(COMPLETED) Together, Under The Stars

Chapter 3: I Think He Likes You

After everyone gets checked in and the Program Directors make a few of their announcements, we play icebreakers and introduce ourselves. These are the people that are in my group. I know all of them, except for two: Ezmeralda Williams, Maria Gomez, Gabrielle Lui, Charlie Campbell, Justin Sanderson, Edmund Ho, Joshua Peters, and me, Zennzy Sanderson.

Mike is still my counselor this year, along with Jamie, who was Group C's synthesis last year.

I glance at Charlie, who gives me a raised eyebrow and nods to the group next to us, Group I. Amelia's in that line, clearly flirting with my twin brother, Kevin, who's one-third of the trio that includes Charlie himself, Justin, and my dear twin.

I grin and mouth: Amelia doesn't know Kevin is not single.

He doubles over with laughter, earning me looks from my friends. I pretend that nothing happened and casually look away.

After we finish Icebreakers, we head to lunch. Lunch is always out on the patio on Day 1. It's burgers, and we all wait in line to get our food.

After we get our food, Jamie leads us to a table with a bench. We chat while we eat, talking about random stuff. Justin somehow ends up sitting next to me.

"Okay, please, please, please explain to me why Kevin did not tell me he got a girlfriend," he begs, having seen the silent conversation between me and Charlie earlier. "Even Charlie knows!"

I chuckle as he downs a huge gulp of water. Probably not a good idea. "It's Qirleya. Qirleya O'Riley? That one. They didn't make it official until the end of the year."

He almost spits out his water, then chokes on it, and goes into a fierce round of coughing. "Qirleya! I always knew he would fall for her someday!"

After lunch, we go to the "amphitheater" for more specific announcements and camp rules.

Once that's all done, we get to our group spot and start to make the group flag, chant, and name. In the end, we come up with Jeweled Jaguars, which Brie came up with. T Our flag looks spectacular; It's an image of a Jaguar, curled around a large ruby.

We finish really soon and have a lot of time left, so we play a game of truth or dare. When it's Ezme's turn to ask, she looks at Jamie, who nods her head, a smirk slowly appearing.

Oh no. She wouldn't...

"Okay, this dare is for all of you guys," she says. "And trust me, it's much better than truth. Unless you have no problem confessing your crush to your crush," Ezme adds when Brie opens her mouth to complain. "So the dare is, you each have to ask out someone to the dance or say yes to someone who asks you. And yes, for the sake of everyone, I will be participating too."

All of us groan so loud that the group halfway across the campsite can hear us.

Soon, we go back to the "amphitheater" for presentations and present our group name, chant, and flag, explaining how each one happened.

Then we go to our respective "rooms." There's one large common room, and then there are three wings, one for girls, one for boys, and one for staff/ synthesis. The entrance to the girl's wing is located just to the right of the entrance, with three stairs leading up to it. The boy's wing is in the far right corner, while the staff/synthesis wing is in the other far corner. Us four girls, along with Jamie, get Room Ten, right next to the bathroom.

There are only three bunk beds, a sink, mirror, window, and a couple of coat hangers to keep our stuff. I claim the far right one and bunk on the bottom with Brie on the top while Ria bunks with Ezme on the one to the left of the door, and Jamie settles down by herself on the one by the right. There's a door that connects us to the Group I room, which I quickly check to make sure it's locked. I slide my suitcase at the foot of the bed after plucking out a few necessities, like my sleeping bag. I drop my backpack on top of my suitcase and drag out a teeny tiny pillow that wouldn't fit in the suitcase.

Once we settle down, me, Brie, and Ria send death glares at Ezme and Jamie.

"WHY OH WHY OH WHY?!?" Ria asks, clearly upset that she was dared the dare she dared (she dared that dare to me).

Ezme sighs. "This was for your sake Ria. And Zen's. Both of your crushes are here! Use this as an opportunity to show them your real feelings!"

"We're too young to be dating," I remind Ezme. "Don't you know? It's no dating until marriage?"

Jamie smiles. "That's not true. You date so you can get married. But I think the only reason Ezme did this dare is because she thinks that Joshua is CUTE!"

"I know that," I grunt as Ezme blushes, proving our point. "It was a joke."

"I really hope that Brie likes Edmund. . . cause if she does. . ." Jamie continues.

All of us giggle while Brie groans.

The rest of the time before dinner is free time. I'm checking out the new campsite with my friends when Justin says that he wants to talk to me and pulls me aside.

"What is it?" I ask. He looks equal parts excited and shocked. "Tell me. You look like you've seen a ghost that you are massively crushing on who also likes you back."

"I'm not 100% sure, but I think he likes you," Justin breathes.

"Who? Who likes me?!"