Nikhil watched her in the water nervously, standing as far away from the edge of the water as he possibly could. “Are you sure? They’re not gonna break or anything, because that’s happened before, you know. If people swim too far out they can attract sharks! Not on purpose, I mean, sharks don’t even really like human meat but–” He cut himself off, realising he had rambled on for a while in his anxious bubble. “Sorry. I just have a thing with water.” He explained, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly. “Actually,” He thought on it, realising he did actually have a job to do and two hands too little to do it. “If you’re free, I could do with a hand taking the crates of sunscreen to the infirmary?”
“A thing.” She repeated curiously, pulling her hair and tying it back. “Don’t worry, Brody, nothing’s getting through that.” She nodded with an amused smile. Fear of water wasn’t anything she was a stranger to, being a swim instructor she saw it often. But it was hardly her business to pry, but couldn’t resist the opportunity for quick quip. She pushed herself up to her feet and pulled her shorts on over her bathing suit. “free as a...” she paused, lips pursed thoughtfully. “Sorry, I was trying to think of something more clever than ‘bird’, but I guess I’m not as witty as I used to be. Anyway, so, sunscreen?”
scout pulled herself out of the water and up onto the dock, turning herself around to allow her to sit on the edge with her feet still submerged. “all set.” she informed the person standing above her, looking up at them and using one hand to shield her eyes from the sun. scout, despite having come to and worked for the camp for years, still tended to do her own thing. she wasn’t super social and the idea of hanging around awkwardly in the director’s cabin with people she barely knew was, in a word, terrifying. so instead she’d gone to set up the safety ropes for the camp swim area. “unless you needed help with something else?”
[ ASHLEY MOORE. CIS FEMALE. SHE/HER. ] [ SCOUT MAYFAIR ] is a [ TWENTY THREE ] year old [ SWIMMING INSTRUCTOR ] at camp reviere. [ SHE ] makes me think of [ HEART SHAPED SUNGLASSES IN THE SUMMER, A SWING SET IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT, BLACK LEATHER JACKET OVER A SUNDRESS, ROUNDHOUSE KICK IN A CHEERLEADER UNIFORM ]. their favorite horror movie is [ HOUSE ] and they remind me of [ BUFFY SUMMERS ]. [ kaylee. 28. est. she/her. ]
headcanons:
while most people knew scout as the bubbly, ditsy, popular girl she’d grown up as, during her sophomore year of high school she seemed to start to change. she became distant, secretive, skipping school and cheer practice without notice, coming home past curfew with scrapes and bruises like she’d been in a fight. she was never able to explain to anyone why this was happening, she didn’t really understand it herself.
when her parents divorced later that year, she couldn’t say she was surprised, but it was still devastating. no matter how much they’d been fighting before hand, she still hated not having her parents together, and a very big part of her believed that it had been her fault. both parents still maintained a presence in her life, but it didn’t feel the same.
from there it seemed like her recklessness only became worse and worse and eventually resulted in her explosion from school. to be fair, she was lucky she didn’t end up with worse consequences. her mom moved them both to a new town to start a new life and scout really wanted to do better, but no matter what she always seemed to find herself in trouble. like she was a magnet for terrible situations.
she became more of a loner after that, still joining the cheer squad and even the swim team, but keeping to herself more. popularity just didn’t seem that important to her anymore and while sometimes she missed it, watching it from the outside now, she realized that none of her friends, no matter how many she had, really knew she was. she spent most of her time in the library, which was surprising considering how academically challenged she’d been up to that point.
things were strained with her mom at home and while her dad started to get back on his feet and build a new life for himself, there didn’t seem to be much room for her anymore. it’s been hard for her, even now, to have lost so much, but she still tries to keep her chin up.
she’s a positive person for the most part, always trying to see the bright side of things, even when the situation is bleak.
she likes being out at night by herself and will often go out for late night walks when everyone else is asleep. or at least when they’re supposed to be asleep, she’s apparently not the only nocturnal rebel at camp.
she doesn’t go looking for fights, but she 100% will not back down if she’s confronted or if someone else is in a dangerous situation. she stands up for everyone and hates bullies more than anything.
she keeps to herself most of the time, but is still friendly and has been trying to force herself to be a little more outgoing when the situation calls for it.
she has some strange and morbid interests, which when she mentions them in casual conversation can rub people the wrong way. it’s amazing how quickly she could go from homecoming queen to queen freak, but that’s life.
