HOLLIS MCCALISTER SUMMER CAMP

by Keith McCloud

  Preacher Miller walks up the steps for the stage and then across to the podium. “Good morning, I hope everyone got a great night’s sleep. I know how it is at first when you are away from home you have to adjust, and sometimes the first few nights you don’t get a very good night’s sleep. We will eat and then take a fifteen-minute break and then we will meet in the archery area. Your group leader will take you to that area,” Preacher Miller says. Preacher Miller then says grace and then we get up table by table and go over to the buffet and get in line and then start getting what food we want. I tell myself that we are having biscuits and gravy this morning and I have already spotted them on the buffet. “I love biscuits and gravy and my mom makes the best gravy because she makes sausage gravy and then sometimes adds scrambled eggs, and we put the sausage gravy on top of the scrambled eggs and it is the best,” I say.

  “That does sound good: let’s get some scrambled eggs and put gravy over the top of it. I am sure it will not be as good as your mom’s, but we will just make do,” James says.

  We get our food and go back to our table and sit down and start eating like we haven’t had any food in days. I hate eating in front of a group of people. I feel that people are always staring at me. I am sure they are not but I just don’t like it. I feel a tapping on my shoulder and I turn my head around to the left side and standing by me bent over with food showing in his mouth is Jimmy Stewart.

  “Why would you do that? That’s just nasty,” I say to Jimmy.

  Jake says, “Jimmy, come on, we don’t want to see that.”

  Jimmy says, “You guys are not any fun.” He then turns around and walks back to his table.

  “I am starting to see just exactly how Jimmy Stewart is and how he loves to try and push your buttons and do anything to try and hurt you,” James says.

  “I know, and I have never done anything to him, but he has been like this since we were in elementary school. It is just non-stop. Anytime he gets an opportunity he will use it. Again I do not know why. Hopefully one day he will stop and leave me alone,” I say.

  Preacher Miller gets up from his table and then walks over to the stage and then up to the podium and says, “I hope everyone is enjoying their breakfast. We will be done with breakfast shortly and then we will head outside and start archery practice. Should be fun and interesting. Enjoy the rest of your breakfast and we will be heading out in thirty minutes to the archery area.”

  “Oh boy, I can’t wait to just run outside and pick out my bow and arrow and get to shooting - not,” I say.

  We finish eating and then everyone takes bathroom breaks, or just a break and then we all get together and walk outside and then across a small field over to the archery field.

  “Hollis, we are getting closer to the archery area: are you freaking out?” James says.

  “James, don’t you get started on me, too.”

  We walk across the field to an open field and they have ten archery areas set up. Preacher Miller walks out onto the middle of the archery area and says, “Okay, everyone, let’s enjoy this event and this is all about building skill and accuracy and it’s not about feeling bad if you can’t hit the bull’s-eye, or better yet, the target itself. Now have fun.”

  Each cabin is a team, but two cabins are joined together. We are cabin twenty so we are set up to go to the last archery area, which they are calling lane ten. I am not sure which cabin will be with us.

  “Hey, Hollis, are you happy to see me? I am happy to see you and can’t wait to laugh at how horrible you are,” Jimmy Stewart says.

  “Great, why does this always happen to me? I just don’t understand why I am stuck with him all the time,” James says.

  “Stop letting him get to you. That’s what he wants. If you ignore him he will eventually move on to someone else and then bother them.”

  “I told you once before that is easier said than done. He continues to just get under my skin. He just will not shut up and go away. He really gets me so pissed off.”

  “I told you, Hollis, stop listening to him and just tune him out. He only does this to bother you and every time he bothers you it makes him win,” Jake says.

  “I know you guys are right, but, like I keep saying, it’s easier said than done, and until you guys have to deal with someone like him bothering you almost daily, then you just don’t understand what I have to deal with.”

  “Okay, the buckets have the bows and arrows in them. On each target it has the points you receive, depending where your arrow hits. We also have arm guards you can use this year. I know several of you last year hit your arms and they got pretty swollen. Sorry, Hollis, about that. Oh, and this year we have crossbow guns for those of you who do not want to use the arrows,” Preacher Miller says.

  “What, we have crossbow guns this year? How do you use them? I would actually like to try that. I have seen them before, but I have never actually seen one close up. I might be able to actually hit something with that.”

  “Yes, Hollis, we do have a crossbow gun. I will show you how to use it. You will not hit your arm using it. Now the scores count the same when you use the crossbow gun and hit the target. After we go through this competition we will then have a competition between the best crossbow gun players, and they will compete against each other. We will find out who the best crossbow gun player is and who the best bow and arrow players are, and we have trophies for each one,” Jake says.

  I walk over and pull the crossbow gun out of the big bucket they are in. I look it over and have no clue on how to load it or shoot it.

  “Hollis, I will show you how to use that in a minute,” Jake says.

  “It doesn’t matter what you use, you still will suck,” Jimmy Stewart says.

  “Then why don’t you, Jimmy, go stand in front of the target and see if I can hit you?”

  “Now that’s what I am talking about, Hollis: good comeback to him. See, he needs you to stand up to him,” James says.

  Jake says, “Everyone gets to try it first before the competition begins.” I, of course, am in the back of the line. The target is supposed to be set up to regulation standards. Only a couple of us have picked to use the crossbow gun. Of course, one of them happens to be Mr Jimmy Stewart. He claims to be the best at it. We shall see. They put the bow and arrow guys in the line first and then those of us with crossbow guns go last.

  We are lined up and the first person goes and hits the target on the bottom. Several other people go with bow and arrows, and some of them do pretty well. Okay, now we are to the crossbow guns. I have to stand behind Jimmy Stewart. He steps up and shoots and hits a bull’s-eye. Dang it, I was thinking. Jimmy says, “Now it’s your turn, loser. Let’s see how you screw this up.”

  I stand up there behind the line. I have the trigger set up to use my right hand and I hold it up with my left hand. I am aiming it and I pull the trigger and it shoots. I then hear loud laughter: it’s of course Jimmy Stewart laughing at me. He says, “You sucked: you didn’t even hit the target. As a matter of fact it went flying way over the back of the target.”

  “Jimmy, shut up,” I say. “You can see that. I have never used one of these before; I have never even held one of these before. I just need to adjust my aim now that I know how it shoots.”

  “Adjust your aim? You can adjust all day and you’re not going to hit it,” Jimmy says.

  “Jimmy, leave him alone, give him a chance,” Jake says.

  Everyone has completed their first try, so now it’s time for the competition to begin. Boy, let’s hope I do better this time. I would like to just hit the target this time, or anytime would be nice. The bow and arrow group goes first again. The first four go and they do pretty well. Next Jake is up and he nails a bull’s-eye. Now it’s the crossbow guns’ turn. A couple go and hit the target: now Jimmy Stewart is up and he hits close to the bull’s-eye, but he doesn’t get the bull’s-eye. Now it’s my turn and of course everyone is watching me. I am just going to tune everyone out. I pick up the crossbow gun a
nd I load the arrow into the gun. I aim it, but this time I aim below the target and then I pull the trigger and there it goes, it just might hit the target. I hit it: I can’t believe it.

  “Alright, Hollis, you hit the bull’s-eye, you really hit the bull’s-eye,” Jake says.

  “You just got lucky,” Jimmy Stewart says.

  “Way to go, Hollis! You hit the bull’s-eye on your first official try during the competition,” James says.

  I don’t see Jimmy Stewart laughing at me now, but it’s just one turn and I will have a few more turns to miss the target and then Jimmy can laugh at me. The bow and arrow group go again and right now our group is doing pretty good. Jake is in first place: he just keeps hitting the bull’s-eye each time he takes his turn. Even Jimmy Stewart is doing well with the crossbow gun. Well, it’s my turn to go again. Jimmy Stewart just hit a bull’s-eye. I am nervous once again. I aim the crossbow gun and I fire, and dang it, I hit the bull’s-eye again. I would love to do the happy dance, but I would actually look stupid. We go around two more times and each time I make a bull’s-eye. At this time no one can believe it. This is the last round. If I hit a bull’s-eye, I win. Jimmy Stewart is just one score behind me. He is up now. Dang it, he hit the bull’s-eye again.

  “No pressure, little Hollis,” Jimmy Stewart says.

  It’s my turn. I get up there and I aim and shoot. Dang it, I miss the bull’s-eye by just a hair. Preacher Miller is walking over to the target to see how close it is.

  “Okay, we are going to have to have a tie-breaker. Right now, the two with the crossbow guns are tied. We will have a shoot-off to see who wins the trophy.” At this time I am thinking, ‘Crap, I have been just lucky.’ There is no way I can beat him. He is really good. He was the bow and arrow champ for the past three years. Since his first shot he has been hitting bull’s-eyes. Jake walks up to me.

  “Hollis, you have done great. Don’t be nervous, just continue to do what you were doing and you will be fine,” Jake says.

  “Hey, but he is really good and you know that. Congratulations on winning the bow and arrow competition,” I say.

  “Thanks, it was easier with Jimmy not competing. You know he and I were in a tie-breaker for the last six years, and the first three years I won and he has won the last three years. I let him get into my head and I let him get to me. He took me out of my game. That’s what I don’t want you to do. I would have beaten him this year, though,” Jake says.

  “We are going to move Jimmy over to the next target line, so both Jimmy and Hollis can go at the same time,” Preacher Miller says. So Jimmy moves over to his lane and I move up to my spot behind the line. We both get only one shot and whoever is the closest wins. I pick up the crossbow gun and so does Jimmy. We both aim.

  “Okay: ready, aim, shoot,” Preacher Miller says. We both shoot at the same time. Damn, we both hit the bull’s-eye. Everyone around us cheers. Preacher Miller walks over to Jimmy Stewart’s target and then he walks over to mine and then back over to Jimmy Stewart’s target. He says, “Congratulations go out to Hollis McCalister, you are our first ever crossbow gun champion.”

  A loud cheer is heard from everyone. I am in shock. I have just beaten Jimmy Stewart at something and something that he made fun of me at. He looks pissed right now, so I am not going over to say anything to him. Everyone starts coming up to me and congratulating me. They are all tired, I am sure, of Jimmy Stewart winning everything.

  “Way to go, Hollis. I told you you could do it,” Jake says.

  “Way to go, Hollis!” James says.

  “Way to go!” a few other guys say. Then they start chanting, “Hollis, Hollis, Hollis!” It gets really loud and for a few minutes I am on cloud nine. Over walks Preacher Miller and he hands me my trophy. It’s the first, like, outdoor trophy I have ever gotten. I have a few from math and science competitions.

  “Congratulations again, Hollis, you did a great job and you overcame the pressure and hit a perfect bull’s-eye. Jimmy hit into the bull’s-eye also, but he was slightly on the edge of it. It was really close and I had to eyeball it a few times to see exactly which one was the closest, but yours was more centered into the middle of the bull’s-eye target. Again, way to go,” Preacher Miller says.

  I am really excited about getting a trophy. Oh boy, here comes Jimmy Stewart. He walks over and says, “Whatever, you just got lucky. It will not happen again, and it doesn’t change the fact that you are still a loser. Once a loser, always a loser.” Then he walks away.

  “Don’t listen to him: right now he is being a sore loser. He can’t stand it that this is the first year that he did not get a trophy from the archery competition. He has won every year and this year he didn’t get anything,” Jake says.

  “I am not going to let him get to me today. First time I am enjoying summer camp. You know I hate coming here and participating in this stuff,” I say with a great big smile on my face.

  Preacher Miller says, “Okay, the competition is over today, so let’s go back to our cabins and wash up and relax a little, and then it will be time for dinner. I will see everyone at the dinner cabin at 5:30 pm.” We all cheer because this gives us a few hours just to go back to the cabin and hang out and just relax and not stress about any competitions. Everyone starts walking back to their cabins. I am making sure everyone can see me walking proud with my trophy. Our cabin wins both archery competitions. I win the crossbow gun one, and Jake wins the bow and arrow one.

  As we walk back to the cabin our cabin mates are all excited, and there is lots of loud talking going on. Wow, we are back at the cabin: everyone is talking back and forth that makes the walk seem so much faster. Jake unlocks the door and we all walk into the cabin.

  “Hollis, are you taking your trophy to your room, or are you leaving it out here on the mantle? I am going to leave mine out here so everyone can see it,” Jake says.

  “I could leave it out here as long as no one bothers it,” I say.

  “No one is going to bother it. I just want to show them off,” Jake says.

  “Alright, here you go: they are pretty big, aren’t they?” I

  reply.

  “Yes, they are much bigger than last year’s. I am still surprised that Jimmy did not win this year and I know for the bow gun that this is the first year for that competition, but Jimmy is great at both, but he is even better at the crossbow gun than he is at the bow and arrow.”

  “I am still in shock that he didn’t win, but Hollis, you kicked butt and we are all proud of you. Not to toot my own horn, but I would have probably beaten him also. I had all bull’s-eyes on each try and we know each year he always misses the bull’s-eye at least once, and it happened again this year in the crossbow gun competition. So I think he would have missed one if he was doing the bow and arrow competition. I bet right now he is so mad over there in his cabin, and I pity all his cabin mates because he is probably biting their heads off when they say something to him, or he is probably throwing stuff. Those of us who know him know that he does not like to lose and he is a sore loser, and he likes to take it out on everyone around him. Hollis, make sure you don’t let your guard down: he will now more than ever try and come after you,” Jake says.

  “I agree with everything you just said about him. I always keep my guard up when I am around him anyway. He will now certainly more than ever come after me. Right now, I am very sure he is hating me. Look at what he is looking at: you have the person you always bully and treat bad turn around and beat you in a competition, and do it in front of everyone - which is probably driving him crazy - and beat him in a competition where he is one of the best,” I reply.

  “Stop worrying about him or giving him the satisfaction of not letting you enjoy beating him at something. Just enjoy it,” Jake says.

  “You will see, you all will see,” I say. I walk out of the room and into my room and walk over and then lay down on my bed, just letting everything that transpired during the day run through my mind.

  James walks
into the room and asks me, “What are you doing?”

  I say, “Just lying here thinking about everything that happened today. It’s been a lot to take in. I know I only beat someone in a bow and arrow competition, but I beat someone who has been bullying me for years. It feels like I took down the dragon. The only thing is, Jimmy Stewart is going to come after me even stronger now. You guys just don’t understand. He right now, I am sure, is thinking of things to do to me. He will come full force. He will do whatever it takes to embarrass me in front of everyone. He will want to make it big so people will not think about him losing to me in a competition. He feels embarrassed and you never embarrass a bully. I will have to not let my guard down. I should have just let him win. I am going to be stressing now every moment worrying about what he is going to do to me and when is he going to do it. The next couple of weeks are going to be hell for me.”

  James says, “I am sorry. I have never been around a bully before so I am not sure how they act or treat people. I cannot imagine what you have to go through and have gone through in life. Bullies are a serious issue and need to be dealt with. Though I am not sure how, or what needs to be done. I could go over there and beat the crap out of him.”

  “No, that would not help. Once he got the better of you, he would be coming after me. For now let’s just let it be. Let’s try and stay away from him. I am going to need you guys to have my back. Meaning always keep an eye on where he is at so we can try and head him off before he acts and does something to me. I am going to lie down for a few minutes and take a quick little nap. I need to try and calm down and relax,” I say.

  “Hollis, wake up. Hollis, are you awake? Hollis, get up, we have about 20 minutes until we go to dinner,” James says.