• Chapter 14: Sunday

    Kauri awoke from her slumber, her hair in a tangled mess. She rolled over to see the spoon sitting next to the bear and made a small giggle at how desperate she had been to get some sleep. She looked at her watch and realized it was noon. Noon!?! How long did I sleep? She questioned, throwing back the cover that was keeping her from getting ready to make this her first day of work. She grabbed her brush and quickly got all the knots out. She took out her toothbrush, wet it with her water, put toothpaste on it, and began to brush her teeth.
    Once Kauri had finished brushing her teeth, her phone began to ring. She wondered who would be calling her, since most people didn’t know her cell phone number. She never told it to anyone because she didn’t have texting, and most people only text unless they have to call. She quickly picked up her phone and answered it.
    “Hello?”
    “So, how was your first night?” asked Cameron, who was on the other side of the conversation.
    “Well, let’s put it this way, I got woke up by a tree, and then talked to my bear about a spoon for almost an hour,” Kauri somewhat jokingly summarized.
    Cameron laughed. Kauri got a little upset about this because she was being completely honest. “I think you need to explain this a little more.”
    “Well, at 2:00 in the morning, a raccoon was climbing a tree, and it kept breaking branches. The snapping sound scared me, so I looked out to see what it was, and that’s what I found out. Then I couldn’t get to sleep, so I went through my bag to see if there was something for me to do. Unlucky for me, I didn’t pack any games or books or anything along those lines, so I just pulled out a spoon. I figured I’d at least have something to do. So, for almost an hour, I studied the spoon and told my teddy bear all about it,” Kauri explained. She was afraid Cameron would make fun of her.
    “Wow, sounds like you should’ve been tired.”
    “I just woke up about 5 or 10 minutes ago.”
    “Hey, I’m going to be over real soon to help you collect wood and stuff like that. I don’t want you to pass out again; only no one will be there to put water on your face this time. Also, I need to talk to you about something,” Cameron told Kauri.
    Uh Oh… was Kauri’s only thought when she heard the last sentence. “Ok, go ahead. I’ll be in the same spot.” Kauri was worried about what he wanted to talk to her about, especially when he wasn’t talking to her over the phone.
    Cameron arrived shortly after he had called her. “So, what did you want to talk to me about?” Kauri casually asked.
    “Well, there were two things. One would be, why did you tell Carrie she could tell people you were pregnant?”
    “Your mom told me that it was better if people found out by word of mouth, since if they didn’t find out that way, there was no chance of people knowing I was raped. Then everyone might just think of me as a whore,” she explained.
    “Ok, that makes sense, but it doesn’t make sense why you haven’t told her you have nowhere to live. She has an extra bedroom in her house, you know.”
    “Is that my second question?”
    “Yes,” Cameron quickly answered.
    “Well, it’s not like I’d be able to stay in her spare bedroom, anyways. Her mom hates me! Also, I don’t want anyone at all knowing about this. I don’t know how everyone would react. Some people might overreact, and others might try to get me to stay in their house, and some people would try to help so much, it might get annoying how many people keep asking me if I need anything.”
    “Ok, that makes sense, too. I know this isn’t exactly related, but my mom wanted me to tell you that she has made your appointment for in a month. Now let’s get to work.”
    Cameron and Kauri walked along, grabbing branches of all different sizes. They made different piles for different sizes. “Cameron?” Kauri asked to get his attention.
    “Hmm?” was his answer.
    “How come you came here to help? I could’ve easily done this by myself, and don’t tell me it’s because I passed out yesterday, because I know you’re lying about that,” Kauri accused. “Actually, scratch that. How come you’ve been helping me with anything at all? You don’t have to do anything, you know.”
    “Well…” Cameron paused, thinking of a valid excuse. “It probably has to do with the fact that you have to go through all of this, and none of it is your fault in any way. If you have to go through this, I don’t want you to go through it alone. Despite my teasing, I do care for how you’re doing.” Cameron thought for a second. “Oh! I almost forgot, hold on,” he told Kauri as he took off towards his car.
    When he returned, he was holding a bag. It was a cloth bag, and it was quite large. It seemed to be almost completely full, but Kauri couldn’t see what was in it. Once Cameron saw her trying to look into the bag, he held it behind his back.
    “Hey, no peeking!” he scolded her.
    “Just tell me what’s in it!”
    “Just look for yourself,” Cameron said, handing her the bag.
    Kauri opened the bag, seeing all sorts of books and useless child’s toys. She pulled out one of the toys, seeing it was a drum on a stick. She rolled the stick between her palms and the strings moved back and forth, causing the tiny beads to beat the drum. “Why did you get me all this, and how did you get me all of this.” She asked the second question because she knew some of the books weren’t his; they were far too feminine.
    “Well, I’ve been collecting unwanted toys and books to donate, so I figured no one would miss a few. After you told me about the spoon, I figured you could use a few things for when you’re bored. Also, there’s a back of batteries in there for your lantern and look in the bottom,” Cameron instructed Kauri.
    Kari dug her hand into the pile of stuff until she hit the bottom. Her hand wandered around without visual guidance until she felt something round and cold. She lifted it out and looked at the label. “A can of olives?”
    “There’s a can opener in there too. I knew that was your craving, and I knew you’d be hungry at one point or another. Just don’t eat it too fast, there’s only three cans in there,” Cameron warned Kauri.
    “Thanks, Cameron. You’ve been a great help,” Kauri said.
    “Yea, well, I’m Cameron. That’s what Camerons do. Well, now that you’re done getting all the wood, I better go and help my mom clean the house. Call if you need anything, but first take a look through the bag. I’ll be here tomorrow at 7:15 to take you to school.”
    “Thanks, Cameron,” Kauri said as he left. She was sitting on a stump with the bag on her lap, debating whether she should look through it now or when she was in the tent. After some tough decisions, she picked up the bag and went into the tent. She left the outer cover of the door off, letting air circulate through the tent while keeping bugs out.
    The first thing Kauri pulled out of the large blue bag was a book. She ended up pulling out a total of 13 books. She got 7 children’s toys that were completely useless other than giving you something to do. She pulled out a deck of cards, and she figured she was lucky to know how to play solitaire. She noticed that although all the toys and books were out, there were still objects left in the bag. She looked in to discover they were all foods and there was 1 Gatorade, a large one. She looked at the different canned fruits and vegetables. There was one more thing in the bag that almost brought tears of joy to her eyes: a giant Hershey’s milk chocolate bar.
    She wrapped her hand around the chocolate bar and felt a piece of paper that had obviously gotten stuck to the wrapper on its journey to the tent. She turned the bar around in her hands to look at it. Once she saw what the paper contained on the surface, she was in complete shock. She wanted to throw the bar and cry, but at the same time, she couldn’t. She just stared.
    The paper contained a picture of her and her siblings when they were all little and still living under the same roof. Her brother and oldest sister were in college, and her little sister was the only child still living in the same household as her parents. They were all sitting there, smiling since nothing had ruined their lives. Yet. She remembered how her grandparents had always taken them to take their family pictures, which is one reason there never were any pictures with both them and their parents.
    She didn’t understand why Cameron had given her this. It wasn’t her choice to leave. She was told to leave. If this was supposed to make her miss home, it really didn’t matter if it would’ve worked. She wouldn’t be allowed to move back in, no matter how much she wanted to. She decided the best way to figure out why he had don it was to call him. She pulled out her phone and dialed.
    “Hello?” answered the voice on the other end.
    “Hey, Cameron. I just called to ask you one question.”
    “What would that be?”
    “Why did you give me this picture? I can’t think of a single reason for you to have given me this,” Kauri explained her question.
    “Your sister, Tanya, gave me the chocolate bar with that taped to the back to give to you. She said she asked some people to tell her who might know where you were, and they gave her my name. She found me and told me to give it to you and she told me to tell you that she knows that you were raped. She gave me a number for you to call. 591-4290.”
    “Why didn’t you tell me this before?”
    “I was testing something. Don’t worry. Are you going to call her?”
    “Yes, but if she asks to pick me up, can she pick me up at your house? I don’t want anyone to know where I’m staying.”
    “Sure. Well, See you either tonight or tomorrow.”
    “Thanks again. Bye,” Kauri said before hanging up. She dialed in her sister’s number and no one answered. Maybe she’ll call back tomorrow. Kauri got under the top cover of the sleeping bag. Her eyes slowly closed, and she went to sleep.