What up, readers? It’s nearly summer, and the approach of summer means CAMP DOLL DIARIES! We have tried (and failed) to participate in camp in 2013 and 2014, so we wanted to give it another shot and (hopefully) stick it out! Unfortunately, June means tests, so we had a late check-in station, where the late campers could be welcomed. Check it out!
“Forms, check; whiteboard, check; sanity… don’t know where that is,” Emma murmurs to herself. “Whose idea was it to put me in charge? And where, oh where, is the counselor?” She looks up and waves. “Oh, hello, readers! It’s Emma Hawthorne here, except in a slightly stressed form! You see, I’m to run the check-in station until the counselor, whom I have still to meet, takes over for me. That’s technically her job, except she’s coming to camp later. Then it’s off to school to get my results for my tests… oh dear, here come the nerves again! Where is that counselor?” she mutters as she hastily straightens the rainbow tablecloth, and then hears footsteps behind her.
“Hello!” she exclaims breathlessly. “You must be the camp counselor!”
The girl turns and smiles, showing her dimples. “Yes; I’m Kit Kittredge. And you must be Emma Hawthorne. I’m sorry I’m late; I got tangled up with the little ones. They’re a bit…. you know!”
“Yes, I know; they’ve been under my feet for the whole week!”
“Oh, so you’ve been here for the last couple of days?”
“Yes; I’ve been helping out until you got here, but I need to go to collect my results from my tests.”
“Oh. Nervous?”
“Extremely!” Emma chuckles.
“You’ll do fine; I’m sure.”
“And so will you. The first day on the job will probably seem a bit overwhelming, but it’s a good laugh.”
“Here’s my form for being a counselor,” Kit says as she hands over the paper.
“Thanks! And out of curiosity, why are you late?”
“Ummm, bit of this and that. And by this and that, I mean literally this and that, across a big ball of wibbley-wobbley, timey-wimey… stuff.”
“Oh my gosh; are you a nerd too?”
“Yes; I’m a Tolkenite and BBC television have irreversibly damaged my happiness.”
“Awesome!” Emma shouts as the girls exchange a high-five.
“Here’s your clipboard,” Emma continues. “It’s got planning and registration sheets, and the camp leader’s information if you need a hand. Oh, and mine too. I was counselor of a camp last year, and I know the ropes.”
“But this year you’ll just be a camper?”
“Yes, I’ll be back after I get my tests back. But in any case of emergency, you can contact me with this number. I hope that’s it…everything appears to be in order,” Emma answers.
“Welcome, master Baggins, to the company of Thorin Oakenshield?” Kit replies cleverly. “Except, I’m not expecting a pony.”
“See you around!” Kit calls as Emma walks away. “And don’t stress out; I want to see you with your head on right in a few days!”
“Thanks, and bye – or should I see namarie?” Emma replies as Kit laughs. She turns towards her table again and sighs. “What a nice girl. She seems like a friend. I wonder when the others will arrive?”
“Right now!” exclaims a voice, and Kit turns around again to find an amiable looking girl waving at her. “Hi! I’m Amber Williams. Well, technically, Amber J. Williams, but the J is sort of optional, because it’s a middle name, and the middle ones you tend to leave out.”
“Hello,” says Kit, amused. “I’m Kit Kittredge, your counselor.”
“Oh, that’s a new name! Where does it come from?”
“Well,” Kit answers, smiling with the memory. “My original name is Magaret Mildred Kittredge.”
“Sounds like a mouthful!”
“It is! But when I was small my dad used to sing me a song that goes ‘pack all your troubles in your old KIT bag!’ and it sorta stuck!”
“Awww, that’s cute.” Amber giggles.
“Oh, yes!” Kit suddenly shouts, and scribbles down Amber’s name on the form. “Sorry. First things first, and while I’m doing that, could you fill out this form?”
“Absolutely.” Amber replies and takes her form to the back table.
“You’re rooming in Cabin Peony, the campers’ cabin, with Emma Hawthorne, who was here just a few minutes ago. She’ll be back, but she’s sweet.”
“Great! Sooooo excited to make new friends!”
“Well, you’ve just made one, I think.”
“I know! Look at me go!”
“So where are you from?” Kit asks.
“Oh… somewhere in America. Except, I’ve been travelling the world lately; actually, that’s why I’m late.”
“Really? That’s awesome! Why?”
“Well, I’m into fashion, so I wanted to go see other big fashionistas, and I also went for fun. Mainly for the fun,” Amber adds
“Where did you go?”
“Paris, London, Madrid, Rio, New York, Los Angeles, Sydney…”
“WOW! That sounds like a blast!”
The girls are so busy talking that they didn’t hear footsteps behind them, until a loud voice announces: “AHEM!!”
“Who are you?” Amber asks rudely.
“I am Miss Emily Bennett,” the girl behind the table replies. “Second cousin twice removed from Her Majesty herself. And I am here to register for this trivial prison you call a ‘camp’. Unless I am mistaken, and this is the middle of nowhere? Oh, pardon me… it actually is.”
“Are you Emily!” Kit replies and walks over to the table to write Emily’s name on her forms. “Hi, I’m Kit Kittredge and I am your – ”
“I don’t care who you are, and what your name is,” Emily answers haughtily. “I am only here by force, so I would prefer not to make acquaintance with lesser life forms. And I would have you know that if you were to wrong me in anyway, I could have the whole of the United Kingdom on your case faster than you could sing Hot Cross Buns!”
“Okay…” Kit says, taken aback. “Well, I have no other choice but to communicate with you, unless you get your distant relation to sign a paper and send it over. So, Emily, I was not expecting your arrival because your mother cancelled two weeks ago.”
Emily sighs a long sigh. “YES! I know! Mummy and Daddy decided to have an impromptu “holiday”, leaving me behind to cope with foreign savages! Apparently, it’s for my own good, but so far I highly doubt her wisdom in this matter…”
“Yes, okay. But seeing as you weren’t signed up for camp, I will have to make arrangements to have you sleep in Cabin Toadstool, the counselor’s cabin, but that’s okay, I can share.”
“SHARE A BEDROOM!” Emily screeches. “I positively refuse to share a bedroom with someone, let alone someone inferior!”
“Well, I’m sorry sweetheart, but this isn’t Buckingham Palace!” Amber retorts.
“Now, Amber,” Kit reminds, then turns to Emily. “I’m sorry, Emily, but if you had booked earlier – or at all – other arrangements could have been made. As it is, I’m afraid we will deal with the circumstances. I will do my part, and I expect you to do yours.”
“Absolutely not!” Emily replies loudly. “Right, I am going to call Mummy. I expect she’ll come back from the Caribbean for me, and if not, I will contact the Queen of England herself. Now if you’ll excuse me-!” And she stalked away.
“Yeah, you go ahead and try, Emily!” Amber shouts after her. “And maybe you’ll realize that she doesn’t dare come back!”
“AMBER!” Kit exclaims.
“Well, she was asking for it,” Amber murmurs.
“Go look for her. The fact is, she’s stuck here, and if she runs away, then we’ll be held responsible. I’ll hold down the fort.”
“Fine!” Amber says and walks away.
Kit sighs. “Well, that’s a trouble spot, but the other two seem very friendly! How am I going to be a good counselor? Any advice for me? I want to make sure that by the end of camp Amber and Emily haven’t ripped each other apart, if you know what I mean… But oh well. Emily or no Emily, I’m going to make this summer fan-TAST-ic!” She cracks a smile and whistles as she works through the other paperwork.
We hope you enjoyed our start to camp! Are you going to camp?
The dolls xx
Doll-lightful Days 