Six Weeks of Camp
Disclaimer:
I don't own them. Never have,
and unfortunately never will. They belong to ABC and all that jazz.
A/N 2: After I wrote One Last
Chance, people emailed me and asked for both a counterpart containing Jessie's
thoughts, as well as a sequel. No worries, ya'll... I'm working on the
counterpart, and the sequel is coming together in my brain, however slow it's
become these days ;-). Look for it in the coming weeks... or whenever I decide
to finish this one!
Feedback: Oh
yes please! It's a writer's best friend. Besides, I'm interested to know if
ya'll think I still have my touch (er... that is if I ever had a touch to
begin with!)
Gardenia1786@yahoo.com
**********
Week 1, Sunday afternoon
"Bye, sweetie! Have a good time at camp!" My mother said as she kissed the top of my head before getting back in her car and pulling out of the camp parking lot.
Great.
6 whole weeks at camp-whatever-my-name-is-it's-too-lame-to-remember. I shook my head and grabbed my luggage that was piled around my feet. 4 big duffel bags. After all, it was 6 weeks. 6 very long weeks. Just thinking about it brings joy to my heart.
Not.
I unfolded the piece of paper that my mother had handed me before she left that had the name of my counselor and the cabin that I was staying in. Cabin 6. Sounds good enough to me.
Did I mention how cheesy it is for me to still be going to summer camp? I mean, I'm freakin 17 years old. And just because my mom is going to Europe for 5 weeks and doesn't want to take me with her (and she wasn't about to let me stay at my father's house) doesn't mean that I'm not trustworthy enough to stay home alone. It's only 5 weeks. And I'm very responsible. Well, except for that time that they left me alone for the weekend and I had my friend Tad over, and it kinda turned out to be a full on party by the end of the night, and the neighbor's complained to the police, who called my mom... and well.... yeah.
So here I am, at camp Wat-A-Nut (something from a strange Indian name.... something about land that smells like stinking swamp. I donno, smells fine to me) for 6 weeks.
I trudged along up the trail, following the signs to the different cabins. It was nice enough outside, and I'm sure the cabins were great. I love the outdoors, but just not for 6 weeks. I guess I'll have to deal. By the time I'm done today, my cabin will love me... by the end of this week, the entire camp will love me, and by the end of the 3rd week, I'll be the most popular person around. It always works that way. Everywhere. School, friends around the neighborhood... everywhere. People just cannot resist the Singer charm.
I stepped up into the cabin moments later and peered inside. It was nice enough... there were 5 bunk beds and two normal beds, and the bathrooms and showers were adjoining the cabin (which is always a good thing). I noticed my counselor (who couldn't be more than three years older than me) having an animated conversation with one of the other girls on the other side of the room, and directly to the left of me, there were two girls sitting on the bed, in deep conversation. And finally, over in the very far corner, there was a blond haired girl sitting quietly on her bed, reading something. She looked rather shy, as if she wanted to get lost in it all. The way she sat hunched over told me that she really wasn't too fond of being here either, and that she was rather used to being ignored. I figured what the heck, we both don't want to be here, may as well make at least one friend. Besides, she looks like she wouldn't mind gaining a little popularity. I sauntered over in that direction, debating whether to take the bunk on top of her's, or the bunk beside hers... tough decision... I liked the top, but it's rotten for talking... on the other hand... if she ever wanted to crawl up and talk... top may be just what I need....
And so that's what I did. I took the top bunk. I threw one of the duffels on the mattress and dropped the other's on the floor all in one fluid movement. She must not have seen me come over, because she jumped at the unexpected sound.
"God, you scared me." She said, and for the first time, I got a good look at her.
Oh my god. She was gorgeous. But she looked like she didn't know that. She had some sweet innocence about her. Her baby blue eyes stared up at me, and she had some sort of crooked grin that totally captivated me.
"Umm... sorry, I didn't mean to scare you!" I apologized quickly. I held out my hand... I really wanted to get to know this girl now.
"I'm Katie Singer." I stated, and she took my hand and shook it.
"Jessie Sammler." She replied, and I held onto her hand a little longer than what would normally seem necessary. I couldn't help but be captivated by her eyes... something about them... I don't know. I didn't want to break eye contact at all. And she looked like she didn't mind that either.
Just staring at her, I felt an instant connection... like I'd known her forever or something... yet I really wanted to get to know this girl. More than that, I wanted to know everything about her. And dare I say it? I wanted to kiss her. Yet I'd only met her.
Yeah, I've been attracted to girls before... but never like this. Never this strong. Normally, it's in passing. Like 'oh, she's hot' or something of that sort. But this was different. Jessie was different. I really really liked her. Love at first sight or something. I don't know.
All I knew was this was going to be a really good six weeks.
**********
Week 1, Thursday afternoon
"Aw, c'mon! Katie, I'm bored." I heard Jessie whine from across the table. We'd been playing my favorite camp game 'carpet ball' for the last hour and a half, and I'd just beaten her for the zillionth time. A small grin came across my face as I looked up at her and raised my eyebrow.
"Bored?" I played.
"How can one be bored from playing carpet ball?" I asked jokingly.
She rolled her eyes, "Not all of us have the same fascination with the game as you do." She said, a bit agitated still.
"Oh really?" I asked sarcastically. She shook her head and let out a little laugh.
"Yes, really."
I sighed over dramatically as I dropped one of the balls. "I guess we've played enough for today. But if I'm so boring, why do you continue to hang out with me?" I asked, half playful.... the other half, not so playful.
She looked at me for a moment, then began to walk. I followed her down the hill to a bench next to the lake.
"Jessie?" I asked. She looked over at me with a serious expression on her face.
"Because I've never had a friend like you." She paused for a moment to look over at the lake in front of us.
"Most people at my school and such know about my past and they judge my by it. They know what I've been through, and most of them really don't want to be friends with me because of it."
I did know what she was talking about. She had confided in me the night before about her battle with anorexia over the last couple of years, stating that she didn't know why she was telling me all this, but she 'felt like she could trust me'.
"It's strange," she continued, "I'm not normally this open with anyone." She looked over at me again with a contemplative gaze.
"Especially someone I've just met."
I felt close to her then, more so than I had in the few days before. We'd become fast friends... not only friends, but close friends. Best friends, almost. It was nice, I enjoyed the closeness with her. But being close to her, she began to let me in on the monsters that haunt her at night... her anorexia and lack of popularity, along with how much the divorce of her parents still hurt her.
And with each monster that I found out about, it only made me want to hold her all the closer and not let anything bad happen to her at all, because I was falling in love with her.
**********
Week 2, Monday evening
"No! Get the chocolate!" I pleaded playfully with her. We were at the snack shop, and we both wanted ice cream. She threatened earlier that she would get vanilla if I wasn't 'nice' to her because she knows that I'm such a chocohalic. Anyways, I think I was disqualified because I threw her in the lake. Imagine that.
"No! You threw me in the lake, you get vanilla!" She said as she walked up to the counter. I put on my best puppy dog face, and when that failed to work, I tickled her. But she wouldn't budge an inch. She placed the order for two vanilla ice creams and I sighed deeply.
After we picked up the ice cream she decided that she didn't want to sit in the room with the rest of the kids there so we took a walk in the forest. I was glad to get away because by this point, I was the popular one and could never seem to disappear into the background. Don't take me wrong, I love being popular, but sometimes I would enjoy a little time to myself. Not having everyone watching every move I make, or having to say 'hi' to twenty different people that I don't know.
I always enjoyed our walks, because I loved the trees outside and the plants, and the rocks, and most of the wildlife (except I had this major thing against spiders... nasty creatures).... but most of all, it meant spending alone time with her. Granted, it wasn't the type of alone time that I would prefer, but I figured I'd take what I could get.
We were about a half mile away from camp when she stopped walking, furrowed her brow, and looked down at the ice cream cone she was holding. It took me less than a couple of seconds to realize that I'd lost my traveling buddy and turn around to see what was wrong.
"Um, Jess? What are you doing?" I asked. She looked up at me and pointed to her ice cream cone with her free hand.
"It smells kind of funny.... here." She said as she held it out to me like a flower she wanted me to smell.
I don't know why I fell for that trick, it's one of the oldest in the book. But I did. And yes, I do know that gullible is written on the ceiling, for those of you who may be curious.
I smelled her ice cream.
Then I wore her ice cream. Before I knew it, she had shoved the cone onto my face and I had vanilla ice cream all around my mouth and nose. I scowled, and she attempted to stifle her laughter.... an attempt that proved in vane.
"Awww, thanks! Now what am I supposed to do? We're over a half mile away from camp, and I have this sticky, sugary ice cream stuck to my face that will now attract bugs from miles around, and I have nothing to wipe it off with..." I began my tirade. She just looked at me and smiled.
"Nothing to wipe it off with?" She asked, a small smile playing across her lips as she stepped a bit closer to me.
"Yes, nothing. I'm not using my shirt, or my sleeve, or any other article of clothing that I'm currently wearing. And I'm certainly not licking it off... I've had enough vanilla to last me for a good long time." I stated. I needed chocolate. Mom was wrong, sugar wasn't good enough for me, I needed chocolate. I think by this point it's the blood that runs through my veins. My hands were already shaking from withdrawal... or was it due to the fact that I just noticed the close proximity that Jessie was standing to me. I looked into her eyes, and when I saw the way she was looking at me, I felt my breath become shorter and shorter by the second.
"Ah, but you've forgotten one thing." She said, barely above a whisper.
"What's that?" I managed to breath out. How, I don't know. My heart was breathing so fast, and I was concentrating on her wonderfully clear blue eyes, that I was amazed that I could think at all.
"I love vanilla."
I stood there looking into her eyes as she tilted her head up and stood up on her tip toes, making her just tall enough to reach my chin. She kissed my chin slowly, enough to get the ice cream off of it before she lost her balance and had to stand flat on her feet again. By this point I had closed my eyes, relishing the feel of her lips against my skin. When I opened my eyes again, she was still standing there, looking at me nervously as well as expectantly. I flashed her my signature grin.
"I think you missed some." I said, my voice still a bit shaky and unsure of itself. I saw relief wash over her face as I bent down and closed my eyes. A moment later, I felt her lips against mine for the first time. The feeling, I can't describe. It was so wonderful and amazing and beautiful... I just... I can't find the words that would do it justice.
Her lips lingered against mine for a moment or two before pulling back a bit to look me in the eye.
"Oh my god." She said, realizing for the first time what she had just done.
"What?" I asked, already sort of knowing the answer.
"I just..." She started before trailing off. You just kissed me, that's what you want to say, isn't it? I could read in her eyes that that was what she was thinking.
"I know." And I did know. She knew that I knew, and it put her at ease... the fact that I wanted it too. She smiled up at me again.
"What?" I asked for the second time in about a minute. She smiled and shook her head.
"You've still got ice cream on your face." She said. With that statement I leaned down to make my face a bit more accessible to her and she began kissing it, beginning with my nose before moving to my cheeks and finally to my lips again. This time the kiss lasted longer, as I brought my hands up to tangle in her hair, pulling her face closer to me. She responded by deepening the kiss and wrapping her arms around my waist.
All this felt like a dream, the two of us standing in the middle of the forest, her in my arms, kissing me. I knew that I'd wanted it from the first time I saw her, but I never really expected it to happen. I didn't peg her as the kind of girl who liked other girls... but then again, others probably wouldn't peg me as that type either. I doubt she did... then again, maybe not. Maybe she'd caught the way I'd been looking at her for the past week. Maybe she felt the way I touched her hand was more than just friendship. Maybe she could sense in me the longing I felt for her. Maybe, just maybe, she felt the same longing.
Maybe that was the reason we'd become so inseparable over the last week.
TBC.....