It feels strange standing in the driveway of my home, holding my large black suitcase in my right hand. My mother and sister are in front of me, ready to tell me their goodbyes. I keep reminding them I'm not leaving forever. I will return home in five weeks as a new and improved person.
Haha, almost believed myself for second.
"Look, just remember that if anything bad happens, call me, and I'll drive there before you can blink, okay?" My mom places her hands firmly on my shoulders, her eyes boring into mine.
I smile to feign some confidence. "Mom, I'll be fine, okay?" I reassure her, dropping my suitcase and reaching forward to give her a hug. Poppy stands off to the side with her lips pursed, her hands placed on her narrow hips.
She slowly smiles, reaching forward to give me a hug. "Good luck okay? You do everything you put your mind to. You're not stopping now." I nod, but then she leans forward and places her lips by my ear. "And oh yeah, go find a hot guy."
I chuckle, and she gives me a wink. Poppy ignores our mother and walks back inside the house. My father only gave me a curt goodbye before, skipping over the hug I thought I'd at least get.
I shove my suitcase in the trunk and sit in the passenger seat, rethinking this decision at the last minute.
"Is it too late to give up?" I ask with a slight wince. My mom stops the car and sends me one of her death glares; you know, the one that makes you want to melt into a puddle on the ground.
"Whitney, if you decide to quit now, I will personally pick you up and throw you into that camp," she says sharply, rounding the corner.
Throwing teenagers. Don't think they teach that at her Saturday afternoon Pilates class.
I don't respond and busy my eyes with the endless number of trees lining the side of the highway, looming above us with bright green leaves. In the silence, I reflect on yesterday afternoon. A huge commotion burst out downstairs between my mother and Poppy, resulting in her locking herself in my bathroom for two hours when I needed to use it.
An expert eavesdropper, I crouched at the top of the staircase and listened to their yells resonating from the living room to the upstairs.
"Mom, you don't get it do you?" Poppy's voice comes, slightly wavering. "I want to do this."
"Poppy, listen to me. Just because you are twenty-two and a responsible adult, doesn't mean you always know the best for you. What if you're rushing all of this?"
"Why do you always say that?" Poppy shouts. "You never look at the positive side of things. Ever! Just look beyond your plan for my life for once!"
"I am your mother, and I have a job to look out for what's best for you!" she yells back, and after a moment, grumbles, "I thought Whitney was the tough kid to handle, now you?"
That was slightly hurtful, but moving on.
"And how are you so sure?" Poppy tries at my mother, her tone gravely firm. "Do you know me as well as you think you do?"
Once again there is a long silence. "What I know is you are my daughter that I raised to be mature and intelligent, and you have plans to apply to law school. You don't need a wedding yet."
"Why do you always talk about school, for God's sake?" Poppy yells back at her, "I want to make my own decision for once!"
"Poppy, I can't argue about this anymore; it's ridiculousâ"
"You know what? I'm done." Before my mother can continue, Poppy marches through the foyer and up the stairs. I fall onto my face as I try to escape, dashing to my room and shutting the door. I hear Poppy storm into the hallway and slam the door of my bathroom.
Hard.
I feel the car roll to a stop and I look up. This camp is way bigger than I imagined.
"So, here it is," my mother says, breaking the awkward silence. "Wow."
I glance over at her. "Yup... This should be great."
My places a hand on my shoulder. "I'm sure you'll have fun. Keep an open mind and learn from the mistakes you make."
I nod, reaching over to give her a hug, and she kisses my cheek. "Bye, Mom. Love you."
I step out of the car and open the trunk to get my suitcase. I look over and see a large, modern building with windows around all the sides. Behind it are the dorms, where we will all live for the next five weeks.
The email said to meet in the Central Building in Room 100. I begin walking as my mom drives away, waving at me from inside her car. From the corner of my eye, I find another girl walking towards the Central Building holding a purple duffel bag and sporting an extremely high ponytail.
I hold the door open for her and she gives me a big smile, showing off her white teeth.
"Thanks," she says, walking inside. "Do you know where we're supposed to go? The email had some room number, but I guess I didn't look at it close enough."
"It's Room 100," I reply, hearing my suitcase's wheels make an annoying sound against the polished floor. "Ah look, there it is."
Room 100 has two large white doors with glass panels and inside the walls are made of mirrors. It's completely empty, apart from the endless-looking brown hardwood floor. There are about eleven girls in the corner sitting down next to their bags, some engaged in a lively conversation while a few others sit to the side looking down at their phones. Several look up when they see us, giving a mix of smiles and oh-God-what-did-we-actually-sign-up-for expressions.
High ponytail girl turns to me. "I'm Natalie," she says with another large smile.
"Whitney," I reply. "Do you want to sit over there?" I motion to an empty area on the left a few feet from two identical twin girls. Truthfully, I want to sit there to take a better look at them; I don't think I've seen two girls so identical.
"Sure," Natalie chirps, and we set down our suitcases, taking a seat on the ground. The floor shines as if no one ever walked on it before. I fix my attention on the twin girls, seeing a duplicate set of sleek hair, although one's is nearly black and the other brown, big brown eyes, and pouty lips on each.
"Out of curiosity, what made you join this camp?" Natalie asks me.
"You could say I have no athletic skills and need to get a little more...fit? How about you?"
She giggles, her light brown eyes twinkling. "I want to play varsity tennis next year, but my coach said that unless I become a stronger player, I can't."
Great, another tennis player. Do I have some strange attraction to them? "Oh, my best friend is a tennis player, one of the top in the state to be exact."
"Really? Wow, that's awesome," she replies. "A lot of girls made it in their sophomore year, but I didn't. Still hoping to join the team my junior year. How old are you?"
"I'm eighteen. I'll be a freshman in college at the end of this August," I answer.
"Oh cool, you're going to college!" she answers. "Wait, are youâ" Before she can finish her sentence, the door slams open and the sound of someone's footsteps echoes through the vast room. The sixteen of us look up and see a brawny man walk in with tan arms as big as some of the girls' legs in this room. He has on a muscle tank and worn-out Timberlands and a backwards blue snapback.
"Everyone stand," he orders, moving to the center of the room. All of us scramble to our feet in a jumbled group, practically knocking each other over. A few girls yell to space out, and soon enough we form a decent line.
"That's good," he says, placing his arms behind his back. "I'm Bob Campbell, if you never read the title of this program. I'm a former military officer and now a certified fitness trainer, and in recent years, I've won five fitness competitions."
Well thanks for putting it out there.
"This camp is no ordinary fitness camp. We work on a strict basis with set rules and regulations. If you cannot follow them, we will personally ask you to take your sorry ass back home."
One of the twins raises her hand. Bob looks annoyed, but points to her to speak.
"What are these rules?" she asks, her skinny arms folded across her chest.
"One of them states 'don't ask any questions until I say so,' since you're so interested," he replies and her cheeks flush, but she tries to act unaffected.
"Continuing on, once you are assigned a trainer, we require you to follow all of their instructions. They will form workout plans designed to your abilities. Secondly, everyone must wake up by seven in the morning, dressed and ready for breakfast. After which, you will meet with your trainers for your morning training sessions. Lunch will be served daily at twelve in the afternoon. After lunch you will have some free time before you meet with your trainer again for an afternoon training session. Dinner will be served at six and depending on what your trainer thinks is suitable for you, you may or may not meet for a short night training session."
A piece of my soul dies as I hear the amount of exercise that awaits us.
"Our goal here is to strengthen and challenge you, not kill you. Therefore, we have an important rule: if you ever feel dizzy, physically sick or injured, you must tell us in order for you to get treated as soon as possible."
He walks down the line of girls, getting a good look at all of us. He probably internally judged me as he walked past. I do not blame him.
"Alright, now you are probably interested in how our system works," he says, his eyes pointed at the twin who asked the question last time and now looks eager to ask another. "This afternoon we will hold a diagnostic test. It consists of a run and a few strength training exercises afterwards. Based on how well or badly you do, we will assign you a specific trainer. At the same time, we will divide you into four teams, four girls in each. Every week we will host a group challenge, which ranges from running a race or completing obstacle course. At the end of the week, a leaderboard will show your placings, which depend on how well you performed with your trainers and in the team challenges."
The twin girl from last time's hand shoots up, and I can see her sister wanting to slap her arm back down. Bob looks annoyed again, but points to her.
"Before you ask anything, please tell me your name," he orders.
"Adriana," she replies. "Now can I ask?"
"Of course, Adriana," he answers sarcastically. She stands up a little straighter and clears her throat.
"Are the trainers male or female?"
"We have a mix of both here, but I doubt you'll be very pleased with your pairing."
A burst of chuckles resounds in the room, and Adriana appears embarrassed, her cheeks now fiery red. Her sister mutters something to her along the lines of "I told you not to ask."
"Now, any more questions?" Bob asks. "If there are none, Cindy will lead you to your dorms to let you settle in."
No other girl raises her hand, probably not wanting to be humiliated like Adriana. A blonde woman wearing grey leggings and a sports bra walks over, letting us all see her tan and very toned stomach.
"Hi girls, I'm Cindy. I'm the co-owner of this facility and will oversee your progress with Bob," she says, clasping her hands together gleefully. "I'll lead you to the dorms just outside of this building."
We follow behind her in a small herd, greeted by the humid air. If I stay out here for a few more minutes, my straight hair will likely resemble a dandelion.
"I hope we can pick our roommates," Natalie says from beside me, looking apprehensive. "I don't want to get with someone rude. Or messy. That's the worst."
"Same here," I answer.
"Okay, this is where your rooms are located in," Cindy tells us. "Please divide yourselves in pairs and go settle in."
"Let's get the corner room," I tell Natalie, walking to the room at the end of the hallway. The spacious room contains two comfortable beds and windows on both walls, definitely nothing like the dingy and musty cabin room from the summer camp I attended in middle school.
"This room looks nicer than mine at home," Natalie says with a small chuckle, placing her duffel bag on the blue and white sheets. I lie down on the bed, getting a feel for the mattress.
Not too shabby, given how much my parents paid for this experience.
"I didn't think there was going to be so many workouts involved in this camp," I say, sitting up again.
"Same here! Are they trying to train us for a zombie apocalypse or something?!" she exclaims, lowering her ridiculously high ponytail in the mirror. Her hair tie flings out of her hand and disappears out of sight.
"My athletic skills basically consist of lifting my laptop off me and walking to the fridge to go find food. What even is working out?"
Natalie laughs at me, shaking her head. "To be honest, tennis is the only sport I've ever played, so I'm not sure how well this will go for me either."
Once she mentions tennis, I touch the area below my eye where I got hit, looking in the mirror Natalie is standing in front of. It still has a slight trace of purple underneath, but doesn't hurt anymore.
We hear a knock at the door, and Natalie hurries to answer it. Outside is Cindy again, this time holding a clipboard and pen. "Hi, girls. We want everyone to meet just outside the Central Building right now to give you all instructions for the physical fitness test."
We nod and follow her outside. Wearing the leggings and tank top I bought from the sports store makes me feel one step closer to an actual athlete, so clearly, I'll pass this with flying colors.
Outside we stand in a disorganized line again, and I glance over to get a better look at everyone. My eyes pass by a bright blonde head and I do a double take. My heart nearly drops to my stomach as the girl turns her head towards me, her wispy hair fanning across her face.
Why is Willow Gerard here?!
I turn my face the other way and drag Natalie to the opposite side of the group. She looks confused but doesn't question me.
"Alright, girls, listen up!" Cindy calls from beside Bob, looking miniscule next to him. "This test will start with a simple one-mile run. I'll lead the way with Cheryl, so follow and make sure to give it your best!"
We all nod, and I make sure to keep a ten-foot distance to the right of Willow. In the one place I imagined I would know absolutely no one, she had to join me.
"Alright, let's go!" Cheryl, a short brunette trainer calls.
All of us run down the road, some girls sprinting to the front. Despite my absolute hatred for gym class, I did remember the teacher say pacing yourself in a race is key.
So that's why there are already ten girls in front of me.
I try to use my long legs to my advantage and take a big stride that leads me in front of a petite girl with silky black hair. Willow is at the front, no surprise, with Adriana trailing behind her. By the time Cheryl calls that we have finished half of the mile, I am about ready to pack up my belongings and head back home. How do people actually run for fun?
"You can do it girls; keep going!" Cindy yells, clapping her hands above her head.
My legs are shaking as I force myself to keep running. Natalie has kept the same pace as me this whole time and sends me a smile mixed with a when-will-this-end look.
Soon enough, I consider power walking like my grandmother does with her old lady friends every Sunday morning. But I don't out of fear of getting stuck with a trainer the same kind as Bob Campbell.
"Girls, the finish line is around the corner!" Cindy and Cheryl call. I dash ahead of two other girls and cross the finish line, bending over while huffing and puffing. I look up and lock eyes with Willow, who despite the humid air and long run, doesn't shed a drop of sweat.
It looks like she's about to say something to me but can't bring herself to. I awkwardly shuffle away to Natalie who is busy gulping down a whole bottle of water.
"We survived," I try to say enthusiastically. She takes the bottle off her lips and gives me a wide smile.
"Unfortunately, there's a second half, girls, so follow us to the small field back here." Cindy leads us to an area of grass behind the central building.
"We'll start with twenty-five push-ups and then after that, fifty sit ups," Cheryl says, and Cindy takes out her clipboard, ready to judge us in writing.
The rest of the exercises are more agonizing than each other, and when they make us end in a two-minute plank, my whole body shakes. I collapse to the grass after thirty seconds, my heart thudding in my chest. A few other girls have too, and Cheryl gives us a smile, as if saying she doesn't blame us.
"And done!" Cindy calls, and I hear sighs of relief from nearly everyone. We are given a bottle of water and a small towel to wipe the sweat from our faces.
"You guys did fantastic, so don't worry," Cheryl says. "After lunch, you'll find your trainer, so for the time being you can head to the dorms and relax."
As I walk back to my dorm, I brush shoulders with Willow. She glances at me for a second before looking down at the ground and hurrying ahead.
"Do you know her?" Natalie asks me curiously.
"I guess," I reply and end the topic, for Willow's presence is the last thing I want to think about.