Double Pride, Double Trouble – CH 01 – Because we are too similar

Chapter 1: Because we are too similar

“Darcy! Get off her this instant!”
Everyone froze. Two bodies, just a second ago entwined on the soft surface, went rigid.
“Get. Off. Her. Now.”
The trainer’s voice was ice calm.

Darcy sprung up and stood to the side, trying to dust the worst dirt off the colorful t-shirt.
“Get up, lass” the other trainer drawled and helped Bennet up. “Now, we’ll go to the camp counselor and she’ll sort you out.”
Crowd parted, letting the small parade through. Both miscreants regained their breath enough to start hissing at each other in barely-restrained anger.
“Quiet, both of you” the trainer had had enough. “I don’t care for ‘your fault’, ‘your problem’ and whatever else you can think of. Keep it for the HQ. You can try to explain yourselves to her.”
Both girls groaned.

#

Mina Bennet hated Rose Darcy from the very bottom of her fourteen year old heart.
Rose had it all.
Rose had riding lessons and travels.
Rose had a big country house.
However the fact Mina hated the most was that Rose had a father. Father who took her riding and bought her a pony and a huge dog.
It was slightly mitigated by the fact that she didn’t have a mother, but still.
Mina hated Rose and her stupid riding hat and, especially, her long, wavy hair and the ability to braid it in a wrist-thick braid.

#

Rose Darcy hated Mina Bennet with her entire, fourteen year old soul.
Mina had it all.
Mina had a huge family with cousins and aunts and uncles that came for Christmas and sang.
Mina played the piano and got singing lessons.
Mina could walk to school on her own, like a grownup.
Mina had a mother. A mother who had packed her suitcase and baked her cookies and sent her a card and a box of sweets every weekend.
Well, she didn’t have a father, but she did have a mother, which was enviable.
Rose hated Mina, with her short-cropped hair that didn’t need washing and drying for an hour and with her ability to use a watch to find north.

#

They both stood in front of the “camp HQ”, Maria Hill, who was looking at some papers, deep in thought.
“HQ, I’ve brought Bennet and Darcy. They were at it again.”
Both girls squirmed.
“Again” was quite correct. Ever since they had bumped into each other at first lunch the tension was there. One of Mina’s friends suggested she should bite off Rose’s nose, just to make sure they were different. Mina was privately horrified of the idea, but loudly exclaimed that she would have been sick if she tried to bite something that filthy.
At that very moment, whole dining room went quiet and absolutely everyone, including whole staff, looked at Mina and Rose in surprise.
From that point, everything went steadily downhill.
A fistful of bugs down the shirt.
An earthworm in the salad bowl.
A… something squishy in the shoe.
Glue and honey on the door handle.
Toothpaste on everything, more or less.
Bucket of water over the door.
Farting pillow under the mattress.
Kitchen alarms seeded through the cabin, set to various times.
Rope of bells across the windows.
Basically, everything, and slightly more, what you can find in an average camper’s duffel or backpack. Or two.
After a stern reprimand from the HQ (after she had found the seat of her shorts covered in peanut butter) both seemed to keep apart as much as the camp size allowed.
However there was only one gym, and it seemed that someone’s equipment migrated into someone else’s training area, something got kicked, something else got thrown, some light punches followed, along with some very distinguished name-calling. By the time the fencing coach arrived, both girls were squirming among Darcy’s yoga leggings and socks, Bennet’s talcum bottle (cap off) and some small weights.
Still trying to dust themselves off, they waited for HQ to pronounce her verdict.
She raised her glasses to her forehead and regarded them in silence.
More squirming.
“I have no idea what to do with you. I’m almost determined to call your parents and demand they take you away. You’re disrupting everyone’s rest and play. There are factions supporting each of you. There are parties organised around your conflict. This is damaging the camp spirit. I say, no more.”
She paused and sighed.
“I hate to call the parents because I always feel I could have done more. However, theoretically… Darcy, what would your father do if he knew you were involved in a fight?”
Rose looked at her toes.
“He would probably cut your riding time and added some stall-mucking time, wouldn’t he? Bennet? What about you?”
Mina swallowed.
“I suppose Mom would give me a ton of chores” she sighed. “And then send me to mind grandma’s flowers. And…”
“Well. I don’t have your grandma’s flowers here and Darcy’s horse stall isn’t around to be mucked out. However, both of you will serve as kitchen helpers for the next week. And you’ll move to a separate cabin. Only the two of you. For the remainder of the camp, you’ll be placed in the same work, craft, sport and chores group, and will be given the same tasks. You will stay together all day and night, no matter what. If you can’t stop making others miserable with your behaviour, at least for a big chunk of time you’ll be only getting on each other’s nerves.”
Rose shot Mina a death glare while the other girl ground her teeth.
“Dismissed. Ask Miss Sarah in and wait for her in front of my office.”