3. Nat
THREE
Nat
The water rippled around my calves as I sat on the Lake Starlight dock and finally felt restored.
It was so pretty out here that I wished I’d brought my camera.
But there would be plenty of time for photo opportunities later.
The campers were arriving soon, and this lake water cooling me off was my only hope at normalcy, my only reprieve from the sweltering desert that was currently my studio cabin.
I was sweating in places that I didn’t know I could sweat.
My shorts were sticking to me, and even though I considered myself fairly acclimated to the Pacific Northwest’s changing weather patterns, this heatwave caught me off guard. Of course, it would happen the first week of camp.
Having grown up in Maryland, I was familiar with heatwaves and snowstorms. But I felt lied to.
Oregon was supposed to be different. Everyone warned me about the rain, nice summers, and more rain, so where was all of that?
Instead, we were fighting an unprecedented heatwave, and the cabin AC unit I thought I could rely on had packed its bags, leaving me high and dry.
The large evergreen trees provided a little shade at least, and I could get a light cross-breeze with all the windows open, but it still wasn’t enough.
There was still a little time to gather myself before the campers for this week arrived. I’d already gone over my packets, magically deciphering Leo’s god-awful handwriting. Maybe I was just getting better at reading it, or maybe after some mild harassment, he’d made them halfway legible.
I was getting used to the many changes between now and last summer.
For one thing, there was the new pod, Lynx, built just off the meditation meadow.
I hadn’t had a moment to talk with Lynx’s new counselor, Chase, but I would eventually.
Then there was Emerson. She and I had met briefly last year when she was in Jamie’s infamous pod.
I had been lucky to witness Jamie and Autumn’s love take shape over their time together last summer. I hadn’t known Emerson back then, but this time, I intended to learn more about her.
After I finally felt like a human again, I pulled my legs from the lake water and slid my flip-flops back on, ready to walk the grounds to see what people were up to.
Maybe even bump into a tall, broody blond who could fix my AC.
I found myself under the zipline platform—my old stomping grounds.
I’d be splitting my time between the zipline and craft cabin just like last year, as well as taking on some of Autumn’s activities.
At least I wouldn’t be bored. First stop, the mess hall for a snack and a refill of my water bottle.
I had an hour before I was needed at the parking lot to help campers find their pods in the madness that was Friday, better known as campers’ arrival day.
The doors to the mess hall echoed strangely when campers weren’t occupying the large space, running back and forth and talking excitedly over one another.
I snagged some trail mix when I heard commotion coming from the kitchen.
I poked my head in to see our new intern, Shayne, as well as Azalea and Bobby, in a clamor to finish trays of snack foods that traveling campers could enjoy before dinner.
I went to the nearest ice and water station and filled up my water bottle.
“Can I help?” I called out.
Azalea gave me a look that said I was today’s miracle. She immediately took me up on my offer, and moments later, I was bustling trays from the kitchen and laying them out on the buffet tables at their warming stations. That was when I realized I wasn’t the only noncook in the kitchen.
Chase nodded at me as he rid himself of a pile of napkins and put his palms down on the counter. “Are these them?” he asked in a hopeful tone. His flushed cheeks gave away that he must have been searching for a while.
“Yup, at the front of the buffet, please,” Bobby confirmed, and Chase turned and spun, nearly taking me out.
“Sorry.” He abruptly took a step back, momentarily stunned, before letting out a little laugh. “You’re Nat, right?”
“That’s right. And you’re the newbie.”
We chatted for a few minutes, and he reminded me of a cowboy who, as far as I could tell, didn’t have a mean bone in his body.
“Did you get your packets from Leo? Do you know who you’ll be looking for?” I asked, making sure he hadn’t been in here all morning.
“Yeah, I have an eclectic group. I got the former child actor, a baker, a tarot reader, a beautician, and a lovely introvert who I know nothing about yet.”
“That sounds fun. I got the already bonded group of self-identified nerds celebrating a twenty-first birthday.” I almost asked who his shipping board picks were, but we weren’t doing it this year.
Which was probably for the best. Leo always won anyway.
Most likely because I hadn’t had enough time last year to properly put him in his place.
He’d be out of the competition this time around, but I’d still have my opportunity to compete, which was all I cared about.
Camp Wars sounded much more my style anyway.
Emerson, Sawyer, Chase, Lamar, Felicia, Jack, and I stood up on the stage in front of this week’s cohort of campers, and we introduced ourselves.
It was the same every week. We were called on the stage during dinner, and then we went into the get to know your counselor game: two truths and a lie.
We all made it fun and interesting, garnering some laughs and playful gasps.
New facts were presented by most of the counselors.
Since I’d just arrived and was living in a sweatbox, I hadn’t given my answers much thought and instead focused on delivery.
I kept my two truths and a lie the same as last year. I talked about my follower count, which was significantly higher now than last summer.
Then I told them I’d danced with Dolly Parton, which most people assumed I hadn’t done, so it was an easy misdirect.
When I was ten, my grandfather, who’d been running for office, had scheduled an interview with my family on a popular morning show.
We were supposed to sit and answer a couple of questions on the same show that Dolly was later performing on.
I had seen her backstage, and she’d danced with me when I admitted I was nervous to go on TV.
Those three minutes had been spectacular.
I ended the game by saying my favorite movie was The Goonies, which wasn’t true since I hadn’t seen the Pacific Northwest staple.
I’d always gotten gasps for that lie, as well as a few good-natured boos.
I still needed to watch that one, or Hazel just might make good on her threats to kick me out of camp until I did.
Once the initial awkwardness of on-stage introductions was out of the way, the counselors and campers all headed out to play more icebreaker games around the bonfire and to just unwind.
Many campers had traveled a great distance to be here.
Some would go to bed early, while others would soak up the nostalgia and fun vibes of stories around the campfire.
The groups of campers were usually fun, but my current group was exceptionally so.
There were five of them, and the youngest in their friend group, Jessica, was turning twenty-one and chose to celebrate it at camp.
Turned out, self-described nerds meant challenging each other in chess one minute and playing a long-running D&D campaign the next.
Their dedication to strategy and story was incredible.
I’d felt like a cool aunt as I helped them get settled in their cabins earlier, and even more so now as I learned about the deep lore of the world they’d built and the time that Brandon had been backstabbed by the birthday girl, which had led to the implosion of that campaign.
My group was all ready to relax and enjoy crafting and campfires.
Anything to get away from their regular lives, which I could relate to.
Sometimes getting away meant partying with your friends and trying to get your counselor to agree to a one-shot campaign.
Other times, it meant driving your ass back to camp when your friend needed you.
The stories they told around the bonfire got louder and sillier over time.
Once they got into another nearly heated but ultimately for fun debate, I excused myself.
I looked around the group of counselors hanging with their pods and caught those piercing eyes I’d been looking for through the fire’s flame.
I was predictably drawn in by Jack Hawthorne. I wanted to know more about him.
Jack’s campers were having a blast getting to know one another, and the way he interacted with them had me hanging on every word as well. He stood up and headed away from his cohort with a grin, turning toward the bar, and I made my move.
His jaw was set in a firm line, and those eyes were intense when they met mine. It took everything to keep myself on track.
“Hey, so it’s like one hundred and ten degrees in my cabin right now. Think you could help a girl out after this?” I pushed my hair behind my ear, and he tracked my movement, scowling at me.
“Why is it that you’re always asking me for something?” His tone was a rattlesnake warning that any further interaction meant venom. It stung, but mostly because it didn’t make sense.
“Excuse me?” This was definitely not about the frizz. “All I’m asking is for an air conditioner that works.”
He crossed his arms over his broad chest and gave me a look that felt like a door slamming in my face. “You’re just going to have to deal. I don’t have time for this,” he clipped and began to walk around me.
Stunned, I let him pass, wondering what had crawled up his ass. Guess I needed to try to figure out how to survive by myself. There was no way I was spending the rest of the summer like this.
I couldn’t imagine going back to my sweatbox of a cabin right now. Instead, I let out an annoyed sigh and made my way toward the closest communal bathroom.
I swung the door open aggressively, and a startled Autumn gasped and put her hand to her chest as I stormed in.
I could feel my face taking on that familiar, frustrating shade of beet red, and I knew my eyes were wild with the need to take a frigid shower and scream into the void.
I’d have to settle on splashing myself with cold water instead.
But now my boss was looking at me, and I had to be at least somewhat professional.
Screaming into the void would have to wait.
“Oh, sorry,” I said in a huff.
“You about sent me into next week.” Autumn’s hands gripped the sink behind her, and that was when I saw it. Half of her blonde, wavy hair was wet and stringy.
She turned back to lean over the sink. “Jamie’s bad at feeding me s’mores.” She smiled wryly at me through the bathroom mirror as she scrubbed marshmallow remnants out of her hair.
I held back my laughter. “Do you need any help?”
“I’ll wash it again when I get back to my cabin tonight.” It was so cute how she and Jamie lived here at camp.
I grabbed a washcloth and offered it to her, but she waved me off.
“Thanks, but it’s under control now.” She eyed me up and down. “I hate to say it, but you’re looking a bit frizzier than usual. Don’t you use a plethora of fancy hair care products?”
I rolled my eyes at her. “You’d look like a bog witch, too, if you had my cabin. I’ve been sweating my ass off since my AC whispered its last breath. And since Jack’s not able to get another one, I’ll probably be frizzy and stuck taking cold showers.”
“What do you mean? Of course, we can get another AC.” Autumn cocked her head in my direction and finished wringing out her hair.
“Seriously? That would be amazing,” I practically screeched.
Autumn had her ways, so she must have known something that Jack didn’t. I swiped away some sweat and used the washcloth she had rejected, letting out a sigh of sheer relief as I wiped cold water all over my face.