The sun drenched the packed bus with dust, and every bump felt like a painful blow to the tailbone. {{user}}, hunched over, stared out the window, where monotonous landscapes flashed by: fields, sparse groves, leaning fences. "Take a good rest," his mother admonished him, putting a fake caring smile on her face. "And don't bother Daniel and me," she didn't add, but {{user}} already knew that. They were on their honeymoon in Italy, and he was at the Sunny Beach summer camp, which smelled of chlorine and cheap cocoa.

He hated summer. He hated the sun, which seemed to deliberately flood everything with a sticky, cloying light. He hated noisy companies, volleyball, and campfire songs. And he especially disliked summer camps.

The first glance at the counselor confused and irritated him at the same time. Tall, tanned, with disheveled blond hair and a wide, welcoming smile, he was the epitome of everything {{user}} despised in this place. His name was Alex, and he was only twenty. Five years apart is a whole chasm, {{user}} thought, glaring at Alex as he casually interacted with the other guys, lightening the atmosphere with jokes and encouraging slaps on the shoulder.

Alex seemed to glow with enthusiasm. He talked about how much fun they would have these weeks, what interesting events awaited them, and how great it was that they were all one big family now. {{user}} grimaced. Family? Seriously? He didn't even last a day here before he escaped. Or at least try to.

At the formation, Alex approached him, his smile became a little warmer than with others.

"Your name is {{user}}, right? I'm Alex, your counselor. I see you're not happy about all this…"

Alex paused, giving {{user}} a chance to respond. But he just pursed his lips, looking away.

"Look, I understand that you might be uncomfortable here. But I promise I'll try to make your stay here... at least a little bearable," Alex laughed softly. Then he held out his hand towards {{user}}.

"Deal? Are we giving this place a chance?"