Campfire 》Hood

Prologue | Camp Counsellors

Prologue | Camp Counsellors

"Yeah Lena, I'll be there soon. I just left," Brooklyn said into the phone as she continued to throw clothing into her suitcase. She knew what she said to Lena was a major lie as she stared at her half empty suitcase, but if she told Lena the truth she would have stopped by Brooklyn's house and helped her pack.

                Brooklyn groaned inwardly. She was nowhere near ready.

                The night before, Brooklyn had been up arguing with her parents about leaving for camp. They had always been extremely overprotective of her, and would call every hour to make sure she was okay even if she was at a friend's house. Brooklyn knew they were just being protective of her, and they just wanted the best, but it wasn't their life. This was Brooklyn's life and she was going to determine how she lived it even if that meant going against what her parents wanted.

                There had been plenty of, "Don't talk to me like I'm 12" and "I'm a fucking adult I can do what I want." In the end her parents had caved, knowing that it was what she really wanted. She wanted to get away.

                "Are you sure you don't want me to pick you up?" Lena asked, interrupting Brooklyn's thoughts. "Your house is basically on the way to the camp."

                Brooklyn sighed deeply. She knew Lena meant well, but this was, what, the fifth time Lena had asked her? Brooklyn shook her head even though Lena couldn't see her. "I'm sure Lena, it's not like you've asked a million times. Don't worry about me, okay? I'll see you soon."

                Lena hummed in response. "Okay," she replied, before abruptly hanging up the phone. Typical Lena. She never wanted to talk more than she needed to, even with Brooklyn who had been her best friend since they were children.

                Peeling the phone away from her ear, Brooklyn threw it into the pile of clothes beside the half empty suitcase. Looking at them, Brooklyn groaned. She knew she had to leave soon, and she knew she had to fold all of her clothes, but she really really didn't want to.

                Maybe I should just throw everything in my suitcase, that could save a lot of time, Brooklyn thought as she looked back and forth between the pile of clothing and the suitcase. Yeah, that seems like a good idea.

                Before she could act on her idea, Brooklyn's mom appeared at the doorway, a small smile playing on her lips. "You're not thinking about throwing all of those clothes in the suitcase without folding them, are you?"

                Brooklyn jumped in surprise. One of her feet caught on the rug under her bed and she slipped, falling to the floor with a thud. Shaking her head, Brooklyn looked up at her mom who was laughing slightly. "Oh. Uhm, no?" Brooklyn said, but it came out as more of a question. Brooklyn stood up quickly, and cleared her throat, hoping that her mother wasn't her to talk to her ear off. "You're not here to lecture me again, are you? Because if you are, I've already made up my mind—"

                "No, no sweetie. I know better than to try reasoning with you when your mind's set," Brooklyn's mom replied, a small smile still on her lips as she walked towards Brooklyn. She moved the pile of clothing on Brooklyn's bed enough to clear a small space for herself and sat down. "I just came to see how you were."

                "Oh," Brooklyn said, a little shocked. Her mother was usually as argumentative as herself, so it was a surprise that she wasn't telling Brooklyn what to do. After a moment, Brooklyn finally got over the shock enough to answer. "I'm fine." It was a simple answer, and also a complete lie. In reality, she was crazy anxious, excited and slightly moody, which was normal for Brooklyn. But 'fine' seemed like the only word she could say.