#From where I'm posting this it's technically already sunday but whatever

[human-encounters-diary]

Day 13 The human remains in medical care, although visitations by anyone except the Vitrichl are currently prohibited by the medicals, preventing me from gathering any further observations of human behaviour. I did, although, receive access to a sample the scientific unit had taken from the fluid that the human had regurgitated after her space excursion during the previous cycle, and the results of its analyzation are…rather alarming. The fluid itself is incredibly acidic, and managed to dissolve all test objects given into the fluid in a matter of moments. This obviously raised an even larger question: What was it? A bioweapon? A natural venom? Perhaps Dorag's tales were more credible than previously assumed? Assumptions that could not be proven certainly. But the most alarming aspect of this is rather another question raised by these discoveries: If humans naturally posessed such a bioweapon, perhaps naturally produced it in their bodies, what did they need it for? The existence of such an mechanism implied the probable existence of a predator strong and agile enough that it was vital for humans to develop such a mechanism.

Even if that assumption is proved to be untrue, this discovery still turns humans into a much bigger threat than we had previously determined.

(Further note: One of the medicals has reported the human had repeatedly protested against any advances to provide her with medical care, continuously insisting she was alright and in no need of medical care. Despite the known durability of humans, she will be kept in medical care for at least one more cycle.)

[eridanidreams]

Snippet Sunday

Tagging: @bearlytolerant, @silurisanguine, @aro-pancake, @fangbangerghoul, @atonalginger, @aislingdmdt, @fshenkoescape, @ninjaofnaps, @lisa-and-shadow, @a-cosmic-elf, @thatsgoodsquishy0, @hockeydemon42, @fomagranfalloon@violenceandviolets, and @artemis-crimson

from stars through my fingers like grains of sand

Sam was already at the Rock when Cait got there; he was deep in conversation with the dark-haired senior Ranger she'd passed a few times. She didn't interrupt, just headed up the stairs to the Marshal's office. He wasn't one to waste words or time. "Welcome back. Any luck finding out who stole the ship from HopeTech?"

Blake's crisp efficiency cut through any lingering haze from the morning, and Cait could almost feel her spine straighten a bit more in reaction. "With Ranger Pryce's help, we tracked it back to a known ship-jacker name of Grace Early. From what she said, I still think it was an inside job, but I've asked Ranger Kalu for assistance with that aspect. She's better positioned to follow up in HopeTech itself. She had some physical evidence—an encrypted slate—which I've handed over to Ranger Hadid. He's asked me to keep an eye out for more of them."

"Good," he said. "I'm glad to see you know how to work as part of a team. And, it sounds like you're making real progress."

"Not as much as I'd like," she said grimly. "I have a couple names, but shutting down the First won't help unless we can get a tie to whoever hired them." Blake nodded, and she sensed agreement and approval in his tightly-controlled emotions. "Since you have personal knowledge of the First, sir, I was hoping you could give me some intel on these names: Maya Cruz and Marco… something. Marco's a money man. Cruz was the go-between."

Blake grunted. "I served with Maya Cruz. Technical genius and expert hacker. Arrogant. Not a people person. Marco… about the time he got out of jail, we started hearing his name in connection with a smuggling racket. Based on what you've learned, I'd presume he's funneling his ill-gotten gains to the First. Autumn MacMillan's looking into that operation out at the Red Mile, but…" He frowned. "He runs a tight ship, but one of his suppliers isn't quite as careful. Sonny di Falco. He's got a little estate on Maheo I. If you want my advice, I'd follow up there first before jogging Autumn's elbow."

Cait nodded. "As for Cruz, she was suffering from some kind of serious illness; I thought I'd start looking at the Clinic."

"Best medical services money can buy," Blake nodded again. "Good call. With their privacy guarantees, it's ideal for someone trying to keep a low profile. Ranger Ben Armistead is posted there; I'll send him an update on the situation. He'll be expecting you."

"Thank you, sir," she said.

"You're welcome. Just remember, your priority is to gather more intel on the First. What are they planning? Who are they working for? Where are they headquartered?" Blake fired out the questions like bullets.

"Whatever they're planning," she replied, "it's going to be something meant to hurt the Collective. They believe that the Collective betrayed them."

"That's right," he agreed. "Your targets were locked up because they were loyal to their unit and Major Hull. They won't take kindly to you sticking your nose in, so watch your back." He gave her a stiff nod of dismissal. "Good hunting, Deputy."

Cait echoed his nod and made her way back downstairs, thinking hard. All in all, she was inclined to take the Marshal's advice, start with the easiest nut to crack. Sam was sipping a Boom!Pop while chatting with Helga; he gave Cait a casual little wave of acknowledgment when she entered the bar. Despite her best efforts to keep his feelings at bay, she couldn't help but pick up fragments of his good mood. Cora's visit must have gone well, then. She paused a moment at the jobs console, giving Sam time to wrap up his conversation.

He caught up with her just outside the Rock. "Mornin'," he said cheerfully, handing her a Boom!Pop Cherry. "Sleep well?"

The question made her damn near fall on her face—How could he know?!—before she realized how impossible it was that he'd be referring to—that. "Fine," she said hurriedly, trying to fight down the flush she felt creeping up her neck. "Just fine, thanks." She took a deep, determined breath. "Um. You?"

"Oh," he chuckled, "I slept juuuuuuuuust fine." Cait didn't have to see Sam's grin to know it was there, an air of lazy satisfaction that thrummed down that weird little connection she had to him, sent a tingle down her spine and made her insides tighten. With an effort, she shoved it down, but she couldn't help but be hyper-aware of his presence next to her, warm and solid, and all she had to do was turn around and bring her lips to his—

Dammit! What the hell was wrong with her? She shivered, running her hands up and down her arms. Sam—of course—noticed, but fortunately he chalked it up to the cool of the morning. "You know," he said affectionately, "you wouldn't be so cold if you grabbed a jacket. Why don't you take mine until we reach the ship?"

He was already starting to shrug out of it when she blurted, "No—!" That no was the hardest thing she'd ever had to say; she desperately wanted to say yes, to surround herself in his warmth and his scent… and she was terrified of what might happen if she did. Had to remind herself that they were just friends. That he loved someone else. "No," she managed to repeat more normally, even smiling a little to soften it. "I appreciate the offer, but a little cool won't kill me."

"A'right," Sam said, settling it back on his shoulders. "So what's the plan?" He seemed different today—his emotions seemed more—muted—than usual, like he was holding something in. Cait should have been happy about that, given the trouble she'd been having tuning him out—but instead she felt bereft. Again—what the hell was wrong with her? "Cait—?" He sounded concerned, and she shook herself out of her thoughts.

"Sorry." She gave him an apologetic smile. "Um, Maheo I. Marco's got a smuggling contact by the name of Sonny di Falco; he's got an estate there. Marshal thinks we're more likely to be able to squeeze something out of him." Sam's emotions flared cold hatred, and when Cait chanced a look at him, his face was set in stone.

"I know him," he said, and his voice was as flat and hard as his expression. "He's a slimy bastard. Big shot on Neon, 'til he did something to cross Ben Bayu. Couldn't have been too bad—he got out with his skin in one piece—and he's still got his fingers in a lot of pies. If he's working with Marco, that's bad news all around." He looked at her, a strange, almost desperate intensity in his gaze. "You watch yourself with him. He has a lot of charm, he knows how to use it, and he's good at getting his hooks into the innocent and naive and—twisting them all up."

"And which am I?" she asked sarcastically.

He exhaled harshly. "That first one. Cait—" he held up a hand to forestall her protests "—when it comes to dealing with people like him… you are. He likes to think of himself as a collector of people, and you? You're—you're unique. He's gonna take one look at you and—" He shook his head, and something dark and savage surfaced for a moment in his eyes. "Just trust me on this one, okay? Do not agree to anything. Do not take anything he offers. 'Specially not Aurora. He'll get you hooked on that shit faster than a grav jump to nowhere." He was holding in his feelings so hard it had to hurt—all she got was a vague sense of mingled anger, hatred, and fear that burned like acid.

"I trust you," she told him softly. "If you say he's bad news, I will be extra careful." She hesitated. "Are you going to be okay going in there with me?"

"Don't even think of going in with someone else," Sam growled, shifting his rifle a little on his back.

"Okay." Cait didn't hesitate to give him her agreement. "I'll make sure you're carrying a couple extra junk flushes, then. I… don't react well to Aurora, so if he does manage to slip me some, you might need it."

"If he does, he's dead." Sam's voice cracked like a gunshot. Mood he was in, she wasn't going to argue.

[foreveralwaysanauthor]

Camp Wanamaker (Ch 5/10)

July 15, 2023

Notes - The week from the 23rd-29th is going to be the most insane week of the summer for me and, while I might struggle with finding the time to write at first, I know it's going to be fun! I had a lot of fun with this chapter and I'm sure you could probably tell why lmao. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did writing it.

Chapter 5 - The Sun Always Shines on TV

Silence filled the air surrounding Camp Wanamaker. It wasn’t exactly unusual for there to be silence within the grounds while campers filled every building, but after the final camper left the grounds, the silence felt overwhelming. The first two-week session of camp had come to a close Saturday afternoon, sending every camper home for a week while the staff kept their posts until the end of the summer. With all campers gone for the week, the camp felt empty and quiet; almost as though all of the life had been sucked out of it. 

In a way, it had. Regardless of how chaotic camp got and how hard it was to keep everyone in check, the campers kept things lively at Camp Wanamaker. The first staff week before the campers came around was spent running around, making sure everything was set up, and figuring out where the workers felt best suited. Having an empty camp for the first time in two weeks was surreal.

Though the workers technically had the week off, that didn’t mean they could do whatever they pleased, whenever they pleased. During their camper-free week, the staff would work on cleaning the area, getting things ready for the next session of campers, and making sure to rid the camp of any graffiti left behind by the first batch of campers. As long as they got everything finished quickly, the workers would be given free rein on the grounds - the freedom to wander the area and spend time with the friends they had made. Until they had everything finished, however, they would need to spend their days prepping, cleaning, and searching every inch of the spaces they were in charge of for any forgotten items, discarded trash, or minuscule markings that had been left behind by the first session’s campers.

Hearts with initials carved into them were either erased with cleaner or buffed out of the wood with sandpaper, bunks with campers’ names carved into the wooden frames were sanded to perfection, and shoddily carved names stating someone was there were etched away. The pool would be deep-cleaned, shocked, and re-chlorinated. The food in the kitchen would be restocked and the snacks in the pool shack would be distributed to the workers before being filled back to the brim once more. Everyone would be busy trying to make sure everything was ready to go for the second of the three sessions Camp Wanamaker hosted.

None of the workers really felt up to cleaning out the entire camp for the week, however, at the final meal on Saturday, it was announced that a three-day heatwave was set to brush over the small town starting the next morning. The sweltering, ninety-degree weather would engulf the area in thick humidity accompanied by a lack of wind to cool off, so the general consensus passed around the dinner tables was to finish everything quickly and be given the rest of the week off. Some staff members got to work after finishing their meals, heading to their typical workspaces to clean and prepare for the week. Though some had it easy and only had a few bunks to clean, they made it obvious that they would be willing to assist in any way possible if someone needed assistance finishing their work.

By the time the wake-up call echoed through the camp on Sunday morning, it was already seventy-two degrees outside and nobody felt like moving from the cool air conditioning that pulsed throughout every cabin. One of those cabins, in particular, held a group that had yet to move from the comfort of their air-conditioned living space to meet up with their usual crew and head to the mess hall. Though a pair of staff members waited for them to emerge from their secluded cabin, nobody opened the door to the lodge. Having had enough of standing in the heat where the sand of the beach met the typical, grassy trails of the camp, waiting for their friends to arrive, Erica sighed and leaned against the bark of a tree, hoping to keep somewhat cool. Though her foot tapped impatiently against the ground, it wasn’t until Hayley and Charlie passed by, giving them matching smiles and chirpy greetings, that Erica huffed, grabbed her girlfriend by the wrist, and began pulling her toward the beach.

“Are you sure they’re even up?” Jade asked, trailing behind her girlfriend.

“There’s no way Vivien isn’t,” Erica replied. “She’s always up at the ass crack of dawn anyway.”

Sighing as Erica ran up the front steps of the Lakeside Lodge, Jade stood back, watching Erica thump on the door with the side of her fist. “She might be, but the others-”

“Are always up by now,” Erica cut off. Raising her voice, she thumped on the door again, “I know y’all are in there!”

Rolling her eyes at Erica’s impatience, Jade said, “I don’t know why I put up with you.”

“‘Cause I write all of your songs,” Erica stated, smiling back at the emerald-haired girl. 

“Yeah, that has to be the reason,” Jade chuckled, leaning against one of the railings that wrapped around the front steps. “Why else would I put up with your shit?”

As the door opened, Riven mused, “We’ve all been wondering that since the two of you got together.”

Instead of a snappy comeback, Erica huffed, “There you are. Are you guys coming to breakfast or not?”

“We made breakfast here,” Riven replied, stepping aside to let the girls inside.

“How did you manage that?” Jade asked as she followed Erica inside.

 “Viv and the boys took some food back from the kitchens last night,” Riven explained. “Mick and Butch made up some of it and the rest of us have been lying on the floor all morning, playing cards.”

Looking around the living area of the lodge, it was easy to see how the heat was affecting everyone. Miles was passed out on the couch in a pair of shorts with no shirt while Carrie sat on the floor in front of him, her hair was as far from her neck as she could get it as she fanned herself with the cards she had been dealt. Bentley, Vivien, and Royce were sitting on the floor in their bathing suits, the younger two having forced Royce to settle directly in front of the fan in order to keep the muggy air from invading his lungs. Mick and Butchy seemed to be the only ones fairly unaffected by the growing heat as they lounged about in T-shirts and jean shorts, sipping lemonade the kids had brought from the mess hall the night before.

Erica smirked, “You all look like shit.”

“Did you expect us to look like supermodels in this heat?” Vivien fired, obviously not thrilled with the sudden rise in temperature. “We plan on staying inside where it’s cool all day.”

“You guys are going to have to face the heat anyway when it comes time to clean,” Erica shrugged.

“Nope,” Bentley beamed as he placed down a plus-two card, “We got everything done last night.”

“The library and art barn were practically clean anyway,” Royce stated as he jumped in and placed a matching green card on top of Bentley’s.

“Miles and I clean the music hall at the end of the day,” Vivien added as she picked up four cards from the extra deck, “so it was already clean.”

Carrie was next to say, “Riven and I helped put everything in the playhouse away.”

“The lifeguards cleaned the beach and the pool shed yesterday,” Mick piped up.

“And all I had to do was wipe down the equipment and mop the floors in the fitness center,” Butchy finished. “All in all, we’re done for the week.”

“Lucky bitches,” Erica huffed as she dropped onto a couch cushion.

Ignoring the blue-haired girl’s remark, Jade perched herself on the armrest next to her girlfriend and asked, “Why didn’t you guys go for a swim in the lake to stay cool?”

“We tried,” Carrie claimed, placing one of her Uno cards on the stack in the center of the misshapen circle they had formed. “It didn’t end well.”

Their time on the beach hadn’t lasted long. Despite trying to get out to the water before the heat had gotten too bad, the humidity had already begun to fill the air. They had barely gotten to the waterline when Royce had to turn back because of the choking thickness in the air. Vivien had been quick to follow as the sand burned the bottoms of her feet. Bentley was the only one of the young trio who managed to wade into the water, getting in a few minutes of water time before Butchy noticed he was already beginning to turn colors and forced him to go back to the lodge. While the water had been comforting, the air conditioning that filled the lodge was more inviting.

After sending her grandmother a message about the heat being too much for her boyfriend and letting the woman know that they had already gotten their work done for the week, Vivien told everyone that Dawn had dismissed them, telling them to stay inside unless they felt well enough to make the journey up to the mess hall for food. Since they had nothing better to do, they rested in the living room in the coolest clothing they had brought to camp and brought out the first deck of cards they could find. They hadn’t been at it for long, but if the stack of cards in the center of the circle was anything to go by, the card game had been going at a fairly fast pace.

Jade was the first to move, taking Erica’s hand in hers as she decided, “Alright, well, we had better get up to the mess hall before work.”

As Jade tugged her toward the door, Erica let out a whine of frustration, “Why do we have to work out just to get food.”

Snickering at the pair, Mick spoke, “You do realize you could just take some of what’s still in the kitchen if you don’t feel like walking.”

Erica stalled, attempting to wrench her girlfriend’s hand from her wrist as Jade said, “Well, we wouldn’t want to intrude-”

“Speak for yourself!” Erica cut in, pulling herself free and taking off for the kitchen.

Jade reached out, ready to stop the blue-haired fiend, yet Erica dodged her grasp and Jade sighed as her arms fell by her side. Amused by the show, Butchy smiled and gently told the teen, “You won’t intrude. Go get some food.”

Taking in a breath, Jade thanked him before making her way to the kitchen, following the clanging sound of Erica fumbling for a plate. As soon as Jade had entered the small kitchen, Vivien pulled her phone out to text her grandmother about the additions to their group and Mick chuckled, “Jade is still as awkward as the day Erica dragged her into auditioning for the band.”

A nudge to Mick’s side gained Butchy her attention as he smiled down at her, “Reminds me of someone else I know.”

“Oh yeah?”

“Yeah,” Butchy nodded. “Remember the first day you came over for one of Lela’s sleepovers and could barely look me in the eyes?”

“I was in a strange town and you were practically a perfect stranger,” Mick retorted. “I had every right to be awkward.”

“What’s your excuse now?” Butchy questioned, a teasing smirk tugging at the corner of his lips.

Mick let out a scoff of indignation, turning to fully face her husband as she asked, “Since when am I awkward?”

Instead of letting Butchy reply, Vivien chimed in, “Since when are you not?”

As the others let out murmurs of agreement, Mick turned to face the rest of the room and argued, “I’m not!”

Rolling over slightly to catch a glimpse of the brunette, Miles smirked tiredly as he muttered, “Yeah, you are.”

With the speed and accuracy of a divine archer, Mick grabbed a pillow from the couch and whipped it in Miles’ direction, smacking him in the face as she ordered, “Shut up and go back to sleep.”

Pushing himself to sit up as he tossed the pillow back toward Mick, Miles chuckled, “Just for that, I’m going to stay awake out of spite.”

“Dick,” Mick huffed.

“Just for you,” Miles grinned, his eyes still shining with exhaustion as he settled in the free corner of the couch.

Mick rolled her eyes, “I hate you, Miley Cyrus.”

Miles smiled as the brunette matched his amused smirk, “Yeah, yeah, I love you too, Mickey Mouse.”

The unbearable heat appeared to have subsided at least a little by the time Monday morning rolled around. While air conditioners around the campground roared as high as they could go, the mess hall was kept at a somewhat mild seventy degrees. Appearance that morning was somewhat mandatory and only those who had medical reasons not to show up, had the option to stay within the cooler, more temperate quarters of their cabins. If the murmurs flowing throughout the staff on the way to the mess hall were anything to go by, something important was going to be announced.

Despite the thick humidity, Royce argued with Miles for half an hour about going up to the mess hall to hear the announcement for himself. Eventually, after an offer from Riven to carry the seventeen-year-old up to the mess hall, Miles relented, allowing him to make the trek to the dining area. Ever the worrier, Miles still kept an eye on his brother, watching for any sign the humidity was affecting him, but he relaxed once they reached the mess hall and forced Royce to sit at the first available table.

It didn’t take long for George and Dawn to make their way to the small stage at the far side of the room and, once everyone was seated and had settled down, George cleared his throat and began, “You’re probably wondering why we’ve asked you all here.” Clustered mutters of confirmation rumbled through the hall and George smiled. “Well, after some ideas were passed around last week, we have decided that, for the second week of the next session, we’re going to be putting on a bit of a murder mystery party for the campers and counselors alike.”

One of the workers in charge of the dance studio stood from his seat and asked, “What about Color Wars?”

“We still plan on doing Color Wars,” Dawn replied with a smile. “That will be the first week. This murder mystery deal will happen during mealtimes so that it doesn’t interfere with regular camp activities.”

“It’s all voluntary,” George declared. “We just want some of you to have the chance to make up characters and figure out a bit of a plot.”

“If you don’t want to participate in acting,” Dawn began, looking around the room, “you’ll need to keep the storyline and what actually happened a secret from all of the campers. I don’t care if you’re related to them or not. If you know anything about the program, you have to keep your mouth shut.”

George nodded, “The campers will be given papers when they get their trays at each meal and will have to write down what they think the answer to the question of each performance was. At the dinner shows, the answer will be revealed.”

“So,” a counselor began, “it’s basically a game of Clue, but as a show.”

“In a way, but it will be camp-themed,” Dawn confirmed. “The staff will put on a short show for each meal and it will get more and more detailed as time goes by. By Friday night, the true killer will be revealed along with where they did it and with what weapon.”

“Now, with that being said, there will be a sign-up sheet by the door for those of you who are interested and able to work it out.” George looked around the room before stating, “We’ll have a meeting here after lunch tomorrow with those who have signed up. Remember, though, if you’re in charge of a cabin or in the kitchen during meal times, I’m afraid you’ll have to sit this out and just be a viewer.”

“We need workers who aren’t busy during those times,” Dawn agreed. “Lifeguards, staff from the library, music hall, or playhouse. If you aren’t in charge of anything in the kitchen or a cabin of campers, you’re free to sign up. As we said, it’s voluntary. We only need a handful of actors - think maybe ten to fifteen. You’ll have to come up with your characters and their motivations on your own.”

After glancing over at the staff that had, ironically, gathered at the tables they usually were stationed at for meals, George smiled and asked, “Any questions?” As they had gone over almost everything already, the room was silent. George nodded, “Alright, you’re dismissed. Have a good day, everyone, and try to stay out of the heat if you can.”

While some of the workers rose from their spots to head off to their spots for the day, others stayed at their tables to talk things over with their friends. Vivien turned toward Carrie with a brilliant smile and asked, “You’re doing it, aren’t you?”

Carrie nodded, her curls bouncing in a golden halo as the light pouring in from the window behind her ignited her curls. “Are you?”

“Of course, she is,” a male voice answered as Vivien opened her mouth to reply. Turning, Vivien beamed up at Noah as he approached their table. With a smirk, Noah shoved Vivien’s head from behind and chuckled, “I can't remember her ever not participating in camp programs.”

As Vivien rolled her eyes, Royce took in a breath and met the boy’s gaze as he asked, “I thought you hadn’t been to camp before?”

“He hasn’t,” Vivien agreed, “but I used to tell him every little thing I did throughout my time at camp.”

“Plays and concerts, usually,” Noah claimed. “I always liked getting letters or calls from Viv while she was at camp. It was like living vicariously through her.”

“Yeah,” Vivien chuckled. “Nothing beats our performance of Frozen from way back, though.”

“Oh, don’t remind me!” Noah lamented.

Forcing a smile onto her face, Carrie asked, “What happened?”

Without giving Noah a chance to speak, Vivien said, “I forced him to dress up as Anna and sing with me because the girl who was supposed to work with me got sick the day before.”

“I can still feel those awful wig pins stabbing my head,” Noah complained, running a hand through his hair with a sigh.

Rising from her seat, Vivien smacked her friend and chuckled, “Oh, let it go, you big baby. I put those in with such precision and grace, you couldn’t even feel them.”

“I could when you ripped the wig off afterward!” Noah laughed. “It’s a wonder you didn’t draw blood.”

Vivien rolled her eyes as she began walking toward where her grandparents had left the sign-up sheet, “You are such a drama queen.”

As Noah trailed after Vivien, the two of them recalling their escapades from over the years, Royce let out a small chuckle and turned back toward the table. “Well, we won’t be seeing much of them for the next week.”

“What do you mean?” Butchy asked.

“They’ll be working on the murder mystery thing all week,” Royce shrugged. “We won’t see them around much.”

“Maybe not,” Carrie began, a shimmer of mischief in her eyes, “but, luckily for you, you’ve got someone on the inside.”

Riven smirked, finding Royce’s gaze as he added, “Two someones.” 

“Make it four,” Erica piped up from next to Riven.

“Four?” Jade questioned, eyeing her girlfriend from across the table. “You and I both know I can’t act to save my life.”

Erica sighed, “Alright, make it three and a half.” At her girlfriend's confused look, she added, “You can help with my storyline or some shit, I don’t know.”

“Anyway,” Carrie began, her sapphire gaze finding Royce’s tawny eyes. “You’ve got us to keep an eye on them. He won’t be getting close to her with us around.”

Royce shrugged, “I’m not really worried about it all that much.”

“But you are worried,” Miles stated. “It’s natural.”

Letting out a long sigh, Royce admitted, “I just figured we’d have the week to spend together. I’m not overly worried about Noah; I know that they’re just friends.”

“Regardless of whether you’re worried or not,” Carrie began, “you’ve got us on the inside, keeping things right during meetings.”

“Yeah,” Riven agreed. “I can keep Noah busy while the girls help Vivien with anything she needs.”

“Or we can handle Noah,” Erica claimed, placing her right fist into her left hand and popping her knuckles with an almost menacing grin.”

“No hospital visits,” Mick piped in, reaching over and placing a hand on Erica’s before gently pushing the girl’s hands down to the table.

“Suck all the fun out of it, why don’t you,” Erica sighed, smirking as she pushed herself up from the table. 

“I thought you liked Noah?” Jade wondered, getting up from the table and following Erica toward the sign-up sheet.

Erica shrugged as she picked up the pen from the stand, “I have nothing against him, but Royce and Vivien are adorable together and I will do everything in my power to keep that going.”

“I don’t think you have to worry about that,” Jade sighed, leaning against the wall. “Vivien is loyal to a fault.”

“That may be,” Erica began, “but I don’t think anyone at that table is willing to risk it.”

For the residents of the Lakeside Lodge and Moon House, the rest of Monday was spent in the living area of the lodge, coming up with characters to play for the murder mystery week. The heat had kept practically everyone inside for the remainder of the day, giving them ample time to think up their characters’ backgrounds and names. After lunch, a light rain began, ridding some of the thickness from the air. To everyone’s dismay, however, it didn’t last long and, by the end of dinner, the sky was clear once again.

Though the humidity was practically nonexistent Tuesday, heat still pulsed through the camp, making being outside bearable, but still miserable. Carrie took her time going for a swim that morning, relaxing in the cool water as the others in the water swam about, splashing each other with fervor. She knew she wouldn’t have much time in the water with everyone else once Vivien’s group showed up. 

At some point during the afternoon the day before, Vivien had sent a group message to a few people she knew had signed up for the murder mystery group, asking them if they wanted to meet up before the lunch meeting to discuss all that they had created. Once they showed up, Carrie knew she would have to wait until Wednesday to be back in the water. While they were coming up with ideas the night before, Carrie quickly learned that Vivien is a detail-oriented girl, overthinking everything to the smallest detail. Even the things she knew nobody else would have thought about, Vivien had something for. 

All too soon, Carrie heard Vivien call out to someone on the shore before pushing her way through the water. Sighing, the blonde turned toward the sand and found a group on the shoreline, waving as they made their way onto the pier. Spotting Noah among the fray, Carrie rolled her eyes, glad her oversized sunglasses covered the action as she forced a smile onto her face. She would just have to put up with the boy's presence for the time being.

The water sloshed as a certain, auburn-haired male joined the blonde with a sigh, “So the fun begins.”

“Is that what we’re calling it?” Carrie asked with a grin.

“In all honesty, it should be fun,” Riven claimed. “It’s sort of like DnD.”

Carrie’s eyebrow lifted as she pushed her sunglasses atop her head and turned her gaze toward Riven. “What’s that?”

“Dungeons and Dragons,” Riven clarified. “It’s a tabletop game Viv, Erica, Jade, and I play after band practice with some of the people from our school.” The blonde’s expression remained confused and Riven beamed as he chuckled, “I’ll show you later.”

“Is it any fun?” Carrie asked. 

Riven beamed, nodding as he stated, “Oh yeah! You come up with a character and go on an adventure with your friends in a fantasy world, fighting monsters and overcoming challenges as a team.”

Carrie smiled; it did sound like something she could see Vivien being interested in. “Sounds interesting.”

“I’m sure you’d love it too,” Riven said, swimming backward toward the pier so that he could continue their conversation, “what with being an actress and all. It’s just like throwing yourself into a new role and having fun with friends.”

Riven practically glowed as he rambled about his favorite game, watching Carrie’s expression as he spieled off about his character - a half-elf paladin sworn to protect the innocent. Not having the heart to appear disinterested in Riven’s game, Carrie nodded, “I’m sure I’d like it, then. You’ll have to show me more sometime.”

“Yeah,” the hazel-eyed boy nodded, “the girls and I were going to do a session tomorrow anyway, so maybe you could sit in on that for a while.”

Trapped with no way of escape, Carrie plastered a smile on her face and nodded, “I just might have to.”

Riven chuckled, turning toward the pier and pulling himself from the water. Once he was done shaking his hair out like a dog, Riven knelt on the edge of the pier and extended a hand out to Carrie as he asked, “Ready to get this party started?”

Sighing, Carrie latched onto the outstretched hand and said, “Ready as I’ll ever be.”

Allowing the auburn-haired boy to pull her from the lake, Carrie thanked him and grabbed her towel from the end of the pier, wrapping it securely around her shoulders. Once they reached the end of the pier where the wood met the sand, Carrie pulled her sunglasses off, put the earpiece of one side between her teeth, and tucked her hair up in a clip one of the girls in the playhouse had given her before putting her sunglasses atop her head.

Following the others toward the lodge, Carrie took in a deep breath. She could only hope Noah wouldn’t try anything with Vivien. Though she knew Vivien was loyal to Royce, she had no insight into Noah. For all Carrie knew, he could be staying close just to get her attention. As she followed the group to the picnic tables off to the side of the lodge, Carrie kept a watchful eye on the golden-haired boy, making sure he kept himself a good distance from Vivien. Vivien’s seat at the table was quickly neighbored by Riven and Erica as Carrie sat across from the brunette. 

From what Carrie could tell, Noah didn’t look upset with having to sit beside a girl named Riley, one of the girls who typically lingered in the dance studio. If anything, he looked happy to sit beside the blonde and the two of them fell into a conversation with ease. Glancing across the table to Vivien, Carrie watched as the young brunette nudged Riven and nodded her head toward the pair before mockingly making a kissy face toward them when the young blonde wasn’t looking. Noah rolled his eyes at Vivien’s expression before giving her a look that pleaded for her to keep her mouth shut. In return, Vivien smirked and turned her gaze back toward the others at the table, asking if anyone had come up with any ideas since they had signed up the day before.

As some of the others around the table dished out their ideas, Carrie took in a deep breath and grinned. Maybe it wouldn’t be difficult to deal with Noah after all.

Tuesday brought torrential downpours through the area, turning dirt trails into mud and forcing everyone to stay indoors as much as possible. To Carrie’s dismay, this gave Riven and his bandmates a full day with nothing to do. Well, until they dragged Carrie to the dining room and began setting up for what Erica called an “epic rain day game day.” It didn’t take them long to set up things and, before Carrie knew it, Riven had brought out a bag of glittering dice, something that looked like an old board game one of them had painted by hand, and enough graph paper that Carrie wondered if one of them had raided a math classroom before summer vacation. Then, with practiced ease, they each pulled out a binder full of papers and some tiny figurines they laid out on the table in the dining area before sitting down around the table.

Slowly easing herself into the chair beside Vivien, Carrie was taken aback as Erica tossed a bag filled with metallic figurines in front of her. “Pick your poison, blondie,” the blue-haired girl said with a grin.

Chuckling nervously, Carrie shook her head, “Riven invited me to watch, I don’t want to join your game halfway through.”

“You won’t be,” Jade said. “We’re starting a mini-campaign for the week. You’d be starting with us.”

“If you want to, that is,” Vivien added. “You don’t have to play if you don’t want to.”

“Yeah, she does,” Erica said, dodging Vivien’s kick under the table. “I want to see how good of an actress she is.”

“We don’t pressure people to join our campaigns,” Vivien argued.

“Since when?” Jade asked rhetorically. “That’s how Erica got me into it.”

“And you love it,” Erica claimed.

“Anyway,” Riven cut in, gaining the attention of the four women before smiling at Carrie. “The point is, you don’t have to play if you don’t want to, but if you’d like to try it out, we’d love to have you. Even if you don’t care for it and we only have you for one meeting, it would still be fun all the same.”

“Are you sure?” Carrie asked. “I’d have no clue what to do.”

“That’s why we’re playing an easy campaign,” Vivien proclaimed with a smile. “And the reason why you’re sitting with me.”

“Viv’s the second-best player at this table,” Jade commented.

“Riven takes first place as the dungeon master,” Vivien added. “He’s a level forty-three, half-elf paladin who can detect evil a mile away.”

“And she is a level thirty-six sorcerer who harnesses four of the six psionic abilities available,” Riven said.

“I take it that’s a good thing,” Carrie slowly said.

“It’s great,” Erica nodded. “The point is, you’re in good hands. Besides, you’re not far from Jade when it comes to your level.”

Jade nodded, smiling at the blonde, “I started playing with them a couple of months back, but it was hard to get the time for game nights, so I’m only a level three.”

“We level up when big events happen in the game or after a good session,” Riven stated. “Right now, you’d be a level one, but at the end of this session, you could be up to a level five if you play your cards right.”

“We got rid of XP altogether so that we could have more experience-based games and less combat,” Vivien explained. “Each of your abilities is determined by a roll of the dice, but everything else is free for you to choose.”

Vivien slid her folder of information between herself and Carrie, showing the blonde the character sheet she had tucked in the front pocket. In a large square that took up most of the page, a drawing that vaguely resembled Vivien smiled up at them. Her character was floating on the page, draped in rich shades of violet, and holding a glowing, crystal staff in one hand while the other was held out in front of her. Her character’s hair was braided in a crown around her head and little bottles of colorful liquid were hung from a belt around her hips. Though the character looked fierce, there was a softness about her that made her look approachable. Finally, Carrie spotted the statistics on the side - 7 for strength, 21 for dexterity, 12 for constitution, 27 for intelligence, 19 for wisdom, and 9 for charisma.

“So, the higher the number, the better?” Carrie surmised.

“Yep,” Vivien chirped.

Clearing her throat, Erica reached into her folder and took out a piece of paper before placing it on the table face down and sliding it toward Carrie. “When Riven said you might join us, I got a bit carried away and made you a sheet. Most of it is blank so you can fill it out, but I drew you up a character last night. You don’t have to use it if you don’t want it, obviously, but I’ve drawn one for everyone here, so…”

As Erica’s voice faded out, Carrie picked up the paper and flipped it over, revealing a detailed drawing of herself. Her curls flowed in a golden shimmer, a crown of sorts fixed to her forehead. Though her eyes were silver in color, a faint hint of blue could be spotted in them, perhaps a reflection of the cerulean gown she wore. There was an instrument of some sort in the character’s hands and Carrie noticed the pointed ears on the drawing not long after.

As she examined the artwork, she muttered, “I’m an elf?”

“A high-elf,” Erica claimed. “They’re practically royalty. I also drew you as a bard, but you can change that if you want.”

“What does a bard do?” the blonde asked.

“They’re musicians whose performances can change the tide of battle,” Riven said with a grin. “Singing, playing music, and performing are their strong suits. They can charm people with their singing, stall battles by playing music, and can use their performance skills to trick enemies. They’re pretty powerful if you think about it.”

Carrie let out a breath of a laugh as she looked up from the paper, “That sounds like me.”

“I tried to make it as much like you as possible,” Erica stated, distracting herself by picking at her nails. “I know that’s what I did when I first started playing. Made things a hell of a lot easier.”

Smiling at the girl across the table, Carrie’s gaze flickered back to the paper before her. It was evident that Erica had spent quite some time working on the drawing. The blue-haired girl had put a lot of time and thought into the gift and it was clear as day. The artwork resembled Carrie and, if she wanted to, she could have easily used the drawing as inspiration for a costume of some sort. Erica had worked hard on the drawing to make Carrie feel welcomed by the group more than she already did. Even though the blonde actress had come into the meeting with no intention of playing, it would be nearly impossible for her to say no to it now. 

As though he had been reading her mind, Riven asked, “So, Carrie, do you feel up to playing one round with us? And, please, don’t feel obligated to say you will even if you don’t want to. If you want, you can just sit and observe or you can go back to the other room with everyone else; that’s fine too.”

Carrie thought about the question for a while, glancing around at the other players and the mess they had practically tossed onto the table before them. The tiny metal figurines scattered around the table, the folder filled with information they had gained over their time playing together, the character sheets full of information Carrie had no idea about - it all felt so overwhelming. For a moment, she felt like waving her little white flag, asking them to go on without her. However, Carrie was never one to back down from a challenge. 

Looking back over at Riven, Carrie smiled, “I’m in.”

Unable to ignore the excitement that radiated through the small room, Carrie beamed as Vivien grabbed her by the arm and pulled her into an awkward side hug, welcoming her to their little group. Glancing down at the sheet of paper before her as Riven handed her a set of dice to use to figure out her character’s statistics, Carrie smiled; it was just another role to play, after all. How hard could it possibly be?

Carrie spent a few hours with the group of four, asking them a million questions and figuring out how to play her character as well as they all did, but as the rain slowed and the pattering against the window sounded less like bullets and more like popcorn bounding off of the air conditioning units, the session came to an end and they went their separate ways. Erica and Jade congratulated the blonde on a game well played before they left, asking her if she would want to join them for the next round. It was easy for Carrie to agree as she’d had fun with them, but it wasn’t until Vivien and Riven told the others about the fun they’d had that she realized how nice it felt to be a part of their little group. 

From the surprise in Mick’s voice, it wasn’t often that the group of four played with others or invited new players to their sessions, but Carrie had felt welcomed in as though she was just another person added to some large group. Up until the pair retired to bed, Carrie spent the evening talking with Riven and Vivien, allowing them to delve into some of their ideas for the upcoming session Riven was plotting. Although Carrie was still new to their characters and the game as a whole, she enjoyed watching their faces light up with every new idea.

The next morning, Carrie was surprised to find that Riven and Vivien were still gleefully explaining all that had happened during their session to anyone who would listen. Charlie and Hayley seemed particularly interested as they had, no doubt, heard many of the pair’s endless ramblings about prior sessions. Spotting Carrie from her spot next to Hayley, Charlie smiled, lifting the can of her energy drink and sending the blonde a wink before taking a sip. Nodding in return to the pink-haired woman, Carrie smiled and made her way to the other room to grab herself a drink before the call for breakfast could ring out through the camp.

Rounding the corner into the room, Carrie wasn’t too surprised to find a certain, curly-haired boy leaning against the counter with a drink in one hand and a set of white pills in the other. Raising a brow, she asked, “Are you alright?”

“Does it look like I am?” he snapped, his gaze sharp. Carrie tried to brush off the comment as she reached into the refrigerator for a drink, but Royce sighed, “Sorry.”

“It’s alright,” she brushed off, hoping the roll of her eyes went unnoticed as she closed the fridge and moved to grab a glass from the cupboard.

Royce watched as Carrie poured herself some juice, taking a deep breath before admitting, “My head feels like it’s about to split open.”

Grateful for a mild reprieve from the aggression Royce usually harbored toward her, Carrie lowered her voice and asked, “Any idea what’s causing it?”

The answer didn’t come quickly and, for a moment, Carrie figured he would shrug her off and go about his day, ignoring her as he sometimes did. Instead, he took in a deep breath and nodded toward the other room, “I was up until one with Viv, listening to her talk about the Dungeons and Dragons thing. I didn’t get much sleep.”

“Why don’t you take today off to rest?” Carrie offered. “It’s not like we have much to do today.”

Royce slowly shook his head as he swallowed the pills with some juice, “Viv is having the murder mystery gang over to figure out plot points. I’m supposed to help her.”

“I’m sure everyone would understand.”

“I can’t let her down.”

Carrie scoffed a laugh, “You wouldn’t be letting her down.”

“How would you know?” Royce asked, the faintest snip in his voice.

“Because she adores you no matter what,” Carrie smiled. “If anything, I think she would be more upset if you fought through the torture just to help her when you could have been resting.”

Hesitantly, Royce asked, “You think so?”

“I do,” Carrie said with a nod. “You should talk to her about it. I’m sure that, if she needs help, she would have no problem roping Miles or Bentley into it in your stead.”

Despite himself, Royce let out a snort of laughter. “She has them wrapped around her finger, doesn’t she?”

“They’re not the only ones,” Carrie smiled. “Now, why don’t you go tell Viv that you’re going to rest for a while and, if you’re not feeling up to it when the time comes, you can always ask her if she’d mind replacing you.”

For a while, Royce seemed to contemplate the idea as Carrie sipped at her drink. It wasn’t a bad idea and, if need be, he knew Vivien would have little, if any, difficulty asking his brothers to help with whatever she needed. Taking in a slow, deep breath and letting it out, Royce admitted, “I don’t say this often - and don’t expect me to say it more than I have to - but that actually sounded like a pretty good idea.”

Chuckling mostly to herself as she lowered her glass to the countertop, Carrie smiled at the boy, “I do seem to have those once in a while.”

After giving his cup a quick rinse in the sink, Royce took off for the other room. Halfway down the hallway, he stopped, sighed, and turned back, heading back into the room just enough for the movement to have caught Carrie’s attention. Clearing his throat somewhat awkwardly, Royce attempted a small smile at the blonde before allowing himself to say, “Thanks, Carrie.”

Hoping she didn’t appear nearly as taken aback by the comment as she felt, Carrie raised her glass toward the boy ever so slightly and said, “Anytime, Royce.”

Giving a nod that appeared more for himself than for Carrie, Royce turned on his heel and headed back toward the main area of the lodge, leaving a slightly bewildered blonde standing by the refrigerator. Royce gave a quick greeting to Riven as he passed him in the hall, not noticing the confused look on the older boy’s face as Riven slowly headed toward the small, kitchenette-style room. Finding Carrie standing in the room alone, Riven asked, “What was that about?”

Shrugging as she took another sip of her drink, Carrie said, “I told Royce to go rest.”

“And you didn’t end up with a knife to the chest?” Riven asked theatrically, placing a hand on his chest as he gave a gasp of shock.

“Yeah, I know, right,” Carrie chuckled. “I’m surprised I made it out alive.”

Riven snickered, “I think we all are.”

Despite the cooler temperatures, the heat of summer was still very prominent as the small group of actors gathered in the mess hall. Throughout the week, they found the time to work on their characters as a group and figure out a basic plot to follow. Now that some of the others had finished their duties around camp, they were able to gather in the mess hall to practice a few segments of their performances. The first few plotlines were simple - a lead-up to the death of Jade’s character, Annie Boddy. Once her character had died, the real fun could begin.

Jade was more than willing to play the dead body as that meant she had very few lines to screw up. However, after lounging about on the floor for a while, she was called away by one of the lifeguards who needed a hand rolling the pool lane dividers out. Though Jade argued with the boy for a while that he could easily get someone else to help, Charlie reassured the girl that she could easily return afterward and that they would still be working on things by the time she returned.

The group took a brief intermission between days to figure out where everyone would be stationed and how to make things interesting for the campers and it was during this break that a few of the staff members came in to begin making lunch in the kitchen. Though Royce had been selected for kitchen duty, he wasn’t too upset by the idea of being able to listen in to fleeting segments of the murder mystery program. He watched from the kitchen as the group sat around the tables to talk, discussing what would happen to which character. Then, just as he was getting invested in their made-up storyline, one of the other kitchen staff members, Carlos, reached up and dragged the rolling metal gate down, telling Royce to focus before returning to the grill to keep track of the chicken. Royce sighed as he returned to his job, hoping that, sooner or later, he would have a chance to sneak back into the mess hall for some reason or another.

Once the group started the next day’s plot, Vivien took Jade’s place with ease, sitting on the floor and reciting her lines as though she was still wandering the room with the others. Her character, Lavender Roberts, was an accomplice to the murder, but was meant to act as innocently as possible. After workshopping the character with Carrie far later into the night than she would have liked, Vivien was exhausted. Yawns interrupted her character’s lines and, as they continued reading through the next day, Vivien laid back on the floor and set her papers aside, confident that she knew her lines well enough not to need them. 

As her eyes continued to drift shut, Noah took a seat nearby, using his position to lightly kick the brunette in the shin any time one of her lines was approaching. Though the action kept Vivien mildly aware of her surroundings and her place in the script, the urge to kick Noah in return was strong. The moment Charlie announced another break, Vivien did just as she wanted to, landing a kick to Noah’s thigh as he stood from his seat. In return, Noah grabbed her by the ankle with a laugh and began dragging her throughout the mess hall.

Carrie jumped as a hand grabbed her leg, yet sighed as she looked down to find Vivien looking up at her with a shit-eating grin. “Are you alright?” Carrie asked with a chuckle.

Vivien nodded against the floor, “I’m a mop.”

“Technically,” Noah began, “you’re a broom.”

“But I want to be a mop,” Vivien decided. “My hair is all over the floor like one of those shitty mops from the dollar store.” 

“They have mops at the dollar store?” Carrie asked.

Once again, Vivien nodded, “Yeah, but they hardly work and they look like those Komondor dogs. That’s the kind of mop I want to be.”

“A barely functional, hairy mop?” Noah wondered. Vivien nodded as another yawn took over. Shaking his head, Noah asked, “What kind of mop would I be, then?”

“The kind that’s basically a stick attached to a sponge,” Vivien said without hesitation. “You just push water around and get all gross after a while.”

Dropping his friend’s leg to the floor, Noah scoffed, “Better than you just getting dragged everywhere.”

“Nah,” Vivien shook her head. “That was fun.”

Choosing to play into the conversation, Carrie took a seat nearby and asked the girl on the floor, “What kind of mop am I?”

Vivien looked over at Carrie for a moment before saying, “Probably one of those fancy, microfiber, spinny ones that come with their own buckets and all that.”

Chuckling, Carrie shook her head as one of the other actors approached them. Tapping Noah on the shoulder, Riley asked if he would mind helping her with moving a table and chairs and the pair quickly left. Leaning over, Carrie noticed Vivien watching the pair with an almost knowing smile before looking up at Carrie. “What’s going on in that head of yours?”

“Just something Noah said the other day,” Vivien said with a shake of her head. Pushing herself to sit up a bit, she asked, “What type of mop do you think Royce and Bentley would be?”

Pausing on her way by, Charlie turned toward the pair and asked, “Are you two discussing mops?”

Vivien nodded with a smile as Carrie slowly admitted, “For some reason, yes.”

Charlie’s confusion only seemed to grow as she asked, “Why?”

Carrie grinned as she said, “Noah was dragging Vivien around on the floor and it became the topic of our conversation.”

Letting out a sigh, Charlie shook her head and turned her gaze to her niece, “You should put your hair up if you’re going to do it again.”

“But that defeats the purpose of mop time,” Vivien argued as she grinned up at her aunt.

“Alright,” Charlie sighed with a shake of her head, grinning as she continued on her way, “but don’t start complaining when you find a piece of three-week-old lettuce from the salad bar in your hair.”

Vivien’s grin faltered as she slowly pulled her hair over her shoulders. She ran her fingers through her hair for good measure before asking Carrie for one of the scrunchies she always kept on hand. Once her hair was secured in a lumpy, haphazard bun at the crown of her head, Vivien sighed, “No more mop time.”

Smiling at the girl’s antics, Carrie said, “You know what kind of mop Miles would be?”

Intrigued by the older girl’s sudden interest in the topic, Vivien slowly asked, “What?”

“The kind you have at your house,” Carrie claimed. “The one with the sprayer.”

Vivien's eyes widened as she let out a disbelieving laugh, “You think Miles is a fucking wet jet?!”

“That’s what it’s called?” Vivien nodded wordlessly, grinning astonishedly up at the blonde. Carrie hummed thoughtfully, “Fitting.”

Vivien’s gaze shifted away and her head tipped to the side curiously as she contemplated the blonde’s words. Thinking it over, she glanced up at Carrie from her spot on the floor, her mouth open to ask what Carrie meant. However, as she met Carrie’s mischief-riddled, aquamarine eyes, the pieces of the puzzle fell together and her eyes widened as her mouth hung open in shock. Carrie couldn’t help but feel proud of herself as Vivien let out a squawk of laughter before dissolving into a puddle of giggles and nonsensically strung-together words.

As others from their group looked over, silently wondering what the brunette had found so hysterical, the door to the kitchen swung open and Royce stepped through with a stack of cups in one hand and a pitcher of juice in the other. Stopping in his tracks, Royce watched in bewilderment as his girlfriend laughed on the floor, one of her hands reaching up and offering a high-five to the blonde beside her as her laughter subsided to delirious giggles once more. Eyeing the scene before him, Royce looked to Riven for help as he hesitantly asked, “Do I want to know what’s going on here?”

Riven chuckled as he met Royce’s gaze, offering the curly-haired boy a shrug, “Probably not, no.”

Friday was the first sign of a break for many of the staff members at Camp Wanamaker. After days of cleaning and making everything look practically untouched, many of the workers finally found their schedules open and breathed a sigh of relief as the brilliantly orange sun melted over the horizon Thursday evening. However, as the sun rose in the sky and the heat of the day settled in, the most anybody wanted to do was jump into the nearest body of water.

Carrie had made herself comfortable on the couch long before the humidity got the chance to take over, having gotten up early to take the time to go through her usual, extensive, skin-care routine before doing everything in her power to make sure her hair stayed somewhat manageable despite the humidity. By the time Royce, Vivien, and the half-asleep Bentley made their way downstairs, Carrie was scrolling through TikTok on her phone, trying to find some source of entertainment while everyone else in the lodge was either still sleeping or off doing their own thing. Mick and Butchy had left for the lake, Riven had gone off to start cooking breakfast as it was his day to help out, and Miles was passed out in bed still, leaving Carrie to her own devices until the three teenagers came down from their rooms.

With a grin, Carrie watched as Bentley greeted her with a mumble before yawning, curling up on the loveseat with a pillow, and gliding back toward the verge of sleep. As Carrie watched Bentley with a shake of her head, Vivien took the time to ask her how she was doing before disappearing down the hall to get something to drink. Half expecting Royce to have followed his girlfriend down the hall, Carrie was surprised to see the brunet boy take a seat on the far end of the couch, eyeing her out of the corner of his eyes. 

“Hi,” she offered.

“Hey,” was his response. Royce spared a glance down the hallway before turning back toward Carrie and asking, “How have things been with practice?”

Curious about his sudden interest, Carrie shrugged, “It’s alright. We’ve managed to get through the first two days pretty flawlessly, but we’re going to work more during the week to get everything else ready.”

Royce nodded, running a hand through his hair and leaning forward to look down the hallway once more before leaning closer to Carrie and quietly asking, “Anything else?”

To Royce’s surprise, Carrie shook her head, “His character is practically always away from hers, so they haven’t spent much time together.”

“Really?”

Carrie nodded, setting her phone aside as she replied, “Most of the time, Noah is with some of the people from the dance studio or with Erica. He doesn’t get much time away from them.”

“Was that Erica’s doing?” Royce asked with a small grin.

“No, actually,” Carrie claimed. “When we were working on the benches outside, he said he felt like his character would be better as a background person, so he’s hanging out with the other background people.”

“Hm,” Royce hummed thoughtfully. “He’s not putting in any effort to be close to Viv?”

“Not that I’ve seen,” Carrie shrugged. “Personally, I don’t think you need to worry about him much at all.”

“I’m not worried,” Royce claimed. “Vivien says that they’re just friends, but… it just-”

“It doesn’t feel like Noah sees it that way?” Carrie cut in.

“Exactly,” Royce admitted. “Anytime they’re together, it seems like he’s trying to impress her or get her attention. I know Vivien doesn’t like him like that - everyone made that very clear - I just have to wonder if Noah sees her as a friend or something more.”

Carrie hummed and allowed Royce to think in silence for a while before offering, “If you want, I can always talk to them about it. That way, you’re not getting pushback from either of them, and they’ll just see it as me being concerned.”

Royce was quick to shake his head, his curls bouncing with the movement, “That’s okay, I’ll just try to let it go.”

“If you’re sure,” Carrie sighed. “But if you feel the need for it, let me know. I don’t mind.”

Though Royce seemed to contemplate the thought at least a little, his answer was the same and he shook his head as he said, “I can’t ask you to do that.”

“You’re not asking,” Carrie chuckled. It was moments like those that made it clear as day that Royce and Miles were fairly similar. “I’m offering.”

Royce didn’t have the opportunity to either accept or decline the blonde’s offer as Vivien came back down the hall, juggling three cups of variously-colored liquid. After precariously handing Carrie a blue juice that swirled glitter in the light, the girl rounded the couch, handed Royce a cup of something red, and took a seat beside him before sipping her grape-flavored drink. 

“Nothing beats the heat better than glitter juice,” she decided once she came up for air.

“Is that what’s in this?” Royce asked skeptically, examining the luminous swirls in his drink with scrutiny.

“Mhm,” Vivien hummed. “Aunt Hayley and I got edible glitter at the store when we went shopping with Nonna and Grandpa George.”

Taking a cautious sip of her drink, Carrie was pleasantly surprised to find that the edible glitter was textureless and added nothing to the blue raspberry drink she’d been given. As she thought about Vivien’s words, however, the blonde froze, turning to Vivien with a raised brow. “Didn’t you guys go to that wholesale store in Tilton? The one where everything comes in huge containers that would be enough to feed an army for a decade?”

Vivien beamed as she nodded excitedly, “BJ’s, yeah!”

Glancing down at her drink before meeting the brunette’s glittering eyes, Carrie asked, “Do I want to know how much glitter you got?”

Emerald eyes flickered toward the hallway, but Vivien’s smile remained brilliant as she said, “Let’s just say that we’ll all be having glitter juice for the rest of the summer if we want to put a dent in it.”

With a sigh, Royce took another sip of his drink before saying, “We’ll be brushing glitter from our teeth every day for the next month or so.”

“It’s glitter,” Carrie deadpanned, “I’m sure it will take a lot longer than that.”

“It will be worth it,” Vivien sighed, taking a sip of her drink. “If it comes down to it, I can always pour what’s left of it in the punch at the end-of-summer staff party.”

“I’m not sure your grandparents will like that,” Royce remarked.

“They won’t mind,” Vivien shrugged. “Glitter will be a lot easier to deal with than someone spiking the drinks.”

Realizing they would get nowhere trying to talk the brunette out of her plan, Carrie and Royce shook their heads and returned to their drinks as Vivien took the remote from the table, placed her cup down in its place, and turned on the television mounted on the wall. As she flipped from the local news to a channel that broadcasts nothing but true crime shows and ghost hunting with ease, Carrie watched as Vivien dropped the remote onto the couch between herself and Royce before taking his hand in hers and slouching back into the couch. It wasn’t long before the girl’s free hand fell to Bentley’s head, absentmindedly running her fingers through his golden locks as she watched a retired homicide detective recount a murder he had solved years prior.

Carrie smiled into her cup as she watched the young trio. They seemed so inseparable that she had to wonder just how far they would go for each other. Though Carrie had seen Royce’s protectiveness over Bentley and, in a way, vice versa time and time again, their affinity for the brunette that had weasled her way into their lives was something somewhat new to Carrie. When she’d first met Vivien, they had gotten along so well that she wondered if Royce and Bentley had bothered to try to sway her opinion of her at all. It became evident over dinner one night that same week that she knew all too well how much the boys disliked her and that she simply couldn’t bring herself to care about their opinion on the matter as she kicked them under the table. In a way, she was a bridge between Carrie and the brothers and Carrie couldn’t be more glad for it.

When the girl had spent a few months in their world over what was supposed to be a two-week-long winter break, Carrie had gotten accustomed to the brunette’s energetic, adventurous personality and the ease with which she adjusted to almost anything thrown her way. Watching her and Royce’s relationship evolve from innocent puppy love to what it was now, was something Carrie found herself enjoying almost as though it was a show she had early access to. The bond the girl had grown with not only Royce but also his family in that short time frame, was something Carrie was sure the girl had to be proud of. Sure, they had started out as friends, but as time went on and more things popped up in their way, they maneuvered everything with ease.

When it came to Bentley, there was something familial in the way Vivien treated the boy. Sure, Vivien had siblings around the blond’s age, but Carrie had seen the girl’s protective, sisterly side make an appearance far more often when she was around Bentley than when she was with Abby or Oliver. Carrie was sure Vivien would beat anyone to a pulp if they dared to so much as look at Bentley the wrong way and, if the way Bentley seemed to cling to the girl’s arm to keep her from attacking people had been anything to go by, he knew it too. There were times it had gone the other way and, the one time Carrie was there to see it, she had frozen in place, watching the young blond aggressively vituperate the opposing party whilst silently rooting for him to keep going.

The trio was strong and, although they could function well enough without one of them being present, they were far stronger together than they ever were apart.

As Carrie’s gaze finally drifted from the trio to the television, they were interrupted by a knock at the door. Vivien called for the person to enter and beamed as a boy with golden-brown hair entered the lodge. “Hey, guys,” Noah greeted as he moved into the living area. As the small gathering greeted him in turn, Noah grinned and turned his gaze toward Vivien. “Are you ready to go?”

“Go?” Royce wondered.

Vivien glanced at the watch on her wrist before looking toward her boyfriend and chuckling, “I guess we read for longer than I thought.” Turning toward Noah, she nodded, “Give me a minute to find my bag and we’ll head out.”

“Where are you going?” Carrie asked as Vivien rose from the couch, grabbed her cup from the table, andgulped the rest of it down.

“Vivien promised me she’d take me to see her family when we had the chance,” Noah explained. “I haven’t seen them since I was a kid.”

“Before we see my family, we’re going to the roller rink to see if we can recreate the last photo we took together,” Vivien explained, pulling her backpack purse from the hanger she’d deposited it on and pulling the straps onto her shoulders. “His parents haven’t seen the two of us together since we were little, so we’re going to take tons of pictures for them.”

Royce nodded slowly, allowing Vivien to press a kiss to his cheek on her way out the door. He watched as Vivien and Noah talked on their way away from the lodge before turning his gaze back to Carrie. Though he would be the first to admit he wasn’t fond of the blonde, she could be the one person aside from himself and Bentley to get any information out of Vivien. With a sigh, he admitted, “I think I’m ready to take you up on that offer.”

By the time Vivien and her friend returned to camp, the sun had faded over the horizon and the moon began to glow overhead. After babbling on for a while to the group that had awaited her return in the living room, the brunette retired to her room with a smile on her face and a camera roll full of pictures of her family alongside one of her oldest childhood friends. Apart from Riven and a very small handful of classmates she had grown up with, Vivien knew Noah for the longest time. Her parents had been excited to see him after so much time had passed, Abby and Oliver had taken the time to give him a short tour of the winery before dinner, and Loki the faithful vacuum was grateful to have another plate to steal from. 

Their time at the roller rink had extended far past what they had anticipated as they not only stopped to take pictures in the same party room Noah’s last birthday party in town had been all those years prior, but also took the time to stumble around the rink like a pair of newborn deer attempting to find their footing on a patch of ice. Noah had limped his way to the car while Vivien teased him for his lack of balance. He had shot back with some snide comments of his own that were met with laughter from his friend, but neither of them seemed genuine in their words. Despite the bruises Vivien was sure would form on her knees, hips, and backside in the coming days, she’d had a great day out with her friend and was sure he felt the same.

After changing into a pair of shorts she had stolen from her dad’s closet a few years prior and throwing on a shirt from one of her old summer jobs, Vivien took her hair down from the hastily-made bun she’d thrown it into at the roller rink and sighed as her scalp relaxed. If it hadn’t been for the heat and lack of air conditioning in the roller rink, she would have left her hair in the ponytail she’d worn that morning, but the summer heat always made her hair look like she had poured a bottle of grease on her head before leaving the house and she refused to look like that in photos. She would just have to wash it sooner than she planned to.

As her scalp sang her praises for finally releasing it from its prison, a soft trio of knocks sounded on her door. Without bothering to ask who it was as she sat on the edge of her bed, Vivien raised her voice slightly and called, “Come in.” Vivien looked up as the door opened, smiling as Carrie inched her way into the room and shut the door behind her. “Hey, Carrie!” Vivien chirped.

Carrie gave the girl a smile as she stepped further into the room. “Hey,” she greeted in return. The woman’s gaze took on a more serious gleam as she spoke, “I was wondering if we could talk for a while.”

“Of course,” Vivien beamed. Grabbing her hair brush from the nightstand beside her bed, she chuckled, “I was just getting ready to do my hair, but now that you’re here…”

As Vivien’s voice drifted off, Carrie smirked, “You want me to braid it, don’t you?”

Vivien gave the blonde a hopeful look as she nodded, “If you don’t mind. You and Miles make the best braids.”

Carrie took the brush from Vivien’s hands as she slotted herself into place behind the brunette. “On that, I’d have to agree.”

Vivien let out a breath of a laugh as she allowed her head to fall to its natural resting place, giving Carrie free rein of her hair and the placement of whatever braid - or braids - the older girl chose to make. “So,” the brunette began, “what did you want to talk about?”

The blonde brought the brush through Vivien’s hair and sighed as she confessed, “You and Noah.”

Though Vivien felt a wave of confusion wash over her, she smiled as she asked, “What about us?”

Hoping that she had chosen her words carefully, Carrie asked, “You two are just friends, right?”

Taken aback by the blonde’s question, Vivien raised an eyebrow and said, “Of course. Why?”

Instead of answering, Carrie asked, “Are you sure?”

Turning toward the blonde, Vivien asked, “Why on earth would we be anything else?”

Allowing the brush to fall from Vivien’s hair, Carrie found the girl’s emerald eyes and cautiously said, “You two have been very… close lately.”

Returning her head to its prior position with a soft scoff, Vivien spoke, “Noah and I have known each other since we were five. We’ve been close for years.”

“I understand that,” Carrie stated as she returned to brushing the girl’s hair. “It’s just… he seems to like hanging around you a lot.”

“So does Riven and nobody bats an eye when he does it.”

“I know that.”

“Then why does it bother everyone when Noah does it?”

“Everyone?” Carrie questioned.

Vivien nodded, letting out a huff, “Miles and Butchy pestered me about it a few weeks ago, Bentley was attached to my hip for two days before finally leaving me alone with Noah when he realized nothing was happening, and even Mick tried to pry information from me.”

“I didn’t know that.”

“Yeah, it's just,” Vivien sighed, cutting herself off. “It just really pissed me off. Like, am I not allowed to have guy friends without everyone jumping down my throat about it? Come on; it’s the twenty-first century, people!”

“I’m not trying to piss you off,” Carrie claimed, hoping the gentle tone in her voice and the soft stroking of the brush would soothe the brunette in some way. “And, if it means anything, I doubt they were either.”

After a while, Vivien let out a break and muttered, “I know.”

Figuring she was finally getting somewhere, Carrie spoke, “I bet they just wanted to make sure nothing between you two could jeopardize your relationship with Royce.”

“Why would that even be a concern?” Vivien pressed as Carrie placed the brush on the bed and began parting her hair.

“Well,” Carrie began slowly, “Mick did say that everyone used to think that you and Noah would get married someday.”

Vivien let out a sharp laugh, careful not to move her head much, “Yeah, when pigs fly, maybe. I have no interest in Noah. Never have, never will.”

“Does Noah feel that way?” Carrie asked.

Feeling Carrie’s hands still in her hair, Vivien turned slightly, eyeing the blonde curiously as she said, “Considering he’s been going out with one of the other staff members, I’d say he doesn’t. Why? Did you think he liked me that way?”

Making sure to choose her words carefully, Carrie admitted, “I wasn’t totally sure, but I’m not the only one who was more than a little concerned.”

Vivien’s gaze shifted, flitting over the items she’d brought into her room over the last few weeks as she thought about what the blonde’s words could mean. All too soon, she came to a conclusion and closed her eyes as she sighed, “You mean Royce, don’t you?”

Carrie confirmed the brunette’s question in a roundabout way, “He’s not worried about you in the slightest; you should know that above everything else.”

“What’s he worried about then?” Vivien asked, an almost exasperated tone slipping into her voice. “If he trusts me enough to know I’d never leave him for anyone, why is he concerned about me and Noah?”

“It’s not the two of you he’s worked up over,” Carrie admitted. “You have to realize, he doesn’t know Noah as well as you do. He trusts you with everything he has, but he’s not so sure about Noah. If anything, I think Royce is a bit intimidated by him.”

“Intimidated by Noah?” Vivien snorted, “He’s about as intimidating as a baby bird.”

“To you.” When Vivien remained silent, Carrie said, “Noah’s taller, more athletic, ambitious, and I have to admit, he’s a very charming boy. If you ask me, Royce might find it very hard to see the two of you together when he already thinks you deserve far more than just him.”

“I don’t want anybody other than Royce,” Vivien stated firmly as Carrie’s fingers wove together the tail of her braid. “He’s the best person I could have asked for and he knows that.”

“Does he?”

Vivien took a moment before muttering her response, “He should.”

Carrie took in a deep breath before sighing, “What about Noah? Have you talked with him about that?”

“No,” was Vivien’s meek reply. “He never said he was worried about it. If he had, I would have said something.”

“And now?”

Vivien took in a breath, nodding to herself as she spoke, “I’ll try to talk to him about it tomorrow and explain Noah has a thing for someone else.”

Carrie tied off Vivien’s braid and brought her arms around the girl’s shoulders from behind with a smile. “I think that will make a world of a difference to him.”

“You do?” Vivien asked, her eyebrow raising toward her bangs.

“Mhm,” Carrie hummed with a nod. “I think it’s been eating at him for quite some time.”

Sighing, Vivien slouched against the blonde and wondered aloud, “Why didn’t he say anything to me about it?”

“I think a part of him was worried that you’d take it the wrong way,” Carrie acknowledged. “He probably didn’t want you to feel like he was trying to control your friendships or anything, so he thought it would be easier to muscle through it all until the end of summer.”

Vivien allowed the thought to process in her mind. It wasn’t an outlandish idea. She knew how awkward Royce tended to be when it came to their relationship. While she thought of it as endearing, she never figured it would bring them to this point. With a sigh, Vivien stared up at the ceiling and asked, “Do you think talking it over with him will help?”

Vivien tried not to sigh as Carrie shrugged behind her. “There’s only one way to find out,” the blonde claimed and, as much as she didn’t want to admit it, Vivien knew she was right.

Although Vivien had spent the night tossing and turning, her mind racing with ideas as to how to confront Royce and talk things through with him, she was still up earlier than anyone else. Deciding she was done struggling through the early morning hours without getting any rest, Vivien tossed her blankets aside and slid out of bed, taking one of the hoodies she’d stolen from her boyfriend before leaving the room and making her way to Royce’s. Since their time at the camp had begun, the middle of the Murphy brothers had grown accustomed to leaving the door to his room open in case either Bentley or Vivien couldn’t sleep and wanted some company. Now, as she stared into the darkness of the room at what she could just barely tell was her slumbering boyfriend, Vivien wondered how long her friendship with Noah had been eating away at him.

Inching her way into the room, Vivien was careful to avoid the floor boards she knew creaked as she crossed the expanse between herself and Royce. She reached a hand to Royce’s curls as she sat on the edge of the bed, running her fingers through his hair as she smiled down at him. Sooner or later, they’d move past the issue and things would return to normal, but for the time being, she’d have to settle with things being the way they were until she found the right words to explain everything. As Royce stirred, stretching against his mattress like a cat, Vivien moved her hand away, allowing him to move freely until he settled down once more.

Bleary caramel eyes blinked open, scanning the empty space above Royce’s bed before finally settling on the girl sitting beside him. Royce jumped a fraction, surprised by Vivien’s sudden appearance, but calmed almost instantly as he chuckled, his voice thick with sleep, “Mornin’.”

“Good morning,” Vivien muttered. “Mind if I join you?”

Letting out a yawned response of, “Not at all,” Royce shifted on his mattress, sliding to the side enough to give Vivien the room to join him. It didn’t take the brunette long to slot herself into the empty place Royce had left, enjoying the warmth the space radiated. Once they had made themselves comfortable and Vivien’s head rested against the arm Royce had wrapped around her shoulders, Royce softly asked, “Couldn’t sleep?”

Vivien shook her head, agreeing with his statement. “It was a rough night.”

Royce made a noise of apologetic understanding and pressed a kiss to Vivien’s forehead before asking, “Want to try sleeping again?”

“Not really,” Vivien admitted softly, minutely shaking her head against Royce’s arm. “I just wanted to get out of my head for a while.”

With a hum, Royce nodded before pulling Vivien closer, “Do you want to talk about it?”

“Not yet,” Vivien muttered. “I think I want to figure everything out and sort through everything before I talk it out.”

“Alright,” Royce breathed. “Well, you know where to find me if you need me.”

Vivien nodded silently, allowing her eyes to slip closed as Royce held her close, allowing the comfort of having him by her side to relax her. Though she wanted to tell him everything that had kept her awake that night and get his take on the matter, Vivien was determined to find a way to bring it up without making him upset. She also had to find a way to talk it over without making it seem obvious that she knew he’d talked with Carrie about the situation. The last thing she wanted to deal with was a screaming match between her boyfriend and Carrie. 

Maybe, if she had the chance, she could work up the balls to talk with him before everyone else was awake so that they could discuss it all without the risk of anyone intruding on their conversation. Vivien took a deep breath; that would be a good place to start. Now, all she had to do was figure out what to do about the confrontation itself. She didn’t want Royce to feel cornered as, in the few moments she had seen him backed into a corner, he had lashed out. They had never argued before - never about anything meaningful, at least - and she didn’t want to start now. 

The serenity that blanketed the room was fleeting as a figure appeared in the doorway and made itself known to the room with grumbling complaints of the sun poking its rays over the horizon. Bentley weaseled his way into the space on Royce’s free side, tugging the hood of his sweatshirt over his head and tucking his face into Royce’s chest as much as he could to block out the abhorrently bright sun in the distance. Vivien watched the younger boy with a fond smile before glancing at his older brother who rolled his eyes with a grin, shaking his head once he found his girlfriend’s gaze. Vivien allowed her smile to broaden as she relaxed once more as the idea of talking things over with Royce before everyone else had risen from slumber became a distant notion. 

Vivien took in a deep breath and sighed through her nose as her eyes slid closed once again. Back to the drawing board.

Throughout the first few hours of the day, Vivien had tried everything in her power to get Royce alone, but nothing had worked. Conversation around the breakfast table had flowed easily and everyone seemed so alert that Vivien briefly wondered if they’d all taken something before heading to the mess hall. Whether or not drugs were involved, Vivien didn’t press anyone for information as they chattered amiably around the table. Even when Noah joined the conversation toward the end of the breakfast period, conversation never stalled. Vivien found her gaze drifting toward Royce once Noah appeared, gauging his reactions to Noah’s topics of interest. 

How on earth she had missed the changes in his expression before, she’d never know, but maybe it was because she was so distracted with her friend that she’d never noticed the subtle way Royce’s eyes rolled behind closed eyelids or how his sentences sometimes felt more terse and forced than genuine. Though Royce gave his undivided attention to Vivien when she chimed in on Noah’s ideas, she could tell the entire interaction was bothering him. Whether he knew it or not, it shone in his eyes - a blatant, clear-as-day aggravation that he probably tried to force as far from the surface as possible. Despite his efforts, it didn’t work.

The span of time between breakfast and lunch was filled with script-less practice for the upcoming murder mystery week, giving Vivien no time to talk with Royce, but all the time in the world to speak with Noah. On one of their ten-minute breaks, Vivien followed Noah into the kitchen and grabbed herself a snack as she gave him a quick run-down of all that Carrie had told her regarding Royce’s feelings on their friendship.

“So, what do we do to clear the air?” Noah asked.

“You could come clean about dating Riley,” Vivien suggested.

Noah sighed, his gaze drifting from Vivien’s as he shook his head, “You and I both know I can’t do that. I’m not even sure what Riley and I are right now; telling everyone about it would only complicate things further.”

With a huff, Vivien leaned against the counter and asked, “Could you at least tell Royce, then? He wouldn’t tell a soul and it would help him get out of his own head.”

Noah looked over Vivien’s face before sighing, “Yeah, alright. Just give me a chance to talk it over with Riley first and, when she says it’s alright, you and I can figure out what to tell Royce.”

Vivien offered a slow nod as she sighed, “This whole situation is so stupid.”

Noah chuckled nervously, running a hand through his hair as he muttered, “I’m sorry I got you into this mess.”

“There wouldn’t have been a mess to be in if you had kept your hands to yourself,” Vivien taunted, sending Noah a smirk.

The older teen’s face reddened as he rolled his eyes, letting out a soft chuckle, “You could have knocked before barging in.”

“Knocked on a supposedly empty pool shed?” Vivien restated. “Yeah, sure, I’ll be sure to knock the next time you two are in there swallowing each other’s tongues.”

Noah shook his head at the brunette’s sarcasm, “We won’t be in there again, believe me.”

“Mhm,” Vivien hummed, eyeing her friend disbelievingly. “If you two plan on screwing around again this summer, just go down behind the changing rooms by the lake like any other self-respecting couple.”

Noah smirked as he let out a chuckle, “You speaking from experience, Vivi?”

Vivien was quick to shake her head, an amused smile on her face as she headed for the door, “No, but I’ve heard enough of everyone else’s late-night rendezvous while out swimming.”

“That must be fun.”

Vivien scoffed, “That’s not exactly the word I’d use for it.”

The pair joined the group once more, leaving their conversation in the kitchen before taking their places once more. Once everyone returned from their break, the group spent another hour or so working on their lines and making sure they had everything ready for the first few performances. After wrapping up their last practice of the day, the actors got to work setting everything up for lunch. As they set cups of silverware and a napkin holder in the center of each table, Vivien spoke briefly to Carrie about the situation and how she had to give Noah the chance to speak with his fling before telling Royce anything. Though the blonde wasn’t thrilled at the notion of dragging out the boy’s frustration more than they had to, she agreed to go along with the plan for the sake of Noah’s relationship.

Though Vivien held Royce’s hand across the table, they spent little time conversing as everyone practically inhaled their tacos. About halfway through the meal, Vivien watched as her grandmother took to the makeshift stage near the front of the room and called everyone’s attention to herself. “It has come to our attention that everyone claims to have finished their work early.” Scattered cheers flitted across the room before Dawn raised a hand and gestured for them to quiet once again. “Now, since Chief and I like to reward everyone - not just the campers - for their hard work, we have decided to allow you all to do what you please for the rest of the afternoon. I still ask that you be back to your cabins by lights-out, but we will be extending it by an hour to let you have some fun before the chaos begins.”

George stepped up alongside his wife and added, “If you’re feeling up to it, we’ll be taking some of our boats out on the lake for wakesurfing. If you feel like lounging around camp, that’s fine too.”

“All of the buildings are open for the afternoon so you can roam around freely,” Dawn claimed. “Just remember to put everything away when you’re done and to lock up before lights-out.”

“I think that’s it for announcements,” George stated, earning himself a nod from his wife. “If you want to get out on the water, come let me or Dawn know. As for the rest of you, have a great rest of your day, and we’ll see you all in the morning, bright and early for breakfast and bunk assignments for the next segment.”

As everyone returned to their meals and chatter filled the mess hall once again, Vivien turned to Royce with a brilliant, hopeful smile. “Feel like hitting the water with me?” she asked, giving his hand a light squeeze.

Pleasantly surprised by the question, Royce asked, “What were you thinking?”

“I was thinking you could show me your wakesurfing skills,” Vivien claimed. “When Carrie and I had our girl’s day, you guys spent all day on the water. I’d love to see what you learned.”

Letting out an almost embarrassed chuckle, Royce smiled, “I’m afraid I didn’t pick up on much.”

“That’s fine,” Vivien shrugged, brushing off his concern with a smile. “I just want to spend some time with you.”

The sincerity in Vivien’s watercolor eyes made Royce’s reluctance melt away as he relented, “Alright. Do you want me to go tell them we want to go out on the lake?”

Vivien shook her head as she stood from the table, “That’s alright. I’ve got it.” She stepped around the end of the table and pressed a kiss to her boyfriend’s temple before muttering, “Feel free to steal my olives while I’m gone.”

“Why did you get olives if you didn’t want them?” Royce asked softly.

“Because you love olives,” Vivien replied with a shrug. Though Royce’s eyebrow remained raised, she brushed it off with a wave of her hand, pulled her tray of food closer to Royce, and said, “Don’t question it. Just take the olives and be happy.”

With a snicker, Royce nodded, glancing up at his girlfriend as she departed, “Thank you.”

Vivien turned back toward the table and gave a deep, overdramatic curtsy before giggling and continuing her mission toward her grandparents as Royce scooped olives from her plate onto his. Sauntering up to the table where her grandparents and aunts were eating with some of the older staff members, Vivien leaned down between Dawn and George and told them the plans she and Royce had agreed to. Dawn hastily scratched their names down on the list she’d placed in an empty space on the table before kissing her granddaughter on the cheek and telling her to get back to her food before it got cold.

After trays had been cleared away and everyone chose their respective activities for the afternoon, Vivien laced her fingers with Royce’s and the pair walked down to the beach with matching smiles as they conversed about anything and everything they could think of. By the time they had changed into their swimsuits and reached the shore, a small crowd had gathered, patiently awaiting their turn on the water. Vivien led Royce out onto the pier and looked out over the water for any sign of her grandfather’s boat. It wasn’t too often they took it out on the water now, but when they did, it guaranteed a day filled with fun and excitement.

The distant hum of a motor echoed through the beach as a boat flew through the water with precision. The hand-painted name on the side of the boat was barely visible, but Vivien knew the distinct design on the starboard side well enough to know that her Grandpa George had chosen to let his prized Aquaholic slice through the otherwise still waters of the lake. The boat approached the pier and Dawn was quick to lower a ramp from the side of the ship to the dock for the passengers to board.

Once they were onboard, Vivien took the chance to look around, eventually locking eyes with a pair of concerned, emerald eyes from across the boat. Vivien’s mouth fell open slightly as she stared in disbelief, but as she spotted Riley seated just two spots away, she rolled her eyes. Of course, she and Royce would choose to spend the day together doing the same activity Noah chose to showboat with. Royce’s grip on her hand tightened a fraction and, while it wasn’t typically something she worried about, Vivien turned to find him staring blankly at Noah. Noah smiled and waved in their direction, which Vivien returned. Royce gave a less energetic greeting before slouching back in his seat.

Vivien glanced back at Noah once Royce was distracted by the boat’s movement and the older boy shrugged, apologetically mouthing that he tried. Brushing him off with a small wave of her hand, Vivien leaned her head against Royce’s shoulder and tried to relax. Once they were far enough out in the water, Dawn asked who wanted to go first. Royce stayed in his place and, in turn, Vivien chose not to move as most everyone fought to go out on the water. One by one, more people left the boat, told they could either stay wherever they ended up in the water and they would be picked up later or they could swim to shore. As the population in the boat dwindled down to ten, then to seven, and eventually four, Noah stood from his seat, eager to impress Riley with his wakesurfing skills.

It didn’t take Vivien long to notice the older boy had Royce’s attention, but she also found a pair of hazel eyes locked on Noah’s form from across the boat. While she hoped Noah did something to impress Riley at least a little, she also hoped something happened to dissuade Royce from feeling like Vivien’s friend was trying to impress her instead. Noah pushed off into the water, quickly rising to his feet on the board and tossing the rope back to the boat as he maneuvered the waves behind the boat with ease. Whether he knew it or not, Noah had Riley’s full attention, the girl’s hazel eyes locked on his form as she fought the urge to smile. However, Vivien also knew he had the attention of a certain brunet who sat beside her, presumably wishing the older boy would end up in the water quicker than anyone else had.

Instead, Noah kept his balance and rode the spine of waves with ease. Eventually, Riley was told she could join Noah out on the water, and, to Vivien’s surprise, she seemed to jump at the chance. Her balance on the water was shaky and apprehensive, but she managed to stay upright for a few minutes before faltering and ending up taking a dive. Noah was quick to follow her, allowing himself to ride through the tail of the waves before falling back into the water. Hearing the faintest chuckle from behind her, Vivien turned to see Royce fighting a smirk as he stood, taking a board from the stack his girlfriend’s grandparents had set up.

Vivien sighed as she pushed herself to her feet; if this little interaction was anything to go by, they would be in for a rather… interesting week.

[sainztander]

there's something distinctly hilarious about people thinking that somehow having understeering automatically "makes a car slow" as if 1) people who drive understeering cars, like nando and prost, and to some extent seb and lewis (i think he's said he likes a 'planted rear') aren't capable of driving insanely quickly and 2) no it's not a trait of "midfield cars" to be understeering, engineers will develop to what they think is doable and will suit general engineering demands the best while not being impossible for the driver to manage.

every time i see some of those vaguely "technical" posts on here, i want to laugh. thrilling to know we have a wealth of engineers here who are sure to be the future of f1 and not people who are just commentating on things they understand extremely poorly. (every day that passes, i start to dislike chirlies more than my cfd simulations, which i thought was impossible. do some thorough research before commenting, and stop acting like the whole world is out to get charles or that it's a crime to refuse participating in the muretto's stupidity, thanks. he's not letting himself be defined by the worser moments of this season, stop making that your obsessive focus. and also: have some decency towards somebody who could've died twice already.)

i don't even want to add anything to this bc anon you said 👏 it 👏 all 👏 but i will anyway! so i guess it's just easier to blame anything and anyone for "making" charles lose a championship that, really, has been max's all along i'm not saying this from my high horse of nichilism or whatever, i got my heart broken as well, i was hoping for ferrari to win this just like any other ferrari fan but..... really there was no foul play, no random conspiracy or wasted resources or whatever they're still making up. they simply weren't ready. the team, the drivers, not even the car. like i said already (or, even better: like any technical article written by some actual engineering expert) the updates of the f1-75 worked just as planned. they kept their comfortable lead over mercedes (who was also becoming faster than the rest of the midfield) and battled it at the top with redbull. while i was thinking about your ask i kinda realized that we could summarize ferrari's gaps in performance with the streak of races between imola and monaco. so, in order: mistakes by the drivers, deficit in straight-line speed compared to the rb18, engine unreliability, the strategy team being tragically unprepared. all of these just repeated again and again thorough the season. because of the spectacularity of it everyone latched on monaco and blamed the management for "failing" charles, completely ignoring the more alarming fact that there's no race this season where the ferraris won (or could have won, if we wanna include monaco and hungary) without max having some kind of technical issue or having to start from the back. i went on a tangent there, i'm so sorry anon 😭 but about what you were actually talking about: yeah i would be surprised if they knew about driving styles at this point, since they've learnt the word "oversteering" as being a synonym for "fast". or if they could even entartain the idea of a driver adapting his style to their car (kinda what carlos did this year. but don't tell them ! it's all sainztander !). but still, they were also the same ones that mocked seb all thorough 2019 and 2020... so yeah. why i am even surprised by their antics. my poor problematic sexy f1-75, being trashed every week despite consistently taking poles and being the second fastest car on the track on sundays..... and that's simply because rbr came back from the summer break with the secret to indestructible tyres. but hey, explain tyre deg to them. or make them take a step back to compare ferrari with any other team on the grid. maybe then they'll realize there was never a step back. simply it's rbr that took so many step forwards.

[ladyluckqueen]

Ok you know what

We're gonna try again.

I was busy all day today, and now I'm laying in bed. I got a few minutes.

Here are the sketches from Sunday, Sept 6th.

We start of strong with a drawing that I really like. It's not so much vent art as it is angst art. You've all heard of the Hanahaki disease, a fictional disease of unrequited love? Well this has nothing to do with that. My idea when I first came up with Rosie was, what if flowers were part of you. They grew with you. She had flowers on her face, tiny ones, right over where her left eye would be. But as I started making twisted versions of these characters for INH, well... You saw my sketch from the 5th. Instead of flowers growing with you, the flowers became parasites. This is before she died.

We're going to ignore the fact that I don't know how to draw a mohawk.

Because I was in that angst mood, I drew Brock, getting his arm cut off, with a bloody bandage over his eyes.

You wanna know the funny thing about this story I'm working on? Blood is blue, like the sky and tears are red, like the color of yours and my blood. So technically, he's just crying.

And I got lazy in all the sketches and just shaded in the blood.

Whatever, you can't send me to inconsistency jail! I already live there!

I'm a bit scared to post this one.

This is Charlie. They are nonbinary. They're also a cyborg who is taken over by a sort of virus part way through chapter 3. I wanted to illustrate what the mesh between human and robot is. To do that, well... It involved Charlie being shirtless. And Charlie, well... Has breasts. (Well only one but whatever) I censored it and will be tagging according. If this triggers you, I am so sorry. Let me know if I can make it up to you or tag it a specific way.

(But I really like the glitch effect and their eye)

So I drew these things during the day, the latter 2 while in a call with my cousin. But before I went to bed, I decided to draw some happy things, to make me feel happier. Also so I could have drawn something happy

So I started off with CHARLES, the one and only! Drawing Stickmin is way fun. It's really easy and I love it. The face is one of my favorite things to draw, cause you draw so much emotion there, you know?

But Charles is our king. He's immortal and we love him. (VH did not exist.)

I censored this a bunch, mostly because I didn't want to get in trouble with my mom. And that's just talking about the language, Eli often wears a binder. (They are sometimes a potty mouth.) So here's Eli! (OC!Eli to be specific.) They're very happy to be a heckin mermaid.

That's it. This is the post I've been trying to get out for 2 days. The original had better explanations and was more cohesive. Y'all are stuck with this one now.

[annikaq-foodandfitness]

Meal plan review part 1: technical aspects

Alright! Finally starting this thing! I'm breaking it up into segments to make it more manageable, and in this first post I will go over the basics as well as my general impression of it.

First, here's the link to PopSugar's 2018 2 Week Clean Eating Plan:

https://www.popsugar.com/fitness/Clean-Eating-Plan-2018-44266788/amp

And here are some screenshots of what the daily menus look like:

The plan is supposed to be 1600 calories per day, which I just trusted as fact when I went through it, and it worked about as well as I expected for that calorie level in terms of weight loss (about 2 pounds over 2 weeks, maybe slightly less). That being said, I've calculated a few of the recipes that I wanted to repeat and some of them came out significantly different than the recipe page stated. There was also at least one instance where nutrition info for a leftovers dish was clearly copied wrong from the original recipe page - 1/3 of the sweet potato frittata with an orange had identical info to 2/3 of the frittata - and I'm a little skeptical, as well, of some of the protein counts on certain vegetarian meals. So perhaps calculate yourself if it's very important to you.

The plan is supposed to be about 50/20/30 carbs/protein/fat. It is dairy free, and there's a fully vegetarian version, although I did the omnivore version. Even in the omnivore version, a lot of the days are vegetarian. It's not specifically mentioned in their information, but I noticed there are no prepared grain foods - no bread or pasta, even whole grain varieties. All the starches are starchy vegetables, legumes, or grains that you cook up in a pot. It is *not* gluten free, but I imagine it wouldn't be difficult to swap wheat for quinoa/buckwheat/whatever.

In terms of cost, I definitely spent more than I normally do on food, but a lot of that was buying packages of things I didn't already have. Considering the amount of leftovers (some of it built into the plan by design to "keep eating clean after the plan"), it really wasn't unreasonable. They suggest buying from the bulk section so you can get only as much as you need, but I don't know of a store near me with a bulk section. The prep did take up a lot of time and dishes, even with some meals done in multiple servings to use later.

In terms of ease, organization, and tasty cooking, I noticed a big difference between week 1 and week 2. Week 1 was largely great. There were a couple of instances where the instructions seemed off: for the stuffed pepper, it took much longer than indicated to cook and I think microwaving the stuffing first would have cut down the oven time. With the turkey chili, it seemed like way too much liquid and probably the can of broth wasn't needed at all. But otherwise, everything made sense and seemed balanced across the week.

Week 2 it was as if a different dietician with very different tastes and sensibilities took over, and there were more practical hiccups. It started with cookies that called for egg whites beaten to stiff peaks - this is NOT easy to do and requires a lot of specific conditions you wouldn't think of if you haven't worked with egg white confectionery before. In general, I didn't appreciate the heavy reliance on egg whites this week, or at least getting them out of whole eggs instead of a carton, because what am I going to do with 8 yolks? The meals also weren't arranged for as much variety within each day; there was a day when I ate two apples and a day when 3 meals in a row included peanut butter. I ran out of white beans - 1 can wasn't enough to cover both the cod salad and the zoodle shrimp. Finally, I just didn't like the food as much.

All told, I'd be delighted to repeat week 1; I'd rather shy away from week 2. Fortunately, in terms of planning they are completely separate so you could do that if you wanted.

Last thing I would say about technical evaluation is that I would recommend doing this Sunday through Saturday. For some reason they imply that starting on a Monday would be the ideal way to do it, but the breakfasts of days 1, 7, 8, and 14 are specifically the ones that would be harder to prep ahead or make quickly, so I put them on weekends.

That's it for now. In the next post, I will talk about what my personal takeaways from the plan were.