9. Biscuits and Gravy

Berry got dressed as quick as she could. Gwen’s singing and talking were already getting very annoying. Finally exiting the cabin, Berry let the door slam, trapping her roommate’s jabbering from following her outside.

Already the sun was hot on her skin. Normally Berry always wore a jacket or sweater with long sleeves to hide her long hands. Today, though, she just bunched them into fists at her sides. It was much too hot to wear anything more than a t-shirt.

It didn’t take Berry long to find Twain, the buff counselor, as he was seated on a log outside the cabins, lounging and eating an apple. He took a large bite then directed Berry to the lunch cabin with a few gruff instructions on how to get there.

So, Gwen had been right.

* * *

Berry sat, alone, and nibbled on her biscuits and gravy. She concluded that the gravy was questionable, but the biscuits were actually quite good.

“You don’t want to sit with us?” Finn stood in front of her trying to look offended, but the playful quirk of his mouth broke the charade. He pointed at the table he had come from when she looked up.

Berry scooped up some gravy, then let it fall off her fork. “Oh. I didn’t see you over there,” she said.

Clearly, she was lying, and she thought he probably recognized that fact, but the truth was that she was used to eating alone. Even here she was unsure whether she was welcome among the other kids.

Berry had never really known what friends were like.

She picked up her breakfast and relocated, sitting down next to Finn, across from Peter. The fourth seat at the table was empty.

“Where’s Indigo?” Berry asked.

Peter didn’t answer, as he was busy very quickly shoveling gravy into his mouth. Berry wasn’t even sure he had time to breathe.

Finn glanced at Peter, then shrugged. “She’s never here at breakfast. But then again, I’ve only been here one day longer than you.”

Berry nodded and smiled politely. She had sat down on Finn’s left, the side of his face that was scarred, and was currently contemplating how rude it was to ask about it. Very rude, she decided, thinking about her hands. She slid them into her lap.

She glanced up to see Peter’s round eyes. Watching.

Berry gave him a small smile and hoped he didn’t notice her shifting uncomfortably in her seat.

She looked around and spotted Gwen chatting at another table, which prompted her to turn to Finn, who was reluctantly eating his breakfast gravy. “Do you know Gwen or Kala? They’re my cabinmates.”

Finn scrunched his eyebrows in a thinking expression. “Yeah, I’ve met Kala, I think. I’m not sure about Gwen.”

Berry risked a glance across the table at Peter, but he was still urgently spooning gravy into his mouth. How had he not eaten it all yet?

“Do you know anything, you know, about them?” Berry wasn’t sure how taboo it was around here to talk about other people’s ‘uniquenesses’, but she was curious.

Finn set down his spoon and turned to her. “Oh, wait, I think I know Gwen. She sees people, right?”

Berry nodded, slightly relieved. Gwen was the crazy one, not her. It felt good to hear that affirmed. Mindy wasn’t real.

Finn continued in a low voice, “And Kala, all I know is that she likes to keep to herself. I was paired with her for the activity on my first day. All she said to me was ‘stay out of the lake’. Suffice to say, we did not win the trivia contest.”

"Hm," Berry said, then took a bite of biscuit, thinking.

“Berry! Hi, so sorry to cut your breakfast short, but Dr. Dawn would like to see you now. I can save that gravy for later, if you’d like!” Kristee, wearing the same double braids and shiny smile as the day before, stood next to their table.

Berry glanced at Finn, but she couldn’t read his expression. She stood and addressed Kristee, “No, thanks. I’m done with the gravy.”

Berry then followed Kristee out of the lunch cabin. She thought she heard Peter’s voice on the way out saying, “I’ll eat it.”