"Yes, yes, I love you too mom." Abby said exasperatedly as her mother hugged her for the twentieth time. "It's just a few weeks away at some dumb camp for the sports kids." Ty snickered to which Abby and Petunia shot him a glare.
"I know it is sweetie but I just really am not use to you kids going away for so long so I'm just trying to give you a lot of love. Oh!" She pulled Abby into one last hug before Abby boarded the bus.
"Bring me something back please!" Ty yelled to Abby with a laugh, waving to her as the bus doors closed. The girl rolled her eyes at her brothers request and looked for a spot to sit in, noting Paige and her cronies sitting amongst the cheer leading squad.
"Hey Abby." Paige called. "You excited for weeks away from this place and our parents super vision?" She gave a wink and a majority of the cheer leaders laughed. Abby rolled her eyes good naturedly and smiled.
"Yeah, as ready as I can be." She wasn't so sure to call Paige her friend yet but they had definitely been on better terms than before, their rivalry having died down to friendly competition now. A friendship could happen if they hung out more.
As she browsed the bus for a seat, a waving hand caught her eye. "You can sit with me Abby." It was Naomi. She was attending this trip along with the dance group she was in.
"Thanks." Abby sat, giving an appreciative smile before the bus drove off. At first, Abby was pretty contempt with just riding in silence until she noticed Greg staring from across the bus. He gave a wave and Abby couldn't help but get flustered and wave back, unable to keep the small noise from leaving her mouth. Greg laughed quietly and turned back to talking with his friends. He was only here because he was part of the year book club and was going to be taking photos of this whole event.
Abby, embarrassed of her actions, buried her face in her hands with a groan. That noise was not flattering in any way. It almost sounded like a pig getting strangled.
"What's wrong Abby? Are you getting car sick?" Naomi asked, placing a hand gently on her shoulder.
"What? No." Abby sat back up and sighed. "No, it's nothing. I'm just, uh, I was just collecting myself." Abby looked forward, noticing Paige giving her a 'What was that?' type of face. She shook her head and Paige dismissed it. The rest of the bus ride was driven with silence from Abby.
When they finally arrived, the group of students hurriedly rushed out of the bus to stretch and examine the place. It was like a much nicer camp Kaibo and much bigger. Abby looked around the camp with the other students before all were ushered into what she assumed to be the mess hall, with it's tables and kitchen area.
"Students," Principle Robertson called, gesturing for them to all hush. "I'm glad you're all as excited about this as I am but I need you all to please shush for a minute while the camp instructor introduces himself and gets you all settled." She stepped aside, allowing for a shorter, portly man, in his mid thirties to step up in her place. He had a bushy black mustache and eyebrows to match and looked serious, like he'd never been happy or ever would be and his attire matched that of a P.E. coach with a blue polo shirt, black shorts, a white baseball cap, and white shoes.
"Alright students!" He shouted, his voice husky and showing his age. "For the next four weeks, I will be your camp counselor! Your principle and teachers will be leaving you all with me so that we can have weeks of fun. I, of course, will not be working alone and will be helped by my two assistants."
On cue, a boy and a girl in their early to mid twenties stepped out, standing at each of his sides. "I am Counselor Cornelius but you can just call me Counselor Corn for short." This got most of the students laughing. "Yes, glad that worked." He mumbled before continuing. "And these two are my niece and nephew, David and Darla." The two waved at the students, smiling wide. They both looked fit and happy, the picture perfect idea of camp guidance. "Any questions?" Corn asked, surveying the students as he passed them up. After a long silence, he nodded, letting the principal take over again.
"Well, students, I hope you all have a great time here. You've earned it and I, along with two other teachers and a bus driver, will be back for you in four weeks. Have a good one!" She waved as she left back to the bus with the two other teachers. The students watched them go before a whistle was blown, catching their attention. Corn had blown it and was now pointing to both his niece and nephew.
"David and Darla here will take you all to your cabins and sort you out while I get lunch ready with the chefs and prep for the activities tomorrow."
"Guys, follow me!" David called.
"And ladies, with me!" Darla added. The students were separated and already feeling anxious and excited, all at once, now that the teachers and principle were gone.
Abby along with the rest of the female student body followed Darla to one side of the camp while she began to recite rules.
"So, no leaving the cabins past curfew which is at 9pm. Do not go anywhere near the guys cabins unless instructed to do so. Do not vandalize, do not steal food or any materials, do not harass or fight while on camp, and do not mess with any wild animals you might see." Darla was checking off all these rules on a clip board she had while Abby and a majority of the girls rolled their eyes.
Finally, they came to the cabins and Darla did roll call while simultaneously sending the students and their new roommates the cabins. Abby's cabin was the last to be called. "Cabin 7, your students are Abigail Archer, Naomi Fitspa, Paige Logan, and Marge Terrins." The five girls headed into their cabin, Darla yelling to all the students that lunch would be ready in an hour.
As the door closed behind Marge, she started laughing, saying "Wow, Paige, doesn't she remind you of yourself when you get into your 'oh, I'm in charge' mode? Well, you know, except she's nice about it."
"Oh, shut up Marge. I am not like that." Paige snapped, hiding her smile as she started unpacking. Abby hadn't formally met Marge before but did recognize her as one of the girls that would help her set up for plays and that was also part of the volleyball team. She had dark skin and long lushes hair but, like Abby, she had it tied back in a ponytail.
With a sigh, she decided to just lie down for now and unpack later, choosing the lower bunk from one of the two bunk beds in the room. Naomi climbed to the top bunk and smiled down at her. "You tired already Abby? But it's only the first day."
The red head shook her head in response. "No, I'm not tired. I just, ugh, I feel kind of dumb about that weird noise I made earlier in front of Greg when he waved at me."
"You mean the pig snarl?" Paige asked, both her and Marge laughing.
"Yes!" Abby said, covering her face, the embarrassment washing over her again. "How can I face him after making that noise?"
"Hey, don't sweat it Abby." Marge said, waving her hand. "People mess up in front of the people they like all the time. It's normal and I'm sure Greg isn't going to mock you about it or anything. He might mention it but he seems like a nice guy."
"And he's not." Paige added, dreamily staring out the window toward the boys cabins. "I wonder why he's single."
"Maybe he has a crush on someone?" Naomi suggested, bringing a course of agreement from the other three.
"If he does, I hope it's me!" Paige said, getting a glare from Abby. "What? I'm just being honest. I know you like him and that's cool but, like, I also like him. So..." She trailed off, Abby only narrowing her eyes.
"So...what?" She asked, but Paige only shrugged.
"So ya'll gotta fight! Duke it out and the winner gets to be Gregs love interest!" Marge declared, laughing. The three girls all laughed before moving on from the subject, discussing what activities would be awaiting them in the following weeks. Abby was genuinely having a good time talking, momentarily getting lost in the conversation and forgetting her earlier woe. And then the whistle was blown, calling them all to have lunch.
As the group made their way there, Abby became more excited about the weeks to come, feeling that she was going to have a great time here. Her mood was only made better as she got a wave from a certain blonde boy in the mess hall, sitting a couple of tables away with his friends.