A short white bus came to a stop beside the entrance to an isolated nature trail; the sign above it reading, “Welcome to Camp Moonfish: The Ultimate Merfolk Fantasy Camp!”
Twelve children grabbed their backpacks and other luggage before disembarking from the bus. The unsuspecting campers are:
Bridget Hayley Rivers: an 11-year-old brunette girl with glasses and a lifelong obsession with all things mermaids. She walked off the bus wearing a pine green shirt with torn sleeves, long jeans with big tears over her knees, and bright purple sandals; clearly too excited about camp to realize she needed hiking shoes for the actual trek to camp. Stuffed in her backpack was her neon green one-piece swimsuit.
Lori Meyers: an 11-year-old girl with short blonde hair and an overpowering desire to try new things and always be up for an adventure. She walked off the bus wearing a light blue polo shirt and a faded orange knee-length skirt. Inside her backpack was a golden one-piece swimsuit that had an almost metallic sheen.
Alex (short for Alexandra) Mackenzie: an 11-year-old girl with shoulder-length blonde hair, who has spent a lot of time at the beach, sporting a fairly deep tan and such a deep love of swimming that she sometimes dreams about living in the sea. Under her white tank top and navy blue short shorts she wore a bright yellow two-piece European-style string bikini which she had previously swiped from her older cousin.
Tisha Duncan: a 10-year old Black girl with shoulder-length dreadlocks who happens to have a passion for painting and shooting videos. In the days leading up to camp, she kept having dreams about mermaids swimming in the sea, and then feeling an overpowering need to paint whatever she saw in her dreams. She was wearing a sky blue two-piece bikini underneath her green and white striped shirt, and her torn jean shorts.
Lola Sandoval: a 12-year-old Latina girl with long black hair and olive skin. Oftentimes you’re more likely to see her on roller skates than going swimming or hanging at the beach. She arrived at camp wearing a red volleyball shirt and white short shorts with orange streaks on the sides; and tucked away in her bag was her shiny red two-piece tube top bikini.
Clarissa Jacobs: an 8-year-old redhead with freckles and a deep love of fairy tales. She walked off the bus wearing blue overalls over a plain white T-shirt; she remembered to pack her purple two-piece swimsuit with a frilly bottom piece.
Meili Wang: a 12-year-old Chinese-Canadian girl who’d been pushed into figure skating and swimming by her parents, when all she really wanted to do is sing. She was wearing a deep pink polo shirt, with a short magenta skirt and matching knee-high socks. In her backpack was a sparkling pink two-piece
Jacob ‘Jake’ Tsai: a 12-year old Taiwanese-American boy who had a secret passion for stories and drawings featuring mermen. He was looking forward to this camp so much that he arrived already wearing his orange-ish gold swim briefs under his regular white shirt and red athletic shorts.
Iain Richards: a 12-year-old boy with dirty blonde hair who enjoys speed skating has been best friends with Roger practically since they were toddlers; he was wearing sky blue swim briefs underneath his tan cargo pants and red T-shirt.
Max Richards: Iain’s overly curious eight-year-old younger brother. Underneath his jeans and oversized white T-shirt, he wore plain navy blue swim trunks.
Cody Jacobs: Clarissa’s 11-year-old older brother, and Jake’s BFF. He’s wearing bright yellow swim trunks under his black tank top and white board shorts.
Roger Jenkins: a 12-year-old boy fresh from his most recent hospital stay for cancer treatments (finally in remission) so he was still somewhat bald from the chemotherapy; which was certainly good news for him and his BFF Iain. He wore his silver swim briefs underneath his now-baggy grey hoodie and track pants.
It was barely a minute off the bus before the campers saw a tall, somewhat muscular man walk towards them from the trail’s entrance. He had long dirty blonde hair in a surfer style, khaki cargo pants and a white T-shirt with the camp’s name and logo printed on the front, and the word ‘counselor’ on the back. He stopped just past the main entrance in front of the assembled campers.
“Good morning, and welcome one and all to Camp Moonfish: the ultimate merfolk fantasy camp! My name’s Abe, I am your head counselor for the next five weeks of camp; during which time I and my fellow counselors will be looking forward to getting to know each and every one of you while also helping you have the best summer of your lives. Now, everybody grab your gear and follow me to your campgrounds.”
For almost an hour, the kids trudged through the thick forest carrying on their backs and belts everything they thought they would need for five weeks of summer camp; as well as trying to swat away the odd mosquito or hornet. Soon enough, they all came to a stop next to a fork in the path; one path leading forward and the other leading to the campers’ left. From that second path came a tall brunette woman wearing the same set of clothes as Abe. She approached Abe and they gave each other kisses on the cheek before turning to face the campers.
“Alright, kids, we have now reached the halfway point of our hike to camp!” Abe proclaimed, only to be met with the campers’ annoyed and tired groans. Pointing to his right, Abe continued “Girls, your camp is a half-mile trek down this path. This is my wife Angela; she will be your head counselor. Upon arriving at our campgrounds, you will be shown to your respective bunks by your junior counselors Stephanie and Richie, who just happen to be our own kids, where you will settle in for the next five weeks.”
Then Angela spoke up, “Oh, and one more thing before we head out: because so many of our camp activities will be taking place in, on, or near the water, it is highly recommended that all campers wear some type of swimwear under your clothes at all times. If, somehow you forgot to bring any, we’ll be more than happy to provide you with one. Because…you never know when you’ll get the urge to swim or just take a short dip in the lake.”
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Over the following two weeks, the kids experienced a lot of what they expected from a merfolk-themed camp: frequent swimming lessons (particularly dolphin-style or breaststroke), learning to hold their breath underwater, building their own mermaid or merman tails in the arts & crafts cabin; even meditation (presumably to help relax and to drown out ambient background noise), playing water polo, and learning the history of merfolk art and mythologies from around the world.
None of the kids expected the camp to include a sex education class, but the proof was staring them in their faces in a classroom next door to the first aid cabin. While glancing over diagrams of male and female body parts, as well as the odd description of mating practices for different types of sea life, Jake could make out Abe explaining, “Unlike some of these classes you may end up receiving at your schools back home, this one accepts the reality that sexual urges in young people can and do start well before the age of 18.”
By the third week of camp, the kids started noticing subtle changes in the dining tents’ menu. For one, there seemed to be quite a bit more seafood on their lunch and dinner plates; not just fish sticks, tuna sandwiches, or smoked salmon on bagels. They started seeing things like lobster salad on baguettes, crab cakes, and even sushi and sashimi; not that they were complaining about the food getting a little richer for their liking.
Unbeknownest to them, certain ingredients in the food were being switched: dried herbs replaced with dried seaweed, and cow’s milk was gradually being replaced with mermaid breast milk. However, most of the campers didn’t seem to notice these subtle changes to their diets.
Soon enough it was 9pm, when the counselors called ‘lights out’. After making the rounds doing cabin checks, checking to see if the campers are actually asleep, Abe and Angela head down to the riverfront. Upon reaching the beach, they proceed to strip off all their clothes before jumping into the cool, clear water. It isn’t long at all before they each feel a familiar sensation: their feet, legs, torsos, arms and heads all appear to turn into swirling, sparkling water for a brief moment, before dissipating to reveal their true forms. Angela sported longer brown hair, shinier skin, and a glittering golden mermaid tail; while Abe gained his own golden merman tail along with bulkier and more defined muscles across his own glistening skin.
Abe gave Angela a deep gratifying kiss before going under the water to rest. But Angela still felt the need to sing her own mermaid song to truly let herself go after a long day pretending to be human.
That’s when Angela noticed, on the shore, that one of the campers had snuck out of bed and was now staring at her new mermaid body, seemingly in a daze. Maybe I was humming my tune too loudly, she mused to herself. She squinted her eyes to get a better look, and found it was…