Author's note:
Ok this idea suddenly came to me as I was in the middle of a book discussion with one of my friends. The book happened to be Glee: The Beginning. We were talking about how it was kind of funny when Rachel mentioned something about making out with guys at theater camp and I thought, "I should write about that!" So here it is. This will go over the course of two different summers, one is the summer before Rachel's freshman year at McKinley and the other is the summer before her sophomore year(The first season). There will be a character cameo at one point so watch out for that but besides Rachel and the cameo almost all other characters in this are OCs. Finally, there actually is a Lake Murphy in Oregon! I originally came up with the name to pay tribute to the evil genius, Ryan Murphy but it turns out that the lake isn't fictional.
Oh and it will be entirely in Rachel's point of view!
Prologue
I'm just going to start by saying that always be aware of the consequences of your actions. For example, as I'm saying this I am sitting between my two dads on an airplane going back to Ohio after spending two months in Oregon at summer camp. Well, not just any summer camp. Mariska Addison's Performing Arts Retreat more commonly known by it's attendees as, Theater Camp.
To put it lightly, I'm grounded for the rest of the summer and probably a few more months after that. I'm probably confusing you though. So I think I should start at the beginning.
Summer 2008
I nervously got out of the yellow cab that my dads had paid a fortune to drive me out into what most people would think was the middle of nowhere. However most people don't know that there's a camp located on the East side of the small but beautiful, Lake Murphy and that is where I would be spending the majority of my summer break before I started high school in the fall.
I had already said my goodbyes to my dads at the Portland airport so I wouldn't cry or anything embarrassing like that in front of any of the other kids there. All I had to do was sign in and hopefully make a name for myself at this place.
The cab driver helped me get my suitcase out of the trunk and I made my way over to a tall, buff, bald man in a white t-shirt that said in black lettering, 'Counselor' on the back. He was holding a clip-board over his head and shouting to all of the teenagers,
"Cabin assignments here!" he literally had to look down at me when I got over to him. He looked like he was about forty years old and seemed like he would be more in his element at a professional wrestling match than at a summer camp for teens to learn about musical theater. I could read now that on the front of his shirt it said, Mariska Addison's Performing Arts Retreat.
"Name?" he asked emotionlessly.
"Rachel Berry." I said confidently. He looked at his clipboard for a split second said,
"Cabin A5." Then he pointed to two women who looked like they were in their early thirties sitting at a foldaway table and instructed almost like it was burned into his brain, "If you haven't done so already go over to those women over there and they'll finish up your registration." I could tell that the counselor didn't want to be there.
"Thank you." I said politely and walked over to the women and said, "Rachel Berry." One of them looked at a clipboard almost identical to the one the bald man had and said,
"Alright and you're 14?" she asked. I didn't mention this before but the camp only has kids ages 13 to 16. According to the camp's website it's the best time in our lives to determine what our strengths and weaknesses are.
"Yes." I answered as the other woman got a box from under the table.
"What size t-shirt do you wear?" The woman with the box asked.
"Small." I answered. She took two black t-shirts that were identical to the ones they were wearing out of the box and put them onto a letter press.
"Do you spell Rachel, R-A-C-H-E-L?" she asked. I nodded. In record time she had made both of the shirts say Rachel on the back just as the bald man's had said counselor.
"You're expected to wear one of your shirts every day except for Fridays or if you're in costume, swimming or in your pajamas." The woman explained as she handed me the shirts. "You'll have a washer and dryer in your cabin for you to wash your shirts, though you'll have to arrange a schedule for them with your cabin mates." She added. My brain did a double take. Cabin mates? My facial expression must have given away my feelings about sharing a cabin.
"Don't worry I'm sure you'll make friends with them in no time." The other woman who had the clipboard said kindly. Just then there was a crackle coming from a speaker that was on a light post and a female voice said,
"Attention campers please report to the outdoor stage area."
"Well it looks like it's time for orientation. The outdoor stage is that way." The clipboard woman said and pointed in the direction where other teenagers were walking. I nodded and began to walk to where the crowd was going. I slowed my pace slightly so I could get a chance to look at the surroundings.
It seemed like any other summer camp you see in movies or TV shows. Except for the fact that all of it's attendees seemed rather…bubbly. I smiled to myself. I'd finally found a place where people wouldn't think I was weird because of my ambitious attitude. Although that was something I'd grown used to over the years. When I was young, the other kids basically ignored me. It was in 5th grade when the bullying began. It started out with insults and then progressed to hall-tripping and shoving in middle school.
The only time I ever had a good friend that actually went to school with me was in 6th grade. She was new to Lima and I was the only person who showed a shred of kindness to her. We were best friends for almost two months until her parents found out about my dads and told her not to be around me anymore. It didn't really matter though because her dad was in the Army and they had to move again a few weeks after that.
So basically I've spent my life alone. No friends and no siblings. The only time I felt I ever had friends was when I would go to Broadway forums online. So at this camp I was going to change that. I, Rachel Berry was going to have friends who appreciated me for who I am. Annoying tendencies and all. And if I couldn't, it wouldn't really be any different than my usual lonely life.
I finally made it to an area where what looked like about a hundred teenagers were sitting(the camp was rather exclusive and my dads had to sign me up months in advance). I made my way over to an empty spot on the concrete steps that everyone was using as seating. As soon as I sat down a girl with straightened blonde hair sat beside me.
"You must be new?" she assumed kindly. I nodded shyly. She held out her hand for me to shake.
"I'm Amanda Jost." she introduced herself. I brought back my usual Rachel Berry confidence and shook her hand.
"I'm Rachel Berry." I said.
I must admit that I used to be really awkward when it came to speaking with people my own age. It's probably due to my solitary lifestyle and the bullying I've endured. But somehow I felt that at this camp I could finally be myself and that these kids were like me. Driven, overflowing with talent, and probably talk more than they should. Here I was…normal.
Just after I said my name a woman walked out onto the stage and everyone got quiet. The woman looked to be in her late thirties and had light brown hair that was cropped short. Unlike all of the other adults I'd seen at the camp, she wasn't wearing a special black or white t-shirt. She also had a headset microphone on.
"Hello shining stars!" she greeted everyone with her voice amplified by the speakers placed around the camp.
"Hello Mariska!" Everyone said back to her. The woman was Mariska Addison, the owner of the camp and(I'd done a little research) a former Broadway star.
"It is so nice to see all of your smiling faces." Mariska said kindly. "I have a good feeling about you guys this summer and I hope to help you all reach your full potential." She was clearly giving a cliché welcoming speech to us. It's the same thing with every learning institution. I'd gotten one at middle school orientation and I was most likely going to get another at the McKinley High orientation in a few months. I looked over at Amanda to see that instead of listening, she was flipping through a Playbill.
"I find it rather insulting that she doesn't even come up with fresh speeches every year." Amanda said quietly to me. She must have sensed me looking at her.
"She said the same things last year?" I asked in a whisper.
"Yeah." she replied. "In five seconds she's going to bring her husband on stage." She added.
Sure enough, just then a young looking, tall guy with really long legs and fiery red hair walked onto the stage to stand next to Mariska.
"Campers, for those who don't know him, this is my husband, Jeremy. He's our lead dance instructor and choreographer." Jeremy didn't say anything but he smiled and waved at everyone.
"Is he good?" I asked Amanda.
"Uh huh. Jeremy was on Broadway. That's where he met Mariska." She explained. Just then Mariska announced,
"Ok that about sums everything up. You all are dismissed to your cabins." Amanda and I stood up together. I was surprised that she was a few inches shorter than my 5'2 stature. She brushed off her plaid skirt and the two of us began to walk towards the cabins together.
"Which cabin are you in?" Amanda asked.
"A5." I recalled. She gasped.
"Me too!" She said happily.
The two of us then began talking about ourselves. I told her that I'm from Lima, Ohio, I have two gay dads, and I have a mezzo soprano voice range. I learned from her that she's from New York, her parents were never married, and her vocal range is yet to be classified.
When we got to our cabin six other girls were already there. As soon as two of them saw Amanda they instantly ran up to us. One of them was ginger and was at least six inches taller than me. The other was Latina and about my height. Both of them got Amanda into a group hug. Once Amanda managed to get them off of her she smiled and said,
"Guys this is Rachel." both of them smiled kindly at me.
"I'm Sabrina." The Latina introduced herself.
"And I'm Nicole." The redhead added.
"Rachel's new so the three of us are going to help her out." Amanda told them. Before the two could respond to that one of the other girls jumped down from her top bunk onto her feet. She had light brown hair pulled back into a loose ponytail and looked older than us.
"Ok bitches change into your shirts." She ordered. I was a tad surprised at her cavalier use of vulgar language and how she told everyone what to do.
"That's Piper. She's 16 and is our cabin leader." Sabrina whispered to me.
"How'd you manage to be made a cabin leader, Piper?" Amanda asked her directly. I thought that she was a bit insane to do so since, quite frankly, I was scared of Piper.
"Well, I've been here four years in a row and I was the lead in the production of Chicago last year and will be the lead in the production this year. I'm clearly a leader and Ms. Addison knows that some of my talent may rub off on some of you." Piper explained arrogantly. Amanda rolled her eyes.
"And you, new girl." Piper directed at me. "I don't want any trouble from you."
"I assure you, I won't be any trouble." I said nervously.
"Good because new people over 13 don't get accepted here very often and you wouldn't want to ruin your chances of getting invited back next year." Piper warned almost menacingly. With that she (rather dramatically) left the cabin.
"Oh my god she is such a bitch!" Nicole said as she flung her duffle bag onto an empty bottom bunk. Sabrina climbed up the ladder of the same bunk and claimed the top.
"Rachel!" Amanda called from the bed beside Nicole and Sabrina's. She was already on the top bunk. "You can sleep below me." she offered. I looked around the cabin. There were four bunk beds in total and three of which were occupied so the only available bed was the one Amanda was offering. I rolled my suitcase over to it and sat down on the bed while being careful not to hit my head on the frame of Amanda's bed.
"So has she always been this awful?" I asked nobody in particular as I unzipped the front pocket of my suitcase and pulled out the quilt my grandmother on my father Leroy's side had made me when I was a baby.
"Yes." Amanda, Sabrina, and Nicole all said in unison.
"Well at least as long as we've been here which is a year." Sabrina added. I nodded and spread the quilt across my bed. After that I changed into one of my black t-shirts.
"Rachel, we're going down to the lake. Do you wanna come with?" Nicole asked. She, Sabrina and Amanda had also changed into their shirts.
"Sure." I said. I wasn't about to turn them down because all three of them were potential friends. Especially Amanda.
The four of us then left the cabin and Amanda began leading the way down to the lake. We all discussed our dream roles an who we admired most. Then as we were very close to the lake, Amanda stopped dead in her tracks.
"Hot guys twelve o'clock!" she whispered loudly to us. All four of us then proceeded to make sure our hair was ok. After I assured myself that it looked fine I finally got a chance to see the boys Amanda had been referring to.
There was a group of boys all in shirts that looked just like ours (except they were white with black printing) hanging out together in the shade of a huge pine tree. There were five boys in total but I only saw one in particular.
He was gorgeous. By far the best looking guy I'd ever seen. His hair was dirty blonde and he had slightly suntanned skin. He wore khaki cargo shorts and his white t-shirt showed off his toned muscles.
Just then one of the boys grabbed a guitar and started playing
All That's Known from Spring Awakening(my dads still don't know that I've seen it via internet). The four boys that I didn't care to notice began to chant the Latin part of the song while He began singing. His voice was absolutely wonderful. I stood there with stars in my eyes as I watched him sing.
This nameless boy was perfect in every way. So I, Rachel Berry was going get him by any means.
That is where I'm going to stop for now. I forgot to mention earlier that this story will also explain a few minor things about Rachel. But anyways I also wanted to try something. I've been writing for a while and I find that there's always little fun facts that go with each chapter I write so I'm going to say them all after each chapter of this story!
Fun Facts!
*I have been considering writing this fic for over three months.
*The nameless boy's appearance is based off of Norbert Leo Butz as Fiyero in Wicked. Along with a few of his personality traits.
*Amanda's appearance is based off of Kristin Chenoweth (April Rhodes)
*I said that Rachel is fourteen in the summer of 2008 when actually she would have only been thirteen due to her birthday being December 18, 1994.
*Mariska Addison is named after the actress, Mariska Hargitay.
*Rachel mentions seeing Spring Awakening. A musical in which the leads were played by Lea Michele and Jonathan Groff (Rachel and Jesse).
*Piper's initial attitude was inspired by Christy Carlson Romano's character, Jennifer in the Disney channel movie, Cadet Kelly.
I think that's all of the fun facts for this chapter. Please review!