Top Bunk

DAY 6

⌚ 6:00 AM ON THE DOT

El wakes up (very unpleasantly for one) to the smell of strawberries wafting out of the bathroom. Funny, she thinks to herself, how Grace uses strawberry body wash but her vanilla lotion is what she always smells. The sweetness makes her want to gag.

Grace is still humming when she steps out of the bathroom, dressed in a pink Camp Ashwood tank top, which El is sure that she had made for her, and white shorts; an unfortunate choice for the counselor of a cabin who's going to have a water balloon fight.

Wordlessly, Grace stalks to the door, Prada sneakers squeaking against the hardwood floor.

"Good luck," El says, if a little sarcastically.

Grace smirks on her way out. "You're gonna need it."

⌚ 6:39 AM

"And what are you doing back?"

"Why are you wearing those shorts with those hideous boots?"

"I'm not answering that. Why are you back?"

"I forgot to curl my hair."

"Is that really necessary?"

"Is the sky blue?"

⌚ 7:17 AM

Seeing as breakfast really isn't a good option, (sorry, turkey bacon? I'd rather stick to real bacon, thanks.) El decides it's a good time to do her laundry while everyone else is. She's in desperate need to do it anyway; she wore this same pair of underwear yesterday and she isn't very proud of that.

While everyone else is gorging on the turkey bacon, El heads to her cabin and then to the laundry shed. It's extremely hard for her to admit, but she's actually grateful that Grace designated laundry bags for each of them because it makes everything so much easier. Literally just turn a few knobs on the washing machine (El doesn't really know how to work a washing machine), wait a few moments, then dump her clothes (which aren't even a lot) in.

Or at least, that's what she expects. It's been obvious that whatever El's been expecting this entire summer has not been what's turning up, so she's not even surprised that Sky and Mari are chatting animatedly in the laundry shed; the former sat on top of a washing machine that's already going, the latter folding up a whole bunch of clothes in different shades of pink. They both stop upon El's entry, giving her small smiles. (El's still slightly cautious around them; she still hasn't completely let go of their oh-look-new-trash looks when she first met them.)

"Hey," she says, nodding slightly.

"How's it going?" Sky asks brightly.

El shrugs, dumping her load (don't) into the washing machine, trying to shield her patterned underwear from Sky and Mari's curious stares. At Sky's tone, she feels almost obligated to answer "great. Everything is going great." So she answers just that.

Mari snorts, hopping off the washing machine and approaching the one near El. She reaches around El and adjusts the knobs - looks like she knows how to work a washing machine. "From what I've heard, nothing is going great for you," Mari says.

El groans, slamming the washing machine closed. "Who told you?"

"Grace, duh," Sky replies.

"Of course," El sighs.

"It's gonna get better," Sky assures her. "It just doesn't seem like it now."

"Thanks, but I've heard enough of that."