Breathe || Max X Reader - Camp Camp

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NOTICE: Anything in italics are the reader's thoughts. This is a reader insert narrated from first person perspective. This story progresses slowly.

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Y/N's POV
Word Count: 1730

These people are unbelievable. How hard is it to sit down in a seat and stay there? Better yet - I get to spend an entire summer with these people. I broke my thought with a yawn. After about an hour or so of being on the bus, it was about time I had slept. Well, what do you know? I guess Mom was right.

    "Y/N," she began. "it's going to be a long trip. I think if you bring your comforter you can sleep on the bus." Of course at the time I thought it was completely ludicrous to bring my entire bed with me. But Mom said to do it, so I did.
    I remember saying something back like, "Oh no, that's the stupidest thing you've ever said to me," or something. I wish I'd known at the time that her advice was worth listening to.
The sad part was I'd said those things to Mom all of the time. I didn't know why, in the heat of the moment I'd convince myself that I'm right. About half the time I'm wrong. The other half I still feel bad about in the end regardless.

Stuck in that odd phase of blurry thoughts, I felt it'd be best to just fell asleep. It's not like there was ever anything for me to look forward to on a bus ride, anyway.
After about fifteen minutes, I was straight to sleep.

A sudden jolt and a quick spike of burning pain awakened me. I hadn't even opened my eyes and I'd already managed to hurt myself. Nice. I squinted and wiped my eyes. My forehead was glued to the back of the seat in front of me. I must've slammed into the seat when the bus had stopped.
    Outside of my window was an old, worn-down camp. And that was the place my mom decided was oh-so-safe to spend my summer. Granted, it was my idea to go to a camp...just not this one.
As everyone began exiting the bus, I snagged my fat suitcase and wheeled it down the aisle. I thanked the bus driver one last time and finally stepped outside. In contrast to an almost eerie camp stood a cheery looking red-headed man. I assumed that both he and the girl beside him were camp facilitators or something of the sort. The girl, on the other hand, looked miserable. Her face dawned a reluctant frown, she was angry at the world. Her arms hung to her sides, eyes glossing past the tops of our heads staring straight into nothing.
"Good afternoon, happy campers!", the man introduced. "If you have any luggage, keep it with you. Now, who's ready for a quick and hearty Camp Campbell Welcome?"
The boy behind me scoffed. I had thought nothing of it until he opened his mouth. "David, nobody gives a shit about the dumbass welcome you give every single year! It's all the same people!"
The mean lady raised her brows. "Well I'll be damned, Max. I think you might be wrong," she responded. The woman raised a finger and pointed towards me. Okay, this is awkward.
The man, supposedly David, smiled ear to ear. He walked over to me and kneeled on one knee. He grabbed my hand and shook it. "We haven't had a new camper in a while. It's wonderful to meet you," David gushed. He stood and backed up a bit. "I'm David, this is Gwen." He motioned behind him to the angry lady. "We're going to be your new best friends! We are your camp counselors. And what's your name, lovely lady?"
His enthusiasm was starting to get me. Then again, I still wasn't fond of anyone in this place. "Y/N," I answered. "L/N." A bit behind David, Gwen hid herself using her clipboard. I assumed she was checking names off of an attendance roster. Of course, she could've been doing absolutely nothing. Who knows? "I'm from a little township about two and half hours away."
"Can you get this over with any faster, David?", the kid behind me groaned.
My cheeks flushed. "I'm sorry," I apologized. I placed my palms to my cheeks, feeling the warmth. The kid behind me started laughing. I didn't know what was so funny.
"Max, you're soiling other peoples' Camp Campbell magic. Please be patient," David begged. It was an odd situation. It was almost like that kid, Max, held more control over the camp than David. It's obvious that David was already really familiar with the other campers. "If you'd like to go move into your tents now that's fine with me, but it really breaks my heart not seeing anyone in the spirit-" Before he could finish, everyone was out of sight.
I sort of felt bad. All of the campers seemed to despise this man and I didn't really understand why. Although, one person such as Max can't speak for a majority. "What should I do with my luggage, Sir?", I asked.
David took a gander at my suitcase. "Well, somebody's prepared!", he chirped. "Here, follow me. I'll show you a place where you can set up your sleeping area. Unfortunately, our fundraiser didn't raise quite enough to afford new tents, so you're sharing with Nikki. I think you'll like her, almost everyone does. I paired you with her because I think you two might get along." I nodded and wheeled my suitcase as David walked me through camp.
I still don't know who that hooded kid is. I mean, I know his name is Max, but I don't know anything about him. I also don't get why he's so mean. David didn't do anything wrong, right? I don't get it. "David?", I asked. David looked back at me. "What's up with that Max kid? Why is he like that?"
David fought a frown. "Oh, Max? Don't mind him!", David searched. "He just struggles, that's all. I promise he isn't that mean. He doesn't understand things, he has trouble comprehending I suppose."
    I couldn't follow exactly what he meant although I did hold onto it. David finally stopped at one particular white tent, nestled amongst a sea of other white tents. This is it. This, my grand stay at the Hilton. It may even exceed the Ritz-Carlton.
    David popped his head in the tent. "Nikki! Your new roommate is here!", David announced. A girl wearing low, green pigtails popped her head out of the tent. "Come on inside, Y/N."
    I stepped into the tent hesitantly. I scanned the interior of my new home. I didn't know how the tents were set up in the previous operating seasons, but this year it seemed like I was Nikki's only roommate. "Hi," I greeted.
    It's always awkward to meet a new person. "Hello!", Nikki greeted. "I'm Nikki! You can use all the tent space you want as long as you don't cross this line." She pointed to a line that spanned down the middle of the tent. She had drawn it with a stick she'd stored in a corner closest to the entrance of the tent. I glanced over my shoulder to see David, who to my surprise had left a while ago. You could've said bye.
    "So, what activity did you sign up for?", I asked. I had to break the ice somehow.
    Nikki jumped up and down. She clearly was the most hyper camper in all of Camp Campbell. "I'm doing bear-wrangling this year!", she gushed. Bear-wrangling? "I've been wanting to sign up for that activity since I was ten! They only let you do it when you're fourteen or older - so I'm really excited! I had to wait four entire years! Do you have any idea what that was like?" Nikki clutched my shoulders and stared me with those wide, piercing eyes.
I twiddled my thumbs. "Well, no, not particularly..," I trailed. "Um, so...you're fourteen then?"
Nikki nodded. "You bet!", she rectified. "And I'm going to be a professional bear-wrangler! I'm going to catch them and sell them on the black market!" She ran back in forth as she spoke. Anybody else would have paced, but Nikki couldn't be still enough for that.
The black market? That's not even legal. "Who told you that you could just go around selling things on the black market?", I probed.
"It was Max's idea," she exposed. Max? How on Earth is Nikki friends with Max? I wasn't too surprised, honestly. "He said if I sold things there I could get really rich fast! And I could spend my time in the woods hunting!"
During our chat I began unpacking my things. I put my comforter on my bed and fluffed the pillows. Beside me, I set up my Keurig on a plastic table. "So, I can't help but ask, is Max really your friend? Is Max anybody's friend?"
Nikki, now on the ground and making a mud pie, raised an eyebrow. "Max? Oh, he's not really anybody's friend, but I like him," Nikki replied. "Anyways, I was thinking if we were super quick then before dinner we could go on a hike and we could catch fish. Or we could make an empire from the ground up out of sticks! We could even-"
"Nikki, I'm good." Nikki went quiet.
"Oh."
I continued to unpack my things and sort my clothing. "I think I'd rather relax today.", I said.
Nikki nodded. "I'll go get Neil. Maybe he'll be in the mood to do something," she suggested to herself. "Well, I'm going on an adventure, Y/N. Bye!"
And with that, she was gone. Being left to my own devices, I continued organizing and prepping my little area. I was preparing myself for the call that David was probably about to get from Mom complaining that I'd stolen her coffee maker. To be fair, it was never strictly anybody's in the first place.
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A/N - Thank you for reading! I hope you have yourself a fantastic day and I hope you enjoyed. If you have any suggestions for the plot of future chapters you are more than welcome to contribute via comment. ☁️