The ride up to the camp was grueling, with many swerving stops on the side of the road to allow Emma space to empty her stomach of whatever she just recently ate. Sweet as her mother was, her driving was definitely... questionable. Mary-Margaret had always been better at riding horses, for whatever reason. Emma's new clothes and few books were placed neatly in her red suitcase in the back, and her small phone was pocketed snugly in her jeans. The scenery was fine, but if she looked too long at it, the blurred greens and browns made her stomach twist and her chest tighten. She knew the 4-hour ride would be long, but she didn't expect it to feel as long as it did. Her mind focused on the awful 70's music streaming from the radio, and she tried to sleep to make time move faster.
Finally, finally, a sign popped up on the road, marking the town the camp was supposed to be in. Emma bit back the urge to cheer, knowing her mom would probably be offended. Emma hurriedly packed up all the empty wrappers and plastic bottles, throwing them into a bag to leave in the car. Nearly throwing up again from the nerves, she and her mom searched the town for the college the camp was on, referring every now and then to the map they printed out that morning.
All too soon, the buildings were looming in front of her, and her mom was opening the door to retrieve Emma's suitcase.
"Mom? Would it be rude if I said I wanted to go back now?" Emma stepped out of the car and joined Mary-Margaret by the trunk.
"Yes, honey. I drove you all this way; you wouldn't make me take an eight-hour round trip for nothing, right?" Mary-Margaret stated, setting the suitcase on the pavement in front of Emma and shutting the trunk.
"Yeah, I guess so." Emma mumbled.
"Just have fun, okay? It's only for four days, and I think you can survive. The brochure said lots of nice things." Mary-Margaret said.
"Brochures always say nice things, mom. What they don't mention are the overly excited counselors, the annoying roommates, and the scratchy toilet paper." Emma sighed.
"It'll be fine, Emma. Now give me a hug and get in there." Mary-Margaret opened her arms expectantly.
Emma gave her mother a quick hug and stood rooted to the spot, holding her bags and gulping not-so-quietly.
Mary-Margaret gave her daughter a shove, "I said go, Emma. I'll see you in four days. Just give them that Swan charm and they'll worship you."
Laughing, Mary-Margaret got in the car, shut the door, and started the engine. With a final wave at Emma, she pulled out of the parking lot and disappeared around the corner.
Taking one final breath, Emma shook her head and walked toward the faded brick buildings, dragging her suitcase behind her. So far, so good, Emma thought to herself, no people, no happy faces. She glanced back at the parking lot, desperately hoping her mom would still be there, yet knowing she wouldn't.
"Hey!" a chipper voice sounded suddenly behind her.
Emma let out a short shriek and dropped her bag, twisting around to find a blue-shirted woman who was definitely not there before.
"Oh! Sorry I scared you, blondie. I just saw you standin' out here and I thought, 'Better show her where she's supposed to go.' Ya looked lost, looking 'round like that." her Southern accent rang in Emma's ears.
After Emma said nothing, the woman picked up her suitcase and took her elbow, "C'mon, I'll take ya to registration. My name's Beth, by the way. What's yours?"
It took Emma a second to realize she had asked her a question. "Oh, um... Emma. Emma Swan."
"Nice to meet ya, Emma." Beth let go of Emma's elbow and gave her a little shove.
As Beth continued talking, Emma allowed her mind to wander to how her shoes looked very manly, how she didn't brush her hair that morning, and why that girl's perfume managed to penetrate every corner of her nose. Her bag felt very heavy on her shoulders as she walked through the doors to find herself in a room of similar blue-shirted, recent high school graduates. Trying hard not to smack everyone in the room, she managed to collect her dorm key, her lanyard, and lose Beth in the process.
Letting out a breath, she climbed the stairs to her dorm, hoping on All Things Almighty that there was an error in her favor, allowing her a room to herself.
The lock on her door clicked, and she pushed it open to be greeted with the scent of a cheap cleaning spray. Her eyes hurriedly scanned the room, and to her great relief, there was no one in it. She threw her bags on the floor, checked the bathroom, checked the closet, and finally sat down on a bunk with a smile. Now she just had to hope no one would come in later.
After a moment of enjoying the quiet in her simply furnished room, she stood up and started to organize her things. Pillow on the bed, clothes in the dresser, books on the desk, empty bag on the floor. A satisfied Emma on her bunk, scrolling through Facebook.
It was almost time to report to her first "activity", and Emma was sure she was in the clear. She slid out of her bunk, pulling on her lanyard and pocketing her room key, and started to open the door when she heard a click and it was pushed back on her. She stumbled back and stared incredulously as two girls, obviously best friends, shoved their way through.
"I know right? I couldn't believe- oh, hey there. Excuse us. So, Merida, do you want the top or bottom?" one girl pushed past Emma.
"I dunno. You pick, Elsa." the other girl said, dragging a duffel bag behind her.
"I guess I'll take the top. I'll wander otherwise." the pale blonde stated.
"Then I'll take the other bottom." the redhead shrugged, "And hi, by the way, my name's Merida and this is Elsa." she held out her hand to Emma.
"I'm Emma." she said simply.
"Cool. Sorry we're late." Merida went over to the other bed.
"We probably tricked you into thinking you had a room all to yourself, huh?" Elsa said from the top bunk, arranging her bed sheets.
"Yeah, you did." Emma fingered her lanyard.
"Well, you're one lucky duck, because me and Elsa here are both veterans to this Optimism Brain-Wash Fest." Merida tapped Emma on the nose as she went to shove her clothes in the bottom drawer of the dresser. "We know all the tricks and cheats in the book."
"And all the people to avoid. You'll want to know that, too." Elsa said.
"Which is practically everybody, to give you a hint." Merida added.
"We've been going here for how long, Merida?" Elsa asked.
"Including this time, seven years." Merida replied.
Emma whistled quietly, astounded at how they could have taken this crap all these years.
"After three years of hell, we decided to figure out how to survive here. And now you get to know too! First time here?" Elsa leaned over the railing to look at Emma.
"Yeah. My mom has been on my case for my entire life to go to one of these." Emma said.
"We know how that goes, sister. Our mothers make us go to every single "educational camp" they can find out about. Even if it's a freaking ten hour drive up there!" Merida pushed her bag under her bed and grabbed her key and lanyard. "Ready to go, Elsa?"
"Just a sec." Elsa threw her bag off of her bed and climbed down after it. "Ready," she said after her bag went under the bunk as well.
"Then let's make this weekend our bitch!" Merida laughed and opened the door.
These people aren't too bad, Emma thought to herself, I might even end up being their friend!
Well, what a concept, Swan.