Chapter Text
The camp was quiet as the sun rose higher, and the campers each made their way out of their tents. Usual smiles were replaced with frowns, and the happy chatter was replaced with long uncomfortable silences between greetings.
It was the last day of camp, and the kids were going to head back home with their parents.
Max didn't want to think about it, but it was still in the back of his mind.
Max groaned as he rose from his cot, stretching and looking over at his friend, still asleep. Max poured himself a cup of coffee.
While most people despised black coffee, Max enjoyed the smell, and of course, the taste. Plus, it was the only coffee he knew how to make, so he'd learned to like it.
The breeze felt cool against Max's face as he exited the tent, zipping it closed behind him.
Max made his way to the mess hall. Nikki was probably still asleep too, since she hadn't shown up just yet. Grabbing his breakfast for the day, Max sat down at his usual table.
Lost in thought, Max poked at his meal. It was some sort of meat. Unlike most of the camp's food, it was fresh, probably hunted or something.
The blue hooded boy looked toward the entrance as Nikki and Neil strolled in, both with the same frown as everyone else. They said nothing, but walked at each other's side.
Max scoffed. They all knew this day was coming, so why was everyone so upset?
Deep down, though, Max was sad too, though he wouldn't admit it. He'd never had any friends to say goodbye to at the end of Summer before. The only other person he'd ever gotten close to was Chuckie, too bad he had to leave early after the Camp Counselor of the Year disaster from last year.
The group just ate, barely interacting, all nervous about leaving. They didn't know if they'd be back next year, hopefully they would, but they didn't know for sure.
After finishing his food, Max scampered off to his tent to finish packing, leaving his friends behind at the table. Everyone would be picked up after lunch, but until then, the campers could do whatever, and Max still had things to finish up.
The camp had a big goodbye party yesterday, since they didn't have anything else planned. It was sort of nice once you forgot about the actual 'goodbye'' part.
It had just ended in tears, more specifically, David's tears.
After Max had finished cleaning up all his stuff, he tiptoed off back to the mess hall. Making sure no one was inside, Max opened the door to the pantry.
Even though camp was about to end, it was full of snacks. Granola bars, knockoff popstars, crackers, and other lame shit that were probably expired by now.
Max stuffed his bag full of it.
The boy crept out of the pantry, stuffing in a couple water bottles, and glancing around for any nearby campers.
It was all clear, so Max slowly made his way to the shed. After quite a while of digging, Max found most of what he was looking for.
He stuffed a lighter, an umbrella, a flashlight, a switchblade, and a couple other things into his bag before the lunch announcement was shouted through the speakers.
Max ran towards the mess hall to find Nikki and Neil, sitting near the flagpole.
"Where the hell were you all morning?" Neil asked, looking up at Max as he stepped closer.
"Yeah, I tried to look for you, but you weren't in your tent." Nikki chimed in.
"I was busy with something. It's none of your damn business." Max replied, his usual venom void from the sentence.
His friends just shrugged, thankfully, and the group walked into the mess hall.
As everyone's last meal at camp, Quartermaster presented his signature mashed potatoes. David and Gwen included some leftover ice cream as well.
Max didn't eat, his stomach felt like it was tied in knots.
"You gonn' eat dat?" Nikki asked, still chewing her food.
Max shrugged and pushed away his treat, in which Nikki dug into it immediately.
"Alright, shitheads," began Gwen, "Get your asses to the entrance, your parents are showing up soon."
…..
Max stayed quiet as everyone took a seat near the entrance, dropping whatever luggage they had brought with them at their feet.
Looking over at his friends, Max finally broke the silence.
"So, uh… I guess this is it."
After a brief moment, Neil replied, "Yeah, I guess so."
"I don't wanna say goodbye!" Nikki groaned.
Then, her face lit up, "Y'know we don't have to! We could-"
"We're not going to live in the forest, Nikki." Neil interrupted. The girl frowned and kicked her heel against the ground.
"But..." Neil started, "we could always exchange our phone numbers."
"Neil, you know my parents don't give enough shits about me to get me a phone." Max hissed.
"Oh. R-Right."
The trio sat in silence for another moment, before Nikki lit up again.
"Ooh, I have another idea!"
"Nikki, for the last time, we're not living in the forest!" Neil exclaimed.
"I wasn't talking about that, it was a different idea!" Nikki gave a 'hmph' before continuing. "We could exchange our home addresses so we can go visit each other!"
Max stiffened.
"That… doesn't seem like a bad idea, Nikki." Neil put down his bag and opened it up. Max snickered as his friend took out his diary and ripped out a few pages, and grabbed a pen attached to the back cover.
Neil put down both his mom's and his dad's addresses first, then Nikki went. The stack of three papers were passed to Max last.
"I, uh… I don't remember my address." Max lied, fidgeting awkwardly where he sat.
"I can always go visit you guys, though, so it's okay." Max tried to assure his friends, passing two of the papers back to them.
"Alright, Max, but you have to promise to visit both of us, alright?" Nikki replied with a glare.
"I promise, Nikki."
…..
The first camper to depart was Nerris. She waved goodbye to Nikki and Dolph before her mother took her to their car.
After Nerris was Nurf, who stomped off to his dad's truck.
Then came the parents of Harrison, anxiously talking with Gwen before they headed off, just as Dolphs's father came to pick his son up.
Soon after, Nikki's mother drove up to the curb. The girl turned to her friends and gave them a tight bear hug.
Max grunted at the uncomfortable hold, but he still smiled as Nikki waved goodbye.
"You guys better visit me at home, you hear me!?" Nikki yelled as she entered the car.
"Of course Nikki" Neil called after her, while Max just gave a silent thumbs up.
…..
Preston was picked up eventually, which left Max, Neil, Space kid, and Ered.
David called the remaining campers into the mess hall for dinner. Some parents were running a little late, so it'd make sense to hand out some food until they all showed up.
"Aren't you coming?" Asked David, ushering the campers towards the camp.
"Nah, I think I'll wait to see if my parents show." Max replied, not bothering to look at the counselor as he said it.
"Alright, Max." David's voice cracked in the middle of his sentence, and tears burst outwards once more. He had cried at every camper's departure.
David cared, he had always cared about everyone. It was sickening.
Max just rolled his eyes, and looked towards Neil, who had started to get up from his spot.
"In case, uh, they show up while you're gone..." Max shifted nervously, "I guess I should say goodbye."
After a short moment, Neil wrapped his friend in a hug. Max stiffened, not expecting a hug, but he soon slumped into the touch.
"You'll visit?" Neil asked.
"I'll try my best, Neil."
Neil pulled back and headed towards the cabin, only turning for a moment to give a smile to his friend.
Max waved and smiled back.
As soon as Max knew everyone was out of sight, he grabbed his bag and stood up, turning his head to the camp.
He took one last glance at the place.
"Even with all the crap I had to deal with here, I'm still gonna miss this shit hole."
Max slung the straps of his bag over his shoulder and began to walk down the side of the road.
"Maybe if I survive long enough on my own, I'll be back next Summer."