Camp Nityasundar

I’m seventeen years old. And I’m being forced to go to summer camp. Is this some kind of sick joke?

There’s nothing funny about this. Granted, I’ll be a “cabin counselor” or whatever. But that doesn’t help the fact that I’ll be stuck with a bunch of bratty little girls and boys all day... every day... for eight weeks.

The only good thing about going to Camp Nityasundar is that I was able to take my baby with me; my brand new, 2009 Toyota Prius. My only way to escape. Maybe I can sneak away once in a while. Not that I have anywhere to go, since this camp is in the middle of effing nowhere.

After a two hour car ride, stretching my legs felt phenomenal. I popped my trunk and grabbed my suitcases from the back, setting them on the ground. Not once have I been to summer camp. All of a sudden, my mother sees an add looking for camp counselors.
“Anything to make a buck!” she said. Like working at Subway for the past year and a half wasn’t enough.

“Miss Becker?” a little voice chimed behind me.

“Kory is fine,” I said, turning around. A small, elderly woman looked up at me with a smile.

“Kory. You’ll be staying in cabin number 4. I believe your co-counselor is already there, if you want to meet up with her,” she said, handing me a key to the cabin and a list of the girls that were going to be staying there.

“Thanks,” I said, smiling back at her.

“And if you have any questions, my cabin is right near the dining hall. By the way, I’m Mrs. Adair. But you can just call me Misty,” she said. She was obviously not Native American. Her skin was light and her eyes were green. Wrinkles formed under her eyes when she smiled at me.

“Thank you, Misty,” I said. She nodded once and glided away. She was so elegant.

“Need any help?” a tall, dark skinned boy approached me. I raised an eyebrow at him.

“With?” I asked.

“Your bags, maybe? Or finding the cabin?” he said.

“I’m pretty sure I can count to 4. And carry my own bags. Thanks anyway, though,” I said.

“Calm down, sassy. I was just trying to help you,” he said with a smile.

“Thanks, but no thanks,” I said.

“Maybe I can show you around later then? I’ve been here a few times before,” he said. His smiled wouldn’t cease.

“Well, no offense, but I don’t exactly WANT to be here. So I’m going to keep to myself and hope these eight weeks goes by quickly. So thanks anyway, but I’d rather not,” I said.

“Suit yourself, Red. See you around,” he said, turning away with a wink. My cheeks turned a bright shade of red. My hair wasn’t exactly red.. just red-ish.

I picked up my bags and walked toward cabin 4. It looked small, but the inside wasn’t terrible cramped. We had a bathroom, and I had my own room separate from the younger girls and the other counselor. Come to think of it, maybe it wasn’t so small.

“Hello?” A girl around my age with jet black hair rounded the corner.

“Hi, are you the other counselor?” I asked.

“Yeah! I’m Mya. You must be Korrine,” she said, smiling.

“Ugh, please. Call me Kory,” I said.

“Okay, Kory. I took the room on the right, so the one on the left is all yours,” she said. Of course, the one farthest away from the bathroom. I smiled.

“Cool, thanks,” I said.

“No problem. We have a meeting at the rec hall in about ten minutes. Then the kids are coming,” she said. I nodded and walked into my room and she pranced back into her room.

My room wasn’t much bigger than the one back home. Bigger bed, actually. It had a nice a window that faced a lake.

I set my bags down on the bed. I managed to get all of my crap unpacked in about five minutes. I glanced out the window again. Minivans and SUV’s were rolling up and dropping off kids. Some crying, some practically running away from their parents.

I saw Misty, greeting and smiling at every child that walked by. I gathered that she was the owner, eventually. There was a man with her, not the same age, but slightly younger. They shared a striking resemblance, but his skin was slightly darker. He was probably her son.

“Kory, you ready to go?” Mya poked her head in my door. I jumped and realized I’d been staring out the window like an idiot for a good five minutes.

“Yeah, let’s go,” I said, shoving my phone in my pocket.
*******************************
Everyone at the camp gathered at in the multipurpose room in the recreation hall. Counselors all sat together in a clump, surrounded by kids. A lot of kids. A lot of loud, hyperactive kids. Oh boy.

Misty stepped onto the stage with a microphone. “Hello everyone!” Her voice made even the craziest of children close their mouths. “Welcome to Camp Nityasundar! My name is Mrs. Adair. You’ll see me around a lot, because I own the place.” Her smile was contagious. “Now, I’m not only the owner, I’m the senior advisor. So if you kids need anything, I’ll be around all the time. Don’t be afraid to ask. Now, there are two other people who’ll be around to help you. My son, Robert.” The guy I saw greeting people with Misty before stood on the side of her. Next to him was.. hm.. “And my grandson, Jersey.” The kid who offered to help me with my bags. I was a little concerned. I wasn’t exactly nice to this kid.

“We’re gonna have a lot of fun this year! Get excited!” Jersey spoke with a lot of enthusiasm. His energy was as contagious as his grandmother’s smile. The kids responded with a thundering applause.

The kids separated by cabin. I stood in the group of Cabin 4’s girls, slightly overwhelmed. Mya was trying to shout directions over the screaming girls. It wasn’t exactly working.

“Need my help yet?” Jersey stood next to me with a smirk on his face.

“Nope, I can handle this,” I said.

“Well, if you as good as your co-pilot over there, you’ll be just fine,” he said. Mya was trying to scramble the girls together. She looked like a farmer trying to gather chickens on speed.

I might be in a little over my head.