Chapter Text
Nothing lasts forever, not even the broiling summertime. As the season left, it took campers all across the nation with it. Some cried, some laughed, some were sad, some were happy… And then there were the campers of Camp Campbell. They weren't necessarily happy or sad. After the events of Parent Day occurred, camp still had about a week left before the kids were meant to be home. That week was… odd. David was a bit less enthusiastic and ignorant than usual. Gwen told the campers that what happened on Parent Day really hit him hard, and that he needed a bit of time to think. As the week progressed, more and more parts of the camp were slowly packed away by Gwen and David, both of which said nothing to each other as they did it. Most activity halted, as the campers let the fact that summer was actually over set in. They had all grown accustomed to the strange every day happenings of camp.
"I can't imagine… not waking up at camp to face some really weird situation."
Max, Nikki and Neil sat together by the lake, staring out into the water.
"I mean, we're all going home today. And the camp is closing, so we aren't even going to be back next summer. We aren't going to wake up tomorrow in a tent. We aren't going to wake up and see any weird supernatural creatures or burn down a building or get kidnapped by the wood scouts or ANY of that."
Neil turned around to face the other two.
"Isn't that… weird? I just… I can't even begin to fathom the idea of things just being… normal again…"
After receiving only empty stares as a response, Neil fell silent again and studied the ground, unwilling to continue discussing the current events. No one uttered another word for what felt like hours, until Max finally pushed himself off the ground and stood up by the lake's edge.
"Welp, I guess we'll finally be getting out of this shithole then."
Neil and Nikki exchanged glances of curiosity as Nikki spoke up.
"Wait, you really aren't going to miss camp, even a little bit?"
"Or us?" added Neil as he and Nikki stood up beside Max.
"Nope. None of it. I've been trying so hard ALL SUMMER to get out of here! And now it's FINALLY over. There isn't anything about this trashy, bullshit cash-grab camp that I'll miss!"
His glare suddenly softens slightly. "But I guess… Not hanging out with you guys is going to… suck less than hanging out with you."
"Hey, a compliment!" Shouted Nikki. "I mean, I THINK it was a compliment anyways…"
"What are you little shits doing way over here? Parents are starting to show up."
The trio turned to find the source of the voice, already knowing who it was.
"Oh, hey Gwen!" Nikki waved happily, then reached down to grab her bags. "Come on guys, let's go wait by the entrance!"
Max disappointedly watched as Nikki and Neil ran for the front of the camp. Gwen noticed his expression, and knelt down to his level so that she could look him in the eyes.
"Max, what's wrong?"
He stared back silently, unresponsive. Gwen's eyes widened as she finally understood.
"Oh, right… Hey, it'll be okay… We'll be here for you, got it?"
Max couldn't help but grin faintly at this. Gwen nodded and stood back up, satisfied that she was able to be even a small source of comfort.
"Now come on you little asshole, let's go wait."
She and Max walked to the camp's front gate, where Nerris' parents and Preston's grandmother were the two campers were loading their things into their respective cars, the two of them being the first to leave. Once packed they started saying their goodbyes to the others, a few exchanging phone numbers to keep in contact.
Thirty minutes after their departure, Harrison's parents reluctantly arrived. They had nervous smiles plastered to their faces, but Max could overhear them frantically whispering to David and Gwen about "fixing their son."
Soon after them came a rusty prison bus carrying Nurf's mother, followed by a dark limousine with blackened out windows. Nurf and Ered were unsurprisingly the ones collected.
At exactly 2:00 PM, five children remained. Dolph, Space Kid, Nikki, Neil, and Max. Only four excitedly waited for their rides. The fifth, Max, sat off to the side, resting on top of his bag with a distant look in his eyes.
First Space Kid, then Dolph. 2:30 PM.
Finally, a moment Max had secretly been dreading (but would never admit) arrived. A single car pulled up, driven by Nikki's mother. However, she wasn't the only one inside. Neil's father in the passenger's seat, waving as they arrived.
"Wait, what the hell?" commented Neil, stopping in his tracks. "Dad, why are you with Nikki's mom?"
The two adults laughed, along with Gwen and Nikki and a little snicker from Max. Neil's dad just shook his head and packed the kids' bags into the back.
"No seriously why are you with Nikki's mom???"
No one explained, because the answer was blatantly obvious. After packing up, Nikki and Neil ran to max to say goodbye.
"Look like we're finally splitting, huh…?"
"Yeah, I guess."
"What's your phone number? If you have one?" Nikki asked while pulling out her beaten up, scratch covered cell phone.
"Never had a phone," Max told her flatly, attempting to keep his emotionless composure. She nodded in understanding, and after another minute of final goodbyes, the two of them piled into the car and took off down the road.
Gwen glanced around with a satisfied grin, until she spotted Max. He was sitting on his bag, leaning against one of the trees. He stared at nothing in complete silence, expression void of any emotion. She walked over and sat down next to him, then started to talk in an attempt to comfort him.
"So… you excited for the school year, Max? You're ten right, that's fourth grade, right?"
"No, why would I be excited for nine more months of hell? I haven't gone to school in a year, and I don't plan on going back. Also I'd be in fifth grade because I turn eleven before the cutoff day. But that doesn't matter, because I'm not going."
Gwen raised an eyebrow. "Wait, you missed school last year? Why? And why aren't you going back?"
"I went to kindergarten, first, second and third grade of public school and each year was a living fucking nightmare! First of all, the kids were terrible! Do you know what it's like to get the shit beaten out of you every day? Public school kids are fucking ruthless, Gwen! They took the lunch money I got from illegally working at the fucking junkyard! Th-"
"Wait, hold on," interrupted Gwen, confused and concerned. "You worked at a junkyard? Illegally???"
"You think my parents were going to pay for my fucking lunch? Of course not! And nobody wants to work at a stupid old junkyard! They paid me to go out and look for valuable shit and keep trespassers out because it's cheaper to illegally pay some little kid desperate for work so... Whatever, doesn't matter! Those grimy little asshole kids ALWAYS took whatever I brought to school while my parents looted most of what I had at home. And that's just the start of it, everyone always assumes shoving kid into lockers is just something that happens in the movies, when it's really fucking real! I would know! I spent probably like… two months total in a fucking locker during the time I spent at school! So no I don't want to go back to my school, and it's not like my parents give a shit anyways! Nor do the underpaid teachers and corrupt law enforcement of my shitty town!"
Gwen was silent, physically unable to respond. She knew things were bad back at Max's house, but didn't even think of school. When she was a little girl, school was usually a place kids could count on to use an escape from a bad home life. What's the point in a place to escape to every day if it's even worse than the place you're trying to escape from?
"God… Max… I'm so sorry, I didn't realize…"
Max rolled his eyes and crossed his arms, looking off in the other direction. "Whatever… It's fine, I don't care."
"No, it isn't fine…" She put a hand on his shoulder. "Seriously, I'm sorry. You don't deserve all this, you're just a kid… Look I may not know the full story, I may be completely unaware of how things work wherever you live, but don’t let anyone make you feel like you deserve any of this…"
Gwen noticed as Max's eyes widened a bit at specifically the last thing she said.
"You know that right? None of this is your fault?"
He was unresponsive, lost in a whirlwind of thought. Max forced himself to block it out, and stop thinking about it all together. Instead of answering her question, he changed the subject entirely.
"Where's David?"
Gwen squinted, still mildly concerned. "He's back in our cabin. David had to lock himself in his room and shut the lights off in order to stop himself from trying to keep the kids at camp. He's still pretty upset about the whole, 'camp ending permanently' thing… Want me to get him?"
"...Yeah, sure, whatever, I don't care."
Gwen nodded, his fake uncaring attitude unable to convince her. She made her way back to the counselor's tent, and in less than a minute, David had sprinted to Max's side. He tripped over a branch on the way, but didn't seem to notice as he fell at Max's side.
"Max! You're still here!"
He frowned at him and shook his head slowly. "Smooth. Yeah, I'm still here. Literally no surprises, I'll probably fucking be here until snowfall!"
David sat up and brushed the dirt and leaves off. He looked at Max with a hint of sadness.
"Hey, it'll be fine. I'm sure your parents will be here any moment!"
Thirty minutes later, 3:00 PM. No sign of anyone, one hour after designated pickup time.
3:30 PM. David started counting the individual leaves on the trees that he and Max sat under.
4:00 PM. Gwen called the number they were given by Max's parents "in case of emergency". The number connected her to a Chinese takeout restaurant four states away.
5:00 PM. The Quartermaster left with his belongings for a hotel, mentioning something about house hunting.
6:00 PM. David and Gwen ordered pizza for the three of them.
8:30 PM. Gwen reluctantly left, explaining she has job interviews to get to tomorrow morning.
9:00 PM. Max fell asleep.
Finally, at 11:00 PM, David decided enough was enough. He carried Max to the counselor's office and left him to sleep in his own bed. He sat outside the cabin door, waiting patiently.
At sunrise, Gwen returned with breakfast she picked up from a bagel place on the way. David wished her luck on her job interviews, and thanked her for the bagels.
"Did Max's parents ever show?" she asked, biting into her own bagel.
"…Not yet."
David looked exhausted, as he was up all night, just in case anyone made an appearance. Gwen noticed this and frowned slightly, growing concerned.
"Do you think they…?"
"No. They have to be coming. They just… they have to be coming Gwen, okay? I know they didn't show up for parent day a week ago, but maybe they were busy. I know they didn't show up yesterday, but maybe they're just… busy again? Stuck in traffic?"
"I don't think-"
David stood up and smiled. "After all, I won't let anymore disappointment come Max's way. His parents WILL come."
Gwen smiled weakly. "There you go with that confident positivity again… But, just so you know, if they DON'T show up…"
"They will."
"Okay, okay, but on the off chance they DON'T, you know you have to do something right?"
David stared down at the ground, smile wavering. He had maybe thought about it once or twice the other day, but it was more of a fantasy rather than genuine consideration.
"I know, Gwen. And I know exactly what I'll do!"
She grinned and saluted to him.
"Good luck, you crazy weirdo."
After she took off, David sat back down on the doorstep and studied the road that leads to the camp entrance. He expected a car to show up any minute now, and concerned, apologetic parents to rush out exclaiming how much they missed their child.
By lunch time, the car never showed, nor had Max woken up. David could feel some kind of emotional mix building up, half of which he was ashamed of. Half of him was beyond pissed at Max's parents for not showing up, parents are supposed to be your best friend, not someone that forgets about you. The other half of him though was excited, almost hopeful that they wouldn't show up. David felt guilty over how much he wanted them to never show up. He was mad with himself over how selfish he assumed he was being. He was wishing for this kid's parents to abandon their own child.
Because he wanted to be a better one. He cared about Max, David spent his entire summer trying to make him happy, trying to make him feel included, cared about, and worth something. He wanted to show him what a good parent was supposed to do, he wanted to give Max a future to look forward to. David wanted to be a better parent to this child, because somebody fucking has to.