Camp Turtleshell- Danganronpa V3

Chapt. 1

I caught myself staring mindlessly outside the smudged window of the camp counselor bus. My mind was clustered with nothing but worry and anxiety about how much I was going to hate being a camp counselor.

I have no idea why my uncle thought it would be a good idea to send me here. Apparently he used to be a camp counselor when he was my age, but that does close to nothing to help calm my nerves.

For one thing, he probably signed up with friends. Just being on this bus made me realize how utterly alone I was going to be for the next half-dozen weeks of my life. No matter where I looked, there were two or more people spending time together.

Directly in front of me were two girls huddled closely together. One looked to be falling asleep already, and the other had some sort of braids that seemed to defy gravity. They were both watching something on a phone.

To my right was a trio, all blondes. There were two girls in pink and one short boy with hair almost completely white. All three were already in Camp Turtleshell shirts and shorts. They seemed to be laughing over an old memory.

Just as I went to analyze my left, my moping session was interrupted by a tall boy with an odd haircut, which seemed to be almost minty in color.

"Is anyone sitting here?"

It took me a second to respond, mostly because I was caught off guard, but also because I genuinely didn't know what I should say.

"No."

Shit, that probably sounded really cold. Knowing my luck, I just lost a potential friend before we even got to the campgrounds.

Despite my obvious tenseness, the green haired boy seemed to not care at all. He sat down and held out his hand.

"Hey, I'm Rantaro Amami. This is my first year counseling, so I don't really have any idea as to what I'm supposed to be doing right now."

For a second or two I just sat there like an idiot, but I finally responded.

"Shuichi Saihara, sorry if I sounded really blunt earlier. I'm just nervous because it's my first year too."

We just sat there shaking hands for a few awkward seconds, until he finally pulled away and said something.

"So, do you have any idea if we're getting to Camp anytime soon? I just got on this bus and my stop is pretty close, but I don't know how many more stops there will be."

"Sorry, I've got no clue. I can do a quick headcount if you'd like."

He tried to tell me I don't need to do that much, but by the time he finished his sentence I had already started counting.

"Ten...eleven...twelve. Twelve. Can you remember that number for me?"

He seemed almost shocked by the request, but he nodded and kept a straight face while I looked over the information booklet we were provided with.

It took me a couple flips past the explanation of the weird camp structure to get to the page where each counselor's name was documented.

There were sixteen names on that list. I looked over to Rantaro. He opened his mouth to tell me the headcount, but I ended up remembering it anyways.

"We've got four more stops to go, so hopefully we'll get to camp within 20 minutes."

Rantaro started laughing in a low, almost nervous chuckle.

"You really didn't need to get so serious about that, dude."

Huh? Oh shit he's right, I totally just treated this like some sort of textbook question. I must seem like an absolute tight-ass right now.

"Woah, woah, relax. It's not a big deal. Your face just got like, three times stiffer. I'm not upset with you, I was just caught off guard."

I did my best to release the tight expression I was holding onto and thanked him for calming me down.
After sitting in silence for a couple more minutes, he sparked up conversation again.

"So, you seem like your head's about to explode. If you're so worried about camp, why did you sign up in the first place?"

"My uncle signed me up, he said it would be a good experience for me. He mentioned a few things about me making a lot of new friends, but I doubt that'll happen."

Rantaro's face twisted into a mix of confusion and concern, before he asked me.

"Why don't you think you'll make any friends? You seem perfectly fine to me."

I wasn't really 100% sure on how to respond, so i just told him what I thought would make the most sense.

"I've just struggled with making friends in the past. Usually people don't like to hang out with me because I'm not really good at being fun or anything. Most of the time I just sit around and worry about things I can't control."

The confusion left his face, and was replaced with a softer, yet still concerned look.

"Hey, I get what it's like to be excluded because of your personality. I've got a lot of little sisters, and some of them are like you in some ways. From what I've seen, most of the time it's the other people being exclusive that makes the issue. I'd bet you're a really great person to be friends with when you're in the right crowd."

..
I had no idea how to respond. I just sat there for a little while, thinking over everything he just said, until I let out a meek "Thanks."

The last stops went by seemingly quickly now that I had a lot more to think about. Rantaro and I would occasionally talk, but there were no other extended conversations. By the time we got to the campgrounds I felt like we had become way closer than I expected to get with anyone all Summer.

As all of the Camp Counselors hastily got off the bus, I took a look around the campsite.
All of the buildings seemed to be made from wood or brick.
There was natural flora everywhere.
Rather than roads, there were gravel paths in the ground.
Most of the space I could see was taken up by buildings. Some were obviously cabins, I think one was a gym, and I couldn't figure out the others.
There was probably more wild space in the forest, but as of what I could see this place mostly focused on indoor activities.
There was a giant flag held up in what seemed to be the middle of a sort of plaza, which was brimming with young children. The flag was yellow, and had a brown symbol of a turtleshell in the middle of it. The turtleshell matched the outfits that some of the other camp counselors were wearing.
As I internally pleaded that the cabins were air conditioned, I looked back at Rantaro, and everyone around me.

Maybe Summer Camp wouldn't be so bad.