Tiff stared at her mentor in surprise as he looked calmly back at her. “Meta Knight? What are you doing here?” she asked, her voice laden with surprise.

“I too have come to be a counselor,” he said. “It has been a while since I have been to a camp, and I thought it would be fun.”

“You? Having fun?” Tuff scoffed. “Yeah, right. And I’m a ballerina.”

“Shut it,” Lemu commanded. “Be nice. If he wants to be a counselor, he can be one. Okay?”

“Fine,” Tiff said contritely.

Mayor Len looked at the clock on his dashboard and smiled at the others. “The children should be here any minute now,” he said. “Get ready, all, ’cause these kids are going to be a handful, and you will want to be in control.”

The counselors stood and waited. Gradually, Tiff heard the faint sound of singing and chattering, and soon, five big orange buses pulled up near the campsite. The doors opened and children, most aged seven to thirteen years old, came pouring out in droves. Their talking and laughing was so loud that Tiff wanted to cover her ears, but the other counselors that had ridden the buses with the kids seemed pretty comfortable. They herded the kids into neat groups and helped collect their luggage.

“Okay, okay!” a young woman yelled out. The children quieted and looked directly at her. “If you can hear me, clap once!”

The children obliged.

“If you can hear me, clap twice!”

Again her command was met with obedience.

“All right, then! Now we’re going to go over a few rules,” the woman said. “First, there will be no violence, swearing, or bad behavior. This is music camp, and we want to keep our music and actions appropriate for those younger than us.”

“Who put this hag in charge?” a sixteen-year-old girl muttered to her friend, jerking her thumb at the woman. Her crony nodded in agreement.

“Second, you will obey your elders. We do not tolerate disrespect, and those who break this rule will be disciplined,” the woman continued. “And third, show respect for the land. Do not set fires n the woods or tear down rosebushes or mess with honeybees, you know, stuff like that. This is not our property; we are only using it through the permission of the landowner, so be cautious and respectful.”

The girl who had spoken badly of the woman faked a yawn.

“Okay, we’re done! Get settled and we’ll meet together for some activities!” the woman said.

Their excitement renewed, the children snatched up luggage and supplies and hurried to set up tents. But the sixteen-year-old bully didn’t move. Neither did her crew, which composed of three rich girls and two cute boys. The woman noticed them standing by and inquired, “Aren’t you going to get settled?”

“We’ll get settled when we’ll get settled,” the girl spoke rudely, hand on her hip. “But just to be clear, my friends and I are not sleeping in a tent. We’re of too high social status to hang around with the tent freaks.”

The woman crossed her arms. “Well, Miss. . .um, what’s your name?”

“Autherine,” the girl said disgruntledly.

“Well, Miss Autherine, I am sorry, but tents are all we have. This is the wilderness, where we can be free and have room to breathe.”

“You call this music camp?” one of the boys snorted. “Where do we sing?”

“There’s a makeshift auditorium a few miles down the beach,” the woman said. “At the end of two weeks, we’ll all compete against each other by seeing who sings the best song.”

“That’s great news,” Autherine said sarcastically, “but I am still not sleeping on the cold hard ground.”

“It’s summer, ma’am,” the woman said politely. “It’s going to be warm. And the campground is smooth, not bumpy.”

“I don’t care. I demand you find me a suitable place to sleep,” the girl ordered. “Otherwise, I am leaving.”

“Ma’am,” the woman said, her voice tired, “tents are the only lodging we have. You’ll have to make do.” She turned and walked away.

“You’re gonna regret ever saying that,” Autherine muttered under her breath to the retreating woman. “I will get my way.”

To be continued. . .