Here's to Something New
A Few Years Later:
Fai stepped out of the car. The Fire Nation boy was a little nervous, unsure of what the summer would encompass. But his high school counselor had been sure that the place would help him become sure of his sexuality. He wanted to be happy— and she’d assured him that it was the right choice.
He closed the car door and looked around. They were in the middle of the forest— so there was stuff you’d expect. Trees, ferns, a lake. But… there were also flowers. Everywhere. His heart skipped a beat; he loved landscape design. He gave his suitcase a tug as his mother went up to the “Welcome Table” to check him in.
They were the most beautiful plants he’d ever seen. His hand rested on the soft petals of a pink rose.
“They’re beautiful, aren’t they?” a voice asked behind him.
He turned around to face a man, dark skinned and brown hair and green eyes. He had a wedding ring on his hand, and a mischievous glint in his eye. The man looked familiar— like a celebrity. Fai couldn’t quite place it.
“My name’s Rascal. I’m one of the Program Coordinators here. I see that you have some admiration for our garden!”
“Yeah, it’s really pretty!”
Rascal (Fai supposed that they used counselor names here) gave him a smile, “Well, our flowers will need a lot of attention— especially in the summer heat! You’re more than welcome to give them some loving care!”
Fai’s face split into a wide grin. “Thanks!”
The buildings were all new— the place looked like a college campus. One of the signs had a list of sponsors— dozens of progressive companies had been more than happy to fund the place, and kid’s entry fees. Future Industries was the top sponsor. There were hundreds of campers, playing games with counselors and laughing and having the time of their lives. Fai couldn’t believe it. He walked over to his mother, who was still at Check-In.
“Fai, these two ladies are some of the Program Coordinators! They’ll be working closely with you this summer!” his mother said merrily.
“Hey there!” one of the woman said. She had short brown hair and dark skin— but her blue eyes gave it away. Water Tribe. “I’m Iceberg! And this is my wife, Shock-Wave! We’re so happy you decided to come here!”
The woman sitting next to Iceberg looked familiar. Really, really familiar. She had long black hair tied back into a ponytail, green eyes, and she was tall. She was also partially Fire Nation, of that the boy could be sure. Fai wondered if Shock-Wave was… no, she couldn’t be…
“We’re all excited to see you grow and develop this summer!” she said with a warm grin. Fai felt like a million bucks already.
“Thanks! I… well I think I made the right choice,” he said, a little shyly.
“Yeah! I think so too! You’re going to discover a lot about who you are here! We’re committed to making a safe, open environment!” Iceberg said proudly.
Fai gave his mother a big hug— lasting for a few moments. She whispered how much she loved him and how proud she was.
“I’ll miss you, Mom. I promise I’ll write!”
Iceberg and Shock-Wave pointed him to a woman in her mid-thirties and a man in his early twenties. They introduced themselves as “Badgermole” and “Turtleduck”.
“We’ll be your counselors this summer!” Turtleduck said with a grin. He looked like the older version of Fai, to be honest. Fire Nation and athletic. The only difference was that Fai was fifteen. The man also had a wedding ring on his finger.
Badgermole, an Earth Kingdom woman with a mole on her right cheek, gave Fai a high five and he sat down in the grass with the other kids in his group.
This… this was going to be awesome.
Fai, being the kind of boy who got distracted easily, looked back at the entrance of the camp. There was a big cedar sign at the entrance— he’d glanced at it, but hadn’t stopped to properly read it:
Camp Avatar
A Safe Place to Discover the Real You! A Summer Camp for the LGBTQIA!
The other kids in his group were telling jokes and swapping prank ideas. A girl to his right— Water Tribe— gave him a wink and introduced herself as Hanna. She was maybe a year or two older than him, and her brown hair was set in a Katniss-Everdeen style braid.
I think I’m going to like it here, he thought.
. . .
Fai sat at dinner with the rest of his group. He always loved outside seating, and today was quite possibly the most beautiful day to have it. The sunset was all colors of greens and blues and reds and purples. Like a rainbow omen.
He walked up to the barbeque and received a burger from an enthusiastic Earth Kingdom counselor named Fire-Ferret.
Hanna punched his arm playfully when he sat down, “So what’s your sticker?”
“Oh… um… I think I’m bisexual? Or is it pansexual? I’m not sure which one I am yet, but my High School Counselor recommended it.”
She gave him a smile, “That’s alright! They don’t push you here, they just teach you to be comfortable with who you are!”
“What about you?”
“Trans-Female! I’ve been going here a while, and they helped me figure out how to start hormone therapy a year ago!” Hanna said with a big grin. “I want to become a counselor here when I get older!”
“That’s awesome!” Fai said excitedly. “You would make a great counselor!”
Perhaps he was overthinking it, but he could have sworn he saw Hanna’s cheeks turn pink.
Turtleduck sat down at the bench and gave them a big smile, “So… how are you guys feeling so far?”
The table answered in scattered voices:
“Great!”
“Fantastic!”
“Excited!”
“I’m going to guess your real name one of these years,” Hanna said with a smile.
Turtleduck let out a laugh, “No chance, girl! Although my husband takes bribes, maybe you can get it out of him!”
The table chuckled and listened as Iceberg, Rascal, Shock-Wave all talked about the program events for the summer. There were going to be field trips and guest speakers— and classes in Queer Literature and History. It sounded absolutely wonderful to Fai! And the food was absolutely amazing!
Here’s to summer! Fai thought as he raised his cup and toasted it with Turtleduck’s. Here’s to something new!
They had an hour of time after dinner and unpacking to do whatever they wanted. Some kids were socializing on cabin steps; others were playing at the volleyball pit. Some were reading on logs, or sketching the woods surrounding them. Everyone looked glad to be here.
Fai and Hanna decided to check out the dock with some of the other kids in their group.
“Are you sure we’re allowed down here?”
“Yeah! Besides, I’m Water Tribe! I’ll save you if you fall in!” Hanna said, smiling at Fai.
“The water’s pretty cold,” a voice behind them laughed. “Make sure you don’t have a noodle sword fight and fall in!”
“Protect the hair, Turtleduck!” another voice giggled.
“Oh, Spirits, I’d forgotten about that day!”
There were five adults sitting on the edge of the dock— Fai didn’t know how he’d missed them. Iceberg, Shock-Wave, Turtleduck, Rascal, and Badgermole were all hanging out together, their shoes and socks off and their feet splashing in the water. A radio was sitting next to them, playing music that was in style, like, ten years ago.
“Oh, don’t be shy, guys! You can hang out here if you want!” Badgermole chuckled. “Don’t let a bunch of old people stop you!”
“You sure?”
“We’re all here to have a good time!” Iceberg smiled.
The kids all sat down and together the group of people laughed and sang and watched as the sun reached the end of her journey. They all stayed out there, until the rippling water reflected the white glow of the moon hanging low in the sky.
Like a beacon of hope.