"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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"So who's ready for another Q and A?" Eric asks the campers.
"And who's ready for another bonfire?" Blake whispers in my ear.
"I hope you've all enjoyed our Fourth of July activities today! You all seemed to have a good time at the lake this afternoon and I'm happy to announce that we will be shooting fireworks out on the Field after Camp Meeting if you would like to participate."
The campers seem to really enjoy that announcement and it takes a little while for them to calm down. Once they are, Eric gets started on asking the questions.
"Mary Anne, if you could switch jobs with any of the other staff members who would it be?"
"Out of every singe staff member?" She asks. "Probably Alex since he spends most of his time by the lake."
"Okay next question," Adam announces. "Chase, what's the hardest part about being a counselor?"
Chase's sweet face lights up when he gets called on. I noticed that he didn't get any questions at the last session, so he must be excited.
"I think it's just the struggle of having to try and understand any of the problems that the campers come to you with. Sometimes it's difficult to give advice on situations you don't know much about."
The session goes on for a few more minutes, some questions silly and some serious. The strips of paper in the bucket keep disappearing until there's one left for Eric to pull out.
"This is for any counselor to answer," he says. "Oh wow, um, okay. This question says, I lost my mom two years ago. Do any of y'all have advice on how to handle the death of a parent?"
As of on cue, all of our heads turn to Myles. Out of the corner of my eye I see Mary Anne discreetly brushing her hand against his.
Okay girl, I see you.
"Well," Myles starts. "I've gotta say that you never actually get over the death of a parent. Personally, I'll say that some days are better than others, but sometimes it'll just hit me out of nowhere. But, anyway, my advice for whoever asked this is to just take it one day at a time and try to remember the good times you had together and how much you loved her. You'll see her again."
"Also," Eric adds, "I'd suggest that the person who wrote this pull Myles aside at some point if you feel like you need to talk."
After a moment of silence, Eric announces that it's time to head out to the Field for fireworks. He also informs the Legion that they're ahead in points.
Good for them.
◾️◾️◾️
"C'mon, Em, let's go," Princeton greets me as I climb down the steps of White Oak.
We begin our hike up to the clearing in the woods, following the trail of old t-shirts. On the way there, we catch up with Penny, Chase, and Johnny.
