Camp Waters

Chapter 5: The Taste of Snarky Bitch

It was the taste of snarky bitch.

"She restrained me, told me I couldn't hang out with friends, always blew up my phone with 'where are you' and just made my life a living hell." I could feel the sadness come over him, making me instinctively place my hand on his shoulder.

Cathy was Jackson's first and only girlfriend, they dated in freshman year all up into the beginning of junior year. You'd hardly believe freshman Cathy and Junior Cathy were the same person if it wasn't for her trademark beauty spot above her lip. Cathy used to be the poster child for "comic book nerd" and was the sweetest girl anyone could meet. She dressed in jumpers and flannels, always putting her hair up in messy buns and not caring what people thought of her.

She dressed like me.

Then over the summer leading to her junior year, she changed. It was like ignorance hit her with a brick, she decided what she looked like mattered and being flawless in the eyes of others was the only thing important. Especially having the most perfect boyfriend to shame us regular human beings.  She wanted to be a living barbie and Jackson to be her Ken.

Jackson could never be a Ken.

They eventually broke up and Jackson decided hooking up with every single human being with a vagina was a better way to cope then feeling actual emotions.

"Not all girls are like that Jackson."

"Seems like it's hard to find one that's not." I was ready to intervene but decided it was best to keep my mouth shut.

What did I know about love?

"Stop being a sappy enchilada," he said shoving me lightly on the shoulder. "Want to hang with my friends on Friday? We're all playing baseball really early in the morning before breakfast. "

"Will there be enchiladas involved?"

"On the contrary BJ, the only plate you'll be wiping is the plate of disappointment." he said ruffling my hair around aggressively.

"Okay first of all, that had to be the most aggravating thing you've ever said. And second, I told you to stop calling me BJ." I said pushing him away from me.

"Why? It's the name of a restaurant." He said holding back a smile.

What an asshole.

We finally went back to our cabins and me, being the procrastinator I am, flopped onto bed without changing out of my clothes or brushing my teeth. Indi was the only one still awake, quietly reading her dramatic spanish novel "Love in the time of Cholera."

I would never understand the urge to read romance novels, they were completely unrealistic and gave all readers a bar of romance that no man will ever reach.

But I watch The Notebook on repeat so who am I to judge.

Every now and then I could hear Indi yell something along the lines of "Florentino Ariza no! Tell Fermina how you truly feel Florentino."

After learning to ignore Indiana's dramatic gasps and pauses, I was finally dozing off into sweet blissful sleep...

                                • • •
I woke up coughing.

"Why is it so white?"

"I can't see"

"It looks like somebody decided to bake a cake and had a mental breakdown."