Free Period (tag: Cameron)

[Dakota Clemson]

Dakota had thought that coming on this retreat would be fun however, so far nothing much had really happened. She had almost gone to the dance the other night but had decided against it. She still hardly knew anyone and didn't have the confidence to show up at that dance. Besides, she knew she would have ended up just standing alone in the corner.

But Kota was determined to get something out of this trip so she headed outside by the lade and sat down. She pulled out her sketch pad and pencil and began to draw. At first she was drawing the lake then it was something else and next thing she knew she was drawing a face. That happened a lot when Kota drew things. She set out draw one thing and by the end it was something completely different.

The face she was drawing looked almost pained, like it trying to make a decision about something but was torn between the two options. Once she finished the sketch she took out a black sharpie and began to define the lines and make it pop more. If nothing else, Kota was at least getting to enjoy the quite and space of the trip. If nothing else.

[Cameron Osiris]

Cam hadn’t forgotten to bring his guitar along for this trip. How could he not? He was going to be out in nature, doing his thing, and while he loved the adrenaline rushes of swimming and climbing trees and all that, it was also nice to sit back and strum, and take life in slowly.

So far, the trip had been fun. He had gone to the dance, been harassed by Callie, and asked Mia out on a date. Things were going so well. He missed Chester a bit, but that would be mended soon enough.

Sitting near the Lake, Cameron was completely unaware of another person nearby, so he began to strum a new song he had been working on. He wanted to show it to Mia later, but for now, he was just practicing. He too, had a pen and small notepad along, just so he wouldn’t forget the melody. There weren’t any words yet, but he was working on it.

In the middle of the bridge, his fingers stopped momentarily as he noticed a girl close by. He raised his hand in a wave. “Peaceful right?” He asked, looking back down at his old guitar, and giving it a strum. “What’re you working on?” He hadn’t noticed her before, but he’d make up for that now.

[Dakota Clemson]

Kota had a habit of zoning out. Not just zoning out for a minute staring at something but zoning out for hours doing something. She could get so caught up in something, especially her art, that she would lose track of time and then later realize she had spent three hours drawing a picture. It was definitely a good way to pass the time.

She was starting to do just this when she heard a voice. It made her jump a little, but not really noticeably. Anyone else would have made a big deal about it and said something like, "you sacred the life out of me" but Kota was Kota so instead she just blushed and gave a nod. She wasn't the most out going person around but she wanted to have friends. At her old school no one talked to her. She was the loner out of the bunch and she was hoping that would change.

Kota looked up to see the boy who had just talked to her. She tried to think if she had seen him anywhere but couldn't think of anything. She looked at his guitar, just then realizing that he had been playing. She had heard the music but it hadn't even registered in her mind. Kota tried to give him a smile, trying her best to be friendly. Some how she knew she wasn't doing a very good job at it.

"I um, working on a picture." She said slowly holding up her sketch pad. Her original plan had been to draw the lake but instead she had used the outline for that to draw hair and then filled in the face. It was a beautiful picture but it had a sad feel to it. It was like a Kota had drawn all her sadness and pain onto the page. "Of course it's not finished yet." She said looking down shyly. The sketch was all done, minus a few details she would add in later and the black sharpie only was done on about half the page. Plus, she it would need a little color.

[Cameron Osiris]

This girl was really lovely. The way she had lost herself in her drawings, Cam couldn’t help but admire her. He knew that look, he had felt that love before. The love only an artist could get in the midst of their work. Where the rest of the world fell away and nothing else mattered.

If he had anything to say about it, she wouldn’t be a loner for long. “I didn’t mean to scare you, I thought I was the only one out here,” he said briefly, a smile on his face. He didn’t mind putting off his song writing if it meant the chance to be with other people. Perhaps his artistry laid not in music, but in people. But then again, weren’t songs about people and their experiences?

Cameron got up and moved closer to her, sitting beside her with his guitar strewn over his lap. “Oh, I like that,” he said with a nod, examining the piece. It was sad, but it was true, and honestly, things weren’t done well if you didn’t go with the emotion you were feeling at the time. “Well it looks good so far,” he said, readying his guitar.

“Want to hear this song I’ve been working on?” He smiled a bit at her, and started strumming softly. It was a slower song, an obvious love ballad. Cam didn’t mind showing off his music to the right person, but he didn’t show off his original songs to everyone. “What do you think?”

[Dakota Clemson]

At first Kota didn't really know what to say. It was one of the things she strongly disliked about herself. She wished that she could just be comfortable around people. Be able to talk to them and hold up a conversation without either party feeling awkward, but maybe that just wasn't one of her talents like art was.

She looked down at her picture and smiled a bit. Kota didn't often show others her work. She wasn't the greatest artist ever and sometimes felt like her drawings weren't that good. They were getting close to being really realistic but still had sort of an anime look to them but they didn't look like cartoons. Unless she wanted them to. She gave a soft reply of, "Thanks..." Gently tracing the edge of the paper with her finger.

Kota gave a nod when he asked if she wanted to hear his music. She like the song and it made her blush. She hated it when she blushed. She had paler skin and her cheeks would turn a bright shade of red making it hard to hide. "I like it. Very pretty." Kota said with a soft smile.

She fingered the corner of her papers. She sort of wanted to show him more of her work but was a little embarrassed about it. She wasn't a big show off but Kota really wanted people to notice her, in a good way of course. She didn't want to bother the boy so she just decided to compliment on his work more. "Your very talented." She said glancing up at him but when she found his eyes looking at her she had to look away. Kota really was awkward, but at least she was trying.

[Cameron Osiris]

Lucky for her, it was dark outside and Cam wasn’t trying to find a blush, he was too focused on his guitar and the music. Her still, quiet nature just fit the scene, it was unreal. Kind of like she belonged here in the quiet of the lake. “Thank you. I’m not sure who I’m dedicating it to yet,” he said. So many names and faces came to mind. Oh he was in a lot of trouble for getting tangled up in so many people’s lives.

Cam didn’t mind her shy nature. Honestly, it was refreshing to meet someone who didn’t have a snide remark for every one of his. “Thank you,” he said, setting his guitar down on the ground, “but so are you, I mean, I could never draw like that. It’s amazing.” He smiled softly at her and tilted his head to the side, his hand holding his head.

“I’m Cameron by the way, Cam for short, but I don’t think we’ve met before,” he smiled graciously, “how are you liking the trip so far? Have you gone on any of the hikes or anything?”

[Dakota Clemson]

Kota shifted placed her sketch pad on her lap and pulled her knees up to her chest so the papers of drawings were sandwiched between herself. She felt sort of safe that way. She wasn't trying to hide the pictures from Cam, just keep them close to her. They were her feelings put on paper and sometimes she was afraid that if the pages got lost so would her feelings.

She couldn't help but blush a little more when he said amazing. She was thankful for the setting sun but also wary of it. Kota wasn't the biggest fan of the night or dark. Honestly, it freaked her out a bit. She preferred the light and the warmth of the sun. "Thanks.." She said, her chin resting on top of her knees.

"I'm Kota." She said once Cam introduced himself. "Well, my real names Dakota but I think that's sort of a uh, boyish name.." She had always thought that so usually didn't use her real name. She looked down at her feet making little circles in the dirt with them. "Not really. I went to the camp fires and stuff but mostly I have just sort of wandered around." Kota glanced up at Cam but then looked out to the lake almost dreamily. "I'm not really sure why I came on this trip..." She said softly, more to herself. For a moment sadness filled her eyes as if that statement held more but she shook it off and turned back to Cam with a smile. She was trying to make friends not have a pity party for one.

[Cameron Osiris]

Cam totally understood the value and importance of a journal, or in this case, a sketchpad. He had a small book of his own, with songs inside. And when his good friend Mia had her notebook stolen, he could understand why that would feel like getting a limb detached.

“I don’t think either are boyish, but, Kota it is. Very pretty,” he said. This girl had zero confidence. Cam always had to wonder what got to people that made them act this way. “I don’t know why you came on this trip either,” he offered, picking up his guitar again and strumming softly. He liked her company, even though she didn’t talk a lot.

“Let’s play a game,” he said, still playing nothing in particular. “You choose: twenty questions, or story by line.” He wiggled his eyebrows. There, that was a good way to pass the time.

[Dakota Clemson]

Kota was not a fan of her real name, Dakota, but she did kind of like her nickname of Kota. It was different and simple. And it felt warm to her. For some reason it made her think of koala bears. She kind of liked that idea.

She glanced down at her feet. "Thanks... I like your name to." Kota said with a little smile. A lot of people didn't understand why she was so shy and it made sense that they didn't. All they saw was this odd little girl who had the worlds worst social skills. However, what they couldn't see where the reasons for her behavior. If they could see those, then they would understand. Of course, Kota wasn't ready to share those reason. In fact, she wasn't really sure if she would ever be ready.

Kota turned a little more so she was facing Cam a little more. She smiled a bit, almost to much, when he asked about playing a game. Kota got excited about little things like that. Well, when you didn't really make friends or talk to people much in general, having someone interested in doing anything with you felt pretty darn amazing. "Um, how 'bout twenty questions?" She asked hoping he would think it was a good idea. Unknowingly, she began to slowly tap her right foot to the music.

[Cameron Osiris]

“My dad told me that my name’s good for either a guy or a gal, so, it wouldn’t matter if I was born a boy or girl. I like it a lot,” he said, tilting his head at her, wondering what the story behind her name was, but unsure he should ask. She seemed so uncomfortable as it was.

“When did you start drawing?” He asked, giving the ball the first roll and passing it to her. Cam paused playing momentarily to switch his legs and get comfortable again, but he just couldn’t. So he sat on the ground instead, the earthy smell filling his nostrils as he started playing again. At least she was willing to indulge him. The interesting questions would come later, not that her interests weren’t interesting now.

[Dakota Clemson]

Kota gave a shy smile. "Its a nice name." She said before looking back down. She secretly hated the way she was. She wished she could be more out going and able to just enjoy herself. Hopefully that would be changing. It would just take a little bit of bravery and a lot of patience.

Kota pulled her legs away from herself a bit so she could look at her sketch pad again. She ran her fingers over it. She couldn't really remember the first time she drew a picture but she could remember the first time she found she really liked it. "5th grade art project. We had to draw the view from our bedroom window..." Kota smiled at her picture before closing the notebook and put it back into her bag. "It was simple and not that good but it was the first time I ever lost myself in a drawing." She lifted her head up to look at Cam but her eyes slipped away to the water, almost dreamily. "It was my escape..." Kota said it more to herself.

Her eyes came back to Cam as if she was trying to shake a thought out of her head as she forced a soft simple onto her lips. "When did you first start playing?" It seemed like a good question to ask, especially in response to his.

[Cameron Osiris]

The goal had been to get Kota to talk, and well, everyone liked talking about their gifts. “You know something about gifts like yours,” he commented, looking at the sketch pad she held, “you can’t keep them all to yourselves. They should be shared.” He smiled, proud of her. “I know exactly what you mean about getting lost, it’s why I didn’t notice you right away.” He chuckled to himself. It had nothing to do with how quiet she perceived herself to be.

“Uh, I first picked up my dad’s old guitar when I was six. I was such a little kid you know? I mostly just mucked around with it, but eventually I picked up on it. Taught myself.” It was a good way to fill the void that ached for a mother figure in his life. It wouldn’t replace her, but it definitely helped.

“What’s your worst fear?” He asked, tempted to ask what her power was, but that was so boring.

[Dakota Clemson]

Kota couldn't help but blush again. She did that a lot. It was one of the many things she disliked about herself. "Oh, people don't want to see my drawings... They're uh, just silly little doodles." Kota said quite quietly. She almost sounded sad as she said it but tried her best just to shrug it off though like it wasn't really anything.

"Wow... That's so cool." Kota smiled up at Cam. She liked music but had never really gotten into it. She was interested though because of her mother. Her mom died on Kota's first birthday so she didn't know what her mom was like. All she had to go off of were the pictures. In some of those pictures her mom had been playing piano.

The question caught Kota off guard a little bit. She knew what her biggest fear was and what scared her the most but trying to put it into words was sort of difficult. She paused for a moment, looking down at her feet. Then her eyes slowly moved up to meet Cam's. "Never being seen, heard, or understood." It was the best way she could think to word it.

"So uh, how long have you been at Hammel?" Kota questioned slowly.

[Cameron Osiris]

“Well you’re insane! No one would use their time on something silly,” he said. “Seriously, you’re really good. I mean, no one’s perfect at this age, unless you’re like a child prodigy, but come on, you’ve got plenty of time for perfection, or whatever.”

“It is pretty cool. Fun to play too,” he said, for once not at all downplaying his talent or love for playing guitar. “I don’t play anything else though, and please, never ask me to sing. Unless you want your ears to bleed,” he laughed and shook his head.

The question was a bit personal, but that was the whole point of the game. “Hey well, I see you, I hear you and I guess answering my questions is like understanding you, so, I don’t think you need to worry about that.” He gave a small laugh of reassurance and hoped that Kota would eventually learn to have more confidence.

“Since freshman year in high school,” he said with a quirky little grin, “you?” Sure, that could count as a question.

[Dakota Clemson]

Kota felt a little strange having Cam give her compliments on her drawings. She didn't have a ton of conversations with others to begin with, especially ones that including people saying really nice things to her. It was weird but a good feeling. She just wasn't exactly sure how to respond to or what to do with it, so she just smiled and mumbled as soft, "well, thank you..." It almost sounded like a question.

She gave a little giggle when Cam told her not to ask him to sing. "Alright." Kota said. "But I bet you could.. If, yah know, you really wanted to..." She was trying to encourage him like he had just done for her. She had a feeling she had done it wrong.

Kota looked down, feeling a little embaressed about her answer. Maybe she should have just said something stupid like spiders. She supposed that Cam was right. He did see her, hear her, and he was sort of understanding her. Somehow though, Kota knew it wasn't what she meant. However, she was to shy to try to explain it further.

Kota looked down shyly. "As of this summer." She was one of the newest recruits at Hammel.