Disclaimer: Glee belongs to Ryan Murphy and Fox, not me.
"Finn."
"Mmrph."
"Finn."
"Mmmmmmmmway."
"Finn." A firm hand on his shoulder joined the insistent voice. "Finn, honey, you've got to get up. The guys are going to be here soon."
Finn bolted upright. "Guys?" he mumbled blearily.
"Yes, honey, you're leaving for camp today," Carole said. She smoothed his untidy bedhead. "It's already past ten. Go take a shower. They'll be here in about an hour."
He pushed back the covers and stumbled out of bed in the general direction of the shower. Morning were never Finn's strong suit, but he woke up fast enough as the warm water pounded his back and he remembered that today was the day to leave for camp. His stomach knotted a bit as he dried off and dressed, his insides caught in equal parts of excitement and anxiety. This was most likely going to be the biggest, scariest, most awesome summer of his life.
He shuffled down the stairs to find Kurt already sitting at the kitchen table, aimlessly picking at a bowl of cereal. "Morning," Finn said, fumbling around the pantry for the Cinnamon Toast Crunch. "Hey, do you know where the-"
Kurt nudged the box across the table. Finn plunked down beside him and poured a huge bowl. "So, you excited?" he asked, his mouth full.
Kurt shrugged. His mouth was pulled into a thin frown and his eyes were ringed in dark circles. "Didn't get any sleep last night?" he asked sympathetically. Kurt just shrugged again.
Burt walked into the kitchen. "Morning, Finn," he said, clapping him on the shoulder. "Kurt, buddy, you'd better get a move on if you want to get to Dalton on time."
"Wait, what?" Finn said, spitting a little bit of milk and chewed-up cereal back into the bowl. "Why're you going up to Dalton?"
"All the Warblers and Larks who get accepted ride up together," Kurt explained. "I'm riding with them. Since…you know, Blaine."
"Oh," Finn said.
Burt patted Kurt's back. "Get it in gear, kiddo," he said before heading back towards the living room. Kurt's mouth drew tighter and his chin wobbled a little bit.
The light bulb went on in Finn's head. He scooted a little closer. "Dude," he whispered. "Are you homesick already? We haven't even left home."
Kurt's white cheeks flushed red. "I haven't…the longest time I've ever been away from home was when we went to Nationals," he said. He dug his spoon through his cereal bowl but didn't eat anything. "I just…my dad…"
"It's just for eight weeks," Finn offered helpfully, but apparently his efforts were not as helpful as he had hoped. Kurt shoved his bowl to the side and silently got up from the table. Finn sighed.
He had finished his bowl of cereal and moved onto Kurt's when his brother walked back into the kitchen, fully dressed with a duffel bag slung across his shoulders. "Sorry, I ate your breakfast," Finn said.
Kurt shrugged. "It's fine," he said.
Carole walked into the kitchen, smiling brightly. "Dad's loading your things in the truck," she said. She rubbed Kurt's upper arms. "Are you ready to go, blue eyes?" He nodded, his mouth tightening again, and Carole pulled him into a hug. "It's going to be okay, sweetheart. This'll be a great summer. I promise."
Finn ducked his head, watching the last flakes of cereal swim around his bowl. Apparently Kurt's impending homesickness was contagious.
Burt strode into the kitchen, adjusting his baseball cap. "You ready to go, Kurt?" he asked. Kurt stepped back a little from Carole's embrace and nodded. She rubbed his back lightly. "Come on, scooter, we'd better get a move on."
Kurt leaned in and kissed Carole on the cheek, then shouldered his bag and slipped out the door. Burt put his hand on Finn's shoulder. "You'll, uh…you'll keep an eye on your brother, right?" he said.
"Totally," Finn said. "All the time." He stood up hastily, his chair screeching as it skidded across the floor, and hugged Burt.
Burt hugged him back, his hand against Finn's back. "We'll miss you, bud," he said. "Have fun this summer. Make good choices."
"I will," Finn mumbled.
Burt clapped him on the shoulder. "We'll see you in August, all right?" he said. He gave Finn one last fatherly squeeze on the arm, kissed Carole, and headed out the door after Kurt.
Carole sighed. "Go get your stuff together, brown eyes," she said. "The boys'll be here soon."
Finn obeyed, heading upstairs to gather the rest of his things together. Kurt had spent the past week packing meticulously, writing out long lists and folding everything precisely and rearranging the contents of his suitcases over and over again. Finn, on the other hand, would have waited to throw a few things in a bag the night before had not Kurt gotten frustrated with packing his own things and moved on to his.
Before long he could hear the thumping of a car stereo outside his window. "Finn, honey? The guys are here," his mom called.
He grabbed his bags and took the stairs two at a time. Puck was waiting in the kitchen, his hands in his pockets. "Finn, dude, get the lead out," he said. "We've got a summer camp to crash."
Finn shoved his bags in Puck's hands and turned to his mother. "Bye, Mom," he said, hugging her tightly.
"Have fun, honey," she said, hugging him back and petting his hair. "Remember to write to us, all right?"
"I will," he said. She kissed him on the cheek and released him from the hug with one last pat on the back. "See you later."
"Bye, Mrs. H," Puck said.
"Bye, Noah," she said. "Be safe. Call us when you get there."
"Will do," Puck said. Finn grinned one last time at his mom and headed out the front door after Puck.
Mike sat at the driver's seat of his teal minivan, bopping his hands merrily on the steering wheel to the beat of the music. "Morning, Finn," he said cheerfully.
"Chang, stop being a morning person," Artie groused from the passenger's seat. Mike pouted.
Puck opened the back hatch and shoved Finn's stuff inside. "Come on, come on, let's go," he said, slamming the door down.
Finn clambered inside and plunked down beside a half asleep Sam. "Hey, dude," he said. Sam grunted noncommittally, face buried deep in the pillow he had propped against the window.
"Let's do this thing!" Puck said, shutting the minivan door.
"Seatbelts first," Mike said.
"But-"
"Seatbelts, Puckerman!"
Puck scowled. "This is such a boner-killer," he complained as he clicked his belt. "Riding in a minivan…turns out we brought the soccer mom too."
"Hey, this minivan is awesome," Mike said, expertly navigating away from the curb. "Besides, the other options were Finn's pickup or your mom's station wagon."
Puck sank down in his seat. "Shut up and drive, Chang," he said.
Kurt sighed, his forehead tipping to touch the cool glass of the window. Blaine nudged him lightly. "Hey," he whispered, his breath soft against Kurt's neck. "Are you all right?"
"I'm fine," Kurt sighed.
Blaine rubbed his arm lightly, his skin cool from the bus's heavy air conditioning. "Are you homesick?" he whispered.
"No," Kurt said, drawing his knees up and sinking into his plush seat.
Blaine smiled and kissed the top of his head. He didn't say anything, but Kurt's ears turned red. It was pretty obvious to everyone and their mother that he had been homesick before he'd even gotten on the bus. "Are you cold?" Blaine asked instead.
Kurt nodded. Blaine unfolded himself from his seat and pulled a red print fleece blanket down from the overhead rack, then sat down beside Kurt and draped it around both of them. "Better?" Blaine asked. Kurt sighed again and nodded, resting his head against Blaine's shoulder as the bus swayed beneath them.
Lucy leaned around the seat in front of them. "Hi, boys," she said. "Having fun?"
"As much fun as you can have on a long bus ride," Blaine said.
She picked up a plastic ziplock bag and shook it lightly. "Well, I brought snacks if you want them," she said.
From the back of the bus, Jeff and Nick popped up like prairie dogs. "Oh my god! Lucy brought cookies!" Jeff said.
"Jeff, get me some!" Nick said.
"Cookies? I'll take a couple," Flint called.
"No, no, I'm the boyfriend, I get dibs," David said, climbing over the crowded center aisle.
"Well, I'm the…boyfriend of the best friend, so I get dibs too," Wes said.
"And…I'm…on the council, so dibs for me too!" Thad exclaimed.
Kurt laughed as Lucy suddenly found herself surrounded by excited Warblers. "I hope your brought enough for everyone," he said.
Jo emerged from her blanket cocoon beside Lucy. "She stayed up till three in the morning baking," she croaked.
"I was too excited to sleep!" Lucy said happily, placing a few cookies in Trent's outstretched hands. "I have chocolate chip, oatmeal chocolate chip, half chocolate chip and butterscotch chip, and gingersnaps."
"I knew I kept you around for a reason," David said, grabbing one of each.
Lucy wrinkled her nose. "Everyone just uses me for my cookies, don't they," she said.
Dylan ruffled her hair. "Aw, no, we love you," he said.
"But we really love your cookies," Nathaniel added.
Jo glared at the people clustered around her seat. "Can you guys sit down and shut up? I'm trying to sleep," she said.
"Yeah, don't mess with Jo, she's a bear when she's tired," a fellow Lark piped up. Jo shot her a fierce stare until the Lark clamped her lips shut and sat down.
Wes rummaged through his DVD wallet. "We can watch a movie," he suggested. "Anyone want to watch a movie?" He frowned. "Jo, did you replace all of my movies with yours?"
"I just wasn't in the mood to watch the Bourne trilogy or those fast and angry car movies," Jo said.
Wes sighed. "Fast and Furious, Jo, it's Fast and Furious," he said. "All right, it looks like we have…Princess Bride and…every Disney princess movie ever made."
"Oh my god, can we watch Tangled?" Jeff shrieked.
"No, Jeff!" Wes said. "We're watching Beauty and the Beast."
"What about Little Mermaid?" Kurt called.
"Later, Hummel. Right now we're watching Beauty and the Beast."
Blaine tucked an arm around Kurt's shoulders. "Well, we still know all the words to that one," he said.
Kurt burrowed closer as the movie blinked onto the little screen above their heads. "I want to sing Belle's parts this time," he said. "You always hog them."
"That's because you never let me sing for Ariel," Blaine pointed out.
"It's only because you're a better Sebastian than I am," Kurt said.
Jo leaned over them. "Shut up, my movie's on," she threatened.
"Yes, ma'am," Blaine said meekly. Kurt laughed silently into his shoulder until Blaine pinched his nose.
Mercedes navigated her SUV onto the off ramp. "This is it, y'all, we're almost there," she said cheerfully.
"Thank God," Santana huffed as she jammed her nail file back in her purse. "If I have to spend another hour in this car with Rachel Berry, I'll have to kill something."
"Well, you aren't really a delightful car companion either," Rachel shot back from her seat in the back, squished between Tina and Quinn.
"Yes, well, at least Santana didn't sing under her breath for the entire ride like someone else we know," Quinn said, rolling her eyes. Rachel sat back in a huff.
Lauren fiddled with the radio knobs. "No signal," she said, switching it off. "Anyone have any cell service?"
"Nope," Tina said. "Not a hint of a bar."
Santana leaned back against the seat, folding her arms across her chest. "Why did I agree to this?" she asked. "A whole summer with no cell, no internet, no radio, no nothing, just…show tunes."
"I don't mind show tunes," Brittany offered. She paused. "Oh. I think I forgot to tell my little sister to feed Lord Tubbington while I'm gone." She shrugged. "Maybe he can just go on a diet this summer." Santana patted her knee lightly.
Mercedes grinned. "Oh, this is it!" she said. She turned the SUV onto a long winding drive. "Pinnacle Heights, we're here!"
Rachel clasped her hands. "This summer is going to look fantastic on my resume," she sad.
"I'm just glad to be out of the house for the summer," Tina said, reaching down to feel around for her discarded shoes. "My parents are going crazy with the college applications. They want me to do all of the early acceptance stuff, but I totally don't want to think about it."
"I've had my college picked out since freshman year," Lauren said as she picked idly at her fingernails. "They've been beating down my door with wrestling scholarships since day one."
"Well, we can't all be superstar wrestlers, can't we?" Quinn snapped.
Mercedes drove down the winding path while the others bickered until she reached a small parking lot roped off with brightly colored plastic pennants. A camp staff member in khaki shorts and a sky blue polo shirt strode over to them as she pulled up. "Hey, there," he said. "Y'all made it just in time for registration. Just pull out your luggage so we can take it up to your cabins and head on up to the amphitheater."
"Thanks," Mercedes said, easing her SUV into a parking space. "All right, ladies, you heard the man. Everybody out."
The girls piled out of the car and dragged their suitcases and duffel bags out of the back. "God, it's like playing jenga back here," Santana huffed.
"Just get your stuff and quit whining, Lopez," Lauren said, hefting her bags easily.
Mercedes dropped her bags into the pile next to Rachel's matched set of polka dot luggage and followed the rest of the girls down the path leading away from the parking lot. "It's so nice here," Brittany commented, gazing at their surroundings.
"There's too much nature," Tina said, sliding on a pair of sunglasses. "Why couldn't we go to camp in New York City?"
"Do they not have nature there?" Brittany questioned.
Rachel sighed happily. "I miss the city," she said. "I have to face it, girls, I was born to be a city girl."
"Good for you," Quinn said.
"Look, you guys, I know you're all still stir-crazy from being trapped in the car, but can't we all cheer up?" Mercedes said. They rounded a curve in the path and headed right into the thick of a small crowd. She brightened and waved as she caught sight of Kurt at the entrance to the outdoor amphitheater, his hand still held securely in Blaine's. "There's Kurt! Hey, Kurt!"
Kurt waved back, elbowing Blaine, who glanced in their direction and waved too. "Aw, look how cute they are," Tina cooed.
Lauren put one hand on the back of Tina's head and the other on Brittany's. "Come on, keep it up," she said.
Mercedes surveyed the crowd. Six tables were set up at the edge of the square, each one festooned with a different colored banner. "Well," she said. "I guess this where we all separate."
Rachel pulled her camp information packet out of her bag and unfolded it carefully. "According to the schedule, we have registration and then dinner," she said. "We're with our cabins only until tomorrow."
The girls stared at each other. "Oh god, did we even see if any of us are in the same cabins?" Tina said.
They fumbled for their packets. Santana grabbed Brittany's and sighed in relief. "Britt and I are both dance," she said.
Quinn glanced over Mercedes' shoulder, then Tina's. "Tina and I are both drama,' she said.
"And that's all," Mercedes said.
The girls surveyed each other. "See you tomorrow?" Rachel offered.
"Maybe we can have breakfast together or something," Mercedes suggested.
Brittany frowned. "Oh, it's not that scary, you guys," Lauren said. "Go make new friends. New Directions is too co-dependent as it is." She shouldered her bag. "See ya."
"Yeah, come on, Britt," Santana said, taking Brittany by the hand and dragging her towards the green table.
"Where are we coming to?" Brittany asked.
Quinn scanned the tables. "We should probably get this over with," she said. "Want to head over, Tina?"
"Well, ladies, this is a pleasure."
Mercedes turned around slowly as Rachel's eyes widened. "Jesse?" she sputtered.
Jesse St. James flashed a smile at them. "Fancy seeing you here," he said. "Welcome to Pinnacle."
Tina's lips thinned. "Rachel would ask it, but I think she's speechless. What are you doing here?" she asked.
"Don't tell me you've never heard of a summer job," Jesse said, still grinning like a cat that had gotten into cream.
"You're working here? As what, a maintenance man?" Mercedes scoffed.
"I'm afraid not. I'm a junior counselor," Jesse said.
"You…you're a…you're a what?" Rachel said.
He slid his hands in his back pockets. "A junior counselor," he said. "I don't suppose any of you are in the musical theatre cabin, are you?"
Rachel's eyes widened even further. "Oh, hell no," Mercedes said. "Didn't they run a background check on you or something?"
"They just saw my resume and hired me on the spot," Jesse shrugged. He smiled at Rachel. "I'm looking forward to spending the summer with you, Rachel."
He strode off towards the purple-emblazoned table. Rachel stared after him, mouth open.
"Well, this summer certainly just got a little more interesting," Quinn remarked.
Artie rolled up to the registration table. "I think I'm in the right spot," he said.
The stocky guy in the orange tee shirt glanced up. "Are you in theatre tech?" he asked. "What's your name?"
"Arthur Abrams?" he offered.
The counselor dug through a pile of paperwork and pulled out an information packet. "Welcome to the Orange Iguanas, Arthur," he said. "I'm Darby, I'll be your head counselor for the summer. What's your specialization?"
Artie shook the hand Darby offered. "I go by Artie," he said. "I'm light and sound, mostly, but I've been known to rig a few special effects in my time."
"Awesome, dude, awesome," Darby said. He had that Colorado hipster look about him; Artie half expected him to start talking about skiing and indie bands. "We just got another girl who does sound."
Artie glanced over. Lauren Zises raised a hand. "Hey, Wheels, how's it going?" she asked.
"Pretty good," Artie said, balancing his packet on his knees and rolling over to her. "How was the car ride?"
"Besides Rachel singing the whole way and Santana threatening to get carsick all over her? Pretty good," Lauren shrugged. "You?"
"I'm glad Mike was driving and not Puck," Artie said.
Lauren nodded sagely. "He doesn't always remember which pedal is the brake," she mused. "So are we the only New Directions kids in this cabin?"
"Looks like it's just us, girl," Artie said. He glanced around. "There's a lot more people here than I thought."
"The arts kids are coming out of the woodwork, apparently," Lauren said. "Two of Kurt's prep school friends are here too." She pointed at a blond guy happily chatting the ear off a slightly bored-looking brunet. "The tall one's Flint, the yappy one is…Josh, I think. Or Jeff or something."
"How many people are supposed to be here?" Artie wondered aloud.
"There's usually about thirty kids per cabin, sometimes up to forty."
They turned around to find a girl in a Pinnacle Heights tee shirt and bobbed blue hair behind them, arms folded across her chest. "I think we've got twenty-seven in tech this year," she informed them.
"Good to know, random eavesdropper," Lauren said.
She tucked a strand of bright blue hair behind her ear and stuck out a skinny hand, her bangle bracelets jingling on her wrist. "I'm Knickey Reeves," she said. "Knickey with a K. Don't bother asking my real name, it is my real name."
"I'm Lauren, this is Artie, and you weird me out a little," Lauren said, ignoring the outstretched hand.
Knickey shrugged. "My social skills aren't the best," she said. "But I know everything about this camp, so you'd better get used to me being around."
"Is this like your fourth year here or something?" Artie asked.
Knickey pointed across the crowd to a tall graying man deep in conversation with someone's parents, dressed far more formally than the other counselors. "That's Alexander Reeves, the camp director," she said. "Also known as my grandfather."
Lauren suddenly smiled and linked her arm through Knickey's. "Hey there, kid, you just got a new best friend," she said.
Mike slung one arm around Santana's shoulders and the other around Brittany's as they followed their new camp counselors down the pathway. "Hi ladies," he said. "Are you excited to be here?"
"I'd be more excited if it wasn't so damn humid," Santana said, slinging Mike's arm away. "God, it's Ohio. Why is it so hot?"
"Doesn't it always get hot in the summer?" Brittany said. "Unless you're in Australia. Isn't it supposed to be cold in Australia in the summer?"
"Stop talking about cold things," Santana complained.
"Well, hopefully the cafeteria will be air conditioned," Mike said.
The tall black boy walking ahead of them glanced over his shoulder. "Oh, don't worry, it is," he said with a grin. "Is this your first time here?"
"Is that obvious?" Mike asked.
"Everyone spends their first few days wandering around without a clue, but once the routine starts on Monday, you'll be a pro," he said. He slowed enough for them to catch up. "I'm David. This is Nick."
"I'm Mike Chang," he said cheerfully. "And this is Santana and Brittany."
Brittany smiled at David and Nick. "Look, Mike, now you're not the only boy dancer," she said.
Nick snapped his fingers. "Now I know why you guys look so familiar," he said. "You're from McKinley, right? You did 'Valerie'."
Santana tossed her long hair over her shoulder. "Damn right, we did," she said.
"We're from Dalton," David said. "That number was fantastic. I think vocally we were stronger than you, but your dancing was just amazing. No wonder we tied."
"Who did your choreography?" Nick asked.
"Brittany and I, mostly," Mike said.
Nick held the door of the cafeteria open for them; Santana stepped inside first and breathed deeply. "Oh, thank God, it feels like the arctic," she sighed.
"So what kind of training do you have?" Nick asked as they lined up for dinner behind the noisy Orange Iguanas.
"Ballet and cheerleading, mostly," Brittany said. "A little bit of jazz. And also, clogging."
"About the same, without the clogging," Santana said, crossing her arms.
Mike shrugged. "I'm mostly self-taught, I guess," he said. "I watch a lot of music videos."
"Impressive," David said. "So you're just naturally talented."
Mike shrugged again; the self-conscious feeling crawling up his backbone was making him uncomfortable. "I just want to dance," he said.
"I wish the Warblers just wanted to dance," Nick sighed. "If we have to do another step-hop-snap routine, I'll die. Just die."
"You won't die," David said, bopping Nick lightly on the shoulder with a dinner tray before handing it to Brittany. "And our choreography is fine."
"I don't think it counts as choreography," Nick countered.
Mike laughed, relieved to have the conversation turn, and handed Santana a tray.
Tina took an experimental bite of her pasta. "This is pretty good," she said, surprised.
"Definitely better than McKinley," Quinn added.
The dark haired boy sitting across from them scowled at his dinner. "It's not as good as Dalton," he groused.
The blond boy at his right elbowed him lightly. "That's because you're an elitist, Thad, and nothing is ever as good as Dalton to you," he said.
"Don't mock me, Nathaniel," Thad warned, raising his fork. Nathaniel raised his hands in surrender, hiding a grin.
Tina tore off a bit of her garlic bread. "So you're Thad and Nathaniel, I'm guessing?" she said.
"Guilty as charged," Thad said. "You?"
"Tina," she said. "This is Quinn." Quinn offered a brief smile.
"Welcome to the Red Jaguars," Thad said. "We are overdramatic and proud of it."
"So is this…what, your fourth year here?" Quinn asked.
"It's his third, my first," Nathaniel offered. "I'm just as lost as you guys." He tilted his head to the side. "And apparently as lost as she is."
Tina glanced over her shoulder. A petite girl wandered aimlessly through the cafeteria, her hand tangled in the curling ends of her long dark hair. She wandered over to their table, biting her lip. "Um, excuse me?" she ventured to the counselors chatting at the end of the table. "Is…is this the drama group?"
"It is, are you Zooey Gellar?" one of the counselors said. "I knew we were missing one."
"I'm sorry I'm so late, our car broke down," she apologized.
"Oh, it's fine, it's fine," the counselor said, waving her hand. "I'm Gemma, I'll be your head counselor this summer. Take a seat. We're not doing much tonight, just eating dinner and getting settled in the cabins."
Zooey sat down next to Nathaniel, who smiled kindly at her. She flushed pink and ducked her head. "What are we doing tomorrow?" Thad asked.
"Tomorrow's going to be pretty low-key," Gemma said, ruffling her curly brown hair over her shoulder. "We'll have some orientation sessions to get you prepared for auditions on Monday, but mostly we'll just let you have a lot of free time."
"Auditions?" Tina said, wrinkling her nose. "I hate auditions."
"Well, see, this is sort of how the camp goes," Gemma said. "Every Monday we announce the scene selections we're doing for the end-of-week performances and we hold the auditions. All week you attend workshops and work on your parts with us. Then on Saturday, the whole camp does a big show where everyone gets to perform for the rest of the camp."
"Sounds hardcore," Nathaniel commented.
"Oh, it is," Gemma said. "But nothing as crazy as the final week. See, for the final week, the camp directors choose the best performances of the summer for the last show. That's the big one that all of your parents and teachers from home come to see. It's a pretty big deal. Everyone wants one of their performances to be chosen."
Tina took a thoughtful bite of her pasta, envisioning herself onstage in a scene from a classic play, her parents and friends watching her in rapture. We never knew you were so talented, she could hear them saying. Tina, you're amazing.
"Tina?"
She blinked. "Hm?"
Quinn waved a pudding cup in front of her. "You almost stuck your elbow in this," she said.
"Oh," Tina said sheepishly.
"This summer is going to be awesome," Puck said, leaning back in his seat. "If we get to eat like this every night, I'll be a happy camper. Literally."
"A fat, happy camper," Sam commented.
Puck tossed him another slice of garlic bread. "Just eat it, Evans," he said. Sam shrugged and took a bite.
"You know, it's pretty cool that we're all in the same cabin," Finn said, surveying their table.
"Instrumental performance for the win," Sam said cheerfully.
"So we've got guitar for me, guitar for Evans, and drums for Hudson," Puck said. "What else do we got?"
He turned to the girl sitting next to him. "So what do you play?" he asked.
She glanced up from her book, clearly irritated. "What?"
"What do you play?" he repeated.
"Piano," she said, turning back to her book.
"You have a name?" he pestered.
She glanced up, her straight hair falling against her shoulder like a yellow curtain. "Yes," she said flatly, and turned back to her book. Sam snickered. Puck rolled his eyes.
"That's what you get for trying to make friends," Sam teased.
A curly-haired little boy popped up on Sam's other side, startling him into dropping his fork. "Hi!" he said. "I'm Teddy, Teddy Cooper. I play the violin, mostly."
"I'm Puck," Puck grinned. "The blond one who just peed himself is Sam, and this is Finn."
Teddy's round brown eyes widened further. "Finn! Are you Kurt's Finn? Are you Kurt's big brother?" he asked.
"Uh…yeah, I guess," Finn said.
"My big brother Dylan is a Warbler," Teddy said proudly. "I'm best friends with all the Warblers. I'm going to be a Warbler in the fall."
"Are you in high school?" Sam stammered. "You're like…ten."
"I'm twelve!" Teddy said cheerfully. "I'm going into the ninth grade in the fall, though, because I'm super smart and I skipped some grades." He leaned across the table and rested his chin on his hands. "Gosh, you guys are so big. I hope I'll grow up and be big."
Puck looked down at him. "Why do I have the feeling you're going to drive me nuts all summer?" he remarked.
Teddy suddenly sat up, like a puppy that spotted a squirrel. "Blaine! Blaine! Hi, Blaine!" he said. He turned to Sam. "Blaine's a Warbler like my brother."
"Yeah, I know," Sam said, amused.
Blaine, however, did not look amused. "'Sup, hobbit," Puck said. "Who pissed in your cereal?"
"Finn, we've got to talk," Blaine said.
"About what?" Finn asked, sitting up. "Is Kurt okay?"
Blaine leaned forward, bracing his hands on the table. "Karofsky's here," he said.
"No way, dude, you're making that up," Puck said. "Why the hell would he be at a summer camp for artsy stuff?"
Blaine pointed across the noisy cafeteria at another table, where Dave Karofsky sat by himself at the end, hunched over his dinner tray. "And he's in my cabin," he said, his voice tight.
"Is Kurt gonna be okay?" Puck asked. Teddy leaned over his shoulder to listen in; Puck planted a hand on his forehead and pushed him back down. "Should we put together a security detail?"
"He's in a different cabin," Blaine said. "I just thought I should let you guys know. Keep an eye on him."
"Definitely," Finn said, glaring at Karofsky across the room.
"Who are we mad at?" Teddy chirped.
"Pipe down, squirt," Puck said.
"This is going to be the worst summer ever," Rachel fumed. "First Jesse shows up, no doubt to try to rekindle some kind of flame, which is ridiculous because, hello, he's supposed to be a counselor, and then Karofsky just waltzes in for no apparent reason, and now, this." She gestured broadly at the blonde counselor leading the way to their cabin. "Why on earth is Holly Holiday our head counselor? She doesn't have any real qualifications! I suppose she just sweet-talked her way into this too."
Her tirade was largely ignored. Lucy squeezed Kurt's hand insted. "What are you thinking?" she asked.
"I don't know," Kurt sighed. "I was thinking about how I really, really wanted to have a nice peaceful summer, and…Karofsky." He bit his lip. "I don't know whether to be scared because I don't know if he's going to give up and just snap, or stressed because I'm supposed to help him…" His voice trailed off and he looked down at Lucy. "Well, you know."
"You're not expected to do anything," Lucy said. "You're not Karofsky's babysitter. And besides, you've got Blaine and Mercedes in the same cabin as Karofsky. You know they won't let anything happen."
"I know," Kurt said. "But still. It's just…unnecessary pressure."
"Don't worry about it," Rachel reassured him, linking her arm through his as they walked down the darkening path. "Just focus on all of the amazing performances we'll be doing this summer."
Kurt smiled. "That does cheer me up a little," he said.
They stopped outside a large cabin on a ridge overlooking the lake. Their counselors stood on the top step of the porch and Holly grinned down at them. "All right, boys and girls," she said. "Welcome to your home for the next eight weeks."
Rachel followed the herd inside. The main room of the cabin was open and airy, filled with large rustic pieces of furniture, and their luggage was heaped in the center of the room. A flight of stairs led to a loft, and there was a door on either side. "Counselors are upstairs," Holly said. "Boys to the right, girls to the left, and bathrooms to the back. Now get your stuff and pick your beds!"
Rachel scrambled forward to snatch up her suitcases. A big guy she vaguely recognized from Kurt's Warbler friends leaned over and got them first. "Here you go," he said. "You're Rachel, right?"
"Rachel Berry," she said, hefting her suitcase and smiling in thanks. "And you are?"
"Dylan Cooper," he said. "Also known as the Dalton beatboxer." He grinned. "And that's Trent."
Trent and Kurt were currently in a heated discussion about their bunk situation. "I want the bottom bunk," Trent was arguing.
"No, I want it," Kurt said. "I sleepwalk. I'm sure you've heard stories around the Dalton dorms. If I slept on a top bunk-" He gestured to demonstrate plummeting from a great height, complete with a whoosh noise. "Do you really want to explain my death to Blaine?"
"Oh," Trent said. "I suppose I can take the top, then…"
Rachel turned to Lucy. "Since you're the only girl I know in the cabin, we have to be bunkmates," she announced.
Lucy paused as she leaned down to pick up a suitcase. "Oh…okay, then," she said. "I call bottom bunk, though."
Rachel opened her mouth to argue, then paused as she saw Jesse glance her way from his seat with the other counselors. "Come on," she said, grabbing Lucy by the hand and dragging her into the girl's side of the cabin.
Blaine grabbed his pajamas and disappeared into the bathroom. Wes glanced at him in the mirror, toothpaste foam dribbling down his chin. "Still mad, are we?" he mumbled.
"I can't believe Karofsky's here," Blaine muttered viciously, dropping his pajamas on the long bench outside the row of shower stalls.
Wes tilted his head to the side. "He's the guy that made Kurt's life miserable at McKinley, right?" he said.
"Miserable is putting it mildly," Blaine said, tugging his tee shirt over his head. "I'm so pissed, Wes. "
Wes spat his toothpaste into the sink. "I gathered that," he said. "Anything we should do?"
"Just make sure he stays away from Kurt," he said. "I wish we could catch him doing something that'll get him kicked out of camp, but I don't want to put Kurt in harm's way."
The bathroom door swung open. "Hey, boys, lights out in twenty," Francey said cheerfully.
Blaine hastily covered himself with his pajama shirt. "God, Francey, I could have been naked!" he shrieked.
She shrugged. "Like I haven't seen that before," she said.
"Why the hell did they let you be my counselor?" he grumbled, yanking his pajama shirt on. "Aren't there rules against that?"
"Apparently not," Francey said, plunking down on the bench outside the showers.
"Aren't there rules about you being in the boys' bathroom?" Blaine said.
She tilted her head back. "I'm in charge, Babbie. I make the rules now. You're my bitch." She laughed maniacally. "My bitch!"
"This is going to be an interesting summer," Wes remarked. Blaine rolled his eyes and chucked his dirty tee shirt onto Wes's head.
Francey pulled up her legs to sit Indian-style. "Seriously, though, what's got you so tweaked, babe?" she asked. "You've got that wrinkle between your eyebrows going on."
Blaine sighed as he shimmied out of his jeans. "Okay, you know that Dave guy?" he said.
Francey tilted her head to the side. "The big guy that no one talks to? The one that you made a big show of picking the bed furthest from his?" she said. "Yeah, I know of him."
Blaine dropped his jeans on Francey's lap and pulled his flannel pajama pants on. "He's the guy that tormented Kurt at McKinley," he said. He looked Francey in the eyes. "You know what I mean."
Francey looked puzzled for a moment, then her green-gold eyes widened. "Oh, god, he was the one that…oh my god," she said.
Wes frowned and dropped his toothbrush in his shaving kit. "Why do I get the feeling you're not telling me everything?" he said.
"Because it's personal," Blaine said. "Kurt still doesn't know that Francey knows about…what happened."
"All you need to know is that it was bad, Wesley," Francey said. "God. I'll kill him myself. He won't last the summer."
"Let me get in a few punches," Blaine said.
The door swung open and the head counselor peeked in. "Everyone decent?" she said.
"We're all good, Shelby," Wes said.
Shelby stepped into the bathroom. "It's just about lights out, boys. You should get into bed," she said. She gave Francey a funny look. "What are you doing in the boys' bathroom?"
"Making sure my little brother didn't fall in the potty," Francey said, unfolding from the bench. She kissed Blaine lightly on the cheek. "Night, Wesley. Night, Babbie."
"Night, Frances," he said.
"Goodnight," Wes said, gathering up his things. "You know, Blaine, we've only been at camp for a few hours, and the drama has already started. This is shaping up to be an interesting summer."
Blaine sighed. "I hope we can survive it," he said.
Author's Notes:
DEAR SWEET MERCIFUL GOODNESS, WHY IS THIS CHAPTER SO LONG?
Seriously, it's 13 pages in my word processor. THIRTEEN.
In any case, this is one of those slow yet important chapters. Now you know who's in each cabin and who the counselors are and who's studying what! There's about 30-40 kids per cabin, plus five or counselors, but there's enough people running around as it is, so you probably won't meet every single person at the camp.
And to make your lives easier, here's a handy dandy little chart!
Camp Directors: Alexander Reeves, Evangeline Medford
Orange Iguanas (Technical Theater): Flint Fitzgerald (Luke Edgemon), Jeff Wiser (Riker Lynch), Artie Abrams, Lauren Zises, Knickey Reeves (counselor: Darby Hodges)
Green Monkeys (Dance): David Barnes (Titus Makin Jr.), Nick Montgomery (Curt Mega), Santana Lopez, Brittany S. Pierce, Mike Chang (counselor: Lesley McAllister)
Red Jaguars (Drama): Thaddeus J. Thornton (Eddy Martin), Nathaniel Gray (Aaron Page), Quinn Fabray, Tina Cohen-Chang, Zooey Gellar (counselor: Gemma Lyndon)
Blue Barracudas (Instrumental Performance): Noah Puckerman, Sam Evans, Finn Hudson, Teddy Cooper, Annabel Roberts (counselor: Brandon Webler)
Purple Parrots (Musical Theater): Dylan Cooper (Jon Hall), Trent Alcott (Dominic Barnes), Kurt Hummel, Rachel Berry, Lucy Trevelyan (counselor: Holly Holiday; junior counselor: Jesse St. James)
Silver Snakes (Vocal Performance): Wes Chang (Telly Leung), Blaine Anderson, Dave Karofsky, Mercedes Jones, Jo Neely (counselor: Shelby Corcoran; junior counselor: Francey Anderson)
Overwhelming, isn't it? But don't worry. The new OCs aren't going to overtake the story or anything; they're there mostly to flesh things out and make it seem like there are kids other than New Directions and the Warblers at this camp (although, let's face, that's all we care about...)
Also...I don't really know how to phrase this, but...yes, I am using Karofsky in this story. I'd be stupid to not write him in. It's interesting. Am I going to suddenly turn him into Kurt's best friend? Or boyfriend? Or make everybody suddenly love him? No. So please, if you've ever read my writing, you know you can trust me to not write stupid. Karofsky's plotline in this story is more personal growth than anything else.
But now, my dears, we are getting into the daily updates! Yay! Hopefully I won't get too far behind.
Also, the next chapter concerns mostly with the new campers sort of exploring the camp. Any characters in particular you'd like to see for tomorrow's chapter? Or pairings?
I've got to say this is a great writing exercise. Some of these characters I've never written outside of a couple of throwaway lines in a group scene, so it's really interesting to write this story!
I hope you liked this chapter! Tell me what you think!