The Willow Creek Lodge sat in the middle of a forest resplendent with the fall colors of red to brown. The multi-hued leaves waved cheers of welcome in the late morning air as the bus slowed to a stop. Ethan loved the vivid reminder of autumn by the trees. His home was in an evergreen mountain, and it was rare to see such an extensive display of non-verdant colors.
I wouldn't mind a long walk through this forest. It's... soothing.
The driver parked in front of a barn-sized hall cradling the cul-de-sac driveway. It was built entirely of thick logs with two smaller buildings flanking its sides.
"Ok, we're here," a teacher announced and, together with the other staff volunteers, hustled the Snow Pines students off the buses.
While Ethan stretched out his long limbs, a group of coordinators in bright orange sweatshirts came out of the hall to welcome them. The logo on their shirts was a green willow tree with a stream running underneath.
"Welcome, to Camp Willow Creek," a pudgy man began. His high exuberant voice had Ethan wincing. "We're so glad to have you all here. I'm Camp Supervisor Morris, and these are ..."
It's too early for him to be this hyper.
Ethan glanced down at Emily, whose look of grimace echoed his thoughts.
"This is the assembly hall," continued the energetic guide, after introductions." It also serves as the dining hall. If you come this way, the bathrooms are right behind. Boys on one side, girls on the other. Beyond that are the tents. The blue ones are for students, red for camp officers. If the boys would follow me, I'll show you your assigned spaces. Ladies, kindly follow Camp Officer Molly."
Emily wiggled her fingers in a quick goodbye and started walking towards a short-haired woman waving the girls over.
Ethan threw his backpack over his shoulders and shuffled along with the other students after their tour guide.
The tents were arrayed in perfect rows and columns, and each could take at most two people. Red canvas liberally dotted the sea of blues, and the vanguard warriors who had escorted them were already settling in.
A section of the accommodations was reserved for the boys of Snow Pine High. As soon as the guide indicated the area with an outstretched hand, there was a mad dash for tents as students scrambled to get a prime spot or bunk with their buddies.
Ethan walked to one of the tents set on the edge of the array. None of the boys wanted to be with him anyway. Wondering where Zyga's would be, he scanned the crowd for the distinct red-head, but he could not find him in the heads bobbing and weaving around.
He tossed his bag inside the red triangular canvas and popped his head in. The small tent contained two sleeping bags and little space for anything else. Ethan eyed the bed skeptically. It did not look long enough for him to stretch out his legs.
Before he could confirm his suspicions, an announcement split through the air. "Assembly in ten minutes. Wash your hands and move to the main hall.
Many grumbled, including Ethan. After hours on the bus, his legs felt cramped. He had planned to walk off the fatigue by exploring the surroundings, not sitting down again.
His tent was one of the furthest from the assembly hall. As he walked by, he saw a group of boys clowning. They looked to be about his age but what caught his eye was that he recognized none of them. A tall, dark boy, also unfamiliar, ran through, shoving them aside. And the group gave chase.
'Probably students from the oh-great-and-famous Gray Oaks High,' he thought. 'Where's Emily? Bet she's fangirling somewhere.'
The main hall was lined with rows and rows of long tables and benches with a platform raised at the front. And a swarming crowd filled these seats, buzzing with energy. There were far more boys than Ethan had arrived with. The students of Gray Oaks had nearly doubled the number of campers.
Emily saw him first and waved him over.
Just as he sat, their guides clapped their hands to quiet the hall down and started going over camp rules.
Ethan listened with half an ear because the tantalizing smell of food wafted into his nostrils. His stomach gave a rebellious growl, and Emily arched an eyebrow at him.
He shrugged. He had not eaten anything since dawn.
Thankfully, the camp supervisor kept his spiel short, and the coordinators wheeled in two food lines on opposite ends of the hall. They were to be served buffet-style, which was perfect for Ethan.
Following Emily to the offerings like a tamed giant, he piled a small mountain onto his plate before settling back down. Potatoes, peas, beef, sausages, drumsticks, asparagus... He sampled each and every dish at the buffet.
"Who let the pigs out?" Emily scoffed, noting his plate. "You know there'll be food for tonight and tomorrow as well."
Ethan shrugged his shoulders. "I'm hungry."
Then he went back to stuffing his face. He could not be bothered with keeping up appearances.
"Yeah, ok, Hulk."
After clearing more than three-quarters of his plate, Ethan raised his head, ready to interact with the rest of the world. Emily, he noticed, was picking at her food. Her eyes darted left, and Ethan traced her line of sight to the end of the table across from them. Three boisterous students from Gray Oaks sat there.
He tapped her plate, grinning. "Which one?"
A rosy pink dusted the sides of her face, but she ignored him, going back to her meal.
Ethan studied the trio.
One was struggling to retrieve his stolen juice box from the biggest of the lot, a tall Afro-Canadian with shoulders to match Ethan's. At the same time, another short-haired boy pilfered the victim's cheesecake. The second petty thief caught him watching, and he bopped his head in greeting without a shadow of shame.
Ethan returned the salute, amused at their antics. They reminded him of Cody and Damien.
After lunch, the students were to split into four groups for a ten-mile circular hike, bringing them back to camp. Ethan welcomed the activity, patting his distended but satisfied belly. He needed to work some of it off.
To encourage team building, the coordinators encouraged the two schools to mix up. Grabbing Emily's arm, Ethan shuffled his way towards the three boys she had been ogling.
She clasped a hand over her mouth, her eyes wide. And he smiled, putting a finger on his lips for her to be quiet. When the groups broke up, they ended up on the same squad as the boys. And Ben Ryden was in another.
Of course, Zyga standing close to Ben had nothing to do with it.
Their group began to move. Ethan kept them right behind Emily's target, then leaned in to ask again, "Which one?"
This time, she was more forthcoming. "Blond hair."
Ethan rolled his eyes, "Typical fuck-boy material."
Emily's crush was the one being bullied at lunch. Blond, blue-eyes, delicate features. He looked every inch the stereotypical pretty boy. She jabbed him in the rib.
"Ow!" Ethan winced, holding the affected area and bending slightly over.
Emily gasped, "OMG, I'm so sorry. I totally forgot."
Though unintended, his cry alerted the three in front of him.
"You ok, man?" the short-haired petty thief asked.
Then, Ethan got an idea. He shook his head, edging away from Emily with an exaggerated scared look on his face. As expected, one of them stepped closer to check, worry drawing lines on his brow. It was the blond.
Ethan scooted behind him. Then, he nudged him forward toward Emily as if using the other boy's body as a shield.
"My cousin is trying to kill me." He pointed at Emily. Her eyes widened, taken aback.
Pretty-boy assessed her diminutive form, then Ethan's towering height, and raised an eyebrow. The other two snickered behind him.
"I wasn't!" Emily shook her head, her eyes shifting from Ethan to the Gray Oak student. Ethan almost laughed. Emily had missed the "cousin" part in her confusion.
"I don't care. I'm not walking beside you," he stated, carrying on the pretense.
She gasped, stepping back. Her bewilderment gave off the right hint of helplessness on her face, which prompted pretty-boy to intervene. "It's ok. He looks fine. I'll walk with you. I'm Josh."
Emily and Josh took the lead. Ethan hoped pretty-boy would keep his friend from staying too mad at him.
He turned to the other two, straightening up.
"Ethan," he introduced himself.
"Are you for real?" asked the dark-skinned one. He was similar to Ethan in height and build.
"Eri," said the other, shaking his head. Eri was smaller and reminded Ethan of Zyga's wiry frame, perfect for a tracker. "He's Brent."
"That move was wack as hell." Brent went on. He was the juice bandit from lunch, while Eri was the petty thief.
"It worked, though," And Ethan pointed to the couple leaving them behind.
"Touche," the tall guy conceded, and they started walking to catch up.
A/N
Hi lovelies, thanks for reading.If you loved it don't forget to vote, comment and add to your library.
Camp lovers, stand up!
I would love to here your feedback on the story in general and this chapter in particular.
What did you like?
And what didn't you like?
What did you think about the characters: Brent and Eri?
Next chapter is already being edited. I will post it in a couple of days.
Ciao!