Meet Me at Stagedoor

Chapter 1

She tossed her bags over her shoulder, repositioning the straps so they laid on the center of her shoulder blades. Looking back at the masses of other kids that were flocking off the busses and towards the cabins, Beca pushed her headphones up upon her ears and let the music flood over every inch of her body.

Crossing her arms, she turned against the breeze coming at her through the treetops to avoid a possible chill. She maneuvered her way around the mountains of duffle bags and mobs of parents. Beca looked at the corner of her eyes to see mothers and fathers dabbing their tears as they hugged their child for the last time. Beca scrunched up her nose, remembering how her parents used to do the same thing all those years ago when they were dropping her off at this exact camp.

Now, the last person Beca saw before venturing off into countless weeks many miles from home, was the bus driver who Beca believed to be partially blind on account of the many missed turns and inability to stay in the correct lane. With a nod, the bus driver had speeded away, missing the massive tree up ahead by just an inch or so. So, there, Beca had been left with a an armful of bags and no escape route.

Maybe she was exaggerating; it wasn’t so bad. Actually, camp had always been sort of a haven for Beca. The first year she arrived at the camp, Stagedoor Woods, it was her only escape from her parents’ fights. At night, she heard the sounds of cicadas and the hushed breaths of her fellow cabinmates and not her father’s fists banging against the table or her mother’s sobs. Instead of hiding in her bedroom closet all day, trying to block out the screaming and the yelling, at camp Beca was able to sing her heart out and play with computers until it was dark.

Increasing the volume of her phone, Beca drowned out the sounds of happiness and hysteria that was always so equally mixed on the first day. Without a word to anyone she disappeared on the pathway, paved with a bed of wood chips. Walking through the trees, trying not to fall on branches or protruding rocks, Beca's eyes scanned the area until she saw the cabin. Her cabin.

It was further away than any other cabin, but Beca loved not being bothered by the blasting pop music from radios or whispered cabin talks about the cutest guys. It was perfect, not too close and not too far. She pushed the cabin door open with the side of her shoulder, on account of the phone and bags that were occupying her arms. Immediately she was met with the arms of another girl, whom she already could tell the identity.

"Chloe," Beca laughed, "If you hug me any tighter I'm going to choke to death." The other girl returned her comment with a smile as she released her arms from around the petite brunette. The cabin was already clustered with duffle bags and articles of clothing strewn in every open spot. Windows on the sides of the cabin were open, blowing in a slight breeze that pulled Beca's hair away from her face ever so slightly.

Beca tossed her stuff on the side of the bed towards the right of the room. It was an unspoken rule that that bed was always Beca's. It had been that way since the first year she was a camper.

"I've missed you so much," Chloe said, "And you’re so bad at answering texts!" Chloe used her arms for emphasis, but Beca knew that she was already forgiven. Grasping Beca's hands in her own, Chloe ushered the young brunette outside towards the mess hall. Campers were already congregating there, forming the cliques that would remain intact for the rest of the summer.

You could already tell which program each camper was part of at first sight. The musical theater students were singing along to Glee, mimicking show choir dance moves. In the corner, the musicians were having a jam session on all their instruments while a percussion player was maintaining a steady beat. The photographers were on the ground, trying to find the perfect angle to capture the scene and over by the food line were the dancers, clad in leotards and pointe shoes. Other groups were just funneling in from outside, after securing their beds and meeting up with their old friends.