By the time Hollie caught up to Robert he was already halfway to his cabin. "Robert! Wait!" She hollered.
He turned quickly. "What's up? Is something wrong?" He asked. Hollie hugged him. "Why didn't you tell me that your dad is Steve Irwin?" She asked.
Robert looked down. "I wanted you to get to know me for me before you knew about my fame. People treat you different when they know you're famous." He told her.
"Isn't that a good thing?" She asked. Robert shook his head "Not always. Girls like to act like they know me when they don't really know me. It's nice sometimes to be famous... but when they know about your fame...."
Hollie looked at him and finished his sentence. "It's hard to tell if they actually love you." Robert nodded. Hollie smiled softly. "Listen, they're having a campfire tonight. You should join me. We can sit around and talk. Have some s'mores" She said.
"I'd like that. Thank you." He replied.
Later that night Robert sat around the fire with his cabin mates, Chandler, his Sister, and the kids from her cabin. He hadn't really talked to anyone other than the three people he knew. Hollie had gone over to talk to other friends. Leaving Robert with Chandler.
Chandler looked concerned. "Robert, you need to make some friends bud. Come on. Talk to someone." He encouraged. Robert shook his head. "I'm not really into making friends right now, Chandler." He said back.
Chandler sighed "Dude, we've been here for TWO days. I promised your mom you'd make some more friends. Now's a good opportunity to do so."
Every now and then Robert got into these slumps where he just didn't feel like speaking to anyone. He rubbed his eyes. At the moment he felt as though he couldn't relate to these other teens.
He loved a lot of the same things they did. Mountain biking, Music, Photography.... but none of them really related to him when it came to parents. They all had two. He had one.
He THOUGHT none of them related to him. Until a teen boy around the age of 17 came up to him. "I'm Sam. You're sitting here alone. I thought I'd come say hi."
Robert shook his hand. "Robert." He told him. Sam nodded. "How old are you? I'm 17." He asked. Robert smiled softly "16."
"I see.... so what brings you to camp?" Sam asked. Robert sighed as he puts his hands on his lap "my mum wants me to make more friends...." Sam laughed "mine too." He replied.
Sam played with a small soccer ball in his hands. "My dad and I played with this a lot when I was a kid." He told Robert. Robert looked at him with a soft smile. "That's Cool."
"Do you wanna kick it around with me?" He asked. "Oh... no. No that's ok. Thanks though." Robert replied with hesitation.
"You look like you could use a friend... and my mum always says to try. Please? You don't have to. It'd just be nice to talk." Sam told him.
Robert agreed to kick the ball around with him. He eventually did open up to Sam while doing so. Explaining his struggle with accepting his father's death.
"Some days the grief hits hard and I get into a mood. So it's not you. I promise. It's just my feelings." Robert said.
Sam had curly brown hair and brown eyes. He moved a lock of hair out of his face. "I understand. I lost my dad too. I was 6."
"All this time I wasn't sure anyone else understood. It's good to know that someone does." Robert said.
Soon everyone had to head back to their cabins, luckily Sam and Robert had the same one.
Robert smiled as he walked. He had made a new friend.
A/N Please let me know if you'd like to know more about Sam's background. You know, what he looks like, where he came from, and what happened to his dad. Things like that.
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Summer Camp
FanfictionCamp. A word Robert loved. Ever since he was a little boy he had loved an adventure and the outdoors. So when his Mom Terri told him he'd be going to camp this summer, he was thrilled. But it doesn't turn out quite as he expected.
