"Oh my god, this has to be the fanciest room in the whole building."
"I know right? We're going to have so much fun here!"
May tossed herself on the queen size bed and stretched her legs. The bus trip had been way too long to her and her best friend Dawn's liking. The brunette had taken a plane to Sinnoh and met up with her friend a few days earlier. From there it took about four hours to get to the campus. Or at least, that was the estimated time. One flat tire and three sick children later they finally reached their destination. As counselors, they were allowed to pick a big room for two people to stay at during the camp. May had carefully examined the building on the Internet beforehand and informed Dawn that room 198 had a huge bed, mirror, bathtub, view and balcony close to the ocean.
"You were so right! Can you imagine us drinking cocktails on the balcony on a hot summer night at 4 in the morning?" Dawn happily yelled while scanning the clothes she had brought with her.
Her friend frowned a little while chuckling. "Your clothes are way too fancy for a place like this. We are supposed to get our hands dirty."
"Right. Supposed to."
She got up from the bed and made her way towards the balcony. As she opened the window, she immediately smelled the fresh beach air. It amused her how close the shore was to the city and forest where they and the other counselors would be spending a lot of time the next few weeks. She'd been looking forward to this summer for months, and finally they were here. Counselors May and Dawn from Hoenn and Sinnoh respectively. The brunette couldn't wait to spend her days with the children, doing fun activities, and her nights at the parties, beach or with her friend.
"Do you know anyone else here but me?" Dawn's voice shook May from her thoughts and she turned around to face her.
"I haven't seen the list of other counselors yet, I was in a hurry to get our stuff to this room as fast as I could. They handed them out during the introduction, right?" The blunette's small nod confirmed what she had already suspected. "Well, I don't reckon I'll know any of the kids either. So it's just you and me."
Dawn started rummaging through her clothes and let out a small shriek of euphoria as she held up a piece of paper with about twenty names on it. May came up and peeked over her shoulder to get a closer look at it.
"I only know Reggie Shinji." Dawn pointed out as a matter of fact. "He is Paul's brother. But besides him, I have no idea. Maybe I can get to know some new people. Or wha…"
Zoey Nozomi, Kenny Kengo,
May had stopped listening to Dawn's babbling while checking the names. Her face fell slightly as she recognized no one. Although she was pretty sure of the fact that she didn't know any of the other counselors, she couldn't deny that she was slightly disappointed.
Brianna Wakana, Melody Fleura…
It didn't help that she was only familiar with faces from Hoenn. Although she knew Dawn and a few other people from other regions, most of them were known by everyone, so it wasn't that special. She didn't usually travel to other regions, and if she did, she didn't find any long lasting friendships there. But wouldn't there be other guys or girls who wanted to be counselor and came from Hoenn?
Dawn Berlitz, May Maple…
Nope.
Andrew Hayden…
Her finger froze slightly. She didn't know an Andrew Hayden, but she could definitely remember a Drew H. whom she'd met a few years ago in Hoenn. Cocky and full of himself, but also passionate and handsome. Someone you wouldn't forget easily.
The idea seemed so stupid to her, but what if it was him? And Drew's full name had been Andrew all the time, but she just didn't know? To be fair, they hadn't been best friends. Every now and then they had crossed paths and spent time together, but she didn't know much about him or his life. Besides, she was getting older and her brain was getting rustier. She hadn't seen him in years.
Shaking the thought, she handed the piece of paper back to Dawn and rested her hands on her hips.
"No. I definitely don't know anyone."
May and Dawn made their way down to meet the head master of the campus. Since they had arrived later and missed a lot of the introduction, if not all in May's case, he thought it would be good idea if they met in his office after dinner to inform them.
Head master Flinch was a short man in his fifties with a few grey hairs popping out of his otherwise bald head. He had been setting up summer camps for children for year, was passionate about his work and loved every part of it. Money was no problem, as he came from a wealthy family, who bought the entire campus twenty years ago. After being an elementary school teacher for a few years, he decided to quit the job, but to continue working with kids. And so Summer Camp Fidelity was born.
The blunette knocked on the door of his office gently. Her gesture was almost immediately followed by a grunt, which the two girls took as a sign to come inside.
"Good day mister Flinch," She politely began. "You wanted to speak to us?"
Mister Flinch looked up from his paperwork and gave them a big smile. "Yes, ladies, please sit down."
May and Dawn slightly bowed to the older man and took a seat in front of him.
"I don't think I'll have to explain the basic rules to you, right?" He immediately began. "Keep an eye on the children and make sure they have a great time, so I don't get any complaints from them or their parents. That's all."
Dawn furrowed her brows and inquired: "Those are the only rules?"
"Yes."
His answer sent a huge smile to Dawn's face. May could already imagine what was going through her mind: the drinking-cocktails-on-the-balcony-at-4-in-the-morning scenario.
May shifted in her seat uncomfortably and raised her index finger slightly. "I have one more question, mister Flinch. How do we know what are supposed to do? We weren't able to attend the introduction class, and I can't seem to find which activities we are supposed to do with the kids."
He pondered for a moment, as if he had been asked to solve a very hard math problem. Then his face cleared and he looked through the papers in front of him. "Thank you, miss Maple. I forgot to tell you indeed. We have several different groups who focus on different kinds of activities. For example, one of them focuses on nature, so the kids will be spending their time outside and learning new things about plants and animals. I saw that you are very good socializing and setting up events, is that right?"
A faint blush appeared on May's cheeks and she nodded slightly. "I suppose." Her answer made her receive a nudge in the side from Dawn.
"She is fantastic!"
"I thought so," Mister Flinch grinned broadly. "So I put you in the social group."
The brunette's blue eyes widened as her brows shot up in surprise. This time, she gave him a more confident nod. She had always been fond of events and people, and now she was even allowed to do stuff that had to do with her passion here?
"As for miss Berlitz, I put you in the creative group. You seem to have a lot of drawing and painting skills. I saw some of your sketches, and I must say I'm impressed. I'm sure you'd like it there."
Dawn nodded politely, although May knew she felt a bit sad that they weren't put in the same group. This wasn't going to make her feel down, though, as they'd be able to spend a lot of time together anyway.
"Is there only one counselor per group?"
"It depends, miss Berlitz. Some groups have several counselors; others will only need one. It depends on the activities and the amount of children in the group." He paused and looked at the girls. "Is that all you'd like to know?"
May and Dawn exchanged glances and nodded their heads.
"Good. I will see you tomorrow in the big hall at nine in the morning. Please don't be late."
Closing the door behind them, Dawn let out a small sigh.
"I'm kind of bummed out that we aren't in the same group. But I should've seen it coming. There are so many counselors!" She threw her hands in the air and made her way back upstairs.
"I agree. But at least we can go out together during the nights! And afterwards we will drink a glass of wine on our huge balcony like the old ladies we are turning into."
Dawn's face immediately brightened up as she reached out to hug her friend. She softly whispered in a giggling voice;
"I'm ready to take over this place."
The blunette of the pair insisted they'd get up early to get ready. A first impression is the most important thing ever, she had declared the night before. Although May hated both getting up early and doing her make-up in the morning, she had agreed with her friend to get up at seven. Easier said than done, because she still wasn't out of her bed at half past seven. She eventually gave up when Dawn told her she'd get a bucket with water and throw it all over her bed if she didn't get up immediately.
May had chosen to do her hair up in a ponytail, with her red bandana wrapped around her head. She usually didn't wear her hair up, but it was terribly hot already and she'd probably have to spend the whole day outside. Finishing off her look with a black crop top and shorts, May nodded at herself in the mirror, satisfied.
Dawn was still not finished with her look at half past eight, yelling that 'everything was either too hot, too cold, too revealing, too prude, too long, too short, too expensive or too cheap'. When asking her friend for advice, she quickly picked a pink summer dress and handed it to her.
"If one piece of clothing screams your name, it has to be this one."
Not even thirty minutes later, they were gathered in the big hall. It was filled with the screams of children, who were either enthusiastic or already panicking. Some of them were looking for their friends, others barely seemed to know where they were. A few girls and guys around their age, most likely fellow counselors, were waiting near the exit and talking to each other. Head master Flinch was nowhere to be seen yet.
Suddenly a low voice echoed through the hall. Mister Flinch had arrived and was trying to shush all the squealing children.
"Hello kids, counselors," He nodded towards May, Dawn and the other people in their late-teens, "Welcome to Summer Camp Fidelity. I hope we can make this summer even better than the last one! It will be hard to top it, but I'm sure it's possible. Kids, you've already received your schedules. Please meet up with the rest of your group at the location you were assigned to. Counselors, after the kids have found the place for their group, the map near the exit will lead you to the location. Any questions?"
The hall was quite silent for so many people in it, but everything seemed to be clear.
"Great. I hope you guys will have a lovely time here!"
The clapping sound was drowned by the screams of children trying to make their way towards the exit. The thick mob became smaller, slowly but surely and May turned to her friend:
"I guess it's time we say goodbye for now." She faked a few tears and softly high-fived her friend while sobbing.
"I will miss you, but you'll manage. See you in a few hours!" Dawn waved at her and started talking to a girl who seemed a bit older than her. May assumed she was in the creative group as well.
The brunette looked around, but all the counselors seemed to walk in different ways. It seemed like Dawn had already become friends with some of her co-counselors, yet May didn't even know who was in the same group as her. Heck, what was she doing in a social group with no friends? She checked the paper with the address on it once more and checked the huge map near the exit of the hall. Her group should be waiting for her around the corner.
She held her head high and straightened her back. So much for that first impression.
After five minutes of walking, she noticed a group of fifteen children waiting with no counselor. Some of them were tiptoeing and trying to see if they could catch an older guy or girl coming their way. May plastered a smile on her face and waved at the kids. A few of them noticed her and started waving back. They quickly shushed as she approached.
"Hello everyone!" Her blue eyes shining, her voice sweet. "Welcome in my social group. My name is May Maple and I will be your counselor for the next few weeks. It's a pleasure to meet you."
Most of the kids looked like they were between the age of twelve and fifteen. The youngest ones, especially the girls, smiled brightly at May and seemed very enthusiastic about their camp. The brunette placed her hands on her hips, satisfied with her impression, until she heard a boyish voice erupting from the crowd.
"Hey hotshot. How about we get some bonding time together, alone?"
A boy with dark brown hair, no older than fifteen, made his way through the crowd and stood in front of May. He gave her a small wink and pointed at her, then back at himself.
May was too flabbergasted. She hadn't even been here for a day and this boy was, well, God knows what he was implying with that statement. As she held her breath, no words seemed to come out in embarrassment, and she froze in place.
"Hey kid. Nice try, but you're way too young for her. How about you leave your pretty counselor alone before your parents hear about this?"
The voice sent shivers down May's spine. It was soothing, gentle and soft, yet sharp as a knife. The few seconds before she turned around seemed to last an eternity. She knew who it was without looking. There was no way she'd be wrong.
And she wasn't.
"Drew?"
"Maple. How could I ever forget you?"
A/N: Surprise, bitch. I bet you thought you'd seen the last of me.
Hello lovely readers, I'm finally back after 10 months. There's been a lot of stuff going on in my life which made it very hard to find motivation and time to write fanfiction. I'm having a lot of ideas now, though, and I'm ready to pick up writing again. I'm not sure where I want to go with this story yet, but I have a rough plan ready. Woohoo!
As always, thanks a lot for reading, and I hope you will be supportive of my new story. Thanks to everyone who liked my previous stories! I'm definitely not planning on quitting writing one-shots, but I feel like it's a nice time to do a multi-chaptered fic. I might throw out a one-shot before I've finished this story. I'm actually pretty sure I will.
Feel free to review, message, like or favorite! See you all next time 3