Camp Sunridge

Rain, Locked Doors, and Kookaburras

"Shit."

Ellie Adams, a girl I recognized from years of camp together, yanked on the door handle to our cabin, her face a blistering red. We all spun around, as she looked at us with dismay and annoyance, the key still stuck to the inside of the door.

"What the hell. We're locked out."

A wave of groans washed over us, as I pulled my schedule out of my pocket, the crinkly yellow paper illuminating in the sunset.

"We have dinner in ten minutes. How long is this going to take?" I asked, surveying our surroundings. "We can always just hop over the railing and unlock the door from the front."

"Ya and have someone break their leg? No way." Julia responded, tying her hair up in a tight ponytail.

"It's a three feet drop. No ones going to break their leg."

"Not if you jump off the northern side. The hill is right there, you could slip and roll down."

I sighed, as I launched myself over the railing, everyone else following after. "Well then don't jump off the northern side. I'm gonna grab my sweater and then we can head to dinner. I'll just be one sec." I jogged to the front of the cabin, my black sneakers kicking up dirt as I moved, the wind blowing through my hair gently. I quickly stepped up onto the porch, yanking on the door, my acrylic nails tapping against the metal, as the door pulled back. I peered through the doors window, frustration engulfing me. "Who locked this?" I asked, as the rest of the group came around the corner, throwing their heads back in annoyance.

"Shit, I did." A girl to my right with a dark brown afro, and caramel skin walked up to me, the scent of freshly picked strawberries trailing her gently. I couldn't help but feel a chill shiver down my spine, as she spoke.

"Sadie Silver. I don't believe I've had the pleasure. You are?" She held out her hand, a smile spreading across her face, as her curls bobbed in the fresh summer breeze.

"Violet Li-Steele." I managed, bringing my gaze up to meet hers. "And it's no problem. Besides, I'm pretty sure Aaliyah's still in there. We can probably get her to unlock the door and then book it to dinner, if not sing a long. I'm pretty sure there'll be s'mores." I finished, as a bubbly giggle escaped her perfectly pink lips. She tucked her hair behind her ear, looking back up at me, with a cute little smile. I blushed, as our hands touched, and the wind ruffled through her hair gently illuminating her perfect cheek bones. Just then, Aaliyah pushed open the door, tugging on the corner of her hijab. "Hey." She paused, stepping out onto the porch. "You guys ready for dinner?"

I rolled my eyes and laughed, stepping out from under the sheltered front deck, and onto the soft grass.

She bumped into my shoulder as I kicked a stone along the path with my toe, and shoved her in the shoulder. Turns out, I had undershot by a lot and the dining hall had closed way earlier than I had thought. Thankfully, however, Counselor Catori snuck us some diet cokes and tuna sandwiches, as we sat by the bonfire, swaying with the fresh wind. I turned gently, marshmallow in hand, as Sadie, sitting next to me began to hum a soft tune absentmindedly.

"Kookaburra sits in the old gum tree, merry merry king of the bush is he." She fiddled with the stick she had placed near the fire, wiping the marshmallow off of it with two perfect golden brown graham crackers.

"Laugh, Kookaburra, laugh Kookaburra, gay your life must be." I finished, as a cute smile spread across her face, and she blushed gently. Aaliyah turned to us, as she bit down on a piece of dark chocolate, her eyes rolling so far back in her head I swear, I could see her brain. "Your singing sucks. Pass me a coke."

I reached over Julias lap, grabbing one of the pop cans from the floor, and placing it in Aaliyah's hand, as she muttered something and went back to snuggling up on some random kid we met on our way to the campfire.

"Jules, I'm tired." I looked over at my best friend, as she yawned, turning back to me.

"Ugh same. You wanna head back to the cabin?"

"Ya sure." I tapped on Sadie's arm, speaking up over the singing of the camp counselors. "Me and Julia are gonna head back to the cabin. You coming with?"

"Oh, ok ya." She turned away from me, and muttered something to the rest of the group, as they nodded, and began to stand up, dragging Aaliyah away from her new found boy crush. She sighed, as we dragged her along with us, my flashlight illuminating our path. "You guys suck." She muttered, carefully popping a gummy bear into her mouth, from the candy packet she had swiped. 

Suddenly, my flashlight battery flickered out and died, leaving us alone, in the dark, five or so minutes away from our cabin. "Shit." I hit the bottom of the flashlight, hoping to fix what had happened. "Does anyone have their phone on them?"

"No, mine was confiscated as soon as I got here."

"Same."

"Nah, my mom wouldn't let me bring mine."

"Ugh, fuck their no screens policy." I sighed, beginning to start down what I assumed was the path. Luckily, the moon was out that night, so it wasn't the hardest thing in the world to find our way back to the cabin. 

That is until it started to rain.

 We could hear screeches and giggles from the bonfire, as we groaned, in annoyance, linking arms in attempt to stay together. "Hey is that it?" Madeline Daniels asked, pointing to a lit up cabin wedged in the soft woods, after ten minutes of scrambling about in the rain.

"Thank god." I hurried ahead, peering at the door, to see what mark it had been painted with, a beautiful doe sprawled across the front of it. "Hurry up guys, I wanna get out of the rain." We all dashed up to the porch, ripping open the door to our cabin, finally being sheltered from the rain. Warmth rushed over me, as I sprinted to my backpack, grabbing a "Camp Sunridge" hoodie, and a pair of santa clause pajama shorts, pulling off my wet clothes, and discarding them in a damp pile in the corner. I then slipped my fluffy sweater on, over my shorts, and grabbed everyone else's wet clothes, hanging them over the head of one of the empty bunk beds.

I grabbed my toiletry bag, and a bottle of water, heading outside under the sheltered porch, not really wanting to hike all the way to the bathrooms just to brush my teeth. I quickly dabbed some toothpaste on my brush, before heading back inside and locking the door, switching the lights off and glancing at my watch. It was 10:45, and all was quiet on the campgrounds. I climbed into my bed, pulling the sheets up over my arms, and snuggling into my pillow gently, lightning flickering outside, as I smiled, and shut my eyes.

"G'night guys." I whispered, through the sharp silence.

"G'night."

NOTES: Oopsie idrk know what to say lol. I feel so unproductive today, I stayed up until like 2 AM watching glee and I was late to my fuckin 2 hour zoom class bc of that 😫. Hope you guys are doing better than me, and stay home, stay safe, and stay productive :)

ᴘʟᴜɢꜱ:

𝕋𝕦𝕞𝕓𝕝𝕣: 𝕥𝕠𝕥𝕠𝕣𝕠𝕤-𝕔𝕦𝕡-𝕠𝕗-𝕥𝕖𝕒

ℙ𝕚𝕟𝕥𝕣𝕖𝕤𝕥: 𝕤𝕠𝕡𝕙𝕚𝕔𝕤𝕩𝕒𝕦𝕣𝕒

𝕊𝕡𝕠𝕥𝕚𝕗𝕪: 𝕤𝕠𝕡𝕙𝕚𝕖𝕝𝕜𝕣𝕦𝕖𝕘𝕖𝕣

𝕊𝕟𝕒𝕡𝕔𝕙𝕒𝕥: 𝕖𝕢𝕢.𝕤𝕜

𝕋𝕚𝕜𝕋𝕠𝕜: 𝕤𝕠𝕡𝕙𝕚𝕖𝕖𝕝𝕜