𝗕𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗣𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗲, 𝗕𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗧𝗶𝗺𝗲 - 𝗔 𝗥𝗶𝗻𝗶 𝗔𝗨

3 | Nᴇᴡ Fʀɪᴇɴᴅꜱ

𝐍𝐢𝐧𝐢

I packed my bags into the car, making sure to be extra careful with my ukulele and my keyboard.

Kourtney made me promise to call once a week and text every day to "see how I was coping."

Overkill? Yes.

Sweet? Absolutely.

My Grandma also came to see me off. She brought me an emergency snack stash despite my telling her that there were lots of food at camp. 

I guess she was just having a grandma moment, and who's gonna say no to chocolate and licorice?

My moms and I packed ourselves in the car and just like that we were off.

I thought about texting Ricky, but Kourt's voice popped into my head a said, "Let him be the bigger person for once, Neens."

Besides, whenever I thought of him, I thought of his face when he watched that video.

It was a look of nerves, guilt, and something I couldn't quite place.

I hated how much it hurt me, and I hated that he did it.

I thought about texting Big Red, but anything I said to him would inevitably find its way back to Ricky. Instead, I just plugged in my headphones, put on Taylor Swift, and settled in for the two-hour drive.

♬♬♬

Before I knew it, we arrived at camp.

I was nervous getting out of the car, it being my first time and all, but as soon as I saw the place that went away.

There were kids everywhere. Some older, some younger. I didn't recognize anyone, but I had expected that. They were being sorted into cabins and suddenly I couldn't wait to get away from my parents and to my own cabin.

I hugged my moms goodbye and started dragging my bags to the sign-in desk.

I was placed in cabin six with three other girls. Their names were Cecilia Trevor, Tiffany Vargas, and Ellie Finch.

Cecilia was tall with dazzling blue eyes.  She was a year older than me and one of the nicest people I've ever met.

Tiffany would get along great with Kourtney. Her makeup was impeccable and her long black hair was in a tight braid. She's the same age as me but had been going to the camp much longer and offered to give me a tour as soon as I was done unpacking.

Ellie was three years younger. She had green eyes and strawberry-blonde hair. I could tell she was nervous about being in our cabin. She smiled at me shyly.

"I'm Nini. What's your name?" I asked her as I bent over slightly for us to be at eye level.

"Ellie," she replied quietly.

"Well, Ellie, what do you say we all unpack and then go get a snack?" I smiled as her eyes lit up and she nodded her agreement.

We finished unpacking and headed over to the dining hall, chatting and sharing some things about ourselves. Turns out Ellie would be starting at East High this year.

"You'll love it, El," I promised.

I grabbed a blueberry muffin, Ellie grabbed an apple, and Cecilia and Tiffany each grabbed a banana before we headed back.

As we walked back to our cabin I could've sworn I saw someone I knew. Well, maybe "knew" is the wrong word. More like someone I'd seen before at East High.