#👤Carmen

[dolene]

TYING YOU TO ME!

summary: nobody knows where the invisible strings could take you to. no one could ever see the threads, but the clues were surely there. you just don't realize it.

four times charles said his happy birthday, one time y/n said it back.

anonymous requested: Hi, sooo since it's my birthday in a couple of days I wanted to request a smau with Charles Leclerc's birthday post for his gf through the years like a childhood friend to lovers kinda thing and the internet is just being obsessed with them.

pairing: charles leclerc x childhood friend!reader

author's note: this is such a sweet request from you nonny! i wish you a happiest and sweetest birthday whenever it is<3

FEBRUARY, 2019

charles_leclerc

liked by arthur_leclerc, and 467,213 others

charles_leclerc It's been a long time since you're becoming my best friend, Y/n. But unfortunately your mama doesn't trust me with your childhood pictures, so she gave me this.

But I wish you the happiest birthday, Mon loulou😉🎂

view all 274 comments

yourusername Since when did you becoming poetic like this?

yourusername But OMG thank you, Cha! I LOVE YOUUUUU

username MON LOULOU DAAAAANGGG

username i need to scream to my pillow she's so adorableeeee

arthur_leclerc Believe it or not, I have more of her embarrassing photos

  ⤷ charles_leclerc Send it to my phone now

  ⤷ yourusername You're dead

username i can't believe today is her birthday. happy birthday, y/n

username AWW TOINY Y/NNNNN

landonorris she looks so little (same as today)

oscarpiastri I've never knew this was Y/n until Lily told me it was her. Happy birthday, Y/n. I hope you can be in McLaren next time.

  ⤷ scuderiaferrari Not until we do it faster.

  ⤷ mclaren I love to see you try

username she's so adorable 😍

username I wish my best friend does this

FEBRUARY, 2020

charles_leclerc

liked by carlossainz55, and 594,355 others

charles_leclerc Wishing the happiest of birthdays to the coolest person i know my entire life🎂😄 ＠yourusername

view all 824 comments

carlossainz55 I bet that she's cooler than you

  ⤷ charles_leclerc NOBODY is better than the original.

username Shes really cool, now I know why is she called the coolest person he know

  ⤷ username she got that tiktok style

luisinhaoliveira99 Feliz aniversário!!! 😙😙

mickschumacher Thanks for cropping me off the picture 😔👍🏻

  ⤷ yourusername Sorryyyyy

username HAPPYYYY BIRTHDAAAAY

username LITERALLY OBSESSED W THEM

username racer bestie + influencer bestie

username imagine being wished every year like this by charles

charles_leclerc added a photo to their story! 3h

caption: Selfie with the birthday girl

FEBRUARY 2021

charles_leclerc

liked by landonorris, and 639,427 others

charles_leclerc She's a menace. Happy birthday baguette eater.

👤: ＠yourusername, ＠joris__trouche

view all 868 comments

landonorris ooohhhh myyyy

username is this the undiscovered dirty self of THE charles leclerc??

username BAGUETTE EATER???????

username idk who's the menace here

yourusername STOPPP😭😭😭

username I can't believe that he is this dirty sometimes

username and lando is the fastest on liking this one yet is making me cry

yourusername YOU PROMISE WOULDN'T POST THIS

  ⤷ charles_leclerc Sorry, can't help it, Arthur said i need to post this

  ⤷ arthur_leclerc THE BETRAYAL

FEBRUARY, 2022

charles_leclerc

liked by lewishamilton, and 882,490 others

charles_leclerc Still be the coolest and the nicest person I've ever had, and now she is my girlfriend. Happy birthday, loulou. ti amerò per sempre.

👤: ＠yourusername

view all 1,246 comments

yourusername anch'io ti amo per sempre😭😭😭😭😭

username Loulou pronounced lulu, that means i'm sleepy so let's sleep and be delulu

lilyzneimer Ahhh happy birthday, sweetheart!

georgerussell63 Happy happy birthday Y/n. have a visit to London, so that Carmen and I could make you some muffins 😉

carlossainz55 Happy birthday Y/n, don't forget to join me and Isa tomorrow!

isahernaez Have the happiest of birthday, Y/n

username 😭😭😭 I still can't believe they're really together

username when will i date my best friend like this

  ⤷ username DONT GIVE ME IDEAS

FEBRUARY, 2023

charles_leclerc

liked by yourusername, and 724,560 others

charles_leclerc A year has passed since the time that I asked you to be my girlfriend. Joris said that he took more, but unfortunately the camera took a swim, and that leave us with this grainy picture.

And anyways, I wish you a marvelous birthday to my beloved girlfriend, ＠yourusername. never change.

view all 899 comments

yourusername I LOVE YOU TOOOO CHARLES I'M CRYING SO HARD RN

joris__trouche 😉😉👍🏻

username i love them your honor

username parents

username MAMA Y PAPA😍😍😘😚

lilymhe Charles, I am not aware of your games

username 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭

username i need to have it like them because if i'm not i'm going to explode

username EVERY 😭😭 FUCKING 😭😭 YEARS😭😭

username i wanna cry i want this so much

username poetic charles are gonna be my favorite gender fr

username joris when i catch you joris

carmenmmundt Happy birthday to you, Y/n!

nicholaslatifi Oh you Lovebirds... 🥹

OCTOBER 16TH, 2024

yourusername

liked by sebastianvettel, and 859,437 others

yourusername Who knew that this tiny man is once my best friend?

Even though I got my hair slicked back, putting up my fakest smile, and wearing the black dress you hate; I'm still amazed that you were still there for me whenever i could count on you.

And now that you're my boyfriend, I cannot be more grateful for that. Happy birthday, big boy. Je t'aime pour toujours.❤️❤️

view all 682 comments

leclerc_pascale 🥳🥳🥳

username WHO'S CUTTING ONION HERE

carlossainz55 I've noticed that you both are doing great with words now, happy birthday, Cabrón.

username a lil spicy on the eyes don't you think

username HAPPY BIRTHDAY CHARLES😭😭😭

landonorris that's cute. happy birthday

username ISN'T😭IT😭 JUST😭SO😭PRETTY😭TO😭THINK😭ALL😭ALONG😭THERE😭WAS😭SOME😭 INVISIBLE 😭STRING😭TYING😭YOU😭TO😭ME😭

username I've had enough, I need to date my best friend

username i'm not yet moved on from charles's birthday wishes to y/n, and now i'm screwed by thinking about this

lewishamilton Happy birthday, mate

scuderiaferrari Have the happiest birthday to you, Champ! ✨❤️

[strebcrarchivess]

👿👤?

Your Muses’ Least Favorites

I’ve seen a lot of these with favorites or things muses like, so I thought I’d do an ask meme for things they dislike!

Frank! That fucker is shady as hell. Though Carmen, the shady ass uncle, and Richard are up there! The only person on that particular branch of the family tree he gets along with semi well is Roy. Despite how much they argue he's still his little cousin. Also Father Gregor the local priest is up there as well!

And of course!

[agendaculturaldelima]

 #SinMusicaNoExisto #UnaSemanaContigo

🎼 “FESTIVAL AFROPERUANO [Honrando Nuestras Raíces]” 💃🌎

💥 Todos los miércoles se celebra el Mes de la Cultura Afroperuana, que en su primera edición reconoce, honra y agradece, la riqueza cultural afrodescendiente en nuestro país. Durante cuatro fechas, se presentan las estrellas en dicho género con espectáculos cargados de música, cultura y tradición. Una invitación a bailar y a gozar con esta cartelera de lujo.🎙️🎸🎹🥁🎻💽

���️ Vídeo Promocional: https://youtu.be/QHOYMySOOb0

📝 PROGRAMA:

📆 Miércoles 05 de Junio

👥 La Familia Ballumbrosio

🗯 Desde El Carmen en Chincha, la herencia de Don Amador Ballumbrosio, con una dosis de música y tradición.

📆 Miércoles 12 de Junio

🕺 Antonio Vílchez, sí que zapatea, el percusionista, bailarín y coreógrafo, tiene un talento y junto al proyecto Zafradú, nos ofrece una deliciosa fusión.

📆 Miércoles 19 de Junio

👤 Juan Medrano

🗯 La trayectoria de Cotito nos lleva por un largo camino de casi cinco décadas de vida artística como Embajador Musical del Cajón Peruano. Productor, percusionista y poeta… La Voz del Cajón.

📆 Miércoles 26 de Junio

👩 Milagros Guerrero [La Internacional]

🗯 Una de las mejores voces femeninas, la vocalista de la banda Novalima acaba de regresar de su gira y nos presenta su espectáculo personal.

📌 CONCIERTOs:

📆 Miércoles 05, 12, 19 y 26 de Junio

🕘 10:30pm.

🏪 Sala Osma (av. Pedro de Osma 203 - Barranco)

🎫 Entrada: S/.30

🖱 Reservas: @salaosma_

[fraegers]

carmen can have a little character development as a treat (part 2/2)

Carmen was sitting alone on the beach, staring up at the stars that had just come out. They had finished their work for the evening early, and so Mr. Small had simply let them wander off on their own until their parents arrived. They were familiar enough with the camp at this point that they could be trusted not to get lost. Carmen assumed Alan and Mr. Small were still hanging around the fire pit with the campers, so she was taking advantage of the rare opportunity to get some alone time.

The beach was peaceful at night, with the clear, starry sky reflected across the still water. Being here at camp had been good for her so far, she thought. Spending all of this time out in nature made her feel at peace, which was something she hadn’t felt in quite a while. It made her think that maybe everything was going to work out for her after all.

“Mind if I join you?” She had been so lost in thought that Alan’s voice made her jump.

“Jesus, Alan! You scared me!”

Alan grinned sheepishly. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to.” Of course he didn’t. Alan didn’t have a malicious bone in his body. Carmen had been skeptical of him at first, but after working closely with him for the last few weeks, she’d come to realize that he was simply an incredibly kind person. It was no wonder he’d been selected as her student mentor, given not only his pleasant demeanor but also his genuine selflessness and his infinite patience. Old Carmen would’ve found him insufferable, but New Carmen was kind of starting to admire him.

Carmen gave him a smile in return. “Have a seat.” She patted the spot on the sand next to her, and Alan sat down cross-legged. A few weeks ago, she would’ve complained about having her solitude interrupted, but she was steadily growing fonder of Alan’s presence by the day. They didn’t talk much about where she’d come from because it didn’t seem to matter to Alan. He just saw her as someone who was working hard to become a better person, not as a charity case or a hopeless troublemaker. Rather than talking down to her, he stood by her side and supported her as she was ready to grow and change in her own time.

“What are you doing out here by yourself, anyway?” Alan asked, with more curiosity than suspicion.

“Just enjoying the view, I guess.” She caught Alan’s eye and smiled softly. “It’s beautiful tonight, isn’t it?”

“Yes. Yes, it is.”

They said nothing for a few moments, enjoying the starlight and the warm air, before Carmen broke the silence.

“I’ve been wanting to thank you, you know.”

“Me?” Alan sounded surprised.

“Yes, you. Do you see anyone else out here?”

“I guess not.” Alan blushed a little, realizing she was teasing him. Then, more seriously, he asked, “Why?”

“Because, silly! You’ve been putting up with me all summer. Helping me to be a better person and whatnot.”

“You did all the work, Carmen,” Alan insisted humbly. “All I’ve done is be your friend, like any decent person would do.”

Carmen shook her head. “Believe it or not, Alan, that’s a lot to ask of some people. Not to mention that I wasn’t exactly the easiest person to get along with in the beginning.”

“You were forced to come here during your summer vacation against your own will. Not to mention that you’d just moved to a new town for the first time in your life and all. I don’t blame you for being a bit…prickly.” He said this carefully, as if he were afraid of offending her, but Carmen just laughed.

“That’s one way to put it.” Personally, Carmen would’ve used a stronger word, but she doubted such harsh terms were in Alan’s vocabulary.

“Hey, can I ask you something kind of personal?” Alan asked, after a moment of hesitation.

“Shoot.” Maybe it was just the calm atmosphere or the fact that they were completely alone, but at that point in time, Carmen felt like there was nothing she couldn’t tell Alan.

“Why did you leave your old school?”

“Didn’t Mr. Small tell you?” She’d thought that Alan would’ve been given at least some sort of debriefing before volunteering as her student mentor.

“No. Not really, anyway. I know…I mean, he said you were expelled, but he never told me why.”

Yeah, now that she thought about it, Carmen could see how going into too much detail might compromise the school counselor’s code of ethics.

“Oh.”

“You don’t have to tell me, if you don’t want,” Alan added quickly. “I was just curious.”

“No, it’s fine.” Carmen honestly felt a little uncomfortable talking about it not because she didn’t trust Alan, but because she’d been trying to repress the memory herself. She��d been working so hard on becoming a new person over the last few weeks that she felt a strange disconnect from her past, like it had all been a dream. But it was a part of who she was, whether she liked it or not, and Alan deserved to know the truth. “I got caught breaking into the principal’s office and stealing the money the school raised from the magazine drive.”

Alan’s eyes went wide, as if he couldn’t believe Carmen had been capable of such a thing. “Why? I thought you said your family was rich.”

“They are. The money wasn’t for me. My friends put me up to it. We were going to split the money and throw a big party or something, but obviously I got caught, and they let me take the fall for it, so we never got that far.”

“Some friends,” Alan commented.

Carmen shrugged. “It’s not like I didn’t deserve it. I did a lot of bad stuff before that. Cut class to go to the arcade. Helped my buddies cheat on a test more than once. Picked a lot of fights—not physical ones, for the most part, but I was known to get into shouting matches with other kids, and even the teachers. I’d already been suspended a couple of times, so it was really only a matter of time.” Carmen looked down, picking at her nails. “To be honest, I’m glad I got caught. Getting expelled was a real wake-up call for me. My mom cried when she came to pick me up from school for the last time, the day that it happened, and all my dad had to say was, ‘Carmen, you’re better than this’. And sure, I was pissed for a few days, but I realized that he was right. I was better than the person I’d been the last few years. I was a really smart kid, you know. I used to love school, and I would read whatever I could get my hands on. Growing up, all I ever heard was how brilliant I was, how I was going places, how I was someone other people should look up to. I guess I just got tired of hearing it after a while, and I just kind of snapped. I felt like people only cared about what I was capable of and not who I was or how I felt, so I stopped doing everything I was told and started trying to hang out with bad kids. At first they kind of laughed at me, but once I proved that I was capable of being tough and breaking a few rules, they accepted me as one of their own. It was great at first, but looking back on it now…I don’t think I was ever any better off. I mean, it wasn’t like I ever had any real friends anyway. I thought they thought I was cool, but maybe they just liked how easy I was to manipulate, how I wasn’t afraid to get my hands dirty just to prove myself to them. Did you know that I haven’t heard from any of my old friends since I got expelled? Not a single one! I thought they were my friends, but they don’t want anything to do with me now that I can’t be useful to them anymore!”

Tears pricked at Carmen’s eyes, and she dabbed them away with her sweater sleeve. It soon proved to be a vain effort, however, as the tears began to fall faster than she could stop them. She drew in a shaky breath, trying to calm herself down enough to keep speaking. “Now I just want my old life back. I don’t care if people like me or not anymore. I just want to feel like I’m worth something again, to be someone I can be proud of, but I feel like I’ve fallen too far and I’ll never get back to the person I used to be.”

Words gave way to tears at that point, and Carmen just sat there, her body shaking with gross, ugly sobs, until she felt a soft hand grasp one of her own. Alan. She couldn’t even begin to wonder what he must be thinking now.

“Carmen. Look at me.”

She did. He was staring at her with a serious expression and concern in his teal eyes.

“That person you’re talking about, the one you used to be…she’s still inside of you. She never left. If that wasn’t true, you wouldn’t be here right now. The first step in making any kind of change is wanting to change, and that takes a heck of a lot of strength to do. You’re so much stronger than you realize, and you’re not as alone as you think you are. I believe in you, your parents believe in you, Mr. Small believes in you, and when you get to school in the fall, you’ll have so many more amazing people in your corner who will believe in you, too. So you should try to have a little more faith in yourself, okay? I know you can do this, and I think deep down inside, you know you can do this, too.”

Carmen smiled, and even though there were still tears in her eyes, it didn’t feel forced. “Thank you, Alan. And thanks for not judging me.”

“Thank you for trusting me, Carmen.” He held his arms out to her. “Would you like a hug? You look like you could use one.”

Carmen nodded, and she threw her arms around Alan’s waist as he pulled her in close. She wasn’t normally much of a hugger, but Alan was right: she felt like she’d been needing this for a long time. They hugged for longer than two people who only saw each other as friends probably should, and when they finally let go, Alan took both of Carmen’s hands in his, their fingers interlocking. Carmen stared at Alan for what felt like a long time, his cheeks flushed, his long lashes fluttering gently, before her eyes fell onto his lips. She realized how close their faces were, how easy it would be just to lean forward ever so slightly and close the distance between his lips and hers, and she felt her heart begin to pound. Was Alan thinking the same thing? Her eyes kept darting between his eyes and his lips as she tried to read his expression, but he just kept on staring at her with that dreamy smile on his face. Should she just be brave and go for it? Carmen had never kissed anyone before. She wasn’t even sure she knew what to do. And what would Alan think? Did he even think of her that way? She hadn’t given it much thought herself, before that moment. They had struck up such a good friendship, and maybe it would be stupid of her to do anything to jeopardize that when they still had three weeks of camp ahead of them. On the other hand, maybe she could go for it and then play it off the next day like it was no big deal. Chalk it up to being overly emotional from talking about her past or something.

“Hey, there you kids are! I was getting worried!” For the second time that night, Carmen was caught off guard by a familiar voice. This time, it was Mr. Small. The guidance counselor stared at them for a moment. Then, realizing how close they were sitting and that they were still hand-in-hand, he said, “Sorry, am I interrupting something?”

Carmen was the first to break contact, dropping Alan’s hands and stuffing hers into her pocket. She stared back over the lake, trying to hide the blush creeping across her face.

“No, Mr. Small, we were just talking,” Alan replied innocently—and really, it wasn’t that far from the truth.

Mr. Small nodded in understanding. “Well, your parents are here, so wrap up that conversation. It’s getting late anyway.”

[agendaculturaldelima]

   #Actualizate

☕ Café Filosófico Clásico N° 1103, presenta:

 🎤 “¿QUIÉNES SON LIBRES SEGÚN HANNAH ARENDT Y JEAN-PAUL SARTRE?” 🧐🤔🗯

👤 Ponente: Carmen Zavala

©  Organiza: Buho Filosofico

📌 CONVERSATORIO:

📆 Sábado 16 de Marzo

🕗 7:45pm.

🏠Centro Cultural Búho Rojo (calle Benjamín Ugarteche 181, altura cruce av. Sucre y av. La Mar – Pueblo Libre)

🚶‍♀️🚶‍♂️ Ingreso libre y café de cortesía

[fraegers]

carmen can have a little character development as a treat (part 1/2)

“Don’t think of it as a punishment, sweetie. Think of it as a fresh start.”

Carmen said nothing. She was on thin enough ice with her parents as it was, so she’d been practicing the art of “if you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all”.

Truthfully, she didn’t see how spending her summer doing charitable work in the middle of nowhere with some middle-aged hippie qualified as anything but a punishment. But it sure beat the hell out of the alternative, which was time in a juvenile detention facility and an even bigger smudge on her permanent record. At least this way, if she survived the summer, she’d be able to start her new life at Elmore Junior High like nothing had ever happened.

Carmen hadn’t always been a bad girl; she’d just lost her way over the last few years. On the contrary, she’d been a bright and gifted child, but as she’d gotten older, the pressure of everyone’s expectations of her had finally started to get to her. When she’d started middle school, she’d begun hanging out with the wrong crowd, and she’d gotten caught up in the thrill of not having to be perfect for once in her life. It wasn’t long before she’d started cutting class, lying to her parents, getting into fights, and even committing petty acts of vandalism. Her streak of bad behavior had culminated in her breaking into school after hours, stealing from the principal’s office, and subsequently getting expelled. Which led her to where she was now: in her mom’s car, on her way to the summer camp where she’d be volunteering five days a week, along with her new school’s guidance counselor and her assigned student mentor. She had yet to meet her so-called mentor, but she wasn’t thrilled by the prospect. Carmen’s plan for Elmore Junior High was to keep her head down and focus on getting her grades back on track. She didn’t need friends; trying to hard to get other people to like her was what had gotten her into this mess in the first place. She was through trying to make friends, she was through getting into trouble, and she was through be angry. Now she was just exhausted, and she wanted her life to have some semblance of normalcy again.

Before long, the car pulled into a little dirt parking lot on the outskirts of a forest. Camp Lakehaven, according to the GPS and the sign by the side of the road.

“Well, here we are!” Mrs. Sanchez announced cheerily to a half-asleep Carmen. They stepped out of the car, and Carmen’s mom exchanged a friendly wave with a lanky, tie-dye clad figure in the distance. “And there’s Mr. Small! Do you want me to walk over there with you?”

“Sure.” Carmen’s first instinct was to say no, but she realized this was her mother’s way of trying to make an effort with her again. She was slowly beginning to understand that her parents had always been on her side, and if they’d been a little strict, it was only because they loved her and were trying to save her from herself. Together, they walked to where Mr. Small was waiting for them in the forest. The guidance counselor had his mess of curly blond hair, so pale it was almost white, pulled back in its usual ponytail, and he looked far too happy for someone who was out volunteering at a camp instead of at home enjoying his summer vacation, like Carmen wished she could be.

“Hey, glad you made it!” Mr. Small shook Mrs. Sanchez’s hand and gave Carmen a friendly nod. Carmen forced a smile in return. Mr. Small might not have been what she’d describe as “cool”, but for a teacher, she supposed he wasn’t bad. He was laid-back, at least, and he didn’t treat her like she was a lost cause. He was certainly better than the stuffy faculty she had left behind at Franklin Junior High. “Are you ready to have some fun?”

Carmen just shrugged, not feeling up to reminding Mr. Small that they were here to work, not partake in the camp’s festivities.

Mr. Small picked up on her lack of enthusiasm nonetheless. “Hey, come on. We’re going to have a good time this summer. You’ll see. Come on, your camp buddy’s waiting.”

“I’ll pick you up at 3,” Carmen’s mother told her. To Mr. Small, she said, “I hope Carmen doesn’t give you any trouble. She can be a bit of handful.”

Carmen frowned. “I’m right here.” And I’m not four, she added in her head, and Mr. Small isn’t my babysitter.

“Don’t worry, Mrs. Sanchez, I’ve been doing this for a long time,” Mr. Small assured her. “We’ll be just fine, won’t we, Carmen?”

“I guess.” As much as Carmen didn’t want to be there, she wasn’t about to make it harder for herself by getting into even more trouble. She just wanted this summer to be over as quickly as possible. “I’ll see you later, Mom.”

“Have fun, dear.” Mrs. Sanchez gave her daughter a quick peck on the cheek. “And behave yourself.”

Carmen just rolled her eyes as her mother headed back to the car.

“Ready to go?” Mr. Small asked, turning his ever-present smile to Carmen.

“I guess,” Carmen said again. She trudged behind Mr. Small as he began to lead her down a path through the forest.

“Your camp buddy is excited to meet you,” Mr. Small told her as they walked. Carmen couldn’t tell if he was telling the truth or just trying to fill the silence, but she suspected the latter. She was trying to imagine what kind of student would possibly agree to throw themselves into this situation. Probably a member of the honor society who needed community service hours—in other words, the exact type of person who would either look down on her or feel pity for her and try to fix her. Either way, she doubted that “excited” was the right word for it.

“Mmhm,” Carmen mumbled, just to show she was listening.

“His name is Alan,” Mr. Small continued. “I think you’ll like him. He’s a super nice kid.”

Carmen made another vague sound of comprehension, hoping her skepticism wasn’t too painfully apparent.

They walked in silence the rest of the way, until they reached a clearing with a large wooden building and a few scattered picnic tables. The area was empty apart from a boy around Carmen’s age who sat at the table closest to the forest. This, she could only assume, was Alan, which was confirmed when he looked up at the them with recognition on his face.

“Hey, Alan, I’m back, and I brought a friend!” Mr. Small announced. “Alan, this is Carmen. Carmen, this is Alan Keane, your camp buddy!”

“Hi, Carmen! It’s great to finally meet you!” Alan was a tall, skinny boy with light brown hair fashioned into a stupid-looking bowl cut. He was wearing a blue polo shirt and khaki shorts, which Carmen thought made him look like a Best Buy employee. Regardless, Carmen decided he wasn’t bad to look at. Although he wasn’t ruggedly handsome, his delicate, feminine features made him attractive in his own way. The term “pretty boy” came to mind, and Alan was decidedly very pretty. Most strikingly, he had stunning blue-green eyes framed by lashes long enough to make Carmen envious. He was holding out an impeccably clean hand for Carmen to shake, and she hesitantly accepted, surprised by how soft his skin was.

“Hi,” was all Carmen said in return. Although Alan looked harmless enough, and the smile he was giving her seemed genuine, Carmen wasn’t about to let her guard down. Not yet.

“Now that you two have met, why don’t we get to know each other a little better?” Mr. Small suggested. “Have a seat with me, and we’ll go around in a circle and say a little something about ourselves.” Carmen thought it was a bit of a silly game to play with only three people, but she didn’t vocalize this as she and Alan sat down across from Mr. Small at the closest picnic table.

“I’ll start,” said Mr. Small. “My name is Steve, and I’m the guidance counselor at Elmore Junior High. I’m a vegetarian, I have my own herb garden, and I know how to play guitar. Now it’s your turn, Alan.”

“My name’s Alan. I’m a student at Elmore Junior High. I have five brothers and sisters, I’m running for student council in the fall, and I like volunteering in my free time.” Alan sounded confident, but Carmen could tell he felt a little awkward about the whole ordeal as well.

“Very good!” Mr. Small praised. “Carmen?”

Carmen suddenly felt self-conscious. Alan and Mr. Small were both looking at her expectantly.

“Um. I’m Carmen,” she began hesitantly. “I just moved to Elmore, and I’ll be going to Elmore Junior High in the fall.” She bit her lip and stared down at the table, trying to think of something to say that wasn’t about how she’d recently been expelled or how she could think of about a thousand places she’d rather be right now. “I like to read…and I like plants. I mean, I used to help my mom out in her garden.”

“Excellent!” Mr. Small clapped his hands together. “So! Let’s talk a little bit about what we’ll be doing this summer. I’m sorry to say we won’t be having a lot of direct interaction with the campers, since that’s what the counselors are there for. Instead, we’ll be doing most of our work from behind the scenes. If this summer camp was a musical, think of us like the stage crew.” He made a broad, sweeping gesture with his hands, as if he was actually trying to paint a mental picture of a stage. “In other words, we’ll be mostly helping set up the events and clean up afterwards—basically whenever the counselors need an extra hand with something, we’ll be there to help. Now, camp doesn’t start until tomorrow, so we’ll be pretty busy today making sure everything is all set to go. First, we’re going to head over to the cabins to get them cleaned up. Sound good?” Mr. Small didn’t wait for a response. “Perfect! Let’s go!” He stood up from the picnic table and beckoned for Carmen and Alan to follow him.

“Doesn’t it make you feel good to know you’ll be helping put a smile on all those children’s faces?” Alan commented as they walked towards the cabins in the distance.

“I hadn’t really thought about it,” Carmen admitted. Unlike Alan, she wasn’t exactly here on her own volition. Alan nodded slowly, as if that had just occurred to him as well.

“I think you’ll find this kind of work to be quite rewarding,” Alan replied. “Most people do, once they give it a chance.” He said this without so much as a hint of sarcasm, which Carmen found surprising. Few people their age were able to think so selflessly, and yet it seemed to come naturally to Alan. It made her feel a little bad for having such an attitude about the situation. Was that his intention? To modify her behavior through feelings of shame?

“Okay, kids, here we are!” Mr. Small said suddenly, and Carmen realized they had reached their destination. They were now standing in front of the camp’s little wooden cabins, arranged into two rows of four. “Our first task is to get the cabins ready. There are fresh blankets and sheets inside to make the beds, and we’ll also need to sweep the floors.” A pair of brooms rested against the side of the nearest cabin. Mr. Small grabbed one while Alan took the other. “You kids can start up here, and I’ll start on the other end.” He pointed in the direction of the farthest cabin. “If you need me for anything, I won’t be far.”

“Yes, sir!” said Alan. Carmen had no objections.

“That’s what I like to hear!” Mr. Small cheered. “Now, get to work, and we’ll break for lunch in a few hours. Cool? Cool!”

With that, Mr. Small headed off to the other cabin, leaving Carmen alone with Alan. They stood in uncomfortable silence for a bit before Alan skipped up the cabin steps, leaving Carmen no choice but to follow him. Alan held the door open, gesturing for Carmen with a slight flourish.

“After you.”

“Thanks.” It was a cheesy gesture, Carmen thought, but she couldn’t help feel a bit flattered nonetheless. She was still trying to figure out whether Alan was genuinely the nicest person she’d met or just a huge kiss-ass.