Chapter Text
Before
Hot sticky Summer of 2005, Waverly’s last year as a camper at Tuxbury Sleepaway Camp. She is 14 and eager, nothing could ruin this year. Her camp friends were always the best, she was constantly sending them letters from Purgatory with stories from school, now she gets to see them again. 2 weeks of sleeping in a cabin and showering in lukewarm water and Waverly couldn’t be more excited. Next year she’ll apply to be a counselor, which she’s a shoe-in for since the camp director adores her. Everyone always adores Waverly Earp.
Her favorite out of her two older sisters sits beside her in the driver’s seat, blasting their favorite Britany Spears CD through their father’s old pickup trucks stereo. They scream the lyrics together, wide grins on their faces. The ride is over three hours but Waverly always enjoys it when her sister’s tag along. They aren’t always the closest but there’s something about summer that brings them together, even Willa will enjoy their company from time to time. Every Earp girl has gone to Tuxbury, it’s a family tradition. Wynonna even worked as a counselor for a few years while Waverly was a camper. The older girl would sneak Waverly out of camp and to the town a mile down the road to get cotton candy ice cream. Waverly has never had ice cream as good as she had that summer night.
The bus is crowded with screaming girls, Nicole tries to tune them all out as she reads her borrowed copy of 1984 but its next to impossible when there are hair ties flying over the seats. She thinks she saw a sandwich fly by her head a moment ago, despite the loudness, she is excited about camp. It’s one of the only things she looks forward to all year round. Things are always loud and she never gets her own space but at least this way she gets to have no space while relaxing by the lake or while roasting marshmallows over a fire. She’d choose camp over sleeping in her bunk back at the home any day.
Every summer, Tuxbury Sleepaway Camp allows for the three all-girls homes located in the city to attend a session of their choice for free. The wife of the owner of the camp was in the system herself for a few years, she’s the reason Nicole is here today. She always makes sure to write her a letter and leave it in the office before she leaves.
A lot of the other campers at the camp refer to them as “the orphans” but Nicole doesn’t like that word much. Most of the other girls dislike them just because they attend the camp for free. She doesn’t need to be reminded at every waking moment that her parents are dead. She’s come to terms with it, she never really knew either of them anyways. There’s nothing to hold onto. She entered the system when she was three and a half years old and has been in nine foster homes and two all-girl homes since then. She seems to be stuck with these girls now though, she doesn’t mind much. Not all of them suck.
Waverly grabs her duffle bags from the backseat and says goodbye to her sister. “Two weeks.”
Wynonna nods, “Two weeks.”
“Thanks for driving me,” she smiles.
Wynonna shoves her gently, “Sure thing kid. Have fun, don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.”
Waverly laughs, “Got it.”
“and don’t forget to call every once in a while, I’ll miss your stupid voice.”
“I will.”
“Okay,” Wynonna nods. “Now go and see your friends your face is making me sick.”
Waverly steps backward, “I love you!”
“I love you too, dork.”
She waves, “Bye Wynonna.”
Waverly’s done this before, she knows what to do. She rushes toward the check-in table first, there aren't many girls there and the ones she’s seeing are all new campers. Tricking Wynonna into leaving an hour early paid off, Waverly might just have first pick this year.
“Waverly Earp! Hey, where’s your sister?”
Waverly drops her bag into the dirt, “Wynonna left me by the road.”
“I’m not even surprised, well tell her I said hi whenever you get the chance. Kay?”
Waverly nods, “Sure will.”
Waverly’s known most of the counselors for years now, Sadie smiles at her as she signs in. “Cabin B, you know where it is right?”
Waverly nods, “Yup. Thanks, Sadie.”
“See ya for dinner,” the older girl sends Waverly off. The brunette staggers down the dirt path, struggling to carry her duffle bags and the overstuffed backpack pulling on her shoulders. She’s overpacked every year, this time is no different. She needs her pillow and her flower sheets and her pink sleeping bag and those overalls that are the perfect faded blue and that sweatshirt from Wynonna’s homecoming and not to mention her top three favorite bathing suits or those new hightops from converse. The cabin isn't far from the office, she stands outside the door for a moment. Waverly was always one for enjoying the moment, she wants to remember this summer, she’ll hold these memories near her heart for the rest of her life.
The cabin is empty when Waverly tugs open the door, it’s almost eerie without any of the other camper’s items out yet. She scans the room, this is the first time she’s ever gotten here early enough to choose her bed. Wynonna always leaves late, then stops for ice cream or french fries, tricking her sister into leaving an hour early really paid off. Waverly chooses the bunk furthest from the door on the left side, the top is always best at camp. She throws the lighter of the two duffle bags up onto the mattress before collapsing onto the floor dramatically.
“This is it Waverly, your last year of camp.” She pushes her light brown hair out of her face as she stares up at the carvings in the ceiling, “Make it count.”
The bus comes to a stop and everyone rushes toward the exit, Nicole keeps her head down as girls shove each other, tugging half open backpacks behind them. She neatly tucks her book back in her backpack and waits for the bus to clear. The girls all line up in front of the table outside, Nicole pulls her backpack over her shoulders and makes her way toward the front of the bus. “Thanks for the ride Frank,” she smiles at her bus driver.
He winks at her, “Anytime Nic, have fun now and draw me up something nice from the woods.”
She laughs softly, “Will do.”
“Two weeks,” he raises his hand.
She high fives him gently, “Two weeks.” He winks at her as she jumps down the yellow bus steps and onto the dirt. The line is moving quickly, girls are running off toward their cabins. Nicole chews on her tongue, waiting to just to get checked in. The sooner the girls unpack the sooner they clear out and the sooner Nicole gets to be alone. A few minutes later she’s faced with Sadie Jones smiling at her awkwardly from the other side of the table.
“Well…”
Nicole frowns, “Well?”
One of the women from the home grabs Nicole’s shoulders gently. Joanne always liked Nicole, she had a liking for the young redhead, “So listen, your cabin is full so you have two choices here.” She smiles, “The younger girls are on their way from the city now and they have an empty bed in their cabin, or you can stay in cabin B with the other campers.”
Nicole frowns, “Those are my only options?”
Joanne smirks, she pulls the redhead closer to her playfully, “Or you can stay with me in the counselor cabin, share a twin.”
“Nope no thanks, cabin B sounds mighty fine.”
Joanne laughs and lets go of her, “It won't be as bad as you think it’ll be.”
“Says you.”
“This is your last year, make it count, okay?”
Nicole frowns but nevertheless nods, “Okay.”
She sets off toward the cabin unenthusiastically, her backpack making her steps heavier. The camp is beautiful, especially when there aren’t girls running in every direction. Cabins are lined on one side, across from them are the pools and the lake and the gazebo. Nicole could stare at the space forever, its something she wants to remember. The whole place looks nostalgic which, deep down makes Nicole happy. She pulls open the door slowly, it creeks as she steps through the doorway. The cabin seems empty then she sees the girl looking at her from the corner of the room.
Waverly stands up, scratching her head awkwardly. “Hey…” she smiles at the other girl. She has ridiculously long red hair that’s tangled beneath her backpack.
The new girl looks at her and giggles, “Were you lying on the floor?”
Waverly’s cheeks blush red, “Yes but,” she points up at the ceiling. “Look at all the carvings. They're all from other campers on their last year, I just think its pretty cool.”
The red haired girl moves in closer, “Yeah that is pretty cool.”
Waverly smiles, “My sister’s name is up there.” She jumps, pointing at a name above her head, “Right there, Wynonna.” The brunette stares at the ceiling a moment longer before focusing back on the girl beside her, “Hi, sorry. I’m Waverly Earp.”
The taller girl smiles shyly, “I’m Nicole.”
“Nice to meet ya, Nicole no last name.”
Nicole shakes her head, “Right, Nicole Haught.”
“... Like hot?”
The redhead makes a face, “Sort of.”
Waverly laughs, “Sick.” Waverly jumps up and pulls her duffle bags off her bed, the redhead stands off to the side and watches as Waverly pulls out her bed sheet and starts putting a pillowcase on her pillow. Nicole looks around at all the unclaimed beds, this is her first time she has a cabin basically to herself where she can choose her bed. She eventually chooses the bed across from Waverly’s in the right back corner.
There’s an awkward silence that comes over the cabin as they each unpack their things. Nicole struggled to put her sheet on the mattress, Waverly jumps in. “Oh, here let me help.”
“You don't have to…”
Waverly grabs the corners of the sheet and tucks them in, “Already did.”
“Thank you.”
She winks, “Now you can help me with mine.” Nicole helps Waverly make her bed, she even tosses the brunette her pillow and sleeping bag from the floor. Waverly makes small talk, “Do you have any friends coming?”
Nicole shakes her head, “Nope, anyone I know is already here.”
Waverly points toward her backpack so Nicole can hand it to her, “Oh that’s nice.” She pulls out a small box and flips the top open. “I've gone to this camp since I was seven, I've made a few friends since then.” The brunette leans over the side of the bed holding a photo, “This is me and my friends, that one is Chrissy and the other one is Stephanie.”
Nicole smiles awkwardly, she doesn't usually talk to people. She’s always studying or reading or drawing in her notebook, she doesn't leave much time to talk to kids her age.
“I bet they’d love you, you can sit with us at dinner.” The redhead blushes, looking away from Waverly to hide it. Waverly tapes the photo up then quickly pulls another photo out and hang it besides that one, then another.
Nicole looks up, “What are those of.”
Waverly grins, “Well the first photo is me as a baby in my mom's arms and that guy there is my dad and there's my older sister Willa.” She moves on to the next photo, “This is me and my other sister Wynonna. She was the one who dropped me off today.” She looks back at Nicole,“Do you have any siblings?”
The redhead shakes her head, “No, not like you.”
Waverly looks at the taller girl puzzled but moves on, “Did you bring anything to hang up.”
Nicole grabs her backpack and pulls out a notebook, “Yeah I guess I could hang one of these up.” She flips open the front cover and papers go flying down toward the ground. Waverly jumps off the top bunk to help pick them up.
“Woah, you drew these?”
Nicole nods, “They're just doodles.”
“No, they're really cool.” Waverly holds up a drawing of a rose, “I like this one.”
“You can keep it… if you want.”
Waverly’s face lit up, “Really?”
“Yeah, go ahead.”
Waverly smiles as she jumps up and hangs the drawing with her photos on the wall, “Perfect, I’ll keep it forever.”
Nicole looks away, blushing again as she organizes her drawings. Waverly unpacks her clothes and shoves them in her assigned bin while Nicole hangs drawings beside her bed. They’re silent for a while as they unpack, soon the cabin door crashes open and two girls run in. Nicole watches as Waverly runs into their arms, screaming about not seeing each other for a year. She stays out of it, they yell as she flips through drawings.
It’s all a blur, Nicole is used to tuning out the noise. Then Waverly waves her hand in front of the redheads face, “Uh hello Nicole, are you in there?”
She blinks, “Oh you're talking to me?” She looks around the cabin, the girls are gone, their bags are torn open and pouring out onto their chosen bunks.
“Yes, I’m talking to you.” Waverly cocks her head to the right, “Are you done hanging your drawings up I want popsicles.”
Nicole blinks, “Yeah I'm done.” She looks around the room again, “What happened to your friends?”
“They went swimming,” Waverly steps backward. “Wanna come with me to the dining hall?”
Nicole jumps down from her bunk, “Uh, sure.”
“What's with the face?”
Nicole shakes her head, “Nothing, I just thought you’d be hanging with your friends.”
Waverly scrunched up her face, “Nope.” Then she looks at the door with side eyes, “Race ya!”
Nicole takes off after her, “Hey! No fair, cheater.”
“Come on slow poke!” Waverly giggles as she looks back.