The girls giggle and hush each other as Atem comes closer to their lunch table. Today, he's holding a basket full of apples, bananas, and granola bars.
"Here you ladies are," he says with a friendly smile.
"Thank you," Téa Gardner says, blushing a bright pink from her neck to the roots of her hair. She hopes she can pass it off as a result of the day's laborious activities.
"Yeah, thanks." Vivian Wong does her best to catch Atem's eye and give him a charming smile. The other girls at the table no doubt have the same idea. They are all twelve years old and believe they have found the meaning of true love. Atem makes sure each person there has a snack before continuing to the other tables. The girls watch him leave, sighing, before erupting into another fit of giggles.
"He totally likes me," Vivian says while brushing a stray lock of hair behind her ears.
Téa scoffs. "As if."
"Oh, but couldn't you see it? He was blushing so bad. You're just jealous."
"Am not-!"
"Ugh." A voice comes from next to them.
Vivian turns with a frown. "What?"
At the other end of the table is a group of six young boys. The one that had spoken had his arms crossed and was looking at the girls in what could only be described as teenage disgust. The dice earrings he wore jingled when he shook his head.
"Do you have something to say, Devlin? Or are you just mad that there's someone here that's way hotter than you?"
The boys snicker. Instead of the angry response they expected, Duke laughs.
"It doesn't matter anyway. He'd never go for any of you."
The girls immediately begin to deny it. "What? Just because he's a few years older-"
"He's like twenty." One boy, Marik, deadpans.
"So what?! Age is just a number anyway-"
"I don't think this is the situation for that-"
Duke- probably tired of the yelling, probably trying to avoid the same hour-long argument they had been having all summer since the girls laid eyes on their counselor, Atem- says dramatically, "Don't you guys know?"
This catches everyone's attention. "Know what?"
Duke leans in conspiratorially. He loves the attention. "I hear Atem is, you know..."
"Know what?" Téa asks frustratedly.
"You know..." Duke leans in even closer then, and so does everyone else. "Gay." The table erupts into denials and gasps (more of the former than the latter) and he points over to the table where all the counselors sit for lunch. "Just look!"
They all turn. Atem holds a flower in his hand and is walking over to another counselor. They recognize him immediately. Who could forget the joyful smiles and contagious laughter of counselor Yugi? Atem taps his shoulder to get his attention. Yugi turns and smiles. Atem smiles back and the children see, for the first time, that Atem is nervous. His shoulders are hunched and he fidgets with the flower in his hands, shifting from foot to foot. From where they are sitting, they can't hear what he says, but they see Atem hand Yugi the flower and the way Yugi's face flushes in just the slightest shade of pink.
"No way," Vivian says slowly.
"That's so cute!" One girl whispers excitedly.
The day progresses slowly after that, with more camp activities and group exercises. Now, however, at least half of the campers have begun to pay more attention to the way Atem and Yugi interact. The way they would stare at each other when they thought no one else was looking, the way Atem would smile automatically when Yugi came into the room, and especially the way they leaned into each other ever so slightly at the campfire song that evening.
When it's time for lights out, Téa watches Atem and Yugi walk together, hands brushing more often than they probably should. Still, neither of them make a move to put any distance between themselves. She walks into her cabin that night with more resolution than she's ever felt. Vivian is on her bed, combing a hand through her now loose hair and staring into space. The day's news has hit her hard, Téa can tell. She stands at the doorway silently for a few moments, waiting for the others to take notice. When they finally do, they all go quiet.
"We have to make sure they get together."
Me yesterday: Only a few hundred words. No more than 300 for each. These have to be short if I want to keep up.
Me today, staring at the word count of 700: Lmao so that was a fucking lie
