It didn't fully hit Brooklyn what was going on and where she was until about ten o' clock that same night, when she lay awake in bed. Cabin call was at nine and lights out was nine thirty for the juniors, but they all knew it was impossible to fall asleep that early. Especially on the first night.

Brooke turned her head to see Calico and Stevie whispering and giggling, their bottom-bunk mattresses close together. They seemed well awake, and actually kind of… made up. She rolled over and put on her glasses. She saw that both of them were clearly wearing makeup. Calico wore her signature, winged eyeliner cat eyes look, complete with shimmering eye shadow, and Stevie had stained red lips. Huh. It was actually more makeup then they were wearing today. Why would anyone wear makeup to bed?

Then again, this was Camp Lake Echo. It only took Brooklyn a couple of hours after arriving to realize how strange everybody was. She couldn't explain why, people were just so…different. Camp wasn't at all like school, where everybody was afraid to stand out. Here everybody wanted to stand out. The drama goers sang show-tunes at their table, the hard-core lacrosse players pulled over extra seats just for their sticks, and the artists made sculptures out of their empty soda cans. And Brooklyn's table, of course gossiped. She couldn't lie: she knew she liked it. After all, she was the biggest gossip in her friend group back at home. Although camp life still hadn't sunk in at the time, she actually was interested in why Stevie was suspended, the reason Peanut broke up with her boyfriend, and how Calico got revenge on the biggest bitches in school on the last day.

Brooklyn loved how open Camp Lake Echo Cabin Laguna had been. The girls all had personalities that made you want to tell them all your deepest, darkest secrets. All except for Ditty, that was. Ditty was… and interesting girl. She wasn't quiet, and she wasn't loud. But somehow, Brooklyn always felt like she was always being judged by her. She assumed the other girls were just used to Ditty's strange mannerisms by now.

But seriously…makeup to bed? Brooklyn slightly lifted her head off of the sinking pillow and looked around. Scout was wearing makeup too. As was Ditty and Peanut. Everybody was dressed up… everybody except her that was. Brooke contemplated asking… then realized that was a newbie thing to do. As if she didn't feel enough like an outside, she didn't want to ask a stupid question.

And with that thought, her head dropped, and she dozed off.

Giggles soon surrounded her.

Then a tap.

More giggles.

Slowly, Brooklyn lifted her tired and heavy eyelids. There was a breath on her neck just as soon as Scout came into focus in front of her. Scout must have been standing on the bottom bunk for her head to reach Brooke on top.

Before Brooklyn could even mumble a word, Scout's hand plopped over her mouth. Brooke nervously looked up, down, left and right. Things were getting weird. She couldn't believe that she once thought Scout was the normal one.

Scout motioned down, probably for Brooklyn to retreat down the bunks latter. She followed the probable direction. Scout continued to put a finger over her own lips, making a soft hushing noise. When Brooke's feet finally touched the cold wooden floor, Scout grabbed her wrist and pulled her left toward the bathroom, slowly opened the door, and basically threw Brooke in.

"What is going on!?" Brooke asked in a somewhat loud whisper.

"Eeeh!" Scout shrieked, flapping her hands with glee. "It's Friday!"

Brooke stared at her for a while, questioning her sanity. "So what you're saying is..." Brooklyn took a deep breath. "You woke me up in the middle of the night, wouldn't allow me to speak, and dragged me into the cabin bathroom just to tell me that it's Friday." Scout nodded her head excitedly; the look on her face was like a child's on Christmas day. "Are you insane?!" Brooklyn couldn't help but raise her voice.

"Shh!" Scout silenced. "I don't think you understand. Well, of course you don't understand, you're a newbie. But 'Fridays' aren't just 'Fridays' to the Laguna and Sierra campers." She paused seeing Brooke's confused face. "Sierra's the cabin next door. Jay and Harmony and stuff go there- whatever. Anyway, we have a tradition on Fridays. Every Friday night at eleven, we sneak out and go meet the boys on their side of the lake, at Bonfire Beach. It's a blast I swear."

Brooklyn had so many questions. "So everyone in Laguna's going?"

"Everyone except for Spinner, obviously. They've actually already left. They're outside the cabin, waiting for you! It's already…" She checked her watch. "Ten fifty! Quick! Get dressed and stuff!"

"My clothes are in my luggage under my bed I should probably-"

"Don't worry about it." Scout stopped her and motioned towards the luggage in the corner of the bathroom near the toilet. "Borrow something of mine."

"Like what?"

Scout looked down at her outfit. She fashioned a tight red scoop neck cropped top, with a pair of black, high waisted, sailor-looking shorts. The look was completed with brown Hollister flip flops, and her natural, wavy blond locks flowing down her back.

Brooklyn, however, was a mess.

She turned to the mirror. Her brown hair was a complete rat's nest for sleeping on it for an hour. Her pores were still opened from the shower she took a while ago. And, she was still wearing her retainer. The Laguna and Sierra girls were probably impatiently waiting outside for her. She had to work some magic fast.

All at once, Brooklyn popped contacts in her eyes while brushing her teeth as Scout rummaged through the luggage for an outfit. Next, Brooke attempted to comb her frizzy hair as Scout held out a pair of shorts for her to step into. Then, Scout gave Brooke a loose fishtail braid while Brooke made herself up with concealer, blush, eye shadow, eyeliner, and mascara. And she filled in her eyebrows. All in less than ten minutes. By eleven o' clock, she was perfect (And late).

She and Scout rushed outside, quietly, so that they wouldn't wake Spinner. There, they were (quickly) greeted by the Laguna girls, and girls Brooke didn't know, who must've been from Sierra. It wasn't until then that she thought about eleven twenty, when she realized why Calico and Stevie were made up: they weren't going to sleep; they would stay up until it was time to meet the boys. Why hadn't anyone bothered to tell Brooklyn about plans with the boys anyway?

Who exactly were the boys anyway? So Brooke asked Stevie.

"Um, who are we going to meet, anyway?"

"The boys, of course!" Stevie responded.

"Yeah, but, who are 'the boys'?" Brooklyn was starting to get nervous. Were these "boys" drug- dealers or something?

Stevie giggled. "Just some guys from Pentland and Shangrila. They're all pretty cool. I guess you'll meet them soon."

"Oh."

"Shh!" A girl with black hair from Sierra jumped in front of the crowd of ten girls.

"That's Winks," Scout whispered in Brooklyn's ear. "She gets her name because she's a huge flirt with the boys."

Winks' hands were on her hips. "We're about to pass the dining hall and Tilly's house. If she hears us and sends us back, I'm slaughtering each one of you in your sleep tonight!" Her face was dead serious.

From the camp pamphlet, Brooke knew who Tilly was. Ana Marie Tilly and James Tilly founded Lake Echo over one hundred years ago. The Tilly's great granddaughter, Lidia, and her husband, Robert lived in the Tilly house on the property, and monitored Lake Echo. And apparently, they were not happy campers.

The camp was laid out very oddly. The lake, Lake Echo, was in the center of everything. To the left of Echo were the girls' cabins, along with the tennis courts, the fencing arena, the arts and crafts center, the stables and the theatre. To the right was the boys cabins, and lots of water activities like canoeing, sailing water skiing and swimming were set up along Bonfire Beach. Climbing walls and courses, sports fields, and hiking trails were also available. Connecting both sides, over the lake, there was a thin strip of land that the campers called "The Mainland." Along The Mainland was the staff lounge, the informatory, the Dining Hall, and of course, the Tilly house. The girls were currently approaching The Mainland.

All at once, everybody dropped to the ground. Except for Brooklyn. As Brooke looked around, a hand grabbed her and pulled her to the dirt ground. She turned and saw Ditty was the culprit who pulled her down.

"What are you, retarded?" Ditty said in a hushed tone, with her eyebrows raised. The first thing Brooklyn noticed about her was how much her brown eyes popped against her thick dark eyeliner and eye shadow, and her hair being pushed out of her face with a ponytail.

"Uh, what?" Brooke replied.

"That's the Tilly house right there!" She pointed as she crawled on the floor along with the other girls, and Brooke following. "We have to crawl against that wall and below that kitchen window so she doesn't see us. She's usually still in her kitchen around this time of night."

Brooklyn was seriously sick of being the new girl.

The girls crawled past the house, with silent words and heavy breaths. All of their hands were brown from dirt by the time they reached the boys side. Then, the girls broke out into a run. All of them seemed to know there was except Brooklyn who tried to stick to Scout's side, and Scout didn't object. She graciously smiled at Brooke and even added a "come on!" before running a bit faster.

And finally, the girls reached Bonfire Beach.