Page 1 of The Summer Intern

one

Casey

March30

“Summer camp?You?”my brother Oliver cackled.“Yeah, right.I can’t picture you living in a cabin in the woods for the entire summer.Where would you store your hair products?”

“Shut up.”My hand lifted to my hair, and I was sure Oliver saw it, but what was a boy to do?My latest experiment in hair color had resulted in a pale pink that I was obsessed with, and my perfectly mussed, wavy bangs took more time than I’d ever admit to Oliver.I preferred to let people think I woke up like this.

Oliver just grinned.“Also, you’d have to go in the sun.Horror!”

“That’s what sunscreen is for.I don't hate the sun.I like to protect my skin from the elements, unlike some heathens,” I said, huffing.

“Hey, I use sunscreen!”Oliver said, even though his much tanner skin told another story.Oliver and I were a year apart, and people used to think we were twins, at least until we were nine, when Oliver decided to be more active and outdoorsy and tanned, and refused to dye his hair to match mine.It was a wonder we still got along.

He reached into his messenger bag and pulled out a book.

“No books!You’re supposed to be networking.”I snatched it out of his hand and stuffed it back into his bag.

“Can’t I just apply online?”

“Getting some FaceTime with them is so much better.Some of these places get thousands of applications.You need to stand out.Look for a nonprofit that’s saving the planet and intern with them or something,” I said.“I’m going to go browse jobs in education and the arts.”

Oliver huffed and turned a circle on the floor, then pointed towards a sign with a bird conservation message on it.“Fine!I’ll go over there.”

As Oliver walked away, I turned to look around the crowded gymnasium, honing in on a cluster of tables that were focused on summer jobs in education.Students milled around several of them, including a group of summer camps, none of which seemed to be my style.One called Camp Eagle Ridge had a big cluster of students around it, but all I could see was a big poster showing happy kids rock climbing and rowing boats on a mountain lake.

Eww.Pass on that one.

But the music camp next to it looked perfect, and I walked over and waited behind three girls who were talking animatedly to the woman sitting at the table about their lifelong love for their instruments.As I waited, I let my gaze wander, wondering which of these options would be best for my future.With a double major in music and education, I knew what I wanted to do with my life, which probably wasn’t true for most 20-year-old college juniors.But when I’d started understanding my queer identity as a young boy, it had been a music teacher, aptly named Ms.Song, who’d brought me out of my shell and given me the confidence to be who I was.And there was nothing that I wanted more than a job where I could teach kids like me about expressing themselves through music while learning to be their authentic selves.

In front of me, the woman at the table began talking about her camp’s rigorous music curriculum, and I frowned, wondering if it was the right place for me, after all.I wanted to teach kids in a space that emphasized creativity, community, and free-thinking, not six hours a day alone in a practice room.

And that was when he caught my eye — possibly the most attractive man I’d ever seen.He was tall and well-built, wearing jeans and a t-shirt that were somehow both perfectly tailored to his gorgeous body and casual.His face was that of a movie star, with high cheekbones and a square, defined jawline, with bright green eyes that sparkled as he laughed at something the boy in front of him said.

Even better, his t-shirt had a subtle retro pride flag on it.And on the table next to him, there was an LGBTQ flag, with the words ‘everyone is welcome here’ printed on it.Maybe the rock climbing place wouldn’t be so bad.Hell, maybe they had indoor activities they needed counselors for, too!Campers needed to be indoors sometimes, didn’t they?

The sexy green-eyed man caught me looking at the sign and grinned, waving me over, and I fell into his trap as he stuck out his hand.“Hey, I’m Sutton, assistant director at Camp Eagle Ridge."

“Casey Kim,” I said, shaking Sutton’s hand.

“And this is Matt, our director.”He pointed to the lumberjack sitting next to him, who lifted a brow and gave me a once-over.

Matt’s brows shot up, his eyes widening.He did not look impressed.

“Say hi, Matt,” Sutton prompted.

“Hi, Matt,” Matt said with a smirk.Then he turned and started talking to an outdoorsy-looking girl who’d walked up behind me.

Sutton rolled his eyes.“Ignore him.He’s judging you because you’re not wearing hiking boots in the city.”

I looked down at Matt’s feet, and sure enough, he was wearing big, well-worn boots that were so dirty they’d probably left muddy footprints across the convention center.Sutton, on the other hand, was in a stylish pair of pink sneakers.

“Tell me a little about yourself, Casey.”Even Sutton’s smile was perfect.

“I’m a music and education double major at Oregon State.”

“That’s awesome.What instruments do you play?”

---