"Hurry up girls or we will be late," said Mandy's Mom.
Mandy sighed. She couldn't believe her Mom was making her go to summer camp. She was 17, almost an adult for God's sake. She should be a counselor or something. But her Mom had insisted. She threatened to take away her car for the summer, and she would have been stuck at home anyway. Her Mom promised her a big surprise at the end of the summer if she went to the camp. She hoped it was a new car, a nicer one.
Mandy looked over the form and sighed. Her pencil hovered above the height section.
What kind of camp cares about how tall you are? thought Mandy.
She was a little sensitive about her height. Even though she was 17, she was only 4'11" . She was by far the shortest girl at her school. As a Freshman it was kind of fun. Everyone thought she was cute and she got quite a few dates. But as time passed and the other girls developed into taller women, she was left behind and forgotten. She sighed. At least school was almost over. She would have a fresh start in college a year from now. She looked at the form again, debating what to write. Maybe she could make herself a little taller. What could it hurt? She wrote 5'1" in the blank. It wasn't like they were going to check or anything. Hell, maybe she could make a whole new identity for herself. No one there knew her. She erased her name and was trying to think of a new one when her Mom rushed in.
"Come on, we need to go. NOW!" said her Mom, as she grabbed the incomplete form. "And where is your sister?"
Mandy smiled. She didn't suffer being short alone. Her whole family was short. Her Mom was only 5'2" herself. But her younger sister, Cindy, had it the worst. At 15 years old, she was only 4'5". And Mandy took great pleasure in reminding her of it. Cindy was the only one Mandy could boss around, and Mandy did it at every opportunity.
Mandy barged into her little sister's room and pulled the paper out of her hand.
"Hey! I wasn't down with that!" said Cindy.
Cindy had been having her own problems with the form. She hadn't even considered lying about her height. She was so short a few inches wouldn't matter. But she had hesitated on the box asking for her age. Like Mandy, Cindy was developing her own idea about how to create a new identity to enjoy her summer. Although she was very short for a 15 year old - well, even short for a 12 year old - she was just the right height for a 9 year old. If she lied about her age, maybe they would stick her with other girls her size. It would be a little weird to be hanging out with kids much younger than herself, but at least they wouldn't make fun of her height. She could be average for the summer. She had just finished falsifying her age when her sister ripped the form out of her hand.
"What were you saying, shrimp?" said Mandy, as she thumped Cindy in the head.
"Stop it," said Cindy, standing up and facing Mandy bravely.
"Or what? What are you going to do, munchkin?" said Mandy with malice, glaring down at her smaller sister.
Cindy glared back. "You won't always be bigger, you know. One day I'll be just as big as you, then you will be sorry," said Cindy.
"Then I better enjoy this while I can, " said Mandy with smile. She reared back to hit her sister. Her defiance deserved punishment. Someone grabbed Mandy's hand and pulled Cindy's form out of it.
Mandy turned and saw their Mom, haggard and frantic. She had her hands on her hips, and both papers in her left hand. "Girls, I don't have time for this. Can you stop fighting for just a minute and get your stuff into the car?"
The girls gathered their bags and headed outside glaring at one another the whole time. Their Mom sighed. She was beginning to have her doubts about the camp. She had her hands full with the girls already. If they got any bigger, she might have problems disciplining them. But she knew it was for the best. She had seen the disappointment in both of the girls as their friends began to develop while they remained small. She herself had felt the same sadness when she was growing up and she was determined to make sure her daughters did not have to suffer like she did.
The camp - The Primrose Camp: A Special Place for Young Girls to Develop and Grow - had promised astounding results in just a few months. They had better. Cindy still had a lot of time, but it was almost too late for Mandy. She was much older, almost at the age when the growth plates in her bones fused and she stopped growing. This was probably her last shot at reaching a normal height.
She wished she had sent Mandy to the camp earlier, but it was a closely guarded secret. Their doctor had only recently learned of the camp, and suggested it after the girls' last physical. She felt a little guilty about not telling the girls the true intention of their trip, but absolute discretion was required by the staff of the camp as a condition of their admittance. Only a small percentage of the campers were actually undergoing treatment, and it helped maintain the illusion of just a normal summer camp to any outsiders. They didn't want to embarrass anyone actually receiving therapy.
Their Mom looked out the window and saw Mandy punch Cindy in the arm. She sighed again. Mandy had always been such a nice little girl, but when she got older she turned mean and cynical. Their Mom guessed it was due to her lack of development, and hoped that after she came back from camp she would have her sweet little angel back.
Their Mom looked up at the clock and cursed. They were going to be late, and the staff at the camp had warned her specifically to be on time. Once camp began, the facility was locked down and no one was allowed to be admitted or leave. No visitors, not even parents. Again, it was to maintain the privacy of their patients. If they didn't arrive on time, she would lose her deposit and waste Mandy's last chance at being normal.
She looked at the papers in her hand. The girls had not bothered to finish them, leaving their names blank. She quickly scribbled their names on the form - not bothering to read them -and signed her name for parental consent at the bottom. She decided they could fill the rest of the form out at camp. She ran out to the car and started it up.
In her haste, their Mom had failed to realize that she had written the wrong name on each of the forms. Mandy was now listed as a 9 year old with a height of 4'5" and Cindy was now listed as a 5'1" 17 year old. This small mistake would cause quite a bit of problems for both of them at camp.