Confessions of a Band Camp Geek

Well they can take, take, take the kids from the summer
But they'll never, never, never take the summer from me
It was the very first time that I lost my mind for the week

-All Time Low "The Beach"

Confession #1: I hate Trekking

"It's so hot!" I complained as I hopped off the bus, my gray converse hitting the dirt road as I stretched my aching limbs. We had been dropped off in front of the main building and were told to find our luggage and cabins, and then head back towards the main building. The 'first day of camp' meeting would be later.

"I second that," Sango agreed as she climbed off the bus, "It was hot as hell on that bus."

Yeah, it was just my luck that I'd hop on the bus with the broken A/C and these were the kind of buses where you can't open a window. If it weren't for me being used hot and crowded places for long periods of time due to watching Nameless perform in sweaty bars and overcrowded parties, I would have definitely fainted. It's not like I could take my shirt off like the entire male population on the bus did. I may be taken, but I can still appreciate the well toned inhabitants of the opposite sex.

"Y'all complain too much," Bank stated as he got off the bus, pulling his shirt over his head, Jakotsu right behind him, pulling the edges of his muscle shirt into place. "It wasn't that hot."

Right now, I am not happy with Bank. First he complains about my texting with Inuyasha when he was reading over my shoulder, then he decides to only play songs that I hate on his iPod so I end up having to get my own iPod out (I was trying to save the already dying battery), and then he takes his shirt off right beside me while I'm burning up. He could at least have some sympathy. Jerk.

"Yeah, says Mr. Lets-take-off-my-shirt-because-it's-hot-but-I-really-want-Purple-Streaks-to-check-out-my-six-pack." Sango shook her head while I laughed and Bank was speechless with a slack jaw. "Really Bank? Did you have to go there?"

"He's too sexy for his shirt!" Jakotsu sang and Sango and I cracked up, Bank now glaring at his brother.

"How are we even related?"

"Well you see it's a thing called the birds and the bees. Mom and Dad—"

"Ack!" Bankotsu cut him off, grimacing. "The last thing I need is a mental image of the process that got me here." Bank finally let the tension out of his shoulders and sighed, starting to walk away. "I'm going to grab our bags, Jak you go find out what cabin we're in."

"Aye, Aye Captain!"

The two Kotsu brothers left and I turned to Sango. "So you want to try our luck to see if we're in the same cabin or grab our bags?"

"The anxiety is killing me," Sango stretched her arms above her head. "Let's check the cabin assignments."

I nodded and headed towards the left before pausing, thinking it over and going to the right. Or do I just keep straight?

"Sangooooo," I whined as I turned to face her amused smile. "Which way do we go again?"

"Weren't you listening to the specific instructions the lady who climbed on to the bus told us before we got off?"

"Well excuse me for being more distracted about getting off that stupid bus." I rolled my eyes, like she wasn't thinking about it too. "Can you just tell me where we go already?"

"Find a counselor in a blue shirt. In our case," She pointed behind me and I turned to see a guy around his early twenties with a clipboard and smiling at a group of gushing girls. "Right behind you."

"You could have said that in the first place," I grumbled as I made my way to the guy the girl's were crowding around.

My god! He's too old for you now move already. I'd like to know exactly where I'd be spending the next six weeks. I wasn't in an exactly patient mood and I kind of shoved a particularly perky girl with pig tails to the side and that left me a tiny hole to slip through. I tapped on the guy's broad shoulder to get his attention away from the crowding girls.

"Yes?"

"Yeah, I'd like to know what cabin I'll be in."

"Name please?"

"Higurashi Kagome. Oh! And I'd like to know which cabin my friend is in. Her name is Tanaka Sango."

"Alright Miss Higurashi you will be in…" He flipped through the pages on his clipboard. "Ah, there you are. You will be staying in the Crazy Frogs cabin and…" He flipped a couple more pages, "So will your friend." Yes! "I hope you guys have a nice time."

I nodded my head and was working my way back through the group of campers when I realized I had no idea where the Crazy Frogs' cabin was. I turned back around to ask, but there were too many people, great.

"I got our cabin assignment!" I called as I jogged up to Sango who had her duffel resting by her feet and was now pulling her luggage from the huge heap. She paused and looked up at me smiling.

"Considering you said assignment as in singular, I'm assuming we're in the same cabin."

"You are correct. Crazy Frogs."

"Whoo!" Sango did a jump in the air and gave me a high five. "Score!"

"Yeah… I didn't get the directions though."

Sango's huge smile fell before she waved it off, bending over again to yank out her suitcase. "Don't worry, we'll run into somebody who knows where they're going."

"Yeah, hopefully," I mumbled as I grabbed my duffel bag and guitar which were, as luck would have it, resting on the top.

"And we have the—oof!" Sango's suitcase came out with another hard pull and she dusted her hands off on her jeans. "You need help with that trunk of yours?"

I walked around the heap, searching for it. "I don't…" I found it at the very bottom of the ginormous pile. "Yeah, I am definitely going to need some help with this one."

Sango came over to stand by my side and bent down to grab hold of the side handle with me. "Okay, on the count of three we pull." I nodded my head. "One… Two… Three… Pull!"

I pulled with all my strength but the thing didn't budge. We tried a couple more times before I was out of breath. How much does this stupid thing weigh!?

"This would be easier if you hadn't shoved all those stupid Lion King shirts in at the last minute."

I gasped. "Do not bash the Lion King merchandise. They are a very special gift to me."

"Yeah, whatever. Pull!" We pulled but the trunk moved only a centimeter this time, maybe.

I looked up to ask for extra help and that's when I saw her. She was wearing super short jean shorts with frayed edges and a yellow tank with a bejeweled, 'BEBE' on it and a tan belt hanging loosely over her tank that was over lapping a green tank. She was wearing yellow and gray striped socks that went half way up her claves with brown… boots? Her hair was still curly though and eyes the same envious shade of evergreen.

I stopped pulling and stood to my full height. "Hey!" She looked at me with raised brows. "I know you. You won the Karaoke competition back in December. Saratoga Yuuki."

She smiled at me slowly. "Yeah… I remember you."

What can I say, I'm an unforgettable person.

"You…" she pointed at me, eyes squinting in recognition."You're the girl who ran off the stage crying."

…

Ouch.

"Well… I—"

"Well, you don't look as pathetic now without the tears, but that shirt makes you look four." She picked up her duffle and threw it over her shoulder, smiling a big, fat, fake smile. "Tootles!"

Why that little…

"Yeah? Well… who wears boots in July anyways!?" I shouted to her already retreating back.

"Not only are you extremely late, but it is June Kags. Not July."

I turned to Bank who had magically appeared. "Can I at least pretend to have my moment?"

"I hope she's not in our cabin," Sango spoke, standing beside us. "That shirt should say bitch."

"Forget bitchery for a moment," Bank declared, draping his arms over our shoulders. "Look around you, smell the fresh air. This, this, is where it's all going to happen. Where we evolve into amazing artists, magnificent musicians…" Bank's constant use of alliteration got annoying. "Where we—"

"Fall head over heels for the purple streaked girl you were staring at for practically the entire bus ride and is now head in our direction," I cut in and Sango stifled a laugh.

"What?"

"Landing in 5…4…3…"

"I gotta go."

"Two late."

"I—"

"One; touchdown." I felt Bank tense up and I turned to Sango. "Huston, we have a problem."

We all stood awkwardly when Purple Streaks approached looking for her bag, trying to act normal, which was only making us not normal. Bank was all fidgety and kept shooting his eyes around the area as if he had committed some awful crime. Sheesh, I hadn't seen him this bad since the Battle of the Bands. He had it bad considering he just met the girl three hours ago. No, he didn't even know her.

Purple Streaks finally noticed our awkwardness and looked up at us through her black and purple bangs. "Hi…"

"Hi," I chirped my voice higher than it should be. I cleared my throat and quickly thought of something to say. "I was just admiring your outfit." She had an 'I Love Tokyo' white t-shirt and was wearing cuffed jean shorts like mine, but with rips and patchwork. "Love your shorts."

"Thanks," she smiled at me, standing to her full height. "You shirt is cool."

Ha! Take that Saratoga! My shirt is cool.

"You wouldn't say that if you saw her trunk," Sango grumbled, putting herself in the conversation. "She shoved all the customized Lion King shirts she got into her trunk and now it's impossible to pull out."

"Shut up," I glared at Sango before turning back to Purple Streaks. "You haven't even seen the back." I jumped around and put my back on display.

"I'm surrounded by idiots…" Purple Streaks read and she started laughing as I turned back around. "That's good." She smile and extended her hand. "Rei."

I took her hand in a firm handshake. "Kagome."

She shook hands with Sango next, "Hey, I'm Sango."

"And her boyfriend's a perv so stay away from him on Visitor's Day."

"Kagome!"

Oww… Sango still punches hard.

Rei laughed and then turned to Bank—who had been silently gawking the entire time—and extended her hand, smiling a smile that I'm sure would have made Bank faint if he didn't fear making an even bigger fool of himself. "And you are…"

Bank cleared his throat, reaching for her hand and I could see how much it was shaking. "I'm—"

"Bankie! Bankster! Bank-man! B-Bank bomb!" Jakotsu called out as he jogged towards us. "I found out what cabin we're in!"

I know it was just Jakotsu's personality, but couldn't he have some better timing? I mean, really?

Bank went tense, stopping about an inch from Rei's hand, freezing up like the North Pole. I have never seen him so red. It was like all the blood in his body rushed to his face. Nice going, Jak.

"Hey! Look at your older brother when he's speaking to you, Bankie-poo!" Jakotsu called again and we all (me, Sango, and Rei) tried to stifle our laughter. Bank got redder, to the point where it looked like he was going to explode, and then he turned on his heel and marched towards Jakotsu, shoving him as they walked away, arguing about something.

"So…"

"He's just shy," I tried to explain, telling a lie in the process. Bank is not a shy person at all, but if I told her that, she might think she did something wrong when in actuality, Bank just doesn't know how to act when he's developing a crush. I can't say that though, because Bank would have my head for ruining that frustrating thing men call pride.

"Yeah… His brother was…" Sango trailed off trying to find the right words. "He was just being an older brother and getting under his skin. It's a sibling thing."

"Oh."

"Don't worry about it," I waved off, trying to make light of it all. I bent down over to try to yank my trunk out again and Sango joined me. "He just gets embarrassed easily."

"Got it."

We gave it a hard pull and the two ton thing finally let loose from the heap of luggage.

"Yes!"

"So what cabin are you in?" Sango asked, tossing her duffle over her shoulder and grabbing the handle of her rolling suitcase.

"Crazy Frogs."

"Really? Us too."

"That's good. Now I won't get lost."

"Don't count on it," I called, tossing my duffel over my shoulder and balancing my guitar case on my trunk. "Our navigation skills are next to zero and we're in the woods and we're first time campers."

"That's why they gave us a map, Kagome."

I got behind my trunk, ready to push. "Really? Where'd you get that?"

"It came in the mail with our acceptance letter," Rei explained as she started walking down the dirt path to the right and I started pushing. Man, this thing is heavy. "Didn't you get it?"

"She probably didn't even look. Kagome's just observant like that," Sango spoke with a roll of her eye, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

"Hey!"

Though it is true—I only read 'You've been accepted' before I started dancing around—that doesn't give Sango the right to just throw me under the bus! Besides, wouldn't the logical thing be to give it to us when we get to camp? What if somebody lost it? Seriously, there are quite a bit of bugs in this whole camping thing.

Rei and Sano were laughing as I struggled to push my three ton trunk. Ugh. Inuyasha made carrying it look easy. Then again, 500 pounds is nothing to him. Lucky Hanyous.

"Can I get some help here!?"

"You shouldn't have packed the Lion King wardrobe!" Sango called over her shoulder and they both started cackling.

This is the start of a beautiful friendship. This is good, because playing matchmaker would be a whole hell of a lot easier if I were friends with Rei.

~0~

My God. I knew camps required trekking through the forest, but considering the fact that I was going to an art camp, I was hoping for walks to be maybe a few feet long, you know, so we don't bring our creative minds fatigue. But, as usual, I was wrong; these treks last for miles. Okay, so that's over exaggerating, but when you're pushing a three ton trunk it feels like you've been walking forever. At least I won't have to worry about staying in shape over the summer for swimming.

"We're here!" Sango announced as we approached our cabin, a dancing frog hanging over the door.

"Thank the lord!" I all but collapsed on my trunk with relief. Any longer and I would have busted a lung. "We've been walking forever!"

"Actually, it was no more than five minutes."

Like I said, when you're pushing a trunk three tons…time just seems to go on forever.

"Well…" Sango and Rei were already snickering as I stalled to try to make up an excuse. This whole, 'Let's Make a Joke Out of Kagome' thing was starting to get old. I'm not that funny. They wouldn't be laughing if they had to push this trunk.

"Let's just go in so Kagome can rest her exhausted limbs."

Sango and Rei headed up the steps and I grabbed my guitar, zooming past them so I could claim the top bunk before Sango. Being up higher gives me a sense of superiority.

I decided that the second to last bunk on the left side of the cabin was where I was going to mark my territory. I threw my duffle and guitar case on top of bed, making it clear that this bed was in fact taken. There were about eight bunks total, four on each side. I shuddered. The thought of sharing a cabin with sixteen girls is a terrifying thought.

I was about to leave to drag the five ton trunk in, when I noticed a red head with black streaks who was kneeling on the top bunk of the bed beside me, caught my eye. She was… she was carving something into the ceiling.

"What are you doing?" I asked, shocked as I stared wide eyed. I don't care about vandalism as long as it's not insulting, but I've never been a witness.

"I'm…" She trailed off as she finished her carving, looking at it with pride. "Being awesome."

That was a great answer.

I looked up and read what she wrote. Art Scouts kick ass- Hirose Aimi. Isn't it smart not to leave your name when you vandalize something?

"What's an art scout?" I asked curiously, not really caring much for the girl's possible stupidity. Not that I'm judging her! I'm just… making an observation.

"Only the coolest campers in the whole camp." She looked away from her work and looked down at me. "They're the people that are here for art." She eyed my guitar case and scowled. "You're obviously here as a Music Scout." Maybe it's just my imagination, but she said it like it was… a bad thing.

"Is that… bad?"

"Not really," she shrugged as she hopped down from the bunk with unbelievable grace. "It's just that while Talent says to be a camp for the arts it might as well be another 'Camp Rock'. Basically all the attention is focused on the musicians and dancers. They get the best teachers and the best classes. Nobody comes to the Art Scouts' gallery but rather the huge Talent show at the end of the six weeks." She sighed. "It's such a shame, but," She glared at me and I thought that it really was a bad thing to be a 'Music Scout'. "It shouldn't matter to you."

"Oh!" I waved my hands in front of me frantically. "No, I'm a… Art Scout too, but I still play the guitar and sing. I got in here for my art."

The girl's eyes widened a bit. "Oh." Then she smiled and offered her hand. "Hirose Aimi, abstract artist, returning camper," she smirked, allowing a fang to show. "And an impulse thinker. I act on impulse so if you're not willing to take a risk, I'd advise you to stay away from me."

Aimi… She had long red and black hair that was layered and with choppy bangs. She had blue eyes like Bank's, wore a nose ring and her pointed ears had been pierced about four times each. She wore a yellow shirt with an alien on it that said 'We Come in Peace'. She was wild—fun—she was a returning camper—hard to get lost if she was around not to mention she could fill me in on the routine—and she was a demon obviously—demon blood equals massive strength to carry a huge trunk. And she was an Art Scout. I have a feeling we're going to be great friends.

I took her hand and we shook. "So you're a demon."

She nodded and smiled, flashing her fangs. "Neko Youkai? Is there a problem with that?" She raised her brow, daring me to say something offending. Yeah, I'm not that stupid.

"No… I was just wondering if you could help me bring in my trunk."

Aimi tsked and shook her head. "Over packing, it's a rookie mistake." She motioned for me to follow her. "I think that we're going to be good friends. I just got one of those feelings. Oh, I like your shirt. I'm a Mulan person myself."

I smiled at her and followed her out the cabin. Another Disney fanatic.

"Me too."