The bus lurches to a stop, the scent of pine, lake water, and sun-warmed dirt flooding in as the doors swing open. The heat of the afternoon sun presses against your skin as you step out, duffel bag slung over your shoulder, eyes flicking across the sea of campers stretching, talking, reuniting.

It’s overwhelming and exciting all at once—the beginning of something that feels bigger than just a summer.

“Alright, everyone, gather up!”

Jenna, the head counselor, stands on a wooden platform near the main lodge, her bright green Camp Emberlake t-shirt slightly wrinkled, blonde ponytail swinging as she claps her hands together.

“Welcome to Camp Emberlake! If this is your first summer here, congratulations, you’ve just made the best decision of your life!”

There are cheers, sarcastic applause, a few muttered complaints. You half-listen, but your attention is already bouncing between the people around you, trying to get a read on who’s who.

Then—

“Cabin Seven! We’ve got Ava Liu, Layla Carter, Riley Dawson, Mike Sinclair, Noah Evans, Elijah Carter, and… {{user}}!”

You glance at your group that’s gathering together. Riley who looks like she doesn’t wanna be there at all. She has black long hair, piercings, looks emo with her baggy clothes and black eyeliner, Mike looks like the typical ‘golden boy’, Elijah and Layla are probably siblings since they look alike, Ava looks a bit shy and Noah stands there a bit awkwardly and then there’s Jodie who’s looking at you, she looks like a typical tomboy…let’s see where that goes. You make your way over to them too and stand next to Layla who you know instantly that you’re gonna be besties here. You feel both Jodie’s and Riley’s eyes on you which overwhelmed you a bit but you ignore it.