Camp Kumoni By Anistasia Allread Edited, proofed and sweated over by Nick B    Erika suddenly sat up, pointing towards the parking lot. “There’s my mom’s car.” “Which one?” “The silver one.”

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Erika stood in the cabin’s bathroom. Her heart was beating like a jack-hammer. The blush that Tricia had applied to her face wasn’t needed at the moment; she could feel the heat radiating from her cheeks.

The morning had started out surprisingly well, considering what was about to happen in an hour or so. Erika woke up in Tricia’s cot under her blankets, with the pink princess snuggled up to her. She knew that she had only had a few hours of sleep, but the last few hours had been a sleep of contentment.

Luckily the others were slow to awaken when the alarm had sounded. Erika, torn between the comfortable embrace of Tricia and not wanting to be found out, decided the latter was the choice that she had to make. She slid out of the blankets and was the first to use the bathroom.

After an extra-long shower to remove every spare hair from her body, Erika slipped into the clothes that Tricia and Samantha had agreed would make the best impression. A knee length denim skirt and purple ‘V’ neck top.

Samantha had insisted upon the wedge sandals. They were a causal, but nice touch to the outfit. Tricia wholeheartedly agreed, leaving Erika left to sigh heavily. She wasn’t nearly as bad at walking in them as she was on that first day of camp a few weeks ago. A lot had happened in that time and those first days seemed like an eternity ago.

Once the cabin had been cleaned to perfection, Victoria and Samantha attacked Erika’s hair with the blow dryer and curling iron. They were careful around the area where the stitches had been removed a week earlier. The wound was still a bit sensitive, but at least she could wash her hair and comb it without too much trouble.

Large undulating curls now framed her face, while the bangs that Sasha had given her, were bumped slightly and tickled at her eye lashes as she blinked.

Once the hair was done, Tricia took Erika by the hand and sat her down on her cot. She pooled all of the girl’s makeup together and went through it, pulling out possibilities. Using a cloth head band, Tricia gently pulled Erika’s dark curls and bangs back from her face and began applying a light coat of foundation.

Erika stared at the vision in the mirror. A few weeks ago, the lovely girl staring back would have frightened her or even made her laugh. Now when she looked at herself in the mirror, she couldn’t help but smile.

Lately seeing the dark-haired beauty looking back at her almost seemed to calm her. On most occasions it seemed to, but today, she was introducing this pretty girl to her unknowing, unsuspecting parents.

Tricia really had a way with makeup. Along with Sasha’s bangs, Erika’s pretty blue eyes were brought to the forefront. No one looking at her could help but be drawn to her eyes. Even she couldn’t believe how enchanting they looked. Samantha had reined the makeup artist in a little, explaining that no mother would like to see her daughter with that much make up on; let alone her son.

Tricia begrudgingly kept the make up to a ‘normal’ standard, but what she did do, was absolutely astonishing. Having played up Erika’s eyes, she kept her lip color more neutral, but gave them a wet, glossy look.

“Wow, what’s the special occasion?” Phoenix asked, entering the bathroom to brush her teeth.

“My mom only knows me as a tomboy,” Erika replied, her pulse quickening. “I’ve changed a little since I have been here. It doesn’t look like it’s too much does it?”

“No. You look beautiful,” Phoenix observed, smiling.

“Can we go to breakfast now?” Dani asked from the main cabin.

Erika left Phoenix in the bathroom and joined her cabin mates. Samantha and Tricia decided to join Erika in dressing up for their parents. Although not made up as fantastically as Erika had been, they each had more than usual makeup and both wore a nice outfit.

The Lavender Ladies of Columbine entered the noisy dining hall. A halo of quiet seemed to develop following Erika and her blonde friends as they made their way to their table. The bubble of silence was followed by hushed whispers, both by the guy’s tables and the girls.

“I think they’ve noticed you.” Rachel sneered in a friendly way.

Tricia beamed, as did Samantha. Erika couldn’t help but appreciate the attention just walking through the room she had created. If Eric had walked through the lunchroom at school, the only people who would notice were the ones who were either trying to get away from him, or the ones who were trying to set him up for humiliation.

This new attention was so different from that of ‘The Plague’; this was wonderful; intoxicating. Erika smiled to herself and took a seat next to Tricia, carefully smoothing and tucking her skirt under her.

Erika looked up and down the table at all of the friends that she had made in the past few weeks. She had more friends at this table than she had made in the past four years. Her vision clouded up a bit. This very well might be the last meal that she has with her cabin mates.

“Krystal, you look great.” Erika commented. “How much have you lost?”

“I don’t know,” Krystal shrugged. “Rachel won’t let me near a scale.”

“Because scales don’t necessarily tell the truth,” Rachel informed them. “Tell them how many notches you’ve had to tighten your belt,” she urged.

Krystal smiled. “I’ve had to tighten my belt four notches.”

“That’s like four dress sizes.” Victoria exclaimed, looking at Krystal in awe.

“I couldn’t have done it without all of you supporting me.” Krystal said, beaming. “You-all have been getting up and exercising with me in the morning. It has really helped me out.”

“We’re cabin mates,” Rachel insisted.

“We’re the Lavender Ladies,” Katie corrected and grinned.

Tricia smiled. “More importantly, we’re friends.” She squeezed Erika’s leg under the table for emphasis.

The Lavender Ladies, dug into their pancakes, while Krystal eagerly tackled her bowl of fruit and yogurt.

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After breakfast, Dani quickly found Derek and together eagerly awaited the arrival of his family. Her own family lived too far to make the trip to the camp for Parent’s Day. The two found a quiet place under a tree to sit and enjoy one another’s company.

Victoria was there on a scholarship, her parents too busy and too poor to take time off from work to make the trip, while Rachel’s dad was in Europe on a business trip and wouldn’t be back for another month.

Krystal’s family were still moving into their new home and getting familiar with their new jobs and surroundings. They had emailed her to let her know that although they wouldn’t be able to make it to Parent’s Day, they were thinking of her.

There was still an hour or two before the ‘rents’ started showing up.

“Samantha,” Phoenix called. “Samantha.” She made her way through the crowded entry of the dining hall.

Samantha, Tricia and Erika all turned towards the redheaded counselor.

Phoenix put a hand on the blonde’s shoulder, “Your parents just called. They won’t be able to make it until later this afternoon, but they said they are coming.”

Phoenix smiled and quickly moved off.

“Well, that will help a little.” Samantha smiled at the other two. “That means I won’t be distracted by my parents and will be able to help you with yours.”

“I’m still terrified,” Erika admitted. “How are we going to do this?”

“You are going to point out your parents to us when they arrive, “Samantha explained. “Then Tricia or I, or both of us, will go and explain to them the situation and then bring them to you.”

“Where?”

“That’s what we need to figure out right now.” Samantha bit her lip in thought.

“Somewhere public, so that your parents don’t overreact,” Tricia suggested.

“But private enough that no one will overhear,” Samantha added.

“What about the cabin?”

“Too private and they will overreact right away going into a girl’s cabin,” Tricia vetoed.

“Dining hall is too public,” Samantha mused, ruling it out, “And it’s too close to Hobbs’ office.”

The three girls spent the next hour walking around camp, planning the event.

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Cars and mini-vans crunched on the gravel as they began pulling into the small parking lot.

With every new car entering, Erika’s heart skipped a beat. Part of her wanted to hide in the cabin and wait to be called on, the other part wanted to see her parents and get it over with. While the other girls were taking their showers, Erika had packed her bags, knowing that her parents would be yanking her home as soon as they saw what she had been up to this summer.

“Oh, here come my parents,” Tricia announced to the other two. She jumped up from her seat on a fallen tree and brushed her skirt off. “And they brought Leeza with them.” She turned and smiled at Erika.

Samantha leaned towards Erika. “Who’s Leeza?”

“Her sister.” Erika informed. “She used to be a boy.”

Samantha looked incredulously at Erika. “Seriously?”

Erika nodded. “That is what Tricia told me.”

“I’ll be back in a few minutes.” Tricia called over her shoulder as she skipped to meet her sister, who wrapped her arms around her and hugged her tightly.

Samantha scooted a bit closer to Erika and put an arm around her. “It will be okay,” she comforted.

Erika shook with a chill. “I don’t see how.”

Samantha gave her a squeeze. “Trust me–I have a gut feeling.”

A few weeks ago, even this casual contact from Samantha would have sent Eric’s heart jumping all over the place. His brain would have raced as hormones coursed through his body. Now however, Samantha was just a friend–a really good friend. Eric was still in love with her, but the love had changed from one with distinct carnal overtones, to one of sisterly caring.

Samantha sighed. “I miss my sister. We were never that close, but now that she is gone, I’d like to think that we could have been.”

Erika put a hand on Samantha’s knee. “I’m sure she would have wanted that too.”

Holding hands with her sister, Tricia walked up to the two girls. “Leeza, this is Erika and Samantha.” She gestured to each one. “And this is my sister, Leeza.”

The three exchanged greetings.

“Erika, I’m told that we might have something in common.” Leeza’s voice was soft, and melodic. Erika was surprised; she had been expecting a raspy tenor with a lisp. “Can I sit with you?” she asked.

Erika smiled. “Of course.”

Leeza was beautiful. Erika would never have guessed that this stunning woman had ever been born a boy. Her perfectly blonde and brown streaked hair framed her face in wisps, moving freely in the soft breeze. Her long tan legs looked to be those of a model as she crossed them gracefully. Erika did note however, that her feet and hands seemed slightly out of proportion with the rest of her body, but they were neatly groomed and she had about her, an elegance that Erika had seen in Tricia; poise that made even Samantha look jerky in her movements.

Leeza smiled at Erika. “Well, Erika, I must congratulate you. You look fantastic for one who is new to this. Did you do your hair and makeup?”

“Oh God, no.” Erika said, shaking her head. “Samantha and Victoria did my hair and Tricia did my makeup.”

“They did a good job,” Leeza praised. “It’s just enough to make your eyes sparkle, but not over the top to make you look like Tammy Faye.”

“Thank you.” Erika said, not knowing what else to say.

Tricia approached with her parents and did quick introductions.

“I’m going to show mom and dad our cabin and stuff, you want to come?” Tricia asked Leeza.

“Of course.” Leeza got up. She turned to Erika. “I’ll be back later to talk if you’d like.” She patted Erika’s knee and headed off after her little sister.

“Wow! She was a boy? She’s gorgeous,” Samantha whispered.

“I don’t think I could ever pull that off.” Erika admitted, watching after Leeza.

“I don’t think very many real girls could pull that off,” Samantha corrected.

The two sat watching the parking lot as parents continued to invade the camp.

Erika suddenly sat up, pointing towards the parking lot. “There’s my mom’s car.”

“Which one?”

“The silver one.”

Erika’s heart seemed to be skipping every third beat as it worked its way from her chest up into her throat. Her stomach flipped and she felt nauseous, but managed to push down the urge.

The two girls got up from the tree. “I’ll go intercept; you go get ready,” Samantha instructed.

“I don’t see my dad,” Erika observed. She wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or not. Did they take different cars? Was he not coming? Erika quickly made her escape while Samantha stepped forward.

Samantha really wouldn’t have needed Erika to point out her mother. Mrs. Martin was an older version of her friend; jet black hair, creamy complexion and those same piercing blue eyes.

“Mrs. Martin?” Samantha greeted.

Eric’s mother looked confused as a bit of worry washed over her face.

“Hi, I’m Samantha,” the pretty blonde said amiably.

“Hello Samantha,” Mrs. Martin greeted cautiously. “Are you a friend of Eric’s?”

“Yes, I am.” Samantha smiled. “Eric was my sister, Summer’s friend too.”

“You’re Summer’s sister?” Her eyebrow raised in a quizzical expression.

“Yes.”

“I’m sorry about what happened to your sister. She was a good friend to Eric. Do you know where Eric is?”

“I’m here to take you to him.”

“Is he all right?” Mrs. Martin enquired.

“We actually have a surprise for you,” Samantha said as her heart fluttered.

Mrs. Martin looked puzzled.

“When Eric got here, a few of us got together and gave him a make-over.” Samantha explained as she led Mrs. Martin through the camp to the arts and crafts area.

Mrs. Martin didn’t follow. “A makeover?”

“It’s kind of a long story,” Samantha admitted.

She sat Mrs. Martin down. “I kind of tricked him into doing it, but it has turned out for the better. You wouldn’t believe the difference in him. He actually smiles most of the time now, and he hasn’t even been near a computer in weeks.”

“You’re talking about my Eric?” Mrs. Martin asked, looking at Samantha like she was having her leg pulled.

“Your Eric, is now very popular* among the girls in the camp.”

“You’re talking about my depressed, Eric who locks himself in his room making comics and listening to depressing music?” Mrs. Martin asked, aghast.

Samantha nodded. “Well, pretty much. You’re just going to have to see for yourself. I have to warn you, this might be a bit of a shock.” Samantha looked over to the nearby cabin. “Come on out, Erika.”

Erika took two deep breaths trying to calm the flip-flopping in her tummy and slow her heart down. She didn’t hear her father’s voice and Samantha didn’t seem to be speaking to anyone else, but her mom. Maybe he didn’t come. It could make this a lot easier if he wasn’t there, but then again, her mother was still a pretty tough woman.

“You’ll be just fine. We’re here to help you,” Katie assured gently putting a hand on her shoulder.

Erika closed her eyes forced a smile on her face and willed her feet to move. The first step was the hardest. It felt like her foot was cemented into the ground. She finally picked it up and stepped forward. The momentum somehow carried her around the corner of the cabin and towards the arts and crafts tables.

She locked eyes on her mother and focused on her face. A large lump formed in her throat adding to the butterflies and the rabbit-racing heart. It felt like she was going to be sick when she realized that she was holding her breath and inhaled some much-needed oxygen.

Erika watched as her mother’s gaze glanced over her, not recognizing her, then swept back, and locking on Erika as she made herself step forward.

Her mother finally realized that the pretty young girl coming towards her was in fact her son. Erika felt a heated blush as her mother’s eyes bulged, startled and stunned, while her jaw fell slack in a mix of surprise and disbelief.

“Hi mom,” Erika greeted and was surprised that her voice didn’t quiver. She was sure her knees were doing enough quivering as it was.

Her mother just stared at her. She stared back at her mother, not knowing what else to do. Now she really felt like she was going to be sick. Her eyes darted towards the bathroom. It was too far away. There was a trash can nearby however.

Samantha could cut the tension between the two with a dull, plastic knife. “Mrs. Martin, I’d like to introduce you to your daughter, Erika.”

“What the hell are you doing, Eric?” Mrs. Martin hissed. “Go wash that makeup off right now.”

Erika’s eyes burned. She wanted to cry so badly, but she couldn’t. She needed her mother to see her this way. She couldn’t–just couldn’t go back home, being yanked out of camp. She had to stay here; needed to stay here with her friends.

“Mom, please. Just listen,” Erika pleaded.

Mrs. Martin shook her head slightly. “Uh, uh. I can’t believe you are doing this. What would your father say if he saw this?” She folded her arms and looked away. “No. Go put on some pants right now, young man.”

“But Mom–” Erika protested.

“Please Mrs. Martin, hear us out,” Samantha pleaded.

Mrs. Martin’s gaze swept up and down the spectacle in front of her. “Have you been doing this–this cross-dressing this whole time?”

Erika lowered her eyes and blushed even more so–if such a thing was possible.

“Mrs. Martin, this is my doing. Please, if you’ll just take a few moments to listen,” Samantha pleaded.

Mrs. Martin whirled and fixed Samantha a glare. “You’ve done enough, thank you very much.”

“Mom, please,” Erika begged.

Erika watched in horror as her mother jumped to her feet. “Where do I find whomever is in charge of this camp.”

As if they had grown out of the ground, Katie, Rachel, Victoria, and Krystal appeared.

“Please, wait,” Katie pleaded.

“You really should listen to her side,” Rachel suggested, planting herself between Erika’s mother and the rest of camp.

“Please calm down, Mrs. Martin,” Victoria said, taking up a position next to Rachel.

“What the–? Are all of you in on this?” Erika’s mother asked; her voice still carrying that edge.

“Erika–Eric, is our cabin mate,” Rachel stated.

Erika’s mother stood astonished, looking at the anxious, pleading faces. “I can’t believe this.”

“Just hear us out, before you take any action,” Krystal suggested.

Erika’s mother looked from one girl to another. Finally, she threw up her hands and sat down in a huff.

“Sit down next to your mother,” Samantha whispered, “She’s had a bit of a shock and needs comforting.”

“So do I,” Erika whispered back. Her eyes were burning with tears she didn’t dare shed and although her heart was starting to slow down, her stomach felt like a herd of elephants were stampeding in it.

Erika moved next to her mother and sat down, unconsciously smoothing her skirt behind her as she did so. Mrs. Martin, glaring at the girls around her, did a double take as her ‘son’ sat down as ladylike as any girl ‘his’ age would have.

Samantha owned up to the fact that Eric was attending camp as a girl. “I’m the one who started this whole thing.” she quickly told Mrs. Martin and the other girls, who hadn’t heard the details about her motives and actions in getting Eric transformed to Erika.

Dani, walked over and joined the rest of her cabin mates listening to Samantha’s story.

“And you were all in on this?” Mrs. Martin asked, looking in turn at each of the other cabin members.

“No,” Rachel said, with a bit too much acid. “We found out a couple of weeks later. “At first we were angry, but Erika, I mean Eric, really proved her–sorry, himself.”

“Eric,” Krystal cut in. “Was one of the first people here to volunteer to help me in losing weight. She–um, he doesn’t have to, but he wakes up an hour before he has to and works out with me.”

“You’ll have to excuse us, Mrs. Martin,” Victoria interjected. “To us, your son, is Erika. To us, your child, sitting right there next to you, is a wonderful young lady. To us, he is she,” she said, clarifying their confusion of which pronoun to use.

“She helped me with my self-image issues and helped to set me up with a very nice boyfriend,” Dani piped in blushing ever so slightly.

“She kicked butt in helping our cabin win the weekly merit contest, and has more than pulled her weight in supporting her cabin mates,” Rachel insisted.

Victoria continued, “She saved me from getting a more severe chemical burn during a cabin raid, and then stayed with me when I couldn’t see or get around.”

“She has helped me to get to know the truth and come to terms with what happened to my sister,” Samantha added.

“Don’t forget about saving you from being raped by that ‘ass-wipe’.” Rachel inserted.

Samantha nodded to Erika’s mother. “She did. She and Rachel both came to my rescue when Josh tried to–rape me.”

“Erika was the first one there and knocked the jerk off of Samantha with an branch,” Rachel detailed proudly.

Erika’s mother was looking at her in wonder and disbelief.

“Your Eric, our Erika,” a new voice sounded from behind everyone. “Has been an extremely busy, compassionate, delightful and sweet young woman.”

The girls of Columbine all turned around to see Phoenix standing there behind them smiling at Mrs. Martin. “She has been supportive of everyone she has come into contact with, respected other’s privacy and bent over backwards to help everyone feel safe and comfortable.”

“And you are?” Mrs. Martin enquired.

“Opal, but everyone calls me Phoenix.” The Red head introduced. “I’m the counselor of Columbine cabin.”

“You knew?” Rachel blurted out.

“Of course, I knew.” Phoenix almost snorted. “I’m your cabin counselor. It’s my job to know everything there is to know about my girls.”

Mrs. Martin wasn’t the only one stunned into silence at that moment.

“Anyway, Mrs. Martin, I would hope that you give these girls a chance, and I really hope that you’d give Erika a chance. If you have further need of me, I’ll be either in the cabin, or hanging out at the dining hall.” With that, the copper-top walked off.

Victoria broke the stunned silence. “I can’t believe she knew all this time.”

“How could she have?” Dani asked aloud.

Silence and shaking heads was all the answer she received.

“So, does this mean? That you are gay?” Mrs. Martin brought the subject back to the immediate situation. She forced herself to look at her ‘son’.

Rachel and Samantha burst out laughing. A few of the others giggled.

“Hardly.” Rachel stated.

“Mom,” Erika began, “This all started because I was in love with Samantha. I had always been in love with her, even when I was friends with Summer.” Erika smoothed her skirt over her legs then began wringing her hands, unsure of what to do with them.

“So you’re not gay?” Mrs. Martin enquired again.

“No. I am very much attracted to girls,” Erika stated this time with heart.

“Then why do all this?”

“Mrs. Martin,” Victoria interrupted, “I go to school with Samantha and Eric. Do you know of the issues and problems that Eric has had in the past few years?”

“I know that he gets teased sometimes and is a bit anti-social. If that is what you mean.”

“It’s more than that,” Victoria continued. “Much more. At school, Eric is known as ‘The Plague’. Have you heard him called that before?”

“No,” Mrs. Martin admitted. “Eric won’t talk about school.”

“For a very good reason,” Victoria went on. “A day at school for Eric is a living hell. I only know of a little of it and although I’ve not done anything personally to Eric, I’m ashamed to say that I knew it was happening and did nothing to stop it.” She looked at Erika apologetically, her eyes, glassy with the beginnings of tears.

“There wasn’t a day when Eric wasn’t spit on, tripped or beaten. Nor was there one which didn’t involve him having food thrown at him or other horrible things done to him, said to him or about him. No one would sit anywhere near him at lunch, not even the geeks,” Samantha added. “Teachers punished other kids by making them partner up with Eric in class. It seemed like where ever Eric was, something would go wrong. That’s how the name ‘The Plague’ got started.”

Erika swallowed a large lump in her throat. It had been weeks since she’d had to relive those incidents in detail, it was like reopening a wound and then rubbing salt into it.

“These things just scratch the surface of what Eric had to go through on a daily basis,” Victoria picked up again. “When I found out that Erika was in fact Eric ‘The Plague’, I nearly had a nervous breakdown. I thought it was some cruel joke someone was playing on us.

“But if it was a joke, why would Samantha have been so involved in keeping it quiet? I’m just glad I got to know a little bit about who Erika is as a person before I found out that she was really Eric. I was really upset about the whole façade. I was even about to go to Director Hobbs, but Erika kept doing things that I’d never have expected from ‘The Plague’.

“She was helping out others, taking a lot of abuse from me and not lashing back at me. She was just a nice person.” Victoria looked at the others in the group. “I gave her an ultimatum. She had to tell the others, or I would. I hoped that the rest of the cabin would feel as betrayed as I did.”

“Some of us did,” Rachel inserted.

“This pretty young lady sitting next to you is not ‘The Plague’. She is happy; happier than I’ve ever seen Eric. She has made more friends than I think Eric has ever made. I hope she counts me as one of them.

“She smiles, is helpful and she has gone out of her way on more than one occasion in the past few weeks to help and assist others here. She has more confidence than Eric could ever have.” Victoria paused. “Look at her. Look how beautiful she is. How could anyone even think they are the same person?” she asked.

Mrs. Martin stole a glance at her ‘son’ sitting next to her dressed as a girl. The quick glance turned into a long look.

“She has Samantha bewildered,” Victoria chuckled. “Samantha’s used to getting attention from all of the boys, but then she made Erika and she is sought after by just about every boy in the camp.”

Erika made a face. “Don’t remind me.”

The other girls giggled.

“I know this is a huge shock to you, Mrs. Martin.” Victoria added. “It was to me and a few others–and we’re not even related, but if you end this now; if you take Erika home or tell the director, it would be another blow to Eric’s confidence. Imagine what would happen if word of what’s happened here got out. Eric would have to change schools.”

A new voice entered the arena. “Mrs. Martin. Why don’t you and your ‘son’ take a walk and have a chat.”

Erika looked up to see that the suggestion came from Leeza. She and Tricia had joined the circle during Victoria’s turn on her soapbox.

“Who are you?” Mrs. Martin enquired.

“I’m Leeza,” the new girl greeted. “I’m Tricia’s sister. You and Eric need to have a long heart to heart away from these ladies. Take a walk around the lake, visit the cabin; talk to your kid. Figure things out before taking immediate action.”

“That’s a great idea,” Krystal agreed. “She has heard most of what she needs to from us. I’m sure she’s on overload with this situation.”

Mrs. Martin looked to her ‘son’. “It looks like we need to have a long talk,” she agreed.

Erika smiled. “Thanks mom.”

“Don’t thank me yet, I haven’t made up my mind about what to do with you.”

The Columbine girls all began to depart in groups, leaving Erika and her mother alone.

“I still can’t believe Phoenix knew the whole time,” Dani said to Katie as the pair exited the arts and crafts area.