---

"TOMORROW?!" Ava was in complete shock. She had to go to a summer camp tomorrow.

"Why can't you tell us this stuff earlier? Why last minute?" she demanded.

"Well, you guys just got here," Fredrick replied with a sigh.

"But still..." Ava grumbled, though she knew Fredrick was right—they had just arrived yesterday.

Ava hurried to pack her things. She had just moved to this new town and had already endured constant humiliation from creeps and strangers (handsome, she hated to admit). And now this? What worse could happen? She was about to find out.

"You want some help?" asked Emily, peeping through the door.

"Nothing... oh, WAIT! Can I please borrow your chain? I promise I will give it back!" Ava pleaded.

"No way."

"Oh, come on! I am going to summer camp on your behalf too!" Ava snorted.

"Fine. But if something happens to it..." Emily drew an imaginary line around her neck. "You're dead," she whispered. "After all, I have to keep my popularity."

Ava rolled her eyes. Emily had always been the popular girl in her old high school. She was always pretty and smart for her age. Maybe that was why their parents liked Emily more than her.

---

Meanwhile, in the house opposite, Liam was playing video games in his room when suddenly his mom barged in.

"Liam, it's your dad!" she said in an excited squeak, trying to hand over the phone.

Liam rolled his eyes and took the phone. "Yeah, Dad," he said hesitantly.

"Liam! My next football star!" boomed the deep voice on the other end.

"Mmm," Liam hummed. He wasn't interested in talking to his dad; he hated him after witnessing something he shouldn't have seen.

His dad kept talking about his own football glory days and how he saw the same flame in Liam's eyes. Suddenly, his father's tone grew serious.

"Liam, I want to talk to you about something serious," he said. "Your teacher called me about your marks. She says you're slacking off in class, and many of your teachers have recommended you volunteer at a summer camp to learn respect."

Liam rolled his eyes. Look after little kids? He wasn't interested at all. But right now, he had no choice—either that or get no recommendations from his teachers for universities.

"Liam, you need recommendation letters from teachers if you want to get into business schools," his father added.

Liam frowned. Who said he wanted to go to business school? He had other dreams. But for now, his main goal was to satisfy his father for the funding. He would do whatever he said until he turned 18 and had enough in his bank account.

So he agreed and hung up the phone.

His mom cautiously asked, "You haven't told your father, have you?"

"What am I supposed to tell him?" he asked, a little confused.

His mother just replied with, "Nothing," and told him to pack his bags and left. But her eyes said something else.

---

Ava couldn't sleep the whole night. She always had a hard time adjusting to new things, especially beds. She could hear every footstep, which made her tense.

"Sh*t," she mumbled. What the hell was that sound? She wanted to get up and check but was too lazy and scared to do so.

The next day, Ava woke up looking like a zombie. Emily was screaming at her about how late she was going to be, and blah blah. Ava didn't listen to a single word.

May, their mom, had decided to drive Ava to the camp since she was going the same way for a business trip.

During the drive, it was awkwardly silent. Nobody spoke; it was too quiet and uncomfortable. Nineties music played on the radio, and Ava tapped her feet to the beat.

Ava was feeling sleepy—too sleepy. She hadn't gotten much rest the night before because of the noise and Emily screaming at her first thing in the morning. She kept dozing off in the car.

Finally, she arrived at her destination. She was amused to see the camp was located deep in the middle of a forest. Normally, the camps she attended for extra marks (she was an average student) were at the forest's edge, never deep inside.

And it seemed there were many volunteers.

"Have fun!" May said in a low voice. Ava couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong. Was it something about her mother?

She was so distracted by her thoughts that she didn't realize she had bumped into a girl's back, who looked somewhat familiar.

"Sorry," she squeaked in embarrassment, her face already red.

"Well, well, well, look who it is," the girl said, turning to face her. Before Ava could figure out who it was, she realized she didn't care for the voice now.

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