The Down Under

Chapter three

   "Do you want to get an early dinner? They're serving dinner earlier for us cabin members, it's a new perk this year."
"Sure," I started, then I heard my stomach growling, " I think we had the same idea. I honestly haven't had anything to eat since salmon yesterday."
"Me neither," he was walking towards the door, " I think they said we were having pulled pork or something."
"Ooooh, yummy!" I jogged past him outside onto the porch. I looked back. "Are you coming? You said they were serving it early for us, right, then I want more than a sandwich! Come on." I grabbed his arm and tried to pull him out the door. Hint the word tried.
"You are in a good mood." He walked out the door, with my help.
"Well yeah! You just named my second favorite food! Though I do have quite a few of those." I looked behind me and upside down to find a camp director waiting for us.
"Well, I see Conner relayed the message. Y'all ready to eat?" I turned around to look at her right side up.
"What do you think I'm trying to do?" I looked at Conner, "Are all of you guys blind? Am I just this type of superhuman that reads into what people do?"
"You and I both know that's not true." Conner tilted his head at me. I stopped pulling him.
"Don't you remember what happened to my phone, and at the car? I'm a lot stronger than I realized, but I still can't freaking pull you out a door!"
"Didn't forget, just not important, at least right now."
"You don't care." I never let go of his arm, so his arm just draped on my shoulder. I stared at him, feeling a little betrayed, hoping he would come to his senses and leave. There was still, now bigger, feeling inside that said he wanted something from me. I don't know what yet, but I will find out. He looked from the camp director and looked at me.
"What do you mean? Are you crazy, I will always care. It's just, that we don't need to talk about what happened in front of the other person that's here." he squeezed my shoulder for reassurance. Surprisingly was reassuring.
"Well y'all know where the dinner hall is, so I'll meet ya there!" The camp director said and was off in a hurry. I watched her leave, trying to stay serious and straight-faced, but how fast she left just struck me funny. So, I laughed.
"L, she really didn't want to see us get in an argument," I looked at him," did she?" He stared at me saying nothing. He looked content or satisfied, like he didn't want anything else in the world.
"Conner, you ok? Is your face broken or something?"
"Or something." He replied without hesitation.
"And that means?"
"It's not broken, just stuck maybe." Letting go of his arm, I slap him on the side of his face.
"OWW! What the heck was that for?"
"You said your face was stuck, so I thought slapping you would help," I said with a smirk. "Now let's go, I'm hungry!" Still in shock, he walks with me to the lunchroom. The path looked like it was once pathed, now it's just covered with what looks like ivy and creepin' charlie. Walking down the path, I felt like I was in a fairytale. The ivy was overgrown to perfection, and the purple flowers of the creepin' Charlie peaked out of the ivy giving the woods a little color. This was just about the only reason I come back every year, the views. There are so many of them that I couldn't get all the pictures on my disposal camera that the camp gave me last year, and they're were more than fifty pictures worth of that thing! Conner and I finally got to the lunchroom, like he said, it was pulled pork sandwiches. Practically sprinting to the server, I was the first one in line.
"Oh my gosh!" I yelled," It smells sooooo good."  Almost drooling over the food in front of me, I pick up a sandwich, some fries, a couple of cookies, and a bag of my favorite chips, sweet and spicy ghost pepper.
"Jeez, you weren't kidding about how you're hungry." Conner was second in line, surprisingly, he walked so slowly.
"Well, yeah! I wouldn't try to pull you here if I wasn't." I grabbed a fork got some ketchup and went to sit down, Conner followed. Once he sat down he got all serious. Great, just what I want.
"Yes?"
"How did you know- you know what never mind." Great start. "So what happened between you and Stacy."
"I thought I told you," I stated with my mouth full," she decided to leave because she would have to sleep in a tent, and she's supposedly claustrophobic."
"I know that, but your reaction says that there's a back story." He casually took a bite of his pulled pork. I stared at him. I swallowed my bite to hold back the urge to slap him again.
"Ok..." I started," Let's just say that Stacy hasn't lived up to the expectations of a friend."
"Care to explain?" Conner was sitting across from me, I still have no idea why he's being so nice, and now out of all times.
"There's nothing to explain, Stacy and I have a one-sided relationship, and for her that's ok. That's all more of an explanation you're going to get from me."
"So, you and Stacy have had a one-sided friendship, so who was the one side?" Sometimes I wonder how he passed junior high. I stared at him, piercing him with my eyes. "Oh, yeah, probably should have picked that up. But, what about everyone else you talk to? I see you talk to a lot of people at school, and yet you are not friends with them?" He questioned. I took another bite while reading his face. He didn't look like he was going to use this information against me, but then again, it's Conner. He just looked like he wanted to help.
"Man," I swallowed," you sound like my mom." I looked down at my food. "I haven't been able to make friends, real friends anyway after you left me." I avoided his eye contact. I never have been the same after Conner made fun of me that day. It was something so simple, like what I was wearing or doing, but it wasn't just him when he did it, it was the entire class. If it was just Conner I don't think we would be here, sitting across from each other trying to patch the past.
"Wait? I did this to you?" I finally looked at him. He looked shocked and mad, why mad I don't know, but mad.
   "I guess, afterward I meet Stacy and she's wanted to do everything that you did. Maybe not the verbal bullying part, but everything else. The 'run away from her because of what she's wearing', the 'let's not talk to her for the rest of the day because we feel like it', and she would always, no matter how hard I tried, sit with you guys. Every time I would confront her about it she would say that we're friends and just messing around, then go back to running away from me. I just was never enough for her. She chased anything and anyone that gave her a little taste of excitement, and it was never me." I hated these memories. I hated people not liking me. I hated the fact that if I got as much attention as them, I would act the same. I also hated that I wanted Conner to know. In the middle of my thoughts of how I know he's going to pick on me, I feel his hand on mine. Conner was now next to me holding my hand.
    "Mom," he said seriously," I promise to never hurt you again." He was so close to me, and holding my hand.
    "Oh my gosh Conner, you use 'mom' at the wrong moments." I slipped my hand out of his to cover my face, I didn't realize that I was on the verge of tears.
    "What you don't like it anymore, Mom?" he smirked.
"Shut up Conner," I smiled, I pushed his face away. I didn't like how close he was to me. "Thank you," I said meekly.
    "What? Mom said thank you. What!" He was an arm's length away now, so much more comfortable.
"Oh my gosh Conner, be quiet!" I grabbed some of my sandwich and shoved it in his face. He shot me a look of shock and playfulness. I started to get up.
"Oh no you don't Mom!" He got up after me with his pulled pork too. We ran all around the room. I'm trying not to get smashed in the face with food, and Conner's trying to do it. I ran over to the serving station only to overhear what the lunch ladies were saying.
    "Where are all the other campers?"
"I heard they not aloud in until these two jackrabbits leave."
"Well, my! That is certainly outrageous!" I whipped my head around and commented.
"Wait are you kidding? No one is allowed to eat unless we leave!" There were three ladies in the kitchen. One was freakishly tall, the other had a wart on her cheek, and the last one wasn't to be seen. Yes, she was that short.
   "Yes young lady, that's the new rule this year. So if you kids are done playing tag with your food then I suggest you leave." The tall one said.
   "But that's- ow!" I just got whapped with a spatula. The small one was now in front of the counter threatening me with a spatula.
   "But noding, lidel girl! Dat's are rules and we must follow dem. No ifs, ands, buds about it!" And with that the small chef went back behind the counter, not to be seen.
   "Well," I said rubbing my arm," how can I fix that?"
"You can'd feex id! Id's de rules!" That is all you hear from behind the counter.
   "Ok...me and Conner will done soon I-" I turned around to see where Conner was, but instead I got a face full of barbecue sauce and pork.
    "Now we're done!" He yells in triumph. He uses my shoulder as an armrest. "I promise we will clean our mess." His smile was ear to ear. I don't think I've ever seen him this happy. "Right mom?" He looks at me, still smiling.
"I guess, I mean you did just put us out there."
"Oh she's just being mean, we will clean it up!"
    "There's no need for that, the rest of the campers are going to be here any moment and make ten times more of a mess. Just leave the cleaning up to Gus." I'm going to assume that's the janitor.
"Well if you say so!" And Conner was off the tray in the basket and almost out the door.
"Wait, hold up Conner!" I ran put my tray in the basket and caught up to him. "Jeez, you're fast when you want to be."
"That's because I don't want to clean up," he whispers," so hurry up!" He left as soon as he said that. I was hot on his heels, but we didn't go to the cabin, we went to the fire grounds.
"Why are we going to the fire grounds?"
"We have to tell everyone they're allowed to eat, right mom?" He side-eyes me. I slapped his arm.
"Don't you side-eye me," I yell," I am your mother!" I might as well embrace being 'his mom'.
"Oh, now you want to be my mom." He rolls his eyes.
"Huh!" I gasp. "How dare you roll your eyes at your mother! I'm going to have to ground you if you don't knock this off." I said, sounding as close to a mom as I could get. When we got to the fire grounds, everyone had a concerned look on their faces.
   Conner looked out and proudly announced. "You now may eat!" And then have a little bow.
"What the actual heck are you doing?" I looked out to all the campers. "The lunchroom is open and they're serving pulled pork. If you want some get it now or I will go back and eat them all." And with that, a herd of hangry campers almost trampled over us. I pulled Conner out of the way the back of his shirt, nearly choking him.
   "What was that for!" He says rubbing his neck. All I did was point at the crowd of campers in line for food. "Oh."
   "Well, I'm going to the lake." I started walking towards the docs.
"What, wait! Where are you going!"
   "I told you, the lake!" There was a good amount of distance between us, enough to tell him that I wanted to be alone. So much has happened today that I can't think straight. I wanted to talk to someone but at the same time, not to. I got to the docs and before I sat down I rolled up my pant legs. The lake was the one thing that I missed about this camp. I could see the other side of the water, but that doesn't mean that sunsets and sunrises aren't beautiful. I always come here on the first and last days of camp, but I came here to clear my thoughts. Conner is here, he wants to be my friend again, and Stacy just lost my friendship. There's a lot more to today, but that's just the base of all this. I rub my eyes to find barbecue sauce still on my face. Thankfully I have a tank top under my shirt, so using my shirt and the water from the lake, I wipe my face off.
I set my damp shirt next to me and dipped my feet into the water. The sun reflected perfectly off the water, and I could see a few birds fly by. Blue harens, some seagulls, and maybe a hawk somewhere. It didn't take long for me to feel like I've got everything sorted out, in my head anyways. I wanted nothing more than to stay here. In the cool of the evening, watching the sun go down, with my feet in the water, waiting for the perfect moment to take a picture of the sunset. Nothing more than the pink and orange skies that are streaked with purples and blues. Nothing more than to see the clouds come and go with the colors of the sunset. Nothing more than to see the reflection of the array of colors in the water. Nothing more to see the wildlife to look so peaceful and comfortable. Nothing more than to have someone here to enjoy this with me, but I have only one friend, and I have no idea if that's his intention. I just want my friend Conner back, and I don't care if wants something from me anymore, I want my friend back. I looked down at the water as I moved my feet around in the water when I felt something brush against the bottom of my foot.
   "AH!" I pulled my feet out of the water, I looked into the water to see if there was any seaweed that I touched, but there was nothing there. Not even seaweed. Must have been a fish. I placed my feet back in the water waiting to see if it was a fish, but there was nothing. Knowing it's safe I place my feet in the water.
  "There you are, mom!" Conner was jogging over.
"I told you I was coming over here. You're just deaf."
"I am not, you just don't know how to slow down." He sat down next to me and put his feet in the water as well.
   "You ok? Did I do something wrong?" He says after a couple of minutes of silence.
"No, I just needed to process what happened today."
"Whew!" He sighs," I thought you were mad at me."
"Yeah, no." I started," If I was mad at you-" I saw a strange flash of white go through the water. Jumping out of the water, I yelled, "Did you see that!" I flipped to my stomach and laid on the doc to get a closer look.
   "What, see what!" Conner yells as he too shoots out the water.
   "That flash of white!" Nearly seconds later I see a streak of blue and red. Now I know this isn't just my eyes playing tricks on me. "Did you see that? That red and blue!"
   "Ok, Mom, I think the lake airs getting to ya, let's just go back to the cabin." He pulled my arm to get up, and I obliged.
   "I swear I saw white, red, and blue flashes..." I know I saw them, but in the sake of that it's getting dark and Conner, I guess, I agreed to forget what I saw. I didn't want to deny what I saw, but I didn't want to be called the camp's crazy person. Didn't need that right now, not right after I just got a true friend, maybe.
   "Oh, so you saw the American flag down there. Well, that's more of a possibility than flashes of color."
   "You know what, I think it was just a hallucination." I don't need him to worry about me. "I just need a shower, a nice hot shower."
   "Well good news, you don't have to take a shower at the shower house, so you can have a hot shower, but there's also bad news." He looks at me with a pained look.
   "We'll spit it out! There's no need for acting!"
"There's only one bathroom in the cabin." I stared at him in disbelief.
   "Is that supposed to mean something? I've shared a bathroom with people a lot worse than you." I walked off towards the cabin again.
   "Wait, you've shared rooms with other guys!" He hustled to catch up with me.
   "That's all you heard from that? Wow, you're a lot more deaf than I thought." He shoots me a look of surprise. When I looked at him, I saw something strange behind him.
   "Hey, you ok?" He walks toward me, I swat his hand away.
   "Pish! Stop!" I pointed at a person on the doc, with the colors red and blue. "That is what I saw under the water! I saw that person, and now she's sitting on the doc!" Conner looked at me like I'd gone mad.
   "I'm going to talk to her."
   "What! No, you have no idea who she is." He grabbed my arm before I could take off to the docs. "And do you hear yourself, you just said that you saw her UNDER WATER. That would mean she can breathe underwater." He gives me a look that says 'Please take the bait'.
   "OK, so maybe it's not what I saw under the water, but I still want to go talk to her. She seems nice." I looked towards the dock again to find no one there.
   "See she left, probably because it's like eight thirty, and she doesn't want to get a ride home because she didn't follow the curfew rule." I looked at him in concern and confusion.
   "That was oddly specific." With that, we both walk up to the cabin, for Conner's sake.