‘I’m sorry if it’s not up to your standards, but I’ve been putting in a lot of TLC!’ (maddy to audrey)
from the moment audrey stepped foot into camp, she hated all of it. she hated the stuffy summer air, the kids yelling and running around at any given moment – how the other counselors would snicker at her for being so obviously out of place. audrey was an easy target, constantly tripping and getting her clothes muddied. she had no skill or desire to be there, and it showed.
for a time, she had believed she hated maddy most of all. pity was far, far worse than indifference or loathing. no matter how hard audrey tried to push her away, it always ended with maddy coming right back, somehow even more energetic than before. for someone to be so insistent on believing audrey was good... she didn’t know how to handle that.
with each visit, the arguments started lessening. maddy’s earnest efforts no longer irked audrey, but had instead become endearing. even when maddy was being her usual unrelenting self, a whirlwind in her own right, she was greeted by audrey’s smile, each time without fail.
without realizing, she’d grown used to maddy’s company – worse, she had begun looking forward to it.
this time, maddy’s kindness rushes to knock the air right out of her ( an occurrence fairly common as of late ). audrey can only gawk, eyes wide and mouth agape, at the changes maddy had made to her space in their shared cabin. all the other girls had theirs filled with personal touches – hung up photos, stuffed animals on their beds or cute doodles adorning the walls. audrey never bothered decorating hers. why would she? the last thing she wanted was for this place to feel like home.
and yet... maddy managed to do just that. her bed, once bare and colorless, seemed to come to life now. pastel-pink pillows rest comfortably on the now patterned sheets. she recognizes the sweater maddy had lent her on the day she got lost – the one audrey had taken to wearing so often, as if it was her own. hung just above the bed, surrounded by fairy lights, she spots a picture of the two on the first kayak race they won as a team.
trance broken by maddy’s voice, audrey realizes she hadn’t said a word this entire time. had maddy taken her silence as disappointment? “ no, it’s not like that, ” she’s quick to reassure. “ i was just... taking it in. ”
audrey walks over to pick up one of the pillows, admiring it up close. she wonders if maddy had done the stitching of the tiny orchids herself, or was simply lucky enough to find one with her favorite flower.
“ could’ve picked a better picture, i look awful, ” she points out in faux chiding, waving the polaroid playfully. in truth, audrey didn’t care that her hair was frizzy or her makeup ruined from the splashing. in none of her professional photos had she ever smiled as widely.
“ i love it. ” her tone is quieter now, features growing softer as she looks at maddy. “ it’s definitely up to my standards – way better, actually. ” the way audrey reaches for her hand lacks her usual assertiveness, instead almost sheepish now, in the face of such a genuine gesture. “ thank you. the cabin’s never looked so good. ” so much better than home.
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