Then camp director Denise approached us, lowered her voice, and told me there was a serious reason Mia might not be allowed to return the following summer.
Mia’s smile vanished.
The Chore Chart and the Hidden Burden
Denise asked me to walk with her toward Cabin Seven, where a large chore chart was posted beside the entrance. Mia’s name was written over and over next to tasks like sweeping, taking out trash, checking bathrooms, refilling water coolers, and preparing dining tables—far more responsibilities than any camper should have been handling.
Denise explained that after completing her own assigned chores, Mia had been quietly doing other campers’ work too. Sometimes she skipped swimming and other activities she had been looking forward to for months just to finish someone else’s responsibilities.
Mia kept saying she was only trying to help, but Denise clearly believed there was something deeper going on.
Then she brought up an incident from Trail Day, and Mia’s face immediately turned bright red.
That was when I realized her constant chores weren’t really about simply being helpful.
What Denise had discovered had nothing to do with lawyers, insurance claims, an unpaid mortgage, or anything that would ever need to be settled in court. The truth was much more personal.
