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𝗕𝗜𝗚 𝗣𝗟𝗔𝗡𝗦

chapter two:
welcome to camp !

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AFTER HOURS OF driving, which included stops to take pictures on the scenic drive, to get some food, and to take a selfie in front of the sign that said Camp Shallow Lake with an arrow, the six of them finally made it to the place that EJ would not stop raving about.

Violetta walked under the sign that led into camp, glancing around. There was a pool, a playground, and multiple cabins littered around the area. Not to mention it had a really pretty view of the mountains. People were bustling about, obviously just arriving as well. She adjusted her duffel bag on her shoulder, smiling slightly. Violetta was never a camp kind of girl, but this looked sort of fun.

"Camp Shallow Lake, y'all," EJ announced. "My second home."

Violetta raised an eyebrow. "I though you already had a second home."

"Okay, then this is my second second home." He turned around and gestured for them to follow him. "Come on. Seriously, I came to this camp an athlete and — and became an athlete-actor. You come to Shallow Lake one way and you just become something else. It happens to everyone, though."

"Wow, and I thought this was a vacation," Ashlyn commented.

A girl with dirty blonde hair then walked up to them, rolling a wagon behind her. "Are those Wildcats I see?" She looked at EJ, a radiant smile on her face. "What's up, Rocket Man?"

"Hey, how you doing, Gadget?" EJ replied.

They slapped their hands together before hugging for a brief moment. Violetta tilted her head in thought. Rocket Man? Gadget? EJ had never told her, or any of them, about someone called Gadget. Well, now that Violetta thought about it, EJ had never really talked about his experiences at camp. All he did was rave about how it was a lot of fun.

"What language are they using?" Gina asked.

"I don't know," Ashlyn answered.

"Ready for a good summer?" EJ questioned.

Gadget punched his shoulder. "Oh, yeah, dude."

"All right, it's five minutes in and I already miss Seb," Carlos admitted.

Ashlyn put an arm around his shoulder, hugging him for a second. "Oh, and I miss Biggie. But remember how we said we weren't gonna do that? This is our Wildcat summer adventure and we're going angst-less."

"I just feel naked without my angst."

"All right, I'm just gonna need to collect your phones, snacks, and all electronic devices," Gadget instructed, holding a large bucket decorated with paint. Violetta watched as EJ didn't complain and shut his phone off, placing it in the bucket. "Basically, anything that brings you joy. I'm only half kidding. But, you know, it's actually pretty great once you get past the, uh, the withdrawal. You'll have so much fun, you won't miss your phone."

Violetta shut her phone off completely before putting it in the bucket. She honestly should've seen this coming. Maybe spending two weeks away from her phone could be a good thing.

Kourtney, however, apparently didn't share the same sentiment. She started to cry, making Violetta's eyebrows raise.

"Hey, it's only for two weeks," Carlos said, rubbing her back.

"But Sasha doesn't know that," Kourtney insisted, pressing her fingers onto her lips and then placing her fingers on her phone

"Sasha is your phone."

"I just got her, Carlos. She's too young to understand what any of this means."

Kourtney sobbed, took a selfie, and went back to crying. Gadget said nothing and merely held out the bucket more. Kourtney placed her phone in the bucket before covering her mouth with her hands.

Carlos gathered Kourtney in his arms. "Don't look back."

"Mama loves you!" Kourtney called, reaching out her arm longingly.

"Oh, don't do that."

Violetta just nodded her head. Classic Kourtney.

They ventured a little further into camp. EJ had stopped to greet some people he recognized while Violetta kept glancing around. Her boyfriend had really described camp perfect to a t. He didn't leave any details out about the appearance, or the vibe, or anything like that.

"Not bad, Caswell," Violetta voiced, walking up to him and elbowing him gently as the boy he was talking to walked away.

"And we are going to have the best summer ever here," EJ said.

Violetta smiled, her heart beating against her chest. "Yeah?"

"One-hundred percent. And just wait till you meet the celebrity guest."

Ashlyn walked up to the two, followed by Gina, Kourtney, and Carlos. "Okay, since you refuse to give any clues at all, I'm just gonna go ahead and assume it's Gloria Steinem."

"I'm going with Oprah, because Oprah," Kourtney added.

"Legally, I'm obliged to say Greta Gerwig," Carlos revealed.

Gina shrugged. "A shot in the dark, but I'm hoping it's Taylor Swift."

"It's all going down at the amphitheater tonight," EJ interrupted. "You guys are gonna be all damn-phitheater."

All of them were silent. Violetta winced a little bit at his poor joke.

Violetta patted his shoulder. "I apologize for him."

"It's just hitting me now that you two are going to be a thing all summer," Carlos stated.

"Hey, at least we aren't as bad as Ricky and Athena," Violetta argued lightly.

Carlos' eyes widened in realization. "Oh my God, they're going to be disgusting! Even more than usual!"

EJ started to walk forwards, gesturing to different areas of the camp. "Okay, so, basketball is over there. Uh, the pool is behind me. And if you follow my gaze to the south here, you will see the Camp Shallow Lake barn and playhouse, where young EJ has played such roles as Danny Zuko, of course, the dentist from Little Shop, and the Music Man."

Violetta looked up. Standing practically in the center of camp was a large red barn.

"Speaking of rotten eggs, yes, I know what you did last summer," Kourtney voiced.

Violetta let out a small laugh. Last summer, EJ had slipped some girl who gotten the role of Marian the librarian a bad deviled egg so she would get sick, all so his girlfriend at the time, Nini Salazar-Roberts, could be the lead. But that was back when EJ was in — what Violetta liked to call — his villain era. That was a joke, though. EJ was never the villain, he just often did the wrong things for the right reasons. He liked to say that Violetta hit him into place — literally, with the amount of punches to his arms he had received.

EJ nodded once. "And that concludes the tour. Now, if you'll follow me this way, you'll be able to find your cabin." He brought them to a small clearing between multiple cabins and started to pint around in different directions. "Boys bunk, girls bunk, mountains, ocean, and sometimes there's bears."

Violetta's eyes slightly widened. "Oh."

"Got it," Kourtney said.

EJ picked up his bag from the ground and started to move towards the boys cabin. "Okay, I will see you all tonight for the big announcement." He then skidded to a stop. "Uh, one more thing."

Violetta watched as he rushed up to her, a giddy smile on his face. He placed a hand under her chin and pressed his lips to hers for a moment. Although it was quick, it was sweet all the same, just like it always was. The two shared a grin before EJ headed back in the direction he was going. Violetta stared after him, her stomach fluttering.

The girls separated from Carlos and headed to their own cabin. It was called the Honeycomb, which was fitting, because it was in the shape of a hexagon. Violetta couldn't help but smile as she looked around the cabin. It was adorable. The walls were painted a light shade of blue and almost all of the decorations were yellow, including the lockers by the door. In the very corner of the room was a large sink and a mirror by the bathroom. There were three sets of bunk beds, each having its own bulletin board next to them.

"Oh, this is deeply round," Kourtney commented.

"Six sides is some next level feng shui," Ashlyn agreed.

"And some zero-level privacy."

Gina ushered them all into a group. "Should we spread out our bed assignments or do the new-girl cluster?"

They then began to debate on if they wanted a top bunk or a bottom bunk. Violetta giggled as Gina rushed up to a top bunk. She rushed over to the free bunk bed left and placed her stuff on the bottom. The other girls didn't try to claim the top bunk — they knew it was reserved for Athena. It only made sense that Violetta and Athena would be bunking together.

"Guys, I can't believe so many of us showed up for this," Gina admitted excitedly.

"Yeah, I mean, Vi's boy EJ talked a pretty big game," Kourtney said. Violetta couldn't help the grin on her face. Vi's boy. "I was expecting, you know, more a Four Seasons-y vibe."

"He gets so excited when he describes camp," Ashlyn voiced. "And the only reason I never joined him is 'cause I spent the last six summers LARPing in Minnesota." She then noticed their confused expressions. "Live action roleplay? Anyone?"

"Oh!" Gina exclaimed.

"We're gonna learn a lot about each other this summer, aren't we?" Kourtney inquired.

"My best character is a sewing wench from Gondor," Ashlyn revealed.

Kourtney clapped her hands together. "Okay, I'm gonna check out the restroom." She peered into the bathroom. "Ooh, and now I've done that."

"Come on, Kourt," Violetta said, walking away from her bunk to stand by Kourtney. "This summer's gonna be great. I may or may not know a guy who promised it would be."

"I'm glad you've got someone here, but Howie's off to college, Nini's on the road, my mom's a little too old for camp."

"And we'll be right beside you every day," Gina reassured her.

Violetta placed her hand on Kourtney's shoulder and gave it a squeeze. "Absolutely."

The door then opened, only to reveal Gadget. "Yes, my ladies in the Honeycomb. Once again, I'm Maddox."

Violetta blinked. "It's not Gadget?"

"Oh, no, yeah, it is also Gadget. Yeah, that's my camp name. Everyone gets one. It's super fun." Maddox cleared her throat and pointed to the bunk that Kourtney had set her stuff down on. "Oh, um, that is actually my bed. Yeah, I made some deep memories in that one over the years. I actually knocked out my two front teeth in that bulletin board during a massive pillow fight."

Kourtney laughed and stood up, gathering her things. "It is all yours. All good. I am out."

"Oh, thanks," Maddox replied. She skipped up to the bunk and sat down. "So, a lot of new faces, seems to be all Wildcats." She glanced around and noticed the empty bunk. "And I see we're missing one."

"Oh, that's Athena," Violetta said. "She's my best friend. Her and her boyfriend are arriving later. Also a Wildcat."

"Awesome." Maddox placed her chin in her hand excitedly. "Who's got secrets?"

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VIOLETTA LEFT THE Honeycomb cabin, now clad in leggings and a zip-up hoodie of EJ's that she had taken. It had gotten significantly chillier since the sun went down.

She then spotted her boyfriend walking in the direction of the amphitheater, his hands shoved into his pockets. Violetta smiled softly at the sight of him and rushed up to him, linking their arms together.

"Hey," she greeted. "Want some company?"

"I could always use your company," EJ responded. He then chuckled, staring down at her with something matching adoration. "It's so crazy having you here. And it's all about to get a little bit more crazy."

Carlos walked up, linking his arm with EJ's other one. "Okay, who is this famous person, and why isn't it one of the Real Housewives?"

"You guys, I don't wanna oversell it. To me, a celebrity is someone who gets a bunch of questions about their skincare regimen."

Carlos laughed, letting EJ's arm go to fall back with Gina and Kourtney. "And I just learned that I am a celebrity."

"You've been overselling the celebrity thing for days," Violetta told EJ, squeezing his arm a little. "You're not fooling anyone."

EJ eye's flickered down to her figure, which made Violetta's cheeks heat up. "Is that my hoodie?"

"You're changing the subject."

He nodded. "Definitely my hoodie. And I wonder why half of my closet is missing."

"I can't help that your clothes are comfier than mine," Violetta protested. "Just be lucky I didn't steal that stupid letterman jacket."

They walked into the amphitheater. It was decorated with string lights and had multiple rows of logs. At the very bottom was a stage that had a decorated sign that read Camp Shallow Lake. EJ led her over to one of the logs towards the center, and they sat down. She let go of his arm, but EJ reached over and took her hand, interlocking their fingers together. Violetta looked over at him and smiled, her eyes sparkling.

EJ took the blanket they had brought and spread it over both of their laps. Gina, Kourtney, and Carlos then sat down on the log behind them.

"What's up, new campers?" Maddox said into the microphone, a guitar slung around her. They all cheered and clapped, one boy even calling out We love you, Gadget! "I thought I'd sing a little song. Maybe one or two of you wanna sing along."

Violetta watched as Maddox started to strum her guitar. Never did she ever think she would be a part of a camp sing-along, yet here she was.

"Welcome to the Shallow Lake of your dreams," Maddox sang, and her voice was really pretty. "Where the days are full and nights are serene. On the way back to your yurts, don't forget the lake is dirt. If you fall in, no one will hear you scream."

EJ then let out a scream, falling dramatically into Violetta's lap. She giggled at him and brushed some of the hair off of his forehead with her free hand. EJ closed his eyes in content for a moment before sitting up, pressing a quick kiss to her cheek.

"At Shallow Lake, at Shallow Lake, we dive right into every friendship that we make. At Shallow Lake, at Shallow Lake, each year we come from near and far to sing our hearts out in a barn, the stars of Shallow Lake." She suddenly jumped up and down. "One, two, three. At Shallow Lake."

"There is no lake," the recurring campers shouted back, including EJ, which made Violetta laugh a little at him.

"At Shallow Lake."

"It's all a fake."

"When you eat the tacos, that's your first mistake."

EJ looked Violetta directly in the eyes. "Big mistake."

Violetta shook her head in amusement. However, it was kind of nice seeing him be so carefree for once. He had been really stressed the past couple of months with trying to figure out his college situation.

"At Shallow Lake," Maddox continued.

"Shallow Lake," they called back.

"At Shallow Lake, don't go too far into the woods or you'll be gone for good. Under the stars of Shallow Lake."

"Shallow lake! Shallow lake!"

All of them then raised their arms dramatically, forcing Violetta's to go up as well because she was holding hands with EJ. "Shallow Lake!"

They all cheered and clapped when the song ended.

"EJ, that was really cute," Ashlyn said.

"Yeah, we sing it every night," EJ responded, making Violetta blink. He then laughed. "I'm just kidding, we don't."

"What's next, the blood sacrifice?" Carlos asked.

"Now, give it up for the Wood!" Maddox announced. "He loves some noise! Yeah!"

A man then came on stage, honestly looking like he was ready to go be in the safari. He had a very unamused look on his face as he fist-bumped Maddox and walked up to the microphone. They all cheered for him loudly, just like Maddox instructed.

"All right, all right, settle down," he stated. The cheering didn't stop. "Settle down!" It immediately ceased. "For those of you who don't know, I'm your camp director, Dewey Wood."

"Dewey Wood?" EJ repeated loudly.

"Yes, he would," the crowd replied.

"Dewey Wood?"

"Yes, he would!"

Dewey sighed. "I'm gonna keep this short and sweet. It's another summer. Let's have fun. Friendship is magic. Be careful what you flush. Okay?"

Violetta laughed in amusement. She quickly covered her mouth with her hand, and EJ looked over at her with a smile.

"Now, I know the reason we have many new faces here is because of the exciting news. This summer, Camp Shallow Lake has been selected for a very special opportunity, and to tell you all about it, here comes a very familiar face."

"Get ready, V," EJ voiced.

She shook her head. "Oh my God, Eej, what did you do?"

"Mr. Corbin Bleu!" Dewey shouted.

Violetta instantly gasped in surprise. Corbin Bleu, the Chad Danforth, was walking up onto the stage, followed by a man with a camera. He had literally been one of her dance icons ever since watching the original High School Musical movies all those years ago. Violetta stood up, her mouth open in shock.

Corbin took the microphone out of the stand. "Light 'em up." Blue and white confetti then exploded from canons on the stage, and the cheers only got louder. "Oh, yes! What, what?" He looked into the camera. "What, what? Oh, I am so excited to be here at Camp Shallow Lake."

"Wow," EJ commented.

"Oh, you guys, I can't wait to tell you about what we've got planned this summer." Corbin continued talking as they all sat down. "My pals at the House of Mouse have given us the keys to the Magic Kingdom. And that means you guys are gonna be the first camp on the planet to premiere a global blockbuster which became a Broadway sensation. Does anyone have a jacket? It suddenly got cold in here."

Dewey stepped up, opening his jacket. "I suppose."

"We're gonna put on Frozen!" Corbin revealed.

Violetta gasped again and looked at EJ. "Oh my God, no way."

"Best summer ever," EJ said.

"Are you telling me that I get to meet Corbin Bleu?" Carlos questioned.

"And there's more," Corbin added. "So this camp was chosen by Disney Theatrical's licensing agent, MTI, to do the first ever production of this Frozen script in advance of the release of licensing rights to high schools everywhere."

"Well, that rolled right off the tongue," Ashlyn stated.

Corbin added to the guy holding the camera. "And this camera is gonna be following us all around because we're also making a documentary about the show, and it's gonna premiere on Disney Plus, and it's gonna break the internet." They cheered. "It's very meta, you guys."

Violetta felt a new emotion rise up in her. If she was going to be a part of the musical, which she was, because dance, that meant she got to be in a documentary? Oh, Athena had to get here soon to hear about this.

"Hang on, is that camera gonna be here all summer?" Ashlyn inquired.

"Well, not in the yurts," EJ answered.

"Oh, wow, I just realized why that health form we filled out was, like, twenty pages long," Carlos voiced. "I think I signed a release."

Kourtney gasped. "I knew I should've read that thing."

Corbin then pointed around the amphitheater. "And hey, I know there are some real live Wildcats out there." Their group shared a glance before standing up. "And I look forward to signing headshots for you all later this summer." Violetta frowned in thought before sinking back down. "'Cause it's all going down at Shallow Lake! So watch this space." Everyone started to cheer again. "Oh, thank you so much. Thank you."

Ashlyn placed a hand on her chest. "I don't remember how to breathe."

"I don't remember how to worry," Kourtney agreed.

"I'll see all your beautiful faces later," Corbin told them. "Thank you."

Gina looked at Carlos, who seemed like he was struggling to breathe. "Oh my gosh, Carlos, are you okay?"

"It's better than Greta Gerwig," Carlos responded.

EJ let go of Violetta's hand and slung an arm around her shoulders. "This is crazy."

Violetta glanced back to the stage, but Corbin wasn't there. "Wait, where'd he go?"

"I don't know." He squeezed her shoulder. "Come on."

They walked down the steps to the bottom of the amphitheater and walked over to where Dewey was standing, watching Corbin and his cameraman get in a helicopter. EJ took his arm off of Violetta's shoulders and walked up to the arch decorated in fairy lights. Violetta hung slightly back, crossing her arms across her chest, suddenly missing EJ's warmth.

Apparently, Corbin Bleu wasn't directing the musical itself, just the documentary. And the other director had quit, which left them stuck.

Dewey rushed up to EJ. "Rocket Man."

EJ pointed to himself, and Violetta's eyes widened. "Uh, what, me? Uh—"

"You know the program."

"Uh, hold on—"

"You know every inch of this camp," Dewey insisted. "You know a lot of those loud new kids."

EJ sighed. "Mr. Wood, this was supposed to be the greatest summer of my life."

"Then make it happen, Mr. Director."

He pushed the clipboard into EJ's chest and walked off. EJ stood there in shock, his eyes wide, seemingly not knowing what to do. Violetta slowly walked up to him.

"You okay?" Violetta asked softly.

"I'm a director," EJ said.

She nodded. "I know, I heard. How are you feeling?"

"Rattled." EJ then snapped himself out of it and placed a smile on his face. "But this doesn't have to change anything. We can still have that perfect summer I've been talking about. Nothing will get in our way."

Violetta suddenly felt two arms wrap loosely around her neck. She jumped in surprise and turned around, fear etched onto her features from the sudden movement. However, she immediately relaxed and smiled upon noticing it was just Athena, Ricky standing a little farther behind them.

"'Thena!" Violetta exclaimed.

She surged forwards and practically tackled Athena in a hug. Athena caught her in her arms and hugged Violetta back just as tightly. They rocked back and forth from the force of the hug for a moment. Violetta was the first to pull away, latching onto Athena's hands. Even if it had only been about a day since she saw Athena last, not having her by her side when coming to camp earlier felt really weird. They always did everything together.

Violetta let out a laugh. "You finally made it. We had a bet going to see when you two would actually show up. My money was on tomorrow morning, but I guess I underestimated you."

"Mine was tonight, so I win," EJ interjected. He then looked at Athena, his eyes widening in surprise. "Cool hair, 'Thena."

Violetta looked up at her hair, which she hadn't bothered to notice yet, and gasped excitedly. "Oh my God, you look incredible."

Since Beauty and the Beast ended, Athena had gotten a haircut right above her shoulders. It really suit her, but Athena had admitted that she had gotten bored of just the same color. So, for the summer, she had decided to dye her hair. The whole underside of Athena's hair was dyed a shocking pink, which honestly looked amazing on her.

"Thanks," Athena responded, letting go of Violetta's hands to tuck a strand of pink behind her ear. "Did it last night. Ricky helped."

Violetta looked at Ricky and linked her arm through Athena's. "Well, if you don't mind, I'm stealing my girlfriend back to show her our cabin."

"Your girlfriend?" Ricky repeated incredulously. "You mean my girlfriend."

"No, I mean my girlfriend."

"Our summer romance is starting," Athena agreed, and Violetta couldn't help but laugh at the look of disbelief on EJ and Ricky's faces. "You should've seen this coming by now."

"Unbelievable," EJ commented. "Less than twenty-four hours into camp and I've already lost my girlfriend. This is a travesty."

Athena shook her head and looked at Violetta. "Lead the way, honey."

"Let's go, sweetheart," Violetta voiced. "Bye boys, see you in the morning."

"You're forgetting something, V," EJ protested.

Violetta looked at her boyfriend and rolled her eyes fondly. She knew exactly what he wanted. Violetta unlinked her arm from Athena's and walked up to EJ. She placed her hands on either side of his face and pressed up onto her toes, planting her lips right on his. EJ melted into her, placing a hand on her hip. After a moment, Violetta pulled back and dropped back onto her flat feet but still kept her hands on his face.

"I love you," Violetta told him.

EJ smiled, the very same one that made her weak in the knees. "I love you more. Goodnight."

"I'm ready when you are, Vi," Athena voiced.

The two best friends then headed off in the direction of the Honeycomb cabin, feeling like they were on Cloud Nine.

∘ ₊ ✧ ──── ✧ ₊ ∘

this is maybe like the last chapter of them being sweet before everything goes DOWNHILL