Until The End Of Summer

by MannyFanny

This year, Camp Wapun is offering college credits to both college students and high school seniors who volunteer as camp counselors for the whole summer, and with a sweet deal like that, the gang of ten jumps on the opportunity spend their summer together as friends. The plot also focuses on the quirky budding romance between Sam and Josh.

Ah, the summer of 2013, what a time: the Hadokening was still dominating social media, Kim Kardashian and Kanye West's engagement and first baby, Game Of Thrones The Red Wedding, Orange Is The New Black made its debut, as did Sharknado, 'N Sync at the VMA's, Miley Cyrus at the VMA's, and who could forget those catchy summer hits like Get Lucky by Daft Punk, Talk Dirty by Jason Derulo ft. 2 Chainz, Pompeii by Bastille, Thrift Shop by Macklemore ft. Ryan Lewis, I Love It by Icona Pop ft. Charli XCX, and who could seriously forget The Harlem Shake by Baauer and Blurred Lines by Robin Thicke ft. Pharrell Williams?

Every summer, there are kids who dread the inevitable, and those embrace it with open arms when their parents pop the magic words at the end of the school year: 'You're going to sleep-away camp this summer!' This year, Camp Wapun is offering college credits to both college students and high school seniors who volunteer as camp counselors for the whole summer, and with a sweet deal like that, the gang of ten jumps on the opportunity spend their summer together as friends, and with all of them together, there will be pranks, shenanigans, gagging down camp food, irresponsible behavior, partial nudity, and of course, summer romance.

The plot mostly features on the group as a whole, however the plot also focuses on the quirky budding romance between Sam and Josh.

Chapter One

The air was warm and heavy, rain lightly tapped against the windows of the slow moving, early-90's GMC Vendura Rally. The wheels ground against the stones, puddles, and mud on the dirt road, the van itself smelled odd, the interior was partially ruined, with every hump and bump it creaked and squeaked, a total clunker with a wheel in the scrapyard. Yet the weather didn't matter, the transportation didn't matter, and all that did matter was Camp Wapun: a decent-sized campsite designed for older children, ages eleven to fifteen, which sat in the deep Canadian wilderness, miles away from the nearest town. An entire eight weeks with no cellphone service, WiFi, but the best part, no parents.

All six girls were mushed together in this particular van, being driven by one of the activity supervisors who presumably is the arts and crafts teacher, but that was just a guess judging from all of the paint and glitter on her clothes. In the first row sat Emily and Jessica, who were gossiping as they glue little accessories to their manicured nails, their fruity-scented lotion being the only saving grace from the van's musty odor. In the second row sitting in solidarity were Ashley and Sam, Ashley quietly reading one of the plethora of novels she brought with her, and Sam highlighting and writing little notes on sticky notes in her wilderness conservation guide. In the last row, Beth and Hannah were connected by headphones as the listened to music coming from Beth's phone. The girls interacted much more during the start of their trip up here, but as the hours dragged on, and they became more tired and irritable, they resorted to their own activities to keep themselves sane. Sam pressed her book to her chest and raised her other hand up slightly, "Uh, excuse me . . . m-miss? Are we, almost there?"

"Seriously, it's been like, five hours and I have to take a piss." Emily butted in with an aggregated tone in her voice.

"Don't worry girls," the supervisor sung, "We're less than a half hour to camp, and when you get done settling in, you'll meet up for orientation and help finish setting up before the kids come in the morning!"

The girls collectively sighed and groaned, tossing their stuff unto their seats before slouching in their seats in defeat.

Meanwhile, the same type of van had been following behind the girls, only this one was filled with the boys, and the activity inside this van was far different.

"I swear to god- I SWEAR TO GOD, when I find out which one of you is doing that I'm going to kill you." Matt said as his body sharply turned and hands squeezed the back of his seat, teeth clenched and stare burning hot.

"Dude, chill out, you don't think kids fuck with their counselors, 'cause they do, we did it all the time! We're just preparing you!" Josh laughed as he threw his hands up in defense, Chris, who was sitting next to him, was snickering into his hand.

Matt sighed, "Just, please, stop it? I'm tired, and dying for a shower, so, please?"

"Alright, alright, I'll be cool. I'm cool."

"Thank you. That's all I want."

From the front row, a loud and exaggerated groan bellowed throughout the van. It was from Mike, casually lounging in the front seat with his sunglasses on. "I could have been spending my summer at the beach, lying in the sand getting my tan on while scooping out cute babes, but NOOOOOO, I just had to be convinced into spending my summer with a bunch of snotnose brats, and YOU idiots." He protested, folding his arms over his chest while he adjusted his position. Matt, who was sitting behind Mike, dug through his backpack and pulled out a small rubber spider. "Aw c'mon Mike," Matt said as leaned over the back of Mike's seat, "What would this summer be without you?" He casually asked, placing the fake spider on top of Mike's seat and letting it fall onto his side. Feeling a small speck of pressure on his ribs, Mike picked his head up to see an arachnid on his body. He shrieked as he threw his hands up, then he jumped from his seat and quickly brushed his hands on his side to get it off. The back of the van roared with laughter as the realization kicked in, Mike becoming incredibly furious. What he growled before he jumped over the seat and lunged at Matt was incoherent, but his attack was short-lived as the van came to a screeching halt, and Mike was pulled back into his seat by his pants by the large, muscular man who was driving the van. "How many times do I have to tell you boys to quit roughhousing?! If I have to tell you one more time, I'll make you walk! Do I make myself clear?!" Screamed the driver in an angry fit. "Yes Coach." The boys said solemnly in unison. For of the rest of the trip there, the boys remained quiet and still, in fear they'd have to hike the rest of the way there in the rain with their abundance of luggage.

After a long, awkward half hour, the vans finally pulled into the camp, the rain beginning to pour even harder as they came to a stop. When the doors popped open the gang immediately basked in the rain and their freedom; they ran up and greeted each other, most exchanged hugs, Mike and Emily exchanged a make out session.

"Come on girls, grab your bags and get settled in!"

"You heard the lady, get your shit and head to your quarters!"

"Where are we even supposed to go?!" Questioned Jessica loudly.

"In the back behind the mess hall and nurse's station, right by the Camp Director's abode! We'll meet in the mess hall in an hour for orientation! Buh-bye!" Shouted the spunky activity supervisor as she waved her hand in the air and headed back into the van. The gang helped each other uncover their belongings from under the covers on top of the vans. Correctly handing everyone their bags and suitcases, they began to dredge through the mud and rain to their counselor cabins.

"God, this sucks." Whined Emily.

"They could have parked a bit closer." Added Ashley.

"Why would they do that? That would be convenient." Groaned Beth.

"My bags aren't exactly keeping me dry." Complained Chris.

"I-It could be a lot worse, at least it isn't cold and snowing, right?" Interjected Hannah.

"C'mon guys, we've been through way worse." Commented Sam.

"At least it can't get worse." Mumbled Mike.

They treaded through the wet grass, nearly a few feet away from their housing, when Matt's foot fell into a mud hole and submerged his whole shoe. "Are you shitting me right now?!" He exclaimed to himself, slowly pulling his foot out and attempting to shake the mud off, "Ugh! I just bought these shoes a couple months ago!"

"Come on Matt, before you fall into some quicksand!" Josh called from the cabin doorway, as everyone had already made it to their correct cabins while he faced his dilemma. Matt rushed over as fast as he could, making sure not to squish anymore mud inside his shoe. When he finally made it inside, he called out, "Look out!" as he flung his muddy shoe across the room, "Hey watch it!" Chris shouted while shielding himself from the flying mud. Mike groaned, "We got shit to do, let's get it over with. It's our last day of freedom." The boys agreed and went to pick out their bunks, each bed had their uniform shirts along with name tags on them. They threw on some dry clothing and their shirts before they went to unpack their belongings, writing their names on them so they wouldn't be used or stolen. They shoved their clothes in random drawers and spread them around the room, along with tossing their stuff in the general area of their bunks to not forget where they put them, only putting a few personal things in organized places.

"So, have any of you ever been a camp counselor before? 'Cause I sure haven't." Josh spoke, breaking the silence while writing his name on the stick of his toothbrush.

"No." They said collectivity, with a hint of worry in their tone.

"I mean, it can't be THAT hard. It's not like we're watching a bunch of babies or anything." Inserted Mike, tossing socks and undershirts in random drawers.

"I don't he was implying it'd be hard to do, just that it's a different experience." Chris grunted, shoving his empty luggage under the bed.

"We're gonna find out in like," Matt checked his phone, "Fifteen minutes anyway, and we'll have a day to prepare. I'm sure it's going to be just fine. I'm not worried." Matt scrubbed and rubbed, or at least tried to, all the mud of his shoes in the bathroom sink. It was probably not a good day to wear white.

"Oh god it's so warm in here!" Jessica praised with open arms.

"Move your bubble butt, Jess! Let us in already!" Emily said as she bumped hips with Jessica, pushing her out of the way.

The girls all sighed in relief, cheering as they could finally get dry and warm; because there was six girls, the cabin was a bit more crowded than the boys due to an extra bunk. They quickly grabbed the closest pieces of fabric to towels and started drying their skin and hair. Just like in the boy's cabin, a uniform shirt and nametag was neatly placed on each bed, the girls scrambled to find their correct shirts and jumped out of their wet clothes and into fresh ones.

"It feels so good to be in dry clothes, I almost loathe having to go back outside." Said Beth, running a brush through her damp hair.

"And is it just me, or are these shirts . . . big, and ugly?" Emily, with a look of disgust, pointed out.

"Em, they're uniforms, for camp. They aren't supposed to look designer." Sam chuckled as she put small trinkets and accessories in her top nightstand drawer.

"Well then I guess it's up to us to make them look cute then!" Jessica exclaimed with determination while holding a large, cutely-printed, zipped up bag, assumingly full of jewelry and possibly make-up.

The girls excitedly agreed as the grabbed their bags and small jewelry boxes, then all six them huddled into the small bathroom in front of the mirror screwed into the wall. They put earrings in their ears and draped necklaces around their necks, slipped bracelets on their wrists and put hair accessories in their hair. They did their hair nice and tidy, brushed blush on their cheeks and eyeshadow on their eyelids, aligned their eyes with eyeliner and smoothed lipstick and lip gloss on their lips. For added flair, Emily and Jessica bunched up their shirts and tied them on the right side, making them fit and shorter. Sam and Ashley followed the trend and did the same on the left side, and of course Hannah and Beth joined in too by tying theirs in the front. "Now we look like camp counselors!" Jessica gleefully shouted while pumping her fists then held up her hand for a high-five, to which they all joined in for a group high-five. "Shit you guys, we better get going, it's almost time to head out." Beth pointed out to everyone, to which they began to gather their shoes and umbrella's. "Oh no! I forgot my umbrella!" Whined Hannah. Beth sighed with a smile, tapping Hannah's shoulder with her umbrella to get her attention, "It's okay, Hannah, I had a feeling you'd forget, so we can just share one together." Hannah got up from her spot and hugged her little sister tightly, "You're awesome, Beth!"

The girls and boys came out of their cabins at the same time, and while the girls were fully prepared for the weather, the only sort of protection they had was a backwards hat, worn by Matt. "You do know it is summer, right, and it like, rains?" Emily called out to the boys from underneath the awning, looking at them with disbelief.

"It's just water, who cares?" Mike called back to Emily.

"Oh yeah? Is that why you were complaining on the way here?" Jessica shot back, the girls behind her trying not to giggle.

"Hey! . . . It's different this time." Mike responded with a hint of whining in his voice.

The girls tried to contain their amusement, but it was clear on their faces what they were thinking. They trotted down the steps as they opened up their umbrellas, "Honestly, what would you do with us?" Beth smirked, her and Hannah already under Beth's umbrella while the girls offered to help keep the boys dry. Mike joined up with Emily, Matt with Jessica, Chris with Ashley, and lastly, Josh with Sam. The gang walked together in a row, staying close together, but not too close thanks to rain runoff, as they talked and laughed with their partners under their umbrellas.

"Hey Sammy, you shouldn't have to hold the umbrella. Come on, I'm much taller than you!"

"Not tall enough for me to climb up there and kick your ass." Sam chuckled, handing the umbrella handle over to Josh.

"Whoa, easy tiger! Just trying to make it easier for you since you were oh so kind enough to court me to the mess hall."

"And since when did you become such a perfect gentleman?"

"Oh, well, you know, just now."

The two shared a laugh together. Hearing the commotion, Beth and Hannah looked behind and right at them for a moment, then looked at each other, and back to the front.

"What was that all about?" Sam asked, looking up at Josh.

"Your guess is as good as any." Josh shrugged, glancing back down at Sam.

The gang made it to the mess hall safe and dry, and after shaking their umbrellas dry, they entered into the huge establishment that reeked of wet wood and bleach. In front of the room was a table with ten chairs facing a number of people that hid a chalkboard behind them. "Come. Sit." Said the disheveled-looking man in the middle of the group. The gang responded to his command by making their way to the front of the room and sitting in a chair, looking at the people before them. "Welcome volunteered students, or for the summer, camp counselors, to Camp Wapun. By volunteering your time, you have agreed to take partial responsibility for the children's physical, emotional, and mental wellbeing, making sure they end their summer happy, and with all seven limps still intact. Helping them with their problems, talking with them, participating in activities, be someone who they can look up to and come to for anything. That, is your goal as counselors. Remember what it was like when you were teenyboppers and teens? Take into account how they feel, how they will be feeling in that moment." The man cleared his throat, "But, the children don't come until tomorrow morning, so you will have plenty of opportunity to explore the grounds, be assigned your cabins, and study your schedules. For now, you have your current assignments on the board behind me, you will see your designated supervisor and help them with whatever they need help with. We want everything to be thoroughly cleaned and fixed before the start of the eight week period. If you have any questions, you come to me, your camp director, Mr. . . . Mr. Jaa-Aaaack- . . . s-s-sssssoooon . . . Fessen . . . burg . . ." Jackson wiped the sweat from his brow as an awkward silence fell over the room, until Josh rose up his arm flashing a sideways peace sign, "Waddup'?" and broke the silence. A sense of relief became of everyone, and Jackson stepped aside to reveal what was on chalkboard, to which everyone had been assigned a supervisor and an assignment to do around the campsite.

The gang wasn't entirely sure if they were dismissed or not, so they slowly got up from their seats and went to find their correct supervisor. Sam was assigned to walk around the campsite and make sure the perimeter was safe and secure, and that nothing dangerous could prowl around. Hannah and Beth were given the task to set out supplies and put a creative spin in the camper-friendly facilities. Mike and Josh were set out to help with any repairs that had been overlooked, Chris took inventory of all the sports and outdoor equipment. Matt and Ashley helped make preparations in the kitchen, and Emily and Jessica, reluctant and disgusted, helped clean cabins, bathrooms, and other buildings. It lasted for hours, and there was plenty of goofing around, groans, sighs, and sounds of disgust, with a dash of cuts and scrapes and a splinter or two. By the time everyone had made it to the mess hall for dinner, it was almost seven o'clock, and everyone at the table was absolutely exhausted.

"If I have to see another toilet brush in my lifetime, it'll be too soon." Emily gagged, cleaning out from under her manicured nails.

"So much yuck, the smells, ugh! Gross!" Jessica whined, scratching and rubbing off the grime from her skin and clothes.

"At least you didn't almost- . . . Are you eating chips?!" Mike yelled, looking right at Josh, who was in fact crunching on chips that he hid under his clothes.

". . . No . . ." Josh mumbled with a mouthful of chips.

"Yes you are! Give me that!" Mike demanded, lightly shoving Josh and grabbing the small bag of chips from underneath his shirt.

"Bro! Fuck! What was that for?!"

"For me not kicking your ass!"

Josh didn't respond back verbally, but yet he moved his bottom jaw side to side while rolling his eyes, annoyed.

"I don't think I've been covered in so much glitter in my life." Beth added in.

"Five. Paper. Cuts." Hannah whimpered, looking at her colorfully-bandaged hands.

"I guess I'd rather smell like beans than anything else for eight weeks." Matt said while sniffing his uniform shirt.

"I cut up like five pounds of vegetables. Five pounds." Ashley grumbled as she rubbed the palms of her hands with her thumbs.

"At least you guys got to work inside." Sam spoke with a sigh, wringing water out of a large strand of her hair.

" . . . I had a pretty okay time." Chris said hesitantly.

Everyone at the tabled looked in Chris's direction, staring him down, their expressions showed that they were about as done with him as they were with this day.

"I-I mean I'm just, saying . . . you know . . .?"

A silence fell over the table, everyone was so tired, they were practically begging for the day to be over so they could already prepare to face eight weeks of whatever comes their way. Minutes later the man who ran the kitchen came towards the table with two pizza boxes and set them down quietly. "Don't get used to it" He voiced while going back towards the kitchen, wiping his hands with a dirty washcloth. The gang was bewildered by the act of kindness for such a stoic man, they were expecting some kind of mysterious slop that was chunky and had odd flavors, but instead real, edible food. Everyone grabbed as many slices as they could before stuffing their faces, even Sam, who had to put her veganism on hiatus for the summer, knowing there was no way she'd make it the entire time without succumbing to the mystery animal mash, no matter how much it made her sick to her stomach. The dinner itself was fairly silent, a few conversations here and there, but really all they wanted to do was eat and then get clean and go to bed, and that's exactly what they did.

The girls and boys said their 'goodbyes' and 'see you tomorrows' and parted to their cabins. One by one they made it through their shower rounds, the girls did their hair, moisturize, and threw on an assortment of overly large t-shirts, cutely printed, and chic pajamas. The boy's routine was much simpler one, in and out of the shower, some did their hair, others left it alone, and their ensembles consisted of a mix of undershirts, underwear, and pajama pants. After being clean and comfy, the girls went to their bunks and, despite being tired, simply relaxed, and it was the same over on the boys end as well. Hannah was lying on her stomach writing in her diary, Beth was lying face down on her bed with headphones in her ears and music bumping. Ashley was on her back with her feet in the air while reading a different novel than earlier, Sam sat with her legs crossed continuing to study from her wilderness conservation guide. Emily sat similar to Sam, but she was practicing make-up techniques on a make-up practice sheet, and Jessica simply sat curled up on her bed with her phone close to her, flipping through some old school pictures. It wasn't much different in the boy's cabin, Matt and Mike were both on phones messing around on some apps, and Josh and Chris were doing a Mad-Lib that Chris had brought with him. Regardless of what they were doing, it didn't take long before the cabins were filled with snores, heavy breathing, and sleepy mumbles. Not everyone had fallen asleep, however, Sam was still very much awake, finding it difficult to fall asleep despite being tired. She tossed and turned but there was no relief, so she got up slowly and quietly and walked over to the window beside her, staring outside while she watched the rain fall. In this moment, after everything that happened today, was so tranquil, but wouldn't be perfect without some chill beats. Sam used her finger to slide her phone closer to her, and looked in her nightstand for her headphones. She had trouble finding her pair so she hoped Ashley wouldn't mind her borrowing hers. There no need to wake Ashley up and ask, she'd put them right back when she was done using them. Popping the headphones into her phone, she scrolled through her music list until she found the perfect song before setting her phone on the windowsill. The beat, the flow, perfectly intertwined with the atmosphere. Sam felt as though she was in her own little perfect world.

There was someone else who wasn't asleep either, and that was Josh, who seemed to be struggling to fall asleep just like Sam. He first went into the bathroom and washed his face with warm water and unscented soap thinking that might help him fall asleep, but it didn't, it just made him cleaner, but as soon as he was about to head back to his bed, he noticed that from across the way, he could see someone standing in the window at the girls cabin. It was a bit difficult to see through the raindrops gliding down the window, but there was only one girl with long blonde hair, and one that would also wear an old tie-dye shirt. It was Sam, no doubt. The problem was, Sam was looking towards the water that lie behind them, and there was no way to get her attention without drawing attention to himself and waking everybody up. He looked to see if there was any way to open the window without making a lot of noise, feeling around with his finger in every nook and cranny for a spot, but yet his extra lengths were unnecessary as Sam looked in the direction of the cabin and saw Josh moving about. Luckily, Josh was able to notice her looking before making himself look like an idiot.

Josh lightly waved at Sam.

Sam waved back at Josh while she tucked a lock of hair behind her ear, and before Josh could gesture back, Sam held up her index finger, indicating to give her a second. When she returned to the window, she held up a notebook which said 'Aren't you supposed to be sleeping?' in big, bold letters.

Josh held up both his hands, telling her to wait right there, and that he'd be right back. He quietly dashed over to his side of the room, making sure not to stir anyone awake, grabbing the nearest pad of paper and pen around before heading back towards the window where Sam still stood. He quickly jotted down on his notebook, 'Can't sleep' and showed it to Sam.

'Same'

'Bummer'

'I know, right?'

'I like your shirt

Funky'

'I like your

. . .

undershirt?'

'I'm so flattered'

'Oh shut up'

'LOL'

'Please don't'

'Sorry'

'Forgiven'

'❤'

'I think we need to go to bed'

'You think?'

'Tomorrow?'

'This?'

'Or we can talk face to face'

'Oh yeah

I'm down'

'Dork

Goodnight'

'Night Sammy'

Sam shook her head and smiled, then she tossed her notebook aside and hugged herself, as it was the closest she could get to actually hugging Josh. Josh picked up on what she was doing and did the same thing back. The two then parted from the window and back into their beds, feeling even more relaxed than before their talk. Minutes turned to hours, the camp was still and quiet, everyone was sleeping soundly, getting plenty of rest for what events tomorrow, and the next eight weeks, will bring.