Kel's Journal

Entry 4

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This story is a work of fiction copyrighted by Lastimer. Do not publish or reproduce on another site without author's permission.

Okay, time for the regular disclaimer: This is a story of mature themes (at some points at least). This may include some sexual acts. Be advised that if you're not 18 or older, (or whatever it is where you live), you shouldn't be reading. But if you defy this, it ain't my fault.

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Well, welcome to my first attempt at internet fiction. This is the main branch of this story, following Kel. There are future plans to expand this story to talk about other characters, but for now Kel isthe narrator. This story really isn't designed to be an literary orgy, more a story of relationships, friends, and dreams. The chapters may seem a bit on the short side as of yet, but that's because I'm still new to actually writing down my story ideas. I'm open to any comments.

The place this story takes place is a fictional town in Central New Jersey. There will be references to other areas that happen to be real places.

If you are offended by the opinions expressed in this story, just remember they are those of the characters, and do not necessarily reflect those of their creator (ME).

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Kel's Journal

Entry 4

Adventures in Jobland and Making Due with a Problem

August 13


My sister and I were on two simultaneous missions. First there was Operation Boycatcher, to get me a boyfriend, and a replacement for my sister's current asshole. We also had an older mission. Operation Wheels, to get a car. We've been working on this one since my sister got her permit. We decided we should get jobs to help get some money.

My sister has been working at a sweet shop near our house for about a year now. I've always been too young to work there, but now they'll hire me since I'm 16 when I start school. But in the meantime, I work as a counselor at a day camp in our area. They'll hire young, and they pay better than a fast food place. Plus, I'd rather work with kids anyway. But because of this job, I really haven't had time to write this week.

How the hell could I do everything I've done so far if I had a job? Well, the camp has two sessions. There's a week between sessions, and that just happened to be from August 1st to the 7th. They do this so kids who go on normal vacations can 'enjoy' the camp for at least three or four weeks.

My job is pretty standard fare: I'm assigned a group of brats and I have to take them to all sorts of activities. I'm one of the more experienced counselors, as they really don't get too many people over the age of 16 to work. I was sent here until I was fourteen, but for the last two years I apprenticed under another counselor. She was a great counselor, even paying me under the table. Because of my seniority, I was able to get an older group of kids. They were better to work with because they did much cooler things, the kind of stuff I like to do.

They ranged from twelve years old up to one fourteen year old. Pretty mixed genderwise, seven girls, five boys. Damn, no matter where I went, chicks always outnumbered guys. Of course, I shifted the balance, counting for about five more boys on my own.

For the most part, the kids are well off. Most of them have parents in high paying jobs that keep them from spending time with them. They send them here, since the resident babysitter, hereby mentioned as school, is not working now. There were a few 'underprivileged' kids sent in from Trenton, of whom I have mixed feelings. They are either completely annoying, not doing anything because they are not wanting to be here. The other kids are completely appreciative of the opportunity. I love having these kids in my group. And fortunately, the two kids from the city in my group are the latter.

"Welcome back, guys. In case you don't know me, I'm Kel. I'll be your counselor for the next three weeks. I've had most of you before, but we should all introduce ourselves."

So the kids all introduced themselves. No big deal there."Okay, let's run down the schedule. We really have lots of open times to do what we want, since you are the oldest group. We just have to go to the orientation session for a half hour right now, then the only scheduled thing is lunch at 1 p.m. Let's get going."

I hate these orientation sessions. The head counselors just drone on about rules and junk like that. These are the oldest kids, so they should just give them a damn rule sheet and get on with it.

The great thing about the camp is that it's located on Danesmith College. It's a tiny little college with about 700 students. It's mostly an art college now, but there's lots of options for the kids. The 'downtown' of Buckdale runs right by there, so we normally just walk around. It's not good like Princeton or New Hope or anything, but it'll do in a pinch. The bigwigs don't like us taking kids off campus, but they're a bit more lenient with the older kids.

When we finished the snorefest, we decided to get better acquainted by getting some movies. We got a good three hours before lunch, so we walked over to the video store. The shit they serve at the camp isn't really edible, so we made sure we would be full for lunch. I had to take a little bit out of my car fund, but it'll save the sanity of thirteen people here. Thus, a good cause. I let them pick out a movie, and that took a long time. Eventually, I took the lead and had the girls pick one movie, the guys another, and a third for me. The girls choice was easy, getting Legally Blonde. The guys were much tougher, since I had to veto six movies for an R rating. The guy at the counter knew me and my age, and wouldn't let it slide. Eventually, they picked Rush Hour 2. Capped off with my choice, Ferris Bueller's Day Off (a personal favorite), we had a movie marathon set. We went for the now ready pizzas and head back to one of the dorms. We just hung out for the rest of the day, just making the required appearance at the cafeteria. They headed home for the day, and I was waiting for Friday to come.

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Sarah and I had calculated how long it would take to get the money for our car. We thought we should have at least 5,000, so we can get a decent car. We had been shopping for weeks now, looking for the perfect car. We had decided on a nice Hyundai Elantra. It was black, nice tan leather interior, and a sunroof. From our test drive (in which, by the way, our salesman was on the edge of his seat, afraid we would mess up the car), we figure it to run well. Our parents agreed. They wouldn't pay for our car, but they would help get all the paperwork done.

Even though I dipped a bit into the fund on the first day of camp, we would have more than five grand with our paychecks on Friday. The salesman was pretty nice to us, since he was one of our neighbors. He held the car for us for a week before we could afford it.

So the rest of the week was pretty simple. I led the kids through simpler activities, explaining that the videos were just for opening day. They are very good for me, and pretty submissive. We had lots of fun. Swimming, playing games. Most of our competitions were Battle of the Sexes, but I would try to stay neutral, unless the girls were kicking ass. Then I would step in.

The one kid who caught my attention was David. He was thirteen, but was very mature for his age. He reminded me a lot of, well, myself. I decided to let him help me with me duties. He was very take charge, a leader during sports. Good kid.

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Friday finally arrived. I got my paycheck, and was picked up by my parents. Sarah was in the car with her money, so we went to the bank quickly before it closed to get our fund. We had $5,120.15 for a down payment. A little more than expected, but we didn't include interest in our calculations. We stopped at the dealership to go drop off the payment and pick up our car.

Our parents went with us into the building to sign. As we were minors, they needed to co-sign for the loan. We still owed $5,500 for our car, so we would need a year to pay it off. Since I would join my sister at the sweet shop when the summer ended, we could make the money much quicker. Half of our checks would go to car (after taxes of course), the other into our pockets. It kind of stinks that our paychecks would essentially be half that of most of the other workers.

Once all the work was over, I looked to my sister and smiled. We had worked for it, and we had our own car. We left Mom and Dad and went to get to our car. It's so great: I just have to get used to saying it. Our new car. Our new car. Wow.

The 'rents let us drive around for awhile, as long as we were back by 9:00. We took full advantage of this, getting back at 8:58 exactly. While we were driving, Sarah and I decided to have a big talk.

"So Kel" Sarah said. "You planning on going to Stacy's barbecue?
"Probably."
"We all know Mark will be there, but I know you are planning on trying to stay in the closet for awhile."

"That doesn't mean I won't try to befriend him."
"Let me guess, brother. You want to use him for his gaydar. But that's a stereotype."
"Not necessarily. Some guys supposedly have it."
"Do you know if Mark has it? Maybe he's a closet case like you who just happens to have been outed."

I paused. I just couldn't respond to stuff like that. Sometimes Sarah had a stern point of view. As much as it could embarrass me, I knew it came from the bottom of her heart. She wanted to help me.

"Kel, just promise me you aren't just using him."
"Do I look like the manipulative type? Besides, so many people feel sorry for him now. If I'm thought to be mean to him, that will make me out as a gaybasher. Kinda ironic, huh?"
"Of course. You feel hungry? We only used five grand, so we have $120."
"Yeah. I could go for a spicy chicken sandwich."

So Sarah and I parked at Wendy's (she's not ready to eat and drive at the same time) and had some food. I had my sandwich, my sister got a salad, which I ended up eating half of. We just rode around for a while. We drove back by the campus where I was working. There was a kid standing outside, no one else there. I looked closer and saw who it was. It was David, the kid from my group.

"Sarah. Pull over there."
"Why? I'm not picking up any strange kids."
"That kid isn't strange. He's in the group I lead. His name is David."

So she pulled over to a side street and let me out of the car. I walked up to the area David was at.

"Hey David. Why are you standing out here?"
"My mom and dad didn't show up."
"Did you call them?"
"Yes. I called home, their offices, their cells. No answer anywhere."
"How about your family. Grandparents, aunts, uncles?
"Just my sister. But she's traveling all over Europe and I don't know how to contact her unless she talks to me. Other than her, I have no other family. Both parents are only children, and all my grandparents are dead."

"Okay. Why don't you come with me and my sister Sarah. We'll see who we can call at my house. My parents can probably think of some stuff that we can't."
"Okay." So we took David back home with us. We called my Dad on my cell to tell him the situation. He told me that when we got home, we would talk about this.

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At home we were greeted by my parents and a police officer. I was worried. Anytime a police officer is at your house standing at the front door, you know this can't be good.

"Hello Officer," David said timidly. He must have been thinking the same way I was.
"Hello son. I'm Officer Mitchell. You must be David Andrade."
"Yes."
"I hate to have to be the bearer of bad news, but your parents were in an accident."

"Are they okay?"
"Your father unfortunately passed away at the scene, and your mother is in the hospital. Unfortunately, she's in grave condition. The doctors don't know whether she'll be able to live."
I asked, "So why did you come here?"
"Well Mr. Hutchinson here call us to find out if we knew something. He called just after we got their identities, and we were about to contact next of kin. Now David, do you have any other family?"
"I have a sister, but she's in Europe. I don't know where though. My parents are only children, and my grandparents are dead, so the only family I have left is her."
"Well, there's someone from DYFS inside. You're going to go talk to them now."
That's when David started sobbing. I know it must be hard, but us kids have never lived through it.

Sarah and I went up to my room. Laura and Kristie, my little sisters, were already in their room getting ready for bed. I thought of Billie at this point, knowing she went through it. I picked up the phone to call her.

Sarah wondered about my actions. "Who are you calling?"
"You know my friend Billie?"
"The one you met running?"
"Yes, her. I'm calling her to ask if maybe she could come over. She went through the loss of her mom a few years ago, and maybe she can help out David."
"Kel, that's really a thoughtful idea."
I started talking into the phone. I heard Billie say hello. It was a feminine voice, so it had to be her. "Hello Billie?"
"Yes?"
"It's Kel."
"Hi. So what are you calling about at this time of night?"
"I've got a situation over here. I need your help."
"Me?"
"Yeah. I'll explain everything when I get over here."

About fifteen minutes later, Billie showed up. I had gone down stairs to greet her.

"Hi Billie."
"Hey Kel. What's this about?"

I took her into the dining room, on the opposite side of our living room. That's where they were talking with David. "Okay. One of the kids in my group that I counsel at camp was standing out side about an hour ago. We just found out his parents were in a big accident. His dad's dead, and his mom is pretty close to it. I wondered if you could help him out."

She started to think for a minute. "This is a different situation. My mom had cancer, so I had time. I didn't have this sudden 'my mom is gone' feeling. But I'll do my best."
"Thanks."

Billie and I went to the living room and waited to talk. The guy from DYFS (the Family Services organization in NJ) was still thinking about the custody situation. Since his mom would need to be in the hospital for a long time if she was to survive, David would need to live somewhere else. David is also from Buckdale, so he wanted to stay at his school. That's when my parents suggested that we could take care of him for a while. My brothers have left us with two guest rooms, so he could take over one of them. For such a temporary situation, they okayed this.

"Hey Dad."
"Yeah son." My dad stood up from a couch to talk to me.
"I had Billie come over here just now. I thought maybe David could talk to her, since she has lost her mom."
"Let me see if David is up to it. It just might make him feel worse."
"I understand."
"David."
"Yes Mr. Hutchinson?" David looked back at us.
"Are you both done?"
"Yes sir."

The DYFS agent stood up. "Well, if there's nothing else to be done, I'll be going now. David can stay here until we have a better gauge on his mother's condition. We'll try and call every day and keep you all abreast on the situation." He then walked out of our house, leaving our new family member with us.

"Say David," my Dad said, "This is Kel's friend Billie." David and Billie said hi to each other. "She's been through a situation of her mother dying a couple of years ago. Do you maybe want to talk to her right now?"

David stared with sad little blue eyes. He didn't look like he wanted to talk about it. "No, not really."
I looked to Billie, "Sorry for having you come out here."
Billie responded, "No big deal. I'll be going now, if you don't need me. If you need me, call me."
My dad stopped her, "I won't let you walk home at this time of night. Let me take you home."
"Okay Mr. Hutchinson."
"Listen, you're one of my sons good friends now. I can tell because he doesn't just bring over anyone at 9 p.m. if he didn't like them. So just call me Brian." He then looked to David. "That goes for you, too."
Okay Brian," Billie answered, "Let's go."
So my dad took Billie home. That left me and David downstairs. Mom must have gone upstairs before Billie came over.

"Hey Kel?"

"Yeah David?"
"I don't really feel like being alone right now, but I just don't want to talk about my parents."
"Okay. You can sleep in my bed. I've got a couch, so I'll sleep on that."
"Thanks for bringing your friend over. That was a nice gesture."
"No problem. I would do the same for anyone."
"By the way, just call me Dave. David seems so much more, boring."
"Sure. After all, I'm the master of nicknames. You don't want to know my real name."
"What's your real name?"
"It's embarrassing, so I'll just leave it to Sarah. She'll gladly tell."
"All right."
"Now, get ready for bed, Dave. It's nearly 11. I know tomorrow's Saturday, but I like to get up early to run with Billie."
"Got it."

After I got him settled upstairs, I went up to my room to get everything ready. He had gotten changed while I was waiting. He definitely did not look thirteen. He was physically mature for his age. I don't really think of him in any sort of sexual way, but he looked good for his age. If he didn't have a girlfriend, I'm sure he could get one pretty quickly.

"So what grade are you in Dave?"
"I'm entering high school this year."
"High School? But I thought you were only thirteen."
"I am thirteen. But I took a test when I was little and they had me skip a grade. I'm really nervous. How is high school? Could you maybe show me around when it opens?"

"I guess. You know they have an orientation day, right? Maybe I'll sign up. I need the activities. But don't worry about high school. It's a hell of a lot better than middle school."
"Good. I'm nervous. And now with everything that's happening..."
"Don't worry about it now. They'll try and get in contact with your sister, and in the meantime you have us. Sarah's a great person, and I'm sure she'll love to take you around in our new car. Kristie and Laura may give you a hard time, but nowhere nearly as bad as I get. Now get to sleep."
"All right, Kelly."
"So you did see Sarah? Well, Good night."

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Okay, so there hasn't been much action on the relationship front so far. I'm really just setting up the plot. I'll get to some real action in the next chapter, or the one after that. Please tell me what you think. E-mail me at mlb137@hotmail.com or lastimer@hotmail.com for any comments or suggestions.