oneshots + random stories I come up with + stories from prompts

Are Those Really Your Clothes?

"Bye!" I called out to my mom as she left the cabin.

It was the first day at camp that season and I had just been dropped off. My mom had left and I had met up with my counselor, picked my bed, and started reading a small book I had brought with me while the other kids streamed in slowly. There were four bunks, so I was guessing that there would be seven other kids sleeping in the same room as me for the next two weeks.

My guess had turned out to be correct as all eight beds had soon been covered with blankets and sleeping bags brought in by seven other 13 year olds. Just as the last parent was kissing their son goodbye, our cabin counselor came in and started introducing himself.

"Hey there everyone! I'm Gravel and I'm your counselor! Well go to the main lodge in a bit for dinner but for now, let's get settled in and get to know each other. I'll start, my name is Gravel, but I just said that, and I like bouldering!"

We all stared at Gravel for a bit, none of us wanting to go next. Gravel sighed under his breath and muttered something that I couldn't make out before saying that we would go in a circle, starting with me. I jumped at the fact that I had to go first, but soon gave in and introduced myself.

"Hi, my name is Leo and I like to swim..." I said half-heartedly. I hated ice breaker games because they always seemed so forced, as if we were in some perfect world where people could say one thing about themselves and that's all others would need to know to figure out if they liked them or not. It was all just too staged for me.

The next person in the circle, who ended up being the kid in the bed under me, piped up once I finished.

"Hi, my name's Jake, and I like to canoe." He said with a little more enthusiasm than me.

"Hi, my name is Kion and I like to boulder!" The next kid exclaimed only milliseconds after Jake had finished talking. It seemed as if he had been impatiently waiting his turn and just needed to introduce himself as quickly as possible.

"Hi, my name is Lamen and I like to rock climb..." The next person said, with about as much enthusiasm as I had for this activity.

We continued around until all eight of us had been introduced to one another and then Gravel started explaining how things would work around camp. I hadn't really been listening. This was my third year here and I already knew the ropes. I was just thinking of what they might serve us for dinner. My best guess was pizza. Or maybe that was just my stomach being hopeful.

Gravel's speech came to an end and he gave us half an hour before dinner to get unpacked and settled in. He had advised us to always wear bug spray as the mosquito screens on our windows and doors weren't as good as they should have been due to their age. I sprayed a generous amount of the bug repellent and then continued to read.

I had gotten about halfway through when Gravel called out to all of us, telling us to get off of our asses and follow him to the main lodge. I silently wondered if he was allowed to swear in front of us, but then decided that he either was allowed to, or didn't care. I'll probably figure it out later, when he swears in front of another counselor.

Once dinner was served, we all dug in. It wasn't pizza, but it was still tasty and my stomach and taste buds didn't say anything against having hamburgers with ceaser salad. I found that a lot of the others didn't eat the salad, which I found weird. The salad here was always drenched in dressing, so it didn't taste like salad, and it barely even had the crunchy texture of normal lettuce. Gravel was not impressed by the inability to eat salad and made them eat it, much to their dismay. I just sat and watched.

I hadn't really talked to anyone yet, though I did plan on getting to know Lamen better. He seemed to have the same energy towards ice breakers as me so that was a start.