Chapter Six

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hannah and I were up at six Sunday morning, which I pointed out to Hannah was actually three in the morning my time. Our cabin had been assigned a teal color for our shirts and we both pulled on ones that read ‘Counselor’ on the back. The girls assigned to our cabin would have matching teal shirts to wear during sporting events and other times when we needed a way to easily distinguish them from the others.

“You nervous?” Hannah asked as we walked towards the dining hall.

I nodded and offered her a small smile. “More nervous than I should be, I think.”

The dining hall was open an hour earlier than normal so all of the staff could eat before campers began to arrive. Hannah and I took the opportunity to eat with our friends one last time since we’d all have campers to look after for the next eight weeks.

“So, I think we should all plan to go out our last night here. After the campers leave,” Joanne said as she sat down. Since Joanne was a floating counselor and Aubrey was the seventh grade counselor, none of our days off would ever fall together.

I nodded in agreement as I swallowed the last of my coffee. “I think that’s an excellent plan.”

“I’m down,” Hannah chimed in as she pushed her plate away. “We’re supposed to meet where?”

“The amphitheater,” Aubrey replied with a yawn. “We turn in our cell phones there, too.”

Hannah pulled hers out of her pocket and looked at it longingly. “It’s going to be a hard two weeks without Google.”

We all laughed and stood from the table to get rid of our dishes. When we made it to the stadium, we stood in line behind other staff to check in our phones. I gave it up easily when it was my turn. My parents knew how to get ahold of me if they really needed to and I knew my best friend, Briana, would have her boyfriend to entertain her for the summer.

Hannah, on the other hand, looked devastated when her phone was locked up in its numbered bag. Howard gave her the key to the bag and just laughed at her expression before calling up the next person.

The two of us found our cabin table on the field behind the amphitheater, which boasted a banner with our cabin number, the age group, and both our names as well. We sat down with the roster and waited for the first of the campers to arrive. While we waited, we played corn hole, horseshoes, cards, and other games with different counselors around the area.

When campers would arrive, they would be shown to their corresponding table to check in. The counselors at the table would introduce themselves, give them their camp t-shirts, schedule, and map, explain different things you’d need to know on the map, and let a member of the staff and camper peer group show the camper to their cabin. After that, the campers were given tours of the facilities in groups and set free to try limited activities for the afternoon.

We checked in our first camper a little after the camp had opened. One of the staff members pointed Hannah and me out to a set of parents who had a teenager girl between them. They came to where we were and introduced themselves before introducing their daughter, Jenny. They spent the next fifteen minutes going over every allergy and ailment she had. Jenny stood behind them the entire time and rolled her eyes.

“Do you know how to use an EpiPen?” the father asked us seriously and both Hannah and I nodded immediately.

“We do, sir,” I replied politely. “Jenny seems to be a pretty responsible young lady, too, so I think the three of us will be able to keep an eye on everything for the summer.” I smiled at Jenny and she returned it with a bright one of her own.

“I’m excited.”

Hannah and I both laughed and I nodded my head as I handed her two teal shirts that boasted the camp’s logo and the cabin’s number on the back.

“It’s going to be fun, Jenny.” I winked at her as Hannah gathered the necessary papers. “I’m excited, too.”

Hannah went over the map and the schedule and I told the parents what they could do with Jenny for the next few hours before they left. We promised Jenny we’d see her for dinner as they walked away.

“Please tell me that not every parent will be like that,” Hannah murmured and I chuckled with a shrug.

“I don’t know. I never came with my parents. We always flew solo and checked in alone.”

Hannah turned to look at me with her brows raised. “We? Who did you come with?”

“My sister, Kira,” I replied as I made sure the papers in front of me were stacked neatly. “She and I came together for five years before she aged out.”

“I didn’t know you had a sister.”

I just smiled and nodded as I mentally repeated that in my head. I had a sister. Past tense.

Once the buses started arriving from the airport, the area was busy and buzzing with conversation. Hannah’s eight-year-old little sister, Chloe, arrived and she squealed when she spotted her big sister. Hannah wrapped her arms around her tight and they spoke quietly for a few minutes before Hannah took her to check-in. I sat at the table alone and looked at our list. We had six checked in and just needed four more.

“Where’s your partner in crime?”

I turned my head just in time to see Drew take the seat Hannah had been in moments before. He was wearing a counselor shirt similar to mine except Cabin Seven’s were orange.

“With her little sister, getting her checked in.”

“Ah,” Drew replied as reached over and grabbed my clipboard. “So, what’s the wager this year?”

“Wager?” I raised my brows and gave him a puzzled look.

He chuckled and dropped the clipboard so he could lean in closer to me. I knew he wanted me to flinch away but I didn’t. Our faces were inches apart as our gazes locked, his eyes a bright blue in the sunlight with the exception of the small ring of green in the middle.

“For Cabin Wars. What does loser have to do this year?”

I’d forgotten about Cabin Wars. The grudge match was unofficial and sponsored completely by the counselors without Howard and May’s involvement, although I was sure they knew what went down. Only for the seventh graders and up, the male cabin of one age group would go up against the female cabin of the same age. You could earn points by having great inspection sign-offs weekly and perfect merit reports for the week, but also by successfully beating that same cabin at a sport or event.

The biggest part of the games, though, was earning points through pranks. Each prank that was successfully pulled off without being caught earned points. The pranks had to be tasteful, they couldn’t get the cabin in trouble, and they had to follow certain parameters. The winning cabin received bragging rights and was waited on hand and foot by the losing cabin for the last full Saturday of the summer.

The bigger prize, however, was within the counselors themselves. The counselors always wagered something at the beginning of the summer and the loser had to carry it out. I’d only learned of that part of Cabin Wars when I was in my last year and we watched from the shadows as our counselors had been forced to dive into the lake naked after we’d lost.

“What are you proposing?” I asked quietly as I continued to hold his stare.

Drew leaned in so close that our noses were almost touching and his lips stretched into a smile. “Personally, I prefer something with nudity.”

“Of course you do.” I gave him a patronizing look. “Maybe we don’t want to see you guys naked.”

His gaze dropped to my lips for a moment before moving back to my eyes. “Yeah, you do.” Drew pulled back when Jordan called his name and he stood to give me another grin. “Confer with your girl and let us know.”

I watched as he walked back to my table and lightly scoffed. I needed to talk to Hannah because we had to make sure the bet was good. And that we won.

Shortly after three in the afternoon, all ten of our girls had checked in so Hannah and I left the amphitheater to head to where the seventh through tenth grade girls were playing field games. Hannah turned her head to look at me before she inhaled a deep breath.

“Ready?”

I nodded and couldn’t contain the grin that stretched across my face. “Let’s do it.” I cupped my hands around my mouth and stepped forward.

“Cabin Fifteen! Come on over!”

We waited as ten teenage girls stopped what they were doing and ran towards us eagerly. They were all wearing nametags that matched the ones Hannah and I wore, which I knew would come in handy for the first day. Once all ten bodies were all crowded around us, Hannah spoke.

“Hey, ladies. In case you don’t remember, I’m Hannah and this is Shaylee.” She gestured towards me with a sweep of her hands. “We’re going to get to know each other really well over the next eight weeks but we wanted to do some icebreakers right now. So, if you’ll come on into the shade here, we’ll see if we can get through this uncomfortable stage, okay?”

Everyone chuckled as we followed Hannah to a shaded part of the grass and sat in a circle. Hannah nodded at me from the opposite end, basically telling me to start, and I clapped my hands once.

“I want everyone to state their name, where they’re from, and two fun facts about themselves, okay? I’ll start.” I touched one hand to my chest and smiled. “My name is Shaylee Butler and I am twenty-one-years-old. I am from Phoenix, Arizona and I’m getting ready to start my last year of college. My first fun fact is that I love to crochet and you’ll find me doing it often during our downtime. The second fun fact is that I was an extra in the movie Jerry McGuire when I was a kid. I actually got to meet Cuba Gooding, Jr. during one of his football scenes.”

I turned to look at the girl on my right and gave her an encouraging smile. She sucked in a deep breath and looked like she was going to pass out from nerves.

“My name is Cate Moorman and I’m from Franklin, Tennessee. A dolphin once bit me on the leg when I was on vacation in the Florida Keys and I still sleep with my teddy bear, Joe.”

Everyone chuckled and when I asked her to elaborate, she told us the story of how she came to get into the altercation with the dolphin. From there we met Emma, Nicole, Robbie, Lizzy, and Alexandra before it was Hannah’s turn.

“My name is Hannah Thompson and I am also twenty-one-years-old. I live in Gainesville, Florida and attend the University of Florida. I have a pet guinea pig at home named Winkle and during my senior year, I was obsessed with the camouflage print. Everything I wore had some sort of camo in it, including my graduation cap.”

I couldn’t help the snort that escaped my lips at her fact and everyone joined in as we laughed. Hannah just shrugged her shoulders and laughed, too.

“Hey- I grew out of it eventually but I totally rocked it.”

After Hannah, we heard from Jenny, Maria, September, and Thalia. Each girl gave us great facts and I did what I could to try to associate faces with names.

Once we were done with the icebreakers and the buzz of conversation had settled, I spoke up again.

“Hannah and I are responsible for you and all your actions. We can be the greatest counselors and friends you’ve ever had but you have to respect us in return. We expect you to keep your bunks clean, to adhere to our rules, and to represent us well. As long as you’re doing that, you’ll have a fantastic summer in return. Do you understand?”

All ten heads nodded immediately and I looked to Hannah.

“So,” she started as she held up the schedule in her hands. “These will be posted in our cabin but we have daily schedules that are the same from week to week. During our rest period after lunch, you need to be in the cabin for the full hour. We have the opportunity to do what we want on Sundays but as a cabin so we’ll be voting on activities throughout the day. Make sure you’re visiting the dining hall during meal times because if you miss a meal, you will have to wait until the next one. Fruit, small snacks, and beverages are available at all times in the dining hall, but anything big is only prepared three times a day. Because you’re older, you will have more liberties and freedoms than the younger campers but do not abuse them.”

I nodded in agreement when Hannah stopped. “It sounds strict but it’s going to be so much fun, guys. I was a camper here from the time I was eight until I turned sixteen. I loved it and I know you will, too. I’m sure the returning campers know what I’m talking about.” I cleared my throat and lowered my voice. “Now, let’s talk about Cabin Wars.”

I explained Cabin Wars to the group. Most of the girls had attended the year before and knew how it worked but they all still paid close attention, especially when I talked about the pranks. The thought of having the boys wait on us hand and foot peaked their interest and I knew that we had a competitive group among us. The girls who had been in Cabin Fourteen last year, the eighth grade cabin, had lost to the male counterparts and they were out for revenge.

Once Cabin Wars was explained and questions were answered, we joined the mass of campers to take the annual panoramic photo. After that was done, we led the group back to the cabin and let them pick where they were going to sleep. We went over the different functions in the space and left them all to start unpacking their stuff and personalizing their areas.

“What do we want the bet to be if we win?” Hannah asked as we sat off to the side observing the girls. I turned my head to look at her and shrugged my shoulders.

“Not jumping into the lake naked. That’s pretty cliché.” I wrinkled my nose and stared at her for a moment. “What if we propose that the guys wear a pair of our underwear for a whole day? We could order a couple of ridiculous thongs to give them when we win.”

Hannah’s eyes lit up and she nodded quickly. “That’s perfect. Like a hot pink, satin g-string.”

“Exactly. Can you imagine?” An image of Drew wearing nothing but that hot pink pair of underwear crossed my mind and I hurried to push it down. I liked looking at him but I wasn’t going to entertain those fantasies. Even if he and Christy weren’t glued together, getting involved with Drew would be a bad idea. There was something about him that I just couldn’t figure out.