When her mother dropped a flimsy brochure on the table during breakfast one Tuesday morning, Emma Swan dropped her spoon into her cereal bowl with a clatter, groaning.
"Not another one, Mom," she whined, pushing away her unfinished Cheerios.
"Yes, another one, Emma," Mary-Margaret slid the packet closer to her daughter and placing her forearms on the edge of the table.
"But I don't want to!" Emma complained, half-heartedly flipping through the pages.
"It's a chance for you to get out of the house, make some new friends, you know," she shrugged, "have fun."
"These stupid camps won't do that!" Emma sat back in her chair gloomily.
"It's better than sitting around here playing video games and drinking hot chocolate, honey." Mary-Margaret said.
"With cinnamon," Emma grumbled, crossing her arms.
Her mother laughed, "Yes, with cinnamon. But that doesn't change the fact that, well, you're... a hermit."
"I'm not a hermit!" Emma scoffed.
"Yes, you are."
"No, I'm not!"
"Just give it a try. You don't even know what will happen! Do this once, and I'll get out of your hair, okay?" Mary-Margaret took Emma's forgotten bowl and stood up, her chair squeaking loudly on the tile.
Emma dropped her head on the table and sighed, "Fine, I'll go to this dumb camp."
Her mother looked back at Emma in surprise, shocked that she gave in so quickly, "Oh, well, the application is in there, just mail it in by tomorrow, okay?"
Picking up the packet and her bag, Emma stalked out the door, mumbling, "Cinnamon and whip cream."
…...
"And you agreed?" Emma's best friend, Ruby Lucas, was aghast, "But I thought you swore never to go to one of these lame-ass camps."
Emma kicked a pinecone on the sidewalk, "She's been pestering me for like, six years. Eventually, I would have had to have said yes. And this one's only for the weekend. I'll be fine."
Ruby rolled her eyes, "Is it even a cool one?"
"I don't know, I didn't really look at it." Emma fished in her backpack, pulling out the crumpled application, "Here, read it."
Ruby sighed and took the paper, "So.. opportunities... courses... we're the best... leadership... Wait a minute. Leadership? Emma, you freaking agreed to go to a leadership camp?!"
Emma snatched the packet from her hands, shrieking, "What?!"
"Yeah, you moron! You said you would go to a camp you didn't know anything about?"
Emma was staring incredulously at the application.
"Well, it's your problem now, Swan. You're lucky it's only a weekend. Last year, my grandma made me go to a two-week long one that was literally about being nice to people. Now that was shitty. The best part of it was meeting that really hot senior I was talking to you about." Ruby looked into the distance dreamily.
"I can't believe I'm going to this!" Emma whined, shoving the packet back in her bag, "That's the first weekend of summer ruined for me!"
Ruby was suddenly intrigued by something across the street, not interested in the conversation anymore.
"Ruby? Are you listening to me?" Emma waved her hand in front of her friend's face.
"Oh? Um... yeah, that sucks. Uh... I, on the other hand, am going to California for two weeks after school's out. I can't wait! Beaches, hot sun, city lights, and all the guys! I'm so glad to be getting out of Storybrooke!" Ruby nearly squealed excitedly.
"Wow... sounds great," Emma huffed.
"Uh, so, yeah, I'll catch you later... I have to go do some stuff, okay?" Ruby already started across the street.
"See you later?" Emma asked.
"Yeah, maybe. And don't worry, Swan, you'll have a great summer sometime. Just be patient." Ruby flashed a thumbs-up and jogged away.
"Sure," Emma mumbled after casting a quick glance across the street to see Ruby's boyfriend.
As she was walking up the steps to the school, she looked back, and Ruby had already run behind a nearby house, hand locked with her boyfriend.
"Loser," Emma muttered.
…...
After stumbling through hours of boredom, it was finally lunch, Emma's favorite time of the day. It was the last day of school, and Emma was drained from finals.
Dropping her tray on the table with her friends Ruby and Belle, she slid into her seat and set her head down on the table in exhaustion.
"Done?" Belle French laughed and tapped Emma on the shoulder.
"Definitely." Emma said against the table.
"Well, you might want to wake up, because Ruby here was just telling me about her secret guy friend. Or, should I say, friends?" Belle shot a knowing look at Ruby.
"Not so secret to me." Emma lifted her head off the table and picked up her fork, "I saw her with one of them today before school."
"Oh, yeah, him," Ruby smiled, " I'm just Hopper's "girlfriend" while he gives me the answers to both the Algebra and Chemistry finals. He'll do anything for a lousy kiss."
Emma rolled her eyes, and Belle asked, "And what about the other one?"
"Now Killian is another story. He's a senior - well, soon to be in college, but that's beside the point – and me and him met at a party last weekend, and, well, we just hit it off. And damn, is that boy a fine kisser." Ruby took a bite of salad, "But I've heard he has his eyes set on Miss Emma over there."
Emma raised her eyebrows and laughed, "Yeah, whatever, Ruby."
"No, seriously. He's with me for now, but he really wants to get down with you, sister." Ruby pointed her fork at Emma, "And, trust me, that hook is killer in places you wouldn't expect."
Belle giggled, but Emma felt like punching a hole in the wall.
Ruby lowered her voice like she was telling a secret, "We met up last night while my parents were out, and for their sake, I hope they washed the sheets. Oh, and that desk... and the floor..."
Belle and Ruby muffled a laugh behind their hands, while Emma tried not to stab her chicken too angrily.
"What about you, Swan? Planning on having some fun at that stupid camp of yours?" Ruby said after she stopped laughing.
"I don't think so." Emma tried to focus anywhere but Ruby's face.
"C'mon, why not? I'm sure they''ll all want some action with the hot blonde." Ruby winked.
Emma sighed.
"You know what, Belle? I think she's jealous that we've gotten laid and she hasn't." Ruby fake-whispered to Belle.
"Yeah, she's a little stuck-up, isn't she?" Belle whispered back.
"Shut the hell up." Emma warned, slightly taken aback that they were acting this way.
"She wants it, but she doesn't want to admit it."
"She wants that action with Killian, is what's up."
"Ruby, you're a slutty jerk. And Belle, getting laid by your dad's boss doesn't count. What is Gold, like, fifty? Your dad wanted the money." Emma snapped and stood up, ignoring their shocked faces.
After dumping her tray, she strode toward the bathroom, locking herself in a stall. What had gotten into them? They never acted like this. They always used to just kind of set Ruby's adventures aside. She guessed that now since they were supposed to be seniors, they had to be "mature" and all that shit.
Maybe she would be welcoming that camp.