My Romance Life System

The students sat around the remains of the campfire after the teacher with the guitar finished playing, a weary silence falling over the clearing as Kofi held a half-eaten, charred marshmallow on a stick. Thea sat beside him, her gaze fixed on the dying embers with her own marshmallow completely forgotten, and across from them, Nina and Ruby were in a low, intense discussion about the structural integrity of their s'mores while Jake listened intently, nodding as if they were discussing important state matters.

'Well, this wasn't a complete disaster,' Kofi thought, looking around at his small group of friends. 'No one cried, except maybe Thea in the woods, and Jake hasn't mentioned bread in at least six hours, so I'd call that a win.'

He remembered Thea walking back into the firelight earlier, her face pale but her eyes clear, and he recalled wanting to ask if she was okay before Nina gave a subtle, sharp shake of her head.

Nina, sensing the pause in conversation, leaned forward with her elbows on her knees. "So, final verdict on campfire food, scale of one to ten, I give the marshmallows a solid eight for toastability but a two for structural integrity once melted, and the chocolate is a nine, a classic."

"I think the graham crackers are underrated," Jake offered, his mouth full of food. "They're the foundation, and without a strong foundation, the whole system collapses, it's just like the Roman aqueducts."

Ruby offered a small smile, "I liked the part where Jake's marshmallow caught on fire."

"That was a calculated risk to achieve optimal carbonization," Jake countered.

Kofi looked over at Thea, who was still staring at the fire, and he nudged her gently with his elbow. "You gonna eat that?"

She looked down at the burnt marshmallow on her stick as if noticing it for the first time, then shook her head. He took the stick from her hand, pulled off the blackened piece, and handed her a fresh, untoasted one from the bag. "Here, try again."

Thea took the new marshmallow, her fingers brushing against his for a moment without her flinching away, and she carefully held the stick over the glowing embers, far from the actual flames.

A different teacher stood up, clapping her hands together to get everyone's attention. "Alright, everyone, it's getting late, and curfew is in thirty minutes, so let's get these embers put out and head back to the cabins since we have an early start for lake activities tomorrow."

A collective groan went through the crowd of students, but they all began to stir, gathering their things and dousing the fire with buckets of water until the clearing became dark. Kofi's group stood up, their small circle breaking apart as they prepared to leave.

"Okay, team," Nina announced in a loud whisper. "Operation: Get to Bed Without Tripping Over a Root is now in effect, and boys, we'll see you in the morning, so don't stay up all night playing video games."

"We didn't bring any video games," Jake said.

"That's what they all say," Nina shot back, giving Kofi a quick, unreadable look before turning to herd Ruby and Thea toward the path for the girls' cabins.

Kofi and Jake walked in the other direction, their footsteps the only sound between them on the gravel path.

"So," Jake began, his voice a little hesitant. "Ruby likes old maps, and that's pretty cool, right?"

"Yeah, Jake," Kofi replied, his voice flat with exhaustion. "It's cool."

"And she laughed at my puffy shirt story, which is a good sign, don't you think?"

"It's a great sign."

They finally reached Cabin Four, where their two roommates, Leo and Mark, were already inside, so Kofi pushed the door open and stepped into the small room.

'This is going to be a long night.'

Inside Cabin Seven, Nina sat cross-legged on her bottom bunk, going through a nightly skincare routine that involved at least six different bottles, while Ruby was on the bunk above her, reading a book with a small flashlight next to her neatly folded clothes. Thea was on the other bottom bunk, sitting perfectly still with her duffel bag beside her on the mattress, still zipped tight and completely unpacked.

Nina finished applying a serum to her face, screwed the cap back onto a small glass bottle, and looked over at Thea. 'Okay, she's back in her shell, so it's time for some non-threatening girl talk.'

"So," Nina began, "the boys' cabin probably smells like a locker room by now, so I'm glad we're in here since we have superior air quality."

Ruby looked down from her bunk with a small smile, "Jake told me he forgot to pack soap."

"Of course he did," Nina said with a sigh. "Kofi probably rolled all his clothes into a single, giant ball, and they're just a disaster, so we're obviously so much more evolved than they are."

Thea did not respond, instead just tracing the seam on her duffel bag with one finger.

"Hey, Ruby," Nina said, changing her approach. "You think Jake is cute, right?"

Ruby lowered her head toward her book. "I… I don't know."

"Oh, come on, you can tell me," Nina pressed in a teasing whisper. "He's a nerd, but he's a sweet, harmless kind of nerd, the type who knows a lot about the Magna Carta."

"He is nice," Ruby admitted, her voice somewhat muffled. "And the way he gets excited about history is... endearing."

"Endearing! See, that's a step up from 'weird bread guy'," Nina said, looking over at Thea again. "What do you think, Thea, is Jake a weirdo?"

Thea looked up, seemingly startled by the direct question, and thought for a second before answering. "...He talks a lot."

Nina let out a bright, genuine laugh, "Yeah, he does, but at least he's not a jerk like Tyler, right, or a complete psycho like Jessica."

At the mention of Jessica's name, Thea flinched, her gaze dropping back to her bag.

'Crap, wrong move,' Nina thought, immediately backtracking. "Anyway, my point is, our group is way better than her group, since we have superior snacks and better conversational topics."

She looked at Thea's duffel bag. "You should probably unpack, because your clothes are gonna get all wrinkly in there."

Thea looked at the bag, then at the empty drawer under her bunk, realizing that to unpack meant she was staying, accepting that this small, temporary space was hers, which was a bigger decision than just taking clothes out of a bag.

"I can help you," Ruby offered from the top bunk, her quiet voice gentle as she swung her legs over the side and hopped down, landing softly on the wooden floor. She walked over to Thea's bunk and sat on the edge of the mattress, not too close.

"My mom taught me a way to fold sweaters so they don't get a crease in the shoulder," Ruby said in a calm, conversational tone. "It's a really simple trick."

Thea looked from Ruby's expectant face to Nina, who just gave her a small, encouraging nod, and Thea finally reached for the zipper on her bag, pulling it open slowly. Nina turned back to her skincare routine, pretending not to watch, but she listened to the quiet murmur of Ruby's voice as she explained the art of sweater-folding, and the soft rustle of clothes being unpacked.

'Okay,' Nina thought, a feeling of deep satisfaction settling in her chest. 'Teamwork. We're actually good at this.'