"It's really the second-to-last day," Maddie explains authoritatively on the walk to breakfast. "Because we're still going to be here tomorrow."
"But we're not really doing anything tomorrow," Ariel protests. "We're just going home. This is the last day."
Most people in the dining hall seem to be on Ariel's side, at least emotionally. The energy at Camp Cedarcrest has shifted today. You can feel it; everyone can feel it.
There's a tension that's at odds with the peppy music that continues to play over the loudspeakers throughout the morning. ("Circle of Life" comes next, followed by "Happy.") Everyone is somehow both subdued and on edge at the same time. That's mainly true of the counselors and staff; in the dining hall, the staff table speaks in tense, hushed whispers, and the head counselors at their table do the same. They know the most about what today means, of course: that the board of directors could declare this isn't just the last day of Camp Cedarcrest for this summer, but the last day of Camp Cedarcrest ever.
The campers are mostly unaware, but the mood spills over from the adults onto the kids. There aren't any quarrels at breakfast—even Justine is quiet and doesn't respond when Sydney tries to bait her—but there isn't any laughter, either.
There are only two people in Cabin 12 who are happy. Ariel, because there are pancakes for breakfast, and Cody, because he gets to go home tomorrow.