Camp Counselor (5SOS Cake) *DISCONTINUED*

Chapter Seven

                “Ready for the field fest?” Michael asked me, “We’ve been practicing for this all week.”

                “I think we chose good songs for the performance. Pop punk but still indirectly Christian/Gospel music,” Ashton admitted.

                Emily raised her eyebrows, “What about Prince Of Peace? That one is pretty directly Christian.”

                “True,” I said.

                I slung my bass around my neck (I refused to use the bass they’d already had set up. It’s my lucky bass) and followed after the others. Luke snuck up behind me and nuzzled my shoulder before slurring, “I’m tired.”

                I chuckled, “It’s okay, we’ll get to snuggle under the constellations soon enough.”

                “Wunna do a duet?” Luke’s words were all jumbled together and it was hard to understand him.

                “I think you should take a nap first.”

                “Kaaaaaaaay,” he drawled out the ay.

                We sat down in the grass and Luke got a towel out of his bag for us to sit on. I sat cross-legged on the right side of the towel while Luke instantly plopped his head on my lap, or technically he put a pillow on my lap and then plopped his head on my lap.

                Maybe like 5 minutes into the fest his breathing became steady and he made soft little snores every once in awhile. The first thing that happened on the stage was Uncle Pat quietly tuned his guitar in the background while Aunt Danielle explained what would happen.

                “This is basically a contest between the Penguins and the Turtles. We have two groups coming up to play two songs, and whoever does the best performance, determined by the cooking crew.

                “Thank you and have a wonderful time at the first Penguin/Turtle Field Fest of this year!”

                I watched as Uncle Pat came up to the microphone and said, “But first I’m going to sing really stupid songs that you guys learned here while you were probably Alpacas. Feel free to sing along.”

                Uncle Pat continued to sing songs like “Jesus Is a Way Maker” and “Pharaoh, Pharaoh” while Luke slept comfortably. Michael scooted over next to me and said, “I never noticed how stupid these songs were until now. Ironically, I still love them anyway.”

                “This is my first year but okay.”

                “Uncle Pat is really into these songs,” I said.

                “He’s singing them like he’s supposed to make these songs sound serious.”

                I laughed quietly, “He is a good singer though.”

                Michael shrugged, and Uncle Pat called the Turtles up to do their songs first. They were really good even though they were only 12 – 13 year olds. They sang a song I noticed as Our God, but I didn’t know the other song very well. The girl they had singing was average height with a short bob-type hair. Her voice was high-pitched obviously, and she had an incredibly adorable voice that also sounded awfully pleasing.

                After they had finished, they called a counselor up because counselors were essentially the second group Danielle mentioned prior apparently, and after they went is when we went up. I shook Luke awake who just grumbled and sat up reluctantly.

                I found Michael and we got onto the outdoor stage that was set up in the back of the endless field Luke and I slept in every night. Ashton quietly counted to four to signal when for us to start. Emily started off the song, “Go ahead and lie to yourself and pretend that you’re a ray of light when you’re a broken candle…”

                I didn’t join in until the fast-paced part came in, “See we don’t really care who you are; we’ve kind of got this non-exclusive policy of determining exactly who we open up to and let into our family then who becomes a part of our united mass of harmony.”

                “And we don't really care who you are regardless of how lost you are returning from; regardless of how far. So bring me all worst of your broken, bruised, insane because that's the thing with music when it hits you feel no pain,” I continued.

                The song ended, and we got an applause. I smiled at the fact that this was my first live performance. I didn’t get to sing that much, but it was still really fun. The next song we sang was Prince of Peace. That song I got more singing. It’s a hard song to type out honestly because there’s one person singing the song while another person sings the song at the same time, but I mean it’s different lyrics for each person.

                Let’s just say it’s a good song.

                After that, the lunch staff came out and talked amongst each other to determine who did better.

                “Okay,” Aunt Danielle said, “While the lunch staff is picking the winners, we will have Uncle Luke come up with Calum to sing a duet.”

                Luke and I walked onto the stage. I stared out at all the people and saw Michael wiggling his eyebrows at me discreetly. I pressed my lips together to suppress a smile and looked away. Luke finished tuning his guitar nearly instantly and quietly counted down from 4 to signal the beginning of the song.

                I began strumming while Luke sang, “I need you to soften my heart and break me apart. I need you to open my eyes and see that you’re shaping my life. All I am. I surrender.”

                Then I joined in, staring into Luke’s eyes. “Give me faith to trust what you say; that you’re good and your love is great. I’m broken inside. I give you my life.”

                Then a few more verses followed by the chorus happened. I honestly don’t feel like writing out the entire song. I like it better than Prince of Peace really. The first time you listen to it is really touching.

                The song finished and I sat back down on the towel in between Michael and Luke. Luke just rested his head on my shoulder and yawned, “I’m always tired by the Field Fest.”

                Michael sighed heavily. So heavily that if it were any heavier it would have broken the stage. Even though Michael wasn’t on the stage. That was a bad metaphor and I apologize.

                “He does though! He always takes a nap the entire time,” Michael near-shouted.

                “We have the winners!” Aunt Danielle announced, “The winners are… The Penguins! Maybe it was that fabulous duet between Uncle Luke and Calum that convinced them, but it’s not that surprising. This is the 3rd year in a row that Penguins have won the Musical Talent competition!”