Chapter Six
Xander was so pumped for another summer at Camp Kikiwaka. He had spent the entire school year, especially these last few months, preparing for what Lou had dubbed "The Best Summer Ever". As much as Xander loved his new home in Tennessee and his friends at law school, he missed his camp family. Video chats were great, but not the same. He missed all his fellow staff members as well, even Hazel.
Ravi, his co-counselor, had come up with lots of cool activities for them to do with the Grizzly cabin campers, Jorge and Griff, this summer. Despite their rough beginnings Xander had become quite protective over the boys. He was especially excited to hear from Hazel that they were going to have a new camper named Joey Rooney this year. Lou had arrived at camp earlier than him and had texted that several of the staff members had left the camp and been replaced.
The first two weeks of training flew by for Xander and the camp staff. Xander had a blast seeing his old friends and bonding with the new staff members, especially Francesca and her little sister Maria. The three of them had become rather close in the past two weeks. Xander loved the girls though he dreaded when the Rosses would arrive at camp and the inevitable drama Emma's arrival would bring. He had done a lot of thinking over the past year and had realized that they just did not work as a couple. Emma was a good friend, but they were not good for each other when in a romantic relationship. Emma's jealousy had originally been kind of cute but quickly spiraled out of control.
"Mr. Xander, Mr. Xander, look what Miss Maya and I made today!" Maria held out a cute braided and beaded friendship bracelet.
"That is beautiful Miss Maria" Xander declared as he swung her up and around. "Do you want me to tie it on your wrist?" she nodded and held still while he fastened it for her.
"Maria, where are you?" called Francesca. Looking up Xander couldn't help but smile as she entered the great lawn. The new counselor for the fox cabin had the ability to make Xander forget where he was and what he was doing at the craziest of times. The auburn-haired beauty strolled over to where the pair of them were sitting. Settling down beside him Francesca reached out to look at the bracelet Maria had made. "This is beautiful baby girl! Who helped you?"
"Miss Maya helped me make it! I used gold string and red beads that Miss Maya called scarlet. Did you know that Miss Maya is a real artist? She showed me all her paintings! They are really good! She has lots of pictures of Mr. Lucas!"
"Lots of pictures of Mr. Lucas huh?" laughed Xander as he glanced at Francesca. He would have to remember that to tease the pair later.
"Did you have fun working on art with Miss Maya?". It was hilarious watching Maya and Farkle's faces when Maria would call them by "Miss and Mr".
"Yeah, she promised to let me paint tomorrow!". The little group stayed on the great lawn until dinner talking and growing closer.
*Journey to Happiness - Journey to Happiness - Journey to Happiness*
The campers were set to arrive in three days. The counselors had been busy scrambling to make sure everything was set for their arrival. The trunks of the campers' clothes and main supplies had arrived the previous day so the counselors took a break from their training to unpack the trunks and prepare the cabins for the kids' arrival. Francesca took special care as she unloaded the bags that her girls had sent ahead of them. Looking at the girl's belongings Francesca was able to learn a little bit about each of her new campers. For example, there was an alarming amount of Camouflage in Eve Baxter's bag, Kim Crawford had sent framed pictures of her with a group of boys all dressed in martial arts gear, and Elena Alverez had sent an alarming amount of books. The girls had also been tasked with sending in a paragraph about themselves along with a photo, Fran enjoyed reading the submissions and could tell the kids had gotten a kick out of writing them.
Maya had been terrified that she would be put in sole charge of three children and a CIT. So to ease her worries Francesca had decided that Maria would spend the day with her to help put her mind at ease and to build their bond. The bright smile on Maria's face as she talked about her time with Miss Maya, proved that her bond with her head counselor had grown and she had quickly fallen in love with the older girl.
The next 3 days were the busiest yet as Xander cleaned the cabin, set up the sleeping areas, checked the camping gear, helped set up the sports shed and trained Farkle to be a lifeguard. It was all worth it though when Sunday rolled around the campers arrived.
The final days were the busiest yet as Xander cleaned the camp, set up the activity sites, checked the camping gear, helped set up the sports shed and trained Farkle to be a lifeguard. It was all worth it though when Sunday rolled around the campers arrived.
The first member to arrive at Camp Dimond of the Grizzly cabin was Ravi with his family. While he was thrilled to see his fellow counselor, he was less excited to see Emma due to his confusing, but great relationship with Francesca.
"Hey man, welcome back to Camp Kikiwaka! This year is going to be the best one yet" he greeted Ravi, pulling him into a hug. Turning to the other Ross boy he added "Hey Luke! Welcome back to camp! I'm sure Hazel told you that you are C.I.T for Wolf cabin. My buddy Lucas is the head counselor and is totally cool. You are going to love it".
"Thanks for the warm welcome Dude, I'm looking forward to having a whole summer here at camp rather than just a week or two like the past few years".
Xander's response was cut off as someone jumped on his back. "Hi Xander! I missed you so much!"
Grimacing, he set the eager blonde down. "Hi Emma, welcome back. Lou is expecting you in your cabin to talk about your duties and preparing to welcome the new campers. If you will excuse me, I have to go prepare for my own campers. Ready Ravi? I'll get Mrs. Kipling's bag." Grabbing the lizard's bag, Xander turned to the other Ross brother. "Luke, do you need a guide to the wolf cabin? I know Lucas is waiting for you there."
"That would be great! Thanks dude". The three boys headed off to their cabin leaving the sisters at the check in.
*Journey to Happiness - Journey to Happiness - Journey to Happiness*
Dropping Luke off with Lucas, the Grizzly boys made their way back to their cabin to welcome their own campers. Xander could not keep the giant smile off his face when Griff and Jorge entered the cabin buzzing excitedly about their plans for the upcoming summer.
"Welcome back guys!" Xander shouts. "Who's ready to win the Kikiwaka Cup for the Grizzly Cabin this year?" The answering shouts from the boys were all Xander needed to hear.
"No way are you guys going to win! The cup is going to the Bunny Cabin this year" declared Maria as she tumbled through the window and onto Xander's bed.
"Maria! What has Fran told you about climbing up to tall spaces?" Xander scolded as he picked her up off his bed and set her on the floor.
Hanging her head, moping, she admitted, "Not to…"
"That is right, little miss. You should listen to what Fran has to say." As her lower lip began to tremble, he added "She only wants to keep you safe, Sugar."
"I'm sorry! Please don't tell her". She was just too adorable, Xander decided. Sweeping her up in a big hug he declared that he would not tell Fran if she promised to not do it again. Her quick agreement made him wary, but he let her run off as he could see the faces of his cabin mates and knew he had quite a bit of explaining to do.
Once she was gone Ravi was the first one to speak, "Xander who was that? And who is Fran?" he asked in a strange voice.
"That was Maria Holloway and Francesca is her older sister as well as the new camp Nurse and Fox cabin counselor. Maria was here during counselor training and had a little accident which caused her to become a little clingy with the counselors and especially her sister. This is their first year here at Camp Kikiwaka so the Grizzly Cabin must do their best to make sure they feel welcome."
Xander thought that he heard a "I bet they feel welcome" muttered by Griff but he couldn't be sure. Shooting him a glare for good measure Xander continued his welcome back speech.
"This summer is going to be the best yet for the Grizzly cabin! This year we are going to win the Camp Cup and glory for Grizzly!" The resounding cheers from his campers made Xander smile. "Let's finish unpacking guys. The welcome back dinner is in 3 hours!".
The boys were soon joined by their C.I.T. an Australian named Mick Campbell and their newest camper Joey Rooney.
Evie's Notes: I love hearing from y'all, let me know what you think of the chapter and the story so far! Stay safe everyone!