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Chatterbox: Pudding's Place
A Ski Lodge
You flop down onto your bed, exhausted from another long day of school. Is it really necessary for your teacher to assign you to write three essays this week? You have other stuff going on. Life. And you can’t afford to fail this class. Your academic success is hanging on a precipice, and one nudge will send it falling into an abyss so deep that it will never be found if it is lost.
The computer is open in front of you, the white, electronic pages of your word processor beckoning to you. You sit down at your desk.
And then you stand up again and go to the kitchen for a glass of water. You can’t work with a dry mouth. Then, once the water is drained, you grab an apple. It’s slightly withered, but you slice it and slowly eat. You glance over toward the counter where a digital clock squats, its red numbers blinking threateningly. 9:48. If your parents knew you were up this late on a school night, eating old apples, with three essays to write, they would go completely out of their minds.
But your parents aren’t here to boss you around at the moment, so who cares what they’d say? It’s not as if the essays were due tomorrow. At least, not all of them are. Just one.
The apple is gone, and you can no longer think of any stalling techniques. You are fighting a losing battle against yourself. It’s past ten at night, you have school tomorrow, and your teacher is expecting a nice, long essay from everyone’s favorite student.
You walk slowly back to your room and sit down at your desk. You type a few words, yawn, type a few more, open up a web browser, surf Wikipedia for a couple of minutes, yawn again. So far you have only twelve words.
You open up the CB. It’s late, you know, and no one will have posted a thing since you checked last, but maybe you can read an old ski lodge or two.
You click on Pudding’s Place, intending to look for Lake Lelilo or something, when a new thread catches your eye. A Ski Lodge, it says, in those red letters you know so well. You click on the link, and start to read.
“You flop down onto your bed, exhausted from another long day of school. Is it really necessary for your teacher to assign you to write three essays this week?”
What?
You keep reading, watching your own movements of that night laid before you in second person, right up to this very moment.
Good.
I’ve got your attention now.
My dear CBer,
You are having trouble at school. You have unwritten essays, and you don’t know what to write.
That’s okay.
We are offering you the chance of a lifetime, the chance to fix everything. Come to Camp Juniper, where you have the chance to be freed from the bonds of school. You will no longer have to study late into the night in order to pass a test. You will no longer have to struggle for hours on end in order to write a good essay. In short, we are giving you a Get Out of Jail Free card. And, if you choose not to accept this card, you will be given a free college scholarship.
There will be competitions throughout the days of camp. Each camper will have the chance to earn juniper branches. Anyone who is able to weave their branches into a wreath by the end of the camp session will earn this freedom.
Sounds nice?
We thought so.
All you have to do is fill out this form. And be prepared to die.
Name:
CBer, AE, CAPTCHA, or CAPTCHAE? (Note: CAPTCHAs, and CAPTCHAEs are not allowed):
Age:
Gender:
Companion(s) (up to 2 companions per person) (please fill out a sheet for them as well) (AEs only):
Appearance:
Personality in five words. (Any more or less and you will no longer have the privilege to eat popcorn):
Skills:
Quirks:
Brains or Brawn?:
Envy or Empathy?:
Reverie or Realism?:
Luggage, in order from most to least important:
Choose a number:
Choose a color:
Other:
We are excited to see you. And yes, we WILL see you.
Your obedient servants,
L. Reine & B. Ambrose
P.S. The popcorn is free, as well.
P.P.S. Please be prepared to participate fully, whatever this may mean.
P.P.P.S. Obviously, this is a ski lodge.
You read over the letter again. Is it worth it? You could die. . . but people always come back to life after a ski lodge. You could be a murderer. . . but who cares about that? It’s just a story. And how hard could it be to weave a few branches into a wreath?
Yes, you decide.
It’s definitely worth it.
And so, you fill out the form.
And then, you press submit.
submitted by Liberté and Basil, Camp Juniper
(October 31, 2020 - 8:09 pm)
(October 31, 2020 - 8:09 pm)
(December 3, 2020 - 1:53 pm)
(December 6, 2020 - 6:08 pm)
(December 7, 2020 - 12:04 pm)
Age: 10 (stands for 10 million but immortal)
Gender: boy
Companion: none
Appearance: pale skin, light green hair+eyes, 10 foot 2.
Personality in five words. demonic, kinda silly, hates order
Skills: super strength, controlling tides, turning into a moon moth, and moon teleporting.
Quirks: kinda mean, loves full moons
Brains or Brawn?: both!
Envy or Empathy?: empathy
Reverie or Realism?: realism
Luggage, in order from most to least important: wrymskull throne, baba yagas mortar and pestle, staff of the forgotten one, snacks.
Choose a number: 92
Choose a color: silver
Other: i have magical treasures and artifacts (see luggage)
(December 8, 2020 - 9:58 am)
moondemon-
Our spots have already been filled. You are welcome to read along, though. Sorry for the inconvienece.
~Basil
(December 8, 2020 - 2:57 pm)
Author's Note: You may notice that this part is in past tense, whereas before, it was in present. This is because I have discovered that I am terrible at writing present tense outside of second person. Thank you for understanding.
***
Day One — Afternoon
Hot Coco trailed slowly behind the rest of her group, clutching her pink sweatshirt to her chest. It was far too warm outside for the thing. She didn’t know anyone here, and everyone else in her cabin had already clumped together with their friends. Ahead of her, Snow, her tiny counselor, was running around, poking people’s arms, urging them to move faster, and blowing an imaginary whistle. The whole set-up reminded her a bit too much of P.E. class.
Then, Kitty Cat dropped back. “Hey,” they said.
“Um… hi,” Coco mumbled. “You’re Kitty, right?”
“Mhm. Do you mind if I walk with you? Snow seems to be leaving you alone, and I hate getting poked.”
Well, at least someone wants to walk with me, even if it’s only to get away from a crazy child with sharp fingernails. Instinctively, Coco pulled a book from her canvas bag. A Grimm Warning. It wasn’t even the first book in a series, but, out of desperation to seem busy, she opened it up and started to read.
“Is that a good book?”
It took Coco a moment to realize that Kitty Cat was talking to her. She nodded quickly. “Yes. It’s one of my favorites, actually. I love the Land of Stories books. They’re so… well… magical.”
“Come on!” Snow shouted back. She, and the other members of the Lilac Cabin had arrived at the Lilac Cabin itself. It was a small camp building, more or less what Coco had been expecting, except for the fact that it was entirely painted a pale purple. Even the mosquito netting that covered the windows had little specks of the stuff all over it. As the campers walked into the first room, a cramped communal living space with a single couch and a dim overhead light, they were met with the strong scent of perfume.
“Do you like it?” their counselor asked. “I thought adding a bit of perfume would be a fun touch.” On closer inspection, there were a lot of “fun touches” in the cabin. There were a doorway leading into a large bedroom, with typical camps beds made of rough limber. Around each bed was a canvas curtain, giving everyone a bit of privacy. “To cry at night in case you miss your parents,” Snow said. It was infuriating. On the wood of each bed frame was a sloppily drawn purple flower. White, lacy curtains were hung haphazardly over the windows. Tiny pouches of Aloe Vera Kleenex were placed carefully at the foot of each bed, beside their maps.
Over in the Scarlet Cabin, the decor was a bit more appealing. A bit. Liberté had covered each bed with thick, wool coverlets and dyed the canvas curtains red. There was no perfume, at least. Sammy pulled her googley-eyed rock from her bag and carefully placed in onto her bed, patting in gently. “Dear Therapist,” she said, ignoring the odd looks being thrown at her. “I am terrified that someone will discover my extremely secret chocolate stash that is hidden inside of my hollowed-out copy of the Bible. I don’t think I could live without it.” Icarus perked up his ears. Was this suspicious? A trick? No. Surely anyone who had a rock as their therapist couldn’t be smart enough to trick such a genius as himself. “I love my chocolate more than anything in this life, and I might literally die if it was stolen from me. I would welcome murder.” Sammy picked her rock up again and moved it from her mattress to the wide frame of her bed, safe in the knowledge that the Bible-chocolate was filled with chili-powder filling and the good chocolate was underneath a false bottom in the front pocket of her backpack.
It was the Chartreuse cabin that, once more, had the best situation. Basil had provided each camper with a small bag, filled with vinyl stickers, candy, and a gree LED flashlight that could be hung from a hook above each bed. “For decorating. Making the space your own.” AutumnArtist pulled a small archery poster from her bag and plastered it onto the wall. No one protested.
“Well,” said Basil to his campers. “Let’s all head over to the main lodge. We have an ice cream social tonight, and you lizards do not want to miss Palenia Piper’s homemade vanilla ice cream. I swear, that woman is a genius.”
“I hate vanilla,” Masquerade mumbled. “I hate ice cream. And I hate socializing.” But he followed Basil along with the other campers. No one wanted to miss this mysterious Palenia Piper and her ice cream. Even if it was vanilla.
“I like vanilla ice cream.” Adrian whispered. No one paid attention.
Basil ushered his charges out of the room, slapping Freak’s hand out of Masquerade’s bag and ignoring Freak’s protests that Masquerade was Sammy’s AE and he was definitely and absolutely allowed to steal, um, actually borrow any of his stuff, including that very nice hundred dollar bill.
“You most certainly are not!” the camp director said, his kind demeanor melting away for an instant. Then, as Freak shoved passed him, muttering a few words that were most certainly not kind, Basil clutched at his head, moaning as Tevye continued singing. Not Tradition any longer, but If I Were a Rich Man. Even more annoying to have stuck in your head. But… the song seems right. No one ever listened to Basil. Maybe, if he were rich, they would finally pay attention. Maybe… He reached his hand toward Masquerade’s bag. One hundred dollars wasn’t much, but it could help him start.
“No! No, no way. I’m not stealing from the campers? What was I thinking?” Basil slapped himself in the face, and shook the thoughts away. “Wait for me,” he shouted towards the others. “I’ll be right with you!”
At the same time, Snow and Liberté shooed the rest of the campers away from their beds and towards the lodge. The murderer skipped happily ahead of their group, the little bottle of arsenic bouncing merrily in their pocket. Everything was going very nicely. Very nicely indeed. Their counselor knew nothing. They had, in fact, smiled at the murderer and said how sweet they were. After they had helped them pick up garbage from the floor, of course. Being nice was the best weapon.
“Zachary!” Snow shouted. “Hurry up!” The Alter Ego was trailing behind the rest of the group, frantically pounding the screen of his phone with a long, pale finger and ignoring the shouting girl. Which, of course, was not a good idea. She ran over to him and dug her finger sharply into his back. “Faster!” But Zach didn’t pay attention.
“This phone isn’t working.”
“Oh, yes.” Liberté strolled over beside Zach and laid an arm over his shoulder. He shuddered at her cold touch. “We have no cell phone connection or wifi. And if anyone has a hotspot, it’s disabled. This is a tech-free vacation, an attempt to commune with our inner wilderness. Until camp is over, we will have no connection with the outside world. Whatsoever.”
Zach protested, ignoring the camp director’s menacing, slightly creepy grin. “But… what if my brother needs me? What if he starts having uncontrollable conniption fits that can only be healed by the magic, calming touch of his most favorite person? What if he dies?”
“What if someone dies here?” Sammy shouted over. She had been listening in to the conversation, intrigued by Zach’s violence toward his phone. He was usually so patient, unless something had happened to his little brother.
“Don’t worry, Ms. Everlast. No one will die.”
“I wasn’t worried, just curious.”
“No one will die,” Liberté repeated firmly. Too firmly, perhaps. It was almost as if she was trying to convince herself as much as Sammy. As if she, too, had no idea whether they were safe. There was no reason to believe otherwise. And yet… something was off. Something seemed dangerous.
“We are all safe,” Snow said, her voice shrill. “Except maybe for Mr. Brother-Stalker. He will endure my wrath. No one ignores me and gets away with it! But everyone else is perfectly, absolutely, completely safe. Don’t you worry your sweet little minds about death and uncontrollable conniption fits.”
Only a few away from her, the murderer smiled once more.
Little she knows.
***
Dead: 0
Alive: 21
Suspects: ???
Enemies of Snow: Zachary
Juniper Leader: None
***
Day One Challenge:
Draw a sundae
Hello, CBers and AEs! Over the course of this ski lodge, we will be having “daily” challenges. Every “afternoon”, we will introduce you to a new challenge, and ask you to have it done every “evening.” Each challenge will have to do with an activity that takes place in the ski lodge story. The winner of this challenge will be presented with a juniper branch, and, as you know, the first character to weave a wreath out of these branches will win a “Get Out of School Free” card, or a complete college scholarship. (In the story, of course. You don’t actually have to worry about wreaths or scholarships.) If you have died in the story already, you may still enter the competitions if you like, but you will not be able to win a branch.
Rubric: This afternoon, we will be asking you to design an ice cream sundae for our ice cream social this evening. Please be as creative as possible, but remember that the winner will be chosen not only based on the merit of their drawing, but also on what flows best with the story. Even if you do not consider yourself to be a great artist, please participate to the best of your ability.
Rules: You will be allowed to have one submission for each CBer/AE. We will not be accepting re-submissions. Please try to have your submission in by Saturday, December 12th.
(December 8, 2020 - 4:34 pm)
Ooh, lovely! Sammy's relationship with her rock is very... interesting.
I'll start working on a sundae! My art is terrible, though...
(December 9, 2020 - 3:43 pm)
Wow. This was good. I can't wait to read more!
As for the compitition, I will begin working on it. Do I submit one for myself and one for each of my AEs? Or one for the three of us? Thank you! Keep writing!
(December 10, 2020 - 12:06 pm)
Wow, that was great! I liked the part about Basil getting Fiddler on the Roof songs stuck in his head and subsequently almost stealing Masquerade's money. That was great.
Anyway, here's my sundae! It's a little rushed, and not in full color, but I hope it works!
(December 10, 2020 - 11:10 pm)
(December 8, 2020 - 4:38 pm)
(December 9, 2020 - 2:56 pm)
@Luna-Starr, I love that rock like it's my own mother. XD
(December 10, 2020 - 9:37 pm)
Thank you so much, everyone!
@Luna - It's fine your art isn't the best, I promise there will be more challenges later that will work better with your unique skill sets, and I'm excited to see what you come up with.
@Nerd - If possible, it would be nice if you made an entry for both you and your AEs, but I understand if you don't want to make multiple things based of the same thing. It's up to you how you want to respond.
@Sammy - I'm glad we got everyone's personalities right! Your comment means a lot. <3 Also, thank you very much for telling us the rock therapist's name, that will make the writing a lot easier.
(December 10, 2020 - 11:00 pm)
<3
(December 11, 2020 - 1:43 am)
I started my sundae. it looks pretty nice.
(December 11, 2020 - 11:39 am)