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CHAPTER THREE
The morning came too soon for Elsa Tremblay. That probably had a lot to do with just how many hours she had spent the night before, crying as silently as she could manage into her pillow. Dealing with a lot of unresolved feelings and estranged family was not part of the Peterhouse Bible Camp itinerary.
Still, the reveille sounded all the same, and she peeled herself out of the cold sheets, aching from not getting enough sleep to recharge herself. But despite that, she felt better in some ways.
Less anxious about the redhead still snoozing away peacefully on the other pillow in the room.
Anna, she thought, her pulse already quickening. It's Anna, it's ANNA. I can't believe I'm really bunking with her, and after all this time…
But she wouldn't let herself get her hopes up. No, too long had passed and too many bridges burned for her to accept her sister with open arms. Not simply from her insistences that she had been trying to contact her for several years with no response. It sounded preposterous!
As she showered, she tried not to think about how confident Anna seemed now. That was heartening, and infuriating, and depressing, all at the same time: heartening, because she was glad life had been kind enough to her that she was an independent young woman. Infuriating, because how dare she still be well-adjusted, despite their parents' crippling divorce! And depressing because…
She didn't need her. Clearly, she still wanted her in her life again, but the time for her to be the protective big sister, the one who meant the world to her, had come and gone. And thanks to circumstances beyond her control, said big sister had missed so much. So much that she could not get back.
Still blotting at her hair, she padded back into their room with a sigh. There was no use in trying to dissect everything; they still had weeks left open to them. She would give Anna enough rope to move, and she would either prove herself innocent, or hang herself with it instead.
Of course, the next thing she noticed prompted a small smirk. Leaning over Anna's form, she remarked loudly, "What, can't even get yourself up in the morning?"
An annoyed groan floated out as she was rudely awakened, glancing over at her sister with red-rimmed eyes. "What the hell, Elsa?!" The redhead looked out the window and upon seeing that it was still relatively dark outside, she gave the blonde an irritated glare. "It's too early for this."
Despite her earlier ire, and her lingering mistrust of Anna's insistences about their time apart, Elsa laughed. It was brief, but it was a real laugh, straight from the heart. After all this time, Anna still wasn't a morning person. "You're going to be late, and I don't think you have time for a shower now. Better learn to get up with the reveille."
Anna looked stunned at the sound of her sister laughing, annoyance pretty much gone in the wake of her surprise. She blinked owlishly a few times before grinning up at her. "I think I can live without a shower for one day," she chirped and hopped up with a stretch that made the muscles in her back pop. "So, what's on the agenda today?"
"Meeting our campers. I believe we're assigned the seventh- and eighth-graders, so they'll be pretty well-behaved." As she plopped back down on her bed and kicked off her shower shoes in favour of the roll of socks she'd left on her bed, she asked, "Did you sleep okay?"
Her sister nodded as she started digging around in her bag with her back turned to Elsa, searching for an appropriate pair of pants to wear with the dark green polo that was required. However, there was a slight hesitation when she said, "Yeah, like a baby. You?"
"Not so much." Catching herself at the last second, she explained, "I usually don't the first night." While it was true, guilt swirled in the pit of her stomach as she pulled on her socks and reached for her boots. It had been worse than usual, and not merely because they were at camp. But she couldn't let Anna know that, or she would ask more questions they didn't have time to answer.
Anna paused in her search at the blunt answer, turning her head to look at Elsa over her shoulder with a mix of concern and worry. At the hasty explanation, she nodded before making her way to the bathroom. "Hopefully you sleep better tonight, then," she said before shutting the door behind her.
Finishing up quickly, Elsa went over their roster and plans briefly while she waited for Anna to catch up. The first day was usually easy; introductions, exercises to help them get to know each other better. After dinner, there would be a bonfire, which was as much about lending the camp an air of mystique as it was giving the different cabins a chance to interact with each other, swap stories, and fill their faces with s'mores. The next day would be when all the activities and ministry would truly get rolling.
"Okay, let's go meet the kiddies," she said with an easy smile when she came out three minutes later, decked out in a pair of tight denim shorts, her wild hair tamed into her signature twin braids. Only the slight tension in her shoulders hinted that she wasn't nearly as relaxed as she looked.
"Hmm." When Anna only blinked at her, Elsa elaborated, eyes still pointed down at her sister's thighs, "Those are… a little tight for Bible camp, don't you think? And… short."
Anna looked down at the shorts in a surprise. "Are they? I always wear these and no one really says anything about them."
"Well… we don't really have time for you to change into anything else." Glancing at the door, then back to Anna, she sighed and said, "Let's go. If one of the other counselors says something, we'll worry about it then." Pulling open the front door, she gestured through it and said, "After you."
"My my, what a gentlelady," Anna teased lightly as she walked past her sister. Her hips swayed lightly with every step and she tossed a smile over her shoulder. "I'll race you!"
Elsa scarcely had a second to be flustered by such a provocative walk from her "baby sister" before she was snapped out of it. "What? Oh, Anna, surely you can't be-"
But Anna was already taking off down the path, laughing loudly, "Come on! You're just as slow as you were back then!"
Growling under her breath, Elsa took off running after her, despite her better judgment. She did like to get a good jog in if she could. Doing so with a less-than-ideal amount of sleep was no fun, but it did get her blood pumping, woke her up more fully.
As she had known from the beginning, she got to the main area a few steps behind Anna, panting and sweating. Already, she was going to look like a mess, and she had freshly showered! Out of breath, she snapped, "That… wasn't fair, I had no… warning!"
Anna was breathing hard with strands of strawberry blonde hair clinging to her forehead due to the sweat. She was bent over slightly, hands on her legs to help support herself. Every couple of breaths, a couple of giggles would escape. When Anna finally straightened up she was practically beaming.
"Lighten up, Your Majesty!" she panted. "We used to race all the time! Isn't it fun?"
"You… should have…" Finally, she stopped herself and took a deep breath in, then let it out slowly. "Alright… okay, it was pretty invigorating. But your 'win' doesn't count!" Against her better judgment, she was smiling right back at her sister as she tried to wipe some of the sweat off her temples and onto her longer, more modest khaki shorts.
"Fine. We won't count that win even though it's very obvious who kicked whose butt." Anna giggled some more before she looked over at the building they stopped in front of. "This is where we get breakfast and meet the kids, right?"
Smirking, Elsa finally seemed to have her wind back as she clapped Anna on the shoulder. It was very brief, but it seemed to be the most she could bring herself to do by way of physical contact. "Yeah. Breakfast first, and then introductions. Do you…" She had been going to ask something, but then thought better of it and fell silent. Maybe it was too soon.
Anna was too giddy from the excitement of both Elsa's good mood and the anticipation of meeting the kids to notice Elsa's near-slip of the tongue. With a big smile and shining eyes, she started towards the building. "Great! I'm starving!" Sighing in mingling relief and regret, the elder sister followed her.
Taking up her tray, she stood in line to get the scrambled eggs and sausages that were on the menu for that morning. While Anna split away to go sit with Rapunzel, Elsa began to head toward the table where Aurora and a few of the other "legacies" sat. She usually didn't eat with them, but it was a tradition for Elsa to have her first meal at camp with the others to discuss the future goings-on with the other counselors.
Aurora looked up from the papers she was reading. "Hello there, Elsa," she greeted pleasantly with a light smile. "Welcome back for another summer. I trust that God made this year a good one for you so far?" A couple of the other girls raised their heads to mumble out greetings before going back to their meals. "You seem In a good mood. Was it because of the new girl with you? It was very kind of you to lead her here this morning. Like a shepherd to a lost sheep." She chuckled.
"Yes, she's my…" Elsa hesitated. Maybe she shouldn't be quite so forthright; she wouldn't lie, and she wouldn't try to obscure the truth if anyone asked. But for now, when she was so unsure of how the summer would play out or how she and Anna might resolve the lingering hurt between them… "She's my bunkmate. Anna Saunders. We're in charge of Polar Bear House this year."
Aurora nodded unconcernedly. "So you get those sweet twins again this year, that must be nice. Belle and myself have the Moose House." The young brunette with a bright blue ribbon binding her hair back looked up from the bible she was reading at the sound of her name. "And I think Snow and Rapunzel have the Beaver House. You're lucky, getting the older kids two years in a row. Most of them are wonderful and they'll do great things for our Heavenly Father when they grow older."
"Agreed, they really will. We have a great group here at Peterhouse." Elsa's smile was genuine. While she didn't always like being at the camp, she did have a deep and abiding love for it. "Praise Him. I can't wait to get started today."
"Me either," Aurora agreed wholeheartedly before leaning into Elsa's side and lowering her voice. "Elsa, if I may mention… You might want to let Anna know that her choice of clothing is very inappropriate here. A woman's body is a sacred thing that should only be viewed by her husband, and if our girls see her flaunting that much skin around, it may tempt them to do the same. And that's not even mentioning the poor boys; we don't want any of our flock being swayed by the Devil, do we?" Aurora's voice was still sweet and light, as though she was talking of the weather. "So if you can just mention that to her and remind her that this is a holy place meant to nurture true faith and purity, that would be wonderful."
At that, Elsa had to smirk a little. "Why, afraid the boys won't be able to control themselves? Don't worry; I already warned her about the shorts. We were pressed for time, so I didn't think it prudent to make her change into something else and leave our poor campers wondering why they were only getting one counselor — and she wouldn't have found her way to their cabin as easily by herself if I left her behind."
"As long as she knows and doesn't do it again, I'll let it slide. Though as one of the Christian faith, she really should know this already." Aurora shrugged and went back to finishing her food. Belle gave Elsa a shy smile and a nod before ducking back to her book.
Anna had finished her food and was now advancing towards the table Elsa was sitting at, toying nervously with her fingers as she stopped and tapped her shoulder. "I'm ready to go when you are."
Looking over her shoulder, she forced a polite smile onto her face. "Very well, I'm also through." Though she hadn't eaten quite as much as she would have liked, she quickly downed the rest of her juice as she stood from the table; she would need that natural sugar above all else. "See you later, girls." There was a chorus of goodbyes as Anna and Elsa left the table.
Despite being not quite familiar with the area, Anna was walking slightly in front of her sister, looking around at the woods surrounding the camp with eyes filled with wonder. "Hey Elsa, we're free to do what we please on Saturdays and Sundays, right? Maybe you can take me hiking down some of these trails?" Anna turned to her with a bright smile. "You know, as some kind of crazy, trust exercise! Don't axe murder me, please?"
"Not really," Elsa had to inform her. "There aren't organised activities, but we're still supposed to help out on Saturdays; keep the kids in line. On Sundays we can do whatever we want, after morning services." Of course, she had sidestepped Anna's question about hiking the trails for the moment, but she wanted to make sure Anna knew they wouldn't just be able to run wild the minute the weekend hit.
"Oh." Anna shrugged, her smile not wavering. "That makes sense for us to keep the kiddies occupied during a weekend. So long as we get one day, I'm cool with that. I wonder if I can get permission to go into town for an afternoon so I can do some shopping…" Anna continued to ramble as they walked, occasionally stumbling on a stray branch or rock but somehow always managing to keep her footing while keeping up her chatter.
Following along, instinctively raising a hand whenever she saw Anna nearly trip, Elsa huffed, "Well… I wouldn't count on it this weekend, but maybe the next."
"I also need to get Papa a present," Anna continued as though Elsa hadn't spoken. "It's his birthday in a few weeks and I promised him I would find him something nice. 'Course, I'm pretty sure I can make a birdhouse that's ready to fall apart and he would love it." She giggled excitedly. "I need to get something for you, too. Your birthday is close too, isn't it? July… yeah, July 20th! I sent you a few things before but they would always get there a day or so late, so I'm sorry about that!"
"It doesn't matter, anyway; I never got any of them." Hearing just how bleak she had sounded in her response, Elsa cleared her throat and said, "Very well, I'll see if we can get away on Sunday. You'll probably need to buy a few more pairs of shorts, won't you? Ones that aren't so… inadequate for this camp."
Again, her eyes were drawn to the thigh flesh on display for the entire camp. A few of the boys from the boy cabins did glance at Anna, but despite Aurora's fears, they didn't seem to much care that her shorts were a couple of inches shorter than those of the sister behind her. No one was chasing after her, no one was fainting at the sight. Maybe it didn't matter too much, after all.
But Anna had frozen at Elsa's words, and the dull tone in which they were spoken, and she stared at Elsa in disbelief. None of the rest of what Elsa said mattered as she spoke up, "You never got any of my presents?" She was clearly trying hard not to yell as the upset mounted. "I don't believe that! The snow globe with the two sisters skating I sent when you turned sixteen? The snowflake bracelet I saved up almost two years of my allowance for to celebrate your eighteenth?" She stared hard at her sister and her voice went soft with pain. "N-Not even the pi-picture frame I made you for last year? I went after hours to the school's woodworking class every day for weeks, trying to get it right a-and I made sure to paint it perfectly, and I even put my favourite picture of me and you in it…" She bit her lip and looked away. "You didn't get any of it?"
All through the words, Elsa had been feeling more and more frustrated. But perhaps not for the reason her sister expected. "Alright, Anna, alright. I don't know if these stories are supposed to make you feel better, but… I already told you, I'm not convinced." But hearing how harsh that was falling, she softened her voice; estranged or not, she was still her sister. "You have to see it from my perspective. What proof have I had of any presents or letters, or anything at all over the past… what, five years? That is a long, long time to go without any word."
"So you just think I'm lying?" Anna asked, her eyes reflecting hurt and anger despite Elsa's attempt to ease the blow. She shook her head. "Elsa, why would I lie about this?"
"I don't know why. But I also don't know why Mother would lie about it, either. Where does that put me?" When she saw Anna's expression, she sighed, running a hand down her own face. "Let's just… get started with the campers. Doesn't that make more sense than quibbling over something neither of us can prove?"
It took a few seconds for Anna to regain her composure before she nodded. "Alright, let's go." The cheer in her voice was clearly faked, as was the smile that Anna cast as she started walking away. "We'll meet them and play with them, and just have a merry old time."
"Anna…" But she had already left. Having no better idea of what to say to her than she already had, Elsa rolled her eyes up toward the sky, silently begging God to help her get through such an ordeal.
To Be Continued…