Summer Camp Sweethearts

Chapter 2

It has been a week since my mother decided it was a good idea to send me to summer camp. She called the principal the Monday after I stormed out of the kitchen to inform them that I would be attending. I even saw the huge smile on her face when I arrived home from school. The one smile told me that she had done something I would not like at all but would need to bear with.

I am not in the mood for this camp. Camping is not my thing. Sure, we will be staying in cabins, and there will be regular food in the cafeteria, but spiders and camp food are not on my to-do list. I sit on my bed for a while before getting up and packing. It is not like I have many choices in the matter anyway, so why bother? As soon as I think this, there is a knock at my bedroom door.

"Come in," I say with an annoyed tone. My mother walks into the room with her hands behind her back holding something small wrapped up in wrapping paper.

"This is for you," She places it on my bed and walks out of the room. I opened the paper wrapping to find a brand-new pair of shoes.

"What is this?" I ask her, in shock that she bought me something. She leans against my door frame staring at me.

"I know you don't like wearing your sneakers, so I thought it would be nice if you had some nicer ones," she says with a smile on her face as she looks at me through the mirror above my dresser.

"Thanks, mom," I say while putting them on and admiring myself in front of my mirror. They are adorable! My mother must have spent a lot of money on them. I cannot believe she bought me shoes!

"Well, I'm going to go pack now," I say as she walks out of my room.

"Okay, sweetie," she says while waving goodbye. I grab all my stuff and throw it into a bag packed with clothes for camp: T-shirts, shorts, underwear... You name it! It is all in there! As soon as everything is packed up, I return downstairs and grab my keys. I am ready to go!

As the door closes behind me, I start running down the stairs again towards my parked car in front of our house. Once there, I open the door and get inside before starting it up. It is already warm outside, so I roll down the windows and turn on the radio. As soon as it i's on, I start driving towards the school grounds to meet with the rest of the students, who decided it was a good idea to go on this camp.

I am a little nervous about going to camp, but I know it will be fun. My best friend''s mom is a counselor there, and she said they will have many fun activities this year. She also told me that there will be other kids from my school who are going too. That makes me feel better because we can spend time together all day.

As I pull up to the school grounds and park my car in front of the building, I can see most of the students are already there. I see her long before she sees me. Her long, black hair falls down her face complimenting her olive skin. She is so beautiful, and I can't believe she is my best friend.

"Hey," I say to her as we hug each other. "I'm glad you decided to come."

"Me too," Sofia says back before pulling away from me and looking at the others standing around us. "Who else is here?"

"Kyle and some of the other football players." She notices.

"You know what? I think we're going to have a lot of fun."

"I'm sure we will," Sofia replies. "But right now, let's go inside and get something to eat. There are some hotdogs in the assembly hall we can snack on before we leave."

"Sounds good to me," I say back. "I'm starving." We walk into the school hall and see that there are a lot of people already eating. We go up to the counter and take hotdogs, fries, and soda. After we get our food on a tray, we head over to one of the tables in the corner where everyone else is sitting. Kyle gives me a quick peck on the lips, greeting me. I look at Sofia as she sits next to Kyle. I look at the other people around us and notice many of them are, Kyle's teammates.

"Hey," Oliver, the wide receiver and Kyle's best friend, says to me as he sits down next to me. "I'm glad you decided to come."

"Me too," I say back before taking a bite out of my hotdog. Even though it was not my original plan, it is growing on me. It tastes so good. And it feels even better when I take another bite and realize that I will be able to hang out with my friends all summer.

"So, how are you liking it so far?" Oliver asks me.

"I mean, this is your first time going but, so far it is great," I say as I take another bite of my hotdog.

"Alright, everyone! Listen up!" Mrs. Pierson shouts from the back of the hall, blowing the whistle around her neck. Mrs. Pierson is a petite lady. The principal. I have only had to go into her office one time here. The day I arrived. The glasses on her nose slide down an inch while she scans the assembly hall, waiting for everyone to settle down.

"I have a very important announcement to make," she says.

"The class of 2021 is the most talented group of students I have ever had the pleasure of teaching." She smiles, but it does not reach her eyes. "This year's class has been chosen for something special." Mrs. Pierson pauses and looks around at all of us before continuing.

"We are going on an exciting trip this summer!"

"That's great!" shouts one student from the back row, his voice cracking with excitement as he raises his hand. Mrs. Pierson nods and smiles at him. "It is located in a beautiful, forested area outside New York City." Mrs. Pierson pauses again and then continues with her speech, looking around once more as she speaks.

"I expect all of you to be on your best behavior, and please, get your grades up. That's why you are all here. We are leaving in 5 minutes. The bus is already here," Mrs. Pierson says, turning around and walking out of the room. Mrs. Pierson is not one for speeches or long-winded explanations, so I am surprised she would give us such a detailed explanation about our trip. I look around at my friends and smile at them. I am not sure how I am surviving this trip.

"I cannot wait to get out of there," I say, smiling at my friends. My entire friend group piled into the bus. We sit on the seats next to each other, like always, before heading off on our trip. They all nod in agreement and then begin packing their bags into the compartments above our heads. We have been studying for this trip since the beginning of the year, so we are all ready.