The Cape

A "Cape Summerland" story

By Thelma Mary Caroline

We stopped at the edge of town.  There were five big buildings, arranged in a big of a pyramid.  Two were sleeping quarters, with porches, two storage buildings and a barn.

Everyone stopped, and wiped the sweat off their forehead, relieved.  Several of my co-workers (exuse me, townsmates) ran into the bulidings, eager to explore.  But most of us rested.

Sam immediatly began to lead the livestock to the barn, and I followed her lead, along with five other people.  We had goats and milch cows and chickens and Olga's cat to get set up for the night.  The barn was already loaded with hay and feed.  There was a pig there, and piglets.  "Yeah," I said aloud and skeptical.  "The crew of the original town here walked several miles and found a nursing pig."

"Actually," Elle Jae said in her official announcer voice, while facing the camera, "Team Lorwall built this city over the course of a week.  Soon after the barn was completed, they found a strange blue pig-like animal that they called Spigs, and named her Lucy.  She was a nursing a litter of little spigettes."

"Laken, you need to put the goats over here!  For god's sake, can't you do anything right?"

I glared at Olga, who was petting her cat but not doing much else.

"All right, guys," Sam said.  "We need to go help the others get all the supplies into the two big bulidings in back.  We'll use them for storage.  The two in the front are for living."

"Shouldn't one of the bulidings be a town hall?" I asked.

Sam looked at me.  "That's a good idea.  All right," she announced loudly to everyone who would listen, "We're going to move everything else into the building on the far left.  Then when that's done, we'll figure out dinner."

Still, everyone grumbled.  Well, everyone except a few.  I took all the huge sacks of flour and rice and the like, stacking them all neatly in the corner, making sure everything was accesible.  No one else would grab them because they were "too heavy."  But that was okay.  I liked proving that I was the most manly.  Uncle Ham helped me on the ones that were way too big for me, but for the most part I did it myself.

Within the hour we all stepped back and looked at our work.

"Now, for dinner," Mr. Eser said.  "Something special that I brought.  Since this will be my last meal with you.  I brought root beer and beef jerky!"

He talked as though it was the most exciting thing.  At first I thought he'd brought a resturant or somthing.

"And Small Mart cheesecake!"

Everyone cheered.  But suddenly Danielle stopped.  Of all my co-workers, I hated her the most.  She always treated me like maggot loving serpant.  I hated her ugly auburn hair, cut as though someone just took a knife to it.  She was fat, and had a bland oval face that I dispised looking at.

But anyway, Danielle stopped cheering.  "I can't eat that!  It has sugar in it!"

I rolled my eyes.  She would loose weight if she did more work around town.  At least, I figured that would be true.  She used to be skinny.

Still, everyone ate dinner, and then we all went to make our own beds.  Dan was filming us, and Casey pulled people off to the side to do little interviews.  I stood off to the side, watching Casey.  But really, it was more fun to watch Chico and the boom mike.  She had her C D player on, and turned up really high (she had big earphones on so I couldn't really hear it, but I could tell anyway).  Her head bobbed and she mouthed along with the words.  She paid no attention to the interview.  I sort of thought she and Sno should change places.  Sno seemed to be the kind of person that would enjoy listening to what people had to say away from the group.

And then it was my turn.