Sunnyside Up with Red Ketchup

by Andrews, Ashley

  What was wrong with him?

  No. It wasn't what was wrong with him. It was what was wrong with Red. Surely, the girl was too innocent for her own good. Or his. She didn’t have the slightest idea about what she looked like in those clothes. There was no girl alive who could be so… dense. She had no self-awareness.

  She’d been sitting in that position, the red shorts ridding up her pale thighs and her top dangerously low. She was a tomboy. A tomboy. She shouldn't be wearing those kinds of clothes.

  God, she’d only made it worse by crawling forward, closer to him. The top had gaped open and it wasn’t the shorts that bothered him that time.

  He felt like poking her back with a stick and telling her to stay away.

  She really wasn't good for his health.

  He rubbed at his forehead and made his way slowly back to his room. He'd take her shopping. It wasn't because he wanted to keep her company. Or because spending the day with her would make her extremely happy. Or for his sanity.

  He needed to do it for his friend. Right—Seth wouldn't be happy with his girlfriend walking around in such provocative clothing.

  Zane’s heart had sped up because he was afraid of her, not for any other reason. He didn’t want to be flipped over her shoulder in one of her spontaneous karate moves or something. He needed to keep his distance. But how was he supposed to do that if he was taking her shopping?

  He'd stay an arm's length away at all times. That was the best way to make sure his heart didn’t beat so hard, in fear.

  * * * * *

  Today was the second day of Sport's activity. When she heard what the activity was, she had to try so hard to keep her feet firmly planted on the ground. She wanted to run away.

  They were going swimming. She couldn't go near the water. She just couldn't. The thought of even being near it sent chills down her spine. She raised a hand and looked at it. It was trembling slightly.

  "All campers who cannot swim can make their way over to the shallow area at the end of the lake!" The camp counselor was busy dividing everyone into groups.

  She stood with Casper, Seth, and Zane. They didn’t move. Evidently these three could swim. She sighed. Of course they could swim. They hadn't lived underground since they were children. With all that money, they probably owned their own swimming pools and could afford to pay for the best instructors.

  She started to slowly walk away, towards the shallow end, feeling their eyes on her back.

  "Hey, Red! I didn't know you couldn't swim!" Casper hurried to stand by her side. He looked at her sympathetically.

  She laughed nervously. “I'll be fine. It's just a little water." She told herself that. But, Casper’s words had ensured that everyone knew she couldn’t swim. There were many snickers and whispering jokes about her failing.

  Casper went back to stand with Zane and Seth.

  She stared at the ground, not wanting to move. Everyone else began to jump in the water. The girls were wearing bikinis and other cute swimsuits. She wore the longest pair of shorts that she had, and of Seth's t-shirts. She hadn’t thought about needing a swimsuit. Since she’d never been in the water, it had never crossed her mind.

  She watched everyone as they started to swim lengths. She stood at the edge of the lake, away from everyone else and just stared at the water. This was the deepest part of the lake. There was no gradual descent, but a steep drop-off, which was why this area was used for diving and swimming laps. The water here was deep. She leaned out over the edge to look at the water, she felt sick in the pit of her stomach. Quickly moving back, she shuddered. She didn’t like the water. She frowned at glassy surface, almost mesmerized by the sun’s glare on its surface. Why didn’t she like the water?

  Casper and Seth watched her from a distance. They were still on shore.

  Zane had left. He had somehow managed to get out of swimming. She wondered if she could too. She straightened up, looking around for Leo's bright red hair.

  "So, Seth's little girlfriend can't swim?" It was Tiffany.

  She turned around quickly. She had heard from Seth that she hadn't broken the girl’s nose—luckily—but that area of her face was covered in a big purple bruise. Red looked at the girl.

  Even with the bruise, she still looked pretty. What had Tiffany said, that Red can’t swim…great. Goose bumps rose on her arms. She wouldn’t put it past the other girl to push Red in the water, simply because she couldn’t swim. She was being silly. Tiffany wouldn’t do that, would she?

  “I bet you really can swim. Everyone at this camp can swim. Are you making it up so you can be different from everyone else? So that you get all the attention?" Tiffany approached her, being careful not to get too close. The blonde raised a hand to point in the direction of the shallow end. There was no one there. She smiled slyly at Red. "You see? You'd be the only one sitting there."

  Tiffany took another step closer. "I have to say, it’s a great plan. You say you can't swim, and your little Haven friends join you on the beach, to help teach poor, little you. What better way to get closer to them?" Tiffany took another step closer.

  Red didn't like the look in the other girl’s eyes. She didn't like the tone in her voice. She didn't like what she was saying.

  Tiffany thought Red was faking. She took a step back, wanting to just get away from the nasty girl. It was the biggest mistake of her life.

  The edge of the small cliff was behind her.

  She stretched out her arms, hoping to grab anything she could to prevent her falling. It was too late. She let out a scream before her back hit the water with immense force. She gasped and went under.

  The shock of the cool water startled her. She went under, not even trying to fight to the top. She couldn't breathe. Her chest constricted in a fear too strong to just be about water. She’d heard that saying, about your life flashing before your eyes when you died. But what burst in Red’s brain wasn’t anything she remembered. Yet it was as if these events had happened only yesterday. She wanted to scream, needed to scream.

  Familiar images flashed before her eyes, a white light blinding her. She feared for her life. She needed to run. What did they want to do to her next? Who was ‘they?’ There was no one here. She turned to the light, seeing a figure swimming towards her. The bright light behind the figure illuminated it, so it just seemed like a spidery, shadowed form.

  She felt a body press against her. It was warm. It swept away most of the fear, but the chilly dread, and some of the memories remained. Freezing Red through to the bone, she clutched at the warm body pulling her to the surface. She was being saved.

  * * * * *

  Zane watched everyone splash and enjoy the lake. He would be in there too. If he wasn't afraid of water.

  He used to be a top swimmer. It used to be his passion. Until the day he had been thrown, unwillingly, into the water. He’d hit his head and nearly drowned. Since then, anything that involved swimming terrified him.

  Only two people knew the real reason behind his not wanting to swim and they were in the lake now, swimming lengths and racing with the others. He sat down on the bank and scanned the tops of everyone's heads. He moved his gaze to the shallow end.

  Red wasn't there. He got to his feet quickly, looking around the lake for the familiar mop of black. It wasn't there.

  He noticed movement in the distance and looked up. Squinting to look all the way at the back of lake, he spotted the familiar black hair and dainty figure. But she wasn't in the water. She was standing in front of a blonde girl, perilously close to the edge of the lake. The deep end. He knew she couldn't swim. She had admitted as much to Casper a bit ago.

  He started to slowly walk around the outside of the lake, trying to get a better view of the person talking to her.

  He watched in horror as Red took a step back.

  Dread coursed through his veins. Terror etched itself into his bones. With a loud scream and a splash, she hit the water. She didn’t try to swim. There was no flailing about. She j
ust sunk, like a rock thrown in a river.

  He didn't think about his own fear, or remember that water had become the enemy. Not caring about anything but Red, he tore off his jacket and sprinted around to the side of the lake where Red had fallen in. Diving perfectly into the water, he clamped down on the fear spreading through him.

  He was scared of water, but could swim. Judging by Red's actions earlier, she wasn't particularly fond of the water either. But she couldn't swim.

  His cheeks puffed out as he swam as far down as he could. He released small bubble of air, so he was able to swim further and further down. Red's arms and legs were spread outwards and she was slowly sinking, her eyes half-open, a blank stare on her face. It looked like she’d fainted.

  He lunged forward and grabbed her arm, pulling her into his body. He entwined an arm around her waist and shot upwards, kicking the water with his feet so he could make it to the surface.

  She had to live. She wouldn't die just from falling in the water. Would she?

  He didn't know what he'd do if she died. The chances of it happening had seemed so small. And he realized all of a sudden that he would miss her. Maybe more than just miss her.

  How would his life be if she hadn't come to Sunnyside? What would he be doing now? The same thing he’d done every year, coast. Not really thinking about anything.

  Sound rushed in where all had been silent. The fresh air hit his face as he emerged from the water, using one arm to tug Red out and the other to pull himself out. He rolled over onto his stomach when he got to the grass, coughing out water that had gotten into his lungs.

  He didn’t notice everyone surrounding Red and him. He crawled his way to her side. She was lying with her eyes shut, looking peaceful and more pale than ever.

  Her nose was bleeding. How had that happened? There didn’t seem to be anything she could have hit her head on. He turned her over and thumped her back. Nothing.

  He rolled her back over and flicked her bangs out of her eyes, cupping her face in the palm of his hand.

  "Hey," he moved his hands down to shake her shoulders.

  She wasn’t breathing. She gurgled, like there was something stuck in her throat.

  He swallowed around a huge lump that appeared in his throat and sucked in a breath. He sat her up and hit her back, hard.

  She coughed and her eyes snapped open, water spurting from her mouth. The blood running down her nose continued and she bent down on all fours, no longer coughing up water.

  But blood.

  Chapter 20: Lime

  The nurse shook her head at Zane, Casper and Seth. "I’m happy to tell you there's nothing seriously wrong with her. We think that the shock of falling in the caused her body to react violently. It also appears that she has been suffering from Disassociated Amnesia. From what she’s been able to tell us, she has blocked out painful memories for over a decade, and having much of that come back when she fell in the water, may have caused the nose bleed." The nurse gave them all a sympathetic smile. "The mental trauma could have caused her physical injury. She is sleeping now. Just be careful with her when she wakes up."

  They all looked down at Red. Her hair had dried haphazardly around her head, but then, that was similar to her usual style. She had deep bags under her eyes, her skin had paled even more and she was frowning. Nothing they had tried would get her to relax, or to wake up.

  "Poor Red." Casper stroked the bangs back on Red's forehead.

  Seth sat on her other side, his hand grasping hers. Zane stood at the end of her bed, his arms crossed. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't cover up his anger.

  “She seems to be so simple, so naïve and just, well…simple. But she’s not really; she’s got more secrets than anyone I’ve ever met. She’s very complicated," he said through gritted teeth.

  Casper didn't notice the tone in voice.

  Seth did. The brown-haired boy turned his head slightly to look at his friend.

  "Isn't that the same for all of us?"

  Zane snapped his eyes away from Red to glare at Seth. "We're not naïve."

  Seth couldn't argue with that. He moved his eyes back down to Red and lifted a hand to press it against her cheek. They were starting to regain their color.

  Zane lifted his eyes from the girl on the bed to look out of a window at the dark sky outside. It was getting late.

  "Come on boys, it's about time you left now. Give the girl some peace." The nurse came in about an hour later, ushering them out the door with her wrinkled hands.

  They left reluctantly and walked back to the dorm in silence, not willing to tell each other that the only things on their mind at that current moment, was Red.

  * * * * *

  “I CAN'T BELIEVE IT. I LEAVE FOR ONE WEEK AND EVERYTHING TURNS UPSIDE DOWN. I'M REALLY GOING TO KILL THAT—"

  “Tiffany's gone. They said she was responsible for my accident." She looked down at the infirmary bed, grasping it tightly, a sad expression on her face. "It wasn't really her fault though, she didn't push me."

  "Right. That's not what everyone else is saying." Vikki folded her arms over her chest and snorted loudly.

  Red had awoken to find Vikki by her bed, scratching away one of the stickers that were on the back of a medicine bottle. She had been overjoyed to see her friend.

  Vikki had explained that she had to go home immediately because of a family crisis and didn't have time to tell anyone that she would be back within the week.

  Tiffany had lied.

  When Vikki got back, she had heard about the accident and rushed to find Red in the infirmary. "Can't your agent buddies go and assassinate her or something?" Vikki slumped down in the seat beside the bed, looking hopeful.

  Red laughed. “I don't think that’s allowed. Besides, she didn't push me. It's not—"

  "—her fault. Yeah, I get it." Vikki sighed and leaned back, pursing her lips angrily. She let out a growl. "Damn, I hate that witch." Her eyes widened suddenly and she sat up straight, looking at Red hopefully. "With all this going on I forgot to ask, made any progress with Zane? Anything happen with him while I was gone?"

  Her insides did a somersault. Oh dear. How was she supposed to tell her friend that she had ended up sharing a room with Seth, as his girlfriend, that all three rooms on the top ground had been flooded, and that she had beaten up five men in front of Seth, in order to defend Zane when he was nearly kidnapped? And that Zane didn’t know she was an agent, but Seth did.

  She took a deep breath, and started to talk.

  Once she was finished, there was silence in the infirmary for a moment. Vikki just stared at Red, her brown eyes wide. Her mouth had fallen open. "No way," she muttered to herself. “I missed so much."

  She grinned at her. "Yep."

  The nurse came over, breaking the silence that fell over the two of us again. She pressed a weird, rubbery thing to her head, checked the red line that had appeared on the white rectangle and then smiled warmly at her.

  "Looks like you're all clear to go. Just take it easy. I’ve informed Leo you can’t participate in anymore of the Sports Activities."

  She nodded and pushed back the blanket, easing her legs off of the bed. She stood next to Vikki.

  Her friend went to hug her, but Red held her arms up. "Not a good idea," she advised her.

  Vikki tilted her head and dropped her arms. "Why?"

  Red explained about her weird protective instincts.

  Vikki looked at her like Christmas had come early. “I bet Cupid really enjoyed being flipped like that. And to flip your own boyfriend, Red? That's pretty harsh."

  She pouted and frowned at Vikki. “I didn't mean to. And he's not my real boyfriend."

  Vikki tapped her chin and gazed at the sky as they left the infirmary. “I wonder why Vain Zane never gets flipped. That's pretty unfair to Super Cooper—"

  Red started laughing at Vikki’s nicknames for the guys. They were so apt.

  "Red!"

  She stopped laughing when she realized
Vain Zane, Super Cooper and Cupid were walking straight towards the two girls.

  Casper slowed and the grin slowly fell off his face as he saw Vikki standing beside her. His expression did a complete 360 turn and now he was frowning in disgust. They all approached each other.

  "Icky Vikki, you shouldn't be standing so close to Red. You might make her sick again," Casper quipped, scrunching his face up in determination.

  Vikki crossed her arms boldly and stuck her head forward. "What? You think coming to see her will make her feel better? I'd personally feel worse if the first person I saw when I woke up, was you."

  She watched the two of them banter, smiling. She knew she should have found it distressing, but it was so clear that they weren't really serious about the insults.

  "How are you feeling?"

  She flinched and looked to her left. Seth had leaned in close to whisper in her ear. She rubbed at it and smiled at him.

  "A little better, thanks." She found herself looking at Zane instead. He was leaning by a tree nearby, his arms folded over his chest. When he felt her staring at him, he moved his gaze over to her.

  She suddenly felt overwhelmed with emotion and had to swallow around a sudden lump that formed in her throat. She felt her hands begin to tremble. She was getting nervous.

  She was getting nervous because of Zane.

  She opened her mouth to say something, but closed it almost immediately and looked away.

  She didn't notice Zane's arms unfold, or him look at her in disbelief.

  "Vikki, I want to go," she whispered to friend.

  Vikki stopped the latest insult aimed toward Casper mid—sentence and looked at Red. She examined her friends face, obviously noticing that she was starting to feel uncomfortable.

  Red waved goodbye to everyone, careful to avoid eye contact with Zane. She didn't want that strange nervousness to overwhelm her again.

  "What's the deal?"

  She lifted her head to look at Vikki.

  Vikki’s look was a little all knowing. "Judging by the gossip, Vain Zane saved your life. Vain Zane is… well, vain. Why would he save the life of a girl he wants to get rid of?" She tilted her head to the right, and said in a loud whisper, "Why would he jump into the water to save you, when he's been afraid of it since he was a little boy?"