After an exhausting car ride, Katherine had finally arrived at the campsite. She was beyond happy to be back at the place she called home during the summer. She had been going to Camp Carpe Diem every summer since she was fourteen, and she couldn't imagine spending her summer break without experiencing the camp.

She first chose to attend Camp Carpe Diem the summer before her freshman year of high school. Of course, her parents had refused. They told her that she had no place attending a "dirty camp that only rambunctious troublemakers went to." Yet naturally, Katherine's stubbornness stood in the way, and she managed to convince her parents. Since then, she had made many close friends and made countless memories she would never forget.

She followed the familiar dirt paths up to the main building which housed the eating quarters and a common area. However, as it was for every Arrival Day, the normal outdated couches and scratched tables and chairs would be set aside and replaced with tables for check-in.

"Katherine!" a familiar voice called out once Katherine started on the path to her cabin. She turned to find her friend Sarah Jacobs bounding towards her, an excited smile on the girl's face. "It's so great to see you again!"

The two shared a quick hug before Sarah began walking with Katherine to the cabin. "So how was the past year for you?" Katherine asked her friend, shifting the strap of her bag on her shoulder.

"The worst," Sarah breathed. "This past year of school was torture."

"I feel you there," Katherine said with a soft laugh.

"Oh, yeah!" Sarah suddenly expressed. "My brother David agreed to come this year."

"Really? I thought you said he wasn't the camping type?"

"He's not," Sarah responded, "but I managed to convince him to at least give it a try this year."

Katherine had met Sarah during her first year. Sarah was one year older than her and had already been going to the camp for two years, but they instantly became close and—as a result—had been good friends for the past three summers. They spent most of their time at the camp together, talking about their families and life back home.

Sarah had told Katherine about her two younger brothers David and Les. However, Katherine had never expected for David to come to the camp after Sarah described him as someone who would much rather be indoors.

"He's with the Elms," Sarah told her, "which should be very interesting."

Camp Carpe Diem divides its campers between three teams: The Elms, The Pines, and The Maples. Each team represented characteristics that were associated with the corresponding tree.

Katherine and Sarah were both on the Maple team. Maple trees are often associated with strength and endurance. Therefore, most campers placed in this cabin are deemed as patient and tolerant people.

The Pines were considered the peacemakers and mediators, due to the pine tree being a symbol of peace and being associated with wisdom. A lot of the campers on this team were quiet and friendly.

Lastly, the Elms were associated with characteristics the elm tree symbolizes. The tree was often a symbol of revolution and liberty, and the elm represented people's inner warriors. This cabin had most of the camp's troublemakers, including one group that was known for always causing trouble.

The Elms and Maples were often nemeses, so Katherine couldn't suppress her laugh at Sarah's words. "Well, looks like we'll be rivals with him."

"I still don't know how he was put with the Elms," Sarah continued. "I was almost certain he'd be a Pine."

The two arrived at the Maple site and entered the girls' cabin. Katherine and Sarah had always shared a bunk ever since they first became friends. They stepped to their bunk in the far corner, which was away from prying eyes. Katherine took the bottom bunk as Sarah took the top.

"Guys!" A voice expressed as the two girls finished making their beds. The two girls turned to find another friend of theirs, Hannah, rushing towards them. "You won't believe it!"

"What is it?" Katherine asked, sitting on her freshly-made bed and setting her bag beside her.

"Jack Kelly came back this year," Hannah said, causing Katherine's brows to furrow.

"You're kidding!" Sarah expressed, crossing her arms at her chest.

Hannah shook her head, "I'm serious. I saw him in the main building."

Katherine felt clueless, having no idea who this Jack Kelly was. She looked between her two friends, "Um... who?"

"That's right," Sarah breathed, "you don't know him." She sucked in a breath, sitting beside Katherine as Hannah sat on her bed across from them. "Jack's an Elm. He first came when he was thirteen, the year before you came to the camp. That summer, everyone slept with one eye open, and he was the reason."

"What'd he do?" Katherine asked, pulling her legs up onto the bed.

"Where do we even begin?" Hannah expressed. "Him and his gang would steal people's clothes while they'd shower, let loose a bunch of fake snakes at the campfire, and even managed to sneak into every cabin and wrap string around all the bunks so that they were tied together and you couldn't even walk in."

"And since the Maples and Elms are rivals, they once let loose a bunch of squirrels in our cabin at dawn," Sarah added. "It wasn't a fun wake-up call." She sucked in a breath before continuing. "Jack was the spearhead of it all, but he didn't come back after that summer. However, his gang never left: that one group with the Elms."

"He was with them?" Katherine asked. "I mean... I'm not surprised. They're always getting in some sort of trouble."

Sarah fell back against the mattress, groaning exasperatedly. "Ugh... I was hoping for a peaceful summer." Then, she sat up just as quickly as she had laid down. "Oh no... If Jack is with the Elms, that means David's there with him..."

"Yikes..." Katherine replied. "You think he'll befriend him?"

"Let's just hope he doesn't become a victim," Hannah said, causing Sarah to fall back against the mattress again.

~•~•~•~

"Kath!" A voice called out, catching Katherine's attention. She turned around, holding her plate of food and looking in the direction of the source of the voice. Her eyes found none other than Darcy at a table waving to get her attention. Sitting with him was Bill, who had just sat down at the table.

She smiled, happy to see her friends once again. She waited a minute for Sarah to finish getting her food before making her way towards Darcy and Bill.

"Hey!" Darcy greeted as they drew closer. "How have you both been?"

"Decent," Katherine said, sitting down beside Bill and setting her plate on the table. "I'm just glad to be back here."

"Same," Bill said. "I'm so tired of school. I need this break."

"I know exactly how you feel," Sarah added.

"So did you guys hear the news?" Darcy asked. "You know... about Jack?"

"Yep," Sarah answered with a soft sigh.

"I can only imagine what sort of problems he'll cause this year," Bill said.

"I'd like to not imagine that," Darcy responded.

"So were his pranks really that bad?" Katherine asked, being the only one in the group who didn't even know Jack.

"You try waking up at sunrise to a bunch of screaming girls and then having a squirrel run across your bed," Sarah told her. "Also, my hair was stained blue for weeks from his gang putting drink mix in the shower heads ."

"Fun," Katherine remarked sarcastically.

As if on cue, loud voices rang throughout the room. The four looked over at the noise, finding the rambunctious group of boys from the Elms as the source. Katherine inspected the group, trying to find an unfamiliar face before landing on two.

"Oh you've got to be kidding me," Sarah breathed.

"What?" Bill asked, looking away from the boys to glance at her.

"David's with them," Sarah said agitatedly. "Well, for the next twelve weeks, he's not my brother."

"What?" Katherine asked amusedly with a chuckle. "Why?"

"If Jack finds out I'm the sister of his new friend, I may as well have a target on my back," Sarah responded, resting her cheek on her fist.

"Oh come on," Katherine laughed. "I'm sure it's not that big of a deal."

Little did Katherine know just how big of a deal it would actually be.

~•~•~•~

a/n

hiii

i've finally gotten around to writing this story and i'm excited to work on it!

my plan is for this story to be fairly short and a fun read. i'm not planning some climax or turning point in the plot or anything, just something fun and chill :)

so i hope you guys enjoy and thanks for checking it out!