I never liked summer camp.

It was always boring. I'd always get stuck doing the same old activities instead of trying the new, exciting ones that every other camper talked about. I never understood why.

So when my mother (without asking me) signed me up for another week of torture, I really got angry.

"Do yu even bother to ask what I want?" I blew up at her at the dinner table. My three little brothers looked up from their plates to stare at me.

"Merida," my mother explained gently. "It'll be good for you. The Guardian summer camp only lets maybe a hundred kids in every year, and I know someone whose son went. He said it was fun and challenging. Don't yu like a challenge?"

My mother's explanation bothered me. She had no idea what it was like. "Yes, but I can't stand summer camp. It's a waste! Every one I've been to, I've done the same things. Swim, then play a dumb team thing, then do the spider web and the rock wall. In my five years of summer camp, I've never even reached the top of the rock wall. And yu know I'm very good at climbing! The counselors never let me because I've done it before and they let the new kids go first. I get that, but for once I'd like to have fun without all the counselors restraining me. For archery, they had us all fire at the same time, then we had to wait five minutes for everyone to reload, then we had to wait another five minutes because of safety. I could've loaded the targets with arrows long before the other kids even grabbed a second arrow."

My mother stopped me there. "I understand yu have had a hard time with camps in the past, but I promise this one will be different. If not, I'll never send yu to one again."

...

That had been back in February, when she had registered me. I had fumed in my room all night, wondering why I kept ending up at those camps.

It was the first week of August, the week of torture. I picked up my brown suitcase and wheeled it out of my room. My huge messenger bag full of other necessities unable to fit in the suitcase was slung over my shoulder, bumping against my hip as I somehow got my suitcase down the stairs.

I was wearing my most rebellious outfit, a murky green-blue top with the words "Young and Free" smack in the middle. Around them was some strange symbol, like flame. I was also wearing my ripped up jeans and beat up sneakers. My hair was, as usual, in tangles around my head. I hadn't brushed it in awhile.

My mother frowned at my clothing choice. "Yu'll never make a first impression looking like that Merida," she chided. Her hand rested on the door knob, a clear indication that we needed to get moving.

I rolled my eyes. "Clearly yu've never seen the kids at summer camp."

My father, a big, heavyset man who would never miss the opportunity to hunt, picked me up in a crushing hug. "Have fun darling!" he said, giving me a warm pat on the back, unlike my cold mother.

"Fergus," she said through gritted teeth while opening the door. "I have to get her to the bus now."

I rolled my eyes and picked up my suitcase handle again. I walked out the door, whispering to my three brothers, "Don't eat all my desserts."

Their eager nods told me they would raid the kitchen as soon as I was gone.

"Love yu da," I called behind me as I shut the door. Through the glass, I saw him wave.

My mother helped me load my luggage into the trunk, then we got in ourselves. I shoved my earbuds into my ears and began to play my music on my iPod. The rock n' roll beat into my ears as my mother pulled out of the driveway.

The camp was on the bay. It was a five hour drive to it, but there was a bus that was leaving out of our local bus stop that was going to the city that sat right by the bay. I was going to take that all by myself and somehow get to the camp. All with only fifty dollars in my pocket. All the other camps were no where near large bodies of water. This was going to be a slightly new experience.

When we arrived at the bus stop, I saw we had a couple minutes until the bus arrived. "Merida," my mother said to me as I prepared to get out of the car. I looked at her. "Yes mum?"

She caught her breath and looked down. "Just." She took a deep breath. "Remember to smile."

...

The bus ride was so uncomfortable. My suitcase didn't fit in the overhead compartment, so it sat on my lap the whole time, causing my legs to fall asleep. Luckily no one decided to sit next to me. I guessed no one really wanted to sit in the far back.

My mother's words to me rang in my ears. I wouldn't try to be miserable, but I knew I wouldn't like it either.

I slept for about two hours, then read the book I had to read over the summer for my English class. High school was so annoying sometimes.

When the ride was finally over, I climbed off the bus and cursed myself for bringing a cumbersome suitcase. I made my way towards the line of taxis that lined the side of the station. I walked over to one, dragging my suitcase behind me. The driver smiled as I neared the yellow cab. "You going to Guardians Camp?" he asked.

I nodded. He took my suitcase and packed it in the trunk. "This camp is fun kid," He informed me as he opened the door to the drivers seat. I hopped in the back.

We drove in silence for about fifteen minutes through city traffic. Then we turned onto a country road that was parallel to the bay. We soon curved and crossed a short bridge, entering a dense forest. "You may not believe this kid," the driver said to me, "but you can't see the city from where you're going. It's at a beautiful site, this camp."

I felt a wash of relief. Nothing was worse than being in the woods and seeing the glow of a city blocking the stars.

We drove for another twenty minutes before the driver pulled onto a gravel road with a sign that said "Cardinal Forest Campsite". Underneath was a regular paper sign taped on the bottom that said "Welcome to Guardian camp!" with a lot of colorful fireworks surrounding it.

The gravel road opened up to the campsite, which was much bigger than any other camp I had been to. It was located right on the bay, or rather on a large inlet that spilled into the bay. There were two cabins that I could see, but breaks in the trees told me there were more. A large glass mess hall was located next to the parking lot, along with a large cabin with a banner that hung over the porch which read "Welcome campers!".

The driver parked in front, letting me out. "Have fun!" He said to me. I hauled my suitcase out and waved to him, remembering to smile.

...

The main cabin, which I guessed was the "lobby", was packed. It was full of happy campers, the kind you see on a brochure. Every one of them was with a family member. I didn't know what to do, so I joined the line to the desk near the back.

When I reached the counter, a perky looking woman with shoulder length brown hair smiled. "Hi! What's your name?"

"Merida Dunbroch," I told her with a half smile. It was hard knowing I would be miserable.

I'll try to enjoy myself, I thought.

The woman, whose paper name-tag read "Amanda", looked me up in her huge booklet. "We don't use electronics here," she explained happily.

I nodded dully.

She crossed something off from the papers and handed me a plastic water bottle with my name and cabin written on a sticky note attached to the side. I thanked her and walked out, looking at the cabins. I was in the cabin called "Iris". It was the first one in a chain of six. I noticed the others were named after different flowers, like "Tulip" and "Hydrangea".

I walked in, fully expecting the cabin to be decorated with Irises. Instead, it looked like a normal rustic cabin, excluding the streamers hanging from the ceiling. Defiantly a perky group, these counselors.

"Hello!" Speaking of perky counselors, a young woman greeted me with a warm smile and an outstretched hand. "I'm Carrie," she introduced, which was unnecessary. A name-tag hung from a string around her neck. "I'll be your cabin counselor."

I let go of my suitcase handle and extended my hand. "I'm Merida."

She smiled warmly, which I had never seen from a counselor at summer camp before. "I'm just going to explain a few rules before I show you to your room. First, lights off at ten, but Wednesday you'll be out probably past midnight, so I'll just tell you when to turn your lights off then. No talking past eleven, just because everyone needs to go to bed. Showers are either taken in the morning or at night, take your pick."

"That's it?"

"That's it!" Carrie said happily.

I sighed. This camp was looking up.

Carrie took the handle for my suitcase. "Your room is on the left side," she said, leading me toward a door off the main room of the cabin. Behind the door was another line of doors leading to the rooms. A couple of the doors were open, showing messes as the other teens unpacked.

Carrie opened the door at the end of the cabin. "This is your room!" she announced.

I walked in, seeing a window and two twins beds lining along the side walls. One of them was a mess, showing my roommate already had arrived. I turned to Carrie and smiled. "Thank yu," I said to her.

She left my bag at the foot of my bed. "No problem! If you have any more questions, feel free to ask. I'll be in the main room."

Carrie closed the door as she walked out, leaving me in privacy. I sighed and sat down on the bed. The bed was bare, like it was at the other camps, but it was surprisingly comfortable. Like my bed at home.

I unpacked my suitcase. Setting my sheets from home on the bed was the first order of business. After that, I took out my mesh laundry hamper and hung it on the pegs attached to the wall by the door, along with the bag that contained my toothpaste and toothbrush. My clothes were rearranged in my suitcase to make them easier to get out.

As soon as I was done, the door opened. I jumped three feet high, also scaring the girl who stood in the doorway. "Hi!" she exclaimed. "Are you my roommate?"

"I guess," I said, shrugging.

The girl smiled. "Oh, okay. I'm Rapunzel."

"I'm Merida."

"Are you Scottish?" Rapunzel asked. "I love accents."

"Yes, actually."

She smiled. "That is so cool. Have you done this camp before?"

"No."

"Me neither," Rapunzel admitted. "I'm really excited. This is my first summer camp, and sadly my last. I'm a senior, so I'm not going to be able to do it next year."

I was shocked. "Yu've never been to summer camp?"

"No."

"Yu're lucky then."

Her huge green eyes stared at me. "How old are you?"

I shrugged. "Sixteen."

"I'm eighteen," Rapunzel announced. "Even though I don't look it."

Rapunzel was short, about a half head shorter than me with blonde hair to her waist and huge, innocent green eyes. She looked maybe twelve, certainly not eighteen.

"Are you unpacked?" She asked.

I nodded.

"Let's go out and walk around. That's what other kids are doing."

I shrugged. "Sure."

...

Rapunzel and I actually got along surprisingly well. It was the first time I had ever made a friend at a summer camp. I always had somehow gotten in the cabin where every single person knew each other and acted like I didn't exist.

We had seen the mess hall, the nurse's office, and the bay when Rapunzel squealed. "Eugene!"

I saw a young teen with the beginnings of a goatee and wavy brown hair. He waved, making Rapunzel blush. "He's in our group. I know him from school."

I blinked. "Yu know who's in our group?"

"Of course. I can introduce them to you."

I felt a wave a relief wash over me. At the other camps, I got introduced to mine at breakfast the first day.

Rapunzel caught up to Eugene and introduced me. "Eugene, this is Merida. She's in our group!"

Eugene gave me a cocky smile. "Hey."

"Hey," I said back.

"Oh! There's Hiccup," Rapunzel said, pointing to a boy with brick colored hair. "You have to meet Hiccup," she continued, obviously flustered about being in close proximity to Eugene.

I shrugged. "Sure."

...

Eugene walked with Rapunzel and I as we went to meet Hiccup. I was excited to be making friends already.

Hiccup wasn't alone. He was standing with three other people, all who Rapunzel claimed to be part of our group.

"Hi guys!" Rapunzel greeted them. "This is Merida, our last group member. I'm introducing her around."

Hiccup smiled at me. "I'm Hiccup. This is Astrid, Jamie, and our counselor, Jack."

Jack, a tall teen with snow white hair, smiled also. "Hi Merida. Welcome to Guardian camp."

I smiled back, a very genuine smile. "Thanks. I can't wait until we get started."