Saturday
Did I intend to have the best week of my life that week? Did I even think that the week was going to be fun? No and no. But what did happen, I'll never forget. When I look back it feels like a big dream but it did actually happen and I'll never forget it. My family decided to go to a family camp in California, a whole week of staying in a tiny cabin with my parents and my bitch of an older sister. What was I expecting? Not much honestly. Disgusting food, annoying little kids, counselors that are too perky for their own good, the like. Each age group was split into different programs, they had one for the smallest kids, then one for 9, 10 year olds, pre-teens, and what's considered the best program at Fox Hill, the teen group. Anyone aged 14-18 could participate, and we did all sorts of high adventure and water front activities, while the younger groups sang songs and performed skits.
The teen group had a separate building. It was a little lodge that was a bit old and run down, but at the same time quaint and inviting. There was a chair swing inside, a couple of windows, and some chairs and benches lining the walls. The doors were large sliding squares on the porch, and they were heavy and hard to maneuver. The outside used to be white, but was now peeling away. Past teen groups had been allowed to paint the walls on the inside, and there were names painted all over them. We had what we started to refer to as meetings in the teen lodge every morning, where we'd decide what we wanted to do that day, (three things, morning, afternoon, evening/night). Then after the final event we'd meet back in the lodge and discuss the day. It all sounds slightly cliche and corny, but it really was a great experience.
So, on Saturday night, we had our first meeting. There were probably about 30 kids or so, just about evenly split boys and girls. Most everyone in the teen group had attended Fox Hill the year before, so my sister Rachel (17 years old) and I were the only newbies. Our counselors were Jack and Dani; Jack was 22, tan, muscular, typical Californian. Dani however was from London. She was 21, with long brown hair, twinkling blue eyes and a great smile. Rachel gravitated towards the group of girls who were sitting on one side of the room, while I sat on the other side with the guys. Before she did though, she whispered to me, "Nathan, as long as we can keep it a secret, we're not related ok?" I rolled my eyes and nodded; my sister tried as hard as she could to stay separated from me, although I wasn't complaining.
Of course, being teenage boys, most of them were late. Although there wasn't exactly a set time for the meeting, they should have known they needed to be there. They finally all came filing in, but one in particular caught my eye. He was... Breathtaking? Exhilarating? Words can't exactly describe it, but my heart started to pound as he took the last available seat. Next to me. Comparing us in my head, he was probably about an inch taller than me, with curly brown hair, and chocolate brown eyes. His skin was tan, but not to the point of being orange or sunburnt, and his nose was small and adorable. Not just his nose though. Everything about him was adorable.
I knew I couldn't let it get to my head, because it was obvious that he was straight by the way he acted with his friends. He was a typical teenage boy: perverted, crude, loud. But there was something different, something I couldn't put my finger on. It was almost as if he were... uncomfortable with himself. Like something about him was a little bit off, almost as if he felt he didn't belong.
So, Jack and Dani introduced themselves, said a couple things (Dani's accent was like music washing over my ears) and then we went around the room and introduced ourselves. Rachel, of course, didn't mention anything about me being her brother, but I didn't mind. When it had come almost all the way around, some of the girls started whispering and losing focus, probably talking about what boys they thought were cute. I heard a couple "Eew him?"s and one or two "Shut up!"s, but it was mostly concealed by their whispering. So, the boys just continued to introduce themselves. Finally, there were just two of us left. Me, and-"Hi, I'm Peter, I'm 16, and this is my third year at Fox Hill." Now I knew his name and age. It was a start. I was 15, so we weren't too far apart. I introduced myself, "My name's Nathan, I'm 15, and this is my first year."
