Caligo Lake Summer Camp (IC)

((Click here for the OOC.))

A black SUV came to a stop at the end of the dirt road. It was warm out, and surprisingly, not humid. The passenger door flung open and Colton climbed out, feeling slightly embarrassed that he didn't have his driver's license yet. The driver side door opened as well and his mother stepped out. Colton made his way to the trunk and opened it, reaching inside for his luggage. "Are you excited?" asked Mrs. Reed. Colton rolled his eyes as he pulled the wheeled luggage from the back. "Yeah, Mom." he answered. "Elated."

"You'll have fun!" she insisted, approaching him.

"I'm here for the whole summer," he said, not coldly, but merely as a fact. "I was planning things with my friends. We were gonna head to the Jersey Shore for a week." He pulled out the handle from the luggage and looked beyond the car. There was a building in the distance with a big sign labeled: "Activities Center".

"You'll make new friends," Mrs. Reed added, looking around. She didn't exactly like Colton's group of friends- they were all pretty rough. She quickly changed the subject: "Plus, oh, it's gorgeous here!"

"Yeah, okay."

"Give it a week, honey," she said.

Colton let out a huge sigh. "Okay," he said finally, slamming the trunk shut.

"Good. I love you, Colton. Stay safe, have fun."

"Bye, mom." He gave her a quick hug and pulled his luggage away from behind the car. Mrs. Reed got back into the car, revved it up, and pulled out. Soon, it was driving away, leaving a small cloud of dust.

Colton shut his eyes for a moment and sighed. He turned and began to walk toward the Activities Center. From what he could see, he was rather early. He wasn't sure about when the campers are arriving, but he assumed it would be all throughout the week. As he walked, he looked around: he saw some basketball courts in the distance, thank God, a pretty big lake, and some cabins dotted around here and there, each labeled with a number. He came to the glass double-doors of the Activities Center and pushed it open, feeling a blast of cool air to meet him.

"Hello!" came a peppy voice from across the room. A young woman, probably in her twenties, was sitting behind a desk at a computer, her blonde hair tied up in a bun. "Hi..." he replied, stepping toward her. He came to a stop in front of the desk.

"Welcome to Camp Caligo!" she said, almost singing. She threw him a bright smile. Colton sheepishly smiled back. "Name?" she asked.

"Colton," he answered.

"Last name?"

"Reed. R-E-E-D." He didn't know why, but he always spelled his last name when he told people.

After a few keystrokes and a swift tap on the enter key, she returned her gaze, and her smile, to Colton. "Ah, Mr. Reed!" she said. "Cabin number one! Here's your key." She handed him a brass-colored key attached to a keychain. "Don't lose it!"

Colton nodded and quickly pocketed the key.

"Cabin One is by the lake, you can't miss it."

"Okay, thanks," he turned and walked back out the doors, shielding his eyes from the bright, summer morning sun. Let's see...by the lake... Soon enough, after his eyes adjusted, he saw a cabin nestled near the lake shore with a "1" painted on the door. That was easy. He headed off.

After unlocking the door, Colton first noticed he was the first to arrive in this cabin- no other luggages littered the ground and the beds were neatly made. The cabin itself wasn't half bad. After doing a quick tour, he dropped his suitcase next to the bed near the window and plopped down on the bed with a sigh. He pulled his phone out of his pocket and began to read a text someone had sent him.

Charles got out of the cab and looked around in awe: the landscape was awe-inspiring. He moved to the back of the vehicle and opened the trunk, taking his luggage out. He made sure he had everything, checking for his camera, his journal, his books, and when he was sure he had all of his belongings, he paid the cab-driver the money he owed and closed the trunk. The cab drove off quickly. Charles had gotten to the nearest city to the camp by train and he chartered the cab to take him the rest of the way, like he and his parents had planned. His parents were just as excited as he had been, they all thought it'd be a good experience.

Charles looked around, smiling with excitement and anticipation as he walked towards the Activities Center, aided by signs which pointed the way. ~This'll be an excellent adventure!~ He thought to himself as he slowly moved forward, making sure to take everything in. As he reached the Activities Center, he opened the door and was greeted by the receptionist, she told him where his cabin, cabin three, was, and gave him the key.

As Charles walked towards his cabin, he noticed the a few other cabins until he found his and unlocked the door. As he entered, he was somewhat surprised to find it empty. The cabins had three people assigned to each, but despite his assumption that his inefficient form of transit had caused him to be late, he found himself alone. He set himself up with the bed and dresser closest to the window, so as to be able to see the scenery. Charles reached for his phone to call his mom; she wasn't there, so he left a message, "Hi, mama, it's me Charlie. Just want to tell you that I've arrived safely and am loving the atmosphere. Talk to you later." Once he was finished unpacking, Charles took out his copy of Pride and Prejudice and went to the living area. He sat down upon the sofa and began to read.

There wasn't anything else that could be more pleasant than actually doing something this summer. Well, at least that's how Addi felt since she would be spending her summer at CLSC while her mother would be off doing some work some place else while her daughter was away. Plus, it gave her the opportunity to get some new shots of different sceneries and practice some of her dancing. Those thoughts she was having was soon interrupted by an immediate stop of the car, which made her jump from her sleep. "What just happened?" she yawned, stretching nonchalantly as she looked towards her mother. "Well, look who's finally awake." Ms.Morales chuckled softly before. "We've arrived at your destination miss Adriana." she added.

Addi looked outside the car window before stepping out and closing the door behind her. "Huh, I suppose this place won't be so bad, maybe not better than my other camp but still." she uttered to herself before heading towards the trunk. Her mother just stayed in the car while while Addi got out her luggage. As she retrieved everything from the trunk, Addi went towards her mothers car window. "Bye mom, hope you have a safe trip. I love you." she smiled. "Bye dear, have fun and don't start any trouble! I love you too." she returned the smile.

After saying their good-byes, her mother soon pulled off, revealing the building that awaited her. "Must be the place to find out my room." she thought, grabbing her luggage and started to head in the direction of the Activities Center.

Reaching the entrance of the building and entering, she noticed a young woman sitting down with a clipboard in front of her. Being that it must be the camp director, she huffed slightly before going over. "Hello there." was all that Addi could get out at the moment, being that she was still a bit tired. "Oh, hello miss. Welcome to Coliga Lake Summer Camp!" she replied, having a little bit of charm in her tone. "Thanks, so uh this is the place where I find out my cabin, right?" she asked. "Why yes it is. What might your name be?" the counselor asked with a smile. "Adriana Morales." she smiled.

As the counselor scanned the list, she tapped her pen as she was having a bit of trouble. Eventually she found her name. "Ah, right. You're going to be in Cabin 3." she stated before handing over the key. "I hope you enjoy your stay here!" she then added. "Thanks." Addi replied, grabbing her luggage and headed out.

Standing in her current spot for a few minutes, she scanned for cabin 3. After a bit of looking, she eventually spotted her cabin somewhat near the basketball court. Relieved of her searching, she trudged over towards her cabin, not really taking the time to look around until she got situated.

Arriving at her cabin, she entered it hoping someone was there. Surprisingly there was one person there. He seemed to be busy at the moment with his reading, so she didn't say anything to make herself noticed unless spoken to. Seeing the bed that she initially thought would be free was taken, she just shrugged and took the one near the bathroom. The first thing she did before putting everything else away was taking her camera out of her bag along with her iPod. She managed to put her luggage under her bed for the time being, but left only one bag out.

Feeling satisfied with everything being in a certain place, Addi figured she'd walk around the camp for a bit. She started to walk out of the bedroom. Feeling a bit awkward by not saying anything to the guy, she figured introducing herself would just be better. Before walking out, she stopped near the door. "Hey there, you must be one of the roommates." she smiled. "I'm Adriana, but you can call me Addi as well." she then added. "Hopefully I'm not bothering you." she smiled weakly.

Vince Solomon

"Sir it's going to be alright", the flight attended continued to try make Vince feel more at ease on his very first flight.

Managing to convince his mother to allow him to leave all summer was quite a handful of shouting and tears, but Vince was pumped for C.L.S.C the moment he had signed up for it. For the past three years or so after his father and mother divorced, his mother became rather strict on him. Now feeling as if he no longer held any free will or choice over his own life, he chose this camp as his final escape. The only hurdle that stood in his way was the darned airplane. Due to never having left Canada since the day he was born, he had no flight experience whatsoever... Unless you count using a swing at a playground.

Shuffling uncomfortably in his rather 'movement-constricting' seat, he somehow fell asleep at some point during the flight because when his eyes finally opened the intercom was on saying, "Welcome to USA folks!".
Grabbing his carry-ons as fast as he could, he exited the most horrid vehicle he had ever ridden on and got out of the U.S Airlines as soon as he gathered all his belongings.

Flagging down a cab was a piece of cake, but the ride to Caligo Lake Summer Camp was just another gruelling vehicle drive to his long awaited destination, and let's not forget how awkward it is to sit beside a complete stranger who drives, but doesn't speak any English except asking for the cab fare money.

The cab rumbled to a slow stop and the driver shook his passenger awake.
"We are here", the driver said bluntly. Vince could here the heavy Chinese accent in his voice and he smiled kindly and gave the man his hard earned money.

Turning to the entrance, he immediately noticed the large font on the building before him. It read 'Activities Center'. Knowing that he should savour his freedom he strolled towards the camp entryway with no pressure to hurry up at all.

Finally reaching the entrance, he turned his head side to side. Taking in all his surroundings he spotted various sport courts and a giant lake, a few cabins and much more. Sighing in content he yanked on one of doors and took a step inside the building.

"Hello!", the voice sounded like one of those recorded voice messages that answer calls for you when you don't pick up.

"Hello!", he chimed back.

"Name?", she asked.

"Vince...Vince Solomon", he replied.

The secretary tilted her head down and her fingers rapidly ran around the keyboard followed by a final 'clack'. "Cabin 2!", she chanted while handing him a key with an indenting of the number on it. "Not a good idea to lose it", she warned him.

He grinned with a slight nod of his head and ventured out to look for his cabin.

Jason Gordan was practically buzzing with excitement as the yellow cab van pulled up to CLSC. He jumped out, a grin splitting his face. He loved the summer. He loved being outdoors in the heat and playing sports or swimming or just sitting down and relaxing in the sun. He was a summer guy, all the way. At first, his parents were uneasy about sending him to this camp. His little brother instantly wanted to go but his parents didn't want both boys running off for the whole summer so they allowed Jason to go. His little brother threw a huge fit, which made Jason feel kind of bad for him, but his parents thought he could use a summer away from the upcoming stress he'll have of senior year of high school. Applying for colleges was going to be the most stressful thing, especially since his parents are expecting him to go for football but really, he wants to go for Art. He hasn't told anyone that yet.

The cabbie got out to help him get his rolling suitcase and his shoulder bag. "Thanks." he said, shouldering the one bag and pulling the handle of the other up. The cab had already been paid for in advance, thanks to his parents. His mother had been slightly teary as she hugged him goodbye and his father had been gruff whereas his brother wouldn't even look at him. He wondered if that's how it would when he ran off to college in New York. He was eyeing a very nice Art school in the big city. He shuffled to the Activities Center, gazing around. This was going to be great. Not only was he going to be make new friends, he was such a people person, he was also going to have the chance to explore practically a new world. He hadn't left his hometown much. He did, once, when he was young, but he could barely remember the trip and it was before his brother was even born. They had gone to Niagara Falls or some place like that. See, he couldn't even remember now. But this was farther away from home he had been in a long, long time and he felt super giddy about it.

He walked into the Activities Center and was just as chirpy and sweet as the woman behind the desk. He took his cabin key and was glad it was an easy find. He didn't want to spend his whole time searching. He unlocked the door and pushed it open, expecting to be the first one, but he was surprised to see someone there. A very cute guy, at that, but he wouldn't tell him that. He instantly put on a smile, his happiness oozing. "Hey!" he said excitedly, dropping both his suitcases onto the bed closest to the door. "I'm Jason but you can call me Jay-Jay!" he said, looking around the cabin with childlike wonderment on his face. This was totally awesome.

---

Tai mi Kung sighed as she got out of the car. She would have been much more excited about coming to CLSC if it hadn't been for her mother's worried babbling the whole way and her father's "rules". He didn't want her coming back home pregnant. Pregnant. Lord, she was all for having fun and stuff, but really? It was hard enough, convincing them to let her go here in the first place. But the instant she read about this place, she just knew it was going to be a blast and she wanted to spend her summer before junior year here. It should be stressful, considering her parents were already pushing her towards colleges and she wasn't even close to graduating yet. She opened the trunk and grabbed her over-sized suitcase, lifting the hot pink thing and setting it down. She pulled out the handle and closed the trunk. She was wrapped in her mother's arms the next instant. "You be good! I don't want to have to come back all the way here to get you! And behave!" she said. Tai mi bit back the comment that 'being good' and 'behaving' were the same thing. She just nodded, returning the hug, before giving her father a hug too.

"Watch those boys." her father said sternly. She just nodded, smiling. She gave a slight bow to them, which they returned. "But have fun." her father added softly before getting back in the car. "Bye baby!" her mother cooed as she climbed into the car, blowing her a kiss. "Bye guys!" Tai mi said, giving a kiss back to her mother, before she started for the Activities Center. Away from the over bearing ness of her parents, she began to feel the excitement flutter inside her, the smile beginning to grow on her face. By the time she entered the building, she was smiling from ear to ear and almost skipping. She got her cabin key, cabin two, and headed that way, looking around. It was already amazing here. She especially couldn't wait to get into that lake. She paused to look at the lake and felt even more excited than before. She had packed different bathing suits, ready to wear a different one every other day. She shook out of her little daydream of the cool water and went to find her cabin.

As Charles barely began to open his book, he was excited to hear what he assumed to be the first of his roommates enter the cabin. She didn't say anything to him at first, and Charles just assumed she wasn't interested in him. He figured a guy reading literature wouldn't seem very exciting. He continued to read as his new roommate unpacked her luggage.

When Adriana greeted Charles, he quickly put book down to greet her as well. He got up with a start to greet her back. "Oh, uhm, no, no you're not bothering me, I was just reading to pass the time before the other campers came..." Charles wasn't sure if he was supposed to go up to her and shake her hand or hug her, or what. She was at the other side of the room so he opted to continue standing where he was awkwardly. "Oh yeah, uhm, my name's Charles." He said quickly. ~Great, I'm giving a terrible first impression to her. She probably thinks I'm a total loser.~ Charles thought, ashamed. He realized that it was only fair to over his own commonly used nickname if she had offered hers, "Oh, you can call me Charlie, though," He piped up, "Uhh, if you want..." He laughed awkwardly, wanting to hide himself. He wasn't sure if Adriana was weirded out by him or not, but he was terribly embarrassed nonetheless, and blushed a bit. He turned his head slightly to the ground.

Nathan "Nat" Bellerose was this young man's name. Natalia, if he even went by his birth name. He came out of the cab wearing a his same old purple hoodie, some black jeans, and purple converse. He carried his messenger bag with him. It seemed to have something bulging out of it and moving about. Well you see, this bag was carrying a special little guest of his. A small bengal kitten named Ares. Once Nat moved out most of the items in the bag, he was able to fit the kitten into the bag so he could smuggle it into the camp! If he was going to be staying at the place for the summer, he wasn't going to spend it being miserable and with out his best feline friend!

Nat retrieved his luggage from the bag and carried it all the way to the activities centre of C.L.S.C. That was apparently where he was supposed to figure out his cabin number. So far the place seemed kinda cool. Maybe he might actually have some fun at this godforsaken place called summer camp. The line for the cabin assignment was short which indicated that he was one of those who arrived pretty early. After a couple of minutes he found himself in front of the counselor. She gave Nat a kind of odd and confused look. He was used it to it though. Are you a boy? Are you a girl? That's usually what went through the heads of people who first saw Nat. That came with being androgynous though so woopdidoo.

"And,um, Sir, what would your name be?" , the counselor asked, still looking at Nat oddly.

Nat was sure his parents signed him up under his birth name. They still hadn't gotten into the habit of filling out forms using his preferred name "Nathan". If he wasn't there with them when they filled out forms for him, they'd forget to mark him down as "Male" under gender. They still didn't comprehend the difference between gender and sex yet and that bothered you, but asides from that they were very supportive and great parents!

"Um, N-Natalia Bellerose...but please refer to me as Nathan or Nat", he said politely. Nat's voice wasn't exactly the most feminine of voices, but neither was it masculine. The pitch of his made it even harder to tell if he was a boy or a girl.

The counselor was confused at first, but after processing what Nat was saying and his appearance in general, she kinda got the hints and continued on finding his name on the list.

"Oh here you are! Cabin 1. It's by the lake so you shouldn't miss it! Here is your key. Make sure not to lose it alright?"

After getting the key, Nat headed to his Cabin. Like the lady said, it was pretty easy to find. From outside you could hear someone talking. It sounded like a guy, and a pretty happy one at that. Nat hoped they weren't assholes. That was the last thing he wanted. He opened the door and walked inside. The door closed behind him and he continued into the cabin. Sure enough there were two guys. They seemed to have already chosen a bed, so Nat just plopped his luggage onto the remaining one. God what should you say? What if they all up and hate you? What do you even do? This was probably the moment that Nat realized he really didn't know how to interact with new people well.

He could feel Ares squirming around his messenger bag. It's a surprise the people at the Activities centre didn't notice it. Maybe they did but didn't want to be invasive. Who knows! Better let the poor kitten breath and move around. Wouldn't want to keep him in there for long now would you? Nat took Ares out of the bag and placed him on the bed where his luggage was. Oh yeah..you still gotta introduce yourself to these guys.

"Uh...Hey! N-Nice to meet you I guess...I'm Nathan, but you can just call me Nat. As you've noticed I have a cat with me. I would really appreciate it if you did not report that to the counselor guys. He's kinda like one of my best buds since I kinda don't have many friends so yeah..."

God you felt really awkward.

"Have fun, darling."

Iris scowled. Fun? Fun? She couldn't fathom how sending someone into a place full of strangers was considered to be fun. She scowled as she got out of the car. "Yeah, sure," she muttered back to her mother.

"It's time you made some friends, Iris," her mother said in a chiding tone.

Iris didn't say anything to that. It's not my fault I don't have any friends, it's yours, was what Iris wanted to say but she kept her mouth shut knowing it would just cause her mother to throw a tantrum or something. She just nodded and gripped the strap of bag tighter. She had to admit, the camp was gorgeous. The morning air was refreshing, and for the first time, Iris wanted to actually spend her time outside than all by herself in her room.

Her mother waved goodbye and got back in the car. Iris watched the car roll away from the camp, feeling a bit hesitant to take her first steps into the place where she'd have to spend her entire summer. Would she fit in with the others? Would anyone really even like her?

Shaking her head to clear her thoughts, Iris took a deep breath and started walking towards a building with the sign 'Activities Center' written on it. A receptionist greeted her as soon as she stepped inside. "Hi, and welcome to Camp Caligo! What's your name?"

Iris flinched at the high-pitched, peppy tone of the woman and smiled wanly. "Iris Richards," she replied.

The receptionist grinned so wide, Iris wondered if her cheeks hurt. "Here's the key to your cabin. Hope you have fun here!"

With her key in one hand and her bag in the other, Iris walked outside again, looking for cabin no. 4. She looked around, feeling very lost. She was about to head back to the Activities Center when she noticed a tall guy walking ahead of her. Maybe he knows where the cabins are? she wondered.

"Um...excuse me?" she called as she caught up with the guy. "Do you know where the cabins are?" she asked.

((The guy she approaches is Vince Solomon.))

Colton looked up mid-text, in surprise, not expecting one of the cabin-mates to enter so quickly. Perhaps Colton wasn't so early after all. He locked his iPhone and looked up from his bed. The kid was pretty tall, at least, taller than he was, and he was wearing those big glasses that were becoming increasingly popular among teens. The kid, whose name was Jason...or "Jay-jay", seemed a tad eccentric, having the same kind of energy as a small child.

"I'm Colton..." he replied, staring down the boy, trying to analyze him. After deducing nothing more than from a first glance, Colton reached down and began to unzip his luggage. Cushioned between clothes was his Xbox, and a controller. He moved the clothes aside in the luggage and lifted out the gaming system, making sure it was still intact. Satisfied, he gingerly set it down on the bed and took the controller out of the luggage as well. He then walked over to the TV, inspecting it. Thankfully, he could hook up the Xbox. He returned to his bed and moved the Xbox and controller over to the TV. He'd hook it up later.

He then headed back to his luggage, where he began to put his clothes away in one of the dressers, doing it rather messily, not really sorting them or making sure they were folded, and putting most of them into one drawer. After that, he placed his toothbrush and toothpaste in the bathroom.

He wasn't one to start, or carry on conversations, so he just left Jason with his name.

Colton, when he returned to his bed, noticed that another boy had entered. At least, he thought Nat was a boy... Hm. He nodded to the newcomer, assuming he had heard him tell his name to Jason.

Jason nodded when Colton said his name, his excitement still showing. He opened up his messenger bag, digging through it. He had actually brought along his PS Vita, something he cherished and couldn't just leave behind. "Nice to meet ya, Colton!" he said to him, flashing him a beaming smile, as he took the PS Vita out and laid it on the bed. He laid the charger next to it and opened his other suitcase. He was about to start putting his clothes up when he saw the Xbox. Oh, oh. They could definitely have some fun there! He was about to ask Colton what games he bought when someone else entered. He turned his attention to the person and noticed the kitten almost first thing. Okay, he could not resist cats. They were his favorite animal. He looked at Nat and eyed him up and down, trying to decide if he was a boy or girl. Either way, he was attractive, in Jason's opinion. And with the name Nat, he was going with a boy. He smiled. "Your kitten is adorable." he said, watching the kitten, wanting so badly to pet it because it was very adorable. But he wasn't going to fanboy over the cat, no, he didn't want to seem like a child. Even though he could act like a seven year old most of the time. "I'm Jason, by the way. Jay-Jay is preferred, though. Nice to meet ya, Nat!" he said, glad he was rooming with two guys. He wouldn't voice that though. He knew some guys got freaked out when another guy was gay. They thought they would get hit on but really, Jason respected others and their space and understood if they were straight or something of the like.

---

Tai mi finally found cabin two and unlocked the door, entering it. She was the first to arrive. Which she was actually glad about. That meant she could get first dibs on the bed. She threw her suitcase on the bed closest to the window and looked out it. She smiled, ready to get the fun started. It was going to be a great summer, she could already feel it. She's so glad her parents allowed her to come here, allowed her to come and experience something she knew was going to be amazing. She turned and unzipped her suitcase, opening it. She began to put her clothes in the dresser, neatly, making sure shirts were with shirts, pants with pants, etc., etc.. She hoped she brought enough but she did have a giant suitcase and a lot of clothes. She wasn't even close to being done putting up her clothes. She sighed, already tired of that task. She wasn't much for labor or cleaning. She had to do it at home, of course, with chores and what not, but never enjoyed it. Though, she kept on putting up her clothes, dealing with it. She made sure the few books she brought were okay and laid them out on her bed. If she had room in her dresser, she could just add them in there. She nodded to herself and kept unpacking.