You're Already Mine

Chapter Fifteen

Mr. Parker claps his hands twice. The courtyard is suddenly quiet.

"Thank you. Now, I'm glad you're all settling into North Coast, so to give everyone the chance to explore the camp, we've set up a scavenger hunt."

Murmurs erupt from the crowd, spreading like veins of lightning.

"Settle down, please. Your groups will be with your cabin mates and the counselors staying in your cabin. Please, find them now."

I'm near the back right edge of the crowd with Lucas and Clover. The Whitlock brothers shove through the heaving mass of bodies, and Cheyenne and Kylie squeeze in behind us with the Hendrix sisters in tow. Around us, teenagers are calling Marco Polo to find their cabin mates, and Ms. Kendra speed-walks toward our group from the stage. A few minutes later, the crowd settles down as we wait for further instructions.

"Your cabin counselors should have a sheet of clues, along with the answers and a map of the camp. Your goal is to find a jar of real gold coins and gems."

It's only then that I realize the camp kind of has a mythical vibe to it. There are dragon totems on the stage, with red curtains and a sloped roof like a house. And there are little fairy gardens where you expect them the least, paired with lamp posts that are decorated in fairy lights and rose wreaths. I remember that in each of the cabin bedrooms was a painting of a sleeping dragon.

I share a grin with my cabin mates and Ms. Kendra. This is right up my alley.

"Let the chaos begin!" Mr. Parker calls.

Around us, people are shoving and shuffling again, talking loudly, and trying to decipher the first clue.

"One more thing," Mr. Parker shouts. The crowd quiets down. "You can combine groups if you'd like."

At that remark, now there's even more shuffling and shoving in the crowd. Our group stays put, but soon a few other kids decide to join us. There's a gothy girl with long pink hair and pale skin, along with an e-person with short red dyed hair and lots of makeup, and a boy who looks pretty nerdy, with his gray hoodie, glasses, freckles, and messy short hair.

"I'm Malachai," the person with red hair says in a genderless voice. "And this is Maeve"- they point to the girl with pink hair-"and Jupiter." They finish by gesturing to the boy with glasses and freckles. Malachai looks at us, and I realize we've got to introduce ourselves, too, so I introduce them to the group.

During the scavenger hunt, I learn more about my cabin mates and new friends. Malachai is a gangly boy who loves all things fantasy- dragons, warriors, etc- art, adventuring, and writing. Jupiter's ideal day is curled up by the fire reading a good book, but I guess they're friends because Jupiter likes fantasy stuff too. Maeve, on the other hand, is, like I said, a gothic girl. She loves skateboarding and graffiti brick walls and has older cousins that are part of a biker gang.

We split up into groups of three, so I end up with Maeve and Cheyenne. I want to go with Clover, but she seems to enjoy herself with Lucas and Jupiter, so I leave them be. Malachai and the Whitlock brothers are a trio, and so are Kylie and the Hendrix sisters.

Maeve leads me and Cheyenne through the trees, and we decide to play Would You Rather to keep things interesting.

"I'll go first," Cheyenne says. "Would you rather go on a romantic hot air balloon ride, or have a candlelit dinner on a private beach?"

"With someone else, or by yourself?" Maeve asks.

"Either one."

"I'd rather have a candlelit dinner," I say, and Maeve agrees with me. "My turn. Would you rather be able to fluently speak every language or be able to communicate with animals?"