"When you're through with life and all hope is lost hold out your hand because friends will be friends right till the end."
-Queen
Camp Oak Ridge. Population: 93
Meet Mary Anne, Myles, Penelope, Princeton, Emily, Blake, Mallory, and Chase - everyone...
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I stand next to Princeton as we wait for the buses to come through the front gates. Blake has been pumped since he woke up this morning, ready for the campers to arrive. I swear no one is as hype as that guy.
Mary Anne is across the path with Penny, talking like they always are. Mallory chews gum as she listens to whatever Emily is saying to her and Chase is around somewhere in the crowd of people waiting here.
All of the staff start jumping and screaming as soon as the two multicolored school buses come into view. The whole goal of this greeting ritual is to get everyone excited for another summer. Despite my usual demeanor, I find myself shouting as well. Everyone loves camp.
Some kids open their windows to wave back at us as they pass through. When they go past us, Blake nudges me to come with him to go give his little opening speech thing on the bus. Mary Anne and Mallory come too to give theirs on the other.
The bus Blake and I step on appears to be the high school bus. The older kids are usually return campers and are always pumped to be here.
"Welcome to Oak Ridge!" Blake screams over the campers. "Who's ready for another great summer?"
The teenagers shout back at him, showing just how excited they are to be here.
"Is this anybody's first time here?" I ask loudly. A few hands shoot up in response. "Awesome! Well my name is Myles and this is Blake and we're the high school guy leaders."
The kids who I'm assuming fall into that age group start yelling and hollering like they always do. We wait for them to chill out a bit before continuing.
"So," Blake says, "I need all of our guys off the bus and with Princeton. He's waiting for y'all in a green shirt."
One by one the boys get out of their seats and follow him down the gravel path to the main lodge to check in.
"Okay now girls, you're next. When you get off the bus, you'll see a girl with black hair in a braid, that's Penelope. Follow her," I direct.
The girls get off the bus and I follow them down, meeting Mary Anne outside. Emily, Chase, Mallory, and Blake start unloading the luggage while we follow the groups to the Main Lodge for check-in.
"Okay y'all!" Eric shouts over the crowd in the Main Lodge. "I need everyone to follow Adam, he's our games coordinator, over to the Shack so we can get to know our staff and get your groups together!"
Ah, yes, the necessary opening hype session where we play excessively loud but clean trap music and jump around stage like idiots. Blake's strong suit.
After all the campers exit the main lodge, us counselors head over to the back doors of the Shack. Eric peeks out into the large room to make sure we're good to go before running onto our makeshift stage. He begins jumping around to the loud music and the campers jump with him. He moves pretty well for a guy almost forty.
