Camp Criminal (SFW)

Chapter 18

(September 23)
It's been getting colder lately. The fall solstice happened recently, so it makes sense. I'm not ready for winter...

Ana clears her throat as she sets down our food. We all look at her. She stands there a moment.

"...want to hear a secret?" She asks. What?? That was sudden.

"Yeah...?" I ask.

She looks around before leaning in. She whispers. "It's someone's birthday today... Someone with buns in their hair... Someone who is great at cleaning..."

"Tamiyo??" I exclaim.

"Shh!!!" She shushes me. She looks around again. I see Yuuma leaning against the wall as he watches this charade. "You guessed right... but keep it a secret... we're going to call her here and surprise her... can you guys help me??"

"Say the word!!" I say. The others nod.

Ana explains that once Tamiyo is here, she'll bring out the cake and we have to sing to her. We have hats to put on when we start singing. We have to act natural until everything begins. We agree to the plan.

Yuuma calls her in like he has something to tell her. We stay seated and hold our hats under the table. Ana then comes out with a cake and its candles lit. We stand up, put our hats on, and begin singing to Tamiyo. She's utterly surprised and stares at us with wide eyes. Her eyes almost seem to widen when she sees the cake.

"Happy birthday, Tamiyo!!" We all exclaim.

"W...Wow..." She says.

"Happy birthday, I'm glad you wanted to be a part of my dream." Yuuma says. "We're happy to have you here with us."

"Thank you, everyone... I'm glad I was able to meet you all." Tamiyo says. She smiles and it's more beautiful than I could have ever imagined. I can't help but smile too.

We cut the cake and eat. Tamiyo seems less nervous and is in higher spirits. Birthdays are really great. They can bring people together and put smiles on everyone's faces. I'm excited to spend even more birthdays together with everyone here.

Tamiyo goes back to work when we're done. Yuuma says she can have the day off, but she insists. She says she likes her job more than anything in the world. I wonder if I can find something I enjoy doing... So I wouldn't have to resort to theft...

For the rest of the day, everyone is in higher spirits. It's fun to start our day with a party.

Then the week goes by. A new month comes around the corner. With it, it brings more conflict. But hasn't the conflict so far brought us all closer together? I wonder what'll happen this time...?

(October 1)
Yuuma comes over to us. He hands Hisashi a letter. Hisashi takes it and looks at it. His smile gets fonder. He opens it up and reads it to himself. Yuuma takes his leave.

"Who's it from??" I ask.

Hisashi pauses. He folds it back up and smiles with his eyes. "From my mom."

"Oh?? What'd she say??"

"Just checking in. I didn't ask her to send letters, so I certainly wasn't expecting this. But I'm happy to hear from her." He explains. He puts the letter aside. "I'll have to figure out how to reply."

"Tell her I say hi!" I beam. Once the camp ends, I know for sure I want to meet his mom first.

"I will." Hisashi continues to smile.

I notice Kentaro looking at Hisashi strangely but don't think anything of it. The day continues on after that as normal.

For the past week, I've checked in on Matsu and had some fun again. Since Hisashi is in the same cabin as him, when I went to get Matsu, Hisashi insisted I have some fun with him too. We planned to do it today. I feel a bit bad that I can't show everyone love at the same time... Occasionally I've touched Gin in the bathroom since his eyes lured me in. I did it with Kentaro recently so we haven't done it again. But I feel like I'm neglecting everyone else if I pay more attention to someone specific.