“Is that everything?” Cassie asked.
“Fuck yeah it is! Let’s go!” Nikki said, with obvious excitement.
“Maybe we should double check the house one more time” Sophie suggested, running a hand through her red hair, but was cut off by Nikki’s unstoppable anticipation.
“We’ve already double-checked and triple-checked. If we don’t leave now, we’re going to be late.” The three girls looked at each other, then with a smile they boarded the jeep, the back packed with their belongings. “Hell yeah! This summer’s gonna be so much fun!”
Cassie started her jeep, rousing cheering from the other two girls as they sat parked in Cassie’s driveway. Just as she was about to put the vehicle in gear, Cassie’s mother appeared at the front door in her robe. Cassie noticed her and let go of the gear shift to see what her mother wanted.
Mrs. Jenna Hatcher walked up to the passenger window with a smile, “Do you girl’s have everything? Do you want to double-check the house?“
Nikki sighed and sat back in the backseat, laughing to herself. Sophie shook her head, “No, Mrs. Hatcher. I think we have everything.”
Cassie spoke up, “We’re fine, Mom. Stop worrying.”
Jenna nodded, laughing, ‘You’re right. You’ve just never been away from home before. This is just as different for me. What am I gonna do alone with your father?’
Nikki found this funny. Cassie spun around and gave her a disapproving glare, causing Nikki to stifle her laughter. “You guys need some alone time anyway, Mom.”
Jenna smiled proudly at her grown-up daughter, “You’re right.” Jenna scanned the young ladies ambitious faces, “Most kids just sit at home all season the summer after they graduate high school, but you guys find yourself a summer job. I’m really proud of you three.”
The girls smiled back at their compliment.
“What’s this place called again?” Jenna asked.
“Camp Whol-Nu-Yu” Nikki said, leaning forward from the back seat.
“You have all the information, Mom,” Cassie explained, “I left everything on the kitchen counter for you. Phone number, address”
Jenna nodded, “Alright, alright. Well, you girls be careful, okay?”
“Don’t worry, Mrs. Hatcher. We won’t get her too drunk!” Nikki said laughing in her usual way. Cassie playfully, yet slightly annoyed, reached behind her seat and slapped Nikki’s leg, telling her to be quiet.
“I love you, Mom,” Cassie said.
“Love you too, honey,” Jenna replied.
“I’ll call you tonight.”
“Alright.“
With that said, Cassie backed the jeep out of the driveway. Jenna stood in her front yard and watched the girls drive away.
“Are there gonna be any guys here?” Nikki asked, looking up from a compact in her hand.
“I hope so,” Sophie said.
Cassie looked in her rear-view mirror at Nikki, “I don’t think the owners are going to appreciate the counselors’ boy searching while they’re supposed to be watching grade-school kids.”
Nikki scoffed, “Whatever.” She went back to fixing her make-up.
“I’m just excited that we’re actually getting paid for having fun!” Sophie said excitedly.
Cassie nodded smiling. They had been driving for a few hours now. The sun had finally risen high enough that it wasn’t in their eyes while they drove. The camp was somewhere deep in the woods, but they had to drive on the interstate for a while to get there.
They had gotten this job through one of Nikki’s mother’s friends. They had said that Nikki would be perfect for the job of counseling at a camp for middle school aged children. Most of these kids were “trouble-makers”. The camp’s mission was to show them a way to have fun while following the rules. Why Nikki was seen a “perfect” for a job like that, Cassie didn’t understand. Had Nikki been that age, she would have been sent here herself.
“I can’t wait to see what there is to do after the little brats go to bed,” Nikki said, trying to elicit excitement from the other girls. “We’ll have to make some friends with as many of the counselors as possible on the first day. Maybe we’ll strike gold and find someone who knows where to get some booze.”
Sophie and Cassie just glanced at each other, having lived through the same behavior from Nikki all through high school.
“Don’t forget, Nikki, we are here for a reason,” Cassie explained. “These kids need us.”
“Yeah, as babysitters!” Nikki said, “Our job is just to make sure they don’t run with scissors or some shit like that.”
“It’s more than that”’ Cassie argued.
“You’ll see once we get there”’ Nikki said, going back to her make-up.
Cassie’s jeep slowly crept along the gravel road through the woods. The crunching of the rocks beneath them were the only sounds in the silent forest. They had finally reached their destination, after a six hour drive.
“Where the hell is this place?” Nikki asked no one in particular.
“Somewhere on this road, Nikki.” Cassie said, getting annoyed with being trapped in the car with her. Nikki had already had four bathroom breaks on their trip, further delaying the end of their trip.
“Well, duh’’ replied Nikki, “But where? We’ve been on this road forever now.”
“Well, the brochure said it was ‘secluded from the rest of the world’. So” Sophie explained, “It probably isn’t going to be right on the side of the road.”
“Stop!” Nikki yelled, causing the other two girls to jump and Cassie to slam on the breaks. The three girls looked forward to see that they had reached a rusted wrought iron gate, which Cassie had come close to driving into.
“Shit,” Sophie said.
Cassie caught her breath then asked, “Where did that come from?”
“Nevermind that,” Sophie said, “How do we get through it?”
Her question was answered by a woman wearing an ill-fitting ranger’s outfit emerged from a small hut next to the jeep. A pile of thick blonde hair hung from underneath a ranger’s hat and her ridiculously large breasts, close to bursting through her uniform, bounced with every perky step she took as she approached the jeep.
“Are you guys gonna be the new counselors!?” she asked giddily, not sounding too bright.
Cassie answered, “Uhhhh”
“Awesome! I’ll let you guys in!” She giggled and produced a key from between her boobs, then proceeded to unlock the large metal gate.
“Hey,” Cassie called, “Why do you have a gate like this here?”
The woman seemed to struggle with a reply, as if thinking almost physically hurt her. Finally, she smiled and answered, “Well, if we didn’t have the gate, people would, like, try to leave”’
The girls exchanged glances, “You mean the kids?”
The woman seemed to get confused, then straightened up, “Oh right! Yeah, the, um, the kids! Hee hee!” Cassie, Sophie, and Nikki looked at each other again, this time bringing Nikki to snicker to herself. “So go ahead in! A few girls have gotten here so far, maybe you guys could get to know each other before the orientation!”
The woman giggled again. Cassie just nodded, “Yeah, ok.” She slowly started going forward, “Thanks.”
The three girls drove off down the gravel road, leaving the woman by herself, still smiling. With a perky walk, she closed the gate back and locked it. After doing this, she walked back to her hut and sat down at her desk, which sat adorned with fashion magazines and a porno playing on a small TV in the background. She picked up a phone sitting on the desk and pushed a button on the keypad. After a minute, someone answered, “Mr. Max! Hi! Three more girls are on their way!…Yes sir… Yes sir, and they look yummy!”
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