Huh, interesting insight. “Okay, well, I did ask for something you wouldn’t put on your résumé.”
Nervous giggles led to everyone wanting to share their stories.
“I’ve lost my virginity twice,” Jojo said.
“How can you lose it twice?” Genie asked.
“One time with a guy and then with a girl. I’m sticking with girls.”
I hadn’t thought about the night I lost mine in eons. “Well, I was eighteen . . .”
“What? Wait. Are you seriously going to tell us?” Genie asked.
“Isn’t that what we’re talking about?”
“Yeah, but you’re like old enough to be our mother,” Genie said.
I started laughing. “Let’s switch to camp-regulated topics.”
After the meeting, I fell into step with Genie. “I just wanted to say that if you need anything, I’m here for you.”
“Like what?”
“An ear or a shoulder. I want to make sure you’re okay. That you’re safe. Do you have condoms?”
Genie rolled her eyes. “Thanks, but you’re my boss, not my mother.”
I stopped short and watched her walk off. She’d not only clarified her boundaries, but she had also made mine apparent. I was their supervisor. Not mother. Not friend. She also gave me a glimpse of what it would be like to have a teenager. I was clearly unprepared for either role. What made me think working at a sleepaway camp had been a good idea?
Bethany appeared at my side. “How’d your meeting go?”
“Okay, I guess. We somehow got on the subject of how they lost their virginity.”
Bethany gave me a wry smile and flipped through her clipboard. “Nope, I don’t see virginity listed as a recommended ice breaker.”
“Well, it was more interesting than finding out what they’d bring on a picnic.”
* Woodlands chart by Linda Kunesh
7Creatures of Habit
It seemed that the staff was expected to put on a talent show for the campers their first night. Luckily Genie was the head of the theater department and choreographed a short and easy song and dance routine for the DLs. Genie assured me no one cared that I couldn’t carry a tune. After the first rehearsal, Mindy, the camp social worker and a lifer like Bethany, invited Abby and me to her room for a drink.
As Abby and I walked over together I said, “It feels like we’ve been invited to sit at the cool girls’ table.”
Abby said, “Yeah, like we’ve passed some kind of initiation.”
I knocked, and Mindy shouted, “Shoes off. Close the door quickly. No insects allowed.”
Abby and I heeled off our sneakers, adding them to the pile under the lone bulb circled by moths. As soon as we opened the door, we saw that Mindy’s cabin was easily three times the size of ours. Abby tilted her head to the left subtly pointing out the private bathroom. Apparently, her pay grade and importance was way above ours.
Mindy held court in the swivel chair by her desk. Even though we all wore uniforms, Mindy wore hers with way more panache. Her red lipstick accentuated her jet-black hair. Her jewelry was more understated than Abby’s, but I noticed a Rolexon her left wrist. Bethany was perched on the edge of Mindy’s bed. Gilda rocked in an ancient upholstered chair. Bob and Ted sat on the floor with their backs against the wall, facing Mindy. Abby and I stood awkwardly in the middle of the room until Bethany slid over so we could join her on the bed.
Mindy poured what I thought was wine into plastic cups. I took a sip. It was refreshing, a little sweet and bubbly.
