Avamia

I close my notepad as the bus comes to a halt at South-lake.  A few minutes later, I'm standing in the hot sun waiting for my luggage to be unpacked.

The curse of being one of the first to get on the bus.

"Dios mío (my goodness)" I say under my breath.  I thought that the interior of the bus was hot, but outside feels even worse.

Finally, with bags in hand, I follow the crowd of teens walking toward a large building surrounded by outdoor tables with closed, bright red umbrellas. 

My stomach grumbles loudly. I could really use some food right now.

I follow the directions of the camp counselors in bright orange shirts as they guide us down the well-worn path.  As I step into the campfire clearing, I don't bother looking for any familiar faces,  but I spend a few minutes searching for a good wooden bench that isn't too dirty.

My stomach grumbles again as I sit down.  I hope these speeches are really quick, or they bring us some food soon.

A few minutes later, a hush falls over the crowd as the carrot orange shirts tell the remaining noise makers to settle down.  I lean back against the tree just as I see someone in a suit rush past me.

"Hey guys!" he yells, jumping off the last step before facing the crowd, "How are y'all doin' today?"

The whole crowd grumbles, including myself. I think we're all tired, hungry, sweaty, and stinky from the long bus ride.

"Okay" he smiles, undeterred by our response, or lack there of, "Well, welcome to summer. I'm sure all of you are hungry, tired, and would rather go inside than sit out here in the heat, but I have a few things to go over, so I'll keep this quick."

"I know that some of you may think I'm Patrick, a dear friend of mine, and I'm sorry to disappoint you, but I'm actually Brendon.  My official title is 'South-Lake camp regional head', but as you will find out, I'm not as stuffy as that title sounds. I'm mainly here to make sure to have a great time with you guys.  I went to this same camp when I was your age, and I only want to make it better than when I was here.  So I'm practically another camp counselor, only I don't have to wear the ugly, bright orange shirts."

The other counselors nod along, watching the bouncing ball of energy walk to the other side of the circle.  Its just amazing how he hasn't broken into a sweat yet in this weather, all while wearing a suit.

"Now, I assume that you all read the permission slip and rules, so I won't repeat them to you. And if you haven't, read them tonight before lights out.  Basically, you won't get in trouble if you don't make trouble - simple as that.  Neither you, or I, want to spend our time contacting your parents and Patrick, who is already busy enough making sure that everything at all the camps goes smoothly. "

Brendon pauses, stepping to the side, "Any questions?"

All that is heard is the rustle of the leaves in the trees above.

"Good, that's how I like it" he says, gesturing to a boy in an orange shirt, "If you do, you can ask me, Cameron, or any of the other counselors."

He walks off, giving the boy he pointed to a quick pat on the back as he walks to the center of the crowd.

"Hello everyone!" he yells, trying to match Brendon's energy, "How are y'all doing?"

Again the crowd grumbles.

"Jessie, I don't think these kids are hungry enough" he whispers to a blue haired girl off to the side before turning to face us again, "I said, how are y'all doin'?!"

A few cheers erupt from the group.

"I guess that means more food for us" he says to all the counselors before turning to face us again, "I'm gonna ask this one more time. How are y'all doin'!?!"

A loud cheer is heard from a majority of the crowd.

The boy smiles, "Okay, its good to see you guys are still alive.  Since, Brendon took almost all the time up, I'm going to keep this really short so we can all get something to eat.  I'm Cameron, your head camp counselor, and Jessie, the girl over there with the blue hair, is the assistant head. If you have any questions about what we do, you can ask us later, but I can already tell that at least half of you aren't even listening to me right now.  Getting straight to the point - you can all leave your bags where they are now. This week is the only week you will have assigned seating. Your groups are posted on the door as you walk in and at the tables themselves. The people you will be sitting with are the same people you will share a cabin with and will be spending a lot of time around for these next few months, so this is the perfect time to start to get to know those people. If you have any food restrictions, just tell the kitchen staff. If there is enough food for seconds, we will let tables go up individually."

He slowly stops pacing, drawing out the antagonizing wait for food, "Any questions?"

Almost every person vigorously shakes their head 'no'.

"Alright then" he grins, "go eat!"

💠

Hey guys!

I know this is one of my shorter chapters, but I really wanted to get something out to you guys before the end of this year.

I can't believe 2k16 is almost over!!!

And let's have a celebration for some new characters...

I pictured Brendon as obviously Brendon Urie...

and

I pictured Cameron as Cameron Boyer from this little (but slowly getting bigger :) LA band called Weathers.

(They are set to release their first album early 2017 - but they already have two songs out if you wanna take a listen... their official website is in the external link.)

So if you don't know who Cameron is, I put some pictures below for ya...

Happy Holidays!!!!