Summer Camp Sweethearts

Chapter 7

Sofia's food tray is on the table next to me, filled with mac and cheese, a salad, an apple, and a glass of water. She is nowhere to be seen. She just left her tray here and disappeared. I look down at my tray, assessing my choice for lunch. one slice of pizza. That's it. I sigh and scan the room to see if I can spot Sofia in the sea of the crowd. It's not as if there are a lot of students in the mess hall this morning, but enough for one person to get lost in the crowd. There are a few unfamiliar faces here today that I haven't seen before. I furrow m brows to determine if I can recognize any specific features. None comes to mind. I suddenly spot Sofia's red hair and call her name to get her attention.

Sofia is in deep conversation with a short-haired guy standing in the line for food. I study him for a minute and see his green eyes and a little scar behind his neck.

"Sofia!" I call out again. She looks up and spots me waving at her from across the room.

"I need to talk to you."

"Sure," she says as she walks over to my table. "What's up?" Taking a sip from her water.

"Who's that?" I ask out curiously.

"That's Blake. He goes to Pineburgh High," she said as if it's no big deal.

"And how do you know him?" I ask.

"Oh, he just randomly started talking to me." We stand up again. I look around to see the fullness of the building.

"I'm going to go talk to him," I say.

"You want anything?"

"No, thanks." I walk over and stand next to Blake. She looks at me with a confused look; taking her glass of water, I can feel her following me. I don't know what it is about this guy that makes me so nervous, but he does something strange to my stomach.

"Hey," he says as he turns around and sees me standing behind him

"Hi, I'm Melissa, and you are..." I put out her hand to greet him.

"Blake," he says as he shakes my hand. I can feel his handshake mine, but it's not the regular shaking you would expect from a guy and a girl meeting for the first time. There is more to this handshake than just two people greeting each other.

"Which school are you from?" he asks me to get the conversation going. I realize we are still holding hands, and I quickly pull my hand away from him.

"Clovewood high," I say, him replying with his school name when I ask him the same question.

"I'm a junior," he says. I just look at him. I can tell he's studying me, taking in my appearance.

"What are you doing here?" I ask him to break the silence between us. He looks at me with his piercing green eyes as if trying to figure out what I am thinking about him.

"Our school just arrived here this morning," he says.

"You are welcome to come and sit at our table if you'd like," I suggest to him. He looks at me and then returns his gaze to the table where his friends are sitting.

"I need to stay with my group, but I guess I'll see you around, Melissa."

"Yeah, I'll see you around," I say. Blake walks away from me and heads to his friends. They all look at him as he sits down with them. I walk back to my table, where Sofia has returned to. Her face lights up when she sees me. Sometime during my conversation with Blake, Sofia left. I sit beside her, and she puts her arm around me.

"You know, I'm glad you came," she says. I looked at her with a confused facial expression.

"Why?"

"Because otherwise, you would have not met Blake." I still don't understand what she is talking about.

"I don't understand."

"Blake is very popular at his school, and he's the football team's captain," she says with a smile.

"He was talking to me earlier, and we got to know each other better." She pauses for a moment before continuing.

"You see, Blake isn't just some average guy who goes around trying to get girls' attention; he likes them too." I'm still confused about what she is talking about.

"What do you mean?" I ask her.

"Well, he's a really nice guy," she says with a smile. I finally realize what she is referring to, which is not a good idea.

"No, no, no. I am not dating another football player." I say, shaking my head, taking a bite out of my slice of pizza.

"Why not?" she asks. I look at her with a confused facial expression.

"He's really nice," she says as if trying to convince me that it is okay for me to date him.

"No, no, no," I say, shaking my head again while taking another bite out of my pizza slice. "I am not dating Blake Truslow." She smiles at me and then returns to her mac and cheese. I glance up, looking directly toward Blake Truslow's table. I see him looking my way. I am not falling for another football player. No Way.

***

I am for once grateful that I decided to throw my half-read book into my suitcase before I left. We have time to ourselves for the first time during this summer camp. We were told that activities don't resume until tomorrow morning. The sound of the lake off the side and the birds chirping in the distance make my heart happy.

Since the arrival of Pineburgh High earlier today, the campground is much busier than yesterday. I sit inside the old Gazebo structure and look out over the water. I look at the group of students playing volleyball and swimming in the pool just up the hill. They seem to be having a good time, but I don't know if they're having fun. I look around to see what some of the other students are up to.

"You're going to have to do better than that." A voice says from behind me. I whip my head around to find Blake standing behind me. A small smirk forms on his face while I try to gain my words.

"What are you doing here?" I ask.

"I came to see if you were okay." He says, his eyes scanning the area around us.

"Why would I not be okay?" I ask, closing my book that I have barely even started again.

"I don't know. I just thought you might be." He says, a small smile forming on his face.

"Why would you think that?"

"I don't know. I just did." He says, his eyes looking at the ground.

"Well, you're wrong," I say with a smile. Blake looks up and smiles back at me. He leans in a bit closer, his lips just near my cheek. The smell of chlorine from the pool makes my nose itch as he pulls away from me.

"Do you maybe want to hang out later this evening?" he asks in a whisper.

"Are you asking me out?"

"Yes." He says, a smile forming on his face.

"I would love to hang out with you tonight," I say, smiling back at him. I am not sure why I agreed to this. I blatantly told Sofia that I was not dating another football player, and what did I just do? Just that. Going on a date with the Quarterback of Pineburgh High.

"Great," he says, his smile growing. "I'll pick you up at 7:30."

"Okay," I say, smiling back at him. He smiles and turns to walk away from me before turning around and walking around toward me.

"What?" I ask as he walks towards me again. He leans in to actually kiss my cheek before leaving the Gazebo.