The Spinach Incident

Jayden's first day at Camp Sierra was supposed to be epic. Fresh air, cute counselors, zero parental supervision. Instead, he was stuck in the kitchen with Chef Marcus, peeling enough garlic to repel an entire vampire convention.

"You're bearing down too hard, kid," Marcus said, flipping a spatula like it was an extension of his hand. "Relax. The campers won't die if the garlic's imperfect."

Easy for him to say. Jayden had already managed to dump a pound of spinach on the floor, creating what Marcus called "a culinary tragedy." Now his phone was blowing up in his pocket—his friends back home were probably posting stories of their actual summer adventures, while he was here, smelling like roasted vegetables and regret.

His mom had insisted he take this job. Said it would build character. Said the fresh air and nature would be better than rotting on the couch playing COD all summer. She'd even packed him a bag of vitamin supplements because, in her words, "growing boys need their nutrients."

"Yo, Jayden!" Marcus called from the pantry. "Can you check if the outdoor cable's connected? The TV's dead and I need my cooking shows."

Jayden grabbed a flashlight and headed outside. The camp was gorgeous, he'd give it that. Pine trees everywhere, stars brighter than anything he'd seen in the suburbs. Maybe his mom had a point about the fresh air thing.

He found the cable behind the main lodge, frayed and hanging loose. Great. Just another thing to fix.

"Hey, you're the new kitchen kid, right?"

Jayden jumped, nearly dropping the flashlight. A girl around his age stood there, leaning against a tree like she belonged there. Maya, he remembered from orientation. The one with the cool hair and the smile that made his stomach do weird things.

"Yeah," he managed. "Just fixing the cable. No big."

"Need help?" She knelt beside him, their shoulders brushing. "My uncle's an electrician. I know stuff."

They worked together in comfortable silence, Jayden acutely aware of how close she was, how good she smelled like vanilla and campfire smoke. When they finally got the TV working, Marcus came out with two bowls of spinach and garlic pasta.

"Not bad, new kid," he said, clapping Jayden's shoulder. "Not bad at all."

Maya laughed. "Guess you're not just a kitchen disaster after all."

Jayden took a bite. It was actually good. Like, really good. Maybe this summer wouldn't be so terrible after all.