Restless

The Girl Who Camped

Something that we did everyday that week was go to the swimming pool. This was also when you got to use the shower because the shower house was how you got into the pool. Swimming might sound really awesome when it's hot and you want to relax, but it wasn't so fun for me. In Girl Scouts, you always have to take the swimming test, and you get a colored band on you wrist depending on how well you do. Basically, it says whether you can go in the deep end or not.

I can swim. Let me clarify that right now. But, I don't have certain skills that they deemed necessary for the deep end. I didn't even make it past the first zone of three. We were told to swim back and forth a few times; I forget how many exactly. I never heard them say that your feet couldn't touch the bottom. So, I was confined to the first zone from the start. Kendall got to go to the third because she can swim laps without touching, tread water for so long, and float on her back for however long.

It was totally unfair. I even promised I wouldn't go drowning on them if they would just let me go in the deep end. But, no. I was stuck in the first zone with all of the dead spiders at the bottom of the pool. If that sounds creepy or gross, let me straight up tell you, it was creepy and gross.

One cool thing about the pool though was that it was the only time we heard music all week. Every time without fail, we heard a song that was peaking in popularity for the moment: Cooler Than Me. I liked it, so of course I would sing along, but I remember that Kendall wa sick of it. There's one point in the song where Mike Posner says, "When your steps make that much noise-Sh." So, naturally, being the annoying person that I can be, I obnoxiously shushed Kendall whenever that part came. That's what made her sick of it. That, and it was overplayed.

Since we got our pool time around ten in the morning, that meant we had to shower when we were done, so we were also stuck with an awkward showering time. I mean, who showers at about eleven in the morning. It was weird. Ugh. Yeah. Nope.

One thing that will forever be ingrained in my memory is what happened one time when changing. There was a simple, open room in the shower house for changing into your clothes. For some reason I still don't know today, you weren't allowed to change in the shower stall. I say stall, but each shower just had a curtain. Anyways, Kendall and I always held up a towel for each other so that we could each change in semi privacy from the other girls. Some people tried to wrap a towel around themselves while they changed, and others didn't really care.

One of the days, Kendall and I were talking with another girl as we went to the changing room. As we were talking about who knows what, the girl took off her outer, surfer type shirt that she wore over her swimsuit to reveal her tankini top. Kendall very kindly said something along the lines of, "Oh why don't you just wear your swimsuit top? It's super cute." I probably smiled and agreed really stupidly, but point being, the girl said something like, "Oh, it's not very modest."

Kendall and I were going to say something else when she then proceeded to take off her tankini top, and we were scarred with the image of her boobs. Looking back, it probably wasn't that horrible, but in the moment, we were absolutely mortified. A simple conversation was murdered with the exposure of the forbidden breast tissue of that random camper.

I think I should mention something really interesting about our week at camp. Kendall and I were pretty much the most popular girls at camp. Now, I'm not saying this as an exagerration or to sound cool in any way. You all are just people on the internet. I'm not trying to impress you, only entertain. And this collection of whatever I decide to write is mostly fact. So, yes, we were the popular girls, and I still to this day believe it was because of our wands.

We were the only ones who made wands before coming to camp, so everyone thought ours looked really cool, especially compared to the ones we made at camp with sticks and glitter. Ours were professional and beautiful, and they had phoenix feathers. Cannot forget the phoenix feathers. So, yeah it was pretty awesome.

Also, I guess I should tell you that we all went by code names because one of the camp rules was that you can't share your real name because it's "unsafe." We all shared our real names. But, I went by Polka Dot, and Kendall was Dumbledore, or Dumby for short. I'm pretty sure I still have email addresses of those girls I met that summer, all under their code names. Maybe I'll randomly email them...

Okay let's see. One night out of our week, we slept under the stars. In theory, it sound slovely and beautiful, and it was. But it was also kind of terrifying. We laid out our tarps on the ground and put our sleeping bags and quilts on top then slid inside. I was sure to douse myself in bug spray beforehand. I covered every part of my body with either my sleeping bag or blanket. I did not want bug bites, and I thought I took every precaution to not get any.

I woke up the next morning with more than twenty bug bites on one hand. It had stuck out from under my pillow while I was sleeping. It was just as awful as I''m sure you're imagining it to be. I'm pretty sure I wore an oven mit when I got home.

Alright, I'm running out of things, so I'll wrap up.

It was the first or second night of camp, and we were all gathering in the same field that we would spend the night in. Kendall was feeling sick. I was scared out of my mind. I thought she was going to have to go home, and I would have to spend this long awaited weekend without the comfort of my friend. She dry heaved by a tree even. She was dehydrated though, so she was okay. It was absolutely terrifying for me though.

At the gathering full of music and shenanigans, the only male worker at the camp went to the front to perform, and I'll admit, Kendall and I thought he was cute. But, as prepubescent girls, we found almost every boy cute.

He went up with his guitar and sat on a chair. Then, he looked out at all of us and spoke into a microphone, "I'm gonna sing a song for you all tonight. It's about when I went to Boy Scout camp. There was this moment when we were standing by the lake, and this eagle came soaring across the lake, right over the water at sunset. It was so beautiful, and I just, I wrote a song about it."

I don't remember if that's exactly what he said, but in essence, that's what he told us.

"Now, this song is very personal to me.. The lyrics are really deep and touching.. So, it takes a lot to perform this to you all.. I might cry.."

I dont' know; he said stuff similar to that. Basically, he built me up for this sentimental song about his time at Boy Scout camp. I was so ready. He started strumming the chords, and Kendall and I were waiting. Then, he finally opened his mouth and screamed,

"KA-KAAAW!"

No joke he ka-kawed like a bird, extremely obnoxiously. Of course, everyone burst out laughing. I almost peed my pants. It was hilarious. He kept playing the guitar though, and as soon as we all settled down, he cried out again,

"KA-KAAAAAW!"

He kept doing that for a couple of minutes. It was a cycle of hilariousness. He would strum his guitar then ka-kaw. We would all laugh, and he'd keep strumming. As our laughter died, he would ka-kaw again. It was awesome.

*le happy sigh*

Well, those are my most vivid memories from my time at Harry Potter camp. It was fun revisiting that trip all that time ago. Pleasant memories are always nice to look back on though, so maybe one day I'll have some not so lighthearted ones for you. But for today, it's wands and boobs and silly songs.