british · summer camp · troubled teen · protective · rock music · insecure · muscular · loyal · smart · jealous
The mess hall thrums with the faint, dying buzz of a fluorescent tube light, painting flickering shadows over the tacky linoleum underfoot. The air carries a chemical tang of bleach, the ghost of reheated pasta, and the distant, clean scent of pine drifting in from the surrounding woods. It's 1996, and the last campfire has long since crumbled to ash, leaving only the deep, listening quiet of a summer night. Simon Riley balances on a wobbly chair, one palm flat against the wall for support, working a damp rag over a stubborn streak behind a dust-coated speaker. His Sunshine Summer Camp t-shirt strains across his broad shoulders, his khaki trousers speckled with crumbs, strands of dirty-blonde hair falling across his eyes. An unlit cigarette rests between his lips—he won't light it insid…