Talent Is Subjective || Camp Camp Fanfiction ||

Chapter 1: The Bus

"...That means I'm telling you—"
"Kids are gone."

David had been a Camp Campbell counselor for six years, and in all those years, he had never witnessed ten-year-olds driving a bus. Heck, he'd never seen it even before the job. There's a first time for everything, right? Sadly, it wasn't the first time that the Sleepy Peak law enforcement had to come down to address the issue. The issue was caused by campers.

"I'm tired of having to come down here, David." Sal sighed, writing on a slip of paper and then tearing it off to hand to David. It was filled with a fine that David would have to pay from his own pocket, mingled with a fair share of Gwen's money and also some of the camp's funds.

"I know, Sal," David took the paper, slumped over. He could sense the glare of a certain trio at his back, and he meant to have a serious discussion with them after this. They had committed multiple crimes in one evening; destruction of public property, destruction of property in general, endangerment of the public... if they weren't ten, he was sure that Sal would have them sent down to the local station by now. "Sorry again."

"You keep those youngins' under control," Sal shoved a thumb in the direction of the campers behind them. David nodded, staring at them from the corner of his eye. He could spot Gwen making exaggerated gestures with her arms, swinging them around as she scolded the three. A scowling ravenette boy with a blue hoodie, an excited teal-haired girl in red overalls, and an anxious lean brunette wearing a turtleneck; one of the most unlikely trios David had ever encountered. "Otherwise next time, we're going to have to contact their guardians for payments."

"Don't worry, Sal! I've got this under control," David reassured him as he gave a friendly wave along with a smile. He didn't want any worried parents filing lawsuits. "I hope you have a swell day, sir," Sal grunted, giving a brief nod and mumbling under his breath before turning to the police station wagon and piling in. David watched as the car slipped away, then sighed, staring at the paper. He turned to face Gwen and the campers, frowning. She was still ranting to them, but it had gone from discipline them about the bus to an unhinged bluster about how she never wanted her "liberal arts degree to get her here". David coughed to get her attention, and she faced him slowly, eye twitching.

He waved his arms in front of his chest to signal that she needed to calm down. It was one of the things they had learned to do after becoming coworkers. Moving into place beside Gwen, he placed his hands on his hips, pulling a pouty face at the three campers. "What do you three have to say for yourselves? You could've gotten killed!"

"We learned that prepubescent legs can never maneuver a bus properly." The brunette raised a finger, brows furrowed and eyes squinting as the ends of his face pulled down.

"Shut up, Neil." The boy in the blue hoodie had shoved his hands into his pockets, glaring at the brunette with a fiery expression. His lips were curled up into a nasty grimace, and his dark face almost looked red. "We would've escaped if you weren't so fucking slow."

Just as Neil opened his mouth to protest, David beat him to the punch. "Language, Max! And Neil, what you learned was beside the point." David stuffed the yellow note from Sal into his inner vest pocket, using his free hand to rub at his forehead while he closed his eyes and breathed out his nose. "I'm going to have to make you sit out on tomorrow's activity as punishment."

A cheer erupted from Max and Neil, while Nikki pouted, knitting her brows together and making her arms hang at her sides pitifully. "What? Come on, David!" She laced her fingers in conjunction and frowned. "We were only playing!"

The expression tugged at his heartstrings, but he refused to back down. He shook his head as he spoke; "Sorry, Nikki. It's either that or your pocket money." He could see Max and Neil high-five each other behind her. "As extra punishment, you will have to spend the entire day with Gwen tomorrow." Upon saying so, he watched the smiles fall off their faces as if melted off, and he would be lying if he said that he didn't feel some sadistic glee inside upon seeing the newfound expressions.