𝐓𝐑𝐔𝐒𝐓 𝐌𝐄 | gabriel ✓

01. let the adventure begin

  Josefina Diaz squinted against the harsh light that filtered through the car window. Her eyes were not the only part of her body that refused to join the land of the awake. Josie's head felt heavy as it leaned against the glass, listening to the quiet hum of the engine. The young girl took in her surroundings briefly, scanning over the trees that stretched for miles on either side of the vehicle, creating a picturesque view of nature in all its glory. Her eyes then swept over to her mother, who was driving the car and already glancing in her direction, having noticed movement. Josie quickly attempted to close her eyelids once more to feign sleep.

"I know you're awake, mija," Carmen Diaz spoke softly to her daughter, "We'll be there in about ten minutes, you better get ready"

Josie sent her mother a forlorn glance out of the corner of her eye before pulling herself into an upright position, shifting to run her fingers through her hair to remove any mess that could have occurred while she was sleeping.

"No me mires así, Josefina," Carmen chastised, "This camp will be good for you, safer."

"I'm safe with you and papa back home" Josie tried to plead as her mother pulled into her summer destination, a man dressed in a bright orange vest pointing her mother to a parking space.

"You know you're not, hijita, but by the end of summer, we'll have it figured out. Promise"

The vehicle came to a halt as the car was put into park.

"Okay," Josie relented as she looked into her mothers' eyes.

"Now, you have the best summer ever and make friends. Let's see that happy face." Carmen leaned over and placed a kiss onto her daughter's forehead, who immediately placed a grin on her face.

Josie climbed out of the car, opening the back seat and pulling out her large suitcase and hefting her backpack onto her shoulders before leaning into the car to say goodbye to her mother once more.

"Everything's gonna be fine, mija, you just have a great time. Te amo mucho"

"A ti tambien, mama" Josie gave one last reassuring smile to her mother before closing the car door and turning towards the large gates in front of her.

Rim of the World, let the adventure begin.

Josie made it two feet into the camp before realizing that it was quite different than most. She took note of the drunken and barely clothed counselor in the corner, holding his shiny, silver flask out with pride. The bright, green jeep parked directly next to the main entrance also caused the Hispanic girl to lift an eyebrow as she watched the expensively clothed boy instruct his butler.

Following the slew of signs, Josie arrived at the mess hall where registration was occurring. She ducked by an excitable man wearing a beaded necklace and a camp shirt that seemed to be a size too small with a megaphone in his hand. The crowd of people lead her to the back of the building where tables were set up with pamphlets and papers.

"Hey there! What's your name, girl? We'll get you signed in" An African American man leaned over the table with a beaming grin.

"I'm Josefina Diaz" The brunette winced at the overly enthusiastic man in front of her.

"Diaz! That's a Mexican name, right? I got this one down," He straightened up and gave a small cough to clear his throat, "Hola, yo soy Logan. Pretty good, right? I had to do Chinese earlier, I nailed that. Alright, anyway, I gotta sign you up for an afternoon activity. How about ziplining, you look like someone who'd enjoy that. Let's get this party going!"