"Alright counselors, welcome to Camp Pine Hollow. I trust you all paid attention in counselor training last week, so I won't have to waste time repeating all of that common sense information now. Your cabin assignments are posted outside; don't forget to turn in your camp name, and good luck. Don't do anything stupid."
With that, the counselors, old and new, made their way out of staff room; a room meant for the small staff at the little camp, which in past years had grown in popularity.
Camp Pine Hollow was set between two mountains; from which came the stream that runs through camp and into the lake. The camp itself was laid out in a circle; the mess hall and crafts building in the middle, the lake and ranges on the west end, staff buildings at the north end, girls cabins on the south, and boys cabins on the east.
The 'start of camp staff meeting' came to a close, leaving eager counselors to find their cabin assignments. Veterans of the camp mingled, the girl's counselors hugged and giggled throughout their introductions. New counselors started making their ways into groups of older counselors, some more eager than others. One white-haired teen awkwardly shuffled towards an obviously shy veteran of the camp. He was tall, dark-haired, and looked to be in his early 20's. The two stood side-by-side before turning towards each other.
"I really hope Pyro isn't always like that. Is he an ex-drill sergeant or naturally grumpy?" said the white-haired teen, turning towards the other trying to pull off a convincing smile.
"Don't worry about head counselor Pyro, he's always that way. I'm Henrik by the way, but my camp name is Hiccup. After an unfortunate incident a couple summers back." He said turning to shake hands.
"Oh, um, I'm Jack, I haven't come up with a camp name yet." He muttered as the two walked to get their cabin assignments.
"Then tell me about yourself, maybe I could help you come up with a name." suggested Hiccup. "After all, you don't - under any circumstance - want the campers to give you your name."
"I trust you on that." He smiled, looking down and thinking of the possible names from the campers. After all, a teen with white hair isn't a common sight. Um, some things about me, first of all, I don't like summer. I needed a job and this was the only one I could find."
"Well then this'll be an interesting summer for you." Hiccup said chuckling. What season do you prefer then?"
"I actually prefer winter. I dabble in photography, and winter's just been the season I get my best pictures in."
They continued walking through the halls of the main office building to where they would find cabin assignments. A crowd was already gathered on the porch. Some counselors cheered with glee seeing they had campers from last summer back in their cabins. Other counselors silently groaned when they saw the names of troublemakers under their cabin. Jack and Hiccup approached the list as the crowd dwindled, and paired counselors planned games and shenanigans for the summer.
"Well here we are at the cabin assignments. The cabins and kids we'll be living with all summer. No returns or exchanges allowed."
"And it looks like we ended up in the same cabin. Hiccup and whatever name I'll come up with eventually."
"So your name's Jack, and you like winter. So... why not Frost?" Hiccup suggested as they made their way to cabin 12.
"Why not Frost?" Jack scoffed, but stopped and sighed. "The kids will be here in an hour so why not?"
"I was told as a kid that Jack Frost was really good with kids, so why not?" Hiccup said with a slight hand gesture, raising a single eyebrow expectantly at Jack.
"It's better than what the kids will give me." Jack laughed.
They stopped when they came to the cabin tucked in-between two maple trees.
"So why do you need a job so badly? College?" asked Hiccup.
"That's kind of a long story," Jack said awkwardly "I, um, got my girlfriend pregnant. We both got kicked out of our homes and need money for rent and all."
"So where is she while you're here?" Hiccup inquired, leaning against the rail of the porch.
"She's a waitress at a barbeque place near the apartment." Jack stated as he continued up the stairs to the door.
"You don't want to talk about this, do you?" Hiccup asked, a bit concerned if he'd gone too far. He followed Jack into the cabin leaving the door open. They looked around the cabin as they talked. There were five sets of bunks, so they'd be in charge of eight boys over the summer.
"It's just awkward for me to talk about." Jack sighed, putting his backpack on the bottom bed of the bunk nearest the door. "You mind if I take the bottom?"
"No, no I prefer the top," said Hiccup, climbing up to his bed "I, as the senior counselor of this cabin, will see all from this strategic position of top bunk."
The two laughed until they heard the lunch bell ring, signaling not lunch, but the early arrival of the campers.
"Well Jack Frost, we should be getting to the buses before the boys wander off."
[line break]
All the boys of cabin twelve were gathered at the base of the porch steps looking up at Hiccup and Jack.
"Well guys, this is it. You'll be spending your summer in cabin 12 with me, Hiccup, and Frost over there. Any questions?"
"Yeah," yelled a pudgier boy "What happened to your leg?"
"Long story short: car accident last summer. Any less personal questions?"
"Who are you?" Asked a blonde boy with small round glasses.
"You may call me Hiccup," he put his arm around Jack's shoulders "and this is Frostbite." This caused some of the boys to laugh.
"What kind of names are those?" a tall dark-skinned boy asked chuckling.
"Those-what's your name kid?" replied Jack.
"Logan."
"Those, Logan, are the names of your counselors."
"Inside everyone, we should get each other's names before the dinner bell," said Hiccup, walking back into the cabin.
As the boys filed in, Hiccup and Jack glanced at each other before walking in, a look saying 'It sure is going to be an interesting summer'.
"You ready for this?" Hiccup asked raising his eyebrow.
"It's too late to back out," Jack replied "besides; I'll only tell you my story if you tell me yours."