camp triple pine//lawrusso

1. a dip in the lake

It's boring, and not even a rumor, though people say the camp is called Camp Triple Pine because the map spreads the camp out like a triangle, one pine tree in each corner holding up the end of the border.

There are things beyond the border people go explore of course, though they are only supposed to stay within the restrictions of the trees.

There is still plenty of space, though, with plenty of cabins to call home. None of the campers actually wanted to sleep in the woods, after all.

Except Daniel Larusso. Daniel Larusso was willing and ready to sleep in the fucking woods.

"What the hell, man?" Daniel protested, plopping his bags down onto his bed in the counselors cabin.

It's not much of a cabin so much as a rest stop between the long summer days. It's got four walls and a roof, but pretty much all available space is taken by four twin beds, pushed to the walls two by two. Each of the beds has a small trunk on the end to hold their things, along with a tiny block of a nightstand with only room for a cheap lamp. Daniel didn't mind a little humble sleeping arrangement—he wasn't here for an expensive retreat, after all—but his problem was with the three Encino assholes he was eyeing. Three of the Cobras he'd apparently have to be bunking with.

Tommy, Bobby, and—ugh—Johnny Lawrence looked back at him, not exactly seeming thrilled to be bunking with him as well. That is, until Bobby stepped forward with an extended hand for a shake.

"Hey, man. This clearly isn't the best situation, but we're past all that shit from last year, alright? This'll be fine, we'll have fun." Bobby spares a glance at Johnny and Tommy with raised brows, Mother Henning them all the way down. "Right, guys?"

"Relax, Bobby, Larusso and I are cool." Johnny says, as if forfeiting the last piece of cake. But perhaps he had a stomachache, and he really didn't want to deal with it all anyway.

"I never gave a shit about him, Johnny was the one with the obsession." Tommy chimes in, shrugging as he continues to unpack.

"You wanna talk obsession?" Johnny's face flushes red as he goes over to Tommy's bed, lifting up the mattress to reveal a wrinkled old magazine. "The hottest babes from 1981. 1981! You've been using the same material for four years, the only reason it still works for you is that you've got no other action."

"Um," Daniel laughs a little awkwardly, scratching the back of his neck. "I'm gonna go look around and settle in later..."

Other than the apologetic (and tired) look from Bobby, the two bickering Cobras paid him no mind.

Daniel went out to explore the rest of the camp. He had a map in his back pocket, but there were enough signs pointing all around to ensure no one could be lost. Something felt good about going to the craft patio, so he followed the signs that way.

None of the campers were there yet, just the counselors settling in, but he could see a girl with red hair already working on a kiln, molding clay into a pot.

"Jessica!" Daniel went over and sat at one of the benches, beaming as Jessica smiled right back at him.

He knew Jessica would be here, they had discussed working as counselors excitedly during their time in school. Jessica would be a senior in the fall, though, so she said she wanted all the time with Daniel she could get before he would be moving on to whatever he planned to do come the fall. It seemed so far, too far to be concerned about, really.

Amongst all the catching up, Daniel couldn't help but ask: "Hey, Jess? Who are your bunkmates?"

"Oh!" Jessica brightened at that, turning off the kiln and wiping off her hands. "I'm with Ali and Susan. There was another girl that was supposed to be with us, but she had to drop out last minute..." she frowned at Daniel's expression. "What, what is it?"

"I got Bobby, Tommy, and Johnny, all ex-Cobra assholes." Daniel replied. "Bobby seems to wanna make things right, and I guess the other two do, too, but...I dunno, I wish they could make things right a safe distance from me."

"I'm sure they mean well," Jessica stood, heading towards the direction of the lake in the middle of the grounds as she must have wanted to rinse her hands off. Daniel followed. "I remember Bobby, at least, if I'm thinking of the same guy. He was wearing a Cobra Kai jacket. This one time, last year, this asshole was harassing me, and Bobby defended me and got into it with this guy...he was real sweet to me afterwards to, walked me to class and everything..."

"Yeah, well, it's a shame I'm not a cute girl, 'cause there's no way those guys are gonna be chivalrous towards me." Daniel replied smartly, and Jessica merely gave him a look, annoyed and endeared at once as she dipped her hands in the lake. Daniel found that Jessica gave him that look a lot.

Before either of them could say much more, Tommy's voice erupted behind them. "Hey, Larusso," he jogged up to them, Johnny tagging by his heels.

"Tommy, no--" Johnny started apprehensively.

"Come on, man, I'm just messing with him," Tommy said to Johnny dismissively over his shoulder. "Larusso, you look hot, let me help you out."

"What?" Daniel started, though the next second, he was being shoved right into the lake. Johnny seemed to try to grab onto his shirt, and Daniel instinctively grabbed onto Johnny's to keep himself steady, but it only served to pull Johnny along. Daniel stumbled, Johnny grappling onto him as the two plunged into the cold depths of the lake together.