Chapter one: a new camp counselor julia

It has been 5 hours.

Five hours since julia left her home and her mum is driving her to camp pinewood for her summer job there.and since five hours she has been reading hunger games and she can not wait to just be out of the car.

"Are we there yet?" Julia groaned, leaning her head against the window of her mom's car. Her mom, Sarah, gave her a tired look. "We'll be there in less than an hour, julia." Julia rolled her eyes. "Why do I have to go to summer camp anyway? Can't I just stay home?"

The summer camp, Camp Pinewood, was situated in the middle of dense forest, far away from civilization. The forest had a long history of ghost stories and urban legends, julia heard about this the moment she and her mom came to the town after the divorce. Did she belive them? Maybe?

As sarah drove up to the main cabin, julia couldn't help but feel a sense of unease. The cabin looked more like a dilapidated old house than a summer camp. The exterior was covered with ivy and moss, and the windows were boarded up, leaving the cabin looking dark and ominous.

Sarah parked the car and they both got out. "Welcome to Camp Pinewood, sweetie," Sarah said, trying to sound cheerful.

Jula huffed and rolled her eyes again. "Great. This looks like a place straight out of a horror movie." Sarah laughed nervously. "Don't be silly, Lisa. It's a summer camp, not a haunted house." Sarah explained "fun fact this is also said in every horror movie murder mystery I know" julia mummbled as sarah smack behind her head "sorry" julia said quitely As they walked towards the cabin, Sarah noticed a group of teenagers standing outside they all looked a little older than her own daughter.

"Look people at your age" sarah said happy to Lisa who had picked up her bag "yes mom you told me since the moment you applied me here" Lisa said as her mother shot a glare "sorry" she said softly as she noticed a boy her age black hair with soft smile who talked to the kids as the kids left the guy rubbed his hand as he turned around "oh hello" the guy said with a smile on his face coming towards them "welcome to camp pinewood, you must be sarah Stacy and she is your daughter julia Stacy I am ethan Hawthorne one of the camp counselor nice to meet you both" ethan said giving a charming smile as he shook sarah hand and then julia "nice to meet you I guess Robert sent you for help" sarah asked 

"Yeah well i am sort of the best guide around here apart from my brother Caleb Hawthorne also camp counselor he just cracks horrible jokes..come on in" ethan said as the three made an entry inside the camp

"That cabin is for the artist like they can draw what they want, that's for learning archery and that is just play ground and bit far away is a football or cricket ground and here is our main cabin where all people from camp come to eat find out what to do today like treasure hunt, color war all sort" ethan said introducing everything about the camp as he looked at julia who looked around as sarah nods "I see the place is lovely" sarah said causing Lisa to shot glare at mom for moment 

The interior of the cabin was just as run-down and eerie as the exterior. The walls were covered with cobwebs and the wooden floors creaked under their feet. There were a few old couches and chairs scattered around, and a fireplace in the corner.

"And this is the sleeping quarters we have room mates because uh..let's say population is too high" ethan said causing sarah to chuckle as julia eye fell on picture hanging on wall of a girl with blonde hair and a smile name "Gwen Mitchell" and below it was written "we miss you" 

"Who's Gwen?" she asked, pointing at the picture. Ethan looked over and frowned. "Oh, that's Gwen. She was a camper here a few years ago. We were all really close with her. She disappeared one night during a summer camp out." Lisa shivered involuntarily. 

"Disappeared? What do you mean? Like, she just vanished into thin air?" Ethan nodded grimly. "Yeah, exactly. We searched the whole camp, the forest, everywhere. But we never found a single trace of her." Julia heart beat faster as she looked back at the picture.

"Ethan get your a- oh hello" she heard a boy also around her age wearing cap back wards as behind him was other one wearing blue over size shirt hands on pockets and smiled at them Ethan smiled. "These are my friends. This is Marcus, he's the head camp counselor here. He's a bit strict but a good guy. A prankster" Marcus was a tall and burly man with and a steely gaze who nodded in greeting.

"Behind him is alex he is also bit of a prankster but he keeps things interesting." Ethan said as alex smiled proudly "This is Maya," Ethan continued, gesturing to a pretty girl with long blonde hair. "She's a bit bossy but fair." Maya gave a small wave. 

"hey introduce me " a girl with hair to shoulder blonde high light came behind pouting and  Ethan laughed. "And this is Alice. She's a counselor here too. She's the unofficial camp matchmaker and loves to stir up drama." Alice scowled playfully at Ethan before smiling at Lisa.

"Also your roommate" ethan said "nice to meet you" alice said smiling "me too" Lisa said as she turn to see a blonde boy telling kids a story he looked similar and different then ethan  "and I guess that's your bother" Julia said "Yep," Ethan said with a grin. "This is my little brother, Caleb." 

"One year apart" alice told Julia who nodded after setting up the bags in her room with alice help it was time for sarah to go back "you have fun here" she said softly to his daughter who was walking beside her "i know, mum" she said to her mom "you know ever since your father and I divorced you been closed of trying to make sure you okay and I know your not perhaps through this you be open up" she said softly as Julia nod 

Sarah noticed her daughter's demeanor and gave her a warm hug. "Hey, it'll be okay, sweetheart," she said softly. "You'll have a great summer. And if you need to talk, I'm just a phone call away." As she smiled at her mum Julia was startled as she saw Ethan standing there. "Oh, hey," she said, feeling a bit awkward. Ethan noticed her jump and chuckled. "Sorry, didn't mean to scare you." He gestured for her to come over. "I was just coming to check on you. You seemed a bit down after your mom left." Julia hesitated for a moment. She wasn't used to sharing her feelings with anyone, but something about Ethan made her feel comfortable. 

"It's just... I had a hard time dealing with my dad leaving us," she admitted. "It happened a few months ago and I still feel so angry and hurt."Ethan listened intently, nodding thoughtfully. "I'm sorry to hear that," he said. "It must have been tough for you." He paused for a moment, debating whether or not to ask a personal question. "If you don't mind me asking, did your dad give a reason for leaving?" Julia's eyes filled with tears.

 "He said he just needed to find himself and that he couldn't handle the stress of being a father and a husband. But I saw him with another woman before he left. I think he just didn't love us enough to stay." Julia's eyes filled with tears. 

"He said he just needed to find himself and that he couldn't handle the stress of being a father and a husband. But I saw him with another woman before he left. I think he just didn't love us enough to stay." Ethan frowned, feeling a wave of sympathy wash over him. "That's a tough situation, Julia. It's natural to feel angry and hurt after something like that." He put a comforting hand on her shoulder. 

"But you don't have to carry that pain alone. We're all here for you."