Thanks for all your positive feedback! I'm really enjoying writing this story. I'm really happy with how this chapter turned out. Yes, to clarify things, the CITs are the Glee Project contestants (minus the other two girls whose names I forgot) except one who is an OC based on a camper I worked with. Hope you enjoy this chapter. Comment if I should keep going!
Chapter 4: Sparkles
Precamp was already over and it was time for the first group of kids to arrive.
The CIT director, Justin, had given Finn and Rachel the parent-camper questionnaires for the CITs while he met with the other administrative staff. After having lunch and having met with the whole staff at the all staff meeting, Finn and Rachel were sitting on the green, wearing the staff uniform (khaki shorts and a yellow polo shirt with "Camp Potomac Ledge Staff 2011" and a campfire embroidered in the lapel), reading over the sheets as they waited for the CITs to arrive. There would be twelve CITs, six boys and five girls.
One of the returning counselors passed Finn and Rachel. "Oh, you two are with the CITs, right?"
Finn and Rachel nodded.
"Just warning you," Bailey said, "there's one who's mildly crazy."
"Which one?" Finn asked.
"Her name is Delia, but she has people call her Sparkles," Bailey said. "She's just nuts. Last year she tried to run away from camp for attention. She's 18 this year, this is her third year doing it."
Finn and Rachel exchanged a look. "We're 17!" Rachel gasped.
"Well, you two may be 17, but you're a lot more mature than she is," Bailey said. "Besides, Justin knows her so you two should be fine."
"Do you have her sheet?" Finn asked Rachel.
Rachel reached into the binder and found a sheet for Delia Bell. "Let's check it out."
Delia Bell is planning to attend the CIT program at Camp Potomac Ledge.
This is Delia's 12th year at Camp Potomac Ledge. She has participated in the following overnight experiences: Camp Potomac Ledge for the past 11 years, school overnight trips, sleepovers.
I want her to go to camp because she loves it. While at camp I hope she will learn how to be more mature and also hope she will become more responsible.
My daughter is most happy when she gets her way, is unhappy when she doesn't get her way, gets excited about showers, likes to eat VERY few foods – she is a VERY picky eater, is afraid of natural disasters and is looking forward to being back at camp. She has expressed the following anxieties about camp: She is hoping that since this is her third year as a CIT she will get more responsibility.
If my child misses home, I suggest the following: get her a little gift or a treat.
She may have the following special needs at camp: Delia has SEVERE anger management issues. If she doesn't get her way she WILL most definitely throw a fit of some sort. Her temper is more frightening than that of most toddlers and may involve physically hurting others, throwing things, etc. To avoid this, ALWAYS let her work with the groups she wants to work with, do the activities she wants, etc.
Other comments I have: She loves Camp Potomac Ledge and dreams of working here. She wanted to work here this summer but was not hired, so she's doing CIT again.
CAMPER PORTION:
My name is Delia Rose Bell. My friends call me Sparkles.
I am 18 years old. I have 0 brothers, 0 sisters and pets guinea pigs and fish.
I am coming to camp because I want to work there but they wouldn't hire me so I'm going to be a CIT again.
I hope we do the following at camp: have dance parties and ride the horses.
Last summer I was a CIT.
This spring I am finishing the twelfth grade.
Rachel gulped and looked at Finn as she finished reading. What were these girls' parents thinking? They probably felt like they couldn't take her anymore and were sending her to camp to get a break. "How are we going to do this?" Rachel thought out loud.
Finn groaned. "I don't know – the other kids sound very qualified. But her – we're going to have to watch her every minute!"
"I'm already terrified!" Rachel groaned.
Justin came over and handed Finn the CIT binder. "Finn, Rachel, I probably won't be with the CITs at all today. That means today, you two are handling the CITs. Handle rules, orientation, planning. Set up when you two want your time off. I'll see you two later."
"Wait!" Rachel called.
"What is it?" Justin asked.
"We're both under 18!" Rachel gasped.
"If you're both with them, that's fine," Justin called while walking away. "Two of you equals one adult."
Rachel gulped and looked at Finn. She didn't know if she could handle Delia – er, Sparkles – with only one other inexperienced counselor. It was only their first day as active counselors. And the TRAINED CIT director wasn't going to be around to help them?
"We can do this," Rachel whispered to Finn.
"Yes we can," Finn whispered. They looked around the green as campers began to arrive. The Unit Leaders were greeting the campers at the entrance and bringing them down to the green to be with their counselors.
Finally, one of the unit leaders approached Finn and Rachel with two boys. "Finn, Rachel, this is Damian and Cameron. They're CITs."
At least these boys seemed normal. Rachel smiled at them. "Hi, I'm Rachel. This is Finn. We're your counselors."
"Awesome!" Damian said. "The two of us have been coming to this camp together since we were eight. We actually met here at camp, so we decided to do CIT together and become counselors here together."
"We're actually both new counselors here this year, so you can help us learn the ropes at camp," Finn said.
"Who else is doing CIT?" Cameron asked.
Rachel got out the list and handed it to the boys. "Recognize any of these names?"
"OH MY GOD, SPARKLES!" Cameron shouted before he and Damian started laughing.
"Sparkles?" Rachel asked, knowing what the boys meant.
"She's an absolute nutball!" Damian laughed.
"How so?" Finn asked.
"You'll find out when she gets here," Damian said. "She's eighteen, we're both fifteen, but we act a lot older than her."
When a brunette girl approached the CIT table, Rachel began to grow nervous. Was this Sparkles? Luckily, her nerves left quickly when the girl introduced herself as Lindsay. Finn and Rachel were talking with Damian, Cameron and Lindsay about what they wanted to do during their time at camp when Will and Emma approached with a heavy blond girl with a pouty look on her face. "Finn, Rachel, this is Delia. She likes to be called Sparkles. She's one of your CITs."
"Hi... Sparkles," Rachel said, trying her best to cover up that she wasn't happy to see this girl. "I'm Rachel. This is Finn. We're your counselors."
Finn nodded. "And this is Lindsay, and Damian, and Cameron. They're other CITs."
"Hi!" Sparkles said giddily. "I missed you, Damian. I missed you too, Cameron."
The two boys exchanged a look.
"Hey Finn, Rachel, if you don't mind me asking, how old are you guys?" Sparkles asked.
"Why?" Finn asked.
"Because you two look young," Sparkles protested. "I'm eighteen. How old are you two?"
Rachel looked at Finn and groaned. Already, she didn't like Sparkles.
Shortly after a redhead girl named Hannah, a skinny blond girl named Marissa and a boy with dreads named Samuel joined the group. Sparkles didn't give up even when Finn and Rachel tried to introduce the new CITs. "Finn, Rachel, how old are you guys for goodness sakes?"
"Shut up Sparkles, no matter how old they are, they're in charge, so give them a break! They don't have to tell you!" Lindsay shouted.
"Thank you, Lindsay," Rachel sighed.
Within minutes, three boys (named Bryce, Mattheus and Alex) arrived. Sparkles continued to pester Finn and Rachel about their ages as they tried to talk to the other CITs about what they wanted to do with their time at camp. When the final CIT, a girl named Emily, arrived, they decided to just play a game with the CITs that the camp used for the younger kids. Feeling clueless, they asked each CIT to tell them their name, how old they are, if they'd been to camp before, why they were a CIT and what they wanted to do at camp. As each person spoke, it came to Sparkles. "My name is Sparkles, I'm eighteen, I've been coming to this camp since I was five, I want to be a CIT because I WANTED to work here this summer but they didn't hire me and this summer I want to FIND OUT HOW OLD FINN AND RACHEL ARE!"
Finn rolled his eyes. "We're seventeen. Happy now, Sparkles?"
"WHAT?" Sparkles shouted. "You're seventeen? I"m eighteen! That's SO not fair!"
"STOP IT SPARKLES! I'm already so sick of you!" Lindsay snapped.
"Okay, enough," Rachel said, knowing that if they got into an argument she'd most definitely be biased towards Lindsay. "We have to line up for health checks anyway. Line up alphabetically by last name."
Luckily, Sparkles didn't complain as the CITs lined up. As Finn and Rachel led them to the health center, Finn leaned down and whispered to Rachel, "What are we supposed to do about her?"
Rachel groaned. "I don't even know."
"She seems like the type who will argue that white is black, and black is white," Finn sighed as the nurse came out to talk to the CITs. Rachel was sure Sparkles would be terrified by Sue. Sue stepped outside.
"Hello, CITs. I'm Sue Sylvester, your camp nurse. Let me fill you guys in on something. It's summer. It's hot. Don't come here because you're hot. If you're hot, go sit in the shade and drink water. Most aches can be cured by ice. DO NOT come here unless it's an absolute emergency."
Sparkles ran up to Finn and Rachel. "Finn, Rachel, I don't like her!"
Rachel sighed. "Sparkles, she has to check you to make sure everything's okay."
"But she's scary!" Sparkles moaned. "I don't want her touching my body!"
"Then stay healthy and we won't have to worry about this again," Finn whispered.
"Delia Bell?" Finn and Rachel turned, seeing Sue standing in the door.
"My name is Sparkles!" Sparkles moaned.
"Come in for your health check!" Sue demanded.
Sparkles stormed in, then stormed out. "I'm not going back there. She's so weird. She always sounds angry and she was just..."
Rachel didn't listen to Sparkles's rant. She just looked at Finn, who looked disgusted.
When everyone's health checks were finished (everyone was declared in good physical health, though Rachel and Finn both questioned Sparkles's mental health. On the way to dinner, Sparkles asked what was for dinner. When she found out it was the usual Sunday night dinner of hot dogs, burgers, watermelon, corn, fries and brownies, Sparkles began whining about how all that food except the watermelon was too high calorie. Tired of her crap already, Finn and Rachel tried to ignore her as they planned the week with the other CITs. Sparkles was just loading up her plate with watermelon. She was most difficult when they planned cookout meals. Twice a week the camp had cookouts in their units. Sparkles rejected every food choice the other CITs suggested - foil dinners, pie iron pizzas, tacos, spaghetti, hot dogs, breakfast for dinner, quessadillas, kabobs. From what Finn and Rachel picked up, the only food Sparkles wanted for dinner was LOBSTER. There was no way they could even make that!
Sparkles whined during the camp tour, complaining that she already knew where everything was. After the tour Rachel and Finn realized the CITs needed to unpack, but since only one of them couldn't be alone with the CITs, they went to the boys cabin for the boys to unpack first, which predictably led to complaints from Sparkles. As the boys unpacked and the girls helped with the unpacking, Finn and Rachel did the paperwork Justin (who still had not shown himself) was supposed to do for the day. Finn left the boys with the counselors of the younger kids in the cabin and walked Rachel and the girls back to the cabin they were sharing with the 8-11 year old girls in the cooking group. Right before he left, Finn leaned and whispered to Rachel, "Good luck with living with Sparkles!"
Rachel groaned as she watched Finn leave. She proceeded to help the girls unpack, finding a cell phone and an iPod in Sparkles's suitcase. Feeling exhausted already, she said good night to the girls and went to bed, conking out almost immediately.
At about midnight, Rachel felt someone shaking her. She looked up to see Marissa and Emily standing at her bedside. "Hey, what's up?" Rachel mumbled.
"Sparkles told us to get you. She wet the bed," Emily whispered.
Rachel shook her head in disgust and stood up, walking into the campers' sleeping room to find all the young campers sound asleep and Sparkles whimpering on her bed. Rachel pulled out the spare bedding, quickly made a new bed for Sparkles and stumbled to the poolhouse to wash Sparkles's bedding. She had no idea how she would be able to handle this girl.