sleep away at Camp Wiŋtke

Chapter 3

As their eyes adjusted to the change in lighting it wasn't at all what they thought it would be. They expected rusty old metal bunkbeds in a dusty, sparsely lit room. They expected camping type bed springs with sleeping bags or thin mattresses and beat up old steel military-style cabinets for closets.

Instead the beds were new single twin beds with fancy yellow pinewood head and footboards. They all had thick, pillow top mattresses with crisp white spreads covering them. The oversized closets were made of a fine polished yellow pine as well.

Albert wandered around the room looking at the name on each of the white cards as he passed. About halfway across the room he spotted [ _________ Peterson] . He stopped and took a spot beside the head of the bed in front of the closet.

Shortly each of the places were occupied and the screen door closed. Counsellor Amy had returned. She looked around and smiled.

"OK, good," she started. "Now, all of you can open your closets."

There was a brief shuffle as the boys began to open the doors. Then the room filled with a cacophony of sounds: excited squeals, surprised gasps, a few complaints, and a bit of confusion.

Albert just stood there staring into the shallow closet. He saw it was divided in half: the left side a stack of drawers and shelves, the right with clothes hanging, someone's clothes, but definitely not his.

Hanging from the rail were several dresses in different styles and lengths, a few skirts, and some tops. On the bottom were several pairs of shoes.

He looked around in a panic to see if there had been a mistake. A quick glance at the boy by the next bed showed there was no mistake; the boy there had pulled a pair of tights from a drawer and was staring at them as he held them up.

Albert pulled a drawer open and found girls panties. Another drawer had training bras and a third held socks with frilly tops, pantyhose and tights.

"As you can see, these are the clothes you will be wearing this week. Some of your may not have been expecting this, but . . . everything was chosen specifically for you, by your parents. Your bag of things you brought with you is right now being locked away. You'll get your bag back when it's time to leave.

"Your parents have decided to send you here where you can experience what it is like to spend a week as a girl. Either because you have been caught dressing up, have expressed an interest, have always been girly acting, or because you've been bullying girls or maybe for some other reason entirely. There are many different reasons why your parents have chosen to send you here. Maybe, they are helping you to explore, or maybe they're hoping this will get it out of your system. Whatever the reason is, we don't know, but you will be taught to behave yourself appropriately while you are here this week.

Amy began to walk around the room as she continued to explain.

"Tomorrow, the girls who have been here before, will be coming in. Not everyone chooses to come back, but some have such a good time here they come back every year. I was a camper here for five years before becoming a counselor. Actually attended the camp the first year it opened."

There was a collective gasp around the room. Albert's jaw dropped. He couldn't believe this beautiful girl had just said she  was once in the same position he was now.

This piqued his interest and he searched for signs of anything masculine they might betray her feminine perfection, as he intently listened to what else she had to say.

"During the day, when you are participating in various activities, you will dress similar to what I have on. You may choose a workout top like this, or a blouse. Underneath, you must wear a bra at all times. Also this skort," she lifted the hem of her skirt to show the shorts under it, "is an option. It is the closest thing to boy clothes you have access to in your closet."

For that brief moment she had her skirt up, Albert's eyes trained on the shorts underneath and the tight, smoothness of her crotch area, no hint of a buldge to be found. He desperately wanted to find something, anything that would confirm for him that what she had claimed was for real, but no evidence could readily be found.

Continuing to move about the room, Amy stopped at the closet across from Albert's and held up two hangers, one in each hand.

"If you choose to go swimming, you'll have the choice of either a two-piece or a one-piece swimsuit. If you wear the two-piece you must wear both pieces."

She placed the swimsuits back in the closet, picked up her clipboard and moved on.

"Dinner is semi-formal. As you can see you have several dresses in your closet to choose from. Shoes are in the bottom.

"I know this is quite a shock for a few of you, so you have one hour to process this information, get settled, change clothes and meet back up outside. Do not wear one of the dresses, like I said, those are for evenings. We'll be doing a bit of a hike to show you the place, so I'd suggest wearing the trainers, not the sandles, and definitely not heels. Don't worry, there's a time and place for everything. You'll have opportunities to wear the other shoes. After the hike, we'll start with a class on the feminine mannerisms you'll be expected to exhibit during your stay. Put all the clothes you are currently wearing, including your underwear, into the bag you'll find on your bed and leave it there. They will be cleaned and returned to you in time for your departure."

Amy opened the door to leave, paused, and turned back around

"Oh, I almost forgot, you'll also find a black marker on a shelf in the closet. Slip the name card out of the holder on your closet door and write a girl name in the blank, whatever you want to be called this week, then slip it back in. Don't try to get smart and put your current male name, even if it's a unisex name. Choose something different, feminine. Be creative. I won't accept you trying to take the easy way out and just taking a feminine form of your birth name either. Okay, that's it. Get started! This week is going to be so much fun!"

With a twirl she quickly headed out the door to attend to the second group.