Page 24 of Wildfire
MOM
I’ve been trying to reach you all week and so has your brother
I hope you have a great summer at the camp
Please visit when you’re back
Missing you, sweetie
Me and your dad both do
I check the other notifications and the one that stands out is the one from my dad.
DAD
Request from kcallaghan19
$50
I lock my phone quickly in case anyone is looking over my shoulder and put it back into my pocket. I feel bad for ignoring Mom’s calls, but it’s always the same excuses I’d rather not hear. My brother, Ethan, only calls to give me shit about not visiting, despite the fact he fled to the East Coast with his band as soon as he possibly could, leaving me to deal with it all alone.
I’ve always been second choice: to my dad’s addictions, to my mom’s excuses for him, to Ethan’s desire to move away far enough that he can pretend nothing’s wrong.
I love my family, but I hate what we’ve become. Tiptoeing around the things that keep us divided, making excuses for Dad, refusing to work toward a solution in favor of pretending there isn’t an issue. I’ve reached the point where it’s easier to ignore them and keep my distance both physically and emotionally. Thankfully, now that I’m here, that distance I’ll be keeping is four hours north.
An older woman taps a live microphone at the same time a fluffy golden head lands on my knees. Xander immediately reaches for the dog, scratching between its ears in a way that makes the dog’s eyes close and tail wag. “Hey, Fish! I’ve missed you and your hair all over my clothes,” he coos. He looks at me to explain. “She’s Jenna’s dog; you’ll meet her, she’s a director. Jenna works in the office mainly, so Fish just roams around the camp, getting attention from everyone. She usually picks a favorite and sticks with them. Looks like you’re a contender.”
“Welcome, everyone!” the woman calls from the front. “For our newbies this year, my name is Orla Murphy and I’m the resident dinosaur here at Honey Acres. I’m the camp executive director and owner and I oversee everything and everyone here. My family founded Honey Acres and I’m so happy to welcome you to our family this year.”
I’m half trying to listen, half trying to fuss over Fish when Xander grabs me suddenly. “Oh my God,” he whispers, squeezing my arm tightly. Following his line of sight, my eyes land on the cutest two—equally as golden and fluffy, but much smaller and chubbier—dogs trotting toward us. “Baby Fishes!”
I realize I’m not listening to anything Orla says about the camp as the puppies reach us and Xander scoops them both up under his arms. Twisting the shiny aluminum name tags hanging from their collars, I try to suppress a laugh when Salmon and Trout are staring back at me.
Laughter coming through the speaker drags me back to the present, and when I look back to the front of the room Orla is staring at us. “I see the dogs are doing their usual trick of outshining me. For those of you who have been with us before, Fish had puppiesand she’s very proud of them. Fully expect you may get back to your cabin one day to find them in your bed.”
There are murmurs around the room as others on the front row lean forward to catch a look at the fluffy bundles currently boxing each other in my roommate’s arms.
I commit to paying attention as Orla explains a lot of the things I already know from the brochure about a typical day, expected behavior, days off, and what to expect until the campers arrive in a week.
There’s something about the idea of team building that makes me shiver. Icebreakers are my least favorite thing to do, and I’ve basically signed myself up for a week of them.
Orla continues with her introduction and a puppy crawls into my lap, right beside its mom’s head, and falls asleep. “Onto the important stuff. I’m sure it won’t come as a surprise to you, but alcohol and drugs are strictly prohibited, even if you are of legal age… which most of you aren’t. You are here to give our campers a magical summer; if you wanted to spend your summer under the influence, you should have gone on vacation instead.”
Kris, Bobby, and Mattie’s faces immediately pop into my head. They said something similar when I countered their offer to go to Miami with working at camp with me.
“For many of our kids, this summer will be the highlight of their year, so keep that in mind when you think about showing up with a hangover. And finally, everyone’s favorite topic: romance. Here at Honey Acres we have a zero-fraternization policy, which if breached will result in contract termination. This is, of course, for the well-being of our campers, but also for your sanity. You have ten weeks together, and trust me, it goes very slowly when you desperately wish you could escape someone who seemed like a great idea when you had your camp goggles on.”
I lean toward Xander, lowering my voice. “Camp goggles?”
He chuckles. “You’ll see. Everyone is attractive after a month.”
She finishes by explaining that all staff can hang out together inthe shared staff areas, but not in each other’s cabins, and a few other perfectly reasonable rules I’m going to have no problem keeping. The last thing I need is to be sent back to Maple Hills midsummer because I fucked up. Again.
Today is a settling-in day, since so many people are tired from traveling, and the final step of our welcome is meeting the group of people we’ll be working with for the next ten weeks.
The kids are separated into one of four groups: Raccoons, Brown Bears, Foxes, and Hedgehogs. Each animal represents an age group, and each group has six counselors who work on rotation to make sure there are always four counselors available each day and two overnight.
I put my preference as Brown Bears, which are kids aged eight to ten, because they’re old enough not to be totally needy, but young enough that I’m not potentially going to be fighting an attitude for just over two months. Unlike a lot of other summer camps where campers stay for a week or two before heading home, our kids are here for the entire summer.
