Summer Camp

==Characters==
===Counselors===
*Hannah - counselor
*Mary - counselor
*Zoe - counselor
*Melissa - counselor
*Chris - counselor
*Tim - counselor 
*Benny - counselor
*Kevin - counselor
===Campers===
*Phoebe - camper
*Peggy - camper
*Jason - camper
*Steven - camper
*Betty - camper
*Chuck - camper
*Amy - camper
*David - camper
*Jennifer - camper
*Vanessa - camper
*Henry - camper
*Mike - camper
Being a counselor at summer camp was going to be difficult for Hannah. She didn't expect her first two weeks of summer to be this way. All she wanted was to have a nice, relaxing vacation and enjoy the freedom of not having to go to school for a few months, but she needed to get a job as a way to earn money for the summer. She knew that before two weeks were up, things were going to get kind of crazy. 
From the pictures in the brochures, Camp Awanata seemed like a rather average camp. Kids were going to spend the summer running around in the fresh air, roasting marshmallows by a bonfire, and swimming in the lake all day long. Of course, Hannah knew that she had to look after these kids so that they wouldn't get into any trouble. She didn't want them to get lost in the woods, have their stomachs poisoned, or be eaten by bears. She was also going to be forced against her will to partake in making silly crafts, singing songs by a bonfire, and coaching games of tug-of-war. Since she was unable to bring any electronic devices with her, she feared that she wouldn't have any direct communications to the outside world and that her cries for help would go unheard. She dreaded the two weeks that were ahead of her, because she knew having to live with all of those kids for two weeks wasn't going to be all fun and games. Being a camp counselor was not going to be easy. 
Whatever was going to happen at Camp Awanata, Hannah hoped that everything would be just fine and that none of the campers would get into trouble. But she knew that spending two weeks at a camping program wasn't going to be easy. 
On the big green camp bus that transported the counselors, Hannah felt a little sick to her stomach, and as she looked out the window, she worried about the two weeks she had to spend out in the wilderness. She just wanted to stay at home and have a relaxing summer vacation instead of having to look after a bunch of rowdy kids she barely even knew. Her best friend, Mary, who was sitting next to her, could see that Hannah was looking worried.
"Is there something wrong, Hannah?" she asked. 
"Yeah," said Hannah. "I'm pretty nervous about being a counselor at summer camp." 
"You shouldn't be nervous," said Mary. "I've been a summer camp counselor for two years. Since you're a new counselor, I'm sure camp won't be so bad."
Chris, who was also a regular counselor, peered over the seat in front of them. "Mary is right," he said. "It might be a little scary at first, but I reassure you that everything will be just fine. Besides, what's the worst thing that could happen?"
"Well, I'm a little worried that some of the campers might get in trouble. I fear that they might get lost in the woods or eaten by bears."
"Oh, don't worry about it," said Mary. "I'm pretty sure that there's a very slim chance of having any campers get eaten by wild animals. And if any of them get lost in the woods, we'll have everyone look for them no matter how long it takes. But if we're lucky, we won't have any campers get lost anywhere."
Hannah felt a little better about summer camp after hearing what Mary had to say, but she still felt a little sick to her stomach. She wondered if it was because she was either getting bus-sick or she had more things to worry about being a summer camp counselor. 
Just then, Chris poked his head out of the window and said "I see it! I see the sign for the camp! We're almost there, guys!"
"Thank goodness," said Hannah. Even though she wasn't too thrilled about going to summer camp to look after a bunch of rowdy kids, she knew that at the moment there was nothing that would make her happier than arriving to the camp area before she regurgitated on the bus floor. As the bus pulled onto the gravel driveway, she squinted her eyes to read the big red sign. It read Welcome to Camp Awanata.
Being a very impatient person who couldn't wait for anything, Chris was out the door of the bus almost before the wheels stopped moving.
"Come on, Hannah!" called Mary. "Let's get going!"
"I'm still a little nervous," said Hannah as she stepped off the bus. "This is my first time being a counselor at a summer camp. I know it's only for two weeks, but I'm worried that the campers might be a little hard to handle."
"Don't worry about it," said Mary. "I'm pretty sure some of these kids have come to this camp every summer, and they probably know what to do. I guarantee that everything will be just fine."
Hannah took one look at the campsite, and it made her feel a little more nervous than she was on the bus. Hannah didn't like the fact that the campgrounds were right out in the woods. She was worried that the place could be filled with wild animals just waiting to eat humans alive. But despite this, it also made her a little nostalgic, as it seemed to bring back memories of when she went to summer camp for the first time as a child. She was nine years old the first time she saw her parents break out the summer camp pamphlets, and she was very excited. She was an only child who had just seen the movie "The Parent Trap" for the first time, and she hoped that she would find her long-lost twin sibling or catch a fish-slapping bear by the time she arrived at camp. Little did she know that her parents were planning a grown-up getaway of their own, but she didn't care; She was already fantasizing about all of the epic adventures that were surely awaiting her. However, she never found any fish-slapping bears or her long-lost twin at camp, but she still had the time of her nine-year-old life. As one of those kids who liked to run around and get dirty, summer camp was her dream come true. She enjoyed hiking, canoeing, and sitting around the campfire roasting marshmallows. Summer after summer, she tried out every camp under the sun, from soccer camp to space camp. She loved catching up with old friends and meeting new ones. Going to summer camp really cleared up her summer doldrums. 
Those were certainly good times for Hannah, and she knew that being a camper was a lot of fun. Being a counselor, however, wasn't going to be as much fun as being a camper. As Hannah reminisced her adventurous, camp-loving childhood, she gave a soft sigh. "Man, it's been so long since I've been a camper at summer camp," she said to herself. "I used to like summer camp as a kid, but now that I'm seventeen years old and not the free-spirited, nature-loving kid I used to be, I don't think summer camp is my thing anymore. Now that I'm a summer camp counselor, I don't think it's going to be that much fun."
As soon as all of the other counselors got off the bus and were assigned to their cabins, Hannah looked through her suitcase to make sure she had everything she needed. After checking her suitcase three times, making sure she packed her toothbrush, flashlight, and other necessities, she felt reassured that she was ready to survive two whole weeks of being a summer camp counselor. She felt ready for any situation that the campers were going to throw at her. At that moment, the next buses rolled into the parking lot. These ones were the campers' buses, and as Hannah counted, she saw that there were six buses, which meant that there were going to be a lot of kids at camp. She wasn't quite sure if she could handle that many kids.
When the last camp bus rolled in, all of the campers got off and headed to the campgrounds. Hannah couldn't believe her eyes when she saw the duffel bags that many of the campers were carrying. They were six feet long - a lot larger than her only suitcase, and they were even long enough to fit even the tallest basketball player. What was even more unbelievable was that those campers carried two duffel bags. Hannah was shocked at the sight of all those bags that the campers had, which made her feel like she had underpacked. 
"Wow," she muttered. "These campers seem to have packed a lot more stuff than I did. What the heck is even in those bags?"
After all the buses were unloaded, everyone brought their stuff down to the main lodge, which was a giant log cabin with a lot of long tables inside. 
The person in charge was a man named Mr. Burrow, and he was one of the main counselors of Camp Awanata. Once everyone sat down, Mr. Burrow gave a speech about the camp rules. There were a lot of camp rules he went through, but the one he said was most important was that boys and girls weren't allowed to visit each other's cabins for any reason. He said that this was his nineteenth year as a counselor at Camp Awanata, and he didn't want a repeat of what happened last year. He didn't tell anyone what happened, but they knew that from his words, some boys visited a girls' cabin, or some girls visited a boys' cabin, and nothing good came out of it. The counselors promised that they would look after the campers and make sure they wouldn't get into any trouble. 
Each of the counselors had to monitor the cabins that the campers were going to stay in. Mr. Burrow assigned the counselors to different cabins. Zoe was in charge of Cabin 3, Chris was in charge of Cabin 9, Tim was in charge of Cabin 4, Kevin was in charge of Cabin 2, Melissa was in charge of Cabin 5, Benny was in charge of Cabin 7, Mary was in charge of Cabin 8, and Hannah was in charge of Cabin 6. 
As Hannah entered the cabin, she could see that there were five young campers waiting for her. It made her a little reluctant, and she didn't know if she could introduce themselves to them, so Mary had to encourage her.
"Don't just stand there, Hannah," whispered Mary. "Say something to those girls."
Knowing that there was only one thing to do, Hannah took a deep breath, walked slowly to the girls, and began to introduce herself.
"Hello, girls," said Hannah. "My name is Hannah. I'm going to be your cabin monitor. I hope you packed enough stuff to last you for two whole weeks. What are your names?"
"My name is Phoebe," said a girl with black hair and glasses.
"I'm Peggy," said a girl with short brown hair.
"My name is Betty," said a girl with blonde hair in pigtails. 
"I'm Amy," said a girl with a little green bow in her hair.
"I'm Jennifer," said a girl with her hair in a ponytail. 
"Those are nice names," said Hannah. "Now that you've all introduced yourselves to me, I would like you to pick a bunk that you want to sleep in. It can be any bunk in the cabin, so choose wisely."
The campers chose the bunks they wanted and unpacked their bags. As they unpacked and set up their stuff in the cabin, Hannah saw that these campers had packed lots of things, including tons of clothing to last them for more than two weeks, rugs, lock boxes, plastic drawers, lamps, iPod speakers, posters of pop stars and boy bands, portable fans, fold up chairs, piles of towels, and brand new bedding sets. Hannah couldn't believe her eyes. These campers really knew how to make themselves at home in the cabin they had to sleep in for two weeks. 
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Hannah was in the counselors' cabin, reading a graphic novel she had brought from home. 
"You better put that away, Hannah," said Mary. "They don't allow comic books here at camp."
"Why not?" asked Hannah. 
"Because they say it's not suitable reading," replied Mary. "They only allow you to bring chapter books, or whatever is acceptable for the reading levels of both campers and counselors."
"That's ridiculous!" said Hannah as she put her comic book back into her backpack. "Half the fun of being a counselor at summer camp is lying on your bunk reading comic books while on break from looking after the campers." 
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All the campers and counselors sat around the campfire on a cool, starry night, roasting marshmallows. It seemed like a perfect night for a bonfire, and the counselors had picked the right time. There was not a single cloud in the sky, and the moon was shining bright. Everyone wanted to tell some good stories around the fire, while Chris wanted to tell some spooky ghost stories. 
"I am the master of ghost stories," said Chris. "The stories I am about to tell you will fill you with sheer terror."
But none of the campers seemed fazed by his sinister-sounding statement. They all just looked at Chris in confusion. Some of them just rolled their eyes, as if they thought the stories he was going to tell were more lame than scary. 
"Hey, is that a spider crawling up your leg?" said one of the campers, pointing to a little spider that was, indeed, crawling up Chris's leg. When Chris saw the spider, he squealed in terror and tried to get the spider off. The campers all laughed at the sight of Chris jumping around and swatting his leg, while the other counselors looked in shock. Hannah seemed a lot more shocked, because she didn't know something as small as a little spider would freak someone out so much.
"I feel sorry for Chris," whispered Melissa as she saw Chris flailing around. "Spiders give me the creeps, too."
Finally, Chris was able to get the spider off his leg, and he was exhausted. The campers were still laughing at him, because the sight of a camp counselor jumping around with a spider on his leg was absolutely hilarious. Chris was a little embarrassed that his fear of spiders showed up in front of the campers. He chuckled nervously and rubbed the back of his head.
"Uh, yeah," he told the campers. "You might think it's funny, but I find spiders to be even scarier than the ghost stories I didn't have the chance to tell you. Sorry about that, kids."
Now it was the counselors' turn to laugh. Hannah laughed a little as well, but she was still a little worried. Not because of Chris's arachnophobia, but because she feared that the campers would still get into trouble somehow. The first day at camp wasn't too bad, but there were only a few more days to go, and Hannah hoped that nothing bad would happen. She didn't want any of the campers to get in trouble. Hopefully, they wouldn't. She would just have to wait and see.
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Chris and two of the boy campers were out on the lake, rowing a canoe. One of the campers, Henry, was helping Chris paddle, while Jason, the other camper, was sitting comfortably and watching them paddle. It was a perfect day for Chris to teach the campers how to row a canoe. The air was fresh, the water was clean, and he was helping the kids get lots of exercise. 
"Do you have a girlfriend, Chris?" asked Jason. 
"Well, there are two girls that I like," said Chris. "One of them is Melissa, one of the female counselors. She and I have a lot in common, and she really seems to like me. On the other hand, there's this girl named Therese who is not so nice and seems to hate my guts."
"Wow," said Jason. "That kind of sounds like a tough decision."
"I don't get it, Chris," said Henry. "Why do you like Therese if she's not so nice to you?"
"Well, Therese has this really beautiful smile," said Chris. "But I only got to see it twice."
"Really?" said Jason.
"Yeah," said Chris. "One of those times was the time when I fell into a sinkhole, and the other was when I decided to take her on a drive, but accidentally locked myself out of my car."
"At least she has a good sense of humor!" said Henry.
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The girl campers of Cabin 6 were returning to their cabin after spending a whole half hour learning to paddle a canoe, and it was exhausting. They wanted to spend the rest of the afternoon relaxing and talking about what they were going to do for the rest of the summer once camp was over. As they arrived at the cabin, they saw Hannah sweeping out the floor with a broom. 
"What are you doing, Miss Hannah?" asked Vanessa. 
"I'm sweeping out the cabin," said Hannah. "The floor keeps getting covered with dirt and assorted bug corpses. It's all we can do to get rid of them each day."
As Hannah swept the dirt and bug corpses out of the cabin, the campers seemed baffled at how their counselors were so concerned about the cleanliness of their cabins. 
"Either they're weird, or we are," said Amy. 
"I call dibs on the dead wasp," said Jennifer as she tried to pick up one of the dead bugs. Hannah saw this happening and was rather disgusted. 
"What's up with these kids?" she thought to herself. "Why are they so interested in picking up dead bugs? That's so gross." 
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The campers were eating lunch in the mess hall. Having spent their morning swimming in the lake, rowing canoes, fishing, playing sports, and doing crafts, they had all worked up an appetite. 
Peggy and Amy were enjoying their share of hot dogs and fruit punch. The punch was just as delicious as any other beverage they had at camp. 
"Gosh, Amy," said Peggy. "The punch at the camp is pretty tasty."
"I agree with you, Peggy," said Amy. 
"It's not punch," said Steven, taking a bite out of his hot dog. "It's called bug juice."
"Ha ha," said Peggy sarcastically. "That's very funny."
"Oh, I'm serious," said Steven. "They scrape the corpses of dead bugs off those electric bug zappers every morning and turn them into juice through a juice machine." 
"Now do you think it's so tasty?" asked Mike with a smug grin. 
"Oh, grow up," sighed Amy. 
"Hey, it's true!" said Steven. "Just ask any of the counselors! We heard it straight from them!" 
"That's not true, you nitwits!" said Peggy. "We saw them making it in the back of the mess hall. They use these big jugs of flavored syrup." 
"Sheesh," said Amy. "How gullible do you think we are?" 
The two boys looked at each other, and decided that they should just stop making stupid bug jokes to the girls, because they knew where bug juice really came from, and it wasn't made out of real bugs. 
"Apparently, those girls aren't as gullible as we are," said Steven. 
"Well, darn it," said Mike, taking a look at what was in his cup. "Then I guess this dead mosquito shouldn't be floating in my cup." 
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Some of the boy campers were going swimming at the lake. They were trying out a rope swing that was tied to a big tree near the lake, and when they swung on it, they were able to fearlessly jump into the water. The boys had a lot of fun swinging on the rope swing. 
"Man, is that rope swing great or what?" said David as he and Henry got out of the water and got ready to dry off. 
"Tell me about it!" said Henry. 
"Well, it's crazy, if you ask me," said the ever doubtful Jason, tugging at the rope. He had never tried it before, and he wasn't so sure about swinging off of it and jumping into the water. It looked a little more dangerous than fun to him. 
"Come on, Jason!" said David. "You gotta do it! You need to try it out!"
"You can't go home without trying it at least once!" said Henry. "This is the legendary Camp Awanata rope swing we're talking about. You've got to do it! It's tradition!"
"That's right," said David. "It's pretty easy. Just hold on tight, and after you've cleared the rocks, let go and you'll plunge into the lake. Trust me, it's that simple."
"Well, it kind of seems risky to me," said Jason. 
"Hey, living a full life means taking certain risks!" said David.
"Come on, Jason!" said Henry. "Seize the day! Carpe diem!"
"Okay, okay," said Jason as he took off his shirt. "I guess I'll try it."
Unfortunately, Jason didn't know very much about rope swings, and before he knew it, he was back in his cabin while the counselor brought out the first aid kit. 
"Please don't give me any more advice," said Jason, holding an ice pack on his forehead. 
"But I know a lot more about first aid than I know about rope swings," said Henry. 
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Hannah was sitting on the dock, having a little quiet time for herself. A few minutes later, she saw Betty come over to her.
"Um, Miss Hannah?" said Betty. "I want to ask you something."
"You have a question, Betty?" asked Hannah.
"Yes," said Betty. "How come girls and boys are not allowed to visit each other's cabins? We do lots of things here at camp with the boys, so why can't we visit them in their cabins?"
"Because it's against campground rules," said Hannah. "Boy campers and girl campers are not allowed to visit each other in their cabins under any circumstance."
"How come?" asked Betty.
"Well, that's a good question," said Hannah. "I'm not really sure myself."
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Jason and Chuck, two of the boy campers from Cabin 9, were talking to each other about visiting the girls at one of their cabins. 
"Do you think we should visit one of those girls' cabins, Chuck?" asked Jason. 
"Oh, I don't know," said Chuck. "I don't think that's such a good idea. Besides, we're not allowed to visit each other's cabins." 
"Why not?" asked Jason. "I think it'll be fun. Maybe we could go swimming at the lake with some of the girls."
"I still don't think that's a good idea," said Chuck. "You probably don't understand. When most of us boys see girls in bathing suits, we have an involuntary reaction to retch uncontrollably, or to poke our eyes out with sticks."
"Um, I don't think that would be an appropriate reaction," said Jason. "We could probably just look away when the girls change into their swimsuits. You know what I mean?" 
"But, seeing as there's nothing else to do, maybe it would make you more comfortable if we just watched," said Jason. 
"I don't know," said Chuck. "But I'm wondering if the girls are probably thinking about visiting our cabins." 
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Betty didn't quite understand why girls and boys were not allowed to visit each others' cabins, and Hannah wasn't going to be much help. A while later, Betty and Phoebe were standing by the lake, talking about visiting one of the boys' cabin. 
"Do you think we should visit some of the boys at their cabin, Betty?" asked Phoebe. "I know we're not allowed to do something like that, but do you think we should do it anyway?"
"I don't know," said Betty. "Maybe we should just stay at our cabin and see if they visit us."
"Well, it's a long day," said Phoebe. "And they say that life is too short, so...Why don't we visit the boys' cabins?"
"I don't see why not!" said Betty. "Let's go!"
"I like your clever way of thinking, Betty!" said Phoebe as she and Betty ran to where the boys' cabins were. They knew that it was a bad idea, and they knew that they were both going to get in trouble for it, but they still decided to do it, because to the girls, it wasn't fair that boys and girls weren't allowed to visit each other in their cabins, because they did almost everything together at camp. 
"I can hardly wait to see Jason," said Betty. "We're gonna have a great time!"
"Betty, I don't think I ever told you this," said Phoebe. "But there's another girl who knows Jason as well as you."
"Another girl?" said Betty. "Who?"
"Well, to be honest, I don't think I know her name," said Phoebe. "But I think she's from one of the girls' cabins. From what I've heard, she used to attend the same homeroom class as Jason at school."
"Do you think he likes her?" asked Betty.
"I don't know," said Phoebe. "It's kind of hard to tell, but I heard Jason talk about her quite a bit."
"Let's go back," said Betty. "I want to have a talk with her."
And so, the two girls turned their backs and went back to where the girls' cabins were. Unbeknownst to them, one of the boy campers was watching them through his binoculars. 
"What are you looking at, Mike?" asked Jason.
"Those two girls down there," said Mike. "They were walking to where our cabins are, but then they stopped, and suddenly turned around and ran back!"
"I wonder why," said Jason.
Meanwhile, Betty and Phoebe were looking for the girl that Jason liked. Betty wasn't sure what the girl looked like, so she had to ask Phoebe who that girl could be.
"All right, where is she? Do you know where that girl is?"
"She's right over there," said Phoebe, pointing to a girl coming out of Cabin 3. 
"That one?" asked Betty. "The girl with brown hair in braids?"
"Yes," said Phoebe. "That's her. I can't remember what her name is, but I think it's Debbie or Linda or something."
"Do you really think it's a good idea to ask her if she likes Jason?" asked Betty.
"Well, I hope she doesn't mind if we ask politely," said Phoebe.
"What are you waiting for, then?" asked Betty, getting a little impatient. "Hurry up and ask her! Now!"
"Actually, I think you should ask her," said Phoebe. 
"Me?" said Betty. "How come?"
"I think you have more courage to ask her than I do," said Phoebe. "Don't be scared. Just ask her."
As she said this, the girl with the braids came over to them. Now was the time for Betty to talk to her, so Phoebe gave her the warning.
"Here she comes!" said Phoebe. "She said she used to go to the same school as Jason. Are you going to talk to her? What are you going to do, Betty?"
But Phoebe didn't hear Betty answer. She turned her head to see that Betty had strangely disappeared. 
"Betty?" Phoebe asked again. But her friend was nowhere in sight. Phoebe wondered what might have happened to her. At the boys' cabin circle, Mike saw this happening through his binoculars, but he had no idea what was going on. 
"What are you looking at now, Mike?" asked Jason. 
"There seems to be some excitement at the girls' cabins," said Mike. 
"What do you think it could be?" asked Jason.
"I don't know," said Mike. "But I think one of them probably saw a snake or a bear or something."
A few minutes later, Mike put down his binoculars to see Betty coming over to the boys' cabin circle. He wasn't sure why she would do that, because she was a girl, and girls weren't allowed to visit boys at their cabins.
"Betty!" said Mike. "What are you doing here? You're not supposed to be here."
"I know," said Betty. "But where's Jason? I need to talk to him."
"What for?" asked Mike.
"I need to know if he likes that girl from Cabin 3. You know, the one with the brown hair in braids."
"Oh, you mean Julia?" said Mike.
"Yes!" said Betty. "That one! I didn't know her name was Julia, though."
"Well, to be honest with you, I'm not quite sure if Julia likes Jason, even though I've got a feeling that Jason likes her. So, what happened when you saw Julia?"
"It was pretty awkward, to be honest," said Betty. "I stood right in front of her, but I had no idea what to tell her. My mouth was as dry as a sack of sand, and there were tiny droplets of sweat beading up on my forehead. I was so nervous seeing Julia, a girl that Jason was always talking about, that I chickened out. I couldn't get the words to come out of my mouth, because I was worried that Jason might like her more than I like him. I was so worried, that I just took off."
"Wait a minute, Betty," said Mike. "Why did she make you so nervous? Why did you run away?"
"To be honest," said Betty. "I think Jason likes her because she's a little prettier than me. Her hair is longer than mine, and her her eyes are almost a prettier shade of blue. I know I'm pretty just like some of the other girls here at camp, but I'm worried that Jason likes Julia because she might be one of the prettiest girls at camp. It was really awkward for me because sometimes I fear that I might not be as pretty as Julia or any other girls I know. Julia seems to sparkle a lot more than I do, and it make me feel like a plain old Jane Doe. I just feel like another ordinary girl. I'm not so sure if Jason likes me because I'm pretty, but not as pretty as Julia."
"Oh, don't worry about it," said Mike. "It doesn't matter if you're as pretty as Julia or not. Everyone knows that beauty comes from the inside out. It's not how you look that counts, but it's how you feel. The only one who can make you feel inferior is you. Being confident makes you beautiful, no matter what you look like."
"Really?" said Betty.
"It's true," said Mike. "What you look like on the outside isn't important. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. There's beauty in everything, and if you help others and be yourself, they might realize that you are beautiful, both on the outside and the inside. If Jason likes you, then he might not care if you're not as pretty as Julia. He will still think you are a sweet girl and will always be beautiful to him."
"You think so?" said Betty. She was starting to feel much better now. She wasn't so worried about how pretty she was compared to Julia anymore. She knew that if Jason liked her, he wouldn't care about how she looked. But she still wanted to talk to Jason, and she knew boys and girls were not allowed to see each other in their cabins. 
"Thank you for giving me that advice, Mike," said Betty. "I'm so glad to hear that Jason will think I'm just as pretty as Julia. I think I should talk to Jason to find out for sure if he likes me."
"That's a good idea," said Mike. "But I think you should do it during a time when the counselors aren't out."
"Don't worry, Mike," said Betty. "I'm sure I'll think of something. See you later!"
And with that, she ran back to the girls' cabin circle, just as one of the counselors, Tim, arrived. Tim saw Betty running off and wondered if she had snuck off to see one of the boys at their cabin.
"Hey, Mike," said Tim. "I saw this girl with pigtails run by. Did she sneak off to visit your cabin or something?"
"No," said Mike. "She just came to me for advice."
"I see," said Tim. "But if another girl happens to come across your cabin circle, don't let her sneak into one of the cabins. If that happens, someone's going to be in big trouble."
"Yes, sir," said Mike. He hoped that Betty would find the perfect way to sneak over to the boys' cabin circle to talk to Jason without any nosy counselors finding out.
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Phoebe and Betty met Jason and Mike at the arts and crafts station, where the boys were making a model rocket.
"Hi, Jason," said Betty. "Phoebe and I are going stargazing tonight. Do you want to join us?"
"What for?" asked Jason. 
"Well, we just want to go out look at the constellations," said Phoebe. 
Upon hearing the word "constellations", the boys knew that they weren't going to miss the chance. They wanted to see some neat pictures that were hidden in the stars, so they accepted the girls' offer.
"We would love to join you," said Jason.
"I'm interested in constellations myself," said Mike.
"Great!" said Betty. "We'll see you boys by tonight."
"We'll leave you a note and a map to help your find us," said Phoebe.
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That night, Jason and Mike snuck over to the girls' cabin circle, with their flashlights guiding them. After a bit of searching, they were able to find Cabin 6. They knocked on the door, but no one answered. The boys figured that Betty and Phoebe weren't in their cabin, but they left them with a note. The note said that the girls found the perfect place for stargazing, and they had a map for the boys to follow. The boys found this a little odd, but they decided to follow the map anyway. It was incredibly detailed, but they were able to follow it with no trouble at all. They met the girls at the top of a big hill on the north side of the camp. 
"Hi, boys!" said Betty. "We're so glad you came!"
"That was fast," said Phoebe. "I thought that map would be hard for you to follow."
"Mike told me that even though I'm not as pretty as Julia, I'll still be loved for the beauty I have from the inside out," said Betty. "So I decided to set up a stargazing date for you as a very special way of saying thank you."
"And I decided to allow you boys to join the Top-Secret Camp Awanata Friendship Club," said Phoebe. 
"Friendship Club?" said Jason. "What's that?"
"It's a club where both girls and boys come together to share our friendships with one another," said Betty. "We never let the counselors know about it, because the club's meetings usually take place at night. Since you helped me accept myself for who I am, I think you've proven yourselves acceptable. Once you take the secret oath, we will all be friends forever."
"You gotta admit that we've all had fun at camp, and since it's going to be over in a few days, and we will always treasure the memories of all the fun we've had," said Phoebe. "So what do you say? Are we friends forever?"
And so, it was official. Jason and Mike were now very good friends with Phoebe and Betty, and Jason finally admitted to Betty that he liked her, maybe even moreso than Julia. Betty was happy that Jason liked her, and she knew that she would always be pretty, no matter what she looked like.
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Peggy and Jennifer were contently paddling on the lake in their canoe, looking at the different species of wildlife. 
"Ah, this is paradise," said Jennifer. "It makes me almost forget how much I miss television."
"Where do you want to go next, Jen?" asked Peggy. 
"Well, let's see," said Jennifer as she looked around. "We could go across the lake and see a beaver family, we could go by that big, rocky area and look for snakes basking in the sun, or we could just paddle around over by one of the docks."
"What kind of animals are over by the docks?" asked Peggy. 
As as they took a look at one of the docks, they both saw the answer. Two of the boy campers were jumping into the water for a swim, and it looked like they were having a lot of fun. The girls just couldn't resist, so they paddled over to the dock to join in the fun.
Meanwhile, on another one of the docks, Mary watched the campers paddle their canoes across the lake, and it looked like they were having fun and enjoying a relaxing ride on the water. She was talking to Melissa about her hike in the woods with the campers of Cabin 8 that happened earlier. She wasn't used to walking trails in the woods, and she wasn't good at following directions. 
"If I ever get lost in the woods, I fear that I might get eaten by a bear," she told Melissa.
"Hey, you're not the only one worried about getting lost in the woods," said Melissa. "Quite a few other counselors thought they would lose their way and get eaten by bears, too. I heard that even Hannah is afraid of getting lost in the woods."
"Oh, that's totally true," said Mary. "She must be glad that she was assigned to teach the girls of Cabin 6 to paddle a canoe instead. It must be a lot more relaxing for her."
"Hey, speaking of Hannah," said Melissa, pointing to the lake. "Isn't that her over there? It looks like she's almost drowning."
Mary looked at the water, and there was Hannah, flailing around and yelling for help. Mary didn't want her best friend to drown, so she grabbed her canoe, leapt into it, and quickly paddled down the lake to save her. Fortunately, she was able to fish Hannah out of the lake. She paddled her back to the dock to help her dry off.
"What happened, Hannah?" asked Mary. "Are you okay?"
"I think so," said Hannah. "My canoe capsized, and...well…I don't know how to swim. Please don't tell anyone."
"Oh, I won't," said Mary, helping Hannah to her feet. "How about we go help some of the campers make some crafts at the arts and crafts station instead?"
"Sure," said Hannah. "Thanks, Mary."
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Steven and Chuck were drying off and putting their clothes back in after a nice, relaxing swim at the lake. As he saw Peggy and Jennifer paddling their canoe, Steven couldn't believe that both the boy campers and girl campers were getting along so well.
"I'm not sure if befriending some of the girl campers was such a good idea," he told Chuck.
"How come?" asked Chuck as he laced up his sneakers.
"Well," said Steven. "It's almost turned out world upside-down! We play with each other instead of plot against each other. We giggle at their jokes instead of laugh in their faces. And, I kid you not, Peggy and Jen were nice enough to give us a canoe ride! It's really weird, if you ask me. I used to dislike girls, but after spending some time with them, I'm starting to tolerate them more than before. I'm not so sure why, though."
"Me neither," said Chuck. "But I think before we came to camp, we didn't like girls because we were immature. But now, look at us! Our counselors really seemed to have whipped us into shape! Even though we can't visit the girls' cabins, we do lots of cool activities with them, and we seem to have lots of fun together. I think many of us boys are starting to realize that girls aren't so bad after all."
"I guess you're right, Chuck," said Steven. "I'm pretty sure the girls are thinking that we're not so bad, either."
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It was the final night of summer camp. Everyone was going to get together by the campfire for the last time. 
All the campers and counselors gathered around the fire, roasting marshmallows, telling stories, and singing campfire songs as Chris strummed his guitar. As the campers sang along to Chris's songs, Hannah quietly watched as she roasted a marshmallow, and she was happy that everything at camp wasn't as bad as she thought.
"How did you enjoy being a counselor at Camp Awanata, Hannah?" asked Melissa.
"I enjoyed it a lot," said Hannah. "It was tough for me at first, but I got used to it."
"I enjoyed it, too," said Zoe. "I thought the campers would be hard to whip into shape when I first arrived, but now I've realized that these kids aren't so bad after all."
"I'm just goad everyone followed the camp rules," said Tim. "I saw some of the girl campers visit the boy campers at their cabin circle, but they didn't go into the cabins themselves, and I'm pretty relieved that the campers didn't visit each other in their cabins, because if they did, we would have a huge mess on our hands."
"Tell me about it," said Benny. "I'm glad that didn't happen, too. I'm proud of the campers for getting into shape after all the trouble we had to go through in the last few days."
"You can say that again," said Kevin. "These kids were a lot of fun to be around with, and I'm gonna miss them when they get on the buses to go home tomorrow."
"I hope I get to be a counselor here next summer," said Mary.
"I hope so, too," said Hannah. "Summer camp isn't so bad after all."
The campers and counselors all stood up and held hands as they sang one final song together. It was a night to remember, and a moment to treasure. All the campers looked back at how much fun they had at Camp Awanata, and they had something to tell their parents about when they got home. The counselors had fun looking after the campers and were relieved that nothing bad happened to them. Everyone had their share of fun and new experiences at camp. They made new friends, tried new activities they had never done before, and capture great memories that they would never forget. Even Hannah enjoyed being at camp, and this night was one of the greatest nights she had since she was nine years old. Summer camp was no longer a nightmare, but now it was a delightful experience, because she made friends with both the campers and the counselors and learned something new about them. She even learned something new about herself, and that was her long-forgotten love for fun adventures, which had finally come back to her. Summer camp was a great adventure that she would always remember.
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After two weeks, it was finally time for the campers and counselors to go home. Hannah was relieved that two weeks were over. With all the trouble she had to endure, those two weeks almost felt like six. Even though being a summer camp counselor wasn't an easy task, it was worth it in the end.
"Camp's over!" said Mr. Barrow. "Everyone pack your belongings and head to the buses! We'll see you kids next summer...Or at least, if you're planning to come back here next summer."
"Thank goodness," said Hannah. "After two long weeks, it's finally time to go home."
Everyone packed their bags, left their cabins, and bid each other farewell before they got on the buses. The campers and counselors shook hands, said their goodbyes, and promised each other that they would see each other again next summer. Before the last of the campers got on the camper bus, three of the girl campers came over to Hannah. 
"Um, excuse me, Miss Hannah," said Betty. "Can we tell you something?"
"What is it, girls?" asked Hannah. 
"Well," said Betty. "I just wanted to thank you for counseling us, and I hope I can come back to Camp Awanata next summer!"
"You sure can!" said Hannah. "I'll miss you girls once I get home. You've really made my time as a summer camp counselor much more interesting."
As Betty and the other two girls said goodbye to Hannah and made their way to the campers' bus, Hannah and Mary got ready to board the counselors' bus. On the way to the bus, Hannah could tell that Mary was proud of her for surviving two weeks of being a summer camp counselor.
"Hannah, I think you did a great job as a counselor at Camp Awanata," said Mary. "I knew you could pull through."
"Thanks, Mary," said Hannah. "It was hard at first, but it was totally worth it."
"Do you think you'll be a counselor at camp again next year?"
"Maybe," said Hannah. "I might have other plans, but who knows?"
As the counselors got on the bus, Hannah took a look at the "Welcome to Camp Awanata" sign one last time before the doors shut and the bus pulled out of the parking lot. Hannah looked out the window to see the campgrounds fading out of view, and she knew that she was going home at last. Breathing a sigh of relief, Hannah knew that her first two weeks of summer had been starting out as pretty tough, but at least everything went well at summer camp. Even though she was nervous on the first day, she got used to being a camp counselor over time, and she was glad that, despite some of the mishaps that occurred, nothing bad happened to the campers, and she could tell that the other counselors felt the same way. Hannah hoped that she could be a counselor at Camp Awanata again next year, because now she knew that it wasn't so bad after all.
Category:Original Stories
Category:Stories
Category:Shorts
Category:Short Story