The Torment of Renegade X

by Chelsea M. Campbell

  There’s shuffling sounds as everyone actually joins hands. I mean, Amelia’s group was already holding hands, so I guess they’re ahead of the game. And when I say everyone joins hands, I mean everyone except for me and Riley, because nobody even wants to sit by me, let alone touch me. Which I guess is one of the few perks of being public enemy number one around here, since holding hands with a stranger is something I can definitely live without.

  “Now that we’re all linked,” the counselor goes on, “I want all of you to think about what you hope to accomplish this week at camp. They can be personal goals, or goals about bonding with your fellow campers.”

  Let’s see, my personal goals are don’t get killed and don’t let Riley get killed. Preferably accomplished with as little humiliation as possible. As for “bonding” with my fellow campers, my goal is basically don’t. Oh, and try not to actually kill any of them, since that would definitely get me kicked out of school.

  I wonder if Riley’s thinking the same thing—I mean the part about surviving, not about killing anyone—or if he’s secretly wishing I’d stayed home. Not that I think he doesn’t want me here, but… Well, things would probably be a lot easier for him if I wasn’t, and camp’s already hard enough for him as it is with his leg being broken.

  When I look over at him, he’s staring at the ground, a pained expression on his face.

  “You okay, Perkins? Because if you need me to escort you back to the cabin so we have to miss the rest of this, I’d totally be okay with that.”

  He grins a little. Then he sighs and says, “I was just thinking that camp’s not really what I expected.”

  “Sure it is. It’s a bunch of douchey heroes going on hikes and doing art projects together.”

  “Yeah, but… It’s not like how my dad described it.”

  Because his dad probably was one of those heroes. I mean, not the douchey kind, or at least probably not. I never met him. But I’m guessing he fit in at Heroesworth. “We’re at the stupid campfire ceremony, aren’t we? That’s something.”

  “It’s not the same.”

  “You want to go make out under the stars afterward?”

  He rolls his eyes at me. “I just meant he didn’t describe it as stupid. He said it was one of the best nights of his life.”

  “Yeah, ‘cause he met your mom.”

  “He said it was more than that. He said there was this feeling in the air of camaraderie, and that…”

  “And what?”

  “That he actually felt like he was connected to everybody. Not just to his friends or his cabin mates or to my mom, but to everyone. He said it was a turning point in his life, and years later he would still think back on it.”

  I raise my eyebrows. “So, in other words, he’s a sucker for sappy speeches?”

  “Right? I mean, that speech was totally sappy. But the way my dad described it—not just the campfire ceremony, but everything—it’s just…”

  “Come on, Perkins. You didn’t really think we’d come here and actually become BFFs with any of these people, right?”

  “Of course not. I just thought it was going to be, I don’t know, more than this somehow.” He glances around the amphitheater, not looking very impressed.

  “Your dad’s leg wasn’t broken.”

  “I know. But the experiences he had couldn’t just have been because of that.”

  “Uh, yeah. Because not only was his leg not broken, but he wasn’t best friends with the half villain everybody hates.”

  “X. Come on.”

  “Look around. Everyone who’s not friends with me is having the magical night of sappy platitudes and forced bonding that you’re supposed to.”

  He tilts his head at me. “That’s not true. Amelia’s your friend, and she’s having a good time.”

  “She’s not my friend, she’s my sister. But I think we both know you’d be having the time of your life if I wasn’t here.”

  “That’s not true, either.”

  “Okay, and if your leg wasn’t broken.”

  He shakes his head. “It’s not that. I mean, it doesn’t help that my leg’s broken, but everything about this place just seems so… not me.”

  “But maybe it would be more you if I wasn’t here.”

  “No, X, it wouldn’t, because…” He takes a deep breath. “I don’t know.”

  “You don’t know? Well, thanks for that reassurance, Perkins. I’m so convinced.”

  “I mean I don’t know if it’s because of what happened at the gala, or because of how everyone here treats you, but it’s probably a combination of both, and I just feel like… Like I’ve already outgrown this place before I’ve even been here.”

  “Oh.”

  “So it’s not you, okay? Because even if you’d stayed home, I still wouldn’t fit in.”

  “What are you talking about? You practically got an invitation to join Team Glitter. That’s not what I would call not fitting in.”

  He gives me a look. “You know what I mean.”

  “Yeah,” I tell him, being serious this time, “I do.” Of course I do.

  Chapter 3

  DAY TWO SUCKS EVEN worse than day one, and not just because I couldn’t sleep—I wasn’t looking forward to sleeping in a room full of douchebags anyway, but then Noah kept putting that horrible noise in my head and startling me awake at random times throughout the night—and not just because Aiden froze me and Riley’s clothes right before we got dressed in the morning. Or because he used his power on the pipes in the bathroom so my shower was freezing. Or because Eric used his power to steal my cereal bowl while it was in my hands, so that I spilled sugary milk all over myself. Or because Gabe, the fourth member of our group, used his energy ray to explode an apple, just to prove that he has good aim, in case, according to him, I “get any ideas.”

  I mean, it is because of all that stuff, it’s just not because of any one thing in particular. Their attempt to drive me out of here—or to drive me insane, whichever comes first, I guess—is definitely a team effort. I’m sure the four of them bonding over trying to murder me will be a special camp memory that they’ll treasure forever.

  Now it’s mid-morning and we’re all sitting in the grass outside our cabin—we stuck close by so Riley could participate—and Counselor Steve is making us discuss what we think makes another person trustworthy.

  “Not using their power to blow anything up,” Aiden says.

  For just a split second, I think he means Gabe blowing up that apple earlier, and then I realize he means me. Though blowing a hole through the roof of the school gym is way more impressive than blowing up a stupid apple, and I could see why it would be more memorable.

  Counselor Steve gives me a nervous look, though I can’t tell if it’s because he’s worried my feelings will be hurt or if he’s afraid I’m going to flip out and try to blow up everyone here just for spite. He keeps fidgeting with a piece of paper that has our schedule for the day on it, rolling it up as tightly as he can, then letting it spring loose again. “Does anyone want to, um, comment or add to that?”

  I lean forward. “Actually, I—”

  That horrible noise fills my head again, cutting me off. I press my hands to my head and grit my teeth, waiting for it to be over.

  Noah keeps it short—possibly because Counselor Steve is watching, or possibly because he wants to keep some energy in reserve for later. I’m guessing it’s that last one.

  Counselor Steve gives me a really worried look. “Are you alright?”

  “Yeah,” I tell him. “Just… just a headache.”

  Riley frowns.

  Our cabin mates all snicker to themselves.

  Counselor Steve catches that something’s going on, though he still obviously has no idea what. “If you’re not feeling well, then, um, maybe someone else would like to say something? Noah? What do you think makes someone trustworthy?”

  Noah gets this smug grin on his face and leans back on his hands. “Not using their power to at
tack people.”

  Riley glares at him. “You mean like you just did?”

  “Perkins,” I mutter, trying to get him to shut up.

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Noah says. “And I meant not using it on innocent people. People who don’t deserve it.”

  Riley clenches his fists. “Heroes, you mean.”

  “Could be heroes, could be someone else. Just as long as they’re not a villain.”

  Aiden jerks his head at Riley. “You love villains so much, you sure you even have an H? Maybe you should show us your thumb.”

  “Yeah,” Eric says. “Funny how we haven’t seen it yet. Like he’s got something to hide.”

  Which is ridiculous, because it’s not like they’ve shown anyone their thumbs. Not that it should matter, and not that I didn’t already know they were hypocritical douchebags, but still.

  Counselor Steve forces a laugh. “Now, now, of course everyone here has a…” He trails off, remembering that I have an X, something that’s pretty much public knowledge at this point. He clears this throat. “Let’s try to stay on topic.”

  “What doesn’t make someone trustworthy,” Aiden says, “is hanging around with someone like him.” He looks at me when he says that part, as if it wasn’t already obvious who he meant.

  Riley scowls at him. “What the hell’s your problem?”

  “You know what my—”

  “Your problem,” I tell Aiden, interrupting him, “is that you don’t know who you’re messing with.”

  His eyes narrow, though he sounds almost amused. “Who, you?” He laughs.

  The other three do, too.

  “Yep, me.”

  Counselor Steve swallows. He does not like this situation. “Okay, boys, I think it’s time for our morning hike.”

  Nobody moves.

  “I have news for you,” Aiden tells me. “Nobody here is afraid of you.”

  “Really?” I raise a skeptical eyebrow, glancing at all four of them. “Because you could have fooled me.”

  Eric scoffs. “You’re not going to do anything to us.”

  “Not if you know what’s good for you,” Gabe adds, and I notice he makes sure his hands are free, like he thinks he’s going to need to blast me with his energy ray right here. Because, you know, none of them are afraid of me.

  “Obviously, I—” That noise in my head again cuts me off. I swear it hurts worse each time, or maybe that’s just because it really is giving me a headache.

  All four of them laugh.

  “Okay,” Counselor Steve says, jumping to his feet, “that’s… that’s enough. It’s time for our hike.” He claps his hands together, I guess to seem more authoritative.

  “You’d better watch yourself,” Noah says as he and the others get up and head into the cabin to get ready.

  I stay back to help Riley up, and because I don’t want to have anything to do with those douchebags.

  Counselor Steve wanders away from the cabin and pulls out his cell phone, trying desperately to find a signal, even though there isn’t one out here.

  “What are you going to do to them?” Riley asks.

  I rub my temples, trying to make the dull ache go away. “Nothing. Just like I told Amelia.”

  He sighs. “You didn’t have to provoke them like that.”

  “Yes, I did.” I look at him. “You should have stayed out of it.”

  His eyes widen. He seems kind of hurt by that. “I’m your friend, X. Of course I’m not going to stay out of it. You heard what they said. And I know what Noah did to you. I mean, I don’t, not really, but I know it wasn’t good.”

  “I’m okay.”

  “You don’t sound like it. And no offense, but you don’t look like it, either.” He pauses. “Maybe we should tell someone.”

  I laugh. “Like who? Him?” I look over in Counselor Steve’s direction and keep my voice low, even though I don’t think he can hear us.

  “No, but it’s getting worse, and it’s only Tuesday. And if they’d do all that in front of a counselor, who knows what else they’d do? We could tell one of the teachers.”

  “Yeah, right. They don’t care what happens to me at Heroesworth—they sure as hell don’t care what happens to me out in the middle of the woods.”

  “Okay, a counselor, then. A different counselor. They want camp to be about unity and friendship, and what those guys are doing is the exact opposite of that. They’ll have to care.”

  “They won’t.”

  “But—”

  “Don’t tell anyone, Perkins. There’s no point, and you’re just going to make things worse.”

  It’s late afternoon, and all six of us are in our cabin, sitting on our beds and killing time before dinner, when one of the counselors bursts in. Unlike Counselor Steve, this guy has an authoritative air about him, like he’s not going to accept any nonsense from anybody.

  He stands up straight and eyes all of us. “I’m Counselor Mike. We got a report that there’s been some bullying going on.” When his eyes land on me, I swear they narrow a little bit, like he thinks I might be the one doing the bullying, or at least causing trouble somehow, despite what Riley must have told them.

  Because I know it was Riley—it had to be—because nobody else here would have said anything. Our cabin mates aren’t going to tell on themselves, and Riley was the one talking about going to a counselor. I look over at him.

  He glances guiltily down at the floor and pretends he doesn’t notice.

  Counselor Mike holds his hands behind his back in a way that squares his shoulders and makes him look extra stern. “Do you boys have anything to say to that?” he says, addressing our cabin mates.

  Eric glares at me from across the room. I can practically feel all four of them seething.

  It’s Aiden who gets it together first and shrugs, like he has no idea what this is about. “I think you got a false report. Nothing like that’s been going on.”

  I mean, all four of them are wearing their anti-lightning signs—freshly adorned with new tape, since they wore them so much yesterday that they were falling off—and me and Riley obviously aren’t. Plus, I don’t know who this Counselor Mike guy is, but there’s no way he doesn’t know I have lightning. So, yeah, nothing going on here.

  “You sure you have the right cabin?” Noah says.

  Counselor Mike glares at him. “I’m asking the questions here.” He marches over to me, though he doesn’t get too close. He looks me up and down, like he’s trying to assess whether I’m worth all this trouble. “Has anyone been harassing you?”

  “Nope.” The word tastes bad in my mouth, and I’m sure he’s going to know I’m lying, since I don’t exactly sell it or anything. “False alarm.”

  “X.” Riley glances between me and Counselor Mike, looking really worried. “That’s not—”

  “Nothing happened,” I say, cutting him off.

  Riley goes silent, though he doesn’t look happy about it.

  Counselor Mike takes a step back. “I don’t appreciate my time being wasted.” He gives me a look like I’m absolute dirt. “A couple of your teachers warned me about you, about how you like to stir up trouble.”

  “They what?” I know at least one of them must have been Mrs. Deeds, our Advanced Heroism teacher, since she doesn’t even try to hide the fact that she hates me. I’m not sure who the next most likely candidate would be, though for all I know when he says a couple, he might mean all of them.

  “Every year there’s at least one student like you. Well, not like you,” he adds. “But someone who likes to cause drama.”

  Riley sucks in a breath. “Damien didn’t—”

  “You got me,” I tell Counselor Mike. “I just love the attention.”

  He nods knowingly. “I’ve seen the videos.” He means the ones on YouTube and in the news. “You need to have everyone looking at you at all times. But we don’t need—or tolerate—that kind of behavior here at Serenity Trails. This camp is a place for disco
vering unity and forming lifelong friendships. There’s no place for attention-seeking individuals like you.” He looks me in the eye. “Do you understand, or are we going to have a problem?”

  “Oh, I understand.” That he’s an idiotic douchebag who only expects “unity” from his campers as long as they don’t have to deal with someone like me.

  “Good. Because I don’t want to hear any more reports about bullying in this cabin. And anyone who can’t behave themselves will be sent home.” He turns and gives his stern look to the rest of our cabin mates, just to remind them he’s in charge I guess, then heads back out the door.

  As soon as he’s gone, Noah makes that horrible noise in my head. I cringe, and when it’s over and I look up, Aiden’s standing right in front of me. He’s so pissed at me, his voice shakes when he says, “What the hell was that?”

  The other three are standing behind him.

  Electricity twitches along my back. I stand up, unwilling to face them sitting down.

  “Did you think you were going to get us kicked out of here?” Aiden says. “Like anyone would believe a villain like you.”

  “Yeah, well, I didn’t see you admitting to anything.”

  He scoffs. “Neither did you, because deep down, you know you deserve it.”

  “He didn’t do anything,” Riley says. “I was the—”

  “I figured it was only a matter of time before I electrocuted one of you,” I tell Aiden, not letting Riley finish. “I was trying to get you sent home for your own good.”

  He laughs—a bitter, mocking laugh, and not like he thinks what I said was at all funny. Then he shoves me against the wall. The back of my head and one of my shoulders smacks into it really hard. Electricity surges across my skin.

  A couple of them gasp and take a step back, seeming less sure about this now, like they’re not prepared to actually deal with me when I’m all electric. When I might actually fight back and hurt them. Or possibly completely lose it and obliterate them. Whichever.

  But Aiden stays put, though he’s tense, and he holds his hands up, ready to use his freeze ray power on me. “Maybe we should call Counselor Mike back in here and get you sent home. For your own good.”