"Have fun honey." my Dad said hugging me.
"Well . . ." I said trailing off unsurely.
"You'll have fun, I promise." he said handing me my bags.
"But I don't know anybody here." I replied.
"You will eventually." he said definitely.
"But-"
"Look Squirt, you can't back out now."
"I know." I said quietly. He hugged me again and said,
"I gotta go honey, love you." he kissed me on the head and got back in the car.
"Love you too." I answered, my voice barely above a whisper.
He waved and drove off into the distance. I looked towards the arch made of deer antlers that was the gateway into the camp. School had let out only days before, and it was time for summer camp. This would be my first year coming to this place. A place for weirdo's like me. Shapeshifters. Therians. People like me who can shapeshift into animal forms.
Seeing six figures in the distance, past the deer antler arch, and next to a set of picnic tables, I grabbed my bags and hustled towards them. Upon closer inspection there where eight other kids sitting at the tables, some already talking to each other.
Sitting awkwardly at one of the tables, I studied the six standing figures.
One woman was dark-skinned and appeared to be in her early fifties.
A man with bright ginger hair stood talking to her, and a man with dark curly hair stood at his back, conversing with a younger looking blonde woman.
On the opposite side of the dark-skinned woman stood a man with scruffy dark brown hair.
Talking to him was a man who was not quite bald, but was close to it, and seemed very pale.
Hearing a rustling next to me, I glanced over and saw a dark-skinned boy around my age. Catching my eye, he looked up and smiled nicely.
"Hi," he said, offering a hand. I shook it."I'm Jamaree."
I smiled and said,
"Ayla."
"You new here?" he asked.
"Yeah. You?"
"Yeah. You think it's gonna be cool?"
"Better be. No point in wasting a good summer." I said with a shrug. He chuckled and said,
"That's true. What house do you think you'll be in?" he questioned.
"What?" I asked in surprise.
"They sort you into houses by your form." he explained.
"Oh. Well I'm a Werecoyote, so . . ?"
"Then you would be in the House of Canis." he said.
"And . .?"
"It's for the canine species." he said.
"Oh."
"For example. I'm a Werelion, so I'd be in the House of Felis. For the feline species." he continued.
I nodded and said,"That's cool."
"Totally" he agreed, and our conversation dropped.
Before long the older people separated. I guessed everyone had arrived. I looked around. I figured there must've been fifteen or twenty kids there, from around ages twelve, to probably seventeen.
"May I have your attention!" the man with red hair called out, and the chatting died out immediately. "First of all, for those who were not here last summer, welcome to Camp Falling Waters!"
A couple people cheered and clapped.
"Why don't we go ahead with introductions?"
what? I thought to myself. A boy, around fifteen or sixteen sitting in front of me said,"Don't worry, he's talking about the Heads of Houses."
I sighed in relief and turned my attention back to the older folks.
"My name is Ozzie Ryffel and I'm Head of Equus House."
A couple people cheered after his introduction.
The young blonde stepped forward next.
"I am Adrian Holton, Head of Reptilia House."
More cheers.
Then the dark-skinned woman.
"I'm Kitty Williams, the Head of Canis House."
Very few cheers this time around. Oh boy. Why didn't they like her?
Next the nearly bald man.
"My name is Zack Cantola, Head of the House of Ursus."
After that, the man with the curly black hair.
"I am Felix Rivera, Head of Felis House."
Applause.
"And I am Mason Harding, Head of Aero House, WELCOME TO CAMP FALLING WATERS!" the man with scruffy dark brown hair finished with a roar.
Huge applause this time around.
"Now," Ozzie said, and again the noise quieted."we will do a name reading and put you in your houses."
Oh great. I thought. my first and last names started with the letter A, so I'd probably get called first. Excellent.
Ozzie pulled a piece of paper from a nearby picnic table and began.
"Ayla Adkins!" he called.
I cursed under my breath and stood up uneasily.
"Over here with Miss Kitty." he said motioning to the older woman. I walked over to her and stood awkwardly next to her.
"Very nice, very nice." he said before continuing. Name after name was called until I thought there might not be anyone else in my house. Until the M's.
"Harley MacCabe!" he yelled. A girl, probably my age walked up. She had deep auburn hair that was a bit messy, freckles everywhere, and fiery olive eyes. She stood beside me and dropped her bags on the ground, crossing her arms drearily.
I smiled at her a little and I thought I saw the corner of her mouth turn up a little bit, but I wasn't sure.
The names continued until last but not least, a skinny boy with short, brown hair joined me and . . . I think Harley was her name. His name was Jared Turner and he looked about as happy as they come. The boy practically skipped up there to join us
He grinned broadly at each of us before turning around.
"Heads of Houses, please lead your members back to the cabins. We will start activities the day after tomorrow." Ozzie said.
We stood there obediently waiting for Kitty to tell us what to do.
"Alright, lets head back to the cabin." she said. We let her lead the way, Jared rarely stopping talking the entire way.
We passed by a small lake and finally reached the cabins that were sitting on a small hill behind the lake.
The cabins were huge and placed widely apart. Walking through the front door, we looked around.
The living room was comfy, with a leather couch and two recliners, a coffee table, and a t.v. on the opposite wall.
To the right was a big dining room with a fancy chandelier and a cabinet displaying elegant dishes.
To the left of the dining room was a fancy kitchen, equipt with a refrigerator, stove, a dishwasher, sink, and many cabinets and drawers.
Back in the living room was a set of stairs and a hallway beside the stairs, veering off into three different rooms.
"Girls dormitories are upstairs, and you two must share a bunk bed. Boys dormitories are down the hall first door on the left. There's food in the fridge. Make yourselves at home." she explained with a friendly smile and a wave. "I'll explain more in the morning."
"Cool!" Jared said excitedly, dashing off with his bags. I was about to say something to Harley, but she was already trucking up the stairs. I sighed and followed her up.
Upon entering the room, I saw two sets of bunk beds on either side of the room, Harley having thrown her bags on the bottom bunk of the left hand set. A nightstand separated the two sets, a window behind it and another window behind the bottom bunk on the right side set. There was a bathroom on the right side of the room just for us. All in all, this place was awesome.
Harley was lying on her back running her fingers through her messy red hair, deep in thought, so I climbed the ladder and flopped down on the top bunk, having unpacked my book, and began to read it.
A good two hours later, I realized it was pretty late, so I glanced over at the alarm clock on the nightstand; 11:07 p.m.
I sighed and tossed my book towards my feet. I leaned over and asked quietly,
"Harley? Are you using the light?"
Understanding what I was asking, she reached over and turned the light off, proceeding to roll over with out another word. I shrugged and laid back down on my back. I didn't know what her problem was. Maybe her parents forced her to come, I don't know.
I closed my eyes and maybe drifted off a few times, but could never actually sleep. Eventually I just gave up.