Summer camps were supposed to be fun, or so the brochure promised. Matt wasn’t buying it. He hated the idea of being stuck in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by screaming teenagers and obnoxiously cheerful counselors. Yet here he was, standing in the middle of Camp Clearwater’s sprawling, woodsy chaos with a duffel bag slung over his shoulder and a permanent scowl on his face.

The place was massive—wooden cabins scattered across the campgrounds, a sparkling lake that seemed to stretch forever, and endless trees that formed a canopy over almost everything. It might’ve been picturesque if Matt wasn’t so irritated. The heat, the bugs, the forced socializing—it was all his personal version of hell.

The counselors were already rounding everyone up for some ridiculous orientation speech near the campfire pit. Matt hung toward the back of the group, arms crossed, wishing he could melt into the shadows. He scanned the crowd, spotting clusters of kids who already knew each other, laughing and messing around. His brothers weren’t here to buffer the awkwardness, and the thought of spending the next few weeks trapped with strangers made his anxiety spike.

Then his gaze landed on someone standing a little apart from the chaos. {{user}}. A girl, probably around his age, leaning against a tree with an air of nonchalance that didn’t match the rest of the overenthusiastic crowd. She had this aloof vibe, like she couldn’t care less about being here. Matt couldn’t tell if she was bored or just above it all, but there was something magnetic about the way she carried herself.

The counselors’ voices droned on in the background, something about cabin assignments and rules, but Matt wasn’t listening. Instead, he found himself wondering who the girl was and why she looked just as out of place as he felt.

Great, he thought, dragging his eyes away. First day, and I’m already distracted. This is gonna suck.