[Disclaimer: Newsies belongs to Disney, of course. Characters from the CC belong to their creators; everyone else belongs to me, I guess. Wow, I'm not used to OC disclaimers at all.]
How I Spent My Summer Vacation
(Chapter Two: Check In Day)
Jack stared out at the lake, a cigarette in one hand and a cup of coffee clutched in the other. It was past sunrise, but still early morning, and a slight mist was rising off the water.
"No smoking on camp property," came a reminder behind him.
Jack flicked the ashes from the end of the cigarette.
"Or at least, keep it behind the boat shed or staff housings, like everyone else."
He took a final drag and gave up, dropped the cigarette to the wooden deck and crushed the remaining cinders with a sneaker before the wood could singe.
"...And don't forget to hide the evidence," someone else reminded him, a female voice this time.
"You two come out here to make out or what?" Jack asked, turning away from the lake to face the two who'd interrupted him, kicking the cigarette off the deck and under a bush as he turned. Both of the people who'd joined him were senior councilors at the camp, several years older than he was, and they hid the fact that they were dating about as effectively as Jack hid his cigarette addiction.
"Came to check on you, actually," Paint offered. She was the younger of the two and her camp name matched the paint stains on her official camp T-shirt, excusable because she was, after all, the arts and crafts councilor.
"Why'd you want to do that?"
"'Cause it's your first year as a councilor," put in Paint's boyfriend, Sneakers, the archery councilor. "And you're barely older than the kids. Most of them were your bunkmates last year... Thought you might be nervous."
"I'm fine."
"Come on, it's breakfast. We've only got an hour before check in starts."
"I figured I'd spend the last hour without campers in peace," Jack answered.
"The lake is awfully peaceful," Paint acknowledged. "Well, if you're sure you're okay..."
"Sneakers!"
The voice cut through the calm; it wasn't obnoxious, just loud. In unison, the three councilors turned to see one of the camp administrators waving a clipboard at them. "We finalized the bunk assignments!"
"Yeah, fine," Sneakers called back, and the clipboard bearing camp nurse came to join them. "So?"
"So, well... The way it works out, we will be putting a new boy in Pentland with you."
"You sure that's a good idea?" Jack asked. He'd lived in Pentland the summer before, when he was still a mere camper; Pentland was the bunk traditionally reserved for boys who'd been at the camp for five or six years, at least. They all already knew each other and had established cliques, which made it difficult for new kids to break in.
"I wouldn't worry. The boys in Pentland are... Nice," the nurse said.
Sneakers and Jack shot each other suspicious looks. "Nice," Jack repeated slowly. "Not quite the word I'd have picked. They are the same kids who were there last year, right?"
"Well, the new boy's name is David, and I'm sure you can look out for him, Sneakers," the nurse finished, cheerfully ignoring Jack's comment. "I've got to go hand out meds, and don't forget to drink a lot of water if you're carrying luggage up and down hills all day."
*
"ÉAnd I want you to write home every day, or at least once a week. Oh, I'm just going to miss you so much, it'll be so different not to have the three of you around the house!"
David bit back the urge to point out that if his mother was going to miss having him around the house, she maybe shouldn't force him to go to camp to begin with. But that seemed futile at this point; they'd had the argument a handful of times already, and here he was, standing in a dirt parking lot with a trunk and bags of bedding lying in the dust at his feet, while his mother enthusiastically hugged each of her children in turn.
"Now, David, try and have a good time, please?" she begged. "Promise me you'll try?"
"Yes, Mom," he groaned. "I'll try."
"That's my boy." She pinched his cheeks and he winced, then gave her the obligatory kiss on the cheek in return. He half-hugged his father and watched silently as his parents got back into the car for the trip home, abandoning their three children for the next eight weeks.
He had to admit that the check in process was streamlined; no sooner than they'd unpacked the family station wagon had the camp nurse checked off their names and waved down councilors to help move their things into bunks and get them set up. The three councilors had already assured their parents they'd be taken care of, and so Esther and Mayer left without even seeing the main camp grounds.
Well, without really seeing them. A good amount was visible from the parking lot, as the camp was built on a fairly steep hill that sloped down towards the lake, leveling out only for a few playing fields in the middle. If it hadn't been for a few trees in the way, the whole of the main camp grounds would have been visible.
Sarah and the female councilor who was helping her gathered her things. She took enough time before heading off to hiss in David's ear, "Remember, we've never seen each other before. And we're definitely not related."
"Just like school," he answered, and made a face at her back as she walked away.
"So, Les," the councilor whose nametag identified him as Cowboy started, picking up a few bags, "is this your first time at camp?"
"Yeah," Les said. "Are you a real cowboy?"
"Well, when I ain't here for the summer, I work on a ranch in New Mexico... So yeah, I guess I'm a real cowboy."
Les's eyes went wide, but before David could stop himself, he said snidely, "Yeah, sure, I'll bet all the ranch hands out west talk with a thick New York accent."
The councilor started to answer, then stopped and shrugged instead. He shot David an agreeable grin, apparently not too upset that he'd been caught.
The other councilor, Sneakers according to his nametag, snickered and elbowed Cowboy in the side. "C'mon, both bunks are this way. This is the boy's half of camp; the girl's half looks just about the same, but if you're caught over there you're in a lot of trouble, so don't get too curious."
David nodded a little, paying more attention to trying to memorize the path they were taking than the speech—though he did wonder if the speech had been prewritten, or just delivered enough times that Sneakers didn't have to think about it as he spoke. It seemed just a little too smooth.
Cowboy and Les chattered back and forth as the group walked, until their paths split, and David's began to slope back uphill. He panted a little bit, not used to the steep hills or rough terrain. "Don't worry, you'll be in good shape by the end of the summer. Play soccer?"
"No."
"Too bad; camp was always the best way for me to get in shape for the season. There." He stopped and pointed through a few trees, towards two large bunks. "I'm your bunk councilor, my name's Sneakers."
"Yeah, I figured. I can read real well."
"That's better than most of your bunkmates." Sneakers rolled his eyes, as they approached the cabins. They were almost identical, built with a door on either end and a large porch out front. Lots of windows, electricity—not all the cabins had it, according to the camp brochure, and David was relieved to see his did—and bathrooms inside. The senior units were the nicest ones in the camp. Thank God for small favors...
They walked up the steps to the bunk labeled Pentland.
*
"So who's back this summer?" Blink asked.
"Jack's a councilor now, Rich and Rob are, too," Mush said, sitting backwards on a chair and leaning over the top of the back.
"Sneakers and Paint were up at check in," Racetrack put in from his position lying on his bed.
"And I ran into a lot of people down at the waterfront," Snitch added, bouncing a tennis ball off the wall and catching it. "Swinger and her sister, and Hotshot, and your best friend, Blink."
"Don't tell me."
"Smurf," he finished.
Blink groaned and kicked the leg of the bed he was sitting on. "Well, that's just great."
"It won't be so bad," Mush reassured him, standing up and turning the chair around so he could sit more comfortably. "Come on, it's our last year, let's make the best of it."
"Yeah. Hey, ain't it Spot's third year?"
"Hey, it is," Snitch agreed, and rubbed his hands together in anticipation. "I totally call hazing him. It's gonna be fun."
"Speaking of hazing," Blink murmured, and nodded towards the doorway. Their newest bunkmate—the only one they'd never met before—had finally arrived.
[End Chapter Two]
AN: So that's Pentland. I wasn't quite sure how to introduce David to his bunkmates, so I decided to cut the chapter and, uh, worry about that next time. I know it's kinda short, and hopefully starting next time (you know, when the actual plot develops—yes, there's an actual plot) they'll have a bit more going on in them.
Because I am a geek, I actually worked out the housing assignments for all of the canon characters and most of the OCs I received. Pentland Bunk has Sneakers as the councilor, with David, Racetrack, Snitch, Skittery, Blink and Mush living inside; Ferguson Bunk has most of the other canon boys, except a few who I made councilors. (The briefly mentioned Rich and Rob, for example, are Specs and Dutchy.)
Thanks for all of the feedback and the answers to my CC. I'm not sure how many characters I'm going to be able to use (or how prominently) but I'm really excited to have so many fun people to torment play with. Mwaha.
Thanks again for reading, and feel free to review if you've got a minute. :-)
Shoutouts! 22 reviews? Eeep! I'll try to keep this short. ;)
Girl Without Fandom - I hadn't even thought of the Happy World Land until I read your review, heh. But my sister and I regularly play "spot the car" on car trips, much to our parents' great annoyance.
Artemis-chan - Yay for summer camp staff! Woo! I hope you liked the update.
Shimmerwings - You have the best sense of timing ever. I got your review in my fourth hour straight of studying for my stats final, right as it was finally breaking my will to live. Your review made me very, very happy and I can't wait to see those OCs. ;)
Jay-bug - I'm glad you like it, even though it's modern day! I really wanted to try modern newsies, and wanted to try and do something a bit differentÉ I hope it works out okay. Thanks for reading! ;)
Flare - Yes. Torturing David is far too much fun, and there will be lots of it coming up. Mwahahahahahah. Thanks for answering the CC!
Skinflint - I haven't seen that one, I'll check for it... Also, yay for Peanut Butter Cup obsessions! And yay for tiny toons. ("Possums?" "Gators." "Dinner theater?" "Main course." "Options?" "One." "Bolt?" "Bingo." Man, and that's without having seen it in years... I'm so sad.) Thanks for reading. ;)
Shortie - I think I've seen bits and pieces of Camp Nowhere... All I really remember is that the cabin had a giant peace sign on it, though. Glad you're enjoying, can't wait to see an OC from you!
Smartass - Glad you enjoyed. ;) I'm not quite sure why I see Esther as compulsively correcting grammar (I may be channeling my mom a bit) but I'm glad it works. Hee. Poooooor widdle Davey.
Asp - The sibling rivalry is far too much fun to write. Thus, there will be more. Mwahaha... ::cackle:: Thanks for reading. ;)
Omni - No problem, here's more.
Sureshot - The insomniac!Race story is pretty close to done, it's being beta read and finished up. So hopefully, not too long. ;) I don't know which characters are going to end up with romantic plots and which aren't yet, so I don't know if Race will have a girl at all.
Angel 'o' Harmony - Yay for early 90's Nick! I really wish they'd put that stuff back on the air, it was so much better than what's on todayÉ ::sulk:: I think I sent you the CC information, but realized I might have forgotten. If for some reason you didn't get it, let me know and I'll get it to you.
Lee - ::eats cookie:: I occasionally put on my MP3 of the theme song just to see who in the room recognizes it and who just thinks I'm on crack, lol. Truly an anthem for our generationÉ OrÉ SomethingÉ
Sparker - Thanks for the encouragement and the OC! ;)
Stage - Glad you're interested, and I hope it proved to be AU pretty quickly... o.O;
Glitz - Thanks for reviewing, I'm glad you're enjoying it.
Lute - Pete & Pete ruled! One of my friends apparently has a channel that shows that and Clarissa at home, and promised to record it for me. I'm waaaaay too excited about that. (Sadly, no Salute Your Shorts or Roundhouse. Alas.) Thanks for the characters; playing with them is going to be fuuuun. ("Uh... Curly, do you have any idea what your sister is talking about? We can't understand a word she says anymore..." Mwahahahaha. Or something.)
Hotshot - I always had a great time at camp, actually, and imagine it would have been even more fun with newsies, lol. (Sadly, none of my camps were co-ed. That's the strange thing about girlscouts, they're all, well, girls.) Here's your update. ;)
Gothic Author - ::backs away slowly:: Lol, actually I'm doing quite a bit of cackling myself. Time management skills? What are those?
Polecat - Yay for early 90s Nick! I miss Snick so much... Alas. And thanks for responding to the CC as well. ;)
Cards - Dude, any excuse not to clean your room is a good one. At least, so it always goes for meÉ ;) Glad you enjoyed.
Dreamer - Thanks for responding to the CC... I'm going to have so much fun with making David go hiking. Pity him... Mwahahaha... ::cough:: Er, I mean, thanks for reviewing.
Wow, that was over a page of shoutoutsÉ o.O;; Ah, well. Until text time, ciao!
-B