Page 2 of The Summer Intern

“Guitar and piano, but I’ve played a lot of instruments because I want to be able to teach them.”

“So you want to work with kids?”

“Yeah.Queer kids in particular.Because, well, you know.”I pointed to my outfit and shrugged.“If I could be that one teacher who makes things a little easier for kids who were struggling with their identity, that would mean a lot.”Something clicked in my mind.“Wait, Camp Eagle Ridge.You guys were all over social media a year or two ago, weren’t you?Because you renovated the whole camp into an LGBTQ+ camp?”

Matt turned to me and snorted.“It’s an outdoor adventure camp, not an LGBTQ+ camp.”

Sutton poked him, then turned back to me.“We renovated it to be more inclusive,” he said.“For example, we eliminated the gender-segregated camp environment and changed the large group cabins into more private dormitories.”

“Why not brand yourself as LGBTQ+ then?”I asked.

Matt rolled his eyes.“Because it’s an outdoor adventure camp.Outdoor adventure is our passion.The camp is inclusive because it allows all types of kids to enjoy outdoor adventure."

“He doesn’t like the city,” Sutton whispered.“It makes him cranky.”

“I’m fine in the city,” Matt groused.“I’m just tired of all the people who think the camp is for queer kids only.The idea behind all the renovations was to make it inclusive, not exclusive in another way.”

“So, are you interested in teaching music?”Sutton asked, turning back to me.“I’m afraid we don’t have much of a music program.Though, should we?”

But I couldn’t let Matt’s comment drop.“Being for queer kids doesn’t exclude others!It provides a safe space for kids who need it.But of course, a cis straight white man wouldn’t understand that,” I snapped, stepping towards him.

“You don’t know me, kid,” Matt snapped.

“I’m not a kid,” I snapped.“I’m 20.I just look young because of my flawless Korean skincare routine.And genetics.”

“And the pink hair,” Matt added.

“Why doesn’t your camp have a music program?Where’s the creative expression?Maybe not all kids want to spend every day being rugged and outdoorsy, wearing flannel and growing a beard.”

Matt blinked, his eyes darting towards Sutton, a muscle in his jaw ticking.“Because it’s an outdoor adventure camp.”He spoke in a low, slow voice, as if he thought I was dim-witted."Where kids come for outdoor adventures."

Sutton cleared his throat, looking uncomfortable.“Most of our campers are eleven to fifteen, so the boys would be thrilled to grow a beard.”He followed that with a fake laugh, then laid a hand on Matt’s thick bicep, as if trying to calm the beast next to him.

“They’d be thrilled to be able to express themselves through art or music as well!”I said.

“We have an arts and crafts cabin, and the kids sing songs at the campfire.There’s plenty of room for creative expression.”

“Oh yeah, nothing says ‘finding yourself through the arts’ like making a friendship bracelet in a dinky shack,” I said, rolling my eyes.“If you were truly inclusive, you’d create spaces where kids felt safe and heard, and the arts can do that for a kid.”

“So can the outdoors.And we’re an outdoor.Adventure.Camp,” Matt said, tapping his finger on the camp’s brochure to punctuate each word.“Not an art camp, not a music camp, not a queer camp.We give kids a chance to find themselves in nature.It’s our thing.”

“Why the fuck can’t you have more than one thing?”I was shouting now, standing nose-to-nose with Matt over the table.He let out a low growl, and I realized just how much bigger he was than me.

"Matt's life passion is introducing kids to outdoor adventure," Sutton said, sounding flustered.

"You can't change what Camp Eagle Ridge is about," Matt growled, standing up and leaning over the table, glaring at me.

But he ran a kid’s summer camp.He didn’t beat people up, did he?I took a step back, just in case.

two

Casey

Olivereyedmeaswe stalked across the Oregon State University campus towards our car, my brisk walk telling him all he needed to know.

Okay, fine.The shouting had probably also told him all he needed to know.

“I can’t believe you got us escorted from the summer job fair by campus police,” he said.

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