The Summer Camp Diaries

• Vinny •

Initially settling into camp was a bit of a bummer. Not that it wasn't a nice place, but the first few days mostly consisted of getting into the swing of things. Like meeting our cabin counsellors and learning the rules of the camp. I was assigned to the Chameleon cabin, and our counsellors were Trevor and Piper, who seemed nice enough.

This morning, I lay on my bed watching the other girls in the cabin scurry about in their tye-dyes tees, fixing their hair and chatting excitedly about their plans for the day. Their incessant chatter reminded me of buzzing bees, and I would've swatted at them, but I wasn't ready for assault charges. Not this early in camp. I needed to escape them, so I quickly changed and headed out in search of something to do. My ponytail brushed at the back of my neck as I walked, and I swayed my water bottle at the same melodic rhythm, my eyes searching for a counselor.

Piper was the first I spotted, and I walked up to her with a faint grin. "Hey, Piper."

"Hi, Vinny." She nodded to me, still as quiet and reserved as when I first met her. "Can I help you?"

"I'm headed to the climbing wall. That's all."

She stared back at me thoughtfully. "Just you, alone?" The comment was innocent and kindly meant, I realized, but everyone here expected me to make friends. Everyone at home expected me to make friends. It wasn't like I had to have a partner to go to the rock wall, but it seemed that it would've been preferred.

"No, of course not!" I shook my head fervently. Who could I possibly tell her was tagging along with me? I had yet to make any friends at the camp, and I wasn't sure if I would at all. "You see, I'm just waiting for my partner..."

"Oh?" Piper still seemed suspicious and rightly so. "Who is it?"

I was wondering that same thing myself. The spot where we stood had plenty of other campers running about, but could I really just yank someone from the crowd and pass them off as a dear friend of mine? Maybe not, but I sure as hell could give it a shot. If I failed to convince Piper, there was no harm done, and she could give me another lecture on the importance of building lasting relationships.

It wasn't like I didn't have the half an hour to spare.

Target acquired. My eyes narrowed in on a boy who walked rather quickly through the clearing. His dark hair hung in his face, and it seemed he was walking alone, which meant no one would mind if I borrowed him for an hour or so. I quickly caught his arm as he passed and pulled him close to me, linking us arm in arm.

"Hey, pal!" I beamed with an infectiously cheesy smile that I knew Piper would appreciate. "For a bit there, I thought you might not make it."

"Excuse me?" The boy looked at me in confusion. I didn't know him, he didn't know me, and clearly he thought I'd lost it. Maybe I had? Piper was seriously driving me up a wall, and I wasn't sure how much longer I could stand it. "Can you let go of my arm?"

Piper watched the interaction suspiciously, and I knew it'd take more to appease her. I smiled over at him awkwardly, dropping my hand from his forearm. "Right, sorry," I apologized, "It's just that you're late and we're going rock climbing, remember?"

Of course he didn't. He'd only been informed of the fact at that very moment, but I hoped he'd roll with it.

His eyes narrowed, his forehead scrunching up slightly. "Rock climbing?" I held my breath. Call the god damn bright yellow school bus to run me over, why don't you?

"And this is?" Piper gestured at the boy. It was pretty obvious that she knew what was going on here, and his cluelessness was getting me absolutely nowhere.

"My friend," I replied. Maybe if I started throwing out words I could, at the very least, delay the inevitable. "The one I was waiting for. Uh..." Unfortunately, I couldn't just throw out a random name... I glanced over at him, widening my eyes and pleading for his assistance. I was drowning out there!