Upon arriving at Camp Kikiwaka that morning Maya hadn't been quite sure what to make of the place. Lucas and Zay had told her and their friends so many stories about the place and the camp director Gladys. After meeting the woman Maya was inclined to believe that the boys had been too kind in their unflattering description of the harsh woman. Her fellow counselors seemed nice though. When they arrived Lucas and Zay had left her and Farkle in the dust as they rushed off to try and find their friends Lou and Xander. Farkle suggested that they go look for somewhere to sign in, leading to their first meeting with Gladys. Maya had to say that the camp leader had seemed a bit more professional during their phone interview. Having been given their assignments the two New Yorkers decided to head to their cabins and start moving their stuff in before the first team meeting that afternoon.
Walking into her cabin, the first thing Maya noticed was that someone else's stuff was already in there. While the bed seemed untouched, one corner of the room seemed to have been claimed. Confused since the campers weren't supposed to move in for another two weeks, Maya just assumed that Gladys had forgotten to mention a co-counselor.
With that thought came thoughts of who she wished was her co-counselor. After Riley and Lucas's latest break up, Riley didn't think that coming to camp with them was such a good idea. Instead she had chosen to stay behind and help at her mother's bakery this summer. While Maya understood the desire to have a drama free summer in New York, instead of the guaranteed awkwardness of working with your ex, she couldn't help but feel hurt at being pushed aside by Riley once again.
While her relationship with Riley had started to fade, her relationship with Lucas had only continued to grow throughout their first year of college. Being away from Riley for a year was hard, but it helped to put some things into perspective for Maya. While Riley would always be important to her, Maya realized that she needed to start putting herself first and try to become the best Maya she could be. She had finally realized that the whole "becoming Riley" ordeal of freshman year had been nonsense. She had been happy for a while and she wanted to be happy again. One cannot become another human being. Change is a good thing, but Riley never liked it. She needed Maya to be a certain way, and Maya would do anything for Riley so she pretended to be a false version of herself and shoved everything down, yet as soon as she was on her own, she could finally hear that she had been screaming. Riley was Maya's entire world, but was she Riley's? Pushing that thought to the back of her mind she finished unpacking.
*Journey to Happiness - Journey to Happiness - Journey to Happiness*
It was Farkle's idea to go to the welcome meeting early. This unfortunately came with the consequence of having to speak to Gladys until the others arrived. Having not seen Lucas or Zay since they had been dropped off by Mr. Babineauxit that morning, Maya was anxious for them to enter the dining hall so they would have someone else to talk to other than the old camp leader.
Maya heard the doors open and turned to see two girls enter, one she recognized as Lou from the pictures she had been shown of the boy's camp friends. She assumed the brunette must be new like her since she didn't remember her from any of Lucas or Zay's pictures. Distracted by a question from Gladys, about the state of her cabin, she missed when Lucas and Zay entered the dining hall. She definitely did not miss the squeal from the brunette though as she hurried her way towards Maya's boys.
Ending their conversation with Gladys the blonde pair turned their attention towards the reunion happening on the main floor below their stage. Farkle grabbed her hand and pulled her down to where the group was standing by the doors.
Upon approaching the group Farkle introduced the two of them. She had to force herself not to hit him for using her middle name, but she HAD said she was trying to embrace it. The proud look Lucas gave her when she didn't react negatively to the name and played nice with his old friend was worth it. She laughed at the fact that the girl, Francesca, thought her and Farkle to be twins. It wasn't that big of a surprise though, it happened to them often enough. After introductions had been made, Gladys announced that it was time for their first activity.
*Journey to Happiness - Journey to Happiness - Journey to Happiness*
It was horrifying seeing that young girl up on top of the climbing wall. Maya ran to fetch a blanket to catch the poor girl if she fell. If she needed any confirmation that Zay, Lucas and Francesca knew each other she had it after watching how the boys supported her as they tried to get the girl safely off the climbing wall. After the "excitement" of saving the kid, Maria, the other bonding exercises paled in comparison. Maya liked the block structure building exercise because she got to use her art skills, but she was not a big fan of the maze though.
When Gladys announced that she was headed to the bar Maya half wanted to ask if she could come with her. She really missed civilization. Lucas's declaration that Gladys was always like this did not exactly inspire any joy and excitement at the thought of the long upcoming summer. What were they supposed to do for food? The kitchen staff didn't arrive for a few days and Gladys was taking her car to go into town. Luckily Francesca seemed to have the answer to that. She quickly assigned tasks to each camper and sent them on their way leaving Maya with her and the kid to make dinner for the nine of them.
It turned out that Maya's fears were pointless. Working with Francesca was actually rather nice. Usually when Maya met new people, she felt rather awkward, but the brunette had such a sweet and welcoming personality that Maya felt at peace around her. Her kid, Maria, was really cute too. Maya was looking forward to having her in her cabin this summer and had enjoyed their conversation about what they wanted to do this summer while she helped make dinner.
Francesca was a goddess in the kitchen Maya decided. She was able to put together an amazing meal for nine in no time, with zero prior warning. The table she had let Maria help design was a work of art. Placing the last of the food on the table, Maya could not wait for the rest of the staff to arrive.
*Journey to Happiness - Journey to Happiness - Journey to Happiness*
Maya took her seat between Farkle and Lucas and looked around the table with a smile. Francesca stood up from her seat to the right of the head of the table where Xander was seated. "Welcome back everyone! For dinner tonight, we have oven roasted lemon chicken, spiced potatoes, spinach salad and fruit" and quickly retook her seat between Xander and Maria. Dishes started to be passed family style as Lou and Zay got up to pour sweet tea or lemonade for those at the table.
Dinner passed pleasantly in a happy haze of conversation. Maya got to know her fellow counselors and greatly enjoyed her conversation with Lou. The West Virginian girl had such interesting stories. Maya was amazed at how much one could learn from just observing people. She watched how Francesca interacted with Xander and Maria, she saw how she was aware of everyone at the table and their needs. Xander seemed very nice and Maya enjoyed her conversation about music with him. She had joined a choir briefly in high school but had realized that she loved studio art more. As dinner wrapped up, Lucas, Zay and Farkle rose to clear and clean up. Xander and Hazel left to start the bonfire while Francesca went into the other room to get Maria ready for the bonfire. When she returned the three of them collected the campfire s'more supplies and headed to the fire pit. PJ Duncan had arrived just in time for their campfire and joined the group instantly bonding with the other young adults.
Maya was pleasantly surprised to discover that Xander was such a good guitar player. The boys had told their friends that he was the head of music for the camp, but she hadn't expected him to be this good. He led the group in a few rousing songs and had them all laughing and singing along. He seemed to be a born performer. Laying her head on Lucas's shoulder Maya felt that whatever happened between her and Riley, she would be able to handle it because she had the support of her boys. Looking around at the new friends she had made Maya knew that this was shaping up to be a great summer.