whirlwind (an Eddie Munson x OC love story)

7. camp day 1

The morning of camp was exciting. I had packed almost everything a week in advance. I ran to the shower and washed my hair. Once I was out, I brushed my teeth and collected all my toiletries to put in my bags. I had one small bag for the four-hour bus ride and a larger bag with my clothes and toiletries. I ran around getting ready. I put several colored scrunchies in my bag to match each of my outfits. I was far too excited. I was finally ready with 20 minutes to spare. My mom told me she would drive me. I grabbed my Walkman and headphones. I had packed my drink bottle, snacks, books, several tapes and my sketch book and pencils for the bus trip. I knew it was a bit excessive, but I wanted to have options. I was the first of my friends to arrive and I waited for them. Amanda and Sarah arrived shortly after and a little while later so did Jessica. We decided who we would sit with. I ended up next to Sarah. I was a bit worried as she was prone to throwing up. We all piled on to the bus and were handed information booklets. Someone rushed onto the bus, running late. I rolled my eyes as Eddie grinned sheepishly at the teacher. He scanned the seats until he saw me. We walked over and sat behind me. No one sat beside him. No one wanted to. He put his headphones on and pulled out a book. I looked behind me to try and see the book cover, but I couldn't see it properly. The bus started moving and I talked to Sarah for a while as I sketched in my sketch book. It wasn't the easiest thing to do with the bus bumping around, so I gave up pretty quickly. Sarah started to look pale, so I got up and found a teacher. She was moved to the front, and I was left alone to read. I felt someone sit beside me and looked up. Eddie had moved to the empty seat beside me. I finally got to read the title of the book he was reading and looked up at him, shocked. It was the very same book that was in my hands. I turned my book over to show him the cover. He grinned at me.

"Red dragon? So, you went with my suggestion then."

"Of course, Munson."

We each went back to our books and read quietly. I felt him shift a little beside me, so our shoulders were touching. It was comforting but a little distracting. I tried to continue reading but my eyes were starting to feel heavy, and I couldn't focus. I placed my bookmark on the page and closed the book. I closed my eyes and felt myself start to fall asleep. I didn't want to have another nightmare, but my brain had other ideas. I woke with a start, covered in sweat. I looked around panicked and felt a hand grab mine and squeeze. I looked over and saw Eddie looking at me with a worried look.

"Nightmare." I muttered. He nodded and kept holding my hand as I tried to calm myself. I was getting better at calming myself when I had these nightmares, it was the triggers I didn't know how to deal with. I slowly calmed down and pulled out my water bottle. I drank slowly and looked out the window. I rested my face against the cold glass and watched trees go past. Eddie went back to his book since I seemed calmer and had let his hand go. We only had another half an hour left of driving so I listened to music and looked out the window the rest of the drive.

We arrived and piled out of the bus. Everyone scattered around, stretching their sore bodies. We were given instructions and then sent off. Everyone grabbed their bags and headed to their cabins. We weren't going to start activities until tomorrow. We had time to explore and settle in before dinner and then they were going to have a campfire as they would every night. Then bed. Amanda, Sarah, Jessica, and I found our cabin and picked our beds. I was on the bottom bunk below Amanda. Sarah was on the other bottom bunk with Jessica above her. The shower block was a short walk, and we had a few little drawers for clothes which were likely rarely used. I placed my pajamas on the end of my bed and set up my little space. I had brought a little teddy bear. I couldn't sleep at night without hugging something and my friends didn't judge me. I opened my bag and set up each day's outfits on top of one of the sets of drawers. My friends were not this organized but let me do my thing. I then put my drink bottle and books beside my bed and tucked my bags into a corner. The girls had been setting up their own spaces. We had floral sheets and pillowcases. Jessica's mother had insisted she bring her own pillow, so she added that to her bed and Amanda had brought a little extra blanket because she got cold at night. We all decided to go on a walk together. We walked past the lake and the campfire. Following along the map we found the dining hall and the showers. We looked inside, not the worst. They seemed reasonably clean. The toilets were in the same block too. We had made our way around the camp, finding everything we needed to when we saw a long, curly haired boy running through the trees, he was being chased by Jason and Mitchell who were yelling at him, calling him a pervert. We found a teacher and told her. I was glad my friends were happy to be tattle tales. The teacher went to find out what was wrong. We saw Eddie heading to see the camp nurse with a split lip, but he looked otherwise unhurt. The teacher was scolding Jason and Mitchell, but I knew that was all the punishment they would likely get. I sighed and we headed back to our cabin.

Dinner came and we were sitting down eating spaghetti. It wasn't great but camp wasn't known for having good food. We chatted and when we were done, we went to have early showers and get changed. We put on our matching pajamas and joined everyone at the campfire. Some people in pajamas, some not. The sky was getting dark, and I was grateful for my nightgown as the night air came with a bit of a chill. I caught Eddie watching me a few times and his face looked okay. His lip had a slight cut, but it didn't look serious. We all toasted marshmallows and talked in our smaller groups until the teachers started ushering us off to bed and showers. The first night of camp had gone by quickly. I was excited to start the next day. I was looking forward to activities.