Welcome to Gaia! ::

"The main goal is to be yourself." The words scrolled through Malissa's brain like a banner. Be myself. Be myself. How can I do that when there's no opportunity? She glanced around the empty room. The summertime heat lazily slid back and forth like water in a bowl. Malissa blinked back the involuntary tears that had sprung to her glass-blue eyes because of the ninety degree weather. She flicked a strand of jet-black hair from in front of her nose. She sighed and sat at one of the dozen speckled tables, pulling a foldable metal chair out of underneath it. A clock ticked in the background, the only noise penetrating Malissa's thoughts.

A bell tinkled as the brown door to her right opened. A boy stepped through. He looked to be about Malissa'a age, seventeen. Maybe he was a couple months older than she, though. The boy's cerulean gaze seemed to penetrate her skin and go into her heart. She shivered slightly, but continued to watch the sandy-haired boy as he briskly strode to a table across the cafeteria room, where he sat, sizing her up. It was a couple minutes before a slow, but steady stream of junior and senior students filed in and filled the other available seats. Most of the girls were clumped together and giggling. Malissa shrunk back into her seat and screwed her eyes shut tight, imagining the room empty again. She tried harder as she realized that in her imaginary room, the azure-eyed boy was staring at her from across the space.

"Silence!" Malissa opened her eyes to find that nobody had sat next to her, or near her, for that matter. She glanced to the head of the cafeteria to see a man, obviously the owner of the summer camp, with his arms raised. It took a few seconds, but the students finally quieted.

"Thank you. Now here is the list for roommates, now I'm going to pin this here," the man pinned the exceptionally long list on the bullitin board before continuing. "And you are not to move until I get out of the-" A couple girls screamed and ran up to the list, followed by a group of guys. "Way..." The camp owner was pinned up against the board as the rest of the campers got up to see their cabin numbers. The only two still sitting down were Malissa and the sandy-haired boy, who was still observing her.

A few minutes of struggling later, the camp owner, who was a tall, bearded man with a head of short and wild Irish-looking red hair, dusted himself off and stood in the corner with his thick arms crossed and smiling. The campers dashed off to find their cabins and the two remaining campers stood. The boy approached the list in his crisp and brisk walk. His pale finger followed the line of names until it reached a name halfway down. Malissa took a quick peak at the name before he glanced at his cabin number and stalked off. His name was James Gras. Malissa stepped forward and read off a couple names in her head. Lisa Haven, Jerod Irgan, Kenny Judna, Malissa Kernheart. Ah! There was her name! She followed the line over a few inches. Malissa Kernheart, Cabin 24, Cabinmate Haley Alsoon.