to rise back to the platform and tell Lacey to forget the whole thing. While the entire descent lasted two seconds, to Noelle, it felt like an eternity.
Suddenly the warm embrace of her cabin mates surrounded her as she collapsed into their arms.
#
After everyone in the cabin did the trust fall, Lacey led them outside, and immediately Noelle spotted dozens of tables lined in a row. Some had lights strung across them with several posters aligning the backs while others had very mild decorations such as a balloon here or a streamer there.
“Where are we going?” Noelle asked curiously.
“Activities fair,” Lacey answered as she pulled out a clipboard and analyzed it dully. “I think the lectors use it in what they call ‘college’.”
“A lec-ta-what?”
“Oh,” Lacey snapped to attention, “that’s right. Most of you don’t know camper slang yet. Lectors are readers. They read our stories, and rate them based on favorites or non-favorites. They’re kind of like a judging panel, but the stories entertain them in return.”
Noelle shuddered at the thought that a random stranger could be analyzing her motions that very second.
“They aren’t reading about us now,” Lacey added quickly as she observed the worrisome expressions on the camper’s faces. “That would be so boring. No, they don’t start reading until the story begins. The real story. The one you’ll be training for your entire time here at campus.”
“Then what is this activities fair for?” one girl in pig tails piped up from the back of the crowd.
“The Activities Fair is basically what it sounds like. There are different clubs that you can sign up for that will either help your prepare for your story experience or just meet new friends. There are also job opportunities available which will help you purchase items at the campus store and snack shack. But I won’t hold you back here, so go ahead and explore!”
The Extras stood stunned for a few seconds not quite sure what to do. Then suddenly the girl in pigtails bravely ventured forth, and the crowd dispersed quickly.
Noelle stared at Lacey with a hint of dependence and a dash of I-don’t-know-what-the-heck-I’m-doing .
Lacey seemed to read her anxious expression, “Would you like me to show you around the activities fair?”
“Yes please,” Noelle answered meekly.
Lacey straightened up as she adjusted her clipboard like a baby encompassed in her arms.
“Here, we’ll visit the theater booth first; they always have some interesting stuff.”
Noelle followed a footstep behind Lacey as they meandered over to a very exuberant red table with a bazillion flashing lights that blinded Noelle instantly.
“Hey guys,” shouted a very peppy girl, hair in golden fishtail braid. “Like, welcome to the theater booth. In our program, we reenact stories and even do a little original script writing. Of course, our last author, Geoffrey Herot, had one of his scene acted out in his real story. We have the actual coverage.”
She held out a round disc that reflected the bright lights right into Noelle’s vision.
“What is that?” she asked shielding her face with one hand.
“A rough draft of the book,” Lacey answered almost without pausing. “They cover all of the footage in the story and send it back here to campus for us to review. Then they edit and present it to the lectors.”
“Do books really look like that ?”
“To us, yes, to the readers, they’re a tad bit different.”
The exuberant girl cleared her throat indignantly clearly annoyed that she lost her attention on a rather petty matter.
“So anyways, a copy of the rough draft cost ten fragments.”
“Currency here,” Lacey explained before Noelle could ask. She turned to the girl and shook her head sadly. “Sorry, but maybe another time.”
The two girls turned away before the theater girl could make another offer.
“So you pay in fragments ?” Noelle wondered aloud, as she began to worry that
Suddenly the warm embrace of her cabin mates surrounded her as she collapsed into their arms.
#
After everyone in the cabin did the trust fall, Lacey led them outside, and immediately Noelle spotted dozens of tables lined in a row. Some had lights strung across them with several posters aligning the backs while others had very mild decorations such as a balloon here or a streamer there.
“Where are we going?” Noelle asked curiously.
“Activities fair,” Lacey answered as she pulled out a clipboard and analyzed it dully. “I think the lectors use it in what they call ‘college’.”
“A lec-ta-what?”
“Oh,” Lacey snapped to attention, “that’s right. Most of you don’t know camper slang yet. Lectors are readers. They read our stories, and rate them based on favorites or non-favorites. They’re kind of like a judging panel, but the stories entertain them in return.”
Noelle shuddered at the thought that a random stranger could be analyzing her motions that very second.
“They aren’t reading about us now,” Lacey added quickly as she observed the worrisome expressions on the camper’s faces. “That would be so boring. No, they don’t start reading until the story begins. The real story. The one you’ll be training for your entire time here at campus.”
“Then what is this activities fair for?” one girl in pig tails piped up from the back of the crowd.
“The Activities Fair is basically what it sounds like. There are different clubs that you can sign up for that will either help your prepare for your story experience or just meet new friends. There are also job opportunities available which will help you purchase items at the campus store and snack shack. But I won’t hold you back here, so go ahead and explore!”
The Extras stood stunned for a few seconds not quite sure what to do. Then suddenly the girl in pigtails bravely ventured forth, and the crowd dispersed quickly.
Noelle stared at Lacey with a hint of dependence and a dash of I-don’t-know-what-the-heck-I’m-doing .
Lacey seemed to read her anxious expression, “Would you like me to show you around the activities fair?”
“Yes please,” Noelle answered meekly.
Lacey straightened up as she adjusted her clipboard like a baby encompassed in her arms.
“Here, we’ll visit the theater booth first; they always have some interesting stuff.”
Noelle followed a footstep behind Lacey as they meandered over to a very exuberant red table with a bazillion flashing lights that blinded Noelle instantly.
“Hey guys,” shouted a very peppy girl, hair in golden fishtail braid. “Like, welcome to the theater booth. In our program, we reenact stories and even do a little original script writing. Of course, our last author, Geoffrey Herot, had one of his scene acted out in his real story. We have the actual coverage.”
She held out a round disc that reflected the bright lights right into Noelle’s vision.
“What is that?” she asked shielding her face with one hand.
“A rough draft of the book,” Lacey answered almost without pausing. “They cover all of the footage in the story and send it back here to campus for us to review. Then they edit and present it to the lectors.”
“Do books really look like that ?”
“To us, yes, to the readers, they’re a tad bit different.”
The exuberant girl cleared her throat indignantly clearly annoyed that she lost her attention on a rather petty matter.
“So anyways, a copy of the rough draft cost ten fragments.”
“Currency here,” Lacey explained before Noelle could ask. She turned to the girl and shook her head sadly. “Sorry, but maybe another time.”
The two girls turned away before the theater girl could make another offer.
“So you pay in fragments ?” Noelle wondered aloud, as she began to worry that
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