Family + Camp (working title)

Chapter 7: The GG

The villages were distinct in that their cabins all matched each other. Probably each village had been built in stages with the notion that they must stand out, have a theme. Miwok was closest to the dining hall, and the cabins looked the oldest when Nell poked her head inside. She judged mainly by the bathrooms—they didn't have their own bathrooms but instead, free-standing bath houses with multiple showers, sinks, and toilets.

Staff housing was in two buildings—cabin counselors obviously lived with their campers. Nell had attended overnight camp at least once or twice a summer—sessions were five nights long. The first year, when she was seven—a little young, but she'd insisted her parents let her—she had not wanted to return to her own bed when it was time to go home. Maybe this was part of the curse of the youngest child, feeling like she was alone a lot, and lonely. Sure, during summers, her world was full of strangers—new young adults coming to work at the camp, some returning year after year, then suddenly, gone one year, their real lives finally taking over. Nell had grown used to these wistful losses, even when she felt incredibly attached to someone. She could tell herself that she was okay though, because she lived in the best place in the world and she would not trade the life her parents had given her and her big brother, not for anything.

Nell was curious about the these new campgrounds. Of course she was. But her emotions were such a jumble of grief, bitterness, excitement, and dread. And other things she could not quite name. Resignation? Things were out of her hands. She had letters she'd write to Len, Jenny, and anyone else capable of writing her back.

She could see her dad was so proud. He and Fred had clearly bonded in the days they'd had together roaming the grounds and making plans for the future of Camp Morgan.

The camp had a lot of the same things Fields had: a pool, archery, horses (they would come in from a ranch near Yosemite in a couple of days), a ropes course, a rock climbing tower. Arts and crafts. Hiking and biking trails. A camp fire pit in every village. A natural water feature—in the case of Fields Creek, it had been the Fullerton River. Here, it was a lake as well as the Pacific Ocean ten miles west. The campers actually got to go there and build sandcastles, wade up to their ankles (in reality, it was up to their knees, but what were you going to do, deny them and invite a full of kid rebellion?), and eat a bag lunch. Since this camp was not a part of the Guardians, there was no Guardians Guild secret society with its secret handshake. Instead, they had...well, they had no secret society.

Nell wasn't sure how she felt about that. She'd done a lot of the GG ceremonies and Objectives, earned most of the badges. The thing was, not everyone earned them all. It was that kind of society, where the campers and the counselors and the executives even took it really seriously. Even her dad hadn't reached the last badge. And her mom had never participated. She was too busy taking names and saving lives. Or assisting in saving lives. She was respectful about it, though. Didn't call it a cult or tomfoolery, or any of the other putdowns Nell sometimes considered using herself, not even naming them as such. Just knowing she had a feeling about them. She knew GG was supposed to be a good thing, to give children and teens some guidance in becoming good people. But there was something off about it too, something she had trouble putting into words.

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Hi Wattpad Fam! Working out what the Guardians Guild means to Nell. Comparing and contrasting her new digs with her old home. Thanks for reading, and please vote!