Oak Ridge

tuesday. july 9

"Okay, the rules are simple," Eric explains. "The cones are your boundaries, don't cross them. Don't cross the center line. You get hit, you're out. If someone catches your ball, you're out. Head shots don't count."

The sun beats down on all of us as we stand out in the Field ready to get down with some dodgeball. We left it up to the campers to pick their own teams and they could choose any staff members they wanted, too.

The whole thing goes down tournament style. Girl teams and boy teams go against each other until eventually we have a champion.

Some middle school girls asked me if I would play on a team with them and, of course, I told them I would. What I didn't realize was that we'd be put up against a team with Princeton and, surprisingly, Johnny.

We're toast.

"Penelope, do you think we can win?" One of my teammates asks me.

No.

"Yeah, sure," I say, nodding. "I believe in us."

Lies.

We step back and Adam blows his whistle for us to start. A few of my girls race towards the line to grab the dodgeballs and get throwing. I'm impressed as some of them peg some boys and I'm even more impressed with myself as I manage to stay in the game.

My team of girls slowly dwindles down to three of us up against four guys, included Princeton and Johnny. One of my girls catches a ball but gets hit soon after and heads to the sidelines. The other girl makes a lucky shot and gets a boy out, leaving just Princeton and Johnny.

Oh we're about to die.

I know for a fact their not just going to nail a middle school girl so I prepare myself to get hit. Princeton gets a ball and looks right at me before letting it fly.

By some miracle of God the ball hits me square in the chest, allowing me to catch it. Across the line I see Johnny scrambling around for a ball.

This is your chance, Penny. You could win something for once.

I throw my ball as hard as I can, hoping to hit him in the back or something, but he stands up earlier than I thought so if nails him right in the, uh, grandkids.

He hits the ground as all the campers around us erupt into cheers. I look around at all the counselors who share the same worries expression.

He's probably so mad.

I leave the area to go talk to Chase as soon as I see that Johnny is up and okay. Chase looks like he's staying his hardest not to laugh when I get to him.

"Do you think he's mad at me?"

"Uh, Penny—"

I don't hear the rest of his sentence as I get thrown over someone's shoulder. I recognize the shoes of my attacker and I relax a little bit.

"Penelope Travis, you are so dead," Johnny laughs as he puts me back down. "That hurt like a bitch you know."

"Yes, I know and I'm so sorry," I say, trying not to laugh. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah I'm good, Pen, don't worry about it. That was an impressive shot, honestly."

"Well I'm glad you're not mad at me," I sigh.

"I could never be mad at you," he says. "You're like the only one here that really knows me."

◾️◾️◾️

A boys team ended up winning the tournament. It really wasn't a surprise considering they had both Myles and Blake playing with them. Other than my team's crippling loss, the rest of the day was pretty nice. Mary Anne's team is back in the lead with points, though.

Eric dismisses is from Camp Meeting and on my way out the door I feel a tap on my shoulder. Behind me, one of the girls in my group stands behind me looking pretty concerned.

"Hey, Lydia. What's up? You okay?"

"I just, uh, need to talk to you about something," she says.

"Oh, okay."

I try not to look uncomfortable as I find somewhere for us to sit and talk. In my years as a counselor I haven't had many kids open up to me. Most of the time they just see me as a leader, not someone they can trust with secrets or struggles.

"So, uh, what's on your mind?" I ask, nervously. "You don't have to be afraid—"

"My dad's leaving us."

"Oh."

Really, Penelope, is that the best you can come up with?

"My mom doesn't talk about it at all and I can tell they're both trying to keep it from me, but they don't know that I know everything that's going on. I know my dad cheated on my mom and I know he's been staying in the guest room and—"

She cute herself off as she bursts into tears and instantly and kind of training I've hados thrown out the window and I have no clue what to do. If Mary Anne we're here she'd be all nice and comforting and know exactly what to say. If Mallory we're here she'd have some kind of inspiring speech that somehow relates back to girl power or something.

But I'm just Penelope, stuck here not knowing what to do.

Let's just go with it.

"You know, Lydia, I have no idea what to say and I have no idea why you chose to come to me with this," I explain as gently as possible. "But if it makes you feel any better, my mom left when I was three. Me and my dad and my sister had no clue why. We just woke up one day and she was gone."

"Well I think I'd rather have that than know that my dad's a liar."

"But you know that your dad still loves you. I don't even remember my mom."

"Oh."

"Yup," I sigh. "I don't know where she is. I can't go see her, can't call her, and I honestly don't know if she's alive right now."

"That's pretty awful."

"Yeah it is. It sucks to know that I only have one parent that actually cares about me. And I think the reason your parents try to keep you out of all this is because they care about you more than themselves," I say. "You know if they were really selfish they'd fight in front of you or drag you into their mess."

"You think?"

"Yeah, I do. I also think that maybe they sent you here as a little distraction from what's going on at home. Do you know Kayanna? She's from Emily's group."

Lydia nods. "Yeah our bunks are next to each other."

"I'm technically not supposed to tell you this, but she's going through a situation pretty close to yours right now."

"Seriously?"

"Mhm. Maybe you and her could talk about it? Get each other's phone number, become friends? She might be someone you could relate to," I suggest, mentally patting myself on the back for remembering.

Point one, Penelope.

"You think so?"

"Yeah! I think she'd be great to talk to. Not that I don't really appreciate you coming to me, but the whole point of this summer is for you to have a great time and meet other kids. Everyone here has a story, Lydia, even us counselors," I say. "You never know what someone else is going through until you ask, though. So the best way for you to find someone your own age to relate to is making some friends."

"I guess."

"So how about we go to the cabin and tomorrow you talk to Kayanna and tell me how it goes, deal?"

"Deal."

"Now get some sleep, camper. Gotta be up early."