19 - He's Strategic

                                    

                                          
Gray -
                          
     "Cameron?"
                          
I turned around to face Jayla, Trey, André, Elsie, and Jonice with a confused look. Then, I remembered that they usually came here once or twice a month. 
                          
"Oh, hey guys." I greeted, walking to them and gathering in a group with the rest of the participants. 
                          
Unexpectedly, an unknown force jumped on me, squeezing out my last breath. 
                          
"Baby, I missed you so much!" 
                          
Chuckling at the warming, familiar voice, I pat the arms around me and soon stepped back into my own personal space again. 
                          
"Kristwen, I thought you weren't supposed to be out until tomorrow." I commented, brushing a strand of hair out of my face. 
                          
"They released me early because I recovered a lot faster than they expected. I'm so glad to finally be out of that boring hospital room! It was so awful. But the jello wasn't too bad, and one of my nurses was fine as a bitch." She winked. 
                          
I chuckled, remembering how much I missed her. Kristwen was one of those girls that always had everyone smiling and was the life of the party. She was definitely quite the flirt, so I didn't doubt that she made some moves on the nurse. 
                          
"And? Did you get his number?" 
                          
She looked at the floor, pouting. Then, "Yes!!," She cheered, 'eek'ing. 
                          
Everyone laughed, and I apologized to her.
                          
"I'm really sorry for never visiting. I meant to, honestly, but I just didn't have the chance. You know how it is.." 
                          
Kristwen was always so understanding; unlike Jonice, Elsie, or Jayla. Jonice would get pissy if someone blew her off or forgot about her, Elsie would be so butt-hurt, and Jayla would become the pettiest friend ever. 
                          
She waved her hand as if a sign of not caring. "Nah, I get it, it's fine." She smiled at me, pulling us all into a big group hug. "I'm just happy to be back with all of my best friends!"
                          
We pulled out of the hug, walking into the arena and assembling our 'weapons'. 
                          
While putting on our ridiculous gear and meeting the other players, Kristwen whispered, "Who's the hottie?"
                          
I rolled my eyes, knowing she was referring to Cameron, who stood a few feet away from us, introducing himself to another guy our age who was playing as well. 
                          
Throwing my thumb back towards him, I asked, "That slob? That's Cameron Barefoot, the latest recruit. He's at the station next to ours, but he sometimes helps us, too. He's pretty chill."
                          
She lifted one eyebrow suggestively, saying, "Wow, you think he's 'chill'? That means he must be the next Jesus or something." 
                          
I rolled my eyes. "Believe me, he's far from that. He's just not a douche like every other guy I know."
                          
"Hey! I take offense to that!" Trey yelled, clearly eavesdropping. 
                          
"Yeah, me too. Am I a douche?" André added. 
                          
"Okay, what the hell? Mind your own business." Kristwen scolded them. 
                          
"Attention all players; the game will begin in thirty seconds. If, at any point, something goes wrong, there is a buzzer on the wall to the right of the entrance door that will cause the game to stop and the door to open as an emergency exit. Just...try not to hit it because people normally get super pissed when someone does." The scrawny announcer said, a thirty second timer starting above the door.