I climb down the stairs. I am wearing white shorts with a purple shirt. The shoulders of the shirt have tears in them. On the front of the shirt there is a pink heart and under it says “Love”. I am wearing my white nike sneakers. My hair is up in a ponytail like always. I never wear it down anymore. The last I did was at my school dance last year. But my hair was short then.
I spot Jack with a group of boys that look familiar. I notice Jason and Simon right away. Some of them are either go to our school after I left or go to a different town.
I walk toward them. Jack spots me. “Hey. There you are,” Jack says once I am close enough. I smile. Some of the boys are checking me out. “So. Who is your friend, Jack?” One of them says. He has blond hair and brown eyes. he winks at me. I roll my eyes. “Some you should remember Jessica. Also known as JJ. Rings a bell?” Jacks says. Some of the guys that look familiar eyes go wide. “That’s Jessica. I thought that’s one of Madison’s minion,” One of them says. He has black hair and brown eyes. And he has tan skin. “Hey. Madison is hot,” Another one of them says. I roll my eyes. “No. She is a girl who doesn’t act like herself,” I mumble. Some of them laugh. I don’t know how that is funny. “Now that sounds like the old JJ,” One of them says. I think it is Simon. “JJ, you should mostly remember Jason and Simon,” Jack says as points to both of them. They are the guys I thought they were. I smile. “It’s nice seeing you guys again,” I say. “Nice seeing you too,”Jason says. I spot Madison coming our way. She is glaring at me. She grabs my arm with a tight grip. “Let me go,” I say. I yank my arm away. She glares at me. “We need to talk. Now,” she hisses at me. I look at all the guys. I sigh. “Fine,” I say. I follow her upstairs. She looks around to make sure no one is here. She pins me to the wall. “What did I tell you before you left to move, Jessica. I told you to stay away from the guys,” She scowls at me. I shove her away. “That was 8 years ago. I don’t let you push me around anymore Madison. That was before. This is now,” I shove her out of the way. I walk down the stairs. “You get back here Jessica! I am not done talking!” She yells in front of everyone. I don’t go back to the group of boys. I open the doors to the cabin and walk out. The mist touches my skin and makes it hard to breathe. I head toward the woods. I spot a trail and start running it. I always liked running. I wish Madison would just disappear from my life.
After a while, the mist has lifted and I have stopped by the lake. I love the view. I start to think if I should head back. Would Madison be there though? Maybe so. I won’t find out tell I get back. I run back toward the cabin. I open up the door. I look around. Madison is no where in sight. I take a deep breathe of relief. Someone taps on my shoulder. I turn around to find Simon. “Hey Simon,” I say with a sigh. “What was that all about?” he asks. “She was yelling at me saying stay away from the guys. Saying that I am stealing them away from her,” I say with a sigh. “Really?”Simon says with a shocked face. I nod. “What can I do? She use to bully me when I lived here,” I say. “So that’s why you always insulted her,” he says with a smile. I smile and nod. “I think that’s why I was insulting her. I don’t remember a lot. I hit my head and lost some parts of my memory,” i say. Simon winces. “That must have sucked,” he admits. I nod. “It did,” I say.
I hear the doors open and close behind me. I turn around to find Jack and the group of boys from earlier. They are all laughing. “What that about? Back there?” Jack asks. “I’ll tell you later,” I reply. “Hey, we are going to the pool later. You should come,” one of them says. I shrug. “Sure. And who are you?” I ask him. “My name is Jacob,” he replies with a smile. “Nice meeting you,” I smile at him. “So where is the pool?” I ask Simon. “By the lake,” Simon replies. I nod. “Hey. Do you still like watching football?” Jason asks. I roll my eyes. “What type of question is that. Of course I still watch football. Who wouldn’t?” I say with a smile. “I heard there is a game a in 15 minutes,” one of the boys I haven’t met says. “We could watch it down here,” Simon says. I look at the t.v. down here. It’s a 60 inch. “Not big enough,” I say. “You're right,” Jason says. “We could go to your room JJ. Don’t you have an 80 inch?” Jake adds. I nod. “I don’t mind. I have everything you guys need in there,” I say. Jason checks his watch. “Well lets hurry up and get there. Game start in less than 10 minutes,” Jason says. “Meet me in my room. Room 24,” I say.
I quickly climb up the stairs. I open my door and I keep it open. I take out a sofa and some chairs. I grab the t.v. and change it to the football channel. I quickly pull down the see through curtains on my bed. To embarrassing. I throw them in my drawers. I go to the fridge and grab a root beer. I open it and take a sip.
Jake is the first one in. “Are you mad at me since I suggested your room to watch football?” he asks me. I shake my head. “I was thinking about using my room anyways,” I say. “So before all the guys come in, what was that about with Madison?” he asks me. I sigh. “Since I was hanging out with the boys, she yelled at me saying to keep that stupid promise about me staying away from them,” I say. He shakes his head. “That was 8 years ago. You aren’t suppose to follow it for that long,” Jake says. I nod. “That’s what I told her that made her all mad,” I say. “No more talking about this. We are suppose to be watching a game, not talking about a brat like Madison,” I add with a smile. He smiles at me.
All the guys start trailing in right when the game starts. It’s the Patriots vs Giants. I am going for The Patriots. They are my favorite team. Well, except for the 49er’s. “This is an awesome room JJ,” Jacob says. “Thanks. My dad paid this place extra money to have my room decorated,” I say. “Want something to drink?” I ask him. “Do you have any beer?” he asks me. I nod. I go to the fridge and take out a beer. I toss it to him. “Thanks. You should have a party here sometime before camp is over,” Jacob says. I shrug. “I might have a party. Never thought about that,” I say.
When it is half time there is a knock on the door. “I’ll get it,” one of the guys I met named Colby says. He opens the door. “Who is it?” I ask as I go toward the door. The first thing I see is Madison. She looks pist. “What do you want?” I ask her. “You promised,”she growls at me. I raise an eyebrow. “That was 8 years ago. Like I said before, I don’t listen to you anymore. Now leave us alone. We are watching a game,” I tell her. She gives me a glare. She looks at Colby. She does her puppy eyes. “Can you let me in? I have to chat to my friend,” she ask. Colby looks at me at the corner of his eyes. I shake my head. “Don’t let her in. And I am not your friend Madison. Never was and never will,” I say to her. Colby shuts the door in her face. I roll my eyes and walk back to one of the bar stools. “Who was it?” Jason ask. “The devil’s assistant,” I mutter. He laughs. I smile at my comment.
“I never thought that game would end,” I tell Jack. “Me too. So we are meeting you at the pool,”Jack ask. I nod. “Yeah. Meet you there in 10 minutes. If I could find it early make it in 5 minutes,” I say with smile. Jack laughs. “Meet you there,” He says as he shuts the door. I go and put my bikini under my clothes. It is the color blue so it matches my eyes. I grab a towel and head to the pool.
It takes me 5 minutes to find the pool. I go into the girls changing room. I take of my t-shirt and jeans off. I slip my flip flops that I put on off. I set them in a locker. I go outside. The sun heats my skin instantly. I spot Jake and the others in the pool. Simon runs toward the pool and does a cannonball. It splashes my ankles. The water is nice a cold. Jack looks at me. “You are actually on time,” He tells me. I roll my eyes. I go and sit on one of the chairs. I place my towel on it. “Aren’t you coming in?” Jake ask me. “I will come in in a while but not right now. Okay?” I say. he nods. He goes over to his group of guys. I spot Madison by the pool. She is checking out all the guys while she gets a tan. I take a deep breathe.
All of a sudden there is a pair of wet hands on my arms. The sudden coldness makes me shudder. Jacob grabs my legs. Jack is holding my arms. “What are you guys doing?” I yell. They smile. They pick me up like they were swinging me side to side with my legs and arms. They bring me toward the pool. “Don’t you dare!” I yell. They toss me into the pool. I let myself float deeper then I push myself toward the surface. I take a deep breathe when I reach it. “You guys are so going to owe me!” I yell at them with a smile at my face. I grab Jack’s and Jacob’s ankles and make them fall into the water. They make water splash everywhere with their weight. I laugh. They come to the surface. “Chicken fight!”one of the boys yell. Someone grabs my ankles. Next thing I knew, I was on Simon’s shoulders. Jake is on Jason’s shoulders. “This seem so familiar,” I say to Jack with a smile on my face. “This time you are going down,” Jack says. “Are you ready?” Simon asks. “Yep,” I say. One of the boys on my left yell,”Fight!” Simon walks forward. Jack pushes me. Simon almost falls but catches his self. I slam my shoulder into Jack. He falls backward a little. I smile and push him again. he falls backward and as he does I say,”Bye” with a smile on my face. Jack and Jason make a big splash when they fall into the water. All the boys are cheering and laughing. Simon sets me down. Jack and Jason come over to me. “See. I win again. Far and square,” I say with a smile. “You slammed your shoulder into me,” Jack says with a smile. “There aren’t any rules for that,” I tell him. He rolls his eyes. “Okay, there aren’t but it is still cheating,” he says. “You tell yourself that and I tell myself something else,” I say while laughing. I look out the corner of my eye and I could see Madison glaring at me. I ignore it. I pull myself onto the edge of the pool and have my feet sticking in. I close my eyes and I let the sun warm my face. I feel something cold and hard hit my back. I turn around to find a popped water balloon. I find a girl that looks around 13 holding a water balloon. I spot all the kids 13 and younger around the pool holding water balloons. “Ah.. guys?” I tell Jack and the rest. The girl that threw the water balloon at me yells,”Water balloon invasion!” “Duck and cover!” I yell to everyone. I jump back into the pool. I hear water balloons popping. I splash water at the younger kids. This is so much fun. Maybe this will be the best summer ever. Who knows?
When there are no more water balloons, I jump out of the pool and wrap myself in my towel. The warmth feels good. “Well that was fun,” Jason mumbles. He peels balloon pieces off of him. I laugh. “You should have went into the water then,” I say. “No one told me to,” He says. “ I yelled “Duck and cover!” Don’t you remember?” I ask him. “I came back from the bathroom and kids just started throwing water balloons at me,” Jason says. “Yikes. That must have sucked for you,” I say. he nods. “Yeah it did,”he adds. I laugh. He shoves my arm. “It’s not funny,” he says while smiling. I nod. “Sure. It isn’t funny at all,” I say with sarcasm. He rolls his eyes.
After a while of staying in the sun and getting a little tan, I go up toward the girls changing room. I wonder inside and grab my clothes and shoes. I quickly get changed.I dry my hair and put it up. I head toward the doors but Madison shows up and blocks my exit. Two of her friends are behind her. I hold down a laugh. It is her little possy. “Excuse me,” I mumble. I try to slip by but Madison puts both her arms up so I can’t go through. “Listen. What do you want?” I growl at her. She steps forward. “I want you to stay away from Jack and the rest of the guys. You know that is what I want,” she hisses at me. “Well guess what? You aren’t getting your little wish. They are my friends. Not yours,” I tell her. She slams me into the wall. She leans her face closer to mine. “I always get what I want. I am getting my wish,” she backs up a little with a smirk on her face. “If you don’t agree, there might be something happening to your dad,” she says. I raise an eyebrow at her. “What do you mean?” i ask her. “My dad owns the company your dad works at. It would be a shame if he gets fired. Then my dad will tell all the rest of the business owners that your dad is a terrible person and that he wants to own their companies. That means your dad won’t get a job if he gets fired,” she says. She laughs at the end. The girls behind her are laughing. “You wouldn’t dare!”I yell at her. “Oh yes I will. Now. Listen to me if you want your dad to keep his job. I want you to stay away from the guys. Especially Jack. Second, I want you to start acting like a girl. No more wearing sneakers. Wear mini skirts and shirts that show your back and your front. Trust me. Boys would be crawling to you. In fact, I will send a girl over to help you. Now, do you agree or not?” she hisses at me. I can’t believe she is saying this. I want to disagree to her but I don’t want my dad to lose his job. I look at the floor. I nod. “I agree,” I say quietly. She backs away and smiles. “Hurry to your room. I will have girls there in 10 minutes. Trust me..um...What is a good nickname that isn’t a boy one. Oh! I got it. Trust me Jessie. This is for the better,” She smile sta me like I am her friend. Madison and the others leave the changing room. I slowly walk out. I walk toward the pool and grab my towel. “Hey JJ. Want to met up with us later?” Jack asks. He is out of the pool and is drying of his hair. I take a glance at Madison. She is watching my every move. I look at the tiles on the ground. I shake my head. “I can’t,” I quietly and softly say. “Are you okay?” he asks me. My eyes burn. “I am sorry but...I can’t hang out with you guys. I should be get going,” I say. My eyes are now watering. I can’t believe I am doing this. I walk past Jack. “Hey! Wait up! What do you mean?” Jack yells at me. I don’t say anything back. I run away from the pool and toward the cabin. I pull the door open. I just notice that I was crying. I wipe my cheeks and climb the stairs. I enter my room and shut the door. I take a deep breathe. I guess all I have to do is wait for one of Madison’s minions to turn me into one as well. I pick up a little and just wait while taking a sip of soda.