"You know, I never thought dinner would take so much out of me." Jack admitted with a sigh. The camp's first dinner was as hectic as Hiccup remembered, but the warning he gave Jack did nothing to prepare him.

"Don't worry; the first dinner is always the craziest." Hiccup said with a chuckle "At least the campers didn't start a food fight like they did last year."

Hiccup remembered his first dinner at the camp back when he was camper. It was so chaotic that Hiccup still can't tell if it really happened. At a camp of nearly 100 campers every meal is loud, but the first dinner is just hours after the campers arrive. With everyone trying to find old friends and new campers running around with no idea what's going on, it can be difficult for counselors to keep control over their cabins.

"I don't think I even have the energy to go through another dinner let alone the rest of the summer," said Jack as the two counselors walked towards the campfire "how do you do this every summer?"

"You'll get used to it," Hiccup replied, looking to the smoke rising above the trees "have you ever been to a campfire Frost? They can have more energy in them than dinner." Hiccup inquired, almost tripping over a root in the trail.

"I hope you mean energy as in the whole camp spirit thing." Jack stated as he laughed at Hiccup's clumsiness. They approached the campfire where the entire camp had slowly trickled to from dinner. The campfire was surrounded by rows of benches resembling logs, similar to the ones you see in the summer camp movies Jack's girlfriend made him watch.

The campers were seated with girls on one side and boys on the other. They all sat around in small groups made up of longtime friends and now a new camper or two. The counselors were the last to walk in, all of them walking behind the benches to watch the campers.

"Alright campers," yelled a blond-haired counselor "due to tonight's forecast of thunderstorms we have to skip the traditional sing-along and go straight for the s'mores. Head counselors," he continued "gather up your campers after they get their s'mores from the table and take them quickly back to the cabins."

Campers rushed towards the tables stacked high with graham crackers, chocolate, and marshmallows. A couple counselors started putting out the fire as there was no time to roast the marshmallows before the storm hit. At that perfect moment, the storm hit.

"Frost!" bellowed Hiccup "Run to the cabin and close the windows. I'll gather the campers."

Jack sprinted off to the cabin. The windows had been left wide open to cool off the cabin before lights out.

Well, Jack thought it looks like I won't be getting a shower tonight. I was hoping not to have to smell anyone til at least halfway through the summer.

When Jack ran up the steps of the cabin, the rain had already soaked through his shirt. The inside of the cabin, Jack saw, wasn't completely soaked as he'd expected. A couple of the bunks by the windows were damp, but he'd arrived just in time to close the windows. Sitting down on his bed, Jack took out his phone which he was forbidden to use in front of the campers.

There was a message from Jemima:

Hey Jack, I'm sorry for exploding on you last week and I'm sorry for not calling you until now. I'm super stressed out right now with my parents harassing me and trying to get through summer classes. I'm making enough at the restaurant to get by, but I miss having you here. Message me when you can.

Besides needing the money from working at camp to care for the baby, Jack needed to get away from Jem. Her moods swings had been getting worse as she got further along. At 7 months Jem's mood swings had stopped, but Jack was already packing for camp.

Hey Jem, I just got your message. I'm not sure when I'll be able to talk, but I'll try getting some alone time whenever I can. Hope you and the baby are alright.

Jack heard the door knob turn and threw his phone back into his bag. Hiccup and some soaked to the bone campers ran into the cabin. The boys immediately started changing into dry clothes.

"Okay, something happened before we got here." Hiccup stated as he slowly sat down next to Jack. "Care to tell?"

"Not in front of the campers Hiccup." Jack sighed. "What now?"

"I suppose we send the campers to bed, and we start planning tomorrow's activities." Hiccup handed Jack a paper "This is the list of activities, pick out a couple you're interested in."

[line break]

"Hic, I think the boys are asleep." Jack whispered.

"Looks good from up here" Hiccup replied.

The two counselors quietly got out of their beds and went out onto the porch.

"I didn't think Alex would ever go to sleep." Jack said, annoyed it took an hour for the boy to fall asleep.

"He was the way last summer," Hiccup replied "Now what activities did you pick out." Leaning against the rails.

"Well I thought arts and crafts would be nice, and what about track and field?" Jack reported.

"Fun ones they are," Hiccup agreed "we have the assigned activities of the river hike and basketball, so those should fill the empty spots for tomorrow."

"Is it this easy to plan activities all summer?" Jack wondered aloud.

'Not always, especially when you want lake time on a hot day." Hiccup answered "Get some sleep, you'll need it."