The Forest Kids

Chapter 3

Molly and I followed Toby down a dirt path. The trees were still very symmetrical. Behind us were Lily and Sam. Sam was kicking the dirt as she walked on and Lily was quietly walking alongside her. Toby led us on.
"This used to be the first-ever campgrounds at Lake Lavender. It must have been abandoned for some time because it was completely dirty and messed up when Henry and I found it." He explained.
"Who's Henry?" Molly asked.
"Henry's the quote on quote 'prince' of  The Forest Kids." Toby looked back at us. He rested his hand on his chest.
"I am the leader of The Forest Kids." Toby smiled warmly at us and turned back. I looked over at Molly. I could tell she was both amazed and terrified. I grabbed her hand lightly. She squeezed back. I heard Sam snicker behind us. I turned to her.
"Aw. So what, are you two dating?" Sam teased.
"Sam, leave them alone." Toby sighed and shook his head. Sam scoffed while crossing her arms. We walked in silence for a couple of seconds. I decided to turn to Sam.
"No, we aren't. We're very close friends. Molly and I are more like siblings." I said firmly. Sam rolled her eyes at me. I turned back. I stopped. I heard voices. A lot of voices. They were all kids. I heard laughter and yelling and cheering. In front of us, the path of trees stopped. Toby stood beside a warned-down sign that read:

Lake Lavender Camp Grounds

The letters were chipped and faded. On top of the word, Lavender, there was edged a poorly carved drawing of a pine tree.

"Welcome to Main Camp!" Toby motioned us to come in front of him. Molly and I looked at each other as we took our first step forward. Then the next. Then the next. Molly is still squeezing my hand. I look towards the ground and close my eyes. We both stopped, my eyes still shut. Molly's grip slowly loosened. My eyes opened slightly, they were focused on my feet.
"Phillip... Look." Molly's voice sounded amazed. I lifted my head and my jaw slowly dropped in awe.

There were kids everywhere. From ages around 9 to 19. In front of us was a huge canopy painted with red and brown. Besides it, to the left, was a little playground with swings, slides, and a sandpit. Some young kids were playing near the sandbox and a group of kids that looked a year or two younger than me near the swings. I could make out the back of a domed wooden structure behind them.
To the right of the canopy, in the distance, were a couple of wooden cabins. There were a bunch of kids scattered around in clumps, talking and hanging out. There was a dirt path leading to each one of them. In Front of one of the first cabins, I saw a group of three go down a path that led down to what looked like a beach.
Tables spread throughout the inside of the canopy in front of us. There was a group of around 8 to 10 kids inside. They were all dressed with elbow and knee pads. Most of them had their hair up and wore athletic shorts and tank tops. There were skateboards, roller skates, and rollerblades beside them. They were all drinking plastic bottles of water. They were laughing at whatever conversation they were having.

I looked over at Toby. He saw the surprise in my face and chuckled.
"So, do you two want me to show you around?" He asked.
"Yes please!" Molly shouted in excitement. Toby chuckled as turned to Lily and Sam.
"Can you two see how dinner is doing? Tell them that we have two very special guests." Lily and Sam walked towards the canopy. Sam looked back and glared at me, then turned back and disappeared behind the canopy.
Toby led us to the left, we walked near the playground.
"This is the playground, which is self-explanatory," Toby told us. We walked by and we went towards the wooden dome. "This right here is our Arts Inn. I'll show you the inside later. This is where you can go to paint, draw, write, whatever fine arts you like, you can do in there!" Toby explained. Molly's face lit up with joy. She's always loved to write.
"To the right is the stage." My head turned towards Toby and I grabbed his arm. He looked at me in surprise. "There's a stage?!" I yelled with wonder in my eyes. Toby's face softened as he started to laugh.
"I can see you're into the performing arts, aren't you?" Toby smiled at me.
Molly touched my shoulder. "He's loved theatre ever since we were little." She giggled.
"Molly!" I lightly elbowed her and she started to laugh. Toby smiled at us.

Toby continued to show us the rest of that side of the campgrounds. Near the Arts Inn, there was a skating rink and a tiny nature trail. Toby led us back near the canopy. He brought us to the cabins. Each cabin had the same wooden exterior walls but the roofs were painted different colors. There were red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple, white, brown, and grey colored cabins. Nine of them. Toby explained how each cabin is divided separately by gender. And each cabin had a certain group of kids in each one. He said that it depended on "what your major was."
"Major?" Molly tilted her head in confusion.
"Your major is like your main hobby." Toby explained "It's what you like to do the most. The majors are divided into nine groups." I took a half step closer to Toby. I was intrigued.
"The nine majors you can pick are Theatre, Sports, Painting, Nature, Literature, Music, Crafting, Learning, and Leadership." Toby looked at both of us. He had a serious look on his face.
"Now, tonight you two are guests. You are not yet forest kids. After tonight, I will guide you back to where you came from. If you would like to come back if you are interested, we would appreciate it." Toby smiled. "Now, so people know you as guests..." He reached into his pocket. He pulled out two adjustable, black colored bracelets. "You'll have to put these on. Make sure to come back with these on as well." Molly and I took the bracelets and put them on. I looked at Toby's arm. He had a grey bracelet on his right wrist.

Toby continued the tour. Next to the cabins was a sports area with a basketball court and a large field. We walked down the path I the saw earlier. There was a huge campfire area. The fire pit was huge. We continued along the path. There was in fact a beach. I saw a couple girls swimming around with someone on a dock watching them. Toby led us back to the canopy.
"Okay, I need to talk to Henry and tell him about you two. You can go explore for a while if you want! We still have two hours before dinner!" Toby said. After Toby left, Molly looked at me.
"Do you mind if I go explore alone?" She asked.
"Of course." I told her, I grabbed her hand with both of mine. "Just be careful. Okay?" I asked.
"I will." Molly smiled. "I'll see you before dinner." Her hand loosely slipped away as she started walking towards the cabins. She looked at me and smiled. I smiled back. She went on her way.

I sighed. I looked around as kids where laughing and running around me. I couldn't help but think to myself:
Who knew this was all here?