Summer Dream

Chapter 3

The first day of camp had arrived. Michael was waiting in his cabin with Alex, waiting for their campers to arrive.They came in clusters, and it wasn't until lunchtime that they were all there. "Let's get your beds made and then we'll go have lunch. We can unpack the rest of your things later." Alex said, as he helped a few kids make their beds.

"I don't know how to make my bed. My mama does it for me." One of the kids pouted.

"That's alright, we can do it together." Michael said and grabbed the kid's sheets. He said 'do it together,' but Michael did all the work. The only help the kid gave was putting his pillows on his bunk. Michael and Alex both went around helping the kids that needed it, which was most of them. Alex was finishing up the last bed when the lunch bell rang.

"Alright, let's head to the mess hall for lunch." Alex said, starting to lead the kids out. They were starting to walk just as Aspen's cabin was starting to walk. "If you look to your left, you'll see Aspen Hanson and her cabin, they aren't as good as us." Alex smirked.

"And if we all look to the right, we can see the stinky, smelly boys cabin that definitely aren't as good as us." Aspen countered, leading her group to the mess hall.

"Very original. Much like every song you write." Alex joked.

"Ah, yes, because your songs all have more than three chords." Aspen smirked at him.

"Are you two gonna be like this all summer long?" Michael groaned. "It's like listening to an old married couple."

"It's just a bit of banter." Alex chuckled and walked into the mess hall with the campers. They all chose to sit together, since many of them didn't have friends there yet. Michael sat with his campers and was ready for a chill lunch, but the children were not.

"When are we gonna play instruments?" Johnny asked Michael.

"During our activity time." Michael smiled at him.

"My mom wants me to do cello, but I want to do violin." Adam said, crossing his arms.

"Well, bud, you might like playing the cello. That's why you come here, so you can try a bunch of instruments and find one you like." Alex said, pouring juice for each kid.

"What if we don't find an instrument we like?" Liam asked.

"We have so many for you to try, you'll find one. And if you really don't like any of them, you can come back next summer and try again when you're older." Alex said. "Now, it's our turn to get in line for lunch." He stood up and lead the kids to the line.

After lunch, the kids met in the chapel to get split into their groups. Michael walked over and took a seat next to Aspen. "You're gonna have to lead for a while, so I can learn how to do it." Michael said to her.

"Oh, it's super easy. They give us a sort of curriculum for how to help the kids choose instruments and the other activities have leaders of their own." Aspen smiled. "We're all really happy you guys are here. It's been a while since we had new counselors."

"Yeah, we were pretty excited when our management told us we'd be spending the summer here. We don't come to Oklahoma often." Michael chuckled.

"Well, people think it's all rednecks and hicks. I grew up here, so I see a little differently than most people." Aspen smiled. "Oh, here come our kids." Aspen stood up when a group of children walked toward them. "Are you guys all Group A?" She asked, to which they nodded. "Alright, we're gonna head upstairs to get started on small group." She said, leading the kids, and Michael, up the stairs to the loft. She took a seat on the little ottoman and watched as the kids sat down.