LIMITED OMNISCIENT, POV FOCUS ON RHEA
Rhea is exactly on time, as usual. she has all her suitcases packed and prepared, with plenty of clothes and extra supplies. The camp doesn't require any of it, but the thought of leaving underprepared makes her teeth hurt, so she has two duffels. No one else is here, which she figures is what she gets for making so sure she'd be early. Wildesden had been nearly unnavigable, taking her uncle a solid hour and a half on the smooth worn roads that promised twenty minutes driving. Then a truck pulls in behind her, making her jump. Behind the wheel is a rugged, almost scary young woman with wavy auburn hair and bleached highlights. Her fingers, decorated with rings, rest easily on the steering wheel, and though Rhea could have mistaken her demeanor for confidence, the bags under her eyes suggest she just doesn't have the energy to be presentable. The girl hops out of her pickup, landing deftly on the ground below her. they stare at each other, alone on the packed earth driveway of The Owl Camp.
"Hi!" Rhea chirps, hoping to break the silence. The girl just nods. "So.. how'd you find the roads?"
"Small talk isn't my thing."
"Oh- right. Sorry. Can I ask your name?"
"Callisto Perry. I don't do nicknames."
"Well it's nice to meet you Callisto. I'm Rhea Grace. Uh, Taylor is my last name." She extends her hand, brushing soft hair behind her ear and scuffing the toe of her shoe against the dirt. However nonthreatening Callisto may be, she's making Rhea nervous. Callisto grins like she can tell and steps forward to shake Rhea's hand. The other girl's grip is firm and measured, Rhea notes, but she's also somehow certain Callisto could break her hand if she wanted to. It's a jarring certainty to have about someone you've only just met. Callisto's grip relaxes as her hand stills, leaving it clasped in Rhea's gently. They look up towards each other just as someone on a bike skids into the driveway, another girl sat atop the handlebars. Callisto drops Rhea's hand.
"God dammit," the girl on the handlebars says, wiping sweat and dirt from her forehead. "Those roads." Then she hops off the handlebars and stands expectantly, nearly nose to nose with Rhea and Callisto.
"Ugh, I know," replies Rhea, happy to have met someone more conversational. "I'm Rhea. Nice to meet you."
"Nadia," says Nadia. "and you are?"
"Callisto. Your friend?"
"Maisie." The girl with the bike is locking it to a tree by the cabin's front door, her back turned to the other three. Her voice is light and almost melodic, and her short straw blonde hair is french braided into two mini buns at the back of her head. She's about Rhea's height, slightly shorter than Callisto and a good bit taller than Nadia. "Happy to be here. You all ready to head inside?"
They make their way into the large cabin, cabin two of four in the camp. All the girls have been instructed to meet here, as they have personalized letters as well as outfits and their medications waiting. They'll redistribute cabins later. There's a banner hanging from one ceiling beam in the entrance to another, "WELCOME" written out in big block letters. It reminds Rhea of a child's birthday party. Through the entryway to the common room, with couches and a TV and a small but adequate kitchen. Laid out on the coffee table are four piles of stuff, one much smaller than the rest. Rhea struggles to haul her suitcases over all the thresholds.
"Wow, who's the least favorite?" Maisie asks as they blink down at the table.
"Rhea," Callisto says, speaking for the first time since introducing herself. Rhea just about jumps out of her skin. "She brought clothes. You weren't supposed to bring clothes."
"Did it say not to?" Nadia asks blankly, and Rhea silently thanks whatever gods there are for sending her someone to take the edge off Callisto's intensity.
"No," Maisie replies, and Callisto crosses her arms over her chest idly.
"Oh, hey- look at that!" Nadia's pointing to something at the bottom of Rhea's pile, some piece of paper or square of card-stock. Rhea slowly eases the paper out from under the notebooks, over-the-counter meds, and camp-assigned work gear.
Rhea Grace Taylor, the card reads. she/her/hers, 16y 7mo. Best suited to indoor chores. Cabin 2. Rhea sees Callisto raise her eyebrows over the top of the slip of paper, and quickly flips it over.
Reason for admission: dysphoria, family. No diagnoses. Words of Affirmation. Her face flushes. How do the camp administrators know something she didn't even put on the form? She folds the card to her chest, self-conscious.
Then Callisto reaches for hers hastily, flipping it over before anyone can see the back. The front, however, reads Callisto Perry, she/her/hers, 17y 11mo. Best suited to property maintenance. Cabin 4.
"Are we all in different cabins?" Nadia asks, flipping her card over to read the back. Rhea scans Nadia's and Maisie's quickly, curious. Nadia's is 16y 1mo. Assigned sub. Cabin 3. And Maisie's, 16y 2mo. Assigned sub. Cabin 2.
"No," she says. "Maisie and I are in Cabin Two together." Maisie looks up at this, almost surprised. She flips her card back over to the front, and Rhea can read Reason for admission: Nature therapy. Gift Giving and Quality Time.
"Oh. You're right. So we're staying here?"
"And we," Nadia says, looking at Callisto. "should go find ours."
"Don't start," Callisto grumbles. "You're three, I'm not."
"You sure? I could walk you even so." Nadia smiles brightly but Callisto just scowls. Then she flips the card over to check her cabin number again, but she drops it. When it lands on the floor, Rhea can see the other side. Before anyone can read it, Callisto drops to cover the page again.
"See?" she says unsteadily. "Cabin Four."
"I can still-"
"No, thank you." Nadia just nods and looks down at the floor. Rhea needs some way to escape the awkwardness of the situation, so she looks to Maisie, who nods.
"We should, uh, put our stuff in our rooms," Maisie interjects.
"I'll help. Nadia, Cabin Three is right next to ours."
"You think I can carry all this in one trip?" Nadia asks, grinning. Her mood clearly wasn't too dampened by Callisto's abruptness, to Rhea's relief, but Callisto is already bristling. At least they won't be staying together.
"Yeah, I wouldn't bet on it actually," Maisie says hastily. "Who's strongest here?"
"Probably Callisto," Nadia replies, and Rhea can feel the relief drain from her.
"I already said-"
"Nevermind! I'll help. Rhea, can you move our things into our rooms for me?"
"Yeah, no problem."
It's only once Callisto and Nadia have left Cabin Two that the doorbell softly chimes. Rhea looks up from her dresser, where half her clothes now lay neatly folded. She hears Maisie move to get the door, then several pairs of footsteps into the common room. Well, that probably means she should join them. Making her way into the common room, she once again notes how high the thresholds are. However nice this cabin may be, the construction almost looks patchwork. Sitting on the common room couch are two new people who almost couldn't be more mismatched. The first is average height, with mid-length dark wavy hair and pale skin. Their eyes are obscured behind iridescent sunglasses, and their thin fingers tap ambiguous rhythms on their thighs. Her eyes flit to the man next to them. He's tall, and he looks at least seventeen, maybe a few months younger than Callisto by Rhea's estimate. His skin is warm and tan, and his longer blonde hair is pulled into a tiny low ponytail at the back of his neck. She almost finds it cute. Then Maisie clears her throat behind Rhea and she snaps back to herself at once.
"I'm Rhea Grace," she says, extending a hand and fixing her posture. The blonde steps forward to shake it, rising a few inches taller than Rhea. It gives her a rush of satisfaction to know that for once she can't be singled out as the tallest. Between him and Callisto-
"And I'm Elio," he says, interrupting her thoughts. His voice is gravelly enough to startle her. She shakes his hand decisively.
"I'm Jonah," the other kid pipes up from the sofa.
"It's nice to meet you both," Maisie says, before stepping forward to retrieve something she seems to have previously missed lying under the table. It's another card, but this one doesn't seem to have anyone's information on it. Rhea's moving to crowd around Maisie when Maisie reads it aloud.
"You may now read each other's cards. Just the front, please."
"So, what, do we pass them around or read them out loud?" Rhea asks hesitantly.
"Read them out, it takes less time," Jonah says. "I'll go first.
Jonah Barnett, they/them/theirs, 16y 10mo. Best suited to kitchen work. Cabin 2."
"Thank you," Elio says, his voice soft but not cloying. "Rhea?"
"Rhea Grace Taylor, she/her/hers, 16y 7mo. Best suited to indoor chores. Cabin 2," she reads off.
"Thank you. Now- Maisie, your card."
"Mhm," Maisie hums, turning hers over calmly; and Rhea wonders how she can read those details out so confidently.
"Mason Cohen-Brackett, she/her/hers, 16y 2mo. Assigned sub. Cabin 2. And I- well I had a few things to add."
"Of course," says Elio.
"My name is Mason. But a lot of people find it easier to call me Maisie, so that's how I introduce myself. You can call me either but I also go by May. It's just my parents' unconventional taste."
"It's nice to meet you, Mason," Elio says.
"And yourself," she replies. "It's your turn now."
"Elio Richard White, he/him/his, 17y 1mo. Assigned sub. Cabin 2." His voice is even and calm. Rhea wants to thank him, but instead she looks down at her feet.
"Thank you too, Elio. Anything to add?" asks Maisie.
"I don't think so," he replies. "So, what's next, do we just unpack everything?"
"I guess," Maisie shrugs. "We already started. Need any help?"
"I'm alright." And he looks to Jonah for their reply. They shrug.
"I think I've got it. Which rooms has everyone picked?"