Carly looked back at me, hope filling her large brown eyes. "Please, Layla?" she asked. "Just until I find you someplace else."
'You have got to be kidding me,' I thought to myself. My hand fumbled anxiously at the sleeve of my hoodie.
"And Rebecca is okay with this?" I said incredulously. The director of the camp, Rebecca, was so strict. How could she possibly...?
"Yeah, she said we have no other choice. I mean, one of you will have to," Carly said. "The other girls--well, to tell you the truth, they're really hormonal and boy-crazy. You're really the one that I can trust won't cause havoc and won't make a big deal out of it..."
I wasn't going to fall for it. I wasn't going to fall for it. Carly cannot do this to me. This was my last summer at Camp Eastbury as a camp counselor. She couldn't do this to me!
But she did.
"Fine," I said, picking up my duffle bag.
I couldn't believe I had just agreed to live in the boys' cabin the entire summer, but I did. I guess that's what happens when you're the only girl that doesn't happen to drool over the male counselors. I sighed. I just dug a nice big hole for myself that I'd probably never get out of.
"Thank you so much!" Carly exclaimed, wrapping her arms around me tightly. She was a slightly chubby woman in her late twenties and was the manager of Camp Eastbury.
"Yeah, yeah," I grumbled. "Tell me when you get a bed in the girls' cabin."
"Will do!" Carly said, giving me a pat on the back. "I'm going to the kitchen to snag an extra brownie for you!" Oh, sweet. I love brownies.
"Thanks," I said. Carrying my duffle bag in one hand and my book in the other, I made my way over to the boys' cabin. It was close to the girls' cabin, but closer to the main dining hall. The cabin was rather large, with a lounge, recreation room, a bathroom, and a room full of single beds. When I entered the cabin, I found that I was the first one to arrive. I crossed the lounge where there were several large couches and walked past the recreation room to the left where a pool table and air hockey table was set up. The beds were in the room on the right so I went in there to drop off my things.
There were six beds, just like in the girls' cabin. I picked the one on the right, closest to the door. I knew from experience that if I picked the one in the corner, I'd be killing spiders all night. And I didn't want a bed that was in between two other ones.
I had worked at Camp Eastbury for the past three years since I was a freshman in high school and had lived in the girls' cabin for all those years. Before I worked as a camp counselor, I had come to the camp as a student myself.
Camp Eastbury was a summer camp for middle school students. The students were split into six classes - science, sports, water sports, singing, arts and crafts, and fashion. Each student lived in a cabin with other students of the same gender and a supervisor over the age of 18. The students prepared themselves with a project to present as an exhibit, performance, or competition at the end of the summer.
The counselors, aka people like me, were mostly high school students. We were split into pairs and were in charge of helping out in each of the subject classes, along with a designated supervisor. Classes ran four days a week, but the students - and counselors - had the opportunity to enjoy themselves on Fridays and during the weekend. There were also camp activities every day, whether it was camp stories after dinner or camp games in the afternoon.
I crossed my legs on the bed, flipped my book back to the page I had left off at, and continued to read. I had just gotten to a really good part of the book - it was one of those perfect scenes. The heroine was at the airport, about to go through check-in to fly to another country and the hero just realized how much he loved her. It was those run-after-the-girl scenes I loved... and even though I had read the book over twenty times already, I still loved this part. I glanced briefly at my bag before diving back into the book. I'd unpack my sleeping bag later.
It wasn't long before I was suddenly interrupted as three boys barged into the room. They laughed loudly but, once they saw me, they stopped.
"...Uhh, Layla?" Noah said. "Are you in the wrong place?"
"Girls' cabin is that way," Isaac said, pointing. Noah and Isaac had been counselors in the previous years too; the third boy was someone I had not met before.
"I'm not in the wrong place," I said slowly.
"Wait, WHAT?" Isaac exclaimed. "What are you talking about?"
"What I'm talking about is that Carly assigned me here," I said.
Noah raised his eyebrows. "But--but--"
"I know," I said, scrunching my face. "But it's temporary...or that's what Carly said."
But the third guy sauntered over and sat down next to me. I gave him a weird look but he winked and said, "Well then. Temporary or not.. hi. I'm Braden. And you're welcome here anytime. Really."
"And you're not," I said, whacking him with my book. "Seriously."
"Ow," Braden said, rubbing his arm. "God you didn't have to hit that hard."
"She's immune to your charm, Braden," Noah said. "We've all tried it on her. Doesn't work."
I rolled my eyes. "You guys make me sound like I'm some sort of ice queen."
"You are," Isaac said. "When it comes to guys anyway."
Crossing my arms, I gave him a look. "I am not."
"Well then," Noah said. "It's settled. I get this one." He sat down on the bed next to mine.
"No fair," Isaac said. "I want that one."
"I'll be over here..." Braden said, picking the bed furthest away. I laughed.
"I got it first," Noah said.
"I put my bag on it first," Isaac retorted.
"Come on, man."
"I'm not giving it up."
"But I got here first!"
"My bed."
"Mine."
"No."
"Do you remember what happened last time you tried to get something I wanted?"
"No. My bed."
"It's mine, dude."
"I already called it."
"My bag's on it!"
"I'm on it."
"So am I!"
All of a sudden, a boy walked into the room. It was Eric, one of Layla's closest friends. But he didn't even notice that she was sitting there.
"What the hell is going on?" he shouted.
"Mine!!!!" Noah cried.
"Nooo!" Isaac yelled.
"SHUT UP!!!!" Eric shouted.
Noah and Isaac stopped and looked at him.
"What's going on?!" Eric said. Then he noticed me. "Layla? You're not...allowed to be here. Did you forget where the girls' cabin is?"
I gave him a look. "Eric," I said, "no, I didn't forget. I'm assigned here."
"What?" Eric said.
"It's my bed," Noah said quietly before shoving Isaac off the bed.
"Ow," Isaac said, rubbing his backside.
"There aren't enough beds in the girls' so Carly assigned me here."
"That's ridiculous," Eric said. "You're--you're--"
"A girl?" Noah finished.
Eric glared at him. "Yes. I know that." He looked back at me. "Did Rebecca--"
"She said alright to it already," I said. "It's crazy."
Eric then noticed Noah sitting on the bed next to mine with a huge grin on his face.
"That bed's mine," Eric said.
Noah frowned. "I got here first," he said.
"Tough," Eric said. He put his bag on the bed. "Move."
"Aw, Eric, come ON," Noah groaned.
"No way am I letting you sleep here," Eric said. "You can have the other one over."
"Man," Noah said. "You suck."
"Why do you get the bed?" Isaac asked.
"Oh my God," I muttered in annoyance.
"Because I said so," Eric replied.
"That's not fair," Isaac said.
I looked up at the sky, in hopes that some holy spirit might solve this problem... but no.
"I'm getting the bed," Eric said.
"I got it first," Noah said.
"I thought we settled this already," Eric replied.
"Please, Eric?" Noah said.
"God, everyone," I cried out. "Just stop it already, okay? Seriously!"
I tabbed my book and stomped to the doorway to leave, but suddenly ran into a person.
A/N: More to come. :)
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