When most kids think of camp, the first thing that comes to mind is summer. The warm air, the refreshing water, shorts, the pool...these are all things associated with camp.
This isn't necessarily the case for the kids at Camp Silver Cliff.
Of course they have camp in the summer, what kind of camp would it be if they don't have a summer session? But this particular camp has two sessions: one during summer break, and one during winter break.
Honestly, it's just like any other camp, just different activities during the winter, of course. Instead of long hikes there's snowball fights, ice skating instead of swimming, hot chocolate instead of ice cream. No matter the season, each of the kids loved camp more than anything. One of those campers - Katniss Everdeen - is now a counselor, and that is where our story begins...
My boots crunch against the blanket of snow as I walk towards the meeting hall, my breath coming out as puffs of white smoke against the cold. A small smile forms on my face as the building comes into view, bustling with people on the inside. I finally made it to my second home: camp.
Ever since I was a kid I've been going to this camp, and it's truly my favorite place to spend my time during the winter and summer, I couldn't imagine not going here. You see, this is techincally a camp for troubled children, but not all of the kids are troubled, just a good portion of them. I guess with my dad being dead and my mom off in her own little world, I fell into that category of a "troubled kid".
I'll never forget the days I spent here during the summer and winter - laughing, playing games, and making friends I would never get the chance to meet back home. To me, this is the happiest place on earth.
But, my days as a camper are long over and I'm now a counselor helping the kids that just need to take a break from their normal lives, even if just for a couple weeks. Most of the counselors, like me, used to be campers, therefore we all grew up with each other in this camp. Every now and then we get a new counselor, but it's highly unlikely. There's no need to introduce myself to anyone as I make my way up the stairs into the meeting hall, looking at the familiar faces around me.
My thoughts are interrupted by someone calling my name from across the room. I look up and roll my eyes at Finnick, smiling slightly. He motions over to where he's sitting, pointing to the chair next to him. I walk over and let my bag fall to the floor, looking around the room. The meeting hall is set up like usual, a small stage in front of a cluster of chairs, sofas and tables pressed up against the walls, with a fire place on each side of the room, illuminating the room with their warmth.
"So, how've you been?" Finnick looks up at me, lifting an eyebrow. Finnick used to be one of my good friends from my camper days - and he still is. He's always trying to get me to help him hook up with the other girls. I don't mind though, I actually find it kind of humorous to see him flirt with all the girls. He tried to do the same to me once, but needless to say that didn't work out too well. As of today we're just good friends, nothing more.
"Pretty good, actually." I smile, sitting down next to him and adjusting my hat, smoothing out my braid. "I've missed it here." I shrug, looking around, noticing that all of the counselors are pretty much already here, filling up the chairs around me and bustling with excitement.
"But you've missed me most right?" He smirks, earning another eye roll from me as I sit back against my chair, looking up right as Effie steps onto the small stage. Ugh, Effie. Now don't get me wrong, I love Effie to death. She's the greatest Activities Director a camp could have. Just sometimes, her perkiness can get to be a bit much.
"Hello Everyone!" She grins excitedly, walking to the center of the stage. This year she's sporting her newest hair color change, bright red. (There's a new color every season, you never know what to expect.) "Please, take a seat, as usual the announcements are about to begin."
The room fills with the sound of bustling feet, everyone joining in the seats around Finnick and I. As I stare up at Effie's new hair, wondering how it's even possible to get your hair that bright red, I notice someone quietly sit in the chair next to me. I glance over and do a double take at the person sitting next to me.
He's new, I'm positive of it. He has wavy blonde hair, and stunning blue eyes. As I stare at him a strange feeling of déjà vu washes over me. I know him from somewhere... As he glances over at me, it hits me. My mouth falls open slightly as he offers a small smile to me. "I know you!" I smile slightly, hardly believing he's sitting in front of me. "You-"
I'm interrupted my Effie clearing her throat, calling the attention back to her. I steal a small glance over at him before turning back to Effie, focusing my attention on her. It dawns on me how strange I was just acting, staring at the poor guy like a weirdo. I cringe slightly thinking about how I must of looked, sighing. Good job, Everdeen, always socially awkward.
"It's so good to have you all back here this winter. I'm sure this will be the greatest winter session ever!" She starts over-enthusiastically, repeating the same speech she gives every season. "Now, the campers will be here in about an hour, so we are very short on time. You can find your counselor lanyard at the back tables, as well as your cabin assignment and camper list. Please don't loose these, as we all know Haymitch will probably never get around to replacing them." She says, glancing back at the grumpy looking man at the back of the building.
Haymitch- He's the camp director. And a lazy camp director at that. He pretty much just makes Effie do all the work while he sits back and eats the food. He gives an unappreciative grunt before going back to his nap, causing the rest of us to snicker before Effie continues. "I won't keep you any longer, good luck with your campers and remember: Have fun!" She bounces off the stage as the rest of us stand up, shuffling to the back of the room with our bags.
There's ten of us counselors, so it's not too hard to find my name on the table. I grab my lanyard along with the papers on the table, heading out into the crisp, cold air. I look down at the papers as I walk towards the cabins. Cabin number 7. I shrug, slightly as I turn to the list of campers, looking over the list of girls I have this winter. As I'm walking, I bump into someone, looking up at muttering "Sorry." before falling into step next to them. I glance up, smiling at the blonde again.
"Hey, I remember you." I smile as he looks over at me. "You went to camp one year and I haven't seen you since. It's...Peter, right?" I lift an eyebrow hopefully, knowing I'm probably wrong.
He chuckles slightly, holding up his lanyard. "Peeta." He glances down at my lanyard, his face filling with recognition as he reads my name. "Oh yeah, I do know you." He smiles, "You're that girl who got hit by the baseball, right?"
I sigh, remembering that story. "We don't speak of that." I joke, smiling, but then nodding. "Yeah, that would be me...You only went to camp that one year, what happened?" I raise an eyebrow, glancing up at him.
"My dad got a new job offer and we moved." He shrugs slightly, looking down at me. "But it didn't really work out, so here I am." He smiles.
I nod knowingly before we continue the walk in silence, catching up with the other counselors. "Just to let you know," Finnick announces, turning around and walking backwards through the snow, "My team is totally going to destroy all of your teams." He shrugs, smirking cockily, "So just go ahead and accept it now before it's too painful to accept."
"Oh will you shut up already." Johanna shakes her head, pushing him to almost cause him to fall. I laugh slightly, shaking my head with the others. Johanna was one of the "troubled kids" along with me. She was in foster care as a kid and could be pretty ruthless. By now we all know not to mess with her, but Finnick still pushes the limit.
"Yeah, we all know my team is going to win. Or Clove's." Cato adds in from the back. I throw a look back at him, rolling my eyes. Cato and Clove were the most snarkiest counselors, along with Glimmer and Marvel. They can get pretty annoying at times.
I glance around for a moment, furrowing my eyebrows. "Wait," I start, shaking my head in confusion. "There's only nine of us here, where's the last person?" I raise an eyebrow, surprised that I didn't catch that earlier.
"I overheard Effie say that one of the girls got stuck in snow on the way, she'll be here soon." Foxface leans over and tells me. Foxface is one the most observant person I've ever met. She's pretty sneaky when she needs to be. Foxface is just her nickname, to be honest I'm not even sure what her real name is. One year someone called her Foxface and it just stuck, it's even printed on her lanyard. "She's new." She adds afterwards.
"Ooo, a new girl." Finnick lifts his eyebrows, grinning as we reach the cabins. "What a delightful surprise." We all groan, staring up at the sky.
"Here we go again." Johanna mumbles, sighing.
We all head off to our cabins, ready to get settled. I walk up to the porch of my cabin, using the key on my lanyard to open the door before stepping inside. The heater is already on, filling the room with warmth. The cabin is fairly simple, three sets of bunkbeds pressed against the wall with a couple dressers pressed near the beds.
I set my bag on one of the bottom beds in the middle of the room, that way I can keep an eye on all of the girls. I quickly unpack my things into a drawer before sitting back onto the bed, sighing and reading over my list of campers. A small smile forms on my face as I lean against the wall. I know this is going to be one of the best weeks of my life.