My messenger bag was packed to its limit. Harper says that I could fit a small child in the thing, but it always seems too small. Of course, I also require a lot of stuff. Especially when I'm going to be a counselor at summer camp, which I'm leaving to go to in about fifteen minutes. Packing last minute is one of my many flaws. My best friend Letti told me once that if you pack last minute then you wouldn't be bored, sitting around while waiting to go. Maybe that wasn't the best advice, but I took it to heart.

" You ready yet?" Harper asks, watching me struggle with my bag.

" Not quite," I grunt, shoving a water bottle into a side pocket.

Harper had packed all her things in an orderly manner. She has a small backpack with separate little bags inside, filled with the necessities. I never got the point of putting bags in bags, so I just shoved everything in, hoping I could find what I'm looking for when the time comes.

" Well hurry." Harper orders.

" No." I retort. Of course, I'm not going to listen to her, the little boss. (If you have an older sister you know how it is).

After fifteen minutes Harper finally just walks out the door telling me she'll meet me in the car. She knows I will come when she does that. I yell goodbye to my Mom, say a quick prayer that I have everything, and head out the door.

                                                                        ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The first two days of summer camp are what we call counselor training. Though in truth we only have a few classes and the rest we spend just hanging with the other counselors. This is okay because it's good to break the ice with the people who will be your only mental support for the next month.

    I'm sitting in the empty auditorium, feeling antsy. Harper and I arrived way too early as always and we are waiting on Ava and all the other counselors to show up. Amazingly, we got into the building, the doors were unlocked, which never happens. So here we are, bored out of our minds. I look over at Harper who is scrolling through Instagram. She shows me some random posts once in a while saying, " Look! Lena went to the beach yesterday!" Or, " Ooooohhhh look at this Mustang!" I just sit and read a book, trying to ignore all her comments. It's so annoying when people annoy me when I'm just trying to read. Sheesh. Even though the book I'm currently reading is sorta boring. I over-estimated it.

    A door opens. Both Harper and I look up at the same time. Holy Smokes. It's Will. He's walking casually down the hallway. Harper throws me an amused grin and stands up. " Hey Will! Welcome to our bored-out-of-our-minds party." She greets. If I was close enough I would give her a good jab in the ribs. What kind of a greeting was that?  But Will doesn't mind. He just chuckles.

    " Looks exciting." His hands are shoved into the pockets of his grey sweat pants. Why did he have to wear sweat pants?

    " It's not that exciting, we got here way too early and have been waiting for the past twenty minutes," I explain, shifting in my chair uncomfortably. This was so awkward. " So... why are you here early," I ask.

    " Wanted to make a good impression." He replies.

    " Well, no need to arrive early here, Ava comes late almost every time," Harper says, smiling.

    There's an awkward silence. Will sits on the edge of one of the cushioned chairs, his elbows propped on his knees, fiddling with his fingers. Thankfully, Lena saves us from more awkwardness by bursting through the front doors and running inside the auditorium at a high rate of speed. " Hey, guys! How's it going?"

    " We are bored. How are you?" I answer, getting up to hug her.

    " I'm good, but how are y'all bored with this guy in the room?" She shoves Will's shoulder playfully. I raise my eyebrows. I guess Lena and Will had become pretty good friends in the past few weeks.

    " Didn't know I was so boring," Will says laughing. His laugh is not deep like his voice, it's high and sounds like a hyena. It's contagious, and despite myself, I laugh too.

    Just during our short conversation, several other counselors had straggled in. Of course, I get distracted, hugging all of my friends as they come in. It's weird, every time theater people see each other they act as if they're long-lost friends. That's how we're acting right now. Will sits and watches us with a curious expression on his face. I'd think he would know how we actors create such a tight bond. But apparently not. Maybe acting in movies is different. If it is, I pity him. Trying to be nice, I introduce one of the guys to him. " Hey Will, this is Nat, I'm pretty sure you two will get along since your both so crazy." I joke, poking Nat in the side. Nat laughs and shakes Will's hand warmly. They immediately hit it off, and I'm proud of myself for finding Will a friend. Even if it is Nat. Don't get me wrong, Nat is amazing, he just gets on my nerves sometimes.

    I lose track of time and soon, Ava has arrived and is getting up on the stage to start the first class. " Hey, guys! How are ya?" She's chipper. That's a good sign. A happy director means happy everyone.

    We all respond, " good!" Or, " amazing!".

    " Excited for the first week of camp?" We all cheer at her question. The first week of camp we were always pumped. " Good! Then let's get into it!"

    For the next two hours, we are trained in the basics of directing a scene. Ava teaches us how to block an entire one-act and teach your actors character work. I struggle a bit with learning how to block an entire scene, but after an hour of scribbling notes and asking about a thousand questions, I get it. Character work is a breeze. I love teaching my students how to express what their character is feeling.

    Once in a while, I glance at Will. He is all in on what Ava is saying. I suppose it's easy for him since he's so professional.

    After the two hours, we have an hour of free time in which we are supposed to 'mingle' with our fellow counselors. It's not hard because I know all of them pretty well. Except for Will. And I'm not so certain if I want to know him well. The past two weeks we texted twice. Thankfully, he only wanted to know some stuff about the camps. But other than that and the phone calls we had that one night after the show, we hadn't communicated much.

    " First class go well?" One of my friends, Elizabeth, asks.

    " Yep, except for blocking, never did great on that," I answer.

    " I heard you and that famous actor guy are pretty tight." She says looking mischievous.

    " Hah. We aren't." I press my lips into a thin line and stare at the floor.

    " Why not?" She prods.

    " He's annoying." I look over at him, he's laughing with Nat and a few other guys. Probably over some dumb, totally inappropriate joke. I think.

    " Looks fine to me." Elizabeth shrugs. She ends the conversation there and walks over to Insa, our costume manager, and starts chatting with her.

                                                               ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

    The day passes quickly. The classes are long and tedious but I learn a lot from them. Every two hours we take an hour break, often we play improv games. I learn that Will is surprisingly good at improv. We talk once in a great while. The only times I talk to him are this morning and once during a game. He and I are on the stage. We are both given a random prop and have to begin a scene, using the props. He has a long cane, and I have a fake ax. When Ava says," Go." We begin.

    " Finally, we meet again," Will says in a deep throaty voice, circling me and brandishing his cane like a sword.

    " It's been years... wish we could have kept it that way." I retort. My hands grip the ax and I point it in his direction.

    We go on like this for a minute or two. Everyone laughs when Will takes a lunge at me with his cane and I feign being hit, falling to the ground with a groan. Ava says, " Stop." And our little scene is over. Will grins at me as he walks off the stage, his cane slung over his shoulder. I smile back. I smile back. Whoa Skye, what happened to you, stop grinning at him like a nut job. I silently scold myself.

    But it's weird. I want to stay distant and angry at Will. But strangely enough, my instincts forbid it. Maybe Will isn't that bad.

Authors note
Hello all!
Thanks for almost 100 reads!
Hope you like this longer chapter!
                             -heavengrace55