Family + Camp (working title)

Chapter 34 Part 1: Day Off

Nell's goal of finding a local student didn't go as planned. Weirdly, none of the staff were local local. Of those not of the "internationals" as they were known, everyone was from California, but not Hurstville, which is where Sierra High was located and was now, technically, the Hartes' new address and hometown. Apparently, local teenagers were not interested in sticking around Hurstville during the summers and/or working at the the local summer camp. Go figure.

Staff training continued on at a pace that seemed both crazy fast and molasses slow. Sometimes, Nell wondered if camp would ever start. She had to admit, though, that she was having a really good time. Some of the training could be boring and unnecessary—yes, she knew what to do if a child was drowning! Yes, she knew what to do if two campers started wailing on each other. (The answer was to blow her whistle right into their ears, emptying her lungs, and startle them apart, but what she was suppose to say was to stand back and wait for the cavalry so that she herself did not get trampled. Training did not equal reality. It never did.)

Friday dinner came around, which brought staff training to an end. This meant that people were free until they had to report Sunday morning at breakfast. That was when everyone would be assigned to help out with Family Camp. Families would start arriving to check in at 2 o'clock, and everybody had to work—all hands on deck. The aquatics team would be divvied up at the pool and at the lake for swim tests. Kids took theirs in the pool and older teens and adults in the lake. If they passed, they'd be given a wristband to go in the deep end of the pool and swim wherever they wanted in the lake without a life vest.

This was the way it would be all summer, with the pool and lake open for campers at the same time every morning and afternoon. Nell and the other lifeguards would swap out their locations to stay alert and fresh, but even so, Nell knew she'd have to keep her wits about her. Guarding could be extremely mind-deadening while at the same time being stressful. This was the most dangerous part about it—the monotony. It was easy to think that everything was okay and take an eyes-open micro-nap. She absolutely could not let that happen. That way led disaster.

"Why are you frowning this time?" Cash asked as they stood up to buss their trays in the dining hall.

Nell automatically raised her eyebrows, then, in rebellion, went back to frowning even more deeply. "I didn't know I was frowning."

"You were. Still are."

They were momentarily distracted by putting their dirty dishes and utensils in the proper places: bucket of forks, bucket of knives, bucket of spoons. When they were done and walking outside, Nell said, "You seem pretty preoccupied with the state of my furrowed brow."

He grimaced. "I wouldn't say preoccupied. That makes me sound like a stalker."

"It does, as a matter of fact. You're a little obsessed. And that's...infantilizing me."

Cash laughed. "Nice use of an SAT words."

She curtsied. "I try."

"I'd say I'm more...concerned...for your...um...for the possibility that you will regret having deep creases when you age."

"Come again?"

He blushed. "Sorry, that was supposed to be funny, but it wound up sounding sexist, didn't it?"

"You think?"

"Sorry," he mumbled again. "This conversation is getting away from me."

"Yeaaah," she drew the word out. "Maybe don't be so condescending."

"Another good SAT word," he mumbled.