"Well, kiddo, we're here..." said Samuel James, the live-in male nanny (otherwise known as a "manny") of Beck Oliver's daughter, as he pulled into a spot in the parking lot on Camp Hippodrome's large property.

Camp Hippodrome was an exclusive performing arts summer camp. It was located in a small, rural area of Texas called Hathaway County. To attend, one must audition with either a monologue, song, or dance sequence. There were five different divisions: Primary, Elementary, Secondary, Junior, and Senior. The Primary Division was for children ages 6 years old and younger. The Elementary Division was for children ages 7-9 years old. The Secondary Division was for children ages 10-12 years old. The Junior Division was for teenagers ages 13-15 years old. Finally, the Senior Division was for people ages 16 years old and older. The Primary Division was only a day camp. The Elementary and Secondary Divisions gave campers the option to stay overnight. The Junior and Senior Divisions were sleepaway camps. The campers took various classes based on their performing arts interests. They also did fun outdoor activities, like horseback riding, with their divisions. Located on the camp's massive property was a riding stable. At this stable, equines were trained for stunts and movies. The stable also offered riding lessons, and it ran a riding camp called Camp Delta every summer. Camp Hippodrome offered an equine add-on option. This allowed campers to divide their time between Camp Delta and Camp Hippodrome.

"Yay!" 10-year-old Amelia Oliver cheered. She and Samuel stepped out of their pristine rental car. They walked around to the trunk of the shiny vehicle and opened it.

"Now, Amelia, are you sure you want to be here for the whole entire summer?" Samuel asked worriedly. He hesitated to take the first of Amelia's three suitcases out of the car's trunk. He turned to face Amelia and kneels down, so he was at her eye level. "It's no trouble if you don't want to go to sleepaway camp anymore! We can get into the car again, and I'll drive back to the airport. We can catch the soonest flight back to Toronto! You could spend a little more time in your home before you and your father move to Los Angeles..." he offered temptingly.

Amelia playfully rolled her eyes at her manny's tendency to act like a helicopter parent. She gave him a reassuring smile and assured him that she would be fine. She frowned when her reassurances failed to assuage Samuel's fears. She promised to call him if she had even the slightest doubts or concerns about anything. This seemed to satisfy her manny, and the two began taking Amelia's luggage out of the car's trunk.

Amelia and Samuel headed to Camp Hippodrome's admissions office with all three suitcases in tow. They followed the numerous signs posted around the property, eventually locating the place they need.

When they walked into the office, a woman with a clipboard was walking in as well. The woman noticed Amelia and Samuel and introduced herself.

"Hello, sweetie! My name is Marjorie. I'm the camp director. You must be here to register for camp! I can help you with that, then I'll have one of our counsellors take you to the Elementary Division!" the woman cheerfully said to Amelia.

Amelia extended her hand towards Marjorie, and the two shook hands. She gave the older woman a friendly smile. "Hi! My name is Amelia Oliver, and I'm actually in the Secondary Division," she informed Marjorie.

Marjorie gasped in embarrassment and apologized for her mistake. Amelia assured the camp director that most people couldn't tell how old she was by looking at her. She told her that her small stature was due to her stunted growth and that people tended to think she was about four years younger than she actually was.

Marjorie remembered hearing the girl's name come up during a meeting she had with the people who judged the campers' auditions. She remembered the audition judges telling her about two girls that absolutely blew them away with their talent. Amelia, who happened to be one of the girls, was placed in several Senior Classes as a result of her impressive audition.

Marjorie got Amelia registered. She gave Amelia her cabin assignment and a "Welcome to Camp Hippodrome" swag bag. She collected Amelia's three suitcases and tied a white grosgrain ribbon onto the handle of each one. She explained that the ribbon's color let the counsellors helping with luggage know which cabin to bring campers' belongings to. In this case, someone would bring Amelia's suitcases to the Evita Cabin, since they had a white ribbon tied onto them.

Amelia thanked Marjorie, then she gave Samuel a big hug goodbye.

When they pulled away from their hug, Samuel once again asked Amelia if she's certain she wants to attend the camp, and once again, she reassured him that she wanted to attend and that she'd be fine.

They embraced again, before parting ways when a counsellor came to take Amelia to her division.