2. Nat #2
“He’s currently trying to bribe a deer to leave the garden with a basket of apples attached to a fishing rod,” she said, beaming. “He’s so funny.”
I turned my back so she didn’t see my knowing smile. “And the second camp?”
Hazel let out a deep sigh, one tinged with exhaustion.
“It’s going good. Leo and I just got back in time for campers to arrive here, but we’ll go back down next week to help them launch.
For some reason, I think I’m more nervous than the first time we opened this camp.
I can’t wait for things to be up and running so we can take a second to just… breathe.”
In the short time since I arrived, I’d noticed my friend carried herself differently. Her shoulders were slumped as though she’d forgotten what posture was, her face carrying dark circles underneath her eyes. But she still looked happy. Running was what she was used to.
Last year, a backer had approached Hazel and her counterpart about opening a second Camp Starlight, now called Camp Sunlight, and they’d been working tirelessly at the former kids’ summer camp to get things up and running.
I hadn’t been sure they’d be able to do it in the nine months they’d had, but they’d pulled out a miracle.
It helped that the bones were there, and this place was like a well-oiled machine, so they knew what they were doing after six years.
I couldn’t wait to go to Northern California to see it.
I closed my dresser and found Hazel biting her lip as she scrolled on her phone.
“Oof, looks like Poppy liked your latest post.” Her eyebrows jumped to her hairline as if she didn’t mean to say the words, but there they were, hanging between us like a breath on a cold fall night.
“She can like all she likes.” I tried not to sound bitter as I fought the urge to pull out my phone.
Pulling up the post would lead to checking out her profile, which would lead to remembering that I was less bitter and more sad than anything.
Her account hadn’t seen the growth she’d expected it to have after dating me for six months, which meant her plan to date me for likes had blown up in her face.
It had been two months since we’d broken up, which made this the second time I’d come to camp on the heels of a breakup. This was officially a pattern. Great.
I fell back onto the bed, causing Hazel to bounce slightly. She let out a small giggle, a sound she didn’t normally make outside of being drunk.
“Is everything going well here?”
“Well, we’ve been very focused on our other project, so Autumn has been picking up the slack and kicking ass as assistant director.
She’s not acting as a camp counselor this year, so she has more time.
I think we can look forward to a chaos-free year.
” She knocked on my oak bed frame. “With the exception of these camp games. They’re already turning into something.
” Hazel’s eyebrows went up as I grinned maniacally.
“You’re going to be good, right? We both know how competitive you can get. ”
I rolled my eyes dramatically enough to hurt. “Hey, that resident advisor was able to walk straight a couple of weeks after our spring softball tournament. You and I both agreed that had he tied his shoes properly, he wouldn’t have face-planted when I tagged him out at third base.”
“And the black eye did go away, so no harm done.”
“Exactly.” I rolled to the side, and my keys fell out onto the ground. I got out of bed and picked them up, dangling them from my fingers.
“You don’t still have that frog keychain. Why don’t you just buy a new one?”
“You obviously can’t buy luck, Hazel. This thing has gotten me through a lot of major events and milestones.”
“The first car you bought yourself.”
I raised a finger. “Every one of my finals in college.”
“That time we got free tickets to that metal show senior year.”
I nodded. “That was pretty sick. Even after they showed up two hours late and the kegs ran out. Now, if only it could help me find a person who isn’t dating me for all the wrong reasons.
What am I saying? Don’t feel bad, Bernice.
” I squeezed my keychain. “No one said you have to be perfect.” I placed my keys carefully on top of my dresser, instantly realizing that I’d made a mistake.
I turned to Hazel, who stared at me gleefully. “Don’t even think about it.”
“I know someone who would be perfect for you—”
“Hazel. You’re not good at this. You’re not Leo.”
Leo was the infamous matchmaker at Camp.
Though he sure did fail when it came to his own relationships.
He’d won the shipping board every year since its inception, always figuring out which pairs went best together.
He even had a bulletin board in his office filled with wedding and birth announcements, which he prided himself on, even though he hadn’t had a hand in every single one. To him, it was close enough.
Everything at camp screamed family and belonging, and while I knew Hazel’s relationship with her own family was complex, I also had my fair share of family complications and was glad she didn’t ask me about mine, just like I wasn’t about to ask about hers.
It was one of those unspoken things that I appreciated about her.
“Really, Nat, thank you so much for helping out again. I’ve never had a new hire no-show before.”
This was the second consecutive year that I’d been a fill-in counselor at Camp Starlight.
Last year, I’d jumped at the chance to finish out the summer when a counselor had to leave because his pregnant sister went on bed rest and needed him to come help out.
I’d just come off a bad breakup and happened to have some downtime, so I’d spent six weeks helping out.
To be honest, I’d been ecstatic when she called me.
We had recently rekindled our friendship after a few years of separation due to distance.
We’d kept up with each other, but last year was the first time I’d seen her in years, and that was one of the best summers of my life.
“It’s okay. I was planning on going where the wind took me this summer, anyway.”
My job was great, so I wasn’t complaining.
I’d been a travel blogger since I was twenty-three.
Before I went full time several years ago, I’d worked at my mom’s company, in a soul-killing job, doing influencing on the side.
I decided to leave after my accounts blew up, and I started making enough money to sustain myself. My mom hadn’t taken it well.
“It’s no problem.” I’d still be able to keep up with my other job. Camp Starlight was surrounded by great hikes and viewpoints, and I planned to take short jaunts around Oregon during my time off for content.
Taking a break wasn’t the worst idea anyway.
At least that was what the therapist I hadn’t spoken to in months had told me, but what did she know?
Sure, I hadn’t stopped moving since the last time I was at Starlight, and before that, I hadn’t had a place to land in years. But who needed a home, amiright?
“I know we left it open-ended for now, and longevity with counselors is never guaranteed, but we liked having you around last summer. Your advice on increasing engagement and the changes you made to our website helped enrollments go more smoothly. Not to mention, you’re such a positive light, which is always right at home here. ”
My cheeks heated at her compliments. She didn’t usually dole them out like candy, and it was a little overwhelming all at once. “I just don’t want you to worry about staffing while everything else is going on. Like I told you, I’d be happy to stick around for a few months.”
Hazel narrowed her eyes skeptically. “If you’re sure.”
“I’m sure.” I didn’t know exactly how long I’d be here because the season was long, and I didn’t have a plan just yet, but I didn’t want this to be a stressor on anyone. And not to mention, being here just felt… right.
I wanted to chase that feeling.