The Art of Summer Camp War

2

 "Welcome to CampSMP!" The man in green and white said to the crowd. He wasn't a tall man, but he wasn't short either. His blonde hair was swept away from his face and his eyes seemed to scan the crowd to make sure he saw everyone in an attempt to memorize their faces. Everyone gave a round of applause and the man smiled. "I am the camp owner and director, my name is Philza but you all can just call me Phil, I can't wait to spend the next week getting to know you all and see what crazy shenanigans you get up to!" he let out a hearty laugh and continued, "If you take a look at the welcome pamphlets you all got, there is a map of the camp on the back. Take a moment to familiarize yourself and then you can follow me to church prime! Please leave your luggage here and you'll gather it after announcements. There, your cabins will join one of our two teams so you know who you're fighting for this week!"

     The crowd was filled with whispers and murmurs and a few of the same phrases could be heard all over, "What are the teams?"

     "What are the games gonna be?"

     "Are there team leaders? If so what are they like?" and of course there was one voice that randomly shouted above the rest,

     "When are we eating??" Any nerves remaining dissipated and were replaced with laughter and friendly conversation.

     Phil walked down some nearby stairs and gestured for the students to follow him. As they started walking, Tommy started to think out loud,

     "I wonder what kind of challenges there'll be. Whatever they are, I know I'll be great." Jack laughed,

     "Ha! As if mate, you're a scrawny little tosser."

     "Wha-WHAT DO YOU MEAN? I AM NOT- I AM NOT SCRAW-NY!" The way he said "scrawny" was dripping with a mocking tone.

     "Look at yourself mate!" Tubbo said while gesturing to... well... all of him. Tommy looked himself up and down,

     "Yeah I know, I just hate it when Jack is right." They all laughed and continued to walk with the flow of everyone else.

     All the chatter between the students produced a noise that seemed unnatural in a setting such as this. Normally one would expect to hear serene quietness while in a forest, but this was quite the opposite. There were people teasing their friends, asking questions about how the week will go, and an overall buzz of excitement.

     The winding, dirt path led down to a rustic white building with purple stained glass windows. "And here we have Church Prime!" Tommy laughed, it did kind of look like a church. Inside there were rows of wooden seats and a stand at the front. Next to the stand was a table where a golden bell sat on top. Everyone piled in and found their seats. Tommy ran down to the front to claim the seat for him and his friends. A jumble of sighs was heard from the aforementioned friends as they dejectedly followed him to the front bench. Tubbo sat down next to Tommy, then Jack, and finally Niki.

     Phil walked to the back of what Tommy could now see was a sort of stage. He was talking to two men who looked pretty close to the same age. Tommy found it strange because one of the young fellows was wearing a white mask that had a smiley face on it. And the other, he looked very familiar but Tommy couldn't put his finger on it.

     The three were talking in hushed tones and since Tommy couldn't hear what they were saying, he decided to take a look around the room as everyone was finishing finding their seats. He saw Sapnap and George, who still looked to be in the stages of waking up, sitting in the front on the side opposite himself. Sitting with them was Badboyhalo (Though most people just called him bad, which was ironic because he was one of the nicest guys) and Punz. A group of thirteenth years and three out of four of them were a part of the exchange student program. Tommy had wondered how George had gotten stuck with them all.

     Tommy's eyes moved to scan the crowd again and saw many people he recognized, including, but not limited to; Skeppy, Quakity, Purpled, Eret, and Charlie. Tommy was surprised when he realized just how many Americans were actually here. Finally, his eyes landed on a student sitting by himself in the back of the room. He seemed to be writing in some kind of journal. Tommy recognized this to be one of the eleventh years, like himself... Ranboo. Ranboo was always rather quiet and shy. Tommy didn't know him very well because he kept to himself quite a lot. But hey, maybe that could change this week.

     Tommy heard the bell ring and his eyes snapped back to the stage where Phil was standing front and center and the two other guys were standing to his sides and behind him a little. Phil cleared his throat and began to speak loudly so he could be sure he was heard by everyone,

     "I know that you are all excited to find out more about the games and teams, but we have some announcements to go over first. Of course, you already know who your cabin mates are." Tommy and Tubbo fist-bumped, "When the time comes, I will shout out the name of your cabin and which team you belong to. First I would like to say that there are no rules at this camp-" Phil was cut off by a mass of cheering and stomping, "Ahem!" Phil shouted to regain everyone's attention, "Yes, there are no rules here, rules are just no fun. But we have what we call "get to's"! If you open up to the first page of your pamphlet you will see the list of our "get to's", but I will read them out right now." Phil cleared his throat and spoke clearly, "Number one, you get to attend all meals, meetings, and games ON TIME. Number two, you get to have your lights out by midnight. Number three, you get to not go in the cabins of any gender that is not your own! And number four, you get to..." The room was silent, there wasn't a number four on the pamphlet so they had no idea what was coming next, "Have fun!" There was an audible relaxation as everyone settled down from being on the edge of their seats. "Now now, I know what you're all waiting for..." Now the room was silent again, but this time it was out of excitement and anticipation. "It's time to find out what team you're on."