[ He leant against the trunk of the tree, hands interlocked at the base of his head. Now that the kids had scattered, they could finally get some peace and quiet. If they were lucky, they could sneak off and practice their powers while their group was preoccupied with activities. The only real rule Reggie had was they couldn’t use their Conduit abilities, which sucked so hard. He’s almost had to hold down Abigail so she didn’t light up one of the kids with neon. ]
”Nope. My irresistible charm compels you to shut your mouth so I can afford college and don’t get stuck working at Starbucks for the rest of my life.”
[ He hadn’t necessarily planned on going to college, but Reggie was almost insisting on it, which made it hard to save up because of their parents’ impromptu deaths and his terrible money management skills. Still, video game design seemed pretty cool. If only he could get the degree. ]
“You tell me, Abigail, and then we’ll both know.”
[ Delsin had a feeling Abigail’s background for coming to the camp and her short temper made her an easy target for the kids. He actually enjoyed her company, another Conduit with a rather rebellious attitude. He just hoped he could keep in touch with her when September came around. He reached out and took her tiny hand in his, squeezing it lightly. ]
”Hey, we can sneak out tonight after the bonfire and practice our abilities. Sound good?”
[ The only reason why she hadn’t tried to find a way out of this place was because of Delsin. His rebellious attitude and sarcastic quips were what was keeping her here. The two of them both really didn’t want to be here, but unfortunately they had no choice. To be honest, Abigail didn’t see him as someone who seemed motivated enough to go to college. Most days, he slacked off from the activities that they were supposed to be doing, leaving her to taking care of most things. Maybe his brother pushed him to do it - she didn’t know and she sure as hell wasn’t going to pry into his personal life and ask. He had been good about respecting her privacy and she’d respect his. ]
“Irresistible charm, my ass,” [ Abigail laughed. Her Brooklyn accent was thick, making it obvious that she really was not from Seattle. ] “How much longer until you can afford college?"
[ The kids that they were stuck to look after made her wonder if this was Reggie’s way of a horrible punishment. He probably had found the most obnoxious kids he could find and deliberately put them in their group. Abigail’s conversations with Delsin’s older brother were never really all that great. The two usually ended up glaring at each other or he’d go off on a huge rant about how she was ‘just a piece of trash Bio-terrorist.’ Words rarely ever hurt the neon Conduit, but his discrimination against her was the worst. ]
"I blame your brother. Part of his punishment for me.”
[ The anger she felt began to subside when Delsin took hold of her small hand. Ever since getting here, she really had bonded with the smoke Conduit. Keeping in touch after this experience was over would be tough. She didn’t necessarily have a home before coming here. For a while she had been on the streets. The only way of communicating with Delsin would be over text, and sometimes her phone would go days without a charge. ]
“Sounds good,” [ she replied with a small nod of her dark pink head. Gently, she squeezed his hand too before slowly letting go. ] “We should, uh, probably go catch up with the group.”
[ Okay, yes, Delsin was aware he was kind of a giant asshole. But he honestly didn’t give a shit. He was sitting on the ground, leaning against a tree and playing a game on his iPhone while Abigail was trying to get the kids in order. The reception out here was terrible, but he had adapted over 18 years of coming to this camp. Dark eyes flickered up to the short pink-haired girl when she spoke. ]
“And how exactly do you think I can do any different?”
[ They both knew the answer to that question, because he was Delsin Rowe. Little brother of Reggie Rowe, the camp leader, the kid who knows every in and out of the 4 square miles of the campground like the back of his hand, and the rebellious, adventure-seeking counselor who most of the campers seemed to like, for an 18-year-old whose barely scraping together enough money for college. ]
[ Bouncing up onto two feet, he shoved the phone in the pocket of his jeans. Using the whistle strung on an obnoxiously bright lanyard which was being twirled around his fingers, he pressed it to his lips and let out two whistles, one short and one long. To his relief, the kids turned to face him. With a clear and surprisingly confident voice, he spoke. ]
“Alright, kiddos, listen up. If you think just because it’s Saturday that you can slack off on behaviour, then obviously you never been in my group before. I expect y’all to treat Miss Walker with the same respect as you would be, because she’s even tougher than I am.”
[ A sly smirk crept onto his face, watching the kids giggle about his comment towards Abigail. Despite her size, it was true. ]
“Right, you all have five minutes to change, and Abigail and I will see you all at the lake then. And if you even think about misbehaving today, you’ll be trading in the campfire tonight for kitchen duty.”
[ The kids began to dissipate, and Delsin turned back towards the pink-haired Conduit with the smirk still on his face. ]
[ Abigail covered ears when Delsin suddenly blew his whistle, startled by the suddenly high-pitched noise. At least it got the attention of the kids - something she wish she could do. Everyone at this camp knew to listen to Delsin, given that his older brother was in charge of this place. If only these kids could give her a little bit of respect. Her patience was running thin and she still was going to be here for a while longer. It wasn’t going to be long before she would finally snap. ]
[ Her eyes watched the kids scurry off toward their cabins. A sigh escaped her lips. The screaming was finally gone and she could think again. Wrangling a group of kids was hard - especially since Abigail looked like a kid herself because of her height, something everyone liked to poke fun at. ]
“You’re a jackass,”[ The pink-haired conduit said, her turning toward him. ]“Pretty sure your brother would freak out if he saw you slacking on the job like that, am I right?”
[ Delsin was trying to scrape some money together for college, and this summer job at Reggie’s camp was a way of getting the money. She was pretty sure the older brother wouldn’t pay him well if he saw him messing around on his phone like that and seeing her beg for help. ]
[ The first day she arrived at this camp, she thought it was going to be a living hell - which it was - but Delsin had made it somewhat bearable. She had somebody to talk with and help her control the kids. Although she was secretive with him about most things about her life, she still felt a bond to him and she didn’t want to lose that after this punishment was over. ]
“How did we get stuck with such an obnoxious group?”
[ Okay, fine, Abigail had learned her lesson. This punishment was the worst she had ever gotten. Whoever thought that allowing a delinquent conduit be a camp counselor was a good idea? She had no idea how to deal with children. Most of the time, she just let Delsin - the other counselor for the group of children - deal with the bratty kids. His older brother - Reggie - was director of this shit-hole camp which was the only reason why he got the job in the first place. When they first met at the beginning of summer, she thought he was going to be a real pain-in-the-ass. He was, but he also began to grow on her. Only rule was that the two weren’t allowed to use their powers. Had to be kept a secret, of course. ]
[ Today had been especially hectic - just like every Saturday. A day completely booked with activities. Arts and crafts, volleyball, swimming - you name it. For some reason, almost every kid in the group was being unreasonable. Screaming, crying, yelling; it was all giving her a headache. ]
“D, do something. Now. I officially give up.”
[ Her hands were at her head, small fingers wrapping around her dark pink hair. Abigail was now really beginning to regret getting in trouble with the law so much. Calming down screaming and bratty kids was not her specialty. Some of the older kids here were actually taller than her. But, it was either this, or go to the D.U.P. ]
