“Welcome to Camp Prism, where every day is full of love, support, and adventure!” The camp counselor sounds like they’ve said that a lot today, but they still smile at me and Leah, handing us each a paper folder. Their name tag reads Ash: they/them. “Matthews, look for Cabin 12. There should be a map in your agenda.”
I nod, grabbing my sister’s hand to lead her away from the table. We stand in the shade of a large brick building, by our bags, to look through our folders. “Hey Leah?”
“Yeah?”
I stifle a laugh, holding up my folder. “It’s the gay agenda.” I snicker. “Do you think they did that on purpose?”
She grins back. “It’s a pretty obvious pun, if you’re running a place like this. It’s called Camp Prism.”
I gasp. “I didn’t even realize that was a pun! Camp Prism?”
“Like the things that make rainbows? You’re dumb.”
I wrinkle my nose at her, opening my folder. “Uh, we’re in 12, right?” I don’t wait for an answer. “It looks like it’s closer to the lake. If we follow the path over there,” I gesture to a dirt trail nearby, “then it’s a pretty short walk.”
“Okay, cool beans.” She shoves her folder into her backpack, grabbing her duffel bag with both hands. I have a rolling suitcase, so I can pull it along and still have a hand to carry my folder.
Cabin 12 is a long wooden building, just like all the other cabins. It has a yellow door, with a small mailbox hanging. I hold my folder under my armpit, turning the doorknob.
“Hey, new arrivals!” A woman, sitting in a chair, waves to us as we step inside. Her name tag says Raphael: she/her. “Are you guys the Matthews?”
“Yeah.” I step inside, looking around. There are three bunk beds pushed up against the back wall, with dressers between them. On the same wall as the door is a table with two chairs, one that Raphael is sitting in, and a couple beanbags. A door off to the side is labeled Bathroom.
“Well, go ahead and pick out your beds. We’ll be doing more formal introductions and everything when the rest of the team gets here, but you can go ahead and say hi.” She gestures to one of the top bunks, where someone is already going through their backpack.
Leah sets her bag down on the bottom bunk of a bed in the corner. I leave my suitcase on the floor nearby, tossing my backpack up to the top bunk.
The other camper climbs down from their bed, waving to us. “Hi.”
“Hey. I’m Calbridge.” I introduce myself. “This is my sister, Leah.”
They nod. “I’m Jacob.”
They have messy reddish hair, and a ton of freckles that stick out against pale skin. They’re skinny, but with a masculine build, and they seem shy. They don’t introduce themself with their pronouns, but we’ll probably go over that later.
I nod back, not really sure what to say. Thankfully, the door opens, and two other campers step in.
One of them smiles, stepping aside to let the other in. “Hi!” They have dark skin, slightly lighter than mine, and curly hair pulled back into a loose ponytail. They wear an air of confidence, as well as bright green overalls and matching ribbons in their hair. They have broad shoulders, and they look like they’re pretty strong.
“Should I take off my shoes?” They ask jokingly, looking down at their pair of yellow rain boots.
Raphael shakes her head. “Come on in, pick out a bed. Now that everyone’s here, we can get acquainted, look over our schedule.”
“Are there any open top bunks?” Rain Boots asks, not directing the question at anyone specifically.
Jacob nods, walking back to their bed. “This one between me and, um... sorry, what was it?”
“Calbridge.” I tell them again. Hopefully we get name tags or something. Leah’s never been good with names, either. “Yeah, it’s open.”
“Cool beans.” Rain Boots tosses a duffel bag up with ease, and climbs the ladder with their backpack slung over one shoulder.
The other camper stands there for a minute. “Uh...”
It’s the first time they’ve spoken, but they don’t seem particularly shy. Just awkward. They’re taller than anyone else, probably around 5’ 7” or 5’ 8”. They have messy, medium brown hair, and sunburnt cheeks. Their tan skin doesn’t look like it burns very easily, especially not in the early June sun, and I wonder how much time they must spend outdoors for it to happen anyway. They definitely look sporty, wearing a stained tank top and basketball shorts.
They end up taking the bed underneath Jacob, setting their bags down on the floor.
“Alright!” Raphael claps her hands once. I’m not sure whether it’s to get our attention or just for emphasis. “Let’s start with our names, pronouns, and favorite ice cream flavor. Come on, circle up!”
Jacob, Rain Boots, and I climb down from our beds to try to form a circle. The room is small, though, so we end up in a weird oval...ish shape. I guess it’s a hexagon, since there’s six of us?
“I’ll go first. I’m Raphael, I use she and her, and my favorite ice cream is caramel cookie.” She nods to the camper to her right, the sunburnt one who came in last.
“Oh, uh, I’m Riley, but my siblings call me Fyre, so I guess, uh, call me that. I use they/them, and my favorite ice cream is rainbow sherbet.” They brush their hair back with one hand, looking over to me.
“Um, I’m Calbridge, and I use she/her pronouns. I’m lactose intolerant, so I don’t eat ice cream super often, but I like peanut butter cup.”
I look over at Leah. She frowns, lowering her eyebrows for a second, and I nod. “This is my sister, Leah. Her pronouns are she/her, too, and she likes French vanilla.”
Jacob looks up, as I finish talking. “Hi, I’m Jacob, I guess. I might change my name later. I kinda wanna figure myself out a little more. You can use he and him for me right now.” He pauses for a minute. “Oh, my favorite ice cream is chocolate brownie!”
The camper with the yellow rain boots smiles. “It’s great to meet you guys. I’m Camp, which is a kinda funny name to have here. My pronouns are they/them, or just my name. I’ve been a vegan for most of my life, so I don’t have a favorite ice cream, but I really like smoothies!”
“Well, you all seem like awesome people!” Raphael grins at us. “I’m so glad I get to be your counselor this year!” It seems like enthusiasm is pretty common with camp staff, which makes sense. This is supposed to be a fun, energetic place.
Raphael looks serious for a moment, her smile dimming. “Now, I just want to make sure you kids know that this is a safe space. If you have any kind of problem, you can always talk to me or another staff member. We do not tolerate hate speech or bullying here, and I want to see all of you being as supportive of each other as you can. You might have just been put together because of your last names and general age range, but this cabin can become a family this summer.” She says the last part with a joking tone, her smile returning.
“You gu- you folks probably have already looked through your agendas, but we’re gonna go ahead and flip through together, alright?”
“Sounds good!” Camp nods.
“Okie dokie.” Jacob chimes in.
The rest of us nod, too. I reach up to grab my folder from my bed, opening it to the first page. Leah is sitting on her bed, and I plop down next to her.
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