Mastermind [H.S.]

chapter four*

*contains smut*

It is officially my fourth day as a camp counselor at Camp Summer Lake and throughout these four days, I have had no communication with the outside world. It was nice to not have the television flashing the red banner of 'Breaking News' in my face every five minutes or my dad leaving sticky notes on the fridge every morning to let me know that he would, in fact, not be home for dinner for the sixth time that week. The real world was exhausting, and with my adulthood creeping up on me, that idea became more surreal each day. Here in Summer Lake, although it is a strange and sheltered part of the world, it's easier.

This morning, with absolutely no warning, I woke up to the faint sounds of giggling. In the bed next to mine, Madison and Dean had grown much closer. Close enough that he snuck into our cabin in the middle of the night to do God knows what. It made me sick, but also proud that she was making out with someone other than Joey 'heartbreaker' Ventura. To give them their privacy and to escape the awkward conversation, I walk outside to the lake. It really was a beautiful place. Even if it did come with some baggage. Most beautiful things do.

The calmness of morning did not last long and once the breakfast bell rang, it was chaos. Campers swarmed the dining halls and when I learned that breakfast was leftover biscuits and gravy, I decided to skip out on the meal, again. As I sat down at the table where Dean and Madison were, I couldn't help but laugh at the two. "You guys are absolutely foul," I say in between laughs.

Madison rolled her eyes playfully. "We made sure you were asleep, don't worry." She jokes.

'That's cruel." Dean adds.

Things seemed to be back to normal if there ever was one. The uncertainties of yesterday had everyone on edge but due to the fact that most everyone at this camp was under twenty-five, we tend to not worry too long. Well, most of us.

Monty sets his tray down on the table and sits down next to me. "Have any of you seen Caroline? Her roommate said she didn't come to the cabin last night." Monty said, a bit of panic in his eyes.

Dean shrugs his shoulders. "Dude, it's Caroline. She probably snuck into some guy's cabin last night for a quickie and fell asleep. Maybe it was Harry's." He chuckles, taking a bit of his food.

I could tell that Monty may have known better than to trust what Dean said. He knew Caroline more than anyone here. But, he didn't let it show, and I didn't let my notice of it show. As I looked around the dining hall, I made note of my surroundings and who was in them. All seven ninth-grade boys sat at a table alone and as I kept scanning the room, Harry was nowhere to be seen, which did not surprise me. Maybe he and Caroline really were hooking up.

"So, we have a campfire, free time, and then Capture the Flag later tonight," Madison says, scanning over the schedule each of us was given on the first day of camp. It was more like a camp counselor's Bible at this point.