The Sheriff's Daughter

Prologue

"Name?"

"Charlie," A brunette girl answers. She stands about 5'4" with brown hair that sits at just below her shoulders. A duffel bag is slung over her shoulder and she wears a tie-dye T-shirt with jean shorts.

"Charlie Long?" A counselor with wavy brown hair asks, not looking up from his clipboard with a long list of names.

"Charlie Goode," She corrects him. He looks up.

"Oh, Charlotte! My bad," He answers with a stupid grin. The boy has dimples and wears a whistle around his neck.

"It's Charlie. Don't call me that, Kurt," She spits with a glare. He doesn't even notice as he looks back down at his clipboard.

"Cabin Five. We're meeting at the Mess Hall so don't spend too much time putting your stuff away. Just find your cabin and drop your stuff off, okay?" He instructs. Charlie rolls her eyes.

"Aye-Aye Captain," She answers, giving a half-assed salute. She leaves the line as the boy behind her goes to get his cabin assignment next.

"Why's your sister being a bitch?" Kurt, the counselor, asks the boy, one of Charlie's older brothers, Will.

"Heard that, douchebag!" Charlie exclaims as she continues to walk away. She lifts her left hand over her head, flipping Kurt off. Other campers begin to sneer and laugh as she continues walking. Her oldest brother, Nick, steps in front of her, his arms crossed.

"Really?"

"What?" Charlie asks, playing innocent.

"You need to listen to the other counselors," Nick orders.

"I am. I'm gonna go to my stupid cabin and then to the stupid Mess Hall."

"Behave yourself," he instructs. The older boy also wears a whistle around his neck, signaling that he is a counselor and not a camper.

"You're not my dad," Charlie pushes past him. Nick sighs. He's taken a step up in the Goode household since their dad died a year ago. Charlie's been having an especially hard time since he passed. She hates that Nick is basically getting to order her around. It's even worse now that she's been shipped off to Camp Nightwing for the summer where she can't even be alone.

She trudges through the trail to find her cabin. She finally arrives at Cabin Five and walks in. There are six beds. Two on the floor and two bunk beds. Charlie looks around, realizing she must be the first one to arrive. She puts her duffel bag on the bed in the middle on the floor. She knows the bunk beds will be super creaky and she doesn't want to have to deal with that.

Charlie sighs and sits down on the bed, not wanting to go to the Mess Hall. She doesn't want to do anything as a matter of fact. She's been distant with her friends since her dad died and none of them are here anyway. She was planning on a summer inside, away from everyone, but her mother thought it would be good for her to help deal with the grief. The door swings open and a redheaded girl walks in. One that Charlie doesn't recognize.

"Oh, hey, I'm Charlie," She introduces herself. She stands up to gives an awkward wave.

"I'm Ziggy," The girl answers with a slight smile, "This bed taken?"

"Nope, all yours," Charlie answers. Ziggy smiles and throws her bag on the bed next to Charlie's.

"Fuck the bunk beds, right?" Ziggy jokes. Charlie chuckles lightly.

"Yeah. We had the same idea."

"Where's everyone else?" Ziggy asks.

"Not here yet. It's just you and me right now," She answers, "What grade are you in? I've never seen you before."

"A sophomore, but you probably don't know me 'cause I'm from Shadyside," Ziggy sighs.

"Oh, that's why I don't recognize you. I'm——"

"I know. You're from Sunnyvale. You're the Sheriff's daughter," Ziggy cuts her off suddenly. Her demeanor changes and she no longer smiles. She has a look in her eyes but Charlie can't tell if it's disgust or jealousy.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Don't you guys, like, hate us Shadysiders?"

Charlie furrows her eyebrows, "Uh, I don't. I don't care about the school rivalry. I think it's stupid. And what does me being the Sheriff's daughter have to do with anything? He's dead you know?"

Ziggy's expression changes at Charlie's tone. She didn't mean to bring up her dead father. She also wasn't expecting Charlie to be so nice. Anyone that Ziggy has ever interacted with from Sunnyvale looks at her with a look of disgust, all because of where she lives.

"I know, I didn't mean it like that. My... family doesn't have a good history with the Sheriff's office, that's all," Ziggy pauses, "I'm sorry. Usually, people don't like me right off the bat, just because I live in Shadyside."

Charlie shrugs, "I don't care. I don't even wanna be here to be honest."

Ziggy scoffs and smiles, "Me too."

"Really?"

"Yeah, my mom sent me here with my older sister so she wouldn't have to take care of me this summer," Ziggy explains.

"My mom did the same thing," Charlie sighs as she looks down, "She thought it would be good for me to like... get over my dad or whatever."

"Hey, at least we're in this thing together, right? We can be miserable together?" Ziggy tries to lighten up the mood. Charlie looks up and gives a slight smile.

"Ziggy!" A girl knocks loudly on the cabin door. She peers through the window, "Come on!"

"Oh my god!" Ziggy complains loudly, "That's my sister, Cindy. She's making me go to the Mess Hall right away so I can try to 'make friends'."

Charlie stands up and sighs, "I might as well come with."

Ziggy opens the door and steps out. Her older sister is about the same height as her, with shorter, brown curly hair that sits at her shoulders. Ziggy's long redhead hair stretches to the middle of her back.

"Hi, I'm Cindy. I'm a counselor this year, it's nice to meet you," Cindy enthusiastically holds her hand out to shake Charlie's.

"Hi, I'm Charlie. It's nice to meet you too," She nervously shakes the older girl's hand. She walks next to the two siblings in silence. More kids walk around camp now, holding bags and suitcases while looking for their cabins.

When the girls arrive in the Mess Hall, there are a few other campers sitting inside at the tables. A couple of counselors await the arrival of the campers as well, including Charlie's brother. He walks over at the sight of Charlie with Cindy.

"Is she in trouble?" He asks urgently. Cindy gives him a confused expression before the puzzle pieces align themselves in her head. She turns.

"This is Charlotte?" Cindy asks.

"Charlotte?" Ziggy asks. Charlie's face turns red. Nick's been working as a counselor for three years already and whenever he mentions Charlie, he uses her full name. Charlie didn't mind her full name before her father died. Now, she doesn't want to be called Charlotte because her father is the one who named her.

"It's Charlie!" She exclaims, "And no, Nick. For your information, I'm not in trouble. I was just walking over here. Is that a problem?"

Cindy and Ziggy don't say anything, they just look to Nick to see how he responds. He thinks carefully before speaking.

"No. I was just seeing how you were settling in," He lies. Charlie crosses her arms over her chest.

"Sure," She scoffs before walking away. Ziggy follows her to a picnic table.

"Is that your real name?"

"Yes, but don't call me that, okay?" Charlie says very aggressively. Ziggy takes a breath and nods.

"Wanna go do something fun?" She proposes after a moment of silence.

Charlie begins to settle down, "Like what?"

"I don't know, but I have an air horn in my bag," The redhead smirks. Charlie smiles.

"I'm in."