Chapter 1
It all started when I turned 15. My mom and dad were getting divorced and my grandmother told my mom that I was going with her to camp for my birthday. I didn' t want to go. I didn't want to do anything, least of all spend time with a bunch of screaming girls. Grandma explained that it wasn't that kind of a camp. It was a private camp, for families. We would have our own cabin. I could go swimming, play volleyball, play horseshoes, or any of a number of other games and activities. I still didn't see the point in going until Grandma told me she wanted to give me some girl time, on my own, away from my parents, away from the divorce. When both my mom and dad told me they thought it was a good idea for their daughter, I decided to go, but I wasn't going to enjoy myself.
"Can I just sit and do nothing?" I asked Grandma.
"Sure, Annie, you can do nothing at all!" she said, and smiled.
The camp was up in the mountains. I got sick on the drive up. The winding road finally snaked down into a valley with a beautiful, emerald lake. As we drove around the lake on a small, one-lane road, I remember how excited Grandma got when she first saw the camp.
"Look! Look! There it is!"
As we came around the corner I saw a green patch, rising up from the lake, like a huge welcome mat. There was a break in the trees where a lawn rose with the slope of the hill. We turned right onto a road that climbed up the middle of the lawn. I saw cabins perched on the hill, in a semicircle around the lawn.
"There's the horseshoes... and the firepit... and the clubhouse."
Grandma spoke with a sparkle, and I started to get excited, in spite of my best efforts.
"We've got Cabin #7, there, on the left. I got it specially for us."
Grandma pointed up the hill as she barely missed driving off the tiny road. We parked at the bottom of a long pathway of stairs leading to the front door.
"I have to get the key. You start unpacking."
"Up THERE?"
I pointed to a door that was too many steps away.
"Yes, up there. It's not so bad, once you get used to it. Now get to work. I expect to see everything by the door when I come back with the key!"
Before I had time to object, Grandma had gone off up the hill. I took a deep breath.
"I thought I didn't have to do ANYTHING!" I grumbled, as I lugged one after another load of blankets, food, and clothes up the hill.
Between loads, resting at the top, I looked out over the rest of the camp. It was sure green! There were pine trees everywhere, especially behind the cabins, which were like circled wagons, a boundary against the wild forest. Inside the circle I could see all sorts of different areas. I found the volleyball court, basketball court, tether-ball, several big bar-b-ques, and the beach along the lake across the road.
"That's where we go at night to make some-mores and sing," Grandma said, giving me a scare. I had been sitting on my suitcase, staring out at the lake. "Did you get everything up from the car?"
"Where have you BEEN! I got done at least ten minutes ago!" I complained.
"I had to check in, Annie, get the key, and visit for a little bit," Grandma said. "Let's get set up!"
We spent some more time moving everything inside and preparing the cabin.
"This is your room. Mine is on the other side. We share the bathroom."
By the time we finished making the beds, putting away our clothes, sweeping, washing dust off the kitchen counters, checking what we had and what we still needed, it was late afternoon. Grandma sat down at the picnic table on the deck overlooking the camp.
"How about a nice glass of iced tea?" Grandma said.
I nodded in agreement.
"You see that machine down by the clubhouse?"
Grandma pointed out a square box beside a building in the middle of the lawn.
"Why don't you go get me a bucket of ice." When she saw my frown, she added, "No complaints, young lady. You can take your time and explore. I'm not in any hurry."
She handed me the plastic bucket and showed me out the door. I wasn't in the mood for getting ice, or for iced tea, or exploring, but I knew if I stayed, Grandma would put me to work doing something else. And she said I could take my time, so I would take my time.
I walked down the steps and across the lawn to the building Grandma called the clubhouse. As I got closer, I saw there was a pool table inside, and I heard someone playing ping-pong. I peeked in the window and saw a man hitting a ping-pong ball up in the air, over and over, each time spinning the paddle to hit the ball on the opposite side. When he saw me, he stopped. He waved me to come in.
"Hey!" he said, "I'm John. I'm in Cabin #13. What's your name?"
I looked around for anybody else, but it was only him. He was older. He looked to be 20. He had dark blue eyes. I remember how my heart skipped a beat when he looked right back at me and smiled.
"I'm a friend of your grandma's," he said. "You guys are in #7, right?"
I relaxed. He knew Grandma.
"I'm not supposed to talk to strangers," I said.
He walked out the door, looked up to our balcony and waved to Grandma.
"This one yours?" he yelled up to her.
"Yep! That's the one! Annie, John. John, Annie." she yelled back.
I smiled and waved up at Grandma. She gave me a wave, then went inside the cabin.
"Nice to meet you, Annie. You play?" John said, waving the paddle.
I thought it would be better if I was inside, and out of view, in case Grandma thought of something else for me to do.
"Sure," I said.
Then John did something that surprised me. He held out his hand and waited for me to put my hand in his, like I needed help or something.
"I'm not a kid!" I said.
"Okay. And does that mean you don't hold hands?"
I gave him my best sideways inspection look.
"Oh...," he said. "Okay, let's make a deal." He bent forward and put his face very close to mine. "I won't treat you like a child if you don't treat me like an old man."
"You're not an old man!" I said. "You're a young man."
"And you're not a child, you're a young woman," he said, making me blush. He made a point of looking me up and down. I was afraid he had x-ray eyes and could see under my clothes. I looked down and slipped back into being little girl.
"Oh..." he said, which only made me turn even brighter red. "Here, let me get you a paddle." He got a paddle off the table and handed it to me. "Ready?"