweater in, in case it gets cold. I won’t wear it unless it’s cold, though. Promise...” Dani muttered, eating her breakfast slowly in contrast to Ruby. It was unlikely she’d finish it all before they had to go at that rate. She then turned to her sister, and shrugged.
“I don’t know what to expect, honestly. I think they’ll just give us a tour, and let us introduce ourselves. Maybe tell us what’ll be happening the next day.” At that moment, Mr. Johnson himself came downstairs, kissed his daughter’s cheeks, and his wife’s mouth. “Morning, everyone! So, are we all set?” he asked the group.
Ruby looked at her father as she was finishing her omelette and shook her head. Truth be told she hoped neither her parents would want to check her luggage because they probably would say she packed to little or that she had to many soccer jerseys. Half her closet was filled with jerseys of players and teams that she rooted for. In practically every league she had a favorite team and she wanted to own at least one jersey from each of them. She swallowed the last of her breakfast and said,
”I’mma go grab my stuff.” With that she rushed out the kitchen to her room and lifted her two duffel bags onto her two shoulders. When she got back to the kitchen her mother sighed knowing that her daughter was going to be stubborn about taking the most unwieldy of baggage. “Here, I made a small lunch for you so that you can have something to snack on on the way. There is a sandwich and a granola bar for each of you.” She set the small bags on the counter in front of the two girls.
While Ruby was away, Mark watched his younger daughter finally finish her breakfast, rushing the last half of it. “Careful you don’t choke,” he warned her, before sitting down at the table. “So, did you pack all your new vests?”
Dani responded with a nod, her mouth full, and her dad hugged her. “We’re proud of you for agreeing to this. This will be extremely good for you.” which made the shy teen blush and mutter her thanks. When Ruby came back down, her father shot her an eyebrow, to convey ‘I know you’ve packed sports jerseys, and I don’t approve, but I’m not going to stop you’ in one glance.
Dani then went upstairs to retrieve her own luggage; a rather small suitcase in one hand, a very thick book in the other. It was the entire Shannara trilogy by Terry Brooks in one large volume, and it should last her the whole camp if it was going to be as busy as she thought. She hadn’t packed it into the suitcase in case luggage was stowed in the back during the trip. Then she couldn’t read it.
“Alright, you all need to get moving or you’ll be late. Ruby, make sure to watch over Dani; and, Dani, make sure Ruby doesn’t get herself in trouble.” Ruby rolled her eyes at what their mother said but responded,
”I’ll keep an eye on her. Don’t worry.” Ruby then grabbed her lunch bag and headed for the door.
A long car drive and subsequent bus ride later and the Johnson siblings gave arrived at Aces High along with the rest of their fellow campers. A lot of interesting things had happened on the way. Someone had already presented themselves as a massive douche to the rest of the group and Ruby would love it if she got the opportunity to terrorize this guy. Other than that nothing really exciting happened on the way there for Ruby. She had already determined to sleep as much as she could on the way so as to be full of energy once they arrived. Dani, on the other hand, spend the entire journey reading. She hadn’t even looked around at the other campers.
Ruby had jolted awake when the bus stopped and the other riders got excited. She looked around and saw the camp outside the window. It looked amazing and she was super excited. When they all exited the bus she did her best to pay attention to the woman that was talking. The setup sounded pretty cool. Once her name was called she walked forward and took her envelope. She walked to the side opening it.
”So, I’m a queen of diamonds. A diamond in the rough. Awesome.” She stood there and waited for Dani to get her envelope.
Dani was called immediately after Ruby, and timidly went up to collect her envelope, not yet looking at anybody, and returning to the sanctuary of her sister’s side. She opened her envelope.
”King of clubs. Looks like we’re not in the same cabin, or even the same suit. Guess I’ll really have to come out my shell while I’m here.” Despite her best efforts, it was not hard to see Dani was nervous. Was part of her hoping or counting on sharing a cabin with her sister? No, she didn’t think that much. Even so, it was as if the final layer of protection had been taken away and she was now bare and raw to the camp.
Ruby looked at her sister realizing that it would probably be difficult for her. However, Ruby was positive that Dani would be able to handle this. She had confidence her little sister could do this.
”Hey, don’t worry. You’ll be just fine. Even if we aren’t in the same suit I’m still gonna be around to help ya out if ya need it. Do you want me to head with you to your cabin or ya wanna wait to hear what the counselors have ta say?” Dani shook her head, and took a deep breath, exhaling it slowly.
“No, I think I should start doing things on my own. I’ll wait for instructions, and then try talking to people, or get talked at and try to join in. I really need to do this.” Ruby smiled and said,
”Good. Just know I’m always somewhere around here. I’m gonna wait to see what my counselors have to say to.” Ruby patted Dani on the shoulder and walked over to the area closer to where her counselors were standing and waited for them to being their introduction.