Girls Just Wanna Have Fun
When the haze off of the hot pavement switched into a cloud of dust from the dirt road, Kelley instantly changed her music on her stereo from “Life is a Highway” to “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun”. Rolling down her windows and turning on the volume she sped down the gravel letting her hair whip around her face and the hot summer heat mix with the cool stale air of her air conditioned car. Kelley screamed the lyrics at the top of her lungs as she pulled into a parking lot indicated by log halves and a scribbled sign that said “park here” with arrow pointing in the same general direction. She was greeted by the sight of several girls laying out on the grass who immediately “whooped” and hollered when they saw Kelley pull up. She hopped out and slid on her flip flops, not bothering to lock her car or roll up the windows before she barreled her way into a wave of hugs from the girls ahead of her.
“Kelley it’s been so long!” squealed a stout muscular girl named Sydney directly in Kelley’s ear
“Since when do you not know how to text back?” huffed Morgan, a lanky girl who hated to be called anything other than Moe.
“How do you manage to keep getting hotter?” said the tallest, Sam in a rough voice, mussing the top of Kelley’s hair.
“Hi hi hi I love you, I miss you, you’re perfect, this is perfect!” Kelley screamed as she hugged and blew kisses to the ten other girls in front of her. The bouncing had barely stopped before Kristie, Sam’s older sister let out a tell tale whoop that brought all the girls to attention, Kelley’s hands almost shook at the excitement buzzing all around her as the girls scuttled into a circle. There were words somewhere in the well memorized chant, but to the untrained ear it would’ve just sounded like screaming and hollering. Kelley bounced up and down with the other girls as the same chant they had said upwards of 100 times each summer for the past 12 years, came to an end. Kelley wiped a bead of sweat from her hairline and detangled her limbs from the hugs of others to throw her hair up in a bun, silently counting all the girls in front of her.
“Okay so it looks like everyone is here, but where the hell is Alex?” Kelley’s eyes scanned around for her partner in crime for the past two summers, but all she caught was a chorus of humming and shrugging shoulders.
“Awkward…” Sydney whispered under her breath
“Did she not tell you?” the brown haired tan girl named Christen asked
“Yeah she got an internship with her dad’s firm for the summer, so she’s not going to be able to come work with us this summer.” Tobin, one of Alex’s friends from college said.
“Seriously? I was talking to her last night and she didn’t mention that she wasn’t going to be here for our last summer?” Kelley huffed out
“Chill, it’s only your last summer if you want it to be, some of us just keep circling around, right?” A tall blonde named Ashlyn said as she slung her arm over Kelley’s shoulders “Don’t worry KO, it’ll be just fine. It’ll be way more fun for the rest of us not having to compete with you two and your Super Squad Cabin that wins every competition every year.”
Kelley slumped down a little while the other girls continue to chat with one another reliving memories and humming over ideas that they already had for this coming summer. This was Kelley’s third summer as a counselor at Camp Takatoa and her twelfth summer overall at the camp. Kelley came to this camp every single year she was age eligible, and the second she could apply to be a counselor, her and all of her camp friends had made a pact to come back every year and work until they all graduated from college and had real jobs that kept them cooped up in air conditioned offices all summer. Most of the girls were going to be seniors in college in the upcoming year and this would likely be most of their last summer at their camp. Kelley for one was determined to spend as much time as she can in athletic shorts and chacos until she was secluded to a life in an office for the rest of her life and was determined to make the most out of this last summer.
Looking around again Kelley counted the girls and realized her number was off by one. “Okay if Alex isn’t here then don’t we need one more? Do we have cabin assignments yet? And also can we talk about whatever Ashlyn is doing with her hair?” Kelley excited rambled off while the girls girls gathered duffle bags and walked towards a rickety building with a sign declaring it the “Dining Hall” resting on the roof.
“I think it looks kindove nice.” Ali, a girl with a tangled top knot sitting atop her head said making sure to bump Ashlyn with her duffle bag “I’m sure someone else will show up, every year we have a few girls who we’re never sure if they’ll show up or not.”
The group barged into the door and all took place at one of the long tables, crowding in way too close to one another on the benches and continuing to catch each other up on what’s been happening over the past year. The slamming of doors caught their attention, causing them to all look up and see a smiling Christie their camp director entering the dining hall. On her sides were Lauren and Amy her two staff directors and trailing behind her with a duffle bag slumped over her shoulder was a blonde her age that Kelley did not recognize.
Lauren and Amy got right to work passing out folders to each of the counselors, giving their ecstatic greetings in the forms of hugs and kisses on the top of each girls head as they passed out the color coded folders to each girl. Kelley anxiously looked around as soon as she got her folder, looking to see who had the matching purple folder. Each cabin had it’s own color assigned to it corresponding with the folder that the girls were given and Kelley saw every other match except hers. She scanned the table again before her eyes landed on the blonde who trailed Christie before that she did not recognize holding a purple folder tightly in her hands, her eyes briefly meeting Kelley’s, glancing between Kelley and the folder in Kelley’s hand.
Kelley’s thoughts instantly went from excited to anxious. For the past two summer’s she had been co-counselors with Alex and they had been the dream team, best cabin decorations, best attendance at events, they won all intramural sports and always had the spirit stick and the best outfits and suddenly her head was flooding and her idea of the perfect send off summer was going out the window. She looked up at the mystery blonde who was now looking away from Kelly and drumming her fingers on top of the purple folder casually looking at each of the other ten counselors.
Christie cleared her throat while each of the girls closed their folders and looked up at the smiling faces of their directors in front of them.
“Welcome back ladies! I’m so excited to have you all back at Camp…” before Christie could finish all of the girls started whooping in unison, banging on the table and shouting along to the same chant they had said earlier, this time each girl trying to out yell the person next to her. The strange blonde was the only one aside from the directors who didn’t join in on the chant and instead hid a small chuckle and brushed whips of her hair out of her face. Kelley glanced over again and could help but wonder who this newbie was.
“Okay okay! Now that we’ve got that taken care of, welcome back ladies! I’m so excited to spend such a fantastic summer with my hardworking staff! Typically we skip over the introductions because so many of you grew up with each other, but because we have a new face we’re going to go around the table and say our name, how many summers we’ve been working here, and something you like that starts with the first letter of your name.” The girls all let out a small groan in unison, which was answered with Lauren swatting Ashlyn on the back of her head with the welcome folder.
“Get over it, we’re doing it anyway.” Lauren giggled “and with that, I’ll start. My name is Lauren and I like lemonade!” The way she clasped her hands together made her brown curls bounce and all of the counselors rolled their eyes as they giggled at her enthusiasm “I’ve been working at this camp for too many years to tell you the real number instead I’ll just say that I’m the staff director and in charge of everything water sports related.” She bumped her hips into Amy who bounced up on her toes and broke into a huge smile.
“I’m Amy, I love apple pie, I’m with Lauren when I say that you don’t need to know how old I am and I’m the staff director in charge of all programs on land.” Amy held her hand out in front of her and pretended like she was dropping a microphone which recieved a huge laugh from all the counselors.
Ali who was sitting next to where Amy was standing went next and said she liked alligators with an exaggerated smile while everyone groaned, then was Ashlyn who said she liked Ali, which made Ali blush and everyone else boo loudly. Tobin liked taking naps, Crystal liked canoes, Steph liked singing raps badly, Moe liked Morgan Freeman, Christen liked canned food drives, Sam liked snakes, Sydney liked sliding into her boyfriends DM’s and Kristie liked kicking annoying people. By the time they rolled around to Kelley everyone was laughing and making fun of one another like they had been for so many years and all of the directors were already commenting on how it was going to be a long and sarcastic summer.
“Hello everyone. My name is Kelley and I’m a camp counselor” Kelley made a long, serious face and dropped her voice which lead to a chorus of “come ons” and “just get it over withs” which was exactly the reaction she wanted. “I like kicking other cabins asses during the summer and like almost everyone else this is my twelfth summer here!” Kelley turned and looked down the table at the mystery blonde who had adjusted in her seat and pulled her shoulders back a bit.
Before she could talk Christie made her way over and stood behind the blonde’s chair. “Before she introduces herself, I just wanted to tell you that this summer I have a very special guest. My niece is doing me a huge favor and filling the place that is typically filled by Alex this summer. I know she is new to you guys but I know you all are going to make this a welcoming summer both for her and the 100 campers coming in a week!” She put her hands on the blonde's shoulders patting them in a comforting manner.
The blonde raise her eyebrows and smiled out of the side of her mouth, she straightened up again and winked at Christie. “Thanks Aunt C. So whats up guys, my name is Emily, I like eating at Chipotle and obviously this is my first summer here. When I was growing up my mom made me go to soccer specific camps so I’ve never been here before and now I’m holding a purple folder which isn’t the worst color, so, so far it’s going pretty great.” Emily ended with a smile and Christie patted her shoulders again before moving back to the front of the table. All of the other girls waved their hello’s at Emily and gave her warm smiles which Emily responded back with a smile that almost looked forced before she turned her attention back to her folder.
Christie took their attention off of their new addition by opening up her own folder and going through the contents inside. Kelley fingered through the pages, seeing that the folder contained the usual contents. Map of the camp, daily schedule, list of activities, emergency numbers, names of their campers staying in their cabin as well as an information sheet for each camper. Kelley flipped through the camper information sheets and grinned as she saw many familiar names from the year before accompanied by the campers smiling headshot. She recognized right away that she was going to be in her favorite cabin, with the the thirteen year olds. The cabins were split up by age, ages 10-15. Kelley loved having the thirteen year olds, they were just old enough that they thought they were cool and self sufficient, but still young enough that they worshiped Kelley, which she of course loved. She looked over and saw that everyone else appeared to be in the same cabins as the year before, then she saw Emily, who had laid out every document inside of her folder on top of the table in front of her and looked as though she was trying to absorb all of it at once.
Christie’s speech was similar to the speech that she gives every year, telling the counselors of their daily expectations. The counselors are in charge of all of the goings on within the camp, the activities that are done, that the campers have fun and that all their needs are met, such as eating, sleeping and writing to their parents. The counselors had various posts that they had to take during the day and at night, making sure that one counselor was available at any given time, as well as making sure that everyone was following the camp code of conduct. The list of rules was the first page inside of the folder that was skipped over by every girl at the table excluding Emily, warning the girls not to leave the campground unless it was their day off, not to consume drugs or alcohol on the premises, no inappropriate relationships between counselors or campers and the most important rule, no technology.
Christie prided herself on having a technology free camp, the counselors had cameras that would capture pictures all summer but aside from that and a single landline in the main office, there was zero communication with the outside world. This was probably Kelley’s favorite part about camp. She had a full summer to be free and be herself and not have any tie to anyone else in the world, except on her one day off a week where she would sit at a Starbucks an hour away and play catch up on all of her social media and her friends text messages while relishing in air conditioning and processed foods.
“With that note, please put all of your devices in here” Christie said as she passed a basket forward. All of the girls pulled out their cellphones and were as dramatic as they were every year with their goodbye to the the outside world. Ashlyn pretended to hum “Taps” under her breath while Sydney fake sobbed and put her phone in the basket. Kelley fished hers out and texted a quick “talk to you on my day off!” to her parents before turning her phone off and tossing it in. Emily walked down to where the other girls were sitting and put her phone in the basket with a audible sigh and took the seat next to Kelley.
“Hey! I’m Kelley!” Kelley had a smile plastered on her face as she reached her hand forward to shake with Emily.
“Yeah, I heard you like kicking some ass?” Emily asked with a raised eyebrow. She held out a fist in front of her and stared down at Kelley’s handshake. “Don’t be so formal, we’re about to live in a cabin together for eight weeks” Emily’s eyebrow was still raised, showing Kelley that she was teasing. Kelley brought her fist out and bumped it against Emily’s who took her fist away and made the fist bump “blow up” afterwards with the accompanying sound effects.
“So you’re new here?” Kelley asked when Emily settled into her chair.
“Yeah. First summer here. No biggie.” Emily replied with a shrug, it was clear to Kelley that it was “a biggie” but instead she just smiled. “So how old are our rugrats anyway. All they gave us was their birthyear and that just made me feel ancient.” Emily had pulled out the roster and information sheets on each camper and scrunched up her eyebrows like she was trying to figure out just how old someone was who was born in 2002.
Kelley laughed and elbowed Emily and nodded towards Christie who was still speaking which just resulted in a scoff from Emily. Soon after Christie welcomed the girls again and encouraged them to head towards their cabins and settle in for the summer, telling the girls to note their to do list in the folder and when to meet back for dinner.
There was a scuttle as the girls scooted out of the long benches and pulled the duffel bags back over their shoulders. Every girl had partnered up with their folder partner and was walking out of the dining hall already chatting away with ideas for cabin themes and team names. Kelley adjusted her bag and smiled at Amy and Lauren while she waited for Emily to grab her bag so they could head toward their cabin together.
“To answer your question from earlier, our girls are 13.” Kelley fell in step with Emily to her side. Emily hummed in approval. “We have a bunch of girls who were in my cabin last year when I had the twelves. They’re pretty sweet and super wild. They will be asking questions about your personal life in about three seconds.” Kelley laughed already picturing the girls Sarah and Caitlin who had asked Kelley on end about her boyfriend last summer, a man that Kelley had completely created just to keep the girls entertained, a secret that she never let them in on.
“So they’re nosey is what you’re saying?” Emily looked over her shoulder at Kelley who just shrugged.
“They’re 13 and stuck without technology all summer is what I’m saying. They’re either going to make drama with each other or be super interested in our lives. Trust me, them being interested in our lives is way better to deal with.” Emily continued to hum in approval and opened up the door to cabin that had the number 3 hanging above the doorframe. Kelley followed Emily in and sighed at the familiar scent.
The ancient air conditioner in the window hummed noisily as it tried to produce a pathetic amount of air to cool the large cabin. Dust hung in the air and was illuminated by the sunlight streaming through the windows. The bunk beds were lined up in the same shape that Sydney and Tobin left the cabin in last summer, in some weird geometric shape that they said helped with the flow of the cabin. There was a faint dripping sound that came from the showers and bathrooms at the back of the cabin and the whole place smelled of stale air, dust and warm air. Kelley inhaled deeply and instantly searched for the best bunk.
“Do I know you well enough to tell you that was weird? Because it was weird.” Emily huffed, throwing her duffle onto the concrete floor and walking towards the air conditioner. Kelley just laughed in response.
“I’ve gone to this camp every summer for half my life, a lot of weird shit has happened here.” Kelley continued to search through the stack of bunk beds, testing the firmness of each mattress out with her hand.
“Rule four. No bad language.” Emily clucked her tongue towards Kelley and started banging her hand against rusty air conditioner, that did nothing but sputter. “Fuck this” she said under her breath.
“Are you hot?” Kelley asked as she climbed up to a top bunk in the middle of the room. Emily nodded her head. “Get used to it. You’re not going to stop sweating until you have this camp 30 miles in your rearview mirror.” She threw herself onto the bed that let out a puff of dust and an exhausted sigh. “Yup, this is the one.”
“You’re an adult and you want a top bunk? Why?” Emily’s condescending tone cut through Kelley who just tried to let it roll off.
“It’s all about leverage. When these girls decide they want to pull “Parent Trap” level pranks on their counselors, you do not want to be on the bottom floor where there is easier access.” Kelley had climbed back down and headed toward stacks of dressers, already picking out her drawer.
Emily sat down on a bottom bunk and pulled her straight hair out of the messy ponytail and tried to put the sticky sweaty strands back up. Kelley, satisfied with a drawer walked back over to her duffle and started unloading her clothes. She already missed Alex, someone who she has known since she was ten and wouldn’t have this awkward silence with. She let her eyes scan over Emily, who was now sitting criss cross on a bunk and pulled her duffle up with her. Her short legs were folded into her and her neon green shorts had a stark contrast to her pale skin. She had on a grey racerback tank top that was sticking to her sides with the unfamiliar heat. Her eyebrows were pinched together while she was shuffling through her duffle bag, sighing every few seconds.
Kelley rolled her eyes, grabbed her bag and started unpacking, already planning another trip to her car to gather the other supplies that she had brought for the summer. Kelley pulled out the many pairs of Nike shorts she had packed for the summer and threw them into a draw haphazardly. They only did laundry every few weeks so Kelley made sure to bring as many outfits as she could fit into her car, knowing she would go through a few every day. She reached into her bag and pulled out a can of bug spray and started applying it to her freckled arms and legs before walking over to where Emily sat and offered the can to her.
“Nah. I’m fine. Bug’s don’t really bother me.” Emily shrugged and Kelley pulled the can back, resisting the urge to scoff or roll her eyes. She knew that Emily was going to spend tonight scratching every surface of her body, but she wanted to be welcoming to the new counselor, not come off as a know it all.
“I’m going to run over to my car and grab a few other things that I brought. Do you wanna come with me, we can brainstorm cabin names?” Kelley smiled and slipped her sunglasses back down on her nose.
“No thanks. We can do that later. I think I’m going to go out and explore for a little while.” Emily had a notebook and pencil in her hand and walked out of the door past Kelley nodding in her direction. Kelley watched as Emily walked away, flip flops slapping the ground and bringing up soft puffs of dirt as she walked towards the lake.
Kelley shook her head and looked over at cabin number two, where Ali and Ashlyn were already hanging a sign in the window that said “The Best Cabin” decorated with sharks and cats and crowns. She heard the pair laughing and was upset that she was already feeling disappointed with what was supposed to be her last good summer. It’s not that Emily doesn’t seem friendly enough, but it already isn’t living up to the awesome expectations that she had set for herself. She slammed the screen door behind her and walked towards her car. “Alex, I’m gonna kick your ass.” she muttered under her breath.