This picks up immediately after the previous installment!
-
CHAPTER FOUR: Obstacle Courses
The next morning, I was half-expecting Olive to come into my cabin early in the morning and jump into my bed to get me off. But, realistically, I knew she had all sorts of things to get together even earlier than I did. So I got dressed in my usual first-day-of-camp outfit: The mandatory red CAMP SUTTON shirt, my paint-stained rolled-up jeans, and my sneakers. I affixed my name tag -- 'Miss Maisie -- to the shirt near my collar. This rotation of camp was 8-10-year-olds, which meant they still liked to see counselors as proper authority figures. Everyone was 'miss' except the few married women who hung around.
I showed up to the main hall for breakfast, joining Jackie and the other counselors for scrambled eggs and sausage and hash. Breakfast was rushed, of course, because we had to pitch in to get all the dishes done and the check-in stations set up in the gym before the girls started to arrive within the hour. We unfolded the card tables that stood in for check-in desks and attached the paper-and-paint banners with our cabin numbers. Mary brought out clipboards with finalized lists of campers along with pens, release forms, and information sheets for each girl. I already had files on anyone who had medical needs or other crucial details, but most of the girls' names were new to me.
The first cars pulled up. It was slow for about ten minutes. Then, it was a flurry of activity for the rest of the day, an absolute marathon of collecting signatures, crafting name tags, assigning bunks, helping make beds, putting bandaids on knees, and not having a second to catch my breath until the early evening. I ended up with eight girls, which was the same I'd had most years. It felt manageable; last year I had ten and it felt like twenty. While I checked over the suitcases to make sure they had everything on their packing lists, I practiced their names over and over in my head, trying to match each one to some specific detail about them.
Ava, gap teeth. Lucy, braces. Ellie, tiny. Maya, tall. Brooklyn, ringlets. Gracie, bangs. Claire, freckles. Mia, gay moms. I wouldn't forget that one easily.
Around five, all the girls had come back into the cabin to put their first craft -- wooden signs on twine with their names painted on -- on their bunks. The first couple days, we slapped their names on any damn craft we could to try to memorize everyone's before they could feel neglected or unseen. Obviously memorizing my own kids' names was most important, but if a girl wandered off from her group or made friends with someone in mine, I wanted to know their names and for them to know mine.
The dinner bell rang soon after they'd all hung up their signs and finished making their beds with pillows and blankets brought from home. I made tall Maya our line leader and marched them up to the main hall once more, which Olive and the maintenance crew had flipped back to normal after we had finished check-in. I got them through dinner, careful to show everyone where to pick up utensils, drinks, and napkins, and where to put their dishes when they were finished.
On the first night of camp, we had a great big bonfire to celebrate the start of the festivities, so to speak. It was the only time during the first day where the girls got to interact with people from other cabins, making allies and nemeses for the next few weeks. It was also the only time during the first day that the counselors didn't have to keep as close of an eye on them while they got their fingers s'mores-sticky and the corners of their lips all chocolatey.
It was then, by the orange light, that Olive caught me for the first time since our meeting in the showers last night. Jackie was busy on the other side of the fire consoling a girl who'd dropped a marshmallow in the flames, so Olive poked me in the side and knocked her shoulder into mine like we were old pals instead of secret lovers.
She asked, "How are the little ones?"
"You know, little." I laughed and said, "It's a good group. More introverted than the ones I had last year, but they always warm up pretty quickly after a few hundred calories of straight sugar."
We both watched the girls running around, screeching out giggles, and dancing to music they sang themselves for a minute. Then, glancing quickly at me, Olive asked, "I was wondering if you wanted to go on a date tomorrow?"
I rolled my eyes and nudged her with my shoulder, too. I wanted to touch her so badly, but I knew we had to keep everything professional and cordial. I was working now, after all. Still, I couldn't resist asking, "A date? With eight fifth graders tagging along?"
Olive fake-pouted. "I may have checked your cabin schedule and know for a fact that your campers will be at the obstacle courses from ten to noon tomorrow."
My voice honestly disappointed, I told her, "I have chores to do when the girls are at activities; that's the whole reason we have them. Cleaning up the cabin, getting things together for the activities I have to run, that sort of stuff."
"Well, chores go twice as fast with two people," she told me, dragging out her words. "So I figured I could get half of your time if I donated some of mine."
I cut her a sideways look, my lip curling up at one corner. "That sounds like a fair trade. What's the date?"
"I have a few offers for you to consider," she replied like it was a business pitch. I laughed at her, my eyes still watching the girls to make sure nothing went wrong. Olive continued, "First, we could hike up to one of the lookouts up in the forest."
"Sounds sweaty; plus, I have to go on about a million hikes over the next three months."
"I thought that might be the case," she said. I tried not to let on to how cute she was being now that the fire was winding down and Jackie would be looking for me. "Your other options are time on the lake -- I promise I'm a very solid and reliable oarsman -- or head up to the pool. I'm supposed to make sure it's all ready before anyone starts swimming next week."
"That sounds like either you want to see me in a swimsuit or get me to help with your chores."
