by Jen Calonita
"Hi, girls!" Sophia, a chipper senior counselor, jogged down the path toward us and we quickly stopped talking. "I know Grace came back to get you, but I just wanted to make sure everything was all right. We were worried you'd gotten lost."
"We're fine," the four of us said, in unison.
"I don't want any of you to push yourselves too hard," Sophia said, "but I am hoping you get to the finish soon. This hike is supposed to be about bonding with more than just your friends. We're trying to figure out who belongs with who and it's hard to do that with some of the CITs missing."
"You're right, Sophia," Grace said, looking determined. She turned to us. "Okay, girls, let's get a move on!" She sounded like a cheerleader. I had a feeling she would have hated it if she knew what she sounded like. Grace was not sideline cheering material. She was the girl on the field.
Em took a deep breath and tried to jog faster, but still looked like she was doing a slow crawl.
"That's good!" Sophia encouraged. "You too, Courtney! And Samantha. Let's get those legs in fighting form! It's bathing suit season, girls!" Sophia turned and jogged ahead. You could still hear her chanting mantras, but they were sounding farther and farther away. When I could no longer hear her, I stopped, resting my hands on my knees. It felt like my lungs were on fire and I hadn't gone more than three feet.
"Okay, we're safe now," Grace told us.
"I hate her," Court grumbled, out of breath. "What does running have to do with being a CIT?"
"I like running," Grace said, "but I hate when people make others feel bad that they can't go fast. Not everyone is a natural athlete."
"I hate jogging," I admitted.
"Me too," Em moaned. "I prefer swimming."
"I love to swim," Grace said with a smile.
"Me too," I said. "I've never swum in a lake though. I always wished I could have joined a swim team, but our school is so small we don't even have a pool. Sometimes I did laps at the nearby aquatic center, but it interfered with chorus practice and my friend Mal wanted us to do it together. I didn't have time to do both."
"But you liked swimming better," Grace pointed out. "You should have done what you liked, not what someone else did." I was about to say that Grace sounded like my mother when Court said it for me.
"Thanks, Mom," Court said, patting Grace on the back. "I'm planning on spending a lot of time at the lake this summer pretending I need help with my backstroke. I've got my eye on Donovan Mulcahy, the lakeside unit counselor. He's from Australia."
"An international romance," said Em dreamily. "In the new book I'm reading, Love Across the Shores, Amanda is an American peasant girl in love with a French duke who can't return her affections because he's betrothed to another. It's like you and Donovan being counselor and CIT! You can never be, but you can feel the heat."
"Speaking of heat, is anyone else ready to pass out?" I asked. "Or are some of you used to this weather?"
"Never. I still hate it," said Em.
"Me too," said Grace.
"I'm from Phoenix so I can handle it," said Court. "They don't have too many camps out west because who wants to play volleyball in hundred and ten degree heat?" I nodded. "My parents have sent me here the past three years in the hopes I'll become more responsible and less boy crazy." She rolled her eyes. "As if that would happen. At least this year I'm sort of no longer a camper. It will be kind of cool to boss around the younger kids."
"Where are you from?" asked Em.
"Carle Place," I said, feeling winded as we hiked up a steep part of the trail, past a few large boulders. "It's a small town on Long Island about fifteen minutes from Jones Beach and about forty minutes from Manhattan."
"Do you have a boyfriend?" Court asked eagerly.
"I've never had a legitimate boyfriend," I admitted, afraid to see their reactions. But when I looked up, I didn't see any pity, just piqued interest. "My last boyfriend was Bobby Shenowsky in seventh grade. Well, I guess he counts if holding hands as we walked from class and to each other's locker is a boyfriend. Guys at my school all tend to like my best friend Mal, which makes sense because she's pretty outgoing when it comes to boys."
"What does outgoing have to do with it?" Court wanted to know. "If a guy likes you, he likes you. They don't just go for the big mouths, even if I've always done well being one myself."
I laughed. "Maybe you're right. To be honest, I never felt like I needed a boyfriend. Mal and I did everything together. We had a tight group of friends who spent every weekend going to the movies, or having sleepovers, or going to dinner. I was so busy I felt I didn't have time for a guy." I sidestepped a vine in my path and then stopped to smell a group of wildflowers. "Then one by one everyone else got boyfriends till it was just me and Mal left. And then Mal met Mark. Within weeks everything kind of changed." And now... I didn't say this part out loud, but as annoying as Malomark was, seeing how happy Mal was with Mark made me kind of long for a boyfriend myself.
"Eww," said Court, disgusted. "I hate girls who drop their friends when they get a boyfriend. I've never been like that."
"She didn't really drop me," I insisted. Court crossed her arms. "I mean, okay yes, we don't get to hang out as much, but that's just because the relationship is still sort of new, right?"
"I'm kind of like you, I think, Sam," Grace said quietly, as she bent down to tie her well-worn sneakers. "I've always been too busy with my nine million after-school activities to date. But sometimes, I don't know." She looked wistful. "Maybe it wouldn't be so bad to be less busy and have time for a boyfriend, you know?"
"Do you miss hanging out with Mal?" Em asked.
"It was weird not being the first person she called anymore," I admitted. "Or the one she always hung out with on a Friday night. The two of us did everything together since we became best friends in fifth grade. And I mean everything. If Mal wanted to try out for kickline, I learned high kicks too. If Mal was doing poorly in Spanish, I took extra-credit assignments with her. It's just the way our friendship worked. Well, up until now. Now she calls Mark first. If he's busy, she calls me." I didn't expect to say that much, but it felt good to get it out.
"It sounds like you were kind of Mal's lackey," Court said delicately. "If Mal said jump, you said, 'how high?' Giving up swimming, taking kickline, waiting around for her on a Friday night. Your friendship was totally on her terms, huh?"
"It wasn't like that," I objected. "It just sounds like that because of the examples I'm giving you guys." Our friendship wasn't like that. Was it?
"Are you guys still close?" Em asked, stopping for a second to drink some water. The rest of us took it as a cue to do the same. It was so hot up here, I was afraid I'd burst into flames. Where exactly was the end of this trail?
I nodded. "Mal was upset that I decided to be a CIT this summer. We never do -- or should I say did -- anything separate so this move is sort of out of character for me."
"Smart one," Court said. "She deserves to know how it feels to be left out."
"I'm not trying to get back at her," I insisted. "I promised I'd... write... all the time. We're still really close."
Court looked skeptical. "This is what happens when some girls get boyfriends. They just disappear. My best friend Sasha has been dating a guy for the past six months and I'm sick of the public displays of affection. I've had a few boyfriends, but I like to keep my options open. I have a rule -- break it off with any boy before summer so that I can be single for camp."
Em giggled. "You're so bad, Court!"
Courtney looked mock-offended. "What good is a summer away if you're tied down to a guy a thousand miles away?"
"Well, I hope when I meet a guy that I really like, I won't dump him because of a little distance," Grace said, swatting at a bee who had joined our group.
"Me too," agreed Em, who ducked to avoid getting hit by Grace's frantic arm motions.
"Em, you have to talk to a guy before you can go out with him," Court teased.
Em looked at me, embarrasse
d. "I don't know what it is, but the minute I get around a guy, I don't know what to say."
I thought about Hunter. "I'm the same way. I get all embarrassed and I'm lost for words. It's as if I've forgotten how to speak English."
"You and Hunter didn't seem to have any trouble communicating yesterday," Court said dryly.
"That was so romantic!" Em piped up. "Him offering to carry you all the way to the bunks."
I colored slightly. "Alexis asked him to take me back."
"He offered," Grace said. "I heard him."
"It was nothing." I stared at the pine needles on the ground. When I looked up ahead the rest of the counselors and CITs were sitting on a group of rocks waiting for us. We'd finally made it!
"There you guys are!" Ashley said, sounding exasperated. "We were getting so worried. We thought you got lost, but I guess you're just slow." Gabby and a few of her friends snickered.
"Girls, that's enough," Alexis told the group. "Being first isn't important. Having endurance is. Campers are, as you know, pretty full of energy and as a CIT you've got to keep up with them, not beat them."
Take that, Ashley, I wanted to say when I saw her smug face color slightly, and knew it wasn't just from the heat. Nowhere on the brochure did it say I had to be fast. I had to like athletics, which I do, but being good was a totally different thing. I caught Ashley's eye and she turned away.
"We've got a fun practice for all of you on the way back down the trail," Alexis continued. "We're going to pair each CIT with a counselor and you'll have to lead us down the trail on your own."
"But there are several paths," protested Court. "And I wasn't exactly paying attention to the route --"
"As long as you guys kept track of landmarks along the way, like Hitch explained in this morning's hiking orientation, you'll have no trouble," said Sophia smoothly. "The quicker you get back, the quicker you can go swimming or get a frozen drink at the canteen. They're on the house today. Now everyone pair up."
I stood frozen to the spot, watching some of the girls as they walked over to counselors. I didn't really know anyone that well yet other than Meg, and she was already standing with Grace.
"Hey," Alexis said with a bright smile. "Want to be my partner?"
I was about to say sure when I heard Ashley's voice. "Alexis?" We both turned around and Ashley was staring at me venomously. "I thought we were -- you know, Dad said -- we were --"
"I know, Ash," Alexis said. "But you're with Sophia on this trip. I'm going to head back with Sam."
I could feel all eyes on the three of us, watching, waiting for someone to say something.
"I'll switch with Ashley," I offered. I spied Court looking at me like I was crazy. "It's no problem at all."
Ashley's face clouded over, then quickly her sunny smile came back. "I'm fine," she said. "I love Soph! Right, Soph?" She ran over and linked arms with her.
Two by two the pairs headed down the first trail, leaving enough space between them so that no one could follow the group in front of them. Alexis made us go last. "After you," she said when it was our turn.
The first part of the trail was easy. I remembered a berry bush we passed right before we found everyone and then a tree that I thought was shaped like a Chihuahua. Alexis got a kick out of my reasoning for each turn, but other than that, I couldn't think of things to talk about. Alexis made me nervous. If she was anything like her sister, Ashley, we weren't going to get along. And for some reason, I kept hearing Gabby's catty voice and Ashley's snickering in my head: "You've never been to camp before? Your campers are going to eat you alive."
Alexis was the first to say something non-trail-related. "Sam, I hope you didn't think I was picking on you for being last," she said as she effortlessly navigated the steep path. I was already huffing and puffing. "As I said before, you don't have to be quick to do this. You just have to get the job done."
"I understand," I said, surprised at how nice she was being. "I can definitely get the job done. I just might be a bit slower than some of the others. Speed is not my strong suit. That's why I never ran track."
"Track is certainly not a requirement for this job," Alexis said with a smile. "You have a lot of other qualities going for you. My dad was really impressed with your phone interview."
"He was?" I asked, surprised again. I mean, I knew he must have liked me if I got the job, but Hitch always sounded so gruff it was hard to tell.
"Absolutely," Alexis told me. "He wouldn't have hired you otherwise. He's pretty picky about taking on counselors who haven't been to camp before and he was doubly worried about finding someone to fill our vacant CIT slot. One of the campers we thought was definitely coming back this summer to be a CIT decided not to at the last minute and Dad was worried about replacing her. But he said your babysitting recommendations were top-notch and he liked your bubbly personality."
Bubbly personality, huh? That was cool. "I'm really excited to be here," I admitted. "I like the idea of being on my own and getting so many responsibilities. Usually my mom is hovering over me all the time."
Alexis laughed. "I know the feeling. My dad has been on his own for a few years so he's gotten rather protective. When I moved into my dorm freshman year it felt like I could finally breathe on my own. My mom passed away a few years ago," she added quietly.
"I'm sorry to hear that," I said and Alexis shrugged. "My parents are divorced and I'm an only child so it's just me and my mom. She has to travel a lot on business and getting someone to stay with me is always tough. My mom's in advertising and her new account is this stuff called Mouth Off mouthwash, a freshener that supposedly keeps your breath minty clean for a week with just one swig."
"That would come in handy," Alexis said with a laugh.
"I'm so glad Hitch hired me," I said. "Mom has to spend a huge chunk of the summer doing focus groups in Brazil, London, Hawaii, and Mexico, and, of course, I couldn't go with her," I explained. "I didn't really want to stay with my dad. He runs a souvenir shop with my stepmom in St. Thomas and it's tourist season so I'd just be in their way. And sneaking me into Grandma's retirement vista in Boca Raton, Florida, seemed a little tricky. Plus, I'm not very good at Yahtzee."
Alexis laughed again. "Me either," she said.
After that, our conversation continued to just bubble over like a shaken can of soda. Alexis told me about this cranky English teacher she had during freshman year of college -- we both loved writing -- and I told her about the social studies teacher who drove me crazy acting out scenes from history. Then we started to compare favorite guilty pleasure TV shows. Alexis's was America's Funniest Home Videos. Mine was anything on E! Before I knew it, we had reached the final fork in the path.
"Which way, Sam?" Alexis asked me.
Good question. Which way was it? Okay, I needed to think. Court had tripped over a stone that was right in the middle of the path and that was the first time I'd realized it was just the three of us in the rear. Whichever path had that stone was the one we needed to go down. I walked over to one path and looked around. It was worn and littered with leaves, but there was not a rock to be seen. Then I looked at the other grassy area. There were rocks everywhere. "Court tripped over here and nicked her toenail polish so I know it's this way," I said. Alexis gave me a huge smile.
"You're right," she said and patted my arm. "I think you're getting the hang of things around here, Sam."
"I think so," I agreed, feeling proud of myself. Camp experience or no camp experience, I had a feeling I could do this.
4 Matchmaker
The third morning of orientation I woke up in a cold sweat. I wasn't sure if it was a dream or just my imagination, but I could swear I heard Mal from several hundred miles away asking her mom if I'd sent my first video message yet. Which I hadn't. In fact, I hadn't even made a video yet.
I had no idea orientation would be this busy! Between all the CIT/counselor bonding sessions and the group lectures on everything from what to do if you get poison oak to dealing w
ith a homesick camper, I barely had a minute to myself. But I knew if I didn't get a tape for Mal done before the campers arrived, I'd probably have to wait several days to do one. So I got out of bed early, even though Hitch was giving us a pre-camper treat -- we could sleep in till 8:30 -- and headed down to the lake to film in private.
It didn't take me long to set up my camera on a large rock. I put batteries in the remote control and zoomed in on a shot of the lake for my background. The sun was just starting to peek over the mountains and it had cast a golden glow on the water. Even Mal would have to admit it was gorgeous here. It was eerily quiet, except for the sounds of songbirds and a faraway owl. I looked at my watch. It was only 7:30 AM. I figured I could probably get a video done for Mal and at least two more for my other friends. Then I wouldn't have to worry about doing more videos for at least a week. Now that I was at camp and saw all that it entailed, I was starting to think I had put my foot in my mouth by promising to send so many people messages.
I sat down on the sand and examined the image of the mini-me on the screen a few feet away. I actually looked really skinny on camera, which was a major plus, and I was wearing my favorite tank top -- the green one that had a scalloped v-neck trim, and khaki shorts with flip-flops. (I figured I didn't have to start wearing sneakers till the next day when the campers arrived.) My hair was sort of curly now that I had taken the braids out that Court had given me the night before. All in all, I didn't look half bad. Satisfied, I pressed record on the remote.
"Hey, Mal, it's me," I said, trying to sound excited even though I was still half-asleep. "It is day three of camp orientation, our last day before the campers arrive, and I'm having a lot of fun already. My bunkmates seem really nice, well, most of them, and this place is gorgeous, as you can tell." I motioned to the lake behind me. "The only drawback so far is that I feel a little clueless about all this camp stuff," I admitted. "Someone needs to write a comprehensive camp manual for newbies. Hitch's lectures are helpful, but they're not giving me the big picture. For example, how was I supposed to know people decorated their bunks like they would a dorm room? The brochure didn't mention needing a Channing Tatum poster or Christmas lights for my bunk bed. We're here seven weeks. I figured all I needed was to pack my clothes, a toothbrush, and enough Secret deodorant. Needless to say, I unpacked in ten minutes -- I basically stuck everything I owned in my trunk -- while the others decorated for an hour."