A Silver Summer

Chapter 27

"Alrighty then, we've got a lot to do today and if we want to sleep in tomorrow then we need to get a good chunk of it done today. You all know your jobs and each section has a Sliver Lake staff member to be the leader strictly for guidance and directions. My only rule is that you all have fun with this." Gelsey smiled before she jumped off the chair and headed off to the group of kids forming that signed up to help set up the food machines and coolers. 

"We're with her." Mel parted from her friends with Keira by her side as they walked over to the food group. 

"If you need anything, give a shout." Ivy said to Anika before loosely intertwining her fingers with Skinner's and leading him off. 

"Okay." Anika let out a sigh and began her search for the decoration committee. After a few minutes of walking around Anika spotted the arts teacher in the art barn with the bags of paint she bought yesterday. 

"Has everyone broken up into their jobs yet?" she asked and Anika nodded. "Oh good. I was just separating these." the teacher dumped the bags and Anika offered to help with dividing the paints into the categories of squeeze type bottles, paint cans and finally spray paint cans. 

Voices filtered through the air as more kids traveled down the path leading to the barn just as Anika and the teacher finished separating the paint. 

"What's first?" a boy asked. 

"You bought the materials right?" the teacher look at Anika who nodded politely. "Then by all means, what would you like us to do?"

"Huh?" Anika flashed her eyes over the semi large group of kids she was now in charge of. 

"Oh, um well..." Anika reached out and grabbed the gallon bucket of glow in the dark paint. 

"Dance floor duty. Who wants it?" she held the can up. 

"You want us to paint the floor?" a girl stepped forward. 

"Don't go too crazy. We need it to be dry by tonight for safety measures. Light coats, that goes for anything to do with paint." 

"What would you like us to do with these?" Anika looked to the side of her to see a few kids pick up the white paint squeeze bottles. 

"It's all washable, biodegradable and won't kill any plants or anything like that. If you want to paint designs- you know, stars, smilie faces, paint splatters, you name it- on trees and big enough plant leaves around the places that you think will be most popular."

"Like the bon fire and the lake?" Anika looked to find the owner of the voice. 

"Um, yeah." 

"Cool." a group of kids filled their arms with the bottles while two others emptied the brush buckets on the counter before they scattered through out the camp. 

"What about the spray cans?"

"You can make little arrows and stuff like that on the ground on the paths that lead to different places." she handed a few cans out, making sure to keep some for herself for her idea. 

"And that leaves us." a different girl stepped forward and claimed responsibility for the three others behind her. 

"We have glitter duty as well..." Anika held out the bags of glitter and she eagerly took them. 

"So... around the bon fire area?"

"And the lake, on the beach?" they thought aloud. 

"Doesn't matter to me. As long as it looks good." Anika shrugged. They nodded and left, leaving Anika alone in the barn with the teacher. 

"Excuse me, but do you know where they're setting up the DJ stand?" Anika asked her. 

"In the bon fire clearing. The dance floor is going in that clearing as well but speakers will also run out to stands out on the beach as well."

"Thank you." Anika called over her shoulder as she snatched the remaining glow in the dark spray cans with infused glitter in the paint. A smile lit her face as she jogged at a light speed to the clearing. No one noticed her as they continued setting up tables and what not. 

Dropping the cans, Anika ran back to the barn and opened each supply closet until she found the jumbo roll of brown paper they normally would spread over the wide tables to keep the paint from ruining the tops. With a grunt, Anika lifted it over her shoulder and nearly lost her balance as she walked back to the clearing. 

She swore softly as she thought of what she was missing. Her eyes scanned the group of kids in the clearing for a non-busy person. 

"I need a runner!" Anika called and smiled at the kid that came forward. 

"What's up?" 

"I need scissors. Can you run to the art barn for me?"

"Sure thing." he gave her a smirk before jogging off on the path back to the barn. With a smile of her own, Anika uncapped the first spray can she held in more than a month.