searching for meaning

"Hi everyone," Mrs Hemmings smiled as she studied the various families sat in front of her, happy with this summer's turnout. She saw a few familiar faces of families she'd known from summers prior, but seeing new families was always so exciting. The camp had been gaining momentum recently, and the possibilities excited her. "I'm Mrs Hemmings, but please, call me Liz." She introduced herself happily. "Welcome to summer camp!" She clapped her hands. "It's always nice to see some faces, young and old, so we thought that today could be a bonding experience, let everyone get to know each other." She smiled. "Remember, kindness only." She reminded. "After this, we have lunch and then bible study in the afternoon. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask me, my husband, Mr and Mrs Clifford or our sons, Luke and Michael."

Luke stood to the side of the room as his mother spoke, trying his hardest to not roll his eyes at her overly enthusiastic, borderline embarrassing words. He didn't know why he'd let himself be dragged into this, god dammit, he should've been in the studio, writing music, doing anything but being stuck here. He looked to Michael with a small smirk, amused that his friend and band mate had been dragged into this, too. Still, with the thought of that, Luke's gaze fell upon the various families, and he made a note of every face he could see, trying to distinct one from the other, but when his gaze landed on a beautiful brunette girl - who had to be around his age - Luke paused, almost swearing the world around him came to a halt, blinking in surprise that anyone as gorgeous as her would be stuck in a place like this. Returning his attention to his mother as she clapped, Luke returned to the present moment, biting his lip. "Let's get this done." He murmured to Michael.

Brianna smirked at her younger brother, Brody, as Mrs Hemmings spoke, leaning forward to murmur into his ear. "Do you think she can recite a full exorcism?" She asked quietly, keeping her voice low so no one else would hear her, already completely bored of the whole experience, despite only having been there for a few hours. The downer of it all was that she had to endure this for a whole damn six weeks, even longer if the camp proved to be popular. Lifting her gaze to opposite the table - where Sara and her family sat, Brianna threw a wink her way, knowing she would probably be bored stiff, too.

Michael listened quietly as Mrs. Hemmings spoke, paying attention to what she was saying, because he didn’t want to seem rude or anything - he highly respected Luke’s family, and his own parents, so he didn’t want to ruin this for them. Still, he found his gaze running over the room, taking in the sight of those that were there and he wondered how many people were there for the first time, but the longer he took in the room, the easier it was for his gaze to drift to one girl in particular, a gorgeous blonde, who looked so amused despite the circumstances. Arching an amused brow, he couldn’t help but to watch her, entranced, but he blinked out of it when he heard Luke and looked over. “Uh, right, yeah,” he said with a nod, his gaze going back to the girl for a moment before he looked back to Luke, “What are we supposed to be doing again? Sorry, I wasn’t paying attention towards the end.”

Brody couldn’t help but to snort a quiet laughter, though he ducked his head to hide it, grinning towards his sister. “We both know you’d be able to, with how much you watch Supernatural,” he teased quietly, though he’d tried to focus on what Mrs. Hemmings was saying and he shifted a bit, unsure, but their parents had thought this would be a good idea and there wasn’t much else to occupy him this summer, anyways.

Sara stared out a window as she listened to Mrs. Hemmings talk, watching birds flutter around quietly, wanting to get out of the room because it felt way too crowded and uncomfortable with how many people were in there. Tearing her gaze away, her attention went to Brianna and, noticing her friend’s wink, she made a joking face, but she stood up when they were dismissed. She could see her little sister wiggling uncomfortably in her seat and she offered a smile, because she knew what that meant. “Hey, Opal, how about we go to the bathroom?” she suggested quietly and, seeing the relief on her sister’s face, she offered her hand out to her, pulling her out of her seat.

Luke arched an amused brow to Michael. "How did you not manage to pay attention to that presidential speech?" He teased. "You just gotta mingle before bible study this afternoon." Luke loved his parents, and loved Michael's parents like this own, but he could still tease them. Noticing that the girl who had so easily caught his attention left the room, with who he assumed to be her little sister, Luke got curious, but quickly returned to the task at hand, all the while conflicted. Still, deciding that showing her around couldn't be too much of an issue, he quickly followed. "Excuse me, ma'am?" He smiled, keeping his Mother's politeness. "Are you alright?" He offered a smile to Opal then.

Opal nodded, shifting uncomfortably again.

Brianna laughed with Brody's words, trying to disguise it as a cough as the group broke up to socialise. Looking to the fourteen year old sat in front of her, Brianna smacked the back of his head with a smirk. "If Sam Winchester wasn't so damn hot, I wouldn't have to watch it as much as I do," she debated. "And you have a blatant crush on Dean, so try me, bitch." She murmured, grinning as she roughed up his hair. Making her way to the corner of the room as people went to speak to each other though, Brianna leaned against the wall, not wanting to mix in, but wanting to keep her distance so Brody could try, although she studied everyone in the room, trying to memorise faces.

Sara paused when she heard a voice and she peered over, surprised with the sight of the man who’d approached, but she cleared her throat, nodding. “Yeah, we’re alright,” she assured after a moment, debating before she shrugged slightly. “We’re just looking for the bathroom, that’s all. Do you know where it is? We don’t really know much about this place yet.”

Brody scoffed with the mention of it, opening his mouth to respond, but he saw a man coming over, and he shut his mouth quickly.

Michael’s attention hadn’t left Brianna since his gaze fell on her and, after a moment, he’d pushed himself to approach after hearing Luke’s words, since Luke had left and he might as well be a little brave. “Hi there,” he said, offering a smile as he approached, “First time at the camp?” He arched a brow, curious. “Not that I would really know. I kind of got dragged into all of this.” He grinned jokingly. “You enjoying yourselves?” He paused, though, realizing. “Oh, sorry, I’m Michael, by the way.”

Luke smiled and offered Sara a nod. "Of course ma'am, follow me." And although Luke made fun of his parents frequently, he couldn't bring himself to be rude to any of their guests, but there was something captivating about this girl that he wanted to be near her - it was a strange feeling, Luke could admit to himself, but hey, he needed some excitement and he wondered if she was what he was searching for. "Here." Luke tapped the ladies room door with his large palm. "If you want, I can wait here," he nodded towards a little sitting area, clearly for guests. "I don't want you two getting lost." He offered a smile to Opal then. "What do you say, little lady?"

Opal followed her sister carefully, sticking to her side like glue, needing her guidance more than anything. "Thank you!" She chimed at Luke as she entered the bathroom, rushing to a stall.

Brianna offered a smile to a colourful character as she tucked a stray stand of hair behind her ear, clearly a little awestruck by the stranger. "Hi," she greeted happily. "It is our first time, is it really that obvious?" Brianna grinned. "I guess we're having fun so far. How the heck did you manage to get dragged into a camp?" Brianna arched an amused eyebrow. "I'm Brianna, and this is my brother, Brody."

Sara smiled slightly as she watched Opal head into the bathroom, and she looked to Luke, offering a small nod. “Thanks for this,” she said as she watched him for a moment, “We’ll be right back.” And, though she didn’t want to part from Luke, she also didn’t want her sister alone in a bathroom, and she headed inside to wait.

Michael offered an amused look and shook his head slightly. “No, not obvious at all,” he assured her, “But I’ve been here quite often, I’ve come to notice familiar faces.” He lifted his shoulders in a small shrug. “One of my best friend’s parents is basically in control of the camp, so we come here to help on occasion.” He grinned. “It’s nice to meet you both. I’m Michael.”

Brody made a face as he watched them. “Should I leave you two alone to flirt?” he teased lightly.