Chapter 6: Welcome Back To Camp Luna

"Welcome to the woods, campers!" a friendly counselor chirped when the kids arrived at camp.

Rockett had stepped off of the bus feeling a bit drowsy. Napping on buses was quite difficult, especially when there were twenty kids or so screaming and laughing the entire way.

"We are going to have a blast this summer!" the counselor declared. "So, without further ado, let's make some introductions! I'm Melody, your main go-to-girl. If you need anything througout camp, just say the word..."

'How about a ride home?' Rockett thought glumly.

"...Or if you just want a totally-fun counselor to hang around with, you just let me know. That's cool too."

'Peppy much?'

"I'm ready to meet all of you in the mess hall for our first activity. So, come on down, scouts! This is going to be SO awesome!"

'I really doubt it.'

Jessie caught the look on Rockett's face. "C'mon, Rockett. You heard Melody - this is going to be a blast."

Rockett snapped to. She knew that this was Jessie's first time at the camp, and she definitely didn't want to ruin it for her. It was time for her glum child to take a time-out...at least until summer was over.

"You bet it will, Jessie," Rockett replied, pasting on a huge, fake grin. Unbelievably, Jessie bought it, much to Rockett's surprise.

'Okay...I guess this might work. Faking a good ol' time at camp for the rest of the summer might be a trying process. But, hey, maybe I can trick myself into having a good time,' Rockett thought.

"In fact, I'll be right back," she said to Jessie. "Can't forget about my suitcase."

Rockett hurried back to the bus. The busier she kept herself, the less she'd think about camp. The less she thought about camp, the less she'd think about the fact that Ruben wasn't coming. The less she thought about Ruben, the less she'd miss him.

"Oooof!"

Rockett checked her head for blood. Luckily, there was none. She was totally fine. Well, except for the fact that she'd just run face-first into the back of the bus. At the last second, a suitcase fell out, barely missing her.

"Whoa, an accident already? We haven't even gone canoeing yet," teased a friendly voice.

Before Rockett could respond, a hand reached out and pulled her up from the hard ground.

"Ruben?"

She blinked, taking in to account the person who had just reached out to help her. He was tall and tan, and on his lips her wore a big, friendly grin. His large, green eyes stared warmly at her.

"No...Davis," her hero replied.

"Oh," Rockett stammered. "Sorry, I guess I kind of blacked-out there for a minute. I was just coming over here to get my suitcase."

The boy walked over toward the back of the bus and hoisted out a medium purple suitcase, decorated with sparkling stars and crescent moons. "This yours?" he asked.

"Yeah," Rockett replied, stepping forward. "How did you know?"

The boy smiled and shrugged. "It was a lucky guess, I guess..." he said as he handed her the suitcase.

Rockett didn't buy it. "I don't believe you," she admitted.

The boy broke out into an even huger grin. "Okay. You want to know the secret? I can always spy out another artist. Always."

Rockett blushed. She knew she was an artist, but hearing it from a totally random stranger was a big deal.

"Thanks," she replied. "So what kind of art are you into? Music, cooking, painting?"

Davis just grinned. "Tell me your name first."

"My name? Rockett."

"Rockett. Nice name. Even your parents are artsy, huh?"

"Very," Rockett replied. "My mom is actually a collage artist."

"That's sick!" Davis exclaimed. "My brother's going to start studying that as soon as the school year starts back up again. It's gonna be his new thing. Completely amazing, if you ask me."

"Yeah, I totally agree. It's a majorly choice hobby!" Rockett said excitedly. She couldn't contain herself. Art was her passion. "In fact, I may even help my mom design some collages when I get back from camp."

Davis nodded. "Takin' a couple pictures here?"

"Of course," Rockett grinned. "I mean, I never go anywhere without my camera."

"You just never know when some cool moment is gonna happen, and you have to take an instant still," Davis continued.

"Exactly!" Rockett exclaimed.

The bell rang for a second, and then the speakers kicked in. "Howdy-ho, campers! It is now time to meet up in the mess hall! Please join us for an introduction to the greatest camp on earth, as well as your activity list! We'll start the first activity once everyone arrives, so don't be late!"

"Wow, they're calling us in, already? Rockett asked. 'That was fast!' she thought to herself. 'How long have I been out here talking to Davis? I wonder if everyone else is already inside...'

"Yeah, I guess we can finish unloading everything later - I just hope no creepy counselors touch any of my stuff," Davis laughed.

Rockett laughed too. "Yeah! No kidding. Well, I've gotta get to the mess hall, but it was nice meeting you, Davis. And, hey, thanks again for helping me out, like with my suitcase and stuff."

Davis smiled. "No problem at all, Rockett. So I'll see you later?"

"Sure," Rockett replied as she scooped up her luggage. "Later!"

Back in the mess hall, Rockett found her friends sitting at a table near the front.

"Hey, Jess," Rockett said as she took the seat next to her.

"Hi, Rockett. You look better - getting into the camp vibe?" Jessie asked.

Rockett laughed. "Maybe just a bit. But, I met this cool artist guy over by the bus. I think he's new."

"Wow, that's pretty neat," Jessie replied. "Maybe you can introduce me later, but let's see what the first activity is."

Rockett nodded as the two girls quieted down.

"Welcome to Camp Luna!" Melody exclaimed. "Now before you make a run for your cabins, I'd like to announce our first activity: horseback riding! So when you're ready, come on up and see me to find out which cabin you'll be staying in. Once everyone's situated, we'll meet at the stables."

Rockett wrinkled her nose. Horseback riding? She certainly didn't remember signing up for THAT activity last year. But on the other hand, she was going to stay positive and roll with the punches...and the horses. She'd be up for anything.

"Mystic maiden!" a familiar voice called.

Well, almost anything.

Rockett turned around. "Oh, uh, hey Arnold. What's up? You excited for horseback riding?"

Arnold snorted. "Not exactly thrilled about riding around on some stingy, repulsive animal. But I am excited for tonight. The boys who pranked me last year won't know what hit them," he said mischieviously.

Pranks? Rockett suddenly remembered Ruben, and how he wanted her to continue his pranking streak.

"Oh! Pranks! Sounds fun, Arnold. Maybe I'll be helping you out. But, I gotta run and check email before we leave. See ya!"

"Wow, Rockett!" Jessie marveled when the girls arrived at their cabin. "This is way cool!"

"It is, isn't it, Jess?" Rockett said as the girls unpacked their belongings. "It's even bigger than last year's cabin."

"And much nicer if I do say so myself," Nicole Whittaker added. "Now there's a whole entire shower left for moí. Stephanie, do me a favour and let me have the bed as far away from the window as possible. I don't want any nasty losers trying to bother me again this year."

Rockett tried to hide her amusement. She remembered last year when Ruben and the others snuck some spiders into Nicole's bed. It seemed like a difficult job to pull off, but lucky for them, Nicole not only slept right next to the window, but she also slept like a dead person. And she snored. Loud.

'If Nicole's sleeping in the back, than I'm sleeping in the front,' Rockett decided. 'No way is she going to keep ME up again with that snoring. Talk about scary.'

Rockett finished unpacking and checked her pc for new messages.

There was one from Meg, and one from Ruben since she'd last replied.

To: Rockett Movado

From: Meg Durrand

Subject: "Hey!"

Hey, best friend!

So, how's camp so far? Enjoying the great outdoors? Email me back with all the details. I gotta stay up-to-date! And let me know if you're still planning on pulling off all of those great pranks you mentioned earlier.

Rock on!

-Meg

Rockett hit 'reply' to respond to Meg's message.

Hey, Meggie Muffin!

Camp isn't...terrible so far. Well, okay, I'll admit. It's actually going pretty great. They've just added horseback riding to the new activity list. At first, I was a bit worried, but I'm sure it should be fine (I'm trying to distract myself by trying out all these new and different things). And our cabin this year is really awesome - it's totally huge and everything. But let me tell you the best part: I met this totally cool artist when I was unloading my stuff for camp. His name's Davis. I'll tell you more about camp later. We're about to go to our first activity, and I wanna check my remaining message. Wish me luck at the stables!

-Rockett

Rockett hit 'send' and quickly checked her email from Ruben.

Hey, chica! Check it out:

'When new girl hits camp,

Everything goes loco

Mischief left and right

Slippin' bugs in Nic's cocoa

Steph falls in the river

And begins to shiver

Outta sight!

There's mischief left and right

Mischief left and right...'

Muchos gracias, Rockett!

Stay tuned for more letras later on! Until then,

-Ruben

PS, I miss you :)

Rockett smiled at the message. Ruben was definitely a creative genius, alright. And a weird one at that. She couldn't wait to fill him in on camp so far - like about the cabin, and how Nicole had a nervous breakdown when she'd be sharing a bathroom with the rest of the cabin, and how Arnold was planning major revenge on the guys who'd pranked him last year and how she'd met an artist like herself when she'd first arrived, and-

"Rockett!" Jessie cut into Rockett's thoughts. "Hey, whatcha looking at?" she asked when she noticed Rockett staring into her pc. "C'mon! We don't want to be late for our first activity. Let's go!"

Rockett followed as Jessie pulled her out the door. When they entered the mess hall, Rockett asked, "What are we doing in here? Change of activities or something?"

"I hope so," Nicole interjected. "Because there is no way they're making ME, Nicole Ann Whittaker, ride on a dirty, smelly horse. Talk about HIDEOUS!"

Rockett frowned. Didn't Nicole love horseback riding? What was the problem there?

"So NOT, Nicole," Nicole's best friend, Stephanie Hollis, piped up. Everyone at Whistling Pines knew that Stephanie was a major animal-lover. "Horses are gorgeous animals," she said. "They're very smart and agile. And please stop complaining, just because you don't get to ride your own horse at your grandmother's. These horses are just fine. Trust me."

Nicole sniffed, "The only horse who is worth riding is my own darling Reginald. I refuse to ride any others."

Rockett wondered what Whitney Weiss would have said if she would have been there. Whitney, who was the third member of Nicole and Stephanie's clique, never attended camp, since she was off visiting her mother in Austria during the summer.

"Attention!" Melody interrupted as the students continued to babble throughout the mess hall. Rockett glanced up. "Thank you," Melody said once everything had calmed down. "Before we go horseback riding, we have a few rules we need to go over. In order to keep Camp Luna a fun, safe place for everyone, we need to abide by the rules. Our motto is 'friendship,' so if anyone looks left-out, we need to extend a hand and show kindness."

Cleve and Max laughed. "Friendship," they said slowly as the held up their palms to Arnold Zeitbaum.

Just as Arnold was about to slap them five, the boys withdrew their hands. "Psych!"

Rockett rolled her eyes. They could be so immature sometimes.

Melody continued on with the rules. "Yes, promoting friendship is our most important rule. Now on to the others, which are just as important: there is to be no horseback riding without saddles, no getting too close to the fire during the camp roast this evening, no straying away from the cabins after ten, no hiking without a buddy, and finally, no electronics. Excluding cell phones, of course, if you need to make a call to your parents, but we limit you to one phone call per day."

Rockett did a double-take. No electronics? How in the world was she supposed to use her pc? Rockett raised her hand.

"This isn't school, Movado," Max teased.

Rockett ignored him. But before she could say a word, Melody spoke up again.

"I know this is summer and all, but we still need to be respectful of the nature around us, so no walkmans, headsets or pocket computers. Is that clear? Goodie! I know we're going to all have a super time, as long as we abide by the rules! Now, you in the middle row? With the red hair? Did you have a question?"

Rockett froze. "Uh...yeah. When are we uhm..." Rockett tried her best to come up with a new question. "...Um...going horseback riding?

Melody eagerly tapped the schedule she was holding. "Right now!" she answered cheerily.

From where she was sitting, Rockett could see Sharla roll her eyes, Nicole smirk and Cleve and Max laugh. It was pretty clear their new camp counselor was a taaad too perky for their liking.

As the kids begin to file out of the mess hall, Rockett found Jessie. "So, you ready to do this thing or what?" she asked her, a bit nervously.

Jessie grinned. "I'm totally ready! This is great! I haven't been horseback riding in months!"

Rockett blinked. 'Months?'

Rockett herself had never actually been on a horse before. She hoped everything would be alright.