Cabin 9

Chapter 3

The next morning I woke up well before the camp bell. I lay on my bunk, starting at the names that had been scratched above me. "Brianna '08" one read. Another said "F Wanakita Lodge, Germans 2013." Wanakita Lodge was this huge room off the dining halls with foosball and pingpong tables, but the writing still puzzled me.

Time passed, and Lucy's alarm went off. While the other girls groaned, I wriggled out of my sleeping bag and into bathing suit for Morning Dip. As soon as everyone was ready, we walked down to the beach and slipped in.

The water, surprisingly, wasn't that cold in the morning, more refreshing. The air was cold though, so I wrapped my towel tightly around me and started running back to the cabin.
"Wait up!" called Cory.
"Never! Catch me if you can!" I called back over my shoulder, laughing.
She chased me all the way back to the cabin, where we ditched our flip-flops on the porch and got changed for breakfast.

As per tradition, our cabin's table in the dining hall was right next to the boys'. As I slide into my seat, one of them flicks a strand of my long brown hair, which is still wet from my swim.
"Nice look" he says. His own blond hair is carefully mussed, and looks like it may even have some product in it. I roll my eyes at him. This is camp, after all.
"Are you new here?" I ask him. I don't remember seeing him before.
"I wouldn't say that" he replied. Before I could've asked him what he meant, the kitchen staff quieted us down for some announcements. He turns around to face them, and doesn't speak to me again.

* * *

The rest of the morning passed quickly, while we all chose our activities and worked out other details with our cabin. At lunch time, the mysterious boy didn't talk to me again, and I spent all of Rest Hour thinking about him.

I hoped I would find some distraction when I headed off to Island Adventures with Cory and Gabby. As we arrived near the fire pit as the meeting place, I saw that the boy who had criticized my hair was doing this skill as well. Swallowing my pride, I marched over to talk to him.

"Hey" I said as soon as I was close to him.
"Oh, it's you. Your hair looks better" he told me, actually smiling. I smile back.
"Thanks. It's not like I totally brushed it after what you said at breakfast" I replied. His eyes widened, and he laughed a little at my joke.
"Sorry about that. What's your name?" he asked.
"Avery"
"I'm Ryan" he said.
"Avery?" I heard Cory call.
"We have to make partners. Is it ok if Gabby and I are together, or do you want to ask if we can make a group of three?" She explained. I glanced at Ryan, who raised his eyebrows.
"Wanna be partners?" I asked him. He nodded.
"You and Gabby be together" I told Cory. I had a new partner.

An hour later, Ryan and I were isolated in a clearing in the forest. The skill leader had left us here with a few sheets of newspaper and a match, just as with all the other groups. We were supposed to make fires that would attract the leaders attention. I had no idea how, but apparently Ryan did.
"Start scrunching the newspaper into balls while I gather kindling" he instructed me.

After 10 minutes, we had a steady blaze going and the instructor crashed through the woods looking impressed.
"Congratulations, you two are the first done" she said.
She lead us back to a more central area of the woods before going to help other groups.
"So, I'm still wondering...are you new here?" I said to Ryan. He laughed.
"It's my first time coming to camp here, but I have been here before. For family events and stuff" he replied.
It made a little more sense to me now. I'd heard about people renting the camp off season. It even sounded like fun, although it would never work with my family. My parents weren't the first couple to get a divorce.

But I didn't tell Ryan that. Instead, I found out that he was doing sailing as his next skill. Cory and I were doing canoeing, so as soon as the bell rang she pulled me along with her to the beach.

I hate any water sports, and I wouldn't have even done canoeing if it weren't for Cory. She promised she would always be in the same canoe and do the steering, so I figured why not?

We grabbed life jackets and paddles, and pushed off the dock in our canoe. As soon as we were out of earshot of the counsellors, she starts talking.
"Who was that cute guy you were talking to, Ave," she gushed.
"You two really seemed to be hitting it off." she said, giving me a knowing smile.
"His names Ryan, and don't get any ideas. We're just friends" I told her.
"For now" she replied.
"Shut up." I tell her, laughing.
"So what about you? Any boys you've got your sights on?"
"Patrick and I were talking last night," she said
"Oooh is that who you like" I interrupted.
"And he said some people were sneaking out tonight." she finished smugly.
"Really? So we're invited?" I asked, momentarily distracted. She nods.
"But that doesn't mean I like him" she reminded me, as she put her paddle in the water and started moving the canoe.

When the bells signalling the end of skills rings, Cory and I head to the main beach for free time. Gabby and Courtney were already there, talking to Jason and Thomas. We sat on the beach until the lifeguards showed up and we were able to go swimming.

Cory and Gabby want to stay dry, so Courtney and I signed up on the buddy board and jumped into the lake. Courtney is a cheerleader, so she showed me a few trick she'd learned, while jumping into the water. Then, I spot Ryan swimming with his friends.
I swim over to him.
"Hey" he said when he saw me.
"Did you hear about tonight?" He asked.
"Yeah. Sounds like fun" I said.
"Not really. What are we even gonna do once we sneak out?" He said, and I was taken aback by his honesty.
"I don't know. Make out" I laughed, and I'm not sure but I think he smiled at the possibility.
"I gotta go" I told him, and swam back to Courtney.

After dinner and campfire that evening, Cory, Gabby, Courtney and I made plans to sneak out. We knew our counsellors wouldn't care if they found out, but we still didn't want to wake the whole cabin up.
"I'll set an alarm on my iPod and put earbuds in" Cory told us mischievously.
"And don't scream when I wake to rest of you up" she added, as though we actually might.

We all fell asleep that night, happy about what would be happening a few hours later. However, when Cory woke me at 2am, I was anything but happy. Still, I forced myself out of my sleeping bag and into the chilly night air.
"Where's Courtney?" I asked, realizing there were only three of us.
"She bailed. Wouldn't wake up when I tried" Cory replied.

"There they are" Cory squealed, a little later. I quickly spotted a group of boys, and was happy to see Ryan amongst them.

"We thought you weren't coming" says Jason. Cory rolls her eyes and looks at her watch.
"It's only 2:10" she told him.
"I said 2" he teased. I ignored them and walked over to Ryan. His hair was flat on one side, and splayed all over the place on the other.
"Nice look" I said, brushing a piece off his face.
"Avery, hi" he said, looking somewhat startled.
"Are you okay?" I asked, surprised by his less-than-warm welcome.
"Yeah, I'm fine" he said. I heard a twig crack in the forest, and he spun around, his eyes wide.
"I gotta go, Avery. I'll see you later" he said, storming away.
"But we just got here! I was kinda hoping we could talk..." I trailed off, as I saw he had already disappeared into the woods.

Everybody else had already run off to different parts of the camp, so I stumbled back to my cabin. I let myself in, slipped into my sleeping bag and tried to sleep, but I was still awake a few hours later when Cory and Gabby returned. They entered the cabin giggling, and I pretended to be asleep to they wouldn't try to talk to me.

After what happened with Ryan, I don't feel like talking to anyone.