Everything That's Golden

Chapter One

As I glanced at the small wooden bunk bed, there were two things I was sure of. The first being that I was definitely not going to get a good night's sleep for the whole summer. The second was that this certainly must be some kind of mistake. I double-checked the paper they had given me with my cabin's number, next to Genève Westwood was a bright five underlined in red. I raised my head glaring at the shiny five nailed to the door. Setting my duffle bag down on the bottom bunk, the bed started creaking under its weight. I started to unpack, a process I dreaded doing every summer, but I knew I wouldn't have time tonight to do it. A small set of wooden drawers were placed beside the bed, with a lamp that looked like it would combust any minute now. Everything in this cabin looked like it was one wrong move from breaking, like a real life game of jenga.

The door slammed open, Violet Keita walked in kicking her bag with her feet. Looking around she whistled.

"Damn we downgraded from last year, huh Genève?" She lightly traced her finger on the top of the dresser, wiping away the dust that collected with a grimace. Violet and I had been best friends since middle school bonding over our shared hatred of the endless dinner parties and events our mothers forced us to attend. We would often try to hide out in the corner, mainly because that's where the appetizers were and no one could force you to socialize if they couldn't find you. However, Violet's mother always managed too and chastised us every time, "You can't be part of society, if you don't spend time in it."

"Maybe, it's because of what happened last year," I said. Last summer, the weekend before camp was over for the season Violet decided it was a good idea to 'borrow' a jetski so that she could soar through the water at sunrise. She wanted pictures to post before school started, to prove that she had a better summer than anyone else at Collingwood Prep. Unfortunately, we didn't account for how loud the jetski was and how hard it was to pose on it. We ended up getting caught when Violet crashed it into the dock, luckily she was okay. The same couldn't be said for the jetski. Violet, always the optimist, still counted it as a win because her photos did get the most likes out of everyone at school.

"I still stand by that choice. I swear I gained a thousand followers from those photos. Let's do it again," She said, starting to pull out her clothes. I could see a bottle of vodka, she had wrapped in a sweater near the bottom of her bag and who knows what else. But with Violet, there was always something else.

"I didn't even know they had cabins like this one. Do you think we're still in trouble from last summer?" I asked. Our parents were furious about what happened. Not because they had to buy a brand new jet ski or repair the dock, but the damage to our reputations was something money couldn't fix. All of our friends thought it was hilarious, unfortunately our parents' friends didn't have the same opinion. A quick call to my parents would get us moved to a proper cabin, but it wasn't worth the lecture.

"This cabin's probably a spare one that the staff would normally use. They need to stop obsessing over it." She pushed her violet colored braids back, stuffing her clothes into one of the drawers. Violet was like her name, in love with anything that color. Her mother gave up a long time ago on getting her to dye her hair back.

"I miss my phone. Honestly, I don't understand how they accept us to live like this. It's prehistoric." She said, struggling to keep her drawer closed. She was never one for packing light, no matter how many times I told her.

"This is our fourth summer without them. Shouldn't you be used to it by now?" Camp Joseph was famous for a lot of things, it's insanely high camper fees, crystal clear lakes, and luxury cabins. It also prided itself on exclusivity. Just because you could afford to go here, didn't mean you could. Afterall, who wants to go somewhere everyone was invited too. What it wasn't famous for? It's cell service.