Where They All Go

~Chapter three: Armageddon starts~

Day one, 3:42 P.m.

Shortly after I finish helping Ali with her cabin, the kids arrive.

The first boy to poke his unhappy head into my cabin is a tall stocky red-haired boy. He stares at me, unimpressed.

"So, you're the one I'll be stuck with for the week?" he asks, sounding almost irritated.

I nod and hop off my bed. "The names Jac, without the K."

He gives me a once over before nodding. "Cleo."

"Nice to meet you, Cleo. Now, you are the first of my kids to arrive, so you have the first choice of bunks. If you want, you can also beat the lines and go take your swimming test to get your swim band, but only if you want. But besides that, it's a waiting game till the other boys arrive."

He nods, walking over to the corner bunk and throwing his bag onto it. "I think I'll go do that test thingy," he mumbles before disappearing out the door.

The next boy to appear is a short Latino kid with curly brown hair that keeps falling over his eyes.

"Is this 2A?" He asks shakily.

"It is indeed. I'm Jac your leader for this week," I say smiling softly at him.

He looks about ready to fall apart. "I'm- I'm Gale." He extends his hand.

I give it a hearty shake. "You are my second kid to arrive today, so you still get quite a few options for bunks. You could also go take the swim test, but only if you want to. But until the rest of the boys show up, it's just a bit of waiting."

He gives me a small smile before hiding away in a different corner bunk.

Next is Thomas, or just Tom, the tall sporty white kid that thinks he's so cool. Then Sam, the nice homeschooler that actually knows how to socialize with adults respectfully. Then there's Fox and Axel, the brothers that are clearly mistreated by their parents/Guardians, and finally, Bruce, the only black kid in the whole cabin, and the perfect kid, the right amount of hype and chill. This is going to be a fun week.

After Bruce has claimed his bunk and Sam has come out of the shower, I stand and gather their short attention spans on me.

"Hello everyone! Welcome to camp Tarshis. I know you've already heard this about twenty times today, but I am going to say it one more time. Hi, I'm Jac, it's spelt without the K for those of you taking notes. I'm supposed to have you guys do some icebreakers until we have to go down to the activity centre for announcements, but I want you guys to take a vote. Do you actually want to do an ice breaker? Raise your hand if you do."

Everyone raises their hands, except for Tom, but I highly doubt Tom will participate in anything except for team sports.

"Okay, great! Which one do we want to do? Two truths and a lie? Never have I ever? Or do we just want to play Mafia?"

I watch as the smiles slowly spread.

"You know what, I don't even have to ask, let's just play Mafia. Who wants to be storyteller?"

~~

I die, twice. Once by the mafia and once by townsfolk. Unfortunately, before we can start yet another round, the bell rings and I have to herd my children down to the activity centre.

"Which row do we want?" Bruce calls from the activity centre doorway.

"Third to the front!" Sam calls back.

"Gotcha!" Bruce says before sprinting into the building.

"Go catch up with him before he hurts himself," I say, laughing.