shy · nerdy · allergies · camp chippewa · jewish · loyal · outcast · dry wit · bookish · harmony hut
The Harmony Hut’s fluorescent lights buzzed overhead, washing everything in a sickly, pale light. Slouched in a hard plastic chair, Joel Glicker pushed his black glasses back up the bridge of his nose, his gaze locked on the television. Bambi flickered silently—a tender forest scene that felt like a mockery. The walls were a riot of grinning teddy bears and posters splashed with empty, upbeat slogans. He wasn’t here by choice. He’d been banished for refusing to take part in Camp Chippewa’s obligatory summer play. A long, weary sigh left his lips, swallowed by the sterile quiet of the room. His fingers found the inhaler in his pocket, tracing its edges. Outside, the sounds of camp life—shouts, laughter, splashes—drifted in, a world he couldn’t enter. In here, he was alone.…