Walking over to the dining hall Francesca took deep breaths as she listened to Lou chatter excitedly about this upcoming summer. "This summer is going to be so great! I'm bummed that Gracie isn't coming back but I'm sure that the new counselor will do great. OHHH! Just wait until you meet my friend Xander. He's the head counselor for the Grizzly cabin and totally amazing. We've been friends since we first came to this camp when we were seven, and… Fran, are you paying attention to me?"
"What" Francesca asked, shaking herself out of a trance. "I'm sorry Lou, I'm just a little worried about leaving Maria by herself. I know she has Chuck, but we are in the middle of the woods with nothing around us for miles! What if something happens to her!" Lou just laughed.
"Sugar, nothing is gonna happen to that sweet little girl of yours, and if it does you are not that far away, just on the other side of the Great Lawn. So just try to relax and enjoy yourself ok. We are about to go make some new friends and teammates for the next few months. Plus, you are about to meet the girl who will be watching over Maria when you can't. This is going to be fun! So, loosen up and get ready to Mingle!" With that said Lou pulled Francesca through the doors and into the dining hall.
The large building had a lot of picnic tables and a raised stage with a pool table and other games. Gladys stood on the stage talking to two blondes who looked like they could be twins. The boy was talking a mile a minute while the girl just rolled her eyes affectionately at him.
Francesca turned as she heard the doors open behind her. Entering the building were two young men that Francesca knew very well but hadn't seen in years. She squealed and hurried to the doorway. "Lucas! Zay!" She called as she hurried towards them. The boys' shock was written all over their faces, Francesca laughed internally at the fact that this is the last place that they had expected to see her.
Swooping forward to meet her, Lucas hugged and exclaimed "Francesca, it is so good to see you again, it has been far too long."
"Thank you, Lucas, you are looking well. And Zay, you are so freaking tall! Video chats really don't do you any justice." Hugging Fran, Isaiah replied.
"Yeah Fran. You have only gotten prettier since the last time we spoke."
Pulling back Francesca inquired "I assume you boys have had the pleasure of meeting my friend Lou Hockhauser?".
"We have. It is wonderful to see you again Lou, I hope you are as excited as we are for another great summer!" Lucas greeted.
"Fran, I gotta introduce you to my friend Xander Covington" called Zay as he dragged the boy who had just entered the dining hall over to their group. "Xander this beauty is Francesca Holloway".
Offering her hand to Xander Francesca said, "It's a pleasure to meet you Xander. I look forward to working with you this summer".
"The twins from before had come over to join the group. The blonde young man stepped forward and introduced himself to Francesca. "Francesca, I'm Farkle Minkus of the Upper East Side Minki".
"Well met, Mr. Minkus, I don't think I have ever had the pleasure of meeting any of the Upper East Side Minki. I look forward to working with you this summer. Is this lovely lady your sister?" Francesca asks, gesturing to the girl beside him as the others laugh quietly at his introduction.
"No, Francesca. Unfortunately, we are not related" laughed Farkle. "This is Maya Penelope Hunter".
"Great to meet you Maya. I hope I didn't not offend you by assuming y'all were related. You both look so similar it is uncanny, right Lucas?"
"They do look alike Fran." Lucas agreed as he wrapped an arm around Maya's waist. Francesca decided she was going to have to keep an eye on THAT relationship.
"You definitely haven't offended us" Maya reassured Francesca. "We get mistaken for siblings pretty often!"
"This is definitely a summer that we will all remember!" Isaiah jumps in. "Is this everybody? I had thought that there would be another female counselor and two more male ones?".
"Yeah, does anyone know where Hazel, Ravi and PJ are?" asked Lou.
"Hazel is preparing some of the team building activities, Lou, since she is head counselor, while Ravi and PJ won't be joining us until the first day of camp." Gladys announced as she walked down from the stage. "Our first team building activity is outside. Follow me".
Walking back onto the Great Lawn Gladys stopped in front of the climbing wall. "This first activity will be to test how you all work in a crisis situation.
"Fran! Frannn! Frannnnn help me!" Francesca's heart stopped as she heard Maria call out for help. With dread she lifted her head to see her baby sister on top of the climbing wobbling without a harness. Pushing her way past the others Francesca rushed to the climbing wall.
"Maria baby calm down ok, just hold onto the wall the best you can. We are going to get you down ok."
"Please don't be mad at me Fran."
"I'm not mad sweetie, you're gonna be ok." Francesca said as her voice cracked with panic. Feeling arms wrap around her waist Francesca struggled to pull herself together as images of the little girl falling from the wall flashed through her mind.
"Xander, get in the climbing gear and Lucas, you spot him with the safety rope" Zay called from where he had his arms around Fran's waist holding her secure.
Maya and Lou had run back to the dining hall to get a blanket to catch Maria with if she ended up falling. Farkle had gone in search of a ladder, while Fran tried to keep the frightened girl calm. The few minutes it took for Xander to climb to the top of the wall were some of the most agonizing of Francesca's life. She let out a deep sigh of relief and leaned back against Zay's chest as Xander held Maria securely to his chest and began his descent from the wall. Francesca pushed free of Zay's arms when Xander touched down and unhooked the two of them from the harness.
Grabbing Maria, Fran buried her face in the little girl's hair, soaking up the warmth which the child gave, proving that she was still alive and unharmed. Lou wrapped the blanket Maya had found around the two sisters as they shifted to sit on the ground. Looking up at Xander, with Maria in her lap, Francesca said "Thank you for saving her.".
"No problem Francesca." Xander replied.
Turning to Maria, Francesca asked "What were you thinking climbing up that wall by yourself and with no equipment! You could have been seriously hurt!"
"I was just doing what Miss Gladys told me to do. She laid a board from the roof to the wall and I crawled across it and sat on the wall like she said. She said I would be helping you Francesca. I'm sorry."
"It's ok kiddo, I'm not mad at you for this. I'm mad that you left the areas that you were allowed to be in without asking first. We will be talking about this more later. You can go play with Chuck, after you thank Mr. Covington."
"Thank you, Mr. Covington, for saving my life." Maria said, looking shyly down at the ground.
Xander crouched down to her level "You are very welcome Miss Maria. In the future though, stay where you are told and listen to Fran. Ok?" Maria nodded her head. "Alright, go on and play, and you can call me Xander".
"Thank you, Mr. Xander. I will, I promise!" Maria called as she ran to play with the wolf pup and Francesca went off to give Gladys a piece of her mind for putting her sister in danger like that.
*Journey to Happiness - Journey to Happiness - Journey to Happiness*
The rest of the afternoon was spent doing trust falls and problem-solving activities, such as trying to discover a pattern for a maze on the floor that only head counselor Hazel, Gladys' niece who had strangely appeared after the scare with Maria, knew. Another activity was trying to build a structure out of blocks which was the same as the one behind a curtain without being able to speak. It was a lot harder than Francesca thought it would be.
After finishing the latest team building activity, seeing which team could wheel the other member in a wheelbarrow through the maze fastest, while blindfolded; Gladys announced that she was headed into town to meet an internet date at the local bar. "You are all on your own for dinner. Good luck!" she called retreating to her cabin.
Turning to the others Maya asked, "is this normal? For her to just leave?".
Lucas sighed "Unfortunately, this is a rather common occurrence. Why do you think that we are paid so well here at camp?".
Ignoring Gladys', apparently common, unprofessional choices Francesca decided that they needed to figure out what needed to be done tonight in order to start getting the camp ready for the campers which would be arriving in two weeks, as well as what to do about dinner. "Who here knows how to cook?" she asked. Lucas, Zay, Maya and Lou all raised their hands. Eyeing the boys who had once almost set Zay's kitchen on fire, Bella rephrased, "New question, who knows how to cook well?" Lucas, Zay and Lou all lowered their hands.
Thinking quickly, Fran split the group into various teams to get the jobs done fast so that they could all eat. "Alright, Lucas and Zay, you go collect firewood for this evening. Lou, Xander, Hazel and Farkle can start setting up the tables and getting the dining hall in check. Maya and I will work on dinner in the kitchen. Is that cool with everyone?". The rest of the group quickly agreed to the plan and set off to fulfill their various tasks. Taking Maya with her, Fran headed into the kitchen to take stock of their supplies and start cooking.
*Journey to Happiness - Journey to Happiness - Journey to Happiness*
Entering the kitchen Francesca and Maya sorted through the groceries they could find. Luckily Hazel and Gladys had ordered a shipment of food that morning since the kitchen staff wouldn't arrive for a few days. Turning to Maya, she suggested that she start peeling and chopping potatoes. Francesca had Maria destem grapes and wash them in the sink while the brunette started to cut the broccoli and chicken. After placing the chicken in the oven, Fran asked her fellow counselor questions to get to know her better. "So, Maya, you are the counselor for the bunny cabin, right? Maria here, is going to be in your group! She is so excited to have you as a counselor and to make some new friends, isn't that right sweetie?".
Maria loudly agreed.
"Well Maria, I am VERY excited to be your counselor this summer. We are going to have A LOT of fun. How old are you?"
"I'm 5" Maria declared proudly.
"Wow! 5 years old, that's practically a grown up!" Maya exclaimed.
"Are you in University?" asked Francesca
"Yeah, I'm going to be a senior this year. I'm majoring in art" shared the blonde.
"That's so cool. I graduated two years ago" shared Fran. "I studied history. Now I'm a third grade teacher".
Francesca smiled as Maya continued to chat happily with Maria about what she was most excited to do this summer. Popping the tray of cut potatoes in the oven with light seasoning, she directed Maya to prepare their supplies for the bonfire that night.
With dinner cooking, Fran focused on clearing off the middle table and trying to figure out how they could fit nine people around it. Instructing Maria to start setting out the dishes, Francesca tried to collect various chairs from around the cabin.
The three girls had just finished setting the table when the timer went off for the food. Pulling the food from the oven Francesca checked to make sure it was all done. Plating the chicken and potatoes she directed Maya to transfer the broccoli into a bowl and place it on the table. Stepping back to look at the whole picture, Fran was pleased to see that all their hard work had paid off. The flowers Maria had collected earlier when she was with Chuck looked beautiful in the center of the table. Now all that was left to do was to wait for the rest of the counselors to arrive.