Note: Still working on "Moving Forward" and that will always get worked on before this but here is a goofy summer camp AU I started writing while watching a ton of summer camp movies one night.
I don't own the characters and so on so forth.
The car pulled to a stop in a parking spot furthest from the main building. Gail knew that it meant there was going to be a "talk" and she waited, knowing not to move from her seat before Elaine Peck told her she could. So, she used the silence to really get a good look at her surroundings. The forest surrounding the parking lot up to the building was very open and light filtered down through the trees making everything look very bright and alive. Nature wasn't too bad when you were just looking at it.
However, her mind fluttered back to how she would be spending the next few weeks out and about in nature and she scowled.
"This is your last chance, Gail," said Elaine without even looking over at her daughter. "We can go home now and I can get you into the summer internship program, no questions asked."
Gail didn't say a thing. She just waited for Elaine to get the gravity of her silence. Luckily, her mother usually got the hint rather quickly.
"Fine. Go. Call your father when you need to be picked up."
Without another word, or even a goodbye, Elaine Peck left her daughter at the bottom of a hill. Gail watched the car drive away through the trees before turning to look up the parking lot toward the cabin at the top. Why did she let Dov talk her into this? Just because he was her best friend doesn't mean he had good ideas or that she should listen to him. Yet, here she was, in the parking lot of the Shady Hills Campground, about to help his goofy ass council a bunch of snot nosed brats for the summer.
Gail continued looking up at the cabin before looking down at the two big bags at her feet. She was not carrying those up the hill. So, she quickly pulled out her phone and was about to hit call when she heard the very voice she was thinking about behind her.
"Gail! Hey!" Dov came running up to her and punched at her arm. She rolled her eyes at his big goofy grin. He had obviously been here for a while because he was already wearing a shirt with the camp name in big happy letters across his chest. Although Gail couldn't imagine what he was doing in the woods behind her.
"Carry my bags," she said. Dov took this as the only greeting he was getting.
"Right away, your royal highness," said Dov with a grin. He heaved the duffle bag onto his shoulder and pulled the rolling bag after him. "You know, you're lucky I'm your friend."
"And you're lucky to be friends with me," she quipped. As they made their way up the hill, Gail sighed. "Why did I let you talk me into this, Epstein?"
"Well, I was telling you about how I signed up, then your mom came in the room talking about the summer internship with the Toronto PD, and you quickly told her that you already had plans to help me over the summer because I had 'so desperately begged you to protect me from bears', as you put it."
"Oh yeah," huffed Gail. She glared around her at all the nature, wondering if the mace she had in her backpack would be enough to take down a rogue bear if she needed to. "And if anyone asks…"
"I got on my knees and pleaded for dear life," laughed Dov.
"Good." Gail grabbed his free hand and swung it between them. She was smiling. She might hate nature and the sun might hate her pale complexion but she didn't hate Dov and she had loads of sunscreen so maybe the summer wouldn't be so bad. At least she didn't have to spend it anywhere near her mother or the police department. Her entire future would be the police as soon as she graduated college, just like her mother wanted. Gail knew she was just delaying the inevitable Peck future but it was all she could do to keep her head on straight.
At the top of the hill she dropped Dov's hand and readjusted her pack.
"Did you really need to bring this much crap?" heaved the asthmatic man behind her.
"Hey, this is my first time having to survive in the wilderness, I didn't know what to bring," snapped Gail.
"One of these bags is just filled with mace and sunscreen isn't it? And just so you know, we're camp counselors. We'll be sleeping in cabins, not on the ground in the woods."
"Shut it, Epstein."
"Can't you just call me Dov? Is it really so hard?" Dov pulled an inhaler out of her pocket to use while Gail inspected the people milling around the entrance to the cabin. The adults were signing their kids in with the man and woman at the table that was set up in the grass in front of the building she assumed was for administration.
"Force of habit," she said while still watching the smiling, excited faces spread out before her. "Ugh. Do you think it's too late to call my mom?"
"Do you really think she'll answer?"
"Good point. But look at them," she gestured toward the people. "They're just all so happy. It's…it's…"
"Life affirming?" replied Dov with a laugh. He knew that wasn't what she was going to say.
"Disgusting," she said while turning to scowl at him.
"Oh man, 10 bucks says you're everyone's favorite counselor. Come on," Dov motioned for Gail to follow him into the cabin. He set her bags down outside the door and walked in, Gail on her heels. "Let's get you signed in so we can get you your shirts."
"Ooo. I'm so excited," said Gail sarcastically, following Dov to the administration building before them.
The guy Gail signed in with was as bright and cheery as the sun so Gail had to hold back a scowl. Dov was almost in tears trying to hold in his laughter at Gail's faux happy face which he always likened to more like the look of a serial killer than someone who was actually in a good mood.
They had met at university and even though he was jealous of her family name, since they were both headed to the academy, he was funny enough to hang out around. And getting drunk and playing video games with him the past few months was a good distraction from getting dumped by Nick.
"Okay, it's great to meet you Gail, I'm glad Dov convinced you to help out." Mr. Smiley said, raising his hand for a high five. Gail just stared at him for a minute before forcing a smile and unenthusiastically returning the gesture. Luckily for her she had also brought enough hand sanitizer with her to keep her sane. "Dov, why don't you show your friend here where she'll be bunking."
Dov lead Gail out the door, picked up her bags, and headed down a path that took them into the trees and away from the building and parking lot.
"Why do I get the feeling this isn't your first summer doing this?" asked Gail.
"Because it's not. Doug, the guy you just met, great guy, is a family friend. I've been helping out here since I left high school." They walked up to a small cabin and Dov dropped the bags at the side of the door. "Okay, so this is where the female counselors sleep. Guys cabin is that one," he pointed to the identical cabin next door. "There are only three other female counselors this year so you'll probably have a whole bunk to yourself."
"Bunks?" snapped Gail, narrowing her eyes at her friend.
"Yes, Gail. Bunks. Have you never been to summer camp before?" Dov stopped and shook his head. He held up a hand to interrupt whatever snide comment about to escape the blonde's red lips. It had only taken him a fraction of a second to remember the privileged life Gail Peck lived. "Never mind. Of course you haven't. Look. You have two choices Gail, you stay here and have some fun in the sun with your best pal Dov Epstein. Or you call your dad and get paraded around a police station by your mom as the next piece of the Peck dynasty."
The pursed lips and narrowed eyes told Dov which option she chose.
"Now. Play nice with whoever is in there and I will come get you in a bit for lunch." Dov waited for Gail to open the screen door before turning to leave.
"Ugh. Dov, what if there are happy girls in there?" Dov almost laughed at the look of disgust on her face. "What if they're all happy and peppy and smiling? What if they want to braid hair and paint nails and…Dov? What if they want to…talk to me?"
"Gail. No one wants to talk to you," laughed Dov as he left Gail there staring at the door in front of her.
Gail thought about running after him and slugging him in the arm until she remembered that she could just do it later without having to run. It would be more surprising out of nowhere anyways. Punching him while he's eating would probably be best. She pushed the door open and dragged her bags in before looking around. Lucky for her no one was there.
The room was small and seemed even smaller because there were 5 bunk beds taking up most of the space. Each bunk had two lockers pushed underneath it. Remembering what Dov said about the number of women she'd be sharing the room with, Gail got an idea.
Despite her small frame, Gail actually had a very athletic build because of her mother's constant training regimes. When you've had a personal trainer since you were 10, you tended to be in pretty good shape. This made pushing one of the sturdy wooden bunk frames into another rather simple. This formed a double bed in the corner giving the room a bit more breathing space and Gail a place to hide from her cabin mates. Being social was exhausting and she just knew summer camp was going to be draining.
She pulled her own sheets out of the duffle bag and used the fitted sheet on the inner mattress and the top sheet on the adjoined one. Then she used an extra sheet to hang over the side of the bunks so the beds became her own little Gail cave. She threw her bags onto the extra mattress, leaving a small entrance for her to crawl back to her own little hiding space.
"Damn. Wish I'd thought of that."
Gail jumped and smacked her head into the top bunk. She grabbed the back of her head as she fell to her knees, cursing.
"Oh no. I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to scare you." Suddenly a hand was on Gail's shoulder, another pulled the hand off the back of Gail's head. "Let me look."
With a shake of her head, Gail pushed away from the woman next to her and sat against the wall rubbing at the back of her head.
"I'm fine thanks," snapped the blonde. She barely let people she knew touch her, what made this stranger think she could. "Who are you?"
"Are you sure?"
Gail looked up. Her cold glare met warm eyes looking over her face. The woman herself would actually classify as quite stunning if not for her irritatingly close proximity. Her skin was a nice tan color that Gail could only dream of, thick brown hair fell around her face in wavy locks, and her eyes…well, her eyes were actually one of the few exceptions to Gail's personal belief that brown eyes were awful.
"Is there any particular reason you're this close to me?" Gail turned her head away and pushed herself off the floor.
"Well, I was going to check to see if you cracked your skull open but with your sunny disposition I can already tell that brain damage is more likely," the woman stood up and crossed her arms across her chest. She was taller than Gail by a couple inches and had a smirk on her face that irked her. "My name is Holly. Just came to grab something. I really didn't mean to scare you."
"You didn't scare me," huffed Gail.
"You just smashed your occipital lobe into a wooden bed frame," laughed Holly. Gail sat down on the bed and watched the brunette shake her head in defeat at Gail's narrowed eyes. "Whatever. If you start seeing double, come see me at the nurse's station."
With that, Holly turned and walked to another bunk. She pulled a bright red first aid kit from one of the lockboxes under the bed and was about to leave when she turned back to look over Gail once more.
"What?"
"Well, with the way you were just staring at my ass I figured I'd ask for your name," said Holly. Her mouth curved into that smirk again.
"Wow. Conceited much?" quipped Gail. She actually had been looking over the other woman's body. Holly was wearing short shorts and a tank top which showed off a very athletic build but she would call her mother willingly before admitting she had been looking at her ass. "I was just trying to decipher your nerd speak."
That smirk again. Gail glared.
"Occipital lobe? Didn't realize that was what constituted as nerd speak…" Holly was obviously still trying to get Gail to disclose her name. She figured she'd throw the woman a bone. Maybe it would get rid of her faster.
"Gail."
"Okay, Gail. Well, like I said, you start seeing double, you come see me." And with one last sideways smile, Holly was gone.
Gail let out a long sigh and laid back on the bed. She winced when the back of her head hit the mattress and rubbed at it again feeling a small lump. She hadn't even been at camp an hour and she was already tempted to call her father.