Always💜 (S.M)

3

We wake to my mother hovering above us.

"Bella, Jess,"she's whispering softly,"Jess's mom is here to pick her up."

I sit up and rub my eyes. Great I'm heading to camp tonight. Jess stands up and gathers her things sleepily. I'm sad to watch her go. I hug her and assure her I'll call every night.

"Have fun," she tells me.

"Hah funny one," I state seriously.

A smile spreads on her mouth and she steps out the door. I hear a car engine start out my window.

"Bye Jess," I mumble to myself.

I jump in the shower quickly. I dry off, get dressed, and straighten my hair. I wear joggers and a light purple crop top tee shirt. I like to dress nicely but I still feel out of place all the time. Kind of invisible.
Anyway, I grab my duffle and pack 3 different pairs of shoes and a different outfit and pajama set for each of the 14 days I'll be at this place. I pack all the basics like a tooth brush, hair brush, and a makeup set I barely dipped into. I have a feeling I might need it and I'm not quite sure why.
I throw my headphones and charger in the side pocket of the bag and pack 6 bathing suits. I think I'm ready to go.

I lounge around until the clocks hit about 5:30 pm. I hear mom call up to me.
"Limo leaves in 5 minutes!!"

I roll my eyes playfully at her dumb joke.

I thrown on a grey zip up  just in case I get chilly and head into the warm air of the June evening.

I strap myself into the back seat. I don't sit up front so I can lay down when I choose. I just listen to some music on my ear buds. There's a new single from some rising artist. I don't know his name. I start to sing along quietly.

"I know I can treat you better.... better than he cannnn.."

Somewhere in the melody of "Hello" by Adele, I drift to sleep. The car always makes me tired. The last thing I see is the sun setting along the horizon as my small town in Canada gets smaller and smaller as we drive away...

I wake with a start. Some car was beeping obnoxiously. I forget where I am and where I'm going for a few minutes but soon I remember. Camp.

"Good you're awake," my says front the front seat, "we'll be pulling in any minute."

"Woo hoo lucky me," I say dully.

I see a big sign as we enter. Camp Dakota. Weird name. We drive in and I step out of the car. It is colder now and the sky is dark but lights throughout the camp make it seem almost like midday. My mom walks to me to sign in and hugs me. She plants a kiss on my cheek and wishes me luck.

"I love you," she says tenderly.

"You too," I reply, "even though you made me come here."

We both giggle and wave goodbye as she pulls out and gets back on the highway.

I check to see what cabin I'm in. "The dolphins" my sticker says. I stick it to my shirt and go to the medium sized wood building that will be my home for the next two weeks. I just chuck my things onto a random bunk, the top of the only bunk in there. I'm not sure why the covers are so wrinkled. I begin to head back out the door nervously.

There's tons of other kids around me scrambling to get to their rooms. You can tell who the counselors are by their bright yellow shirts. I walk around taking the camp in. I must admit it is nicer than I expected. I'm looking over my shoulder at the moonlight reflecting off the lake when someone walks right into me. A councilor. Probably 17, a year Older than me. He scans my face for a solid 15 seconds and finally glances to my sticker. His voice is sweet and deep yet cracks a bit when he speaks.

"I'm so sorry. Wasn't looking.Anyway, Hi I'm Shawn.I guess I'm your head counselor." He smiles at me with  a simple, yet beautiful closed mouth smile.

He reaches out to shake my hand and I accept it.

"Hi, I'm Bella."

For the first time since I found out I was coming here, I am excited and feel a grin spread across my face.