Sunday was the last day before the campers arrived. They were scheduled to break up into their groups and do some team exercises, then meet up in the afternoon and get to know all the other peer counselors and staff, officially starting the season with the opening campfire. The owner of the camp wanted all his "kids" to feel like a family, and he regularly got them all together to try and foster that feeling. The campfire was like a big party. There was food, music and singing. S'mores! Everyone had such a great time. It was one of Morgan's favorite parts of the season.

She was looking forward to the campfire that evening, but not so much a morning trying to get along with Kayden. Why did Kathy have to leave? On her last summer here, at that! Kathy let the lifeguards just hang out in her cabin and chill. She was sure Frownie McFrown Face would have some stupid trust building exercise or something dumb planned. Rope course. It's probably the rope course, she thought.

The blonde pair said their goodbyes to the remaining bunkmates, slipped on their flip-flops and made their way down to the pool. The chlorinated air hit her nostrils as they approached, and Morgan let out an appreciative sigh. Something about a pool just made her so happy. It was everything fun and summertime. No one could be unhappy at a pool.

When they walked through the chain-link gate, they spotted the rest of the lifeguards sitting on the benches near the lockers. There were eight of them total, plus a few seniors and one actual adult employee, who'd already taken off after unlocking the gates. The group took turns keeping the pool safe, and maintaining watch down at the lake when activities were scheduled. Admittedly, Morgan spent more time up here. She didn't really care for swimming in the lake, or dealing with the dumb kids not listening to instructions when it came to the big inflatables they had. There had been an unfortunate incident a few years back, and being down there still bothered her.

They all mingled, introducing themselves to those they didn't know, and catching up with the ones they did. One of them happened to glance at the clock on the wall, and the discussions shifted to whether they were all there at the wrong time.

"No, I'm sure it said 10:00."

"Maybe it was a typo?"

"Free-day?" followed by laughter.

"Jay would know," Serena uttered. "Hey, where is he, anyway?"

As if on cue, a sharp whistle erupted from across the pool. Jayden entered, and was flanked on his right by a clipboard-wielding Kayden. Both were in their Red Cross red board shorts and a crisp white t-shirt. Jayden was also sporting the red visor, but Kayden just had on a pair of dark aviators, which Morgan thought made him look like he was trying too hard.

Morgan rolled her eyes at the sight as the pair made their way to the group.

Kayden checked his watch. "Twenty minutes in, and no one had the initiative to start pool maintenance? I see no one is in their uniform, either." He started writing on his clipboard.

"Oh. My. God." Morgan mouthed to Serena, who was looking utterly perplexed. This was way worse than the rope course. And she stood corrected, someone could be unhappy at a pool. Kayden. Of course Kayden could turn the best place in the world into something unfun.

The morning went painfully slow, and by the time they were released for the afternoon, all Morgan wanted to do was take a long nap. Instead, she was met by her far more chipper bunkmates, who all wanted to take their time getting ready for the bonfire later, including Serena, who should have been as exhausted as she was. Morgan decided to pay that last fact no mind and join in with the group, seeing who managed to pack what extras in their summer bags.

Molly had metal bangles and extra earrings to share.

Maddie had brought an eyeshadow palette she agreed to pass around, to which Amy supplied q-tips, citing why sharing was bad and how makeup brushes were full of bacteria.

Rae and Serena had a few tops they were willing to share. Morgan grabbed a cute red one, leaving the others to bicker over the rest. Maddie thanked them for offering to share, but cited "reasons" for not taking them up on the offer, while gesturing at her larger boobs.

Morgan offered to help with hair. "Miss Congeniality" played in the background as the group excitedly took their time getting ready. Morgan would be spending most of her summer bare-faced, clad in her swimsuit or shorts and a camp t-shirt, so getting dolled up felt like a bit of a special occasion. They wouldn't do this again until nearly the end of the season when they planned and threw the end of camp dance.

When they were all ready, the group of girls piled out of the old bunk house and made their way to the campfire site nestled in an open field near the treeline behind the auditorium. They passed some of the actual staff and other counselors on their way, who must've been setting things up, splitting their group to make room on the walkway. Mr. Anderson, the owner of the camp, greeted them when they arrived. He gave a warm hug to those who offered him one, which ended up being Morgan and Serena, and shared a quick story about getting the two confused with each other when they were younger to the others, eliciting a chuckle or two. Mr. Anderson was such a warm, kind, funny old man. He really did make everyone feel at home here.

Silver caught her eye, and she glanced over, only to see her nemesis, Kayden, setting up coolers by a portable grill, with his clipboard nearby, of course.

How the two could possibly be related was beyond her.

Sweet Mr. Anderson finished his stories and welcomed the girls to relax and have fun, then excused himself. The group split respectively, Molly and Serena heading over to get a snack, Madelyn and Amy went to see if anyone needed help setting anything up, and that left Rae and Morgan surveying the landscape.

"Looks like the girls are all hovering around the food," said Rae.

"And all the boys are hanging around the horseshoes and cornhole boards. Wanna show them up?" Morgan challenged, eyebrows raised. "I'll play the dumb blonde, to make them feel like they've got a chance. What do you say?"

Rae nodded and the two bounded in that direction, determined to bruise some egos.

After winning more than she'd lost, Morgan left to go get herself and Rae a Gatorade. Serena was at the table set up with drinks when she got there, talking to someone Morgan had never seen before. He was tall, college-aged, and had a thick head of ebony hair.

"Lifeguard, huh? Well, anyone rescued by you is extra lucky," Morgan overheard the man say, and watched as her cousin's cheeks flushed.

Morgan approached and cleared her throat. The two sheepishly looked her way as she put two fingers in the air. "Two blue Gatorades, please?"

The man nodded and grabbed two plastic bottles from the coolers on his side of the table.

"Thanks!" Morgan said as she looped her arm through Serena's and dragged her off with her, leaving the other blonde trying to wave goodbye and mouth the word "sorry" as she was led away.

"Who was that?" Morgan asked, trying to sound as casual as possible.

"Who? Darien?"

"He has a name!" she teased.

Serena shoved her cousin. "Yes. He does."

"Who is he, though? I've never seen him here before. And we've been coming here a long time."

"Oh. Well, he said he goes to school with Mr. Anderson's grandson, and that's who talked him into taking the summer job here. He's regular staff, though. I met him in the office earlier. He's super nice."

Kayden. Morgan tried to let the venom fade before she spoke. "Well, don't forget page six of the handbook. 'No dating.' Stay out of trouble, okay?"

Serena stared at her in disbelief, jaw slack for a moment before laughing. "Who's the rule jockey now? You sound like Kayden!"

Morgan gasped. How dare she. "Take that BACK!"

Serena laughed some more and took off running. "Never!"