Leo was the infamous matchmaker at Camp. Though he sure did fail when it came to his own relationships. He’d won the shipping board every year since its inception, always figuring out which pairs went best together. He even had a bulletin board in his office filled with wedding and birth announcements, which he prided himself on, even though he hadn’t had a hand in every single one. To him, it was close enough.
Everything at camp screamed family and belonging, and while I knew Hazel’s relationship with her own family was complex, I also had my fair share of family complications and was glad she didn’t ask me about mine, just like I wasn’t about to ask about hers. It was one of those unspoken things that I appreciated about her.
“Really, Nat, thank you so much for helping out again. I’ve never had a new hire no-show before.”
This was the second consecutive year that I’d been a fill-in counselor at Camp Starlight. Last year, I’d jumped at the chance to finish out the summer when a counselor had to leave because his pregnant sister went on bed rest and needed him to come help out. I’d just come off a bad breakup and happened to have some downtime, so I’d spent six weeks helping out. To be honest, I’d been ecstatic when she called me. We had recently rekindled our friendship after a few years of separation due to distance. We’d kept up with each other, but last year was the first time I’d seen her in years, and that was one of the best summers of my life.
“It’s okay. I was planning on going where the wind took me this summer, anyway.”
My job was great, so I wasn’t complaining. I’d been a travel blogger since I was twenty-three. Before I went full time several years ago, I’d worked at my mom’s company, in a soul-killing job, doing influencing on the side. I decided to leave after my accounts blew up, and I started making enough money to sustain myself. My mom hadn’t taken it well.
“It’s no problem.” I’d still be able to keep up with my other job. Camp Starlight was surrounded by great hikes and viewpoints, and I planned to take short jaunts around Oregon during my time off for content.
Taking a break wasn’t the worst idea anyway. At least that was what the therapist I hadn’t spoken to in months had told me, but what did she know? Sure, I hadn’t stopped moving since the last time I was at Starlight, and before that, I hadn’t had a place to land in years. But who needed ahome, amiright?
“I know we left it open-ended for now, and longevity with counselors is never guaranteed, but we liked having you around last summer. Your advice on increasing engagement and the changes you made to our website helped enrollments go moresmoothly. Not to mention, you’re such a positive light, which is always right at home here.”
My cheeks heated at her compliments. She didn’t usually dole them out like candy, and it was a little overwhelming all at once. “I just don’t want you to worry about staffing while everything else is going on. Like I told you, I’d be happy to stick around for a few months.”
Hazel narrowed her eyes skeptically. “If you’re sure.”
“I’m sure.” I didn’t know exactly how long I’d be here because the season was long, and I didn’t have a plan just yet, but I didn’t want this to be a stressor on anyone. And not to mention, being here just felt… right.
I wanted to chase that feeling.
THREE
Nat
The water rippledaround 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 reprievefrom 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.”
