Girls vs. Boys

"Dad, this is my third year here," you chuckled, bending down to see him as you stood outside the car. "And... I'm kind of an adult? I have been for a while? I'll be fine."

"I know," your dad replied, nodding slowly. "Just... you're my daughter. Be careful. And call me if you need anything."

You rolled your eyes, though you were also having a hard time holding back a smile at the fact your dad still worried about you. It was sweet, even if it was just a little annoying.

"I will, I promise," you vowed. "I'll see you in three weeks."

You closed the car door, heaving your huge duffel bag over your shoulder and waving at him one last time before he drove away. And then you turned on your heel and faced the main building of Camp Lakota. You took a deep breath, the corners of your lips pulling into a huge grin as you smelled the fresh air, the stale scent of burnt firewood, the nearby lake...

It was good to be back.

You'd gone to this summer camp as a child, and ever since your first year attending when you were 8 years old, you'd wanted to be a counselor. Your counselor that year had been probably the coolest girl you'd ever seen. She'd been 21 years old, she'd had a nose ring, and she'd let you guys secretly stay up past curfew to play card games.

And now here you were. You were older than 21 now, you didn't have a nose ring (at the moment), and you only let your campers stay up past curfew on special occasions... but you'd done it. You'd achieved one of your lifelong dreams.

And not just once. This was your third year coming back as a counselor.

You knew by now there would be a counselor's meeting in the small room attached to the main building known as the 'Counselor's Lounge.' It had some couches, a few books, and there was a door leading to the kitchen, so it was the perfect spot to get away from the kiddos and relax for just a little bit.

After setting your duffel bag on the floor near a couple of other bags, you pushed open the door to the lounge, greeting the few counselors who were already there.

Camp Lakota was a co-ed camp, but obviously, the boys and girls were separated into different cabins: boys in four cabins and girls in four cabins based on age. There was only one counselor assigned to each cabin, so it honestly was kind of a big deal you'd been asked to come back not only once but twice.

The past two years you'd been in charge of the 8 and 9-year-olds, but the real prize, the position everyone wanted, was to be put in charge of the 12-year-olds. They had a later curfew, and they got to do a wider range of activities like archery and water-skiing. You had been secretly crossing your fingers to snag that cabin for months now.

As you chatted with two of the other girls' counselors, the boys' counselors arrived, plopping down on the couch across from you. You knew them, of course, but the boy campers and girl campers didn't really interact with each other. You'd never talked to them as much as you talked to the girls.

You recognized Mark and Kihyun and Jinhwan, lifting your hand up in a small wave to greet them. And then Chanyeol sat down directly across from you, letting out a soft groan as he stretched his long legs out into the middle of the room.

You waved at him, too, though you'd always been kind of put off by him.

He just seemed kind of... arrogant? Like he thought he was the best counselor? I mean, maybe he was. You didn't really know him, and you'd never really had a full conversation with him, but...

I don't know, something about him just irked you.

The camp directors entered the lounge then, and you sat up straighter, wanting to pay close attention to their little welcoming speech.

They started off giving all the counselors a round of applause for coming back (since everyone had been here for at least a year before) and notifying everyone this was the camp's 50th anniversary. As a special treat to celebrate, they planned to have a small competition.

It would be the boy campers versus the girl campers, a battle between each age group. There would be games throughout the three weeks, and the winner of these games would receive points. Whoever had accumulated the most points at the end of camp would receive...

A pizza party.

You sat up even more, your eyes widening a little.

The food here was fine. It was camp food, and there really wasn't anything to complain about. But... after three weeks of scrambled eggs and baked beans and chicken stew... you knew a big slice of greasy, cheesy pizza would be the most heavenly treat.

"So now that you know about the competition, we'll assign you to your cabins."

You held your breath, your fingers drumming on your knees as you eagerly awaited to hear your assignment.

The 8 and 9-year-old cabins were assigned... not you. The 10-year-old cabins were assigned... not you. The 11-year-old cabins were assigned...

Not. You.

Your heart raced because you knew this meant you'd been assigned to the 12-year-old cabin. So, not only would you get to stay up later and do more fun activities, but you'd be competing against the boys for a chance at a pizza party.

Wait, who was the 12-year-old boys' counselor, though? You honestly hadn't been paying attention.

"And 12-year-old boys cabin is Chanyeol," one of the directors announced before hugging his clipboard to his chest. "Any questions?"

Your gaze immediately shifted to Chanyeol.

He was already looking back at you.

You were now facing your opponent for the next three weeks. He was the only thing standing between you and a bunch of pizza.

You narrowed your eyes.

He narrowed his right back.

GAME. ON.

----