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I woke up to the sound of an incessant ringing coming from a phone on the ground. Everyone in the cabin was groaning at the owner to shut it off immediately, including myself, and it took me a good minute to realize it was my phone making the noise. I lazily grabbed it and opened one eye to look at the caller I.D, seconds away from dismissing the call, but I stopped myself when I saw that it was my mother.

Instead, I dragged myself out of bed and out of the cabin, answering the call with a sleepy voiced, "Hello?"

There was a pause. "Amelia, why does it sound like you've just woken up? You should be awake already for your piano lesson."

I pull the phone away from my ear and see that its seven thirty in the morning, which is thirty minutes past when I normally drag myself out of bed for piano. I widen my eyes and run a hand down my face quickly, forcing my voice to be more awake and cheery when I speak next.

"Sorry, haven't talked yet today. Mrs. Brady doesn't usually come to the auditorium for another thirty minutes, so I've been alone in the auditorium for a bit." I lie easily.

As I lie, I look around at my surroundings, seeing an empty camping ground in my vision rather than the auditorium I was supposed to be in. But that was the good thing about being away at camp; my mother didn't know when I was lying or when I wasn't, if I was careful enough.

"Speaking of Mrs. Brady, she told me that you didn't practice yesterday." She says, her voice steely and full of accusation. "Why did you ask to miss practice, Amelia?"

I walk over to the fire pit and take a seat on one of the logs, sensing that this was about to be a long conversation full of lectures and possible yelling, so I might as well get comfortable. I dropped my forehead into my hand, my elbow leaning against my knee, and contemplated lying versus telling the truth.

In the end, I told the half truth. "Marcus insisted that I attend the hike they were going on yesterday, since I've been working so hard with piano. I thought it wouldn't hurt to miss one day."

"Amelia, you know very well that the only reason I let you attend that juvenile summer camp is because Martha Brady is one of the most prestigious piano teachers on the coast," My mother starts off fiercely, and then mutters under her breath, "God only knows why she would stoop to a summer camp, but that's her business," I roll my eyes; that's not the first time she's said those words. "This is not the time for you to be going on hikes just because some man who failed in every other aspect of life and had to become a camp director told you that you should go."

I clenched my fists by my side when she bashes on Marcus. Sure, being a camp director probably wasn't his ideal goal as a kid, but who cares? He was a nice man, and I was able to say that even despite the punishment he gave me for the bra incident.

"I know, mother," I say through clenched teeth, not trusting myself to say anything more.

"If I hear from Mrs. Brady that you're missing more practices, then I will not hesitate to drive up to Camp Wisataw-" I bite my tongue from correcting her. "-and bring you back home, you understand?"

When I was at home, it was difficult to comply to my parents orders, acting like it didn't affect me, but I did it. For my own sake, I pretended to be the perfect daughter, got good grades, didn't disobey them, and did what they asked. But right now, it was becoming increasingly hard to be obedient when all I wanted to do was talk back and fight with her.

"Yes, mother," I force myself to say. "I understand."

"I fully expect you to stay two hours longer today at practice to make up for what you missed yesterday, and I'll be sure to ask Mrs. Brady to watch you to make sure you stay there." She demands.

Before I can hold myself back, I tell her fiercely, "Mrs. Brady isn't a babysitter, mother. I'll stay there longer, but don't waste her time."

"Don't talk back to me, Amelia Kate." My mother snaps back.

I shut my eyes and count to five in the hopes it will calm me down before I reply, which it hardly does, but I still manage, "I have to go practice now."

"Before you go, keep in mind that your father and I want you to complete Beethoven's Hammerklavier before the summer ends. It would be an excellent piece to play for your audition at Juilliard; they'd have to be fools not to accept you if you master that composition." She adds, her voice full of authority and sureness. "Goodbye, Amelia."

I hang up the phone and restrain myself from throwing it across the forest grounds, instead settling for a scream muffled by my hands. Hammerklavier would be one of the most difficult compositions I've ever had to master, let alone in a short few weeks. My audition at Juilliard would be held in the beginning of senior year, meaning that I have a short month left to practice and master such a composition.

"Hammerklavier, yeah right," I mutter to myself, running my hands through my hair.

"Talking to yourself, princess?" An amused voice muses behind me, and I shut my eyes when I hear it. "It seems like you've officially gone off the edge."

I rest my head in my hands, groaning, "Go away, Carter. Why are you even awake?"

He ignores me, and I hear him shuffling as he comes closer, eventually sitting beside me on the log bench. "What's got you so worked up?"

I lift my head from my hands and see his piercing hazel eyes filled with curiosity. Instead of answering 'nothing' like I knew I should've, instead of ignoring my problems like I usually do, and instead of not trusting Carter enough to utter a word about what was on my mind, I actually tell him.

"My mom's mad because I missed practice yesterday to go on a hike, and now she's making me learn one of the most difficult compositions as my audition song at Juilliard," I tell him quietly.

His eyebrows raise. "Juilliard, huh?"

I sigh, shake my head, and lean back a little. "My parents want me to go there after next year."

"Do you want to go there?" Carter questions, eyes studying me intently.

"No," I tell him truthfully. "I don't."

"Then don't go," He says, like it's the easiest decision in the world.

I shake my head, and then remember what time it was. I had to go to the auditorium soon before Mrs. Brady got there before I did; God only knows what kind of aneurism my mom would have if she found out I was lying about being there early for practice. I ran a hand through my hair again and stood up off the log, casting Carter a sad smile.

"I wish it was that easy," I mumble. "I have to go practice. I'll see you later, Miller."

I spent the next two and a half hours in front of the piano in the auditorium, trying to learn the hardest composition I've ever been told to learn. Even Mrs. Brady struggled with it. She was shocked to learn that my mother insisted that be the song I learn for my audition, seeing that I could play just about anything fluently. Eventually, Mrs. Brady just left me, saying that even she needed a break from the piano.

So I practiced despite the difficulty of the piece, and I could kind of sort of play half of it to make it sound like the original piece by the end of practice, which was far more than I was expecting to be able to do. As I grew frustrated with the mistakes I made- and trust me, I made many mistakes- I eventually slammed my fists down on the keys and started thinking about Carter's words about Juilliard.

Then don't go.

+ + +

I ended up sleeping for over three hours after my extended piano lesson today, and didn't wake back up until two o'clock in the afternoon. When I woke up, I glanced around the empty cabin in disorientation, wondering where everyone is. I eventually pulled on shorts and a faded band tee and left the cabin to go find my friends.

It was a flurry of excitement by the Rec Center. There were flags sticking out of the ground representing the beginning and end of the annual games Marcus hosts and I saw the mass of campers split up into teams. As I neared, I could hear Marcus' excited voice explain the relay race over the incessant chatter of the campers.

"...four teams and four events. The first is going to be the wheelbarrow race, where one person holds the other persons legs while they walk forward with their hands. I need two people to volunteer from each team!" Marcus explains excitedly.

I see a flurry of brown curls and recognize Poppy as she looks around her group, but no one volunteers. Teddy and Zach are shaking their heads, and the girls from my cabin- Rachel, Sarah, Julie, and Pam- are all ignoring Poppy's inquisitive gaze. Deciding to save my best friend from finding a partner, I walk over and put a hand on her shoulder, and when she looks at me, she grins.

"There you are," Poppy exclaims, grabbing my hand. "We're so going to win."

I grin back, stepping forward with Poppy to the starting line. I glance down the row at the other contenders, and I'm surprised when I see Carter and James step forward to compete in the challenge. I catch Carter's eye and he smirks cockily at me, but I raise my eyebrow. Who knew the bad boy would be in a relay race?

"You have to race to the flag and back," Marcus chirps. "Round the flag pole so I know none of you cut it short, got it?"

A collective murmur of agreement floats among the volunteers, and Marcus grins again, slapping his hands together in sheer excitement.

"On your mark," He calls, and I get on the ground. "Get set," Poppy grabs my ankles after my palms are placed firmly on the dirt. "Go!"

We've done this so many times, you would think we were professionals. I move my hands quickly and Poppy matches my pace as we head toward the flag poles, hearing the screaming encouragement of the teams mingle together in the background. My hands were already growing sore from the rough ground by the time we rounded the first flag.

I spare a glance at the other competitors and see that the only pair close to us are, surprisingly, James and Carter. Without sparing another second, I keep moving my hands, feeling Poppy's grip on my ankles tighten. I can hear Teddy screaming our names from the sidelines, and I grin in relief when we finally make it back to the finish line.

Poppy lets go of my ankles and I tumble rather ungracefully down onto the dirt, and even though I would usually yell at her for not helping me, I instead laugh. With my laughter comes a feeling of release, like I could finally forget about this horrible morning and instead just try to have fun at camp again.

"Thanks a lot, Pops," I stick my tongue out at her childishly.

Poppy giggles, "Sorry, Mina. My hands were tired."

"Poppy and Amelia won the first race!" Marcus cries in excitement, and our team cheers loudly. "Carter and James got second, Lily and Andrew are in third, and Garrett and Holden are fourth."

Teddy reaches a hand out and gives me a boyish smile. "Need some help?"

I take his hand gratefully and let him haul me back up to a standing position, but the force of his pull is so strong that I stumble into his chest. Teddy sets his other hand on the curve of my waist to balance me, and I laugh at my clumsiness, but he remains silent. When I look up at him, I realize just how close we got, and see that his big eyes aren't set on my eyes, but are on my lips.

"Uh, thanks," I laugh awkwardly, feeling the air get thick as I take a step away from Teddy, and he blinks in surprise.

He forces out a laugh and rubs the back of his neck. "Yeah, no problem."

When he looks away, I frown at how strangled his voice came out, and cast a questioning glance at Poppy. She just looks in between us and shakes her head, offering me no help with figuring out what the hell just happened.

"The next event is a water balloon toss!" Marcus claps his hands together again. "Everyone line up."

Poppy grabs my wrist and yanks me away, walking over to line up across from me for the water balloon toss. I follow her into the open area where people are lining up, and stop on one side while she takes a few steps farther away from me to stand at the other. I glance back and see Teddy talking to Zach several yards away, and look at Poppy again with an accusatory gaze.

"What just happened? Did you just see that?" I hiss in question, nodding my head toward Teddy. "That was... weird."

She hesitates before shrugging. "I'm sure it was an accident."

I roll my eyes. "He was accidentally looking at my lips like he was about to kiss me?" When the words left my mouth, they felt strange. I mean, Teddy? He was one of my closest friends. We would never kiss, no way. Maybe it just was an accident. After convincing myself, I shake my head. "Whatever. Let's just forget it happened."

Poppy nods a little too enthusiastically, if you ask me, but we drop it. Marcus comes around and hands me a purple water balloon, and tells us to wait until he's done handing them out to start. While I'm waiting, I see someone out of the corner of my eye move next to me, and then see James stand next to Poppy. He leans over and says something that I can't quite catch to her, and I smile a little when I see her laugh.

"You only won that last race because James didn't walk fast enough," Carter suddenly says from beside me.

I glance at him and raise an eyebrow. "Somebody is a sore loser."

"Alright everyone, start the toss! If you drop your balloon or fail to catch it, then you're out of this round. Head back to the flags if you get out," Marcus instructed.

I toss the water balloon carefully to Poppy, and she throws it back to me. Keeping my eyes trained on the balloon the entire time, we toss it back and forth, and it isn't that hard. It almost slips out of my hands once or twice, but other than that, it was easy.

"You know I'm going to win, right?" Carter gloats beside me, his voice full of himself.

I pause, only for a second, so I can give him a look before returning my attention to Poppy and the water balloon. "How can you be so sure, Miller? Poppy and I happen to win these games every year."

"That's only because I haven't been around before," Carter replies smugly.

I roll my eyes after safely catching the water balloon. "You sure are cocky, aren't you?"

He chuckles. "I wouldn't call it cocky. I'm just confident in my athletic ability." As an afterthought, he adds, "And I don't like losing."

After the words leave his mouth, James tosses the water balloon directly at Carter's shirt, where it breaks on the grey material and soak the front of him. Laughter explodes out of me almost immediately as I watch Carter's surprised expression twist into a scowl directed at his partner, who was also doubled over in laughter.

I toss the balloon back to Poppy cautiously and then throw Carter a sickly sweet smile. "Well get used to it, because it doesn't look like you're going home with the trophy today, Miller."

Carter mumbles a string of curse words under his breath as he and James recede to the flags, where the other failed opponents were standing. Poppy and I laughed our way into the top five, and then the top three, until it was just us versus Teddy and Zach. Of course, it always seemed to end between us and them, seeing as they were the most competitive people I've ever met. Lucky for us, we were on the same team, so no matter what, our team would win.

"Amelia's team won!" Marcus calls, but both of us shake our heads.

"It's not over yet, Marcus," Teddy tells him fiercely. "We have to play until only two of us are standing."

Marcus rolls his eyes. "You two are on the same team."

Ever competitive, Teddy argues, "It doesn't matter. We need to establish a winner."

After ten minutes straight of tossing the damn water balloon back and forth, Teddy inched over to me while still maintaining his toss, and calls, "Just drop the balloon now so you can save yourself the embarrassment later, Mina."

I throw him a quick glare and call back, "I should be saying the same to you, Teddy. Don't you know Poppy and I always win?"

A few tosses later, Poppy fails to catch the water balloon, and it explodes at her feet. Teddy and Zach do some weird bro handshake and cheer for themselves for their victory, as the rest of our team does as well. Marcus instructs and judges the next three events- a game of horseshoe, a swimming competition, and a potato sack bag race- before the teams are narrowed down.

The final event was a game of capture the flag between the final two teams: ours and Carter's. They were the blue team and we were red, each given our own territory on camp. The red team was given the area left of the Recreation Center, spanning all the way to the girl cabins while the blue team has the area right of the center towards the boy cabins.

Our team huddled somewhere in the middle to make a game plan. "Okay, guys, we're going to keep the jail on the left side of the Rec Center so we can see who is coming into our territory and trap them, got it?" I advise quietly. "Rachel and Pam, stick by the jail so you can capture people."

"Me, Mina, Zach, and Teddy are on flag duty," Poppy tells them, looking around at our team. "We'll go to the other side and find it. Julie, you're in charge of hiding and looking after our flag."

Julie nods once. "Same hiding spot as last year?"

I smirk; the hiding spot was too good that no one ever found our flag. With a quick nod, I confirm, "Same spot."

"The game starts in sixty seconds!" Marcus shouts over by the Rec Center, looking at both of the huddled teams. "I'm starting the clock!"

"Don't worry ladies, we got this," Zach smirks confidently and high fives Teddy.

Poppy turns to me and instructs, "You enter from behind the trees and I'll go behind the Rec Center and wait for someone to look away to make a move. Check behind the cabins first, alright?"

I nod feverishly. "You check by the dining hall; sometimes James and Justin hide it in the gutter. We will meet back behind the first boys cabin after we're done checking. Hoot if you've been captured."

She nods equally as quickly as we try to detail the final steps of our plan. When Marcus yells start, we all scramble to our respective spots, Julie long gone to go place the flag in the hollow part of the tree by Cabin 5, the same spot we use every year. I begin to dash through the forest, using the trees as a shield to the other team, and creep up behind the cabins to look for a blue flag.

I look around for five minutes and groan in frustration when I come up with nothing. I hear a sudden loud hoot come from a distance away, and I bite my lip when I realize Poppy has been caught. Carefully, I creep behind the first boys cabin and look out to see who is left in the game. I can see Poppy, Rachel, Julie, and Pam all leaning against the dining hall in the other teams 'jail', I can't even see Zach and Teddy, which means I am the only one left.