by Kay Gordon
“Here we are,” May said with a smile as Howard parked the van in the driveway to their home. Its big exterior was wooden and beautifully rustic. It had been redone in the years I’d been gone, making it look more modern than it had. “The rest of the cabin counselors are flying in tonight and tomorrow so you’ll all be staying in the staff quarters for a few days until we do job assignments.”
“Come inside and eat some lunch first and then we’ll set you free to explore,” Howard said as he pulled the keys out of the ignition. “I bet you all are starving.”
Everyone murmured in agreement while exiting the van and following the pathway up the house. As I moved inside the door, I took in the living room and smiled at the pictures that hung on the wall. Photos of campers from the past took up almost every inch of space, leaving very little of the cream-colored walls. A huge leather couch in the shape of an ‘L’ was in the living room, and it looked comfortable and worn.
Among the panoramic photos on the wall were frames that included Howard and May’s family. They had just one son who appeared in many photos along with other people who looked vaguely familiar. I smiled when I saw the picture of my mother and May during their younger years. Another photo included my parents, my sister, and me from about ten years before and several others that included just me and my sister from our time at camp.
We followed May through the house and she led us to a large deck that offered a striking view of the camp. I moved to the rail and peered out at the azure blue lake. The winds were non-existent so the water was smooth, almost as if it was glass. I could see the large dining hall at the front of camp and I knew the amphitheater was behind it. A large, unlit, bonfire area was to the left of the dining hall with lots of empty log seating. Although I couldn’t see them, I knew that the basketball courts, baseball fields, rec hall, media center, archery range, lap pool, and more were out there. I could see the cabins on either side of camp and they appeared small from where we were. I sucked in a lungful of damp air and my senses felt instantly satiated. That place had been my home when my actual one had been in pieces thanks to death and divorce.
Tattooed forearms leaned on the rail next to me but I refused to look over at him and instead focused on a group of geese that were waddling to the water below. We stood next to each other in silence for a few minutes before he spoke.
“How long has it been for you? Four years?”
I let out a wistful sigh and kept my eyes on the geese. “Five years ago was my last summer.” I finally turned to look towards him but he kept his eyes fixed on the lake. “When was your last summer as a camper?”
“Eight long years ago.” Drew turned and looked at me, a soft smile on his lips. For the first time since I’d met him in the airport, he didn’t look overly cocky. Something in his eyes, eyes that were a deep blue color in the moment, seemed so familiar. So comforting. “I love this place. The only thing better than being a camper is being a counselor.”
Howard calling everyone to eat caused us to break our stare down and I glanced over my shoulder. When I looked back, Drew’s eyes were on my chest. His moment of decent human being had passed and he’d moved back into frat guy. I rolled my eyes, crossed my arms over my chest, and moved back inside the house.
May and Howard had brought out different meats and cheeses to make our own sandwiches. I scooped some of the homemade pasta salad onto my plate next to my sandwich and sat down next to Hannah at the huge table. Everybody chatted happily as we ate and the chatter continued once the plates were clear. We sat around for a little bit longer before following both Howard and May out to the path that would lead us to one of the three staff bunks.
The camps ran with more than just counselors. At full capacity, we’d have kitchen crew for the dining hall, housekeeping and laundry staff, maintenance and security staff, groundskeepers, drivers, two family liaisons, two medical assistants, a registered nurse, and the counselors. The staff bunks were similar to the dorms that I had lived in my freshman year of college, except a thousand times nicer. Each floor had its own kitchen, eight bedrooms, and three separate bathrooms. The common living area had a large shelf full of books, board games, and everything you needed to amuse yourself except for a TV.
“Make yourselves at home. You’ll be staying here until we assign jobs and permanent bunks later this week.” May grinned and pulled open the big refrigerator to check inside. “Everything is fully stocked and there should be plenty for you to do to occupy yourselves. Feel free to explore the grounds and lake while you can. If you want to get over to the camp, please use the trail around the lake and be back here by seven. We’ll have many trainings sessions for you to complete, such as CPR, basic first aid training, and equipment training as well as other protocols that you’ll need when the campers arrive.”
Hannah and I picked rooms next to each other on the second floor and she reappeared ten minutes later in my doorway wearing a black bikini that looked amazing on her.
“Want to join me at the lake? I asked Joanne, too, but she said she wanted to nap.”
I looked at her for a moment before nodding and grabbing my own suit. “Sure. Give me ten minutes.”
I left my room a few minutes later wearing my own bright blue suit, a pair of white, cotton shorts, and my water shoes. I hugged my towel to my side and spun my sunscreen in my hand before gesturing to Hannah that I was ready.
“Awesome.” She stood from the couch she was sitting on and both Jordan and Drew followed suit. I wanted to groan in annoyance but I just followed the staircase to the ground floor instead. The four of us walked down the path to the lake and I stopped when I reached the beach. In that moment, I was seeing the camp from a completely different perspective for the first time.
“It’s good to be home,” Drew murmured from my left and I nodded in agreement.
“It really is.” I pulled my sunglasses over my eyes and looked at Hannah. “Want to go see the campus?”
She nodded and we began walking towards the facility management building on the path that would lead us around the base of the lake and to the camp. Hannah asked a question about how the campus was set up and Jordan immediately fell into step on her other side to answer her. I pulled back a little since the path was narrow and ended up walking next to Drew.
“Where do you live?” Drew asked as he reached out to skim some of the wildflowers that grew off to the side of the dirt trail.
“Phoenix,” I replied quietly. “How about you?”
“Los Angeles. You used to come with your sister, Kira, right?”
I swallowed and nodded as we came up to the dock on the camp side of the lake. “Yep.”
Drew didn’t reply as we kept walking. We ended up passing Jordan and Hannah when she stopped to take a few pictures on her phone to send to her mom. The rest of our quick walk was quiet and we stopped as we got to the bonfire pit.
I felt like a little kid at Disneyland as I bounced on the balls of my feet and waited for the other two. When they finally showed up, we showed Hannah around. Jordan had been a former camper, too, and had been two years ahead of me and one behind Drew when he’d attended. We pointed out the obvious places but also showed her the hidden gems that we each loved.
Mine was the overnight outpost where we’d camp outside once a summer. It bordered along the forest where wildflowers grew and had a huge treehouse that was high enough that you could see the whole camp. You could get down by the ladder, slide, or the zip-line and all four of us chose to zip-line. I strapped the helmet on and went first before sending the harness and helmet back up, and we repeated until Drew was the last one standing. He flew down the zip-line with a happy yell of laughter and we all cheered when he hit the end.
Jordan’s favorite area was the obstacle center that included rock climbing, more zip-lining, rappelling, rope climbing, and other activities that I knew were exhausting. Since we hadn’t been officially trained on the course for the summer we couldn’t go in, but
Jordan excitedly told Hannah all about it.
When it was Drew’s turn, he led us over to the equestrian center and I was completely surprised by his choice. We walked into the stables and greeted the caretaker, Ted, who told us to feel free to pet the horses. I immediately walked over to the stall with the nameplate ‘Ranger’.
“Hey, old boy,” I murmured quietly and the horse immediately pushed his muzzle into my hands. I stroked him gently as he searched my hand for a treat. I laughed softly and shook my head. “I don’t have anything for you, Ranger. I’m sorry, buddy.”
A carrot stick appeared in my line of sight and I looked over to find Drew with a handful of vegetables as he watched me interact with the horse. I took the carrot stick while mumbling my gratitude and fed it to Ranger. I stepped back so Drew could give the horse some attention and walked through the stables to greet the others.
After we left the equestrian center, we went back to the lake and swam in the chilly water for a bit with the other counselors who’d arrived, too. I did my best not to admire Drew’s bare chest but it was hard not to. He was a cocky bastard but he was also very hot. Although his arms were covered completely in tattoos, his chest was surprisingly devoid of ink. Unsurprisingly, his stomach was just as muscular as his arms and I briefly imagined how it would feel under my fingertips before shaking myself out of the stupid daydream.
I showed Hannah how to work the jet skis and she ended up throwing us into the water three different times. After we brought the machine back to the beach, I shook my head at her with a grin.
“I think you’re a lost cause on those things, Han.”
She nodded and squeezed the water out of her long, blonde hair. “I think you’re right. Good thing the campers won’t be using them because I’d be a poor teacher.”
The sun was starting to descend in the sky so we all started to walk down the path that would lead us back to the other side of the lake. I somehow ended up paired with my nemesis again but, like before, we didn’t speak as we walked. When I turned my head after a few minutes of silence, Drew’s eyes were affixed to my chest again and I let out a huff of annoyance.
“Dude. I have breasts. We get it. You don’t need to stare.”
Drew’s eyes snapped to mine, his face stoic for a brief moment before that self-assured smile curled on his lips. “And what great breasts they are, Shaylee. You should be proud.”
I rolled my eyes at him and was grateful when Hannah and Jordan caught up to us. We trudged back to the staff bunks slowly, the weight of the day catching up to us all, and the spaghetti dinner had just been served when we walked in.
I ate quickly and headed back to my room when I was done. It only took me a couple of minutes to change into a pair of running pants, my tank top, and tennis shoes. I pulled a light fleece on, too, since the nights could get chilly- especially for a girl from Arizona.
Running was my solace. May had mentioned during one of our phone calls that they’d set up a nice, flat trail around the lake. It was lit by solar lights and security was present during the summer to keep me safe. I was very thankful to have somewhere to decompress. I’d started running in high school to impress some guy I crushed on who happened to be a track and field runner. He never noticed me but I realized how much I loved running. It was a great outlet for my stress and it allowed me to temporarily escape when things were rough.
After taking a lap around the lake, I took a shower and settled in my short-term room. I pulled out the cell phone that I’d only be allowed to keep for another week to text my parents and my best friend so they knew that I’d made it safe. I dropped it onto the nightstand and stared up at the dark ceiling while clutching the infinity charm that hung around my neck. Without anything to distract me, I allowed the memories of my childhood to overwhelm me.
It was a long time before I fell asleep.
Chapter Three
More people arrived the next day and our floor was full before lunch time. Hannah was the only new person out of the eight of us that hadn’t been to Camp Holcomb before and I recognized two former campers, Mike and Cameron, from my own camp days.
The first and third floors were full of counselors, too, but we didn’t get a chance to interact with them as much. Throughout the week, we did all of our training by floors and so I spent almost all of my time with Hannah, Jordan, Drew, Christy, Cameron, Mike, and Joanne. We were trained on equipment usage for the lake, the obstacle center, every zip-line, and for all of the available sports. We spent a half day on equestrian training and the second half learning the different bike trails. We learned about different health procedures, camp procedures, and the schedules and activities were taught over and over until we all had it memorized. After that, we went through wildlife training and the proper procedures for what to do if you spotted a bear.
We were dismissed to the staff bunks on Thursday night, everyone exhausted, with the promise that we had one more day of training and then we’d get Saturday off. The campers would arrive on Sunday and we would only been getting one night off every other week until camp was over.
I leaned into Hannah tiredly as we climbed the pathway back to the building in front of us and let out a tired sigh.
“I’ve never really liked hiking.”
She laughed and shook her head as she wrapped an arm around me. “Me either. At least you’re in shape from running. Even being a swimmer did nothing to prepare me for that. I feel like my legs are Jell-O.”
Someone squealed next to us and we both turned our heads to watch the girl named Christy drape herself over Drew. Apparently Christy and Drew had met the summer before when they were counselors. When she’d arrived, she had been quick to tell Hannah, Joanne, and me all about their passionate love affair during those eight weeks. They’d wasted no time reconnecting and were officially obnoxious to be around.
We all ate the baked chicken that had been prepared for us before people broke off to shower and lounge around. I went for a run before joining Hannah, Joanne, and Cameron in a game of Bullshit using a deck of cards. After about an hour, though, I glared at the large stack in my hand.
“I suck at this game.”
Cameron laughed and nodded in agreement. “You’re a terrible liar, Shay.”
“Two aces,” I said as I slid two cards forward. I avoided looking at anyone in the circle because I’d actually put down an ace and a king. When no one called me out, I breathed a sigh of relief.
Hannah had proclaimed her hand and put her cards down when I felt someone at my ear.
“Bullshit.”
I turned to see Drew bending down as he looked at my cards and I pulled back with a frown. He loved invading my personal space, probably because he knew I hated it, and I was constantly flinching away from him. The unwanted attention he gave me didn’t go unnoticed by Christy, either. She’d decided she hated me because of it and had turned into a passive-aggressive bitch.
“Can I help you?” I asked him quietly with an expectant look on my face. Drew just grinned and shrugged before backing up and walking over to the couch where Christy was.
We continued playing cards until I’d officially lost so I showered and headed to my room. I packed my stuff since we’d be getting bunk assignments and moving the next day. After that was all done, I climbed into bed and fell asleep almost instantly.
I woke up with the sun streaming in my face and let out a slight whimper as I brought my forearm up to cover my eyes. An obnoxious knocking sound on the door had me groaning as I flipped around onto my stomach.
“Yeah?”
I heard the door open slightly before Joanne’s annoying, chipper voice sounded. “Come on, Shaylee. We have water training in thirty minutes.”
I groaned again and sat up, rubbing my eyes with my fist as I did. “This time change sucks.”
“But you’re handling it so well,” Joanne deadpanned as she stared at me. “Let’s go, sleeping beauty. Put your suit on. Breakfast is in the kitchen
.”
She closed the door behind her and left me in in the room by myself. I sat on the bed for another moment before standing and grabbing my suit from the dresser where I’d left it. I put on the two piece red suit that boasted the word “Counselor” in white print across the front. Although it was a two piece, it still hid my stomach to keep us modest around the kids. I covered it with my white, lifeguard t-shirt and the matching red shorts. I gathered up my bathroom stuff and opened my door to head into the hallway.
After brushing my teeth and pulling my hair into a ponytail, I walked down to the kitchen where the sound of voices could be heard. As it came into view, I spotted Hannah, Cameron, Joanne, Jordan, and Mike all crowded in the dining area, plates of half eaten food surrounding them. I grabbed a bagel off the counter and smeared it with cream cheese before chewing it quietly, just listening to the conversations all around me.
Everyone was either dressed like me or wearing their bathing suits in some form. As I finished off my bagel, I contributed mildly to the conversation and helped clean up the kitchen. I walked towards the hallway to grab my swim bag to take with us when I spotted Drew and Christy on the balcony, their faces close as they spoke, obviously in their own bubble. I rolled my eyes and continued walking to my room to get the bag. When I returned, Christy and Drew had joined the others in the common area and we all filed out the door together.
I chatted with Hannah and Jordan as we walked towards the dock where Howard stood with two other people. Our registered nurse, Anna, and the fitness trainer, Miles, were both in their suits and smiling when we all approached.
“Good morning, counselors,” Howard said with a grin. “As you’re probably aware, we already trained the other counselors on water safety yesterday and the day before. For some of you, this may be a refresher, but it may save a life in the end so suck it up.”
Miles took a step forward and gestured to a few of the practice dummies that sat in front of him. “Hi, guys. We’re going to do first-aid training first and then Anna is going to walk you through the steps to give proper CPR. Afterwards, we’ll talk about water rescues and the best ways to go about them. Once we have it in all our heads, we’ll practice some drills.”
