Chapter One – Lost and Found

𝟷𝟸:𝟻𝟶 | 𝙹𝚞𝚕𝚢 𝟸𝟺𝚝𝚑, 𝟸𝟶𝟸𝟷
𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝙱𝚘𝚊𝚝𝚑𝚘𝚞𝚜𝚎

"Have you guys seen my binoculars?" Clementine asked as she made her way to the storage racks at the boathouse, her boots trudging through the brush. Her hair was pulled back in two short but neat braids, done by Astrid early that morning, and she stood with her hands on her hips, chewing at her bottom lip.

"Where'd you have them last?" Aidan asked, tightening a rope that held one of the kayaks he and Conrad were putting away.

Clem sighed. "If I knew that, don't you think I'd go there, beef cake?"

"What do you need them for, Clem?" Conrad was dragging at another emptied kayak before Aidan helped him lift it onto the racks.

"Cel and I are taking a few kids over to the island," she explained. "We're gonna take some lunch and count how many birds we can see... if I could fucking find my binoculars."

"Just go without them, Clem." Aidan tied the rope into a knot. "Then you don't have an unfair advantage against the kids."

She groaned with frustration, throwing her hands up and muttering under her breath as she left. She almost passed Cassie, who was sitting on the dock with her legs in the water, rubbing sunscreen over her shoulders as she watched the hoard of children swimming in the shallows. Clementine stopped, her eyes unintentionally drawn to Cassie's black bikini top before she tore them away. "Uh, have you seen my binoculars?"

Cassie looked up, shaking her head. "No, sorry. Did you check with Sam?"

Frowning, Clem also shook her head before surveying the lake, seeing no sign of him. "Where is he?"

Cass pointed upwards, towards the upper level of the boathouse. "Towel duty."

"Right," Clem nodded, turning back towards the boathouse and heading up the stairs.

Cassie smiled as she noticed Astrid walking towards her, her loose-fitting pink tank top tucked into her denim shorts. "I thought you were making sandwiches," she remarked, handing the tube of sunscreen to Astrid as she sat down next to her.

"Jackson kicked me out," she answered, flipping open the lid and pouring a small amount into her palm. "I kept eating the cucumber slices." She kicked off her flip-flops and applied the cream to her legs. "Anything interesting happening?"

"Not really. Poppy thought she saw a fish, then Jones tried to catch it."

"And did he?"

Cassie chuckled. "Nope. Oh, and Clementine's lost her binoculars."

"That's a shame," Astrid expressed with genuine concern. She slid her sunglasses down from her head to rest on her nose as she leaned back, soaking in the sunshine.

Clementine was panting by the time she reached the top of the boathouse stairs, gripping onto the railing and doubled over to catch her breath. Sam turned at the noise, bending down to catch a glimpse of Clementine's reddened face. "You good there, Grapefruit?"

"Fuck..." she heaved, "off..."

He grinned as he watched her straighten her back, exhaling a final deep breath, her hands pressed against her sides.

"Have... you seen... my binoculars?" she finally managed to ask.

Sam shook his head and Clem cursed again, staring down at the stairs behind her. "We need to put in a fucking slide or something," she commented. "Can you let me know if you come across them?"

Sam saluted playfully. "Yes, ma'am, miss Persimmon." His smile widened at his continued use of incorrect nicknames.

"Whatever," Clem rolled her eyes, begrudgingly making her way back down the stairs.

Sam chuckled to himself before turning back to the view he had surveyed. From his vantage point, he could see almost the entire shoreline of Lake Septimus. He saw the island treehouse, he saw Astrid and Cassie on the dock, and he saw Clementine trudging to where Celeste and her group of campers were waiting. Cel was currently helping one of the younger boys in fixing his life jacket before Sam noticed her talking to Clem, likely learning that Clementine's binoculars seemed to be truly lost to the world.

It felt good being given responsibilities as a camp counsellor. Sam enjoyed it here, he felt a sense of home whenever he spent the summer here. It would be hard leaving in a month's time. "Right," he said, trying to pull himself away from his distractions. He turned, spotting a few loose notes and some photos stuck to one of the boards above the shelves.

He smiled at the polaroid Cassie had taken of the counsellors on their first day of camp this year. Sam told a joke just as the shutter went off and it caught the laughter of Clementine and the boys. Cassie was smiling, Astrid had her mouth open in a mix of amusement and shock, and Celeste was mid-eye roll. Written beneath the photo was the caption Cassie had given it: Top Squad.

Once they returned to civilisation and cell service, Sam promised himself he would make a group chat and name it Top Squad, ensuring that he would stay in contact with the closest friends he'd had since elementary school.

"Sam!" he heard Aidan call from below. "Hurry up!"

"Shit," Sam muttered, looking about the room. "Where are those towels?" He walked over to the shelves where towels were meant to be stored, but they were almost bare. "Maybe there's one or two that can be shared around?"

Player Choice:
Search the shelves or leave?

Armed with his red cooler filled with sandwiches and mini juice cartons, Jackson now reached the rest of the camp at the lake. "Come and get it, y'all!" he called on his approach, dropping the cooler to the ground. "Everybody take a juice, a sandwich, and a piece of fruit. And if you drop it, you're not getting a replacement, so be careful."

Most of the campers exited the lake and began their collection of lunch items, with Jackson watching intently and counting each one. Astrid quickly got up from the dock and ran over, grabbing for five of the sandwiches.

"Hey," Jackson caught her, "no."

"They're not all for me," she pleaded. "I swear to god, I'm taking them for the others too."

His eyes narrowed. "If I see you wolfing down on these, you're not getting a cookie."

Astrid drew her finger over her heart in a cross. "Scout's honour."

Jackson jerked his chin up in approval. "Go on then, Girl Scout."

Her face broke into a smile as she ran back to Cassie, handing over the goods.

Once the remaining campers all had their allocated lunches, Jackson closed the cooler and carried it to where he noticed Celeste and Clementine were setting up their boat. "Someone order delivery?" he asked, carefully placing the cooler into the middle of the boat. "You guys all set?"

"No," Clem pouted, buckling her bright yellow lifejacket around her waist.

"She's lost her binoculars," Celeste explained, taking her seat between the oars.

"Aw, sourpuss," Jackson teased, copying Clem's pout. "You'll be fine without them."

Clem's face scrunched as she made a whine of mimicry before joining Celeste in the boat. "Hey, most birds counted gets an extra cookie?" she asked.

Her friend thought about it for a moment before giving in. "Alright," he agreed, "but no fooling, carrot-head. I know your tells." He stepped back as Celeste grabbed the oars and addressed her campers.

"Okay, Hacketteers!" she rallied. "First rule of boating?"

"Stay in the boat!" the half-dozen children called back.

"And if you fall out?"

"Stay where you are!"

"Sound off!" Celeste began rowing with Clementine behind her, hugging her knees tightly, as Jackson pushed the boat from the shore.

"One, two!"

Jackson grinned as he watched the group row towards the island, equipped with their notebooks and their lunches, ready for an afternoon of adventure.