Clothes.
Check.
Toothbrush.
Check.
All other dental items.
Check
Makeup.
Check.
Brandy.
Oh my god I lost Brandy. I can't show up without Brandy. I begin to frantically look around the house. Up and down the stairs, all around my room, I even checked the bathroom.
I run around the corner of the hallway towards the living room and run into dad who is holding Brandy by his neck, "Missing something?" He helps me up off of the ground that I fell straight onto with my butt in the most hyper, frantic, and embarrassing way ever. As long as I get all of my awkwardness out now everything will be fine.
I take my bass, Brandy, from dad with a small thank you emitted from my mouth. I carefully walk back upstairs to put Brandy away so I can put my final things in the van and head out the door for the summer. I tuck the strap under Brandy after setting him into my case, put all my stubby and felt pics in the small pouch of the case, and zip up the case.
I grab Brandy and the remaining half of my bags from my room, the rest are already in the van, and grab my Heatstroke flyer off of my desk before heading down stairs. Dad enters the house with a sigh and shuts off one remaining light, "Ready?"
"Yep," I reply a little too eagerly and hand him one bag from my hands that was weighing me down. Dad was going to stay at my aunt Rachel's house for the 6 weeks that I'm going to be at camp Heatstroke.
Camp Heatstroke is a sleep away band camp for kids ages 13-17. It's a camp that teaches kids about the music industry and other forms of entertainment. There are groups for dancing, singing, business and management, and music.
I've been old enough to go to camp Heatstroke for the past two summers but dad, a former lead singer/guitarist of this 80's/90's rock band called Just Around the Corner, thought I was too immature and adolescent to handle the kids, teachers, and what ever else the camp had to offer me. Something about how he was going to raise me the way he wished his father would have raised him.
It is safe to say I am completely stoked to learn more about music. Dad said mom and him tried to make my fetus days as musical as possible to ensure I would love music. Music was so special to them that they wanted it to be a part of my life as well. Dad doesn't talk about mom very often, so I make sure to shut up and listen when ever he does.
My mom left my dad when I was 6 weeks old. From what dad told me, they seemed fairly happy before the day she left, so he didn't see her absence coming. Of course he was devastated and I'm not exactly excited she left but I'm kind of glad she left before I could get to know her. After all, ignorance is bliss.
As soon as the van is packed up and dad and I are in the front of the van all buckled up and ready to go I make sure to put a Bowling for Soup CD in the car and play it pretty loud. Dad rolls down the windows and we jam out for almost two of the entire 8 hour drive before I fall asleep with The Beetles playing in the background.
***
"Hey, kiddo,"
I feel a nudge on my shoulder.
"Hey, James,"
I roll away from the pestering sensation on my left arm.
"Jammie, we're almost at camp." dad says.
We are almost at camp...
Camp..
Camp Heatstroke!
I immediately sit up straight and look out the passenger window. We are still on the freeway and it's about 2 p.m. I look to my left and see my dad grinning from ear to ear, chuckling at my excited actions. "We are about 20 minutes away and I wanted to give you time to wake up and adjust. I mean how embarrassing would it be to show up with drool on your face and-" I cut him off by nudging his shoulder and laughing along.
By now, Van Halen is playing and everything seems almost like a dream. We drove from Reno, Nevada all the way to Los Angeles, California. I assumed Los Angeles would be a little more beautiful, but I'm not picky. It seems to be really windy and hot but coming from Nevada this isn't anything I can't handle.
I pull down the mirror in the sun visor and fix my messy bed head and we pull up into a parking lot with covered in sand with logs provided as parking space dividers. We are on top of an elevated hill with a large campus with an outdoorsy feel to it. I put back up my sun visor and go to open my door before my dad stops me, "James," I make eye contact with him to show him I'm listening and he continues,
"I want you to have fun, but also be safe." I groan and reply, "Of course, nothing I haven't heard before." He gives me a small smile, "Ok, love you, Jammie." He pulls me in for a kind of awkward but reassuring hug over the middle console.
We get out of the car and he helps me bring my bags to my designated cabin, Blue Cabin Room 17, and we place the bags in a corner. I don't want to settle my things down yet before sleep arrangements are made between my roommates and me. Check in is at 2:45, so we have about 10 minutes by the time we are done emptying the van of my items.
Dad and I decide to go talk to a guy named Sebastian, a musician he apparently knows from his days in being in a band. As we walk across the campus, many kids (and some adults too) are staring at my dad. It's obvious they don't want to be caught staring so I look away from them, but I fail at containing my smile.
We approach a man with a small beard and ripped jeans holding a clipboard with a focused look on his face as he tries to figure something out on his piece of paper. "Hey, Sabby, long time no see!" my dad beams. Sebastian looks up from his clip board and a huge smile is replaced on his once focused face, "Hey, Joey!" They exchange that weird man hug that I'll never understand.
"I was just seeing the last name Green on my list here and I was thinking 'No, it can't be. You know how many people's last name are Green?' But, here you are, man!" Sebastian says. Their smiles never seem to fade. "Ya," my dad speaks, "This is my daughter Jammie." I politely smile at Sebastian and shake his hand. "I could tell, you guys have the same light hair and blue eyes." he replies.
"Well, uh," Sebastian says, "always glad to have another brilliant Green family member here. Your father was quite the musician." "So I've heard." I reply.
We are interrupted by a counselor speaking into a loud speaker informing all parents that they must say their final goodbyes to their children and students to meet at the check-in booth in 5 minutes with their forms. "Well I better get going, I need to get things started with check-in and all." Sebastian says before shaking my dad's hand, "Nice to meet you again, Jammie." "You too." I smile and wave.
Sebastian is gone and it leaves just my dad and me. "I suppose your too old for our famous Green goodbye." my dad comments. Our famous green goodbye is where we do this whole hug thing with the sentimental comments and emotions, and though I want to give him a Green goodby he knows he'll be getting a simple hug, but I can tell that's enough for him.
We hug for a good 5 long seconds, but it feels like its over before it should be. I've grown up my whole life with my dad right by my side, but I know ill see him in a little over a month and i promised to call and text him to update him on how I'm doing.
He leaves and I watch as his van drives away. I get into the check-in line with the rest of the kids and though I'll miss my dad, I am very excited to finally be at camp Heatstroke.
