Camp Firefly Sisters, Chapter Six
Chapter Six
The mess hall was about half the size of my school’s cafeteria, and it was packed. It looked like most of the tables had already been taken, yet the line for food was practically out the door. That made sense, as no one was packing their own lunch like plenty of students did at school; every girl here had to wait in line. Was camp food good? Guess I was going to find out.
Similar to the bus ride, I was a captive audience in terms of the small talk with girls I had nothing in common with. At least Bailey and Rachel could bounce off each other, while I only half paid attention to whatever they were talking about. My attention was more on the room itself, as I scanned for Mckenna or a non-counselor in charge. There were a handful of red polos around, though none of them bratty blondes. And no adults that I could see.
“What do you think, Maddie?” Bailey asked.
Well. I hadn’t really been listening. “Umm, what?” I asked, “Sorry, I spaced out there for a second.”
“Not the first time,” she teased. Guess it wasn’t that difficult to pick up on my habits when we had more or less been attached at the hip since I sat down next to her on the bus. “We were talking about our circle having a shot at the trophy. Oh, wait; I’m dumb. This is your first year.”
She then launched into a brief explanation. While most activities involved random teams, there were certain challenges where a circle of cabins competed against another circle. Whoever had the most points near the end of camp got the trophy. Aside from bragging rights, the girls that won got a few perks for the last few days.
“But a circle of 8th grade girls literally always win,” Rachel said, “I think it’s rigged.”
“Maybe,” Bailey said, “Though the oldest campers know those games the best. Anyway, I think we should really go for it! We can get our cabin on board, and I bet Ally could talk to her bunkmates. We’ll do so much better if we start strategizing now, instead of three seconds before the first challenge starts.”
Rachel reminded her that not every game for the trophy was the same, followed by Bailey pointing out that some were consistent year to year. And I was back to ‘spacing out’ while letting them talk about a challenge I didn’t plan on being present for.
I finally spotted my sister, arriving at the most inconvenient time. It almost felt like she planned it, except I couldn’t see her going out of her way for something like that. Just as she entered the mess hall, I was nearing the front of the line and caught a whiff of the taco bar that was set up for us. I wasn't particularly into tacos, but I had barely eaten anything all day. Just a quick bite for breakfast, followed by a long bus ride and nonstop frustration that didn’t once involve food
My stomach growled ever so slightly. It was more of a feeling than an audible sound, but still. If I got out of line now, I’d have to go all the way to the back. And then what? Confront Mckenna when she had another counselor right next to her, along with all the other girls in line and at the nearby tables? It wasn’t a great plan.
Deciding to bide my time, and not approach my sister while I was potentially hangry, I grabbed a tray and made myself a taco salad. I looked immature enough in the camper tee surrounded by girls dressed identically. Eating with a fork and knife, albeit plastic ones, was better than eating with my hands. Anything to avoid further matching the campers around me.
We were flagged down by a girl at one of the middle tables. Another friend of Bailey’s from last year, apparently. I guess it wasn’t that surprising that my bubbly bunkmate was a bit of a social butterfly. There was just enough space for the three of us to join them; I made a point to sit on the very end, as I didn’t want to be squished between anyone. Once again, I was introduced as ‘Maddie.’ The one who waved us over was Em, whatever that was short for; she was one of the girls in our cabin who had come from a different city. The rest of the names were in one ear and out the other, as I could only retain so much from brief introductions around the table.
I normally didn’t consider myself shy or awkward, but I had to imagine that I came across that way when I was the odd girl out. Bailey did make a point to include me in the conversation along the way, which only made it worse. Considering my real age and maturity, I knew exactly what she was doing. I didn’t need someone to socially hold my hand. Not when I was supposed to be making friends with the counselors here, rather than the campers I was sitting with.
As soon as I finished my meal, I was ready to do something about all of this. Bailey and company were talking about heading back to the cabin after dinner to hang. If I didn’t act now, I’d probably get dragged along with them because of the buddy system and the fact that all of them actually believed that I was their age.
“Hey, I’ll be right back,” I muttered to Bailey. After assuring her I wasn’t leaving the mess hall alone when she asked, I took my tray to the area where everyone was to scrape off their food and drop their dishes off, then made a beeline for Mckenna’s table.
There was never going to be a good time for this. She would always be with one or more counselors, or leading something that involved a whole group of campers. The only way I was going to get a one on one with her is if I took the initiative. Maybe an actual camper would be hesitant to approach a table of counselors and make demands. However, I was Mckenna’s older sister, and was also older than at least half the counselors at Camp Firefly.
Just because I had the backbone to walk up to the table, however, didn’t mean I was confident in the face of a few of the counselors turning my way when it was clear I wasn’t just passing by. I was just grateful Gwen was somewhere else, as she probably wouldn’t be too enthusiastic about me taking up more of her time after earlier.
A brunette counselor near the end spoke up first. “Hey, blondie. Can I help you with something?”
“I need to talk to Mckenna,” I said. Hopefully the directness would make her and the others take me seriously enough. Besides, I didn’t think Mckenna had a good way to outright dismiss me.
“Oh, you must be Maddie!” she exclaimed, “I totally see the resemblance. Hey, Kenna? Your sister wants to say ‘hey.’”
Unlike me, Mckenna had no problem eating a crumbly taco with her hands. Rather than glancing over right away, she took a big bite before turning her attention to my side of the table. She had never been the most ladylike, though she at least knew better than to talk with her mouth full. Meeting my eyes and holding up a finger, she made me wait until she had finished chewing and swallowing before finally speaking up. “Hey, Maddie,” she said, “What’s up?”
Seriously? What did she think? Suppressing a glare, as I wasn’t sure whether or not any of the other girls at the table were in on this humiliating ‘camper’ prank, I insisted, “We need to talk. In private. And it’s Madeline.” Tacking on my full name sounded more awkward than firm; I should have just left it at what I wanted.
“Relax, sis,” she chuckled, “I told you to lean into the nickname thing now that you’re a firefly. ‘Kenna’ sounded weird the first time, but now it would be even weirder if Alex started using my full name.”
“You think so?” Alex chimed in, “Meet me roommate, Mckenna.”
One of the other counselors scoffed. “Extra weird if she does it like that.”
“Anyway,” Mckenna said, “My dinner is going to get cold if I get up now. And I told you that you need to be making friends with campers your own age. As much as I love hanging out with you, I have important counselor things to do.”
So much for not glaring. “I mean it, Mckenna,” I said, “We need to talk.”
“Fine,” Mckenna sighed, “Go back to your table. I’ll come get you when I’m done eating. Okay?”
I wanted to push for right then, but she was offering a reasonable enough compromise. One that sounded slightly demeaning, yet still not a ‘no.’ With a huff of my own, I said, “Whatever.”
Reluctantly heading back to where the girls I had been sitting with were currently chatting about boys and how they were looking forward to the first co-ed activity in a few days, I waited impatiently for Mckenna to finish her dinner. Mostly since most of the campers at my table were done with their own meals, and I was still worried about the same issue as before. If they decided to get up and head back to our circle, sticking around for a conversation with my sister would mean either sitting alone or drifting to some other table where I didn’t know a single girl.
I really shouldn’t have been embarrassed at the thought of the former, since I had nothing to prove to any of the girls present. And yet, I always had someone to sit with at school, and being the only girl at an otherwise empty table was unfamiliar territory.
To my relief, the boy talk distracted the table from their earlier plan long enough for Mckenna to follow through on her offer. Probably because she didn’t want to risk me coming back to the counselor table. Maybe I should have blown up on her in front of the others. If they were oblivious to my situation, one of them could potentially help. That was too much of a coin toss, however, as they could just as easily know what was going on.
Regardless, Mckenna came up to our table with a friendly smile. “Hey, girls. Do you mind if I borrow Maddie for a second?”
I couldn’t be that annoyed at her continued use of the nickname, since that’s what every girl around me had been gravitating towards for hours now. Like she said, it must have been a camp thing. My sister hadn’t been around for most of my time with Bailey and Rachel, so I couldn’t fully blame her for how it was starting to stick.
In classic immature teenage fashion, a few girls teased me about being in trouble, when Mckenna’s approach was hardly serious. I just rolled my eyes and told them that I would be right back. They didn’t need to know that I might not be returning, whether that meant taking my proper counselor role or dealing with an infuriating drive back home.
I followed my sister’s lead, heading towards the back half of the mess hall and using a side door rather than the main one the campers had used to join the line for food. Rather than stopping right outside, she walked down the short concrete staircase and then towards one of the nearby paths before eventually turning around. “Well?” she asked, crossing her arms, “Are you enjoying your first day at camp?”
“Mckenna, enough,” I snapped, “Tell me what’s going on. Right now.”
She tilted her head in visible confusion. “I already told you. The counselor thing didn’t work out, so I signed you up as a camper instead.”
“But, you didn’t actually,” I pressed, “Just tell me this is some hazing bullshit or whatever. I’ll play along.” Hazing that excluded me from the counselor introductions earlier, and that every counselor so far had managed to keep a straight face for. If not that, then it was a ‘sisterly prank’ that had gone way too far. Which is why I was talking to her now, since I had already more or less concluded this wasn’t a new counselor experience. “And if you did, we need to tell someone right the fuck now.”
“Language, Maddie,” she started with, “Fireflies aren’t allowed to curse. You can get in trouble here, by the way. There’s dish duty, bathroom duty, and plenty of others. I’d hate for you to be stuck doing chores when your new friends are out playing games.”
“I’M NOT A FIREFLY,” I snapped, “I’m serious, Mckenna. Tell me the truth.”
“I am telling the truth,” she said, “It’s not my fault you’re in denial. You said you wanted to go to camp, so I registered you as a camper. If you didn’t want to come, you shouldn’t have gotten on the bus.”
Yeah, but- She sprung this on me at the last second, and I was too flustered to push back on the way I was ushered onto the bus right afterwards. And she was totally twisting the facts, too! I didn’t say I wanted to go to camp; it just sounded like a better summer job than the other options out there.
Mckenna went on, “Relax, Maddie. A couple weeks of camp will be good for you! It’s basically free exercise and a free tan. And you can’t leave without seeing Will, right? Besides, Bailey is awesome. I’m pretty sure she’ll be a counselor herself in a few years. Anyway, you’re already here. Just play along; I bet it will be more fun than you expect. You’ll have plenty of summer afterwards, and I know you didn’t want a job to begin with.”
“That’s not the point!” I exclaimed, before lowering my voice for the next part. As badly as I wanted my sister to get in trouble for this nonsense, I was still too embarrassed by the mistaken age to yell about it. “Everyone thinks I’m twelve,” I hissed, flushing slightly at the memory of various interactions between campers and counselors alike. Was I really that small, that something as simple as wearing a Camp Firefly t-shirt made it so no one saw me as the mature girl that I really was?
“Mm hmm,” she giggled, “And for the next two weeks, that’s exactly how old you’re going to be.”
We were clearly on different pages about how amusing this was. “But, I’m not!” I protested.
“But, you are,” Mckenna replied, “Think about it. Do you really want everyone hearing about the older girl who went through sign-in, orientation, and dinner as a Firefly? That’s the kind of funny story that some of the girls will totally share with the boys. It would be so embarrassing if Will heard about your little adventure today.
It didn’t sound like a threat. More a reality, that gossip was just as common amongst outdoorsy girls as it was with any other types. ‘Madeline Lewis, mistaken as a rising 7th grade girl.’ I doubted my crush would view me as a romantic prospect after hearing about this, especially if the story was exaggerated. Not to mention the social hit I would take; while none of the campers here were old enough to be at the same school Mckenna and I went to, they could very well have older sisters who were.
For both of those reasons, I hesitated. Would it be better to ride it out? No matter what I did, it was still guaranteed that one girl who went to my school had the option to nuke my popularity status. “And you’re not going to tell anyone?” I clarified. The more I thought about it, the more wiggle room there was for such a promise. “Or take pictures, or videos?”
“No phones at Camp Firefly,” Mckenna reminded me, “Well, counselors can use theirs at night, but you girls wouldn’t appreciate it if we had them out during the day.”
She was still talking as if I was a camper, when we both knew the truth. Obnoxious, though my line of questioning made it rather transparent in terms of which way I was leaning. “You didn’t answer the question,” I said.
“Oh. Right.” She held up her fingers in a mock Girl Scouts salute, when neither of us had ever been interested in that endeavor growing up, and said, “I promise not to tell anyone that my little sister Maddie was a tween camper for two weeks this summer.”
Ugh. I almost groaned out loud, as she wasn’t making what I was facing easy to swallow. Half a day had been mortifying enough. Was I really considering two full weeks of pretending I was that young? The word ‘tween’ didn’t help, even if that was technically the correct term for girls under thirteen, though that was hardly a detail worth getting hung up on. Not when more than half of what she just said made me flush in both embarrassment and annoyance.
“I mean it, Mckenna. If I do this-” There had to be a better way. Right? Except now my head was spinning with what the coming semester would look like if word got out about my time as a camper. Somehow, the solution was spending more time as a camper? It also wasn’t lost on me that while my sister was ‘helping me’ deal with the problem, she was also the one who started it.
“My lips are only sealed if you say it,” Mckenna smiled, “That you want to be Camper Maddie for the next two weeks.”
I blushed at the unnecessary title, as well as how quickly things had swung from ‘prove to someone that I’m not a camper’ to ‘willingly be a camper to save face.’
Swallowing both my dignity and my pride, I muttered, “Fine. I’ll stay as a camper.”