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Title: This Means War
Fandom: Original Work (Camp Counselor/Camp Counselor From Rival Camp Across the Lake)
Author: Beatrice_Otter
Written For: DesertVixen for RarePairExchange 2020
Word Count: 3209 words
Rating: Teen
Summary: Madison was sunning herself drowsily on the anchored dock that marked the boundary of Camp Fairwater's swimming area. In just a few hours, campers would arrive and she would need to be alert and aware of her kids for the next six days. But for now, she could just relax and enjoy the sun and the sound of the waves gently lapping at the dock. In the distance, someone was driving a power boat across the lake, and the drone of the engine was a nice background hum.
In her somnolent state, she didn't notice that hum getting louder until a wave of icy lake water swept over her and she convulsed in shock. "What the fuck?" she shrieked, glad there were no campers around.
AN: This is not what we matched on, but I couldn't resist. Thank you to my Dad for showering me with stories of camp prank wars as a kid for providing much inspiration.
At AO3. On tumblr. On Pillowfort.
Madison was sunning herself drowsily on the anchored dock that marked the boundary of Camp Fairwater's swimming area. In just a few hours, campers would arrive and she would need to be alert and aware of her kids for the next six days. But for now, she could just relax and enjoy the sun and the sound of the waves gently lapping at the dock. In the distance, someone was driving a power boat across the lake, and the drone of the engine was a nice background hum.
In her somnolent state, she didn't notice that hum getting louder until a wave of icy lake water swept over her and she convulsed in shock. "What the fuck?" she shrieked, glad there were no campers around.
"Oops," said Jaden, with an insincere grin from the jet ski he was riding. He was a counselor from Camp Alderwood across the lake, and while Madison had been known to sigh with Isabella about how cute his smile was, she was not amused at the moment. "Sorry, Mads, didn't see you there."
"It's the weekend, Jaden. There are no kids. There is no point to pranking at this point, so why are you buzzing our dock?"
"Didn't mean to," he said sheepishly. "We only just got this bad boy a couple of days ago, this is my first chance to try it out." He petted it like it was an animal he was riding.
Madison examined it. "You guys got a jet ski?" she said, incredulously. "What for?" It was probably not new, but even used, those things were not cheap. She shivered as the breeze flared up for a second, and wrapped her arms around her legs for warmth until she dried off a bit.
Jaden shrugged. "For water safety, so if some kids overturn their canoe or whatever we can get to them fast."
Madison shook her head. If kids were in canoes or out beyond quick reach of a lifeguard, they would have lifejackets on and would be fine until the counselor reached them. The jet ski was nice, but extravagant. "You're not letting the kids on that thing, are you?"
"Nah, too much liability. Anyway, I need to learn to use this thing, so I gotta jet." He grinned again at the pun. "Wanna ride along?"
Madison hesitated. The jet ski looked fun, but she was still mad about being so rudely awakened. "Gee, being a passenger on someone else's training, sounds like so much fun." She hesitated. "Ask me again when you know how to use it."
"Fair enough," Jaden gunned the engine and whipped the thing around, sending another spray of water over Madison.
"Jaden you jerk!" she yelled after him.
"Sorry!" he called back, laughing. The first splash probably had been an accident, but the second—!
Madison cupped her hands over her mouth and shouted the immortal catchphrase that usually only got invoked when there were campers present: "Of course, you realize this means war!"
Laughter was her only response.
This week, Madison had a cabin full of middle-schoolers. Not her favorite age; they were usually too old and trying too hard to be cool for them to respect and adore her just for being an adult, but too young to be actually cool and secure enough in themselves to be fun to hang out with. And she had called over to the Alderwood office and confirmed that Jaden's cabin this week would also be middle-schoolers. Perfect. Neither cabin would be outmatched.
(It still boggled her mind to be an adult instead of one of the kids, but this was her second summer as a counselor and it wasn't as weird as it used to be.)
All of her new campers were Camp Fairwater veterans, and all of them knew about the long, long tradition of pranks and counter-pranks between Fairwater and Alderwood. Usually, they waited to stage inciting incidents until the kids were present, for maximum theatricality, but Madison was a good enough storyteller she thought she could get away with it. And so it was that, while her new girls were settling in to their 'cabin'—it was one of the overflow tents they only used when they had a full camp, stifling during the day and freezing at night, and a long walk from the restrooms and the dining hall and the lake and, well, anything—she regaled them with the story of that morning's events. It was highly embroidered, of course, but such was camp life. And the girls ate it up.
At dinner that night they talked about little else and thought up strategies and plans when they thought no one was listening.
"You're going after Jaden's cabin, hm?" Isabella said from the table next to her. Isabella had high schoolers this week, and half of them were pretending they were too cool for prank wars and the other half were giving her girls ideas.
"Yeah," Madison said. "So?" It was halfway through the summer and she hadn't led a prank war yet. It was high time.
"Pulling pigtails, are we?" Isabella said.
"He hasn't got pigtails," Madison pointed out.
"'Pulling his dreadlocks' doesn't quite sound the same," Isabella said. "But you know what I mean, Mads."
"He started it," Madison said, which got a chorus of loyal agreement from her campers.
"Riiiiiight," Isabella said.
That night, they struck. Madison woke her girls up early and they took canoes and rowed across the lake as the eastern sky slowly began to lighten.
Jaden was in a double-cabin this week, one of the ones they had at Alderwood with a shared bathroom in the middle and bunk rooms on either side. But each bunkroom had only one outer door, and both the doors were on the same side of the building, but opening in different directions. This meant that, with enough rope, you could tie a rope to one door handle, run it around the building, and tie it to the other door handle, preventing either door from opening.
"But what if they have to pee, or there's a fire or something?" one of the girls—Taylor—asked worriedly.
"They've got windows to climb out of," another girl pointed out.
"And they do have a bathroom in there," Madison pointed out.
"They have a bathroom in their own cabin?" Taylor said, jaw dropping. No cabins at Camp Fairwater had attached bathrooms, not even the nicest ones. But then, the two camps had different styles and philosophies. Alderwood focused on amenities, and Fairwater focused on adventure and learning and experiences.
"No showers," Madison said, "but all cabins here at Alderwood have toilets and sinks." She checked their preparations. Everything seemed to be ready. She led the girls to a spot right near the cabin, but far enough away to be out of range if the boys decided to throw things. "All right girls, on the count of three. One, two, THREE!"
On cue, the girls began shrieking like banshees and clanging industriously on the pots and pans they had brought. There was a satisfying howl from inside the cabins as the boys inside woke up, and even more satisfying thuds as they tried the doors and figured out they didn't work. Madison and her girls kept on yelling and banging as kids and counselors in nearby cabins tumbled out to see what the fuss was about. (Nobody interfered, of course, as that would have been cheating.)
After a few minutes, one of the windows opened and the screen was popped out so the boys inside could escape. And, hah! She'd been right! Jaden did go out himself rather than taking a chance on one of his charges falling wrong and spraining a wrist or something. And, oh, he was only wearing boxers …
"Now, Sarah!" Madison cried, and the camper tugged on the line that held the bucket of water perched on the roof from falling over. It nailed him. She and the girls exchanged high fives as the other buckets over the other windows were spilled on the boys. By this time, however, more of the boys were coming swarming out of their cabin, and the girls were outnumbered. They ran back to the canoes, whooping the entire way, and made their way back across the lake to safety.
As they paddled back over in the growing light, the girls laughed and chattered about the morning's events, with ever-more-exaggerated descriptions of how funny the boys had looked.
Taylor was sitting in the middle of Madison's canoe; since they'd done this before they'd had time to practice in the canoes, she'd put the girls with the least experience in the middle where they wouldn't have to paddle. "You falling asleep, there Taylor?" Madison asked. She was behind the girl so she couldn't see her face, but Taylor was being very quiet.
"No," Taylor said. She turned around. "That counselor looked really cute, even all wet like that."
Madison laughed and nodded. "Yeah, he did."
Of course the next day was filled with speculation over what the response would be, and whether it would be both cabins or just Jaden's cabin (which had been the only one with buckets over its windows).
"Now, I know you guys are excited," Madison said as it got in the way of their main activity, "but rockets are delicate and dangerous and we have to be careful, okay? Pranks are fun, but you picked this week to come because you wanted to learn about model rockets. Focus!"
"Could we use rocket parts in our next prank?" Zoe asked. "Like, put one of the engines in a trash can and set it off?" There was a chorus of ooohs from the rest of the girls in appreciation for that idea.
"Nope," Madison said. "You know the rules. Nothing dangerous, nothing that does property damage. Anything involving explosives is out." As the girls chorused again in disappointment, Madison led them through an explanation of how the rocket engines worked and what they were made out of.
That afternoon they went canoeing again on the lake. All the girls had been to camp before so they all knew at least the basics, but there was always more to learn and a refresher was good, especially for the girls who hadn't been entrusted with paddles for their early-morning jaunt. Midway Island—neutral territory in the middle of the lake—was the usual destination.
"Uh, Madison?" Sarah called. She was in the first canoe to reach the island; Madison was in the last, as always, to help with anyone who got into trouble.
"Yeah?" Madison called back.
"There's kids from the other camp here, what do I do?"
"Midway Island is neutral territory," Madison called back. "We have as much right to be here as they do, and no prank war can be carried out here. We're safe."
"Okay." Sarah climbed out of her canoe and she and her partner pulled it up on the beach.
Madison turned her attention to giving advice to the girls in a wayward canoe on how to go straight instead of curving around, and by the time she got to the island the last few canoes wouldn't have much time to play there before it was time to head back to camp for dinner.
There was, indeed, a group of kids from Alderwood already on Midway, and just her luck, Jaden's cabin was one of them. Which explained why all the kids from both camps were hanging around the beach watching her and the stragglers paddle in.
Once she got her canoe stowed and made sure all the others were secure, she made her way up the beach to where the meadow grass started. Conscious that all eyes were on her, she neither hurried nor dragged her feet. Head high, she marched up to him and put her hands on her hips. "Hello, Jaden," she said. "Caleb." She nodded to the other Alderwood counselor standing behind him.
Jaden swept off his Camp Alderwood ballcap with a flourish. "Madam Madison," he said theatrically, "I treated you terribly on Sunday morning, interrupting your repose most viciously and with little consideration. It will not happen again. Please accept my apology with this sincere token of esteem." He held out his hand and one of his campers put a bedraggled bunch of wildflowers in it, which he then presented to her. The kids watching them broke out in hoots and hollers.
"Apology accepted," she said, taking the bouquet with a curtsey, keeping a straight face only with effort.
"Please understand that this apology does not end the feud between our two cabins, but only betwixt ourselves, given the vicious and escalating nature of your attack this morning," Jaden said.
"Of course not," Madison said. "You are welcome to try for vengeance, if you think yourselves capable of it." She gave him a sunny smile. The yelling redoubled.
"Oh, I think we can," Jaden said confidently.
"We await your response with interest," Madison said. She glanced at her watch, then at the watching kids. "Camp Fairwater kids, we only have about fifteen minutes left before we have to go back for dinner, if you want to do any exploring or whatever, better get to it."
"Camp Alderwood kids, we've got a bit longer than that but not much," Caleb said.
Madison and Jaden watched the kids disperse around them.
"So," Jaden said. "If I asked you to go jet-skiing this weekend, would you say yes?"
"I would," Madison replied. He had looked really good that morning, soaked and in his boxers, and he had a great sense of humor. "Sounds like fun. My girls will be leaving Saturday at two."
"My boys leave Friday night," Jaden said.
"Lucky you." Madison sighed at the idea of a whole day off.
"Saturday seems like so far away," Jaden said.
"We could meet up before then," Madison said diffidently, waiting to see how he'd react. "One to three is my free period every day this week."
"Mine, too," Jaden said. "I can't get the jet ski during the week, though."
"That's okay, it can be a weekend treat."
"Where do you want to meet?"
"Are your kids allowed in the canoes during free time?" Madison asked.
"Nah," Jaden said. "They've got to stay within range of the regular staff and lifeguard."
"Those are the rules at Camp Fairwater, too," Madison said. "So, nobody should be on Midway then."
"It should be nice and quiet," Jaden agreed. "Wanna meet tomorrow at, say, 1:30 then?"
Madison considered. "Sounds good to me."
So Madison went to Midway two days in a row. She and Jaden set up a picnic blanket in a little clearing in the middle of the island, where nobody from either camp could see them. They ate snacks, and talked. They sat close together and Madison could feel how close he was, it was electric.
After about a half an hour of both of them edging closer to each other every time either shifted position, Madison breathlessly asked if she could kiss him.
"Yes," Jaden said, staring at her mouth, "oh my god, yes."
They bumped noses at first, and laughed, and tried again, and after a few minutes they got into a good rhythm and once they figured out where to put their hands on one another it was really good.
"Damn, I wish we didn't have to worry about campers," Jaden said eventually.
"Yeah," Madison said with a sigh. Because even if they weren't supposed to use the canoes without their counselors, even if the lifeguards and other staff were supposed to be keeping an eye out, there was still a chance that a few could slip away and decide on a renegade excursion. And being found kissing—or anything deeper—would not be fun.
On the other hand, it did mean that she had time to think about how far she felt comfortable going, and could postpone that awkward conversation until Saturday.
Jaden lay down on the blanket and Madison draped herself over him, and they wiggled around until they found a position they both felt comfortable in, and then they talked. What they were majoring in, what professions they wanted—he wanted to be an archaeologist, she wanted to go into medical research—all sorts of things. They'd talked before, of course; but this was the first time they'd really had time to themselves to get to know one another.
But it was a warm day, and Madison hadn't slept well the last two nights. (One night up early for the prank, the second sleeping lightly in case of a return attack that had never come.) Eventually, the conversation dragged to a stop and she dozed lightly, curled up with him.
"GET 'EM!"
Dozens of water balloons hit the two of them, and Madison took the brunt of them, being on top. She shrieked and struggled to her feet, Jaden close behind her. They were surrounded.
Caleb and Isabella smiled beatific smiles at them as four cabins' worth of kids—Caleb's, Isabella's, Madison's, and Jaden's—pelted them with water balloons.
"Traitors!" Jaden said, clutching at his chest. "How sharper than a serpent's tooth it is, to have a thankless child!"
"You're the traitors!" one of the kids yelled.
"Fraternizing with the enemy!" Isabella said.
Madison took Jaden's cue. "I'm hit!" she declaimed. "Tell my family I loved them!" She keeled over as dramatically as she could.
"I'll save you, my darling!" Jaden said, shielding her with his body.
"No, 'tis too late for me, save yourself!" Madison said. By this time, either the kids were out of balloons or they were too engrossed in the spectacle, because they were no longer being pelted. Still, that was no reason to give up good drama.
"I cannot face life without you!" Jaden said, cupping her face in his hands and kissing her, which she returned with maximum theatricality and noise.
Sure enough, there were a few disgusted noises from the kids and Isabella started laughing. "Okay, break it up, you two."
"You really deserve each other," Caleb said, marveling. "It's like you were made for each other."
If it weren't for the kids, Madison would have flipped him off. As it was, she and Jaden disengaged and stood up again.
"I can't believe you broke the truce, though," Jaden said. "Midway Island is neutral territory."
"No truce was broken between the camps," Isabella pointed out. "We're working together."
"Midway Island is supposed to be about kids overcoming rivalries," Caleb said virtuously. "And what better way to do it than to come together against a common enemy?" He smirked.
"Traitor!" one of the kids said.
"Hey!" Jaden said. "We specifically said that any personal relationship between us wouldn't get in the way of the prank war. You were all there! You heard us!"
"A likely story," Zoe said with a scoff.
"Yeah," Isabella said. "A likely story." She pulled out one last water balloon from behind her back and chucked it at them. Madison almost managed to catch it, but it broke in her hands.
"Of course," Jaden said,
"you realize," Madison said,
"this means war," they chorused.
Fandom: Original Work (Camp Counselor/Camp Counselor From Rival Camp Across the Lake)
Author: Beatrice_Otter
Written For: DesertVixen for RarePairExchange 2020
Word Count: 3209 words
Rating: Teen
Summary: Madison was sunning herself drowsily on the anchored dock that marked the boundary of Camp Fairwater's swimming area. In just a few hours, campers would arrive and she would need to be alert and aware of her kids for the next six days. But for now, she could just relax and enjoy the sun and the sound of the waves gently lapping at the dock. In the distance, someone was driving a power boat across the lake, and the drone of the engine was a nice background hum.
In her somnolent state, she didn't notice that hum getting louder until a wave of icy lake water swept over her and she convulsed in shock. "What the fuck?" she shrieked, glad there were no campers around.
AN: This is not what we matched on, but I couldn't resist. Thank you to my Dad for showering me with stories of camp prank wars as a kid for providing much inspiration.
At AO3. On tumblr. On Pillowfort.
Madison was sunning herself drowsily on the anchored dock that marked the boundary of Camp Fairwater's swimming area. In just a few hours, campers would arrive and she would need to be alert and aware of her kids for the next six days. But for now, she could just relax and enjoy the sun and the sound of the waves gently lapping at the dock. In the distance, someone was driving a power boat across the lake, and the drone of the engine was a nice background hum.
In her somnolent state, she didn't notice that hum getting louder until a wave of icy lake water swept over her and she convulsed in shock. "What the fuck?" she shrieked, glad there were no campers around.
"Oops," said Jaden, with an insincere grin from the jet ski he was riding. He was a counselor from Camp Alderwood across the lake, and while Madison had been known to sigh with Isabella about how cute his smile was, she was not amused at the moment. "Sorry, Mads, didn't see you there."
"It's the weekend, Jaden. There are no kids. There is no point to pranking at this point, so why are you buzzing our dock?"
"Didn't mean to," he said sheepishly. "We only just got this bad boy a couple of days ago, this is my first chance to try it out." He petted it like it was an animal he was riding.
Madison examined it. "You guys got a jet ski?" she said, incredulously. "What for?" It was probably not new, but even used, those things were not cheap. She shivered as the breeze flared up for a second, and wrapped her arms around her legs for warmth until she dried off a bit.
Jaden shrugged. "For water safety, so if some kids overturn their canoe or whatever we can get to them fast."
Madison shook her head. If kids were in canoes or out beyond quick reach of a lifeguard, they would have lifejackets on and would be fine until the counselor reached them. The jet ski was nice, but extravagant. "You're not letting the kids on that thing, are you?"
"Nah, too much liability. Anyway, I need to learn to use this thing, so I gotta jet." He grinned again at the pun. "Wanna ride along?"
Madison hesitated. The jet ski looked fun, but she was still mad about being so rudely awakened. "Gee, being a passenger on someone else's training, sounds like so much fun." She hesitated. "Ask me again when you know how to use it."
"Fair enough," Jaden gunned the engine and whipped the thing around, sending another spray of water over Madison.
"Jaden you jerk!" she yelled after him.
"Sorry!" he called back, laughing. The first splash probably had been an accident, but the second—!
Madison cupped her hands over her mouth and shouted the immortal catchphrase that usually only got invoked when there were campers present: "Of course, you realize this means war!"
Laughter was her only response.
This week, Madison had a cabin full of middle-schoolers. Not her favorite age; they were usually too old and trying too hard to be cool for them to respect and adore her just for being an adult, but too young to be actually cool and secure enough in themselves to be fun to hang out with. And she had called over to the Alderwood office and confirmed that Jaden's cabin this week would also be middle-schoolers. Perfect. Neither cabin would be outmatched.
(It still boggled her mind to be an adult instead of one of the kids, but this was her second summer as a counselor and it wasn't as weird as it used to be.)
All of her new campers were Camp Fairwater veterans, and all of them knew about the long, long tradition of pranks and counter-pranks between Fairwater and Alderwood. Usually, they waited to stage inciting incidents until the kids were present, for maximum theatricality, but Madison was a good enough storyteller she thought she could get away with it. And so it was that, while her new girls were settling in to their 'cabin'—it was one of the overflow tents they only used when they had a full camp, stifling during the day and freezing at night, and a long walk from the restrooms and the dining hall and the lake and, well, anything—she regaled them with the story of that morning's events. It was highly embroidered, of course, but such was camp life. And the girls ate it up.
At dinner that night they talked about little else and thought up strategies and plans when they thought no one was listening.
"You're going after Jaden's cabin, hm?" Isabella said from the table next to her. Isabella had high schoolers this week, and half of them were pretending they were too cool for prank wars and the other half were giving her girls ideas.
"Yeah," Madison said. "So?" It was halfway through the summer and she hadn't led a prank war yet. It was high time.
"Pulling pigtails, are we?" Isabella said.
"He hasn't got pigtails," Madison pointed out.
"'Pulling his dreadlocks' doesn't quite sound the same," Isabella said. "But you know what I mean, Mads."
"He started it," Madison said, which got a chorus of loyal agreement from her campers.
"Riiiiiight," Isabella said.
That night, they struck. Madison woke her girls up early and they took canoes and rowed across the lake as the eastern sky slowly began to lighten.
Jaden was in a double-cabin this week, one of the ones they had at Alderwood with a shared bathroom in the middle and bunk rooms on either side. But each bunkroom had only one outer door, and both the doors were on the same side of the building, but opening in different directions. This meant that, with enough rope, you could tie a rope to one door handle, run it around the building, and tie it to the other door handle, preventing either door from opening.
"But what if they have to pee, or there's a fire or something?" one of the girls—Taylor—asked worriedly.
"They've got windows to climb out of," another girl pointed out.
"And they do have a bathroom in there," Madison pointed out.
"They have a bathroom in their own cabin?" Taylor said, jaw dropping. No cabins at Camp Fairwater had attached bathrooms, not even the nicest ones. But then, the two camps had different styles and philosophies. Alderwood focused on amenities, and Fairwater focused on adventure and learning and experiences.
"No showers," Madison said, "but all cabins here at Alderwood have toilets and sinks." She checked their preparations. Everything seemed to be ready. She led the girls to a spot right near the cabin, but far enough away to be out of range if the boys decided to throw things. "All right girls, on the count of three. One, two, THREE!"
On cue, the girls began shrieking like banshees and clanging industriously on the pots and pans they had brought. There was a satisfying howl from inside the cabins as the boys inside woke up, and even more satisfying thuds as they tried the doors and figured out they didn't work. Madison and her girls kept on yelling and banging as kids and counselors in nearby cabins tumbled out to see what the fuss was about. (Nobody interfered, of course, as that would have been cheating.)
After a few minutes, one of the windows opened and the screen was popped out so the boys inside could escape. And, hah! She'd been right! Jaden did go out himself rather than taking a chance on one of his charges falling wrong and spraining a wrist or something. And, oh, he was only wearing boxers …
"Now, Sarah!" Madison cried, and the camper tugged on the line that held the bucket of water perched on the roof from falling over. It nailed him. She and the girls exchanged high fives as the other buckets over the other windows were spilled on the boys. By this time, however, more of the boys were coming swarming out of their cabin, and the girls were outnumbered. They ran back to the canoes, whooping the entire way, and made their way back across the lake to safety.
As they paddled back over in the growing light, the girls laughed and chattered about the morning's events, with ever-more-exaggerated descriptions of how funny the boys had looked.
Taylor was sitting in the middle of Madison's canoe; since they'd done this before they'd had time to practice in the canoes, she'd put the girls with the least experience in the middle where they wouldn't have to paddle. "You falling asleep, there Taylor?" Madison asked. She was behind the girl so she couldn't see her face, but Taylor was being very quiet.
"No," Taylor said. She turned around. "That counselor looked really cute, even all wet like that."
Madison laughed and nodded. "Yeah, he did."
Of course the next day was filled with speculation over what the response would be, and whether it would be both cabins or just Jaden's cabin (which had been the only one with buckets over its windows).
"Now, I know you guys are excited," Madison said as it got in the way of their main activity, "but rockets are delicate and dangerous and we have to be careful, okay? Pranks are fun, but you picked this week to come because you wanted to learn about model rockets. Focus!"
"Could we use rocket parts in our next prank?" Zoe asked. "Like, put one of the engines in a trash can and set it off?" There was a chorus of ooohs from the rest of the girls in appreciation for that idea.
"Nope," Madison said. "You know the rules. Nothing dangerous, nothing that does property damage. Anything involving explosives is out." As the girls chorused again in disappointment, Madison led them through an explanation of how the rocket engines worked and what they were made out of.
That afternoon they went canoeing again on the lake. All the girls had been to camp before so they all knew at least the basics, but there was always more to learn and a refresher was good, especially for the girls who hadn't been entrusted with paddles for their early-morning jaunt. Midway Island—neutral territory in the middle of the lake—was the usual destination.
"Uh, Madison?" Sarah called. She was in the first canoe to reach the island; Madison was in the last, as always, to help with anyone who got into trouble.
"Yeah?" Madison called back.
"There's kids from the other camp here, what do I do?"
"Midway Island is neutral territory," Madison called back. "We have as much right to be here as they do, and no prank war can be carried out here. We're safe."
"Okay." Sarah climbed out of her canoe and she and her partner pulled it up on the beach.
Madison turned her attention to giving advice to the girls in a wayward canoe on how to go straight instead of curving around, and by the time she got to the island the last few canoes wouldn't have much time to play there before it was time to head back to camp for dinner.
There was, indeed, a group of kids from Alderwood already on Midway, and just her luck, Jaden's cabin was one of them. Which explained why all the kids from both camps were hanging around the beach watching her and the stragglers paddle in.
Once she got her canoe stowed and made sure all the others were secure, she made her way up the beach to where the meadow grass started. Conscious that all eyes were on her, she neither hurried nor dragged her feet. Head high, she marched up to him and put her hands on her hips. "Hello, Jaden," she said. "Caleb." She nodded to the other Alderwood counselor standing behind him.
Jaden swept off his Camp Alderwood ballcap with a flourish. "Madam Madison," he said theatrically, "I treated you terribly on Sunday morning, interrupting your repose most viciously and with little consideration. It will not happen again. Please accept my apology with this sincere token of esteem." He held out his hand and one of his campers put a bedraggled bunch of wildflowers in it, which he then presented to her. The kids watching them broke out in hoots and hollers.
"Apology accepted," she said, taking the bouquet with a curtsey, keeping a straight face only with effort.
"Please understand that this apology does not end the feud between our two cabins, but only betwixt ourselves, given the vicious and escalating nature of your attack this morning," Jaden said.
"Of course not," Madison said. "You are welcome to try for vengeance, if you think yourselves capable of it." She gave him a sunny smile. The yelling redoubled.
"Oh, I think we can," Jaden said confidently.
"We await your response with interest," Madison said. She glanced at her watch, then at the watching kids. "Camp Fairwater kids, we only have about fifteen minutes left before we have to go back for dinner, if you want to do any exploring or whatever, better get to it."
"Camp Alderwood kids, we've got a bit longer than that but not much," Caleb said.
Madison and Jaden watched the kids disperse around them.
"So," Jaden said. "If I asked you to go jet-skiing this weekend, would you say yes?"
"I would," Madison replied. He had looked really good that morning, soaked and in his boxers, and he had a great sense of humor. "Sounds like fun. My girls will be leaving Saturday at two."
"My boys leave Friday night," Jaden said.
"Lucky you." Madison sighed at the idea of a whole day off.
"Saturday seems like so far away," Jaden said.
"We could meet up before then," Madison said diffidently, waiting to see how he'd react. "One to three is my free period every day this week."
"Mine, too," Jaden said. "I can't get the jet ski during the week, though."
"That's okay, it can be a weekend treat."
"Where do you want to meet?"
"Are your kids allowed in the canoes during free time?" Madison asked.
"Nah," Jaden said. "They've got to stay within range of the regular staff and lifeguard."
"Those are the rules at Camp Fairwater, too," Madison said. "So, nobody should be on Midway then."
"It should be nice and quiet," Jaden agreed. "Wanna meet tomorrow at, say, 1:30 then?"
Madison considered. "Sounds good to me."
So Madison went to Midway two days in a row. She and Jaden set up a picnic blanket in a little clearing in the middle of the island, where nobody from either camp could see them. They ate snacks, and talked. They sat close together and Madison could feel how close he was, it was electric.
After about a half an hour of both of them edging closer to each other every time either shifted position, Madison breathlessly asked if she could kiss him.
"Yes," Jaden said, staring at her mouth, "oh my god, yes."
They bumped noses at first, and laughed, and tried again, and after a few minutes they got into a good rhythm and once they figured out where to put their hands on one another it was really good.
"Damn, I wish we didn't have to worry about campers," Jaden said eventually.
"Yeah," Madison said with a sigh. Because even if they weren't supposed to use the canoes without their counselors, even if the lifeguards and other staff were supposed to be keeping an eye out, there was still a chance that a few could slip away and decide on a renegade excursion. And being found kissing—or anything deeper—would not be fun.
On the other hand, it did mean that she had time to think about how far she felt comfortable going, and could postpone that awkward conversation until Saturday.
Jaden lay down on the blanket and Madison draped herself over him, and they wiggled around until they found a position they both felt comfortable in, and then they talked. What they were majoring in, what professions they wanted—he wanted to be an archaeologist, she wanted to go into medical research—all sorts of things. They'd talked before, of course; but this was the first time they'd really had time to themselves to get to know one another.
But it was a warm day, and Madison hadn't slept well the last two nights. (One night up early for the prank, the second sleeping lightly in case of a return attack that had never come.) Eventually, the conversation dragged to a stop and she dozed lightly, curled up with him.
"GET 'EM!"
Dozens of water balloons hit the two of them, and Madison took the brunt of them, being on top. She shrieked and struggled to her feet, Jaden close behind her. They were surrounded.
Caleb and Isabella smiled beatific smiles at them as four cabins' worth of kids—Caleb's, Isabella's, Madison's, and Jaden's—pelted them with water balloons.
"Traitors!" Jaden said, clutching at his chest. "How sharper than a serpent's tooth it is, to have a thankless child!"
"You're the traitors!" one of the kids yelled.
"Fraternizing with the enemy!" Isabella said.
Madison took Jaden's cue. "I'm hit!" she declaimed. "Tell my family I loved them!" She keeled over as dramatically as she could.
"I'll save you, my darling!" Jaden said, shielding her with his body.
"No, 'tis too late for me, save yourself!" Madison said. By this time, either the kids were out of balloons or they were too engrossed in the spectacle, because they were no longer being pelted. Still, that was no reason to give up good drama.
"I cannot face life without you!" Jaden said, cupping her face in his hands and kissing her, which she returned with maximum theatricality and noise.
Sure enough, there were a few disgusted noises from the kids and Isabella started laughing. "Okay, break it up, you two."
"You really deserve each other," Caleb said, marveling. "It's like you were made for each other."
If it weren't for the kids, Madison would have flipped him off. As it was, she and Jaden disengaged and stood up again.
"I can't believe you broke the truce, though," Jaden said. "Midway Island is neutral territory."
"No truce was broken between the camps," Isabella pointed out. "We're working together."
"Midway Island is supposed to be about kids overcoming rivalries," Caleb said virtuously. "And what better way to do it than to come together against a common enemy?" He smirked.
"Traitor!" one of the kids said.
"Hey!" Jaden said. "We specifically said that any personal relationship between us wouldn't get in the way of the prank war. You were all there! You heard us!"
"A likely story," Zoe said with a scoff.
"Yeah," Isabella said. "A likely story." She pulled out one last water balloon from behind her back and chucked it at them. Madison almost managed to catch it, but it broke in her hands.
"Of course," Jaden said,
"you realize," Madison said,
"this means war," they chorused.
