Chapter Text
11 years and 9 months later…
Eleven-but-soon-to-be-twelve year old Eponine Grantaire was ecstatic to say the least. All around her the sounds of the bustling summer camp she had just arrived at thrummed in her head and left her blood pounding in excitement. It was her first summer away from home all by herself, and though a part of her missed her Dad already, she knew she was gonna love the next eight weeks at camp. It was a new chance to make friends, do all those stupid, cheesy camp activities that she had seen in movies with her Dad, and of course, cause a little mischief too. She couldn't help it; she thrived off of adventure.
Eponine made her way over to the sign emblazoned with the words Camp Walden, doing her best to avoid the chaos of rushing camp counselors and laughing children. Just underneath the sign sat a mountain of duffel bags probably belonging to the hundreds of kids who had just arrived. Buried beneath them all, just in eye's view, was Eponine's familiar purple bag.
She gave it a tug, but found she was sorely lacking in strength. Again and again, Eponine pulled at the straps with as much muscle she could muster, but could not make the bag budge. Frustrated, she blew a strand of dark black hair out of her eyes. She felt a girl brush by her side, and as she watched, the girl pulled out her own bag with one massive tug. Eponine' eyes went wide.
"Now that's my kind of woman," she muttered under her breath. Hesitantly, she approached the girl.
"Hey, I was wondering if you could—"
"If I could pull out your bag?" Eponine nodded quickly and shot her a smile of thanks as she pointed out the mass of purple and watched her heave it out with great strength.
"Thanks," she told her, clutching her duffel close to her chest.
"Don't mention it. I'm Azelma by the way. Love the whole 'dark rebel' aesthetic you've got going on."
As is human nature, when told her outfit looked nice, Eponine glanced down to see what she was wearing, as if she forgot that she was the one who dressed herself today. She had to admit however, her outfit did rock. She had stolen one of her Dad's old band t-shirts and then trimmed it to fit her own body, and paired it with a pair of black combats. Her black hair hung loose around her neck.
She was about to stammer out her second thank you to the girl—Azelma—when she heard her name called out. Azelma's was called in quick succession as well as a few more.
"Looks like you'll be bunking with me."
Eponine smiled.
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To say she was nervous would be an understatement. Cosette Enjolras continued to twist her hands together and worry her lip. Nevermind that this was the first time she had been away from her Papa for so long, but she was in an entirely different country altogether! While she desperately craved a sense of adventure she didn't always receive living with her rather protective father, she had to admit that in retrospect attending a summer camp thousands of miles away from her home London may have been a bit of a leap that was simply too far. At first her Papa wasn’t very keen on letting her go, but in the end, Uncle Courf was able to convince him to allow it.
Come on! He had said, A girl’s gotta experience adventure! She’ll be fine! Don’t you understand! She wants adventure in the great wide somewhereeeee!!!
Okay okay! She can go, just please never sing that again.
You know you love me!
Her nervousness did not go unnoticed, and as always, Uncle Courfeyrac was there to calm her down, with a reassuring squeeze of her hands. She looked into his bright brown eyes, framed by dark curls.
"Hey, it'll be okay 'Sette. Try to relax and have fun! We can't have every Enjolras maintain such a serious attitude, or your family would never see the joy in the light of day!" This garnered a laugh from the blonde.
"I know I know it's just… what if I don't fit in here? What will I do for eight weeks without anyone to talk to? Without Papa?" At her words, Courfeyrac's eyes softened. He gave her a soft smile.
"Cosette they're gonna love you. You're the coolest kid I know." Cosette laughed.
"Uncle Courf I'm the only kid you know." He winked at her.
"Maybe. But that doesn't change the fact that you're hella cool. And smart and funny and kind. You'll see; the rest of the kids'll be lining up just to say hi to you. And besides if not, you can always just call and talk to your Uncle Courf." Cosette smiled and gave her uncle a hug.
"Thanks Uncle Courf. I just… I just wish Papa were here." Courfeyrac tightened his grip on the girl.
"He wanted to be here 'Sette, really. He just got caught up in his work is all. Besides, if he were here, he may not have let you go at all!" While her uncle's words may have been lighthearted, she could hear the truth behind them. She didn't resent her Papa at all for not coming with her; she loved him too much for that, and she knew how much he loved her. And while it was true that he had unfortunately been swamped with work the week she left for camp, she knew the real reason her Papa wasn't here was because it may have been too hard for him to let his little girl go out by herself like this.
And somewhere inside, Cosette knew that if he had come, she may not have had the courage to step out of the car and walk away towards camp.
She pulled away from her uncle, but as she made to grab the door handle, he stopped her with a hand.
"Don't tell your Papa or your Uncle Combeferre, but I got you a little surprise as a parting gift." From his hands he protruded a fresh deck of cards and smiled at her. "Maybe you can finally find someone on this continent who can whoop your ass at poker." Cosette grinned at him. He was the only one who knew of her devious streak, being that he was the one who first taught her how to play the game. Her Papa disapproved of the game and the betting system, and her Uncle Combeferre believed her to be much too innocent to partake in such activities, but her Uncle Courf knew much better than to take her angelic looks at face value.
"I seriously doubt it but thanks for it Uncle Courf."
He smiled at her, and then held out his hand. That could only mean one thing. In no less than sixteen moves, Cosette and Courfeyrac executed the secret handshake, complete with a bump of the hips.
After waving goodbye to her uncle and giving him a promise that she had remembered to pack all her essentials, vitamins, and medicines for in case she fell ill, (courtesy of a very worried Uncle Combeferre) Cosette turned to face the entrance of the camp. She smiled to herself as she felt something inside of her heart expand. There was something special about this camp, she could just feel it.