One Big Fucking Bouncy House
Well, for starters, Hopah had dyed her hair purple, was roughly Korra’s height and build, and always had a smirk on her face (like she was going to prank someone). Sure, Hopah was pretty. But this girl? Oh man, she could have made it big in the mover industry.
She was really tall, slim, and held herself with the grace of a princess. Her jet black hair curled in all the right places and shined with the perfection only achieved by a master hair stylist. And boy, could she wear make-up. Korra wondered what flavor her lipstick was. Her jacket was red and black, embedded with the Future-Industries logo. She stared into green eyes that reminded her of a sour apple flavored sucker.
To put it plain and simple, this girl looked amazing.
“Hey there,” she said with a sly smile. “My name’s Asami. Asami Sato. I guess we’re going to be bunkmates this summer.”
Korra snapped out of whatever trance this girl was putting her in.
“Uh, hi. I-it’s nice to meet you, I’m K-korra.”
Korra shook hands with Asami. Her hands weren’t soft, like the Water Tribe girl had been expecting, but calloused and scarred.
“So, you’re not new to this camp?”
Asami shook her head, “No, this is my third summer.”
“Holy shit!”
Korra probably shouldn’t have said that. What if Asami wasn’t cool with swearing? It was just… damn son! Three years of this bullshit? How gay was this girl?!
But Asami simply nodded, “Yeah, I made the mistake of coming out to my dad a few years back… he didn’t take it too well. He just sends me every summer so that he doesn’t have to worry about me while he goes off and does business meetings and shit. I don’t think he actually believes in the whole ‘Camp Amon’ act.”
“That’s gotta be expensive,” Korra said with a whistle.
Asami winced. Maybe money was a sensitive subject with her family too?
“It doesn’t matter to him.”
The girls stayed up for two hours talking. Asami told Korra about her mother’s death, and in turn Korra told her about all of her family trouble. About Hopah and Unalaq. It felt good to get it out.
“So what’s the scoop on the counselors? That Kuvira chick seems pretty lax.”
Asami shrugged, “I think this is her first year on staff. But she knows the place pretty well. She probably came here as a kid.”
“Are all of the counselors also former campers?”
“No. But most of them are. I can count the ones who were born straight on one hand.”
“Damn.”
“Yeah,” Asami chuckled, “This place is one big fucking bouncy house.”
Well said, Sato. Well said.
Light’s out was at 10:00, and the counselor assigned to check on cabin 16B was Zhu Li. She came in, making sure Korra and Asami weren’t doing anything against the rules. Even though they had searched everyone a only few hours ago, Zhu Li still checked under the beds and made the girls open their suitcases. Once she was satisfied, she put a smiley sticker on a chart near the door.
“Good night girls,” she said with a soft smile. She adjusted her glasses and straightened her shirt. “Flag is at 6:30 and breakfast is at 6:45.”
She left with a sharp and dignified posture.
“I wonder what her story is,” Korra whispered.
“She seems close with Varrick, but this is a first summer for both of them. Bolin too,” Asami whispered back.
“Isn’t he just a cook, though?”
“Yeah… the thing is, we’ve had the same cook for… like… a million years. Then suddenly he shows up instead.”
“Weird.”
“Yeah… well... welcome to the jungle. Goodnight, Korra.”
“Goodnight, sunshine.”
Korra probably shouldn’t have said that. But she was tired and sleepy and she rolled over on her side, facing the cabin wall. Not knowing that, across the room, two peridot eyes were staring at her back— their owner replaying Korra’s goodnight over and over in her head.
. . .
Korra groggily rubbed her eyes and yawned as a mix of veteran campers and newbies attempted to raise the flags of the Earth Kingdom, United Republic, Fire Nation, and Water Tribes. It was actually really amusing to watch, mostly because Mako was stiff as a board, like a soldier, as he tried to both raise a flag and salute at the same time. Korra stifled her giggles and even Asami had to wipe a smirk off of her face.
When everything was in order, the counselors corralled the campers into the lodge for breakfast. Korra and Asami managed to find Mako and Wu at the same table as last night.
Korra absentmindedly tugged at the pink Camp Amon t-shirt they were forcing her to wear. Asami had a matching shirt (but she actually looked good in pink). Zhu Li— who had woken them up/inspected the cabin at 6:00 am— didn’t approve of her choice of ruby-red lipstick (claiming it was too “out-going” for a summer camp), but allowed her to wear make-up that were a little less… dramatic.
“Gooooooood morning cabin 16B!” Wu squawked enthusiastically. He looked really weird in blue.
Mako (who also looked bad in a blue t-shirt) rolled his eyes, and Kuvira walked up to the table— flicking Wu in the forehead.
“Ow, hey— watch the hair, woman!” he complained.
Kuvira (also looking as out of character as Korra in a pink t-shirt) sat down with a chuckle and began eating her breakfast. The others followed suit.
“Good morning, campers,” Tarrlok said, walking onto the stage with a smirk. “I do hope we are all ready for today? We’ve got quite the itinerary.”
Korra glanced at Kuvira, who was picking at her food and avoiding looking at Tarrlok.
“Well, if you haven’t already noticed, boys are in the A cabins and girls are in the B cabins— “
“Psst, Korra,” Wu whispered.
“What?”
“Wanna be in free-time groups with Mako and me?”
Korra glanced at Asami, who nodded with a smile.
“Sure. If they’ll let us.”
Korra felt a jab in her side, and looked to her left. Kuvira had a finger on her lips.
“Yeah, yeah, we’ll shut up,” Wu whispered.
“— free-time groups will be organized by the counselors tonight, based on who plays well with others today. These are also the groups who you will be doing daily chores with— “
Wu and Korra groaned.
“— classes today are segregated by gender. Girls will be in the classroom, and boys will be out in the workshop.”
Out of the corner of her eyes, Korra saw Asami scowl and look at her nails.
“That’s all for now, enjoy your meal!”
Korra missed stewed sea prunes, but these pancakes were pretty darn good.
“Bolin is, like, fifty times better at cooking than Rota,” Asami said between bites.
Mako smirked, “Well he has better access to ingredients here. You should have seen him trying to cook in Republic City.”
Thirty minutes later Korra, Asami, and Kuvira were waving the boys goodbye. Everyone walked out of the dining hall and split into boys and girls.
“Come on,” Kuvira said with a wink.
Sixteen female campers and about four female counselors walked into a classroom. It was in one of those portable buildings, and looked really out of place in the middle of the woods. Korra almost sneezed— the classroom smelled like moldy books and old people. Where the hell did all the money go in this camp? Surely they could afford better furnishings.
Korra and Asami sat together at the back of the classroom, near the windows. Outside, the boys could be seen filing into a workshop, where Varrick was passing out tools. Korra smirked as Wu tried to pick up a screwdriver with two fingers and inspect it like it was some sort of ancient artifact.
“Alright, ladies, today we’re going to start off with some basic information about gender roles,” one of the older counselors (who was probably in charge) began.
Kuvira and Zhu Li passed out little red and black books to everyone. Korra stared down at hers with a scowl.
The Book of Vaatu
Korra knew that Unalaq was really into spirits, but Vaatu? Really? Personally, Korra was really into Raava’s ideology— treating people with equality and seeing the light in others. Vaatu— that was some pretty dark stuff. Chaos and wickedness and sinning. No wonder Unalaq had such a bad reaction to Korra and Hopah; people who followed Vaatu tended to believe that sinners went to the Fog of Lost Souls.
“This is yours to keep, ladies. We will be studying from this book and learning what makes a man and what makes a woman. Many of you are confused about your true selves because you were raised without the influence of traditional gender roles. But we’re here to help and heal you! Let’s get started. Jin, can you read the first chapter for us?”
A girl in the front began reading aloud and Korra tuned the lesson out. Instead she looked over at Asami, who was… doodling. Trying not to get the attention of the other counselors— who were invested in the reading— Korra craned her neck to get a better view.
“Woah.”
Asami had been drawing what looked like the Orion Spacecraft— down to the littlest bolts and screws. It practically looked like a blueprint. The paper was covered in calculations and Asami’s brow was furrowed as she tried to do mental math.
Korra, in one swift move, took her pencil and wrote on the drawing:
“Did you draw this all just now?!”
Asami looked at the message and smirked. She gave Korra a shrug and nodded her head.
The Water Tribe girl mouthed a “WOW” at her.
“Korra!”
The girl’s head snapped up in attention.
“Since you seem to be so interested in what we have to learn today, would you like to read the rest of the chapter?” the older counselor called out.
The teen leaned back in her seat with a huff and flipped to the correct page.
. . .
For lunch, Bolin had made burgers. It was so sunny out that Noatak and Tarrlok had decided to hold a big picnic. Everyone sat in groups of five or six, with counselors dotted here and there. Korra stared longingly out at the lake while her friends sat down next to her.
“So what did you guys get to do in shop today?” Asami asked with interest.
“We learned how to use tools, nothing big,” Mako commented, laying down and looking at the clouds. “I used to have an after-school internship with a power plant, so I’m pretty familiar with everything.”
“I broke a nail on some wire-cutters.”
“Good job, Wu,” Korra laughed.
“I’m so envious of you,” Asami said wistfully.
“What about you lovely ladies?”
“We got to read about gender roles and which dresses we’re supposed to wear in which nations based on which gala we’re going to— I don’t even wear dresses, like, ever!” Korra moaned.
“Oh, Tomo was really into fashion design,” Wu said longingly. “He used to draw the most beautiful dresses— and I would model for him. He always loved drawing me in green, the scoundrel.”
“Was that your boyfriend?” Asami asked.
“Obviously… I don’t just model for anyone, you know.”
“Fashion design would be kinda cool,” Mako said, “but I’m more of a sports guy.”
“You certainly have the body for it,” Wu said with a wink.
“Quiet, Wu, or you’ll get in trouble!” Asami said with a laugh.
Kuvira sat down with a plate of food.
“So how is everyone doing?” she asked cheerfully. “Are you guys ready for this afternoon? You boys get to do woodworking and us girls are going to follow up on dresses with some sewing lessons! Doesn’t that sound like fun?”
She was met with icy stares.