Fix A Heart

Chapter 1

"Hi," Connor said, giving me a smile.

"Hi," I said simply, returning a small one.

"Here, Connor, I'll take the groceries." Aunt Sadie offered, taking the bags from him. "Connor, why don't you show Hadley around? I'll be in the dining hall, be back in an hour for dinner."

"Alright, Sadie," Connor said. "Come on, Hadley, I'll show you around."

I nodded, crossing my arms across my chest and bidding goodbye to Aunt Sadie. I followed Connor past the cabins and we stopped in front of the two-story house we were staying in, pointing at the room next to mine.

"That's my room, if you ever need me." he said.

"Well, I guess we're neighbors." I said, pointing at mine.

He smirked, gesturing for me to follow him as he explained the contents of Shady Oaks Summer Camp in detail.

"Well, here's the meadow. We do some of our activities here, like ultimate Frisbee, kickball, etcetera etcetera. And sometimes, we'll set up a slip and slide here."

"Cool," I said, looking around the freshly mowed meadow area.

"Now, I'll show you the woods, and then past that is the lake." he explained. "Here's the pit where we have our campfires. They're your basic roast marshmallows and sing corny campfire songs campfires."

We walked through the forest, reaching a clearing up ahead. Past the clearing was a lake, with a dock stretching out onto the water a good twenty feet before stopping so people could jump off and in.

"Wow," I breathed. "I had no idea it was so pretty here."

"You should see it at sunset or sunrise." he said. "When the sky's all pink, and the sun's coming up or going down. It's great, really."

I smiled, looking at Connor once more. I immediately felt a little sorry for wanting to hate him before I met him just because he was a boy my age. I could already tell that he was a really nice guy, and he's got no way of knowing about Eric, or anything back in Florida.

"So, where are you from, Hadley?" he asked.

"I'm from Miami." I informed him. "Have you always lived in this part of North Carolina?"

He shook his head. "I was born in Arizona. We moved when I was about four, and when I was eleven we moved out here."

"It must be nice, living out here." I mused. "It seems so quiet."

"It is," he agreed. "Except when I'm around your aunt. I'm kidding! She's like, the nicest person ever."

"Yeah," I said. "I used to come out here for a couple weeks every summer. Before she opened up the camp, she'd always take me around the area, on small little daytrips and such."

"What changed?" he asked.

I shrugged. "Just some family stuff. So, uh, what else do we do around here?" I asked, eager to change the subject.

"Well, besides the lake and the meadow, there's a couple volleyball nets over there," he said, pointing down the ways a bit where two volleyball nets sat. "But the kids don't really play volleyball while they're here, so it's mainly for us counselors."

"Nice," I said.

"Do you play?" he asked.

"Sort of." I answered. "I mean, I was never actually on a team, but my friends and I played in our freetime."

He ran over to where a ball sat next to one of the nets, picking it up and tossing it up in the air and catching it a couple times.

"Well, come on." he said. "Let's play."

"Alright," I said. "But if I hurt you it isn't my fault. I was never any good."

****

"Wow, you weren't exaggerating." he said, running after a ball I'd nearly spiked into the lake. "You really were never any good at volleyball."

"I told you!" I said, laughing. "Hey, when did Aunt Sadie say we were supposed to be back?"

He shrugged, pulling a phone out of his pocket and checking the time. "Five minutes from now." he said, putting it in his pocket and setting the ball down. "Race you to the dining hall?"

I nodded, taking off in a run through the woods, the sound of our shoes hitting the forest floor the only audible sound besides the birds flying through the trees overhead. 

"Cheater!" he accused, stopping his run, breathless, outside the dining hall.

"How did I cheat?" I asked, equally as breathless.

"You had a head start." he continued.

"Did not." I said.

"Did so!" he said.

"You are so childish." I told him, and he stuck his tongue out in response.

"Had! Connor! Dinner's ready!" Aunt Sadie called from the dining hall.

"Connor's being childish." I accused.

"Go eat your dinner, Hadley." he said, smirking.

"Fine," I agreed, putting one sneaker-clad foot in front of the other to where my plate filled with a piece of lasagna sat on one of the dining tables.

****

"Hadley! Wake up!" Aunt Sadie called through the screen door that led to my bedroom.

"Why?" I asked groggily.

"Because, the other couselors are here, and kids should start arriving within the hour!" she yelled back, and I heard her footsteps retreating back down the stairs.

Sitting up and hauling myself off of the bed, I changed into denim shorts and my 'work' uniform. A yellow tshirt with the words 'Camp Shady Oaks' in blue script. I pulled on my trusty black Converse, leaving the room and looking out over the banister to see three girls and three boys, Connor greeting them by their cars.

I took off down the steps, walking over to where they were. Connor walked over to me halfway, putting his hands on my shoulders and leading me over to them.

"Morning, Sleeping Beauty." he said when we were almost to the others, then stopped when we got there. "Guys, this is Hadley. Hadley, this is Brooke, Molly, Maddie, Luke, Brady, and Zach."