A New Job
Lissa pulled her little car into the parking lot. A sign out front read, “Hill Country Nature Camp for Girls.”
“Yup, this is the place,” she said to herself.
She hopped out of her Sentra and walked over to the door of a small building. The season hadn’t started yet, and she noticed there were only two other vehicles parked outside: a pickup and a big white Lexus.
“Wow, someone drives a Lexus to summer camp. I didn’t know the job paid that well.”
She smiled, and walked through the door.
The receptionist’s desk stood empty, along with the rest of the office. She looked around and couldn’t see anybody. A mirror hung on one wall and she paused to make sure her hair was in place. She was a dirty blonde, but her best friend Katie always tried to encourage her to bleach her hair. But so far she had resisted. She told Katie it always gets lighter in the summer, especially if she spent a lot of time outdoors and in a pool.
Lissa heard voices coming through a door behind the receptionist’s desk. It was open, and nobody else was around. She debated for a moment, then decided to seize the day. She walked around the desk and poked her head in the doorway.
“Hi!”
A girl jumped off the lap of a young man sitting behind the desk. The look of shock quickly wore off her face, replaced by a frown.
“Who are you?”
The girl seemed to be about twenty. She had perfect makeup and looked far better than Lissa felt. Even wearing a tank top, shorts, and flip flops, she seemed stunning enough to pose for a magazine cover. Unlike Lissa, this girl had bleached her hair blonde. And it looked good on her.
She prolly drives the Lexus, Lissa thought to herself.
“Oh, I’m Lissa Jordan. I talked to somebody named Josh on the phone?”
“I’m Josh Sharper.”
The guy stood up and smiled, slightly embarrassed.
“It’s okay, Raven. I need to interview Lissa here for the camp counselor position.”
Raven gave Lissa a disdainful look as she walked out the door and sat down behind the receptionist’s desk.
“Shut the door, please.”
Lissa pushed the door shut, and struggled not to stick her tongue out at Raven, who shot her another dirty look.
Of course her name is Raven, Lissa thought. And there’s no doubt she drives the Lexus.
“So, uh, have a seat. We’re pretty casual around here.”
He chuckled, self-deprecatingly.
“I noticed.”
“What, you mean Raven? Yeah, she’s just affectionate.”
I bet she is.
“So, I checked your references and everybody says you’re great. You’re lifeguard and CPR certified. That’s good, we need that.
“Basically, we go three weeks in June and three in July. A lot of girls come in, mostly middle schoolers. Sixth, seventh, and eighth grades. A lot of them are from Austin and San Antonio. Some are from Dallas and Houston. We get a few others from around Texas. On occasion someone will come in from out of state, especially if their mom went here back in the day.
“We’ve got cabins that are sorted by age. The opening you applied for is in the older girls’ cabin. You’ll have a private room and bathroom. The girls sleep in bunks and share one large shower facility.
“There are some basic rules. You can never be alone with a camper. You always have to have at least two, and it’s best to have more with you. They should never be in your room.
“No cell phones or electronics. As you probably noticed, we’re so far out in the Hill Country that reception is terrible here anyway.”
Lissa nodded. She hadn’t had a good signal the last several miles while driving.
“In an emergency, if you climb on top of what we call ‘Mount Killjoy,’ the highest elevation in the campground, you can get a bar or two on your phone, depending on which carrier you use. If something comes up and you have to call or text home or something, we usually let staff bend the rules a bit. But day to day usage is a no-no.”
“Why do they call it ‘Mount
Ruby Dixon
William Shakespeare
Eve Langlais
Gwen Masters
Unknown
D. E. Stevenson
Amelia Calhan
Vicki Lewis Thompson
Ben Byrne
Anna Lord