"Attention, attention campers!" Madam spoke through a megaphone to get everyone's attention. Once most eyes were on her, she handed the megaphone to one of the guys beside her. He took it and placed it gingerly on the white porch.
"As some of you newcomers may have realized, when one of the staff rings the bell, you will all gather here. Oldies, this will be but simple review. If you are not a staff member, all of whom are wearing these shirts - " She gestured to the fluorescent coloured orange T-shirts that had the camp name displayed in bold print.
"...and if you are not one of the staff, don't touch the bell! Simple, yes? Now, onto some other rules..." Her words bored into Nikki's head. She gathered most of what she was saying, but let her eyes wander elsewhere. A butterfly flew by a section of daisies, its wings a glorious midnight blue. Elsewhere, a crow cawed as it flew over the cabins. Nikki's eyes scanned over the horizon, until something peculiar caught her eye after a double-take.
It was almost transparent, which was what first caught her off-guard, but the way it just stood there, gloomy against the cheery background of the camp just unsettled her. Nikki squinted at the figure, but couldn't make out any details. The most she could tell was that it took on the form of a small girl, her ivory hair blocking out her face. It reminded her of something straight out of The Ring. Nikki shivered, and as she blinked, the figure disappeared.
"Now, with rules out of the way, our time seems to be at..." She checked her watch. "Five forty-five on the dot. Well, there's free time until the bell, which will signify dinner. That's fifteen minutes, alright? Any parents that are still here may now leave." Madam finished her speech and turned around to speak with the other staff, all of whom listened intently. Nikki barely grasped the message, as her mind was still stuck on the odd girl she saw. The way she just stood there was unnerving at best, and Nikki had the uncertain feeling that she had been standing there awhile.
"Hey," an unfamiliar voice said. Nikki snapped out of her thoughts, focusing her attention on a redheaded girl that peered at her through green eyes. She was slightly taller than she was, and had quite a bit of muscle built up. Her green and blue plaid shirt sleeves were rolled up to her elbows, and her weathered, old jeans hung loosely by her hips. Nikki could see that there were some dirt stains along her arms, and briefly wondered what she could have been doing.
"Hi," Nikki said conversationally. There was a period of silence where nothing was said and the two simply sat and stared at each other.
"Uh," The girl cleared her throat. "I'm Wendy. We're in the same cabin. Figured I should introduce myself."
"Oh!" Nikki exclaimed. "That explains why there was a wolf pelt on one of the beds. I mean - if that's even yours to begin with but really I shouldn't be one to judge I think I've messed this all up uhh can we start over?" Wendy looked at Nikki blankly for a beat, and then abruptly burst into laughter. She wiped her eye. "You're alright, you know? Yeah, I'm the one with the creepy wolf pelt. My Dad insisted that I brought it here in case an apocalyptic blizzard shook the camp. I told him it was summer, too."
Nikki laughed. "That's interesting, actually. I brought an Eskimo blanket that could work better than protective gear in a blizzard. Who knew we would both pack something so unnecessary?"
"Ah, ah, ah." Wendy held a finger up to silence her. "These are two totally necessary things that we could definitely not live without. At least, that's what the adults say." They both laughed again.
"You're a newbie, aren't you? First year at camp?" she questioned.
"Yeah, I've heard a lot about this place. So many people love it - when I applied the spaced were almost full!"
"That can be expected. A lot of people here are rich kids sent away from home by their parents, so they take the earliest chance they can get to send them away for a week. I think we might be some of the only sensible ones here. You don't have the air or prissy aura of a rich kid." Nikki briefly thought of Britney, but shook the thought from her mind. Her mother always said not to stereotype. But her mind couldn't help considering it...
"What about you, then? How many years have you been coming here?" They began to walk around the camp, passing by some people on swings and sitting around on the green grass.
"Seven, if you count this one," she breathed out a laugh. "Guess I keep finding the resolve to come back to this crummy place, huh?"
"Crummy?" Nikki protested. "I think it's beautiful here." Wendy stared at a slug that was inching its was along the ground. "You get used to it after a while. The scenery's nice, for sure, but..." Nikki opened her mouth to ask what was on her mind, but the bell ringing promptly stopped such a thing from happening. She decided to drop it, and walked over to the white cabin with Wendy. They changed subjects, instead discussing hobbies. Nikki learned that Wendy loved hunting and being in forests.
"It's just so serene, I can never get over how peaceful it can be in a forest when there's just so much absolute crap going in in a city!" That was how she described it, and Nikki wondered if she could ever feel the same. She only enjoyed looking at nature and its glorious creations, with no intention to shoot something down for food. Though Nikki had to admit that Wendy was right about cities; there was so much going on that someone could die and most people wouldn't notice. This thought also troubled her, for she thought of her mother staying in their apartment for a week. She'd be alright, right?
What was she thinking?! Of course she would! Her mother had lived on her own before Nikki came around, and had even managed to take care of her all on her own! She could definitely handle a week on her own. Nikki still thought of writing her a letter, though, even though she protested at the thought.
"Settle down, settle down!" The Madam's voice interrupted her thoughts once more. Sighing to herself, she gazed towards the pursed face of the Madam.
"It's time for dinner, as I have mentioned earlier. Before you all go to the dining hall I have one more rule to share with you all. That simple rule is camp boundaries. By now, you should have all noticed how we're surrounded by forests. No camper shall tread in there, unless they wish to be sent home. The woods are dangerous, especially at night, so it is simply a precaution. There is also a river that runs by the eastern side of camp - don't go there either. There was an incident many years ago where a little girl fell in and drowned." There were murmurs throughout the crowd. "Now, we must enforce our rules tenfold to avoid such a situation from ever arising again, understood?" There were a few nods, but most people stood silently with jaws clenched and sweaty hands rubbing against their jeans.
"Well, that's all. You may all head to the dining hall, which is just outside the cabin circle near where you all signed in. Go on, and enjoy the food!" She shooed them all away, and chatter broke out as soon as she had uttered her last word.
"Drowned? Can you imagine such a thing? Poor girl!" One girl expressed to her friend.
"I think it's a ruse. Something to scare us into not going near the place." The boy beside her shook his head. "What, do they think we're little kids?" Nikki's brow kneaded with worry. The tale sounded sketchy, she had to admit, but there was no evidence to prove it falsely or truthful.
"Hey, don't worry about that old ghost tale." Wendy bumped her on the shoulder. "The ol' witch's been telling that to us for years. It scared me when I was a kid, don't worry. As far as I care, she's just lying to keep us safe. 'Course, there are some of the more gullible ones among us all..." She glanced to the girl who was quivering with chattering teeth. Nikki giggled.
"Besides, I think we should focus on more important matters. Have you seen who's all in our cabin?" Nikki counted the ones she knew on her fingers.
"Well, there's you, Britney, and a small one called Jenna." Wendy stuck her tongue out. "Britney? That basket-case? Geez, we're in for a tough ride. I've been stuck in her cabin forever, and the big guys won't take a hint! So every year I have to deal with her." She folded her arms crossly.
"She's a little...energetic." Nikki said weakly.
"Don't even get me started," Wendy moaned as they came towards the dining hall. A towering, crowded and loud room beckoned to them, and Nikki felt herself get slightly nauseous.
"Oh, it's like this all the time," Wendy said, noticing how pale Nikki had turned. "As with a lot of things here, you'll get used to it."
"Right," Nikki gulped, tiptoeing inside the wide open, wooden double doors.
Wendy was right. Once she got used to the buzz in the back of the room, the gigantic table that everyone sat at, and hands grabbing food everywhere, it became a system. One person would retrieve their hand away, a chicken leg grasped firmly in their hand, and then Nikki would strike, launching her left hand all the way to the mashed potatoes, where someone grabbed the bowl the exact same time as her. Squinting through the mess of hands, she saw Jenna blushing and apologizing furiously. Nikki protested, saying that she had grabbed to bowl first and should take some. This process went on for the first bit until everyone had their first plate of food in front of them, and the clattering of forks and knives against plates replaced most of the sound.
"So, who might you ladies be?" The boy from before who was mocking the drowning girl legend looked from Nikki to Wendy.
"Wendy," she introduced herself, taking a huge bite of stuffing and pointing her fork over to Nikki.
"Nikki," she smiled. His eyes glinted evilly, and the black contents twinkled maliciously.
"Oh? A newbie?" he chuckled with a sinister expression.
"That's Mark," Wendy rolled her eyes. "we call him the camp playboy. Though he's never actually managed to score any girl here. Kind of like a plunger, you know? Pulls and pulls and pulls, but only ever gets shit." Nikki almost spat out her milk, she was guffawing so hard. The rest of the people who were within earshot laughed as well, and Mark turned a bright red. Wendy smirked, pleased by her joke.
"I just haven't found the right one yet," Mark tried to make a recovery. He pushed his black frames up on his nose. "haven't you ever heard of a soulmate?"
"Like the one you don't have?" Wendy remarked. Small giggles circled the table.
"I don't see you with Mr. Dreamboat."
"Probably because I'm not that desperate. Come on, Mark, you're only sixteen. Live a little, you might find someone someday. Maybe. Maybe not. Probably not." Wendy grinned, chugging down some water. Mark sighed. "Well, back on topic. You're new?" he directed the question at Nikki.
"Y-Yeah," Nikki averted her eyes. A couple people made 'Ooh' noises mockingly, but went back to their dinners.
"So this means we get to put you to the right of passage! I ha-"
"SHHHH!" At least five people shushed him. Wendy shook her head. "Idiot! Don't blow that trumpet too hard, we can't have the witch shoving her nose into our business!"
"Sorry, sorry!" Mark held up his hands in defense. "I just wasn't thinking. Anyway, we haven't gotten to do this in a couple years. There aren't that many people who are new to this camp anymore unless you're, like, five. Should we do it tonight?"
Wendy swallowed her food. "Maybe. Depends on how watchful the hawk is. If she's on eagle-level surveillance, we wait. Got it? This might be the last right of passage we ever do, so we've got to make it count."
"Understood." Mark saluted like a soldier. Nikki felt troubled.
"Um," she started. Wendy smiled, waving a hand. "You'll see. The right of passage is tradition, it's nothing harmful though. It just makes sure that you're finally one of us, so to say. You up for it?"
"Hell yeah," Nikki stated. She took a bite out of her chicken, her mind racing with what the right of passage could be. Would she be subject to a game of truth or dare? A physical task, maybe? Something stupid that she would have to wear around camp for a day? The possibilities were endless, but swam through her mind like moths at a lamp. Nikki curiously pondered about what the future would bring.
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