Camp Lake Pleasant (for Neurodivergent Teenagers). - MsBloom/DarkDreamer9110

[MsBloom]

June 30th 2023 (Friday) 10 am.

Camp Lake Pleasant for Neurodivergent Teenagers, located on the Northern shore of the Lake that gave it its name, was starting its fifth summer and it was the same number of summer Julia/n Bloom had spent there. This time, having officially turned 17 just a weeks earlier,they were there as a junior counsellor and would as such be responsible for a cabin of four younger teenagers. They were also tasked with leading a musical group activity for the younger teenagers, under supervision of a senior counsellor of course but it was still a big responsibility. It would probably be fun though and they knew from previous years that the musical equipment provided byte camp was more than decent. They even had a small electric grandpiano which was a good enough substitute for the real thing, even if of course it could never match the Bösendorfer 200 they had at their Aunt Jane's house in Boston.

They arrived on the Friday before the camp was due to open officially for the summer, to spend the weekend meeting the other junior counsellors and the senior counsellors, go over safety regulations and of course to make sure the camp was cleaned up and ready for when the younger teenagers arrived.

When camp opened the coming Monday they would of course also be on kitchen duty four days per week, either for breakfast, lunch or dinner . It would be a lot of work over the next two months but they were more than happy to put in the effort. Not only would it look good on their resume for when they were going to apply to Harvard School of Music next year but the work itself would also be rewarding. They had been helped quite a lot themselves by attending the camp for the past four years and now wanted to help other kids with issues similar to their own. They were still quite introvert of course but no longer to the point on freezing up if someone they didn't know spoke to them, even as little as saying hello. They still had difficulties expressing emotions and picking up on other people's emotions.

They had made actual friends at the camp over the years and over the last year had also made friends at their high school a whole lot easier as well, one of which they had grown quite close to, a BFF one might say. They had even had a boyfriend very briefly last fall, after having returned from the camp. It had not been very serious as relationships go but it had been significant because it was their first ever even if it had been over before halloween and never actually gone beyond a few chaste kisses.

Wearing a black and white long sleeve t-shirt with the cover for At Last -Feedbacker by Japanese noise rockers Boris. printed on it, bright red shorts and different coloured converse all star (orange on the left foot and green on the right while the matching opposite shoes were packed into their duffelbag) with rainbow pattern laces on both, and a pair of kitten ear headphones through which the last minutes of the title track off King Crimson's Lizard was playing, they waved goodbye to their Aunt Jane as she dropped them off and with a large back pack on their back and a duffel bag slung over their shoulder they walked up to the main house where the staff offices were, along with the dining hall and activities room. They nodded a ta few familiar faces gathered outside some who had been coming to the camp for as long as they had. There would be an assembly after they had all been assigned their rooms and had a chance to freshen up. These assignments were handed out by a tallish woman barely older than they were, a year maybe, no more.

 

[DarkDreamer9110]

Verity Sinclair had been nervous about getting involved with Camp Lake Pleasant at first. Not that it/she was worried the camp would be a bad place; it/she had had experience with a similar camp that catered to the neurodivergent community throughout its/her preteen and teenage years, and had quite enjoyed it. No, its/her problem was the fact that the camp was new to it/her. It/she didn't like change, and there had already been enough of that in its/her life over the last couple of years and particularly in the last few months. Its/her family had moved over Christmas, which meant a new school, new people, new problems with its/her need for accommodations around both it/her being autistic ADHD and transgender/nonbinary (Verity had been thankful that the new school had at least allowed it/her to exempt from gym classes and therefore the need to use the boys' locker room, as well as allowing it/her to use the gender-neutral staff restrooms, unlike the last school it/she had attended). The move had, in fact, been partially because the old school had refused to accommodate it/her.

Of course, the biggest change in the last couple of years had been Verity itself/herself. Until a couple of years ago, Verity had gone by a different name and had identified as it/her assigned gender at birth. Thankfully, it/her parents had been understanding and accepting, and had gotten it/her both a therapist and allowed it/her to start hormone therapy. The changes were still going on, but Verity was already happier with it/her more androgynous figure, budding breasts, and softening facial features.

Which had been another worry about Camp Lake Pleasant. It/her previous camp had been accommodating of it/her gender and preferences, but Verity hadn't been sure Camp Lake Pleasant would be the same when she had been referred to it by some connections in the neurodivergent community. But those worries had been quickly addressed, and in fact the camp's management has been very interested in having an LGBTQIA+ senior counselor specifically to be able to lead a group about such issues.

Verity had been tasked with handing out the rooming assignments to the junior counselors. The tallish transfemme enby, with large "My pronouns are it/she" pin prominently displayed on it/her chest, smiled as it/she noticed the shorter individual with short orange hair, a few piercings, black-and-white shirt, bright red shirts, and mismatched Converse shoes. It/she nodded.

"Hi. I'm Verity. My pronouns are it/she," she began, pronouncing it 'it-slash-she,' then continued, "please use both like that. If you'll give me your name, I'll get you your rooming assignment." She finished, her tone of voice stilted almost like she was rattling off a script she had memorized (which she indeed had done).

 

[MsBloom]

At first Julia/n just stood there looking at the tall woman, presumably a transfemme by the looks of it but just as they themself hated when people asked if they were a boy or a girl, or misgendered them, rather than just accepting that they were a person who sometimes presented masculine and sometimes feminine, or, as the case was most days, somewhere inbetween, they didn't want to draw any conclusions from the way she presented. Between their own choice of clothes that day, the thick eyeliner and dark blue, sparkling, lipstick they certainly was somewhere inbetween.
"Julia-slash-n," they said after a while of scraping their left foot against the ground and attempting to smile and couldn't really figure out why Verity made a point of its/her pronouns when it so clearly said so on the large pin it/she wore on its/her chest.
Maybe it was to allow it/her to explain the slash being pronounced to avoid any accidental misgendering and misuse of pronouns.
"Bloom," they added after another few seconds of silence.
"They/them," they explained the same way it/her had explained her pronouns.
"Either or, depending on grammatical context of course, no slash needed."
They had no idea why they explained this as it was, really, quite obvious, at least so they thought. It was curious to them though that the transfemme used two pronouns. Maybe it was to signify that yes they were female but not by birth, then again maybe not. Again they didn't want to draw any conclusions that might lead to misunderstandings and confusion.
"It is the same with my name. It is either Julia or Julian, no slash, depending on how I present," they elaborated and stuck their left hand into the pocket to adjust the rolled up sock in their underwear as discreetly and subtly as possible.
The sock was usually the difference between presenting masculine of feminine though sometimes when presenting feminine they also wore a padded bra to at least give a hint of breasts on their otherwise entirely flat chest, and sometimes they used both.
"So ... ummm ... what cabin am I in?"

 

[DarkDreamer9110]

As the slightly younger individual spoke, giving their name, Verity's eyebrows raised. The camp supervisor had let it/her know that there was another LGBTQIA+ counselor, and that the two of them would be paired up. As Verity glanced at the list of room assignments, she spotted the name, which indeed was spelled "Julia/n Bloom." And sure enough, they were indeed paired with Verity.

It/she smiled as Julia/n explained things. "Noted. So is it Julia or Julian today?" And then a part of Verity's brain brought up that perhaps it/she should reciprocate the clarity Julia/n had provided. Fortunately, Verity had a script memorized for that as well.

"I would appreciate it if you used both pronouns together for me. The slash doesn't need to be pronounced all the time, but I feel best when referred to as both it and she. I'm a nonbinary transfemme demigirl." She said, again as if by rote.

"Anyways, you're going to be bunking with me. I think the people in charge figured it would be least awkward to put the two gender-nonconforming counselors together."

 

[MsBloom]

"Julian," they said in response to Verity's question but without looking up at it/her but rather at their own feet.
"Very nice meet you," they added as they remembered it was the polite thing to say when greeting someone of being greeted by someone, or introduced to someone.
"Duly noted. Use both, slash not always needed," they confirmed and nodded.
"I am simply non-binary, I think. Neither and both."
They paused and shifted from one foot to the other and back.
"Though it is not all that simple really. Not when you try to explain it to others. My aunt understands though, mostly, and that is why I live with her and not with my biological parents."
In all honesty they found that the vast variety of both gender identities and pronouns was a bit confusing. There was just so many of them that it was at times hard to tell one from the other.
"It would seem the least awkward choice perhaps," they agreed with Verity's conclusion about the two of them bunking together.
"Although at the same time not. It is, in a way, like assigning the only two lesbians to the same cabin because it would be less awkward for the heterosexual women slash girls but what if either or both of the only two lesbians feel uncomfortable undressing in front of someone they know is more likely to be attracted to them than for instance a heterosexual woman slash girl would be."
Of course it didn't really matter who it was in front of, Julia/n had never felt comfortable undressing in the presence of another person. This was part of the reason they too had been exempt from gym class.

They shrugged and having asked what cabin the two of them were to bunk in and learned that it was cabin number four they bit their lip and began to walk across the gravelled yard outside the main building towards the counsellors' cabins to put down their bags, start unpacking and maybe have a quick shower before lunch to wash away the sweat of the journey before anyone else decided to use the showers.

 

[DarkDreamer9110]

Verity nodded. "Well, Julian, it's nice to meet you, too." It/she smirked as Julian spoke about being nonbinary. "Schrödinger's gender. Both and neither until and unless proven otherwise. Like me. Girl and yet not girl. Only thing I'm absolutely 100% not is boy. Not a masculine bone in my body."

It/she nodded sympathetically as Julian spoke about why they lived with their aunt. "Oof. Yeah, that's gotta suck. Don't know what I'd have done if my parents didn't support me. Maybe I'd have just died."

When Julian brought up the flip side of the situation with them being assigned the same cabin, Verity nodded. "Right? That would be, like, super awkward. But I already thought of that, actually. Gonna see about getting a curtain that we can put up as a divider. Or just hang up sheets for the same effect." It/she said.

"I've got to finish up here with getting the rest of the junior counselors assigned their bunks, but I'll see you around, Julian. And, uh, go ahead and pick which bed you want and stuff. I'll, uh, deal." It/she said with a smile.

 

[MsBloom]

The cabin was sparsely furnished with two beds, two wardrobes and a small table on each side of the room with a window between the beds. Julia/n picked the bed on the right side of the room because they couldn't sleep if they wasn't on their left side facing the wall, among other things. They unpacked their clothes and hung them in the wardrobe organised by colour, in the order of the rainbow, rather than by item. They placed their shoes on the bottom shelf and their underwear in the two drawers, female in one and male in the other. In the drawer with the male underwear, mostly tight boxer shorts, they also placed their binders and the extra ankle socks they used to stuff said boxer shorts with to give them a more masculine outline.

With that done they took their toiletry bag, double checked that everything they needed for a shower was there, and a towel large enough to cover their entire body from the armpit to the knees, as well as a change of clothes, their Sunn O))) White 1 t-shirt a pair of burnt orange cargo shorts, a binder and boxer shorts with accessories.

They had of course hoped to be the first to shower but there were other kids already there, female kids and with the way they currently presented that added to their general discomfort about undressing so rather than removing their clothes in the changing room they slipped into the toilet and came back out wrapped in the towel, which they didn't remove until the very last moment before stepping into the shower and closing the curtain.

They washed themself meticulously, not leaving a single inch of their body without attention. They washed their hair, what little of it they had and then shaved off any other signs of hair on their body as the chafing of hair against clothes, particularly pubic hair against underwear, was a discomfort to them.

Having dressed themself again, carefully avoiding to see how almost all the other female bodies seemed to parade around either in just their underwear or fully nude as if it was the most natural thing in the world, they spent some time in front of the mirror applying a subtle make up, mostly thick dark eyeliner and matching lipstick.

By the time they got back to the cabin Verity had already been there and dropped off its/her things but there was no other sign of it/her which meant that it/she must have gone off to the main hall for the assembly where the assignments for the summer would be handed out and of course also for everyone to introduce themselves.