Junior started toward the camp slowly, uncertain of what to do. He stayed to the trees, thinking it might be a good idea to observe the humans before actually meeting them. The cold was uncomfortable against his skin, but seemed harmless enough.
     "Okay" He said to himself "Better get closer..."
     As Junior crept along, he heard a voice and stopped in surprise. He peered through the trees, and his eyes fell on a child building something in the snow. He examined the human curiously, wondering if he looked like that.
     Oblivious to the creature watching him, the boy said happily "Yes sir'ee mister snowman, when I'm finished with you, you can be my best friend." He went on talking to the snowman, imagining that it spoke back, when he heard a twig snap behind him. Startled, the boy turned, and his eyes widened in fear. The monster stared back with bulbous green eyes. Its head was like some kind of mutated reptile's, with an elongated mouth full of razor-teeth and fourteen livid eyes. The body was human enough, exept for the writhing tentacles jutting from its shoulder blades and neck, the long pointed tail, and the talon-like clawed fingers. The monster's skin was black as night.
     The monster cocked its head, as if curious. The fact that it didn't attack him gave the boy confidence. It opened its hidious mouth... and to his surprise it spoke in a clear, smooth voice, unaffected by rows of fangs. The voice wasn't human though, there was a predatory, mysterious sound to it.
     "Hey" The monster asked softly "Can I be your friend, too?"
     The boy stared for a moment, and then burst out laughing. "Are you sick in the head?" He asked through giggles "Why would I want something as hidious-looking as you for a friend? You're a freak." He glared at the monster in satasfaction.
     Junior was taken aback. At first, he didn't comprehend what had just happened, but then the boy's vicious words set in and he shivered with shock and hurt. 'Why...?' He wondered 'What's wrong with me...? He seemed so nice...'. The hurt was replaced by a sudden, violent anger. His eyes narrowed furiously and he hissed. Before he realized what he was doing, he lashed out with his tentacles, wrapping them around the horrified boy, strangling him.
     "HEY!" The boy whimpered "What the... NO!"
      Junior was shocked by his own agression. He wanted to make the boy pay for the meaningless cruelty, wanted to hurt him. No! His concience jabbed at him and he winced guiltily. Still... he looked at the boy with an angry gleam in his eyes, an idea comming to mind.
     "Sleep..." He hissed, and a strange new energy ran through his body, out toward the helpless boy. The boy let out a little moan, and slumped forward. Then, very carefully, he heaped up snow around the unconcious human, shaping it, until at last it looked like no more then a clumsily-built snowman. Perhaps he'd come back for the boy in a day or two...
     Junior found no joy in discovering his first power, or in getting revenge on the boy, because another thought haunted him. 'Am I really hidious? Am I a freak?' He wondered. A small cabin was nearby, and he moved to the window, cautiously looking at himself in the glass. The sight filled him with dread 'I am a freak... dad was wrong'. Tears filled his eyes, it wasn't fair! He was about to turn away in disgust, when he remembered something. His father's message! It sent a thrill of hope through him. "...One of your powers is shape-changing..."
     Junior smiled a little, looked back at his reflection, and then squeezed his eyes shut in concentration. Sweat beaded on his forehead despite the cold, and just when he thought he could endure no longer, the magical energy he had felt before coursed through his veins. He felt himself change, but when he opened his eyes, the world was a blur.
     "Oh yeah!"
     He pulled the bag from his shoulder and put on his glasses. When he looked again, a human boy stared back. He was wearing the same clothing as the mean boy he'd just encountered, all black with a red scarf and gloves. He even looked a little like the kid, but with far paler skin and much darker black hair. His eyes were also different, though there were only two, they were the same livid green as usual, and his teeth remained sharp. Oh well, at least he wasn't hidious anymore. Still, the knowledge that this wasn't the real him, that it was just a disguise, was painful. He wished he didn't have to hide.

     Kira yawned, tired despite her nap on the bus. She stood outside, shivering with the rest of the class. Somewhere behind the cabins, she thought she'd heard a scream, but no one else seemed to notice and so she assumed she was hearing the wind. Mindy came up to her, radiant-looking as ever, and dragged her a few feet from the others, where she could get a good veiw of them all.
     "Now" She said in a buisnesslike fashon "See those two kids at the front of the line, the one with short blonde hair, and the one with the huge nose?" Kira nodded, they'd been the two in front of her on the bus. "Those two are Billy and Mandy, and they're the biggest losers of all. Especially Mandy. She has no style, and she's, like, totally emo." Mindy pointed to another boy in a green jacket "That boy is Irwin, he's Billy's best friend and a total nerd. The tall boy is called Sperg, and he's a bully, but don't worry because if you stay with me, he'll leave you alone. He only beats up nobodies."
     Mindy was about to go on to another student, when the door of the counsilor's cabin opened with a bang. Out came the hugest, hairiest, most intimidating man Kira had ever seen. He was naked but for a pair of overalls and big black boots, and reminded her of an angry gorilla.
     "Eeeeew!" Mindy whispered "Do they expect the likes of me to camp with apes? What a disgusting man!"
     The 'ape man' cleared his throat impatiently, silencing the class. "Hello children" He said in a no-brains, all brawn type voice. "My name is John Jack Daniel Torrence, and I am the camp counsilor." He scowled, sizing up the class with beady eyes "Now I know that you lot are cold and tired, so please, draw your attention to the cozy cabin to your right. Contained within is a freshly brewed cup of hot coco, an all-natural wood-burning stove, and a comfortable bed. That's where I will be staying." Mr. Torrence said, putting emphasis on the word I.
    "So" The boy named Billy asked "Where do we stay?"
     Mr. Torrence sneered, clearly enjoying every minute of this "Over there" He replied, pointing. The class looked, and there was gasps of disbeleif. Kira had assumed that particular cabin wasn't used, it was tiny and run down, with a gaping hole in the roof.
     Mindy let out a wail "BUT THATS ABUSE!" She cried "I can't get my beauty sleep in there! Oh what will happen to my hair in that kind of condition? What if wild animals get in!? I DON'T LIKE ANIMALS!!!"
     Mr. Torrance ignored the protests. "Nobody had better disturb me, neither, or there'll be trouble!" He roared, and with that, went back to his warm cabin and slammed the door.
     Kira wondered if she'd ended up at military school by mistake. She waited for a moment, then realized that Mr. Torrence wasn't playing a bad joke on them, and headed for the run-down cabin, lugging her suitcase behind.
     When the class got inside, they were met by the irritable stares of the campers from other schools. Some smirked at the newcommers as they gaped at their surroundings in horror, others snorted and retreated to their thin blankets to sleep.
     "Better get used to it!" Someone shouted "Torrence makes this place like a freaking boot camp, and their aint nothing you can do about it."
     "Well this place sucks!" Sperg replied, kicking one of the empty beds.
     The campers got settled the best they could, leaving on coats and gloves, the thin blankets of the beds weren't going to keep anyone warm. Billy made a comment about one spare bed being left, but Kira didn't really pay attention. She'd almost fallen asleep when the cabin door flew open with a bang. Thinking it was Mr. Torrance, she strugged to sit up, and was surprised to see a single boy in the doorway. He strode into the room, put a small bag on top of the spare bed, and looked around.
     Kira couldn't take her eyes off of the strange newcommer. His skin was sickly pale, and in contrast he had jet black hair. He wore a pair of glasses, but that didn't hide the fact that his eyes were vividly green. He looked like a ghost... or a demon. Unaffected by his odd features, the boy named Billy walked up to him, grinning.
     "Hi there, my name's Billy, and I'm from Endsville." He said cheerfully.
     The newcommer looked at Billy shyly. When he spoke, his strange voice shocked Kira. She'd never heard such a strange accent before... the only word she could think of to describe it was predatory, and secretive too. "I'm Junior" The boy replied "I live at the center of the earth."
     There was an akward silence, and then the class burst into screams of laughter. Kira hadn't thought the boy was the joker type, he certainly didn't look it. Junior shifted his feet nervously, but remained deathly silent.
     "Oh don't worry about them" Billy said "They laugh at me all the time."
     Junior nodded slowly. "All right... but it sure is cold here, isn't there someplace warmer to stay?"
     Sperg the bully grinned hugely at this. He glanced at his classmates "Watch this"
     As Sperg approached Junior, Kira whispered to Mindy "Who is that? I never saw him on the bus."
     Mindy scowled "Don't know. Don't care. Looks like a loser to me, so stay away from him."
     Sperg began to speak to Junior "Sure there's a warmer place to stay." He said slyly "Just head over to that cozy little cabin across the way, you'll get a really warm welcome over there!"
     Mindy muffled a laugh "Oh this is gonna be good"
     Kira stared at her "But thats stupid. Only someone who was born yesterday would be dumb enough to fall for..."
     "Shut up!" Someone hissed.
     Junior's face lit up "Really?" He asked, smiling with gratitude "It's nice and warm?" Sperg nodded. "Oh boy." And with that he turned, walked back outside, and went straight for Mr. Torrence's cabin. The class howled with laughter and Sperg shut the cabin door.
     "You see, Kira?" Mindy said brightly "Thats what losers get."
     Kira didn't reply, she was tired, and felt bad for the poor kid, even if he was weird. Shaking her head, too sleepy to linger on the subject, she climbed into her bed and fell asleep almost instantly. That night, she dreamed again, and always, she saw those green, green eyes. Sometimes there were two, and sometimes it was as if there were many. After the dreams passed, however, she forgot all about them.