The mess hall was dark and empty, Winter Camp seemed to be very lacking in staff. Luckily, there was plenty of food to be found in the kitchen, and within a few minutes the campers were having a very disorganised breakfast consisting of anything from cereal to cold pizza. Friends broke off into groups and sat on the tables having whispered conversations. A few kids declared themselves the unofficial camp chefs and blew up the microwave trying to make oatmeal. If it weren't for the strangeness of the siduation, it would have been very funny.
     Mindy seemed to have a natural instinct for tracking down the most popular girls in a group of strangers, and had soon formed an exclusive clique that sat separate from all the rest. Kira sat on the edge, uncerain if she was included or not. She was horribly uncomfortable, feeling small and insignificant next to her dazzling popular friends, afraid to say anything in case they realized that fact and made her leave.
     "So" A blonde girl named Talia said "Since it seems we can do whatever we want... what shall we do after breakfast?"
     The girls thought silently for a few seconds, and then, with a squeal of delight, Cassandra cried: "Ice Skating! I so love ice skating!"
     Mindy's eyes glazed over with a self-obsessed expression "Like, what a totally good idea! I'm the most talented ice skater in Endsville... it's an art you see, it takes beauty and grace, and I have way too much of both!" She brushed back her hair arrogantly.
     Chelsie sneered, her black braids and exotic dark eyes making her look almost more lovely then Mindy. "We'll see about that. I am, like, an ice ballerina. I won second prize in the state competition last year."
     Mindy hooted with laughter "Second? If you remember correctly, Chelsie, I won first!"
     The two girls glared at eachother like angry cats, and Kira almost expected them to start hissing. Mindy was the first to regain her composture. She turned her eyes to Kira.
     "So. What about you? You are good at ice skating, aren't you Kira?" The other girls exchanged knowing smirks when Kira blushed. The truth was, she'd never been ice-skating in her life, and knew she'd be horrid at it if she tried.
     "I...I... Well yes of course I can ice skate! I love ice skating... um... I... I've taken lessons since I was three!" She hoped the lie wasn't too obvious.
     "Oh, is that so?" Cassandra said, smirking "I wouldn't have guessed that you knew how. You just don't... well, seem to have the requirements for it."
     Kira whithered under that ugly smirk. For the hundredth time, she felt stupid and ugly in the presence of these girls. Of course she didn't have the requirements for proper ice skating, with her dull mousy brown hair and slightly chubby body. She wasn't a klutz, but beauty and grace were the two last things she had.
     "Well you never know" Mindy put in "Maybe Kira here will surprise us." Only her eyes showed that she didn't really beleive that.
     The girls soon went on to another topic, ignoring Kira completely. She tried to push away her discomfort, and pretend that she was no different from her friends. She nodded and smiled when appropriet, as if she was completely involved in what they were saying, but really her mind wandered. Back at her old school, she hadn't been popular, but her friends there were so easy to be with, she'd felt like an equal around them. She scowled. The past didn't matter anymore, because those friends were long gone and it was likely she'd never see them again.
     After breakfast, the girls split up, planning to meet at the pond in 30 minutes. Mindy headed straight for the storage building, where the ice skates were, and Kira trudged along silently behind her. The silence didn't last, within a minute Mindy had started to brag about her apparently rich father's buisness. Kira forgot what she was saying, however, as she caught sight of a boy. "Hey, what's he doing?"
     Mindy stamped her foot furiously "How rude Kira, aren't you listening to me...?" She trailed off and watched the boy, raising an eyebrow. "It's that loser Billy, looks he's going to the counsilor's cabin... oh this oughta be good, ape man'll totally pulverize him!"
     But Mr. Torrence did no such thing. Kira was surprised when the camp counsilor calmly opened the door and looked down at Billy with very green eyes.
    'Strange...' Kira thought 'I don't think I remember Mr. Torrance having glasses...'
     Billy said something, too far away for Kira to catch the words, and then handed something... a stuffed bear... to the counsilor. There was a quick reply and the door shut.
      Mindy frowned "Wow that was weird. Like, shouldn't ape man be storming out and yelling at all of us or something? He isn't just going to stay in there all day is he? This is, like, so unplanned, I bet my daddy would sue if he knew..."
     Kira shrugged "Maybe. Um... did Mr. Torrance look any... different to you?"
     "No. An ape man is an ape man, why should I care what he looks like? Anyway, stay here and watch this, I'm gonna find out what just happened."
     Mindy strode casually over to Billy, her manner changing drastically. She gave him a warm smile "Like, hey Billy, how are you today?"
     Billy stared for a moment, and then declared proudly "I like eating socks!"
     Mindy's smile only grew. She acted so friendly that Kira was almost convinced, but then she remembered all the cruel things Mindy had said to her about Billy in private.
     "Oh thats so great, Billy. Well hey, since we're such good friends, you should tell me something else. Like, what did you say to Mr. Torrence? Just between us."
     Billy looked doubtful for only a second. He grinned "Junior forgot Mr. Bonkers last night, so I took it to him, but he wasn't there so I asked Mr. Torrence to give it to him."
     "Really? How nice of you... well anyway, where is the gullible little... I mean Junior? Do you know? And, like, why hasn't Mr. Torrence come out yet?"
     He gave her a long stare. "Uhhhm.... I dunno... I like socks"
     "Yes, Billy, I know you like socks, is there anything else you know about Mr. Torrence?"
     "Uhhh... he likes socks too?"
     "Nevermind"
     Mindy came striding back to Kira looking very unsatisfied. She let out a huff of irritation "That stupid loser doesn't know anything. God, like, what a wuss." She mimiced Billy's voice "Junior forgot Mr. Bonkers last night so I took it to him... how pathetic can someone get?"
     But Kira only half heard. Junior! She remembered now, that'd been the boy's name. She didn't know why it even mattered so much, he was just some dumb guy who fell for a prank. A distant memory of a forgotten dream came back to her for only an instant... green eyes... but then it was gone and she was following Mindy to get ice skates, thoughts of the strange boy replaced by nervousness. How on earth was she going to ice skate?

     When there was a knock on the cabin door, Junior jumped so hard his disguise almost slipped. He took in a deep breath... nobody was going to recognise him, they'd just see the camp counsilor. He opened the door, and was met by Billy's farmiliar face. The camper grinned at him, and he remembered that Billy really had been nice last night... unlike all the others.
     "Hey there Mr. Torrence. If you see Junior, will you give him Mr. Bonkers?" He held up Junior's teddy bear, which had been forgotten in the campers cabin.
     Junior blinked, surprised by this act of kindness. "Er... Yes, thank you... I'll see that he gets it." He took the teddy bear and quickly shut the door. Once Billy was gone, he changed back into his original human guise.
     Junior hugged Mr. Bonkers to his chest, taking comfort in the little bear that seemed to be his only friend in this horrible place. And yet... he thought of Billy, who had seemed sincere all last night, and at the door too. Maybe Billy really was just trying to be friendly, he hoped so, it'd be so nice to fit in, even if it was all a lie. Even if he had to disguise his true self all the time, it would be ok if he could just fit in with the other kids. Still... even then he was going to have to do something about Mr. Torrence by the time camp was over, but that could wait.
     Junior left the counsilors cabin by the back door, not sure he wanted to walk right through the middle of camp where everyone would notice him. He strode out to the pond, where a solitary snowman stood by the frozen shore. He shuddered as he realized how very much it resembled Mr. Torrance... hopefully nobody had figured out that it really was Mr. Torrence...
     "Hey" Someone shouted "Junior, there you are! Cool snowman!"
     Junior tried to force a smile as Billy and a boy he didn't know jogged up to him. His insides twisted with guilt. "Yeah... it's some piece of work all right..." He muttered.
     "Hey" The other boy said "Speaking of pieces of work, check out that masterpiece." He pointed to the pond.
     A girl on ice skates twirrled round and round on the ice. She spun, and leapt,  and twisted with a dizzying sort of grace. Her bright red hair blew out behind her, sparkling with bits of snow, and she smiled with utter bliss. Other skaters stared in open awe of her skill, and the girl was clearly enjoying every moment of it.
     "She sure is popular" Junior said regretfully. She was so perfect, it made him feel horrible inside. She had nothing to hide, and everybody seemed to love her. It just wasn't fair! He'd give anything to be like that, the complete opposite of a monster.
     "She has a wonderful personality." Billy said, grinning.
     "Oh yeah man, Mindy's nice to everyone. But even so... I'll always love Mandy." He sighed longingly. Junior just stared. Whoever Mandy was, he didn't get why this guy sounded so dreamy as he said her name. Whatever, it didn't matter, he'd just gotten a new idea.
     If Mindy was as wonderful and nice as Junior had been told, then she'd be the perfect kind of friend. Someone who wouldn't care that he was a freak... although Junior wouldn't dare show her how much of a freak the real him was, at least not for a very long time, until he knew her better.