summer camp → michael clifford (very slow updates)

one

I hated camp, I hated my job and I hated wasting my summer with rotten children. I was back at my annual summer job, camp counselling at Camp White Pine. I just couldn't seem to get enough of the whining five year olds, who were probably only sent here for the summer because their parents didn't want to deal with them either. Two glorious months of paint-covered hair and mosquito bites awaited, and there was no going back now.

"Welcome back, Riley!" My boss, Dakota, cheered as I stepped into the cabin.

"Hey, Dakota. It's good to be back." I sighed.

"Opening night campfire starts at 7:30, don't be late. That's where you'll meet your cabin and introduce yourself." Dakota said, handing me a clipboard with a list of the camper's names on it. Same as last year, I had been stuck with the 8-10 year olds.

I sighed as I made my way out of the main cabin and began walking towards my new home for the summer, otherwise known as cabin three. I unlocked the door and walked in, the smell of pine wood immediately engulfing me. There were 4 sets of bunk beds in a row adjacent to the door, and a small twin-sized bed shoved into one corner. I set my suitcase and backpack beside my bed and sat down; they still hadn't fixed the squeaking. I pulled my name tag from last year out of my backpack and clipped it onto my uniform shirt, just below the logo. My camp name was deemed 'Coyote' last year at opening night, and it's been stuck with me ever since.

The time on my watch read 4pm, meaning I had three and a half hours to kill before I actually had something productive to do. I brushed my clothes off as I stood up, and walked out of my cabin to refresh my memory on where things were located.

-

After meeting up with the other counsellors from last year and locating the other buildings, it was finally time to go to the camp fire. I made my way to the fire pit, which was virtually a huge hole in the ground at the bottom of a hill. The kids were sat down in various spots on the hill, and I recognized a lot of the faces. I made my way to where the other staff were seated and joined them, taking a seat beside my friend Madison.

Madison and I had met in kindergarten, and she was the reason I was working at the camp in the first place. It wouldn't be a stretch to say that she knew me better than I knew myself sometimes.

"Welcome back to White Pine, everyone!" Dakota cheered into the microphone. "I hope you're ready for another summer filled with fun, games and friends."

"He gives the same speech every year," Madison groaned, resting her head in the palm of her hand. "Wake me up when it's September." She said, causing me to laugh.

"Could I get all the counsellors to join me down here so you can introduce yourselves?" Dakota asked. All 15 of us made our way down the hill and stood before the 400 kids that we'd be spending the summer with.

We went down the line introducing ourselves by our camp names, the kids cheering after each of us.

"I'm Coyote; I'll be with the 8-10 year old girls. Hope you're ready for a great summer!" I said, plastering a fake smile on my face.

This continued for a few more minutes, and I'd noticed that they were some new counsellors this year. Two boys that went by the names of 'Bam-Bam' and 'Wolf', and a girl that went by 'Dazzle'.

-

The campfire continued for another hour, we sang songs and told stories to one another. While everyone was clearing out to head to their cabins, I walked over to the two new boys to introduce myself. I tapped one of them on the shoulder, and he whipped around to face me. He looked around my age, 18, and I swear he was as tall as a giraffe. His hair was brown, and had various blonde streaks running through it. He smiled slightly at me, shoving his hands into his sweater pockets.