Last Summer

02. Myles

Myles

I moved to Camp Wilde Woode when I was six.

My parents divorced. My mom wanted a fresh start.

So, when she heard about the job opening, she jumped at the opportunity. She'd been a camper there herself. She used to drone on and on about how magical it was, and she convinced herself this was what we needed.

Our fresh start turned out to be over two hundred acres of woods; nothing but damp air and no people.

Looking back, I think that was the point.

The solitude was something I'd never experienced.

That year I had four months before the camp would be filled with hundreds of girls.

The first month I was terrified. It was too dark, too quiet, too lonely.

I only explored close to our house, high up on the edge of the property. Six-year-old me thought I would get eaten by a bear.

But over the following three months, I grew bolder and ventured out in a wide arc.

I discovered the waterfall all the way in the northwest corner, the eagle nest to the northwest, and the southern most point of camp, which was the closest point I could be to my dad in Georgia.

I'd stand there wishing he'd walk out of the woods to scoop me up and take me back home. I wanted my old bed. My old house. My old basketball court in the driveway.

But then six-year-old me slowly turned into eleven-year-old me, who finally realized that my dad was an asshole.

That was the summer I got my first "girlfriend." Not that that term really meant anything to me.

It was always best not to let anyone in too much, and eventually, camp—in the off season—became my favorite place in the world.

"This is boring," Liam said, tossing his controller in front of his feet.

I launched him off the Super Smash Bros. platform, but it wasn't as satisfying when you didn't earn it. "What do you want to do?"

"I haven't seen anything but your house—which is awesome, by the way. It was too dark to see anything outside last night when we drove in—so I can't comment on that. And I haven't seen a single girl."

I leaned back in my blue bean bag. "They got here this morning. Try not to sound so desperate."

I was already second guessing my invitation.

Liam wasn't a bad looking guy. In fact, I'd say he had no problem getting a girl's attention. He had that dark features/contrasting bright blue eyes thing that girls constantly fawned over. His problem was keeping it—because the longer he kept talking, the more ridiculously needy he sounded.

I thought this might be good for him—ease up on the pressure and nerves he felt back at school to always get everything right. It wouldn't matter if he screwed up a couple times. He'd never see any of these girls again. Never mind the fact that I'd never had a friend here over the summer. I felt an obligatory instinct to take him under my wing.

"Right," he said. "But we've been playing video games all day. So, where are they?"

I rolled my eyes and looked at my watch. "Orientation, I think. We'll go down there when it's time for lunch."

"How long?" he asked.

"Dude, chill," I laughed. "You're going to be here for three months." I clapped my hands together. "We've been over this. No one likes clinginess. Tone it down, and you'll have zero problems. There's over a hundred counselors and only two of us. The odds are in your favor. So, you can screw it up a few times."