CHAPTER 2
"What are you doing down here?" a voice said from behind, startling me. I turned around to see the boy from the market. "I was just going for a walk to look around. Did you follow me all the way here?" I said "No. I usually go for a walk just to enjoy the view and to get some fresh air when I saw you walking around." he said. "What's your name anyway since you're the one being all mysterious around here." I asked. "My name is Jake Koenig. May I ask what your name is, or should I just call you 'Jumpy'?" he said. "No my name is Jocelyn Bellamy." I told him. "So what is that building over there anyways?" I asked. "It's an office from what my dad told me. But I dont know for sure."
"We should really head back to the camp site Jake." I said, "It's getting dark fast." As we headed back to the camp site we talked more and I learned that Jake had a little sister just like I did but she was only 7. When we reached the camp site my mom saw Jake and I walking together. "I see you've made a friend already? Am I right?" My mother said, "Yes mom." I said. "Hello, my name is Jake Koenig. It's nice to meet you." he said as he held out his hand which my mother took to shake. "I'm Jocelyn's mother, but you can just call me Ms. Bellamy."
"Well it was nice to meet you Ms. Bellamy. It's getting dark I should really head back to my camp site before my mom and dad start to worry about where I'm at." he said. As he walked back to his camp site I noticed that my dad was no where to be seen. "Mom, where's dad at?" I asked. "He went to the store to get some graham crackers, chocolate, and marshmellows so we can make some s'mores after dinner. He'll be back soon." I walked back to the car to get my book to read some more as mom made dinner but it was getting hard to see the words on the page so I just put my book away and went to the tent my father had set up for my sister and I. My sister was in the tent putting her pajamas on. "Why are you putting your pajamas on before dinner Mari?" I asked. "Because does it matter? After dinner I'm just going to go to bed." she said "Yeah I guess you're right. Just I think it's weird. I've never seen you do that before." "Dinner's ready you guys. Come and eat." We came out of the tent and my father was back from the store.
"So how was your little walk around the camp ground?" My father asked me. "It was good I guess. I made a new friend. His name is Jake."I debated on whether or not I should tell my parents about the building I saw on my walk but I decided I'll bring it up later on during the trip. "How long are we going to be camping here for?" My sister asked. "Just till Sunday." my father replied. After dinner we made s'mores and talked about things to do tomorrow. I remembered hearing on the news that it was going to rain this weekend so I packed two jackets. My sister wasnt aware of this so I told her to put a jacket on before she went to bed. Of course she asked why and I told her, "It's going to rain tonight so you should put a jacket on to stay warm." She put her jacket on and got into her sleeping bag and put a blanket over her and we went to sleep.
I laid there for a while losing track of time just listening to the pitter-patter of rain droplets on the tarp that covered our tent. It was quite a relaxing noise for me to listen to, like a lullaby is for an infant. After laying there for a while, I started hearing thunder, seeing flashes of light from the lightning and that's when I started to get a little excited from all the energy I could sense around the area. I wasn't sure what time it was when I fell asleep.
I woke up to the sound of birds chirping, fresh air, and a cold breeze. I wasn't to pleased to have my finger tips frozen. I got out of the tent, my sister was still asleep. It was just past sunrise and my dad was up making breakfast for everyone. "Good morning sweetie. How did you sleep?" dad ask. "Ok I guess, it took me a while to fall asleep though I guess. Just I'm not sure what time it was when I fell asleep dad." I said. "Why? Is everything ok Jocelyn?" I wasn't sure how to asnswer that. "Yes everything is ok dad." I said. After breakfast I walked over to my tent and got dressed. As I was in the tent I heard two voices outside the tent, one was my dad and the other was Jake. I took a peek out of the tent. I was right it was Jake.
"Mr. Bellamy, is it ok if Jocelyn and I go for a walk around and I can show her the little places around here? I've been coming here since I was 8 and I know where a lot of things are and things to do." he said "Yes you may but right now she's getting ready. I'll send her over when she comes out of the tent." I heard my dad say. I quickly put my pants on and a shirt and jacket, since it was sprinkling still. I greeted my dad pretending like I didn't hear Jake come over. He was making breakfast and I noticed my mom wasn't anywhere around so I guess she was still asleep along with my sister. "What's for breakfast dad?" I asked. "Just toast, eggs, bisciuts and juice." he answered. I just grabbed two pieces of toast and eggs and ate them like a sandwich and a small glass of juice. "Your friend James came by a few minutes ago. Asked if you guys could go for a walk around the campsite." My dad told me. "He did? And dad his name is Jake not James." I said. "Yeah and sorry the names are similar."
I walked over to Jake's camp site and as I walked over I noticed that there were other people that looked to be about the same age as me. "Hey Jake." Everyone looked at me funny when I just came over and started talking. "Hi Jocelyn, these are all my friends that I've met over the years of coming here. Don't feel like a stranger guys, say hi." Some of the people around said hi and I started to get the feeling they didn't like me being around. "Ok so what do you guys want to do today?" Jake said in a loud voice so that we could all hear him although there was only a handful of us to talk to. A girl that was a little taller than me and kind of skinny mentioned the builiding I saw when I had been walking around yesterday. "Yes. That sounds like a fun thing to do." I said. "Ok so lets all get ready. We'll meet at the river in five." He said. I walked back to my tent and sat in there and looked around for things I might need. I grabbed my watch and backpack just in case we found some cool things at the building. My sister had just woken up and was putting her shoes on. "Where are you going?" she asked. "I'm not sure I'm just going to hang out with some friends that I had made a few minutes ago." I said. "Cool! Can I come too?" my sister asked. "No it's just a bunch of us older kids and you might get hurt." I told her. She sighed and just continued to tie her shoes. I got out of the tent and went to the creek where just about everyone was waiting. We crossed the river and walked up to the building and on the front of the building it said 'Of i e'. Given that this is an old building I'm going to guess that it used to say 'Office'. But what kind of office was it? We walked inside and it was covered in leaves and dirt on the inside as well.
"Ok everyone be careful. As you can tell, it's still raining therefore the ground is wet and slippery." Jake said as he stared at me. "Hey Jake, if you don't mind, I don't want to watch you and newby make kissy faces at each other all week. Lets just look around and check out the place before our parents get worried about us being gone so long." Someone said. "Alright we'll split up into groups of two. Emily and Harry you two stay together and search the northern and eastern corners. Zack and Caleb you two search the southern and western corners. Jocelyn and I will look around up stairs." Jake said.
"You would take the new girl with you." Caleb said. "Yeah why does the new girl get to go with you?" Harry said. "She gets to come with me so I can she her around and make sure she's safe. Now the both of you just shut up and go look around." We all split up and went in different directions and started looking around. "Be careful going up the stairs. Last year Zack fell through the stairs when we were looking around and that's when we just left and when back to the camp grounds." Jake told me. "Oh." I said. I didn't know how to react to that I've never had to deal with anyone falling through stairs. Then again, I don't think anyone really has had to deal with that, not anyone I've known at least.
