“Alright then, hi Katherine.” Greg said, giving her a wide grin. He listened, and watched, her carefully as she listed off her statements. She wasn’t really giving any cues, so that idea was bust.

“Number one: I played in a riot grrrl punk band in high school.”

He nodded. Believable. Except, he could tell she wasn’t going to make this easy, so they all should be believable.

“Number two: I got a ninety in grade twelve biology.”

There wasn’t anything he could do about that one. That was a shot in the dark in either direction.

“Or finally, number three, I will always maintain that the Beach Boys were better than the Beatles.”

He slowly smiled, slyly, suppressing a chuckle. “Well,” he started. “Anyone that recognizes the Beach Boys can’t honestly say that the Beatles were better, so that one’s obviously a truth. Aaaaaand… A band. I can see it, sure. I’m going to say your lie was the ninety in biology?”

"Hey Colline, I'm Claire as you already know. Nice to meet you! You're very pretty. Sorry, I just had to tell you." Colline looked up, face turning pink as Claire complimented her.

"U-um thank you. You a-also look very pretty." It was the truth in her opinion, Claire was a very nice looking woman. She was also the first person Colline could remember that had complimented her.

"That's fine, it's still hard to spot a lie. So, here goes. I'll start." Colline nodded at her, ready. She wasn't a very good liar, but she could usually tell a truth from a lie. She hoped that would come in handy.

"I'm a potential alcoholic. I live in a foster home. And, I hate my parents." Colline studied the woman in front of her carefully as she said her statements. Colline twitched slightly at the first. Alcohol... She quietly regained her composure, making sure Claire wasn't looking. The first seemed probable, but you could never tell. People hid many things behind smiles. She knew this first hand.

"I-I think the first one is t-true." Colline spluttered out nervously. She hoped that Claire wouldn't be offended. "The second is true, and the third is ,um, false..." Colline diverted her gaze. That was a lot to assume about one person.

She smiled, hoping that Claire wouldn't see her hesitation about the statements. "My parents are divorced, I like squash, and I can play the violin well."

"And you are..." Katherine leaves the suspense hanging in the air for a brief moment before saying "Correct. I didn't even take biology in senior year." She says with a small laugh. Katherine would not be caught dead taking any science course if she wanted a decent average for university, let alone a class she flunked in junior year. Katherine was not unintelligent nor did she have disdain for learning, she had just always been more of an arts student than anything else, and that showed with what she actually ended up putting effort in.

"Also, just for the record and in case you were wondering, that punk band was called Pink Flag, because we were big fans of Wire and Black Flag." Katherine wasn't entirely sure why she made the statement, though she was proud of those days. She always loved playing in a band more than being solo, she loved how collaborative it was with other people and how they could express their views as a group.

"Sorry, what are your three things? I can pretty much guarantee I won't guess it." She said with a smile, indicating that she was actually having fun, something that had eluded her for a while before camp.

Gwen waited as Baylen said he had to go get the card for his camera, just messing with the end of her braid. She glanced to Alan to see if perhaps he wanted to continue talking, but he had never responded to her earlier, so she cast her gaze away, figuring he must be to introspective at the moment. Her eyes moved over towards where the others were paired, discussing the orientation activity, when she saw Baylen talking to another girl doing the activity. Gwen tilted her head slightly, wondering if he had even gotten what he was looking for, or if he had just needed an excuse to stop talking to her. She blushed a bit, clearing her throat and walking over to where others were still messing with the bonfire and setting up food near it and what not. "Need another hand?" she asked them politely. A few shrugged, one said sure, so she smiled, beginning to help set things up for everyone later. It was starting to get a bit chilly in her short dress near the water, so she undid her braid and let her hair wrap about her like a scarf to warm her a bit more while she helped.

“And you are…”

Greg raised an eyebrow in anticipation.

“Correct. I didn’t even take biology in senior year.”

That was lucky. He smiled back when Katherine laughed, and took note of the bands she mentioned. He’d never been in a band. Well, there was the school band, but that didn’t count.

“Sorry, what are your three things?” she said. “I can pretty much guarantee I won’t guess it.”

He smirked a little.

“Well, I guess we’ll see, won’t we?” he said playfully. He thought for a moment, coming up with his statements.

“Aaaaaaaalright.
One: I don’t have a band, I usually play solo. Two: I have a borderline addiction to Skittles. Three: I’m an avid tennis player.” His words were quick, and delivered with a straight face and tone. He flashed his eyebrows at the end, accompanied by a friendly smirk.

Baylen exhaled deeply as Yolanda spoke her last words. He realized he was letting someone else affect his emotions and he made a mental note to keep himself in check. Letting other people dictate your emotions was a path for failure in life. He shook his head, uncrossing his arms and finally smiling softly. "You're right. It's just a stupid game and we don't really know each other. Thanks for playing though. I'm sure I'll see you around right?" He gave her nod and then turned and looked around the beach. The air was starting to get chilly and he wasn't feeling ready to soak himself in the cold waters just yet. His previous excitement had simmered and he was simply looking to relax now, just stop moving or thinking and simply chill. A flicker of light caught his eye and he looked over to the Bon Fire being built by a few people. The time of day was approaching where everyone would soon fully enjoy the large Bon Fire on the beach, the winds already coming through chillier than before. A chill rushed down Baylen's spine, his skin fluttering as the cold air washed over. He was wishing he had brought his sweater with him. After scanning the crowds for Gwen he looked back to the Bon Fire. It seemed to be a nice place to warm up, sit down and relax. He began walking towards the growing fire, his face showing his mental exhaustion. His mind raced as he thought about his parents and the frustrations he had with them. After a moment of being lost in his thoughts Baylen looked up as he neared the Bon Fire and caught sight of a girl helping build the fire. He stopped abruptly and looked carefully. When her face moved and the wind brushed back her hair he saw her face and confirmed for him it was indeed Gwen. He tilted his head a bit, smiling softly, and watching her. Her hair was blowing ever so slightly in the wind with the light of the fire behind her creating a glow around her silhouette that intrigued him. Without waiting another moment, his perfect shot before him, he pulled out his camera, steadied it and zoomed in appropriately, capturing just Gwen and the fire behind her, the ocean just beyond. He clicked his camera and took the shot, his first picture of his trip. He pulled back the camera and stood there staring for a moment. There it was again, the calming feeling he gave her earlier. He reflexively inhaled deeply and exhaled softly, some of the built of tension beginning to melt away.

Katherine mulled it over in her head for a bit. She usually didn't care if she got it right or wrong but this time she felt determined to get it right. Not because she didn't want to be pressured into jumping into the water, but because she felt like she had something to prove, it was the first thing they were doing at camp, better to excel at the start and then taper off rather than leaving a bad first impression.

She pretty much crossed off the first one, most musicians start playing solo and mostly play by themselves, Katherine knew that and usually did solo stuff even if she did love band stuff. The skittles and tennis ones were a little trickier. Skittles are polarizing, people seem to adore them or loathe them and there didn't seem to be much inbetween. Katherine personally loved them but she didn't want to be caught with him actually hating Skittles. Tennis was more of a shot in the dark, Greg looked at least somewhat athletic so she wouldn't put it past him to get physical activity. But tennis always seemed to her like the kind of sport rich people would play at the country club. Then again tennis is also a sport that isn't very complicated like baseball or something.

Katherine stuck with her gut though and said "I don't think you're an avid tennis player." Though there was a tinge of uncertainty in her voice as she said it.

Claire looked at Colline carefully. She had always been a good liar. Most days, without any hesitation, Claire would say that she definitely hated her parents. But, deep down that wasn't true. In last year's camp, Claire had done this routine and people tried to avoid these statements. Colline might be shy, but she was honest. A certain amount of respect was now built between the two of them.

She smiled. Considering lying about the whole thing, but that wouldn't be fair. "Not bad, Colline. I'm impressed." That was a rather large admission. Claire paused to let Colline speak, waiting to hear these things out. Typically, Claire could see just about everything someone tried to put past her. A series of tragedies, deception and betrayals created a jaded and cynical woman with an easy going smile and soft laughter.

That water was looking great right about now. She took into account Colline's hesitations, and shy mannerisms as she spoke. At last, she shrugged. "Well, you seem the violin type. Squash is a hard thing to judge, good curve ball there Colline. I'm starting to think you actually are a good liar." Claire crossed her arms and squinted her eyes. "But I'm going to go on a limb and say your parents are divorced. Squash is the lie. And you play the violin well because people with issues are able to express themselves well artistically. At least, it seems to be true."

"So, am I right?"

"Not bad, Colline. I'm impressed." Colline looked up as Claire said this, surprised. She had gotten it right. She returned Claire's smile with her own, softer version and nodded. Her gaze flicked to the water, slightly disappointed. Well, she could always swim later, there was an entire summer ahead of her.

"Well, you seem the violin type. Squash is a hard thing to judge, good curve ball there Colline. I'm starting to think you actually are a good liar." Well, she had believed herself to be a terrible liar, and her parents had always said so. Then again, her parents said a lot of things to Colline...

"But I'm going to go on a limb and say your parents are divorced. Squash is the lie. And you play the violin well because people with issues are able to express themselves well artistically. At least, it seems to be true." She pondered over what Claire had said. It was true, she did have some issues. She turned her icy blue eyes back to Claire as the woman asked for conformation, nodding slightly.

"Um, y-yes. I took violin lessons, uh, squash kind of irks me... And my parents are... separated." Her eyes flitted downwards at the last part. She wasn't actually sure why she was saying these things, but it felt good to. "Um, you, uh... d-do you want to swim anyway? I-I mean you don't have to I just, uh..." She averted her gaze again as she stuttered, feeling her face grow red. The water looked nice, and this wasn't Colline's favorite dress anyway, so she figured she might as well have some fun. Unless you could only swim if you lost. That would definitely cancel out the option of getting in the water.

Gwen was continuing to help set up things and poke the fire around, but the others had pretty much done everything already, and the fire was blazing. So she smiled and waved to them before turning to look back towards where the other newbies were interacting. In her line of sight was an already familiar face though, staring and holding a camera. She tilted her head, placing a hand on her hip and smirking.

”Guess you found your card?” she asked, wondering if he’d taken a picture of her without her even realizing it. More than likely so, though she had no idea. Her hair moved about her, tickling her arms thanks to the breeze of the water. The bonfire was keeping all but the tip of her nose warmed however, so she didn’t react to the chill. The glow of the flames brightening her complexion and smile, she walked over to Baylen and put a hand on his shoulder, trying to peek at the screen of his camera.

”Did you take a picture of me already?” she asked, chin brushing against the top of his shoulder while she moved behind him, as he wasn’t much taller than her anyway, especially when she stood on her tiptoes.

“I don’t think you’re an avid tennis player.”

Katherine sounded uncertain, but she was absolutely right. Greg frowned.

“I’m sorry. That’s… “

The frown turned into a smile.

“100% correct. Never even stepped on a court. I run, though. I play a couple instruments. Figured enough people would bring guitars, so I brought my acoustic bass. And harmonica. Aaaaaaaand… I absolutely fucking-” ’Shit. Don’t curse out loud,’ he thought. “Uh, sorry. Absolutely freaking love Skittles.” Sometimes he slipped. Oh well.
"I'm just glad neither of us have to jump. I mean, unless you wanted to."

It surprised Claire that she was feeling a bit of a connection with Colline as a person. This wasn't exactly what she had planned. Final year as a counselor and then the unknown paths that lay ahead within the ominous places of her new world. Making friends wasn't part of the ideal. But, she didn't want to be completely isolated either. Talking was easy. Forming relationships could happen so quickly and then disappear just as fast. But the end was always difficult.

She shrugged off the thought, but made herself promise to not get too close to anyone. There was a common ground between her and Colline. Some of Colline's problems had made her shy, from what Claire could see. While Claire had become vocal and fiercely independent. But, there was a similar spirit between them. And, that was confirmed when Colline suggested jumping into the water.

A laugh came from Claire. Joy and surprise mixed together. "I wouldn't have guessed you would want to jump in, but I'm glad you do. Because, I was going to jump in no matter what. So, let's do this."

Claire looked around at the rest of the kids playing the game. "Well, tour is over. You all know there is a bonfire later. So, once you're done playing it's time to do your own thing!" She turned and looked at Colline. "Ready?"

And suddenly Claire bolted, straight toward the water and she leaped. Gliding through the air, shouting out. Splash! Not caring about getting her clothes wet or anything. It was just a good way to spend the day.

Ophelia smiled. She could tell the boy was weirded out by her use of the phone, but it didn't matter as long as he was still interested, so she shrugged it off. With deft fingers, she tapped out her three statements on the screen.

"One: I've swum in both the Atlantic and Pacific oceans."

That one was true, but it was sort of a stretch. She had indeed dipped her toes into both of those bodies of water– but it had been during her family's trip to the Panama Canal (perhaps her family's only successful vacation, Ophelia mused). So it was technically correct.

"Two: I am fluent in three languages."

That one was the lie; she was, in fact, abysmal at learning foreign languages. She'd nearly failed French in middle school, and she had leapt at the first chance she got in high school to substitute a supplementary math class for Spanish. And after the car accident, she'd stopped speaking altogether, save to the people she felt most comfortable around, so learning another language she could refuse to speak would be pointless.

"Three: I won't eat meat."

Another truth, but a tricky one. She wouldn't eat meat. She also wouldn't eat anything else.

Ophelia looked up from her phone. After typing it all out, she realized that unless the boy pulled a 'Vizzini-from-The-Princess-Bride' and overthought the three statements, he was sure to call her out on the lie, since she hadn't said a word to him anyway. She mentally shrugged. The water looked nice enough.

Baylen's smile deepened as Gwen walked towards him. He snuck in one last shot as she came right up to his camera, capturing her smiling face, half covered by her hair blowing gently in the breeze. As she came up close to him, her hand now on his shoulder, her curious eyes peeking around to look at the screen on his camera, he quickly turned off the screen, hoping she hadn't seen the camera shot before he turned it blank. He laughed softly, feeling her chin resting on his shoulder to grab a look at his shots.

He knew she would be curious but he was hesitant to show his shots to her. In his mind he figured she would either judge his work as just another camera shot rather than a picture capturing a moment in his artistic way. He loved to tilt his camera. Some shots had a drastic angle to them while most of his shots had at least the hint of an angle. To him it gave the picture more depth, more curiosity and more of a story. It took the viewer from not just looking at a moment in the past but perhaps looking through another person's soul, viewing their live memories. He doubted Gwen was a person to judge and he wasn't looking for a compliment. He figured she wanted to make sure she looked ok in the pictures as most girls cared about those kinds of things in their passive aggressive lack of self-confident ways.

"Yeah. I grabbed two though. I hope you don't mind. They came out perfect...for me at least." He always took his photos with conviction. If he was taking a shot of something or someone it was because he believe the photo would be as good as he pictured it in his mind. He lowered the camera down so she could see better than turned the screen back on where it lit up the home screen, He then turned to his first shot of her. The first shot of Gwen was of her on the beach and the photo had just a slight tilt. Her figure was a bit dark with her outline orange from the glow of the fire. The light bounced off of portions of her body, highlighting her blonde hair blowing in the breeze as well as one side of her face, her cheek bone and eyes most notable in the glowing light. He let her look at the first picture a moment then turned to the next. This was the picture of pretty much just her face, capturing her entire face and just a small portion of her upper neck. The angle of the camera was much stronger, making one turn their head or at least have an internal desire to to view it properly. Baylen waited silently for her reaction.

Colline smiled, relieved. Claire had also wanted to, and she seemed rather honest about it. Claire had gotten close to her already, and they had only spoken for less than thirty minutes. She mentally giggled at the thought that a stranger had befriend her easier than quite a few of the people at her school. She was shaken out of musing when Claire asked her is she was ready and broke out in a run, leaving Colline nodding in a dazed state.

She watched as Claire bolted to the end of the dock, before quickly following. She stretched her hands over her head in a dive and jumped. The water surged around her, enveloping her in the cool, blissful feeling of being in water. Pools were fine, but she much more preferred completely natural bodies of water, without all the chemicals. She was in silence for a minute, eyes closed. She had once made the mistake of opening her eyes in salt water, and had faced the consequences of stinging eyes all the rest of that day. The calm silence was interrupted as she swam upwards, deciding it was time to get air.

She broke the surface, body shooting up. The air had gotten cooler as evening came, and her wet hair whipped lightly against her face. A smile broke out across her face as she waded. It was nice, being carefree about the people watching, or about her now drenched clothes. She wouldn't have to listen to her parents, still battling for custody. They wouldn't be here, not her workaholic mother or her alcoholic father. Here, there was just beach, other kids, and opportunity. Colline didn't want to think about what she would do at the end of summer, or about going back to her dull school and bickering parents. Instead, she threw her head back and look up at the sky. A purplish color was encroaching, pushing the blue sky away. On the horizon the sun was setting, pinks reds and oranges hues cast light onto the water, making it seem all the more beautiful.