Top Bunk

DAY 21

El was previously reassured by the thought of spending an entire day competing in an activity against a Woods cabin to keep everything on her mind well, off her mind. Of course this isn't the case, seeing as El is forced to instead spend her entire day practicing some musical number with Grace breathing down her neck so it's perfect.

"We've chosen a theme for the songs we're singing today," Grace says, gesturing to the other counselors flanking her, Sky, Mari, and Louise. El raises her eyebrows in surprise and peers at Grace from beside Sky. She didn't choose a theme.

Grace ignores her. (El tries to be surprised at this but she ends up supremely unimpressed.) "And that theme is," Grace pauses for dramatic effect, "Throwback."

Oh no.

A giddy air falls upon all the Ashes at the prospect of singing old songs. El hears familiar names - The Beatles, N'Sync, Lionel Richie, Madonna, Abba, among others.

"Exciting, isn't it?" There's a kind of spark to Grace's voice; a spark El hasn't heard for a day (granted, that isn't a long time but it felt like it). She sounds excited and it's very likely she is, with her creative juices flowing and all that. Grace loves the stage and every week is another opportunity to show it.

Then the spark is gone and her tone is grave. "You better make sure we win this, okay? We don't want the Woods to win, right?"

The Ashes cry like an army would before battle.

Grace grins, baring her teeth. "That's it."

"So," El says to Cabin A once Grace lets everyone get started on practicing, "have you decided what song we're doing?"

"Yes!" Laura says giddily. El recalls she was the one who suggested they sing Mean for the first Music Jam, and that went extremely well. (El herself may have chosen The Circle of Life...no regrets.) "We were thinking - "

"You were thinking," Bianca says under her breath.

Laura elbows her. "We were thinking Rebel Girl by Bikini Kill."

"And why that song?" El smiles a bit. "That's a bit obscure." She, however, knows the song by heart because, well, she probably knows every female-empowering song by heart.

"She wants to slay the patriarchy," Brittany says. The glint in her eye is scarily similar to Grace's when she's determined. (El doesn't think about how that determined look led to something that she refuses to think about. Why is she even thinking about it? What even is thinking?)

"So do I," El agrees. "Let's slay the patriarchy."

"What's this I hear about slaying the patriarchy?" Grace has her kid-voice (higher pitched, more jolly, slightly less fuck-it) on when she interrupts Cabin A's discussion. "Have you chosen a song?"

"We have indeed." If El sounds dry, that isn't her fault.

"What's the song?" Grace addresses Cabin A and it gets on El's nerves.

Laura tells her. Grace's eyebrows shoot up her forehead. "Th-that's quite risky, isn't it?" This means Grace is doubting Cabin A's abilities to pull off the song and is very worried that they'll lose again because of this.

El smirks. "We can do it though, right girls?"

"Yeah!" Cabin A proclaim.

"The song would probably open some eyes, too," El says. "Maybe a particular counselor will realize how wrong they are about this sort of thing. That's the plan, anyway." Maybe she's trying to spite Grace.