Ethereal Love

Camping With The Enemy

Four days later sees Nini in the backseat of her mom's Jeep, scowling to herself as they make their way along the bumpy country lanes leading to the campsite her mother works at.

"Nina, please speak to me..." Dana tried, voice pained. Nini just rolled her eyes, finishing her text to Kourt and groaning when the message 'NO SIGNAL' came up on the screen.

"Nini..."

"What?" she snapped.

"Are you...are you okay?" She asked, so surprised that she was actually responding to her that she didn't even know what she wanted to say.

"Well, other than the fact that I'm on the way to a prison camp where I have to spend my entire summer, yeah, I'm just peachy." She muttered sourly, refusing to look up. Dana sighed, deciding not to say anything more.

When they finally arrived at the camp, her mother ran out of a small log cabin to greet them, smiling tersely at Dana before enveloping Nini in a bear hug. For a second, Nini froze, not sure how to react. She hadn't actually seen her mother since she left, a whole year ago. But then she felt the tears soak through the thin fabric of her shirt and her resolve softened. She wrapped her arms around her mother in return and, for the first time since she left, let the tears flow freely.

Minutes of hugging and crying went by when they finally pulled away, both of them wiping their eyes and blushing. Dana had moved all of Nini's bags from the trunk and was standing there awkwardly, not sure what to do. Caught up in the moment, Nini hugged her Dana, whispering a hasty 'see you soon' into her ear, before grabbing her suitcase and heading towards the cabin her mother had left.

A minute or so later she heard the car start up again, and then Carol walked into the cabin carrying her other two bags. She smiled a little tightly.

"Look, mom, despite what just happened, I'm still unbelievably pissed off at you. I've missed you, and I love you, but I can't just forgive you for leaving us just like that." She warned the older woman. Her mom smiled, nodding.

"I know, Nini, and I understand. I wouldn't forgive me either. That's why I'm glad you're here. We can use the summer to try and figure things out, okay? Will that work?" she asked. Nini thought for a second, and then nodded.

"Yeah, I think so." She said, and then started to unpack.

Half an hour later, she was lying on the bed, nothing to do. Carol frowned when she sighed loudly, and suggested she go for a walk and explore the camp.

"Yeah, okay. So, how many other people are here?" she asked as she slipped her shoes on.

"Well, there are fifty campers, from age 11 to 16, and then there are thirty-two counsellors, from age 17 to 21, who are basically kids who've come to camp since they were 11 and are now too old to be classed as campers. They're pretty much just more campers, but they have other responsibilities and have to help out sometimes. And then there are nineteen staff members, and me. We used to have more staff, but the counsellors are unpaid and can do the same job. Not everyone is here yet, but they should all be getting here by the end of today." She shrugged. Nini smiled, a little relieved that there would at least be some people her age; although there was no guarantee that she would get on with them.

She made her way around the camp listening to music on her phone, smiling and singing along to her favourite songs. Her mother had told her to be at the main stage in an hour, but she wasn't sure where that was exactly. Thankfully, she came across a group of people gathered around a huge stage in the middle of a load of cabins, and she knew she'd found the place. She curiously looked over the crowds, hoping to see someone her age on their own, but the only ones she saw were all stood in a group, smiling and laughing like best friends. Despite her popularity and apparent over-confidence, when it comes to new people, Nini is a very shy person, so she made her way over to an empty picnic bench and sat down, playing candy crush on her phone.