As Witnesses

5💙

Sunday, June 24, 2007

~*~

As Ginny steps off the summer camp bus, she thinks about what has been going on recently with herself, her family, and her friends. The same night of her brother's birthday, their parents noticed the cat ears on Lil' Catty's hair, which he explained, and their parents agreed that it was a cute idea, so over the weekend they bought a kids' hair gel for Lil' Catty to use on his new hairstyle. Earlier this month, school ended without much event - other than an end-of-year party in each class. Her class party involved a lot of throwing paper like confetti and eating homemade cakes. Then around a week later was Fuzzynerd's eighth birthday. This was also not too chaotic, but it was definitely fun. Fuzzynerd and his family had made a circular cake, because of his newfound interest in pi, an irrational number that has something to do with circles. Of course, the Airlets insisted they had the Valors over for a birthday party for Fuzzynerd, and the party consisted of everyone trying to figure out puzzles and math problems set up by Fuzzynerd and Midnight, as well as Fuzzynerd celebrating his new glasses, which he got around two weeks before.

Life has been awesome, so Ginny has no idea what her parents would be worried about all of a sudden. It sure had seemed like it, at least.

Back to the present, Ginny is also living in the moment - something she's very good at. The grass around is very green, with wildflowers sprouting at every angle. There are logs arranged in circles for everyone to sit on, with unlit campfires, as well as wooden tables and benches. The waters of a bright blue lake nearby are forming small waves from the calm breeze. The lake, reflecting the sunlight, has a ladder and makeshift dock on its shallow end, both also wooden. The forest occupying most of the other side of the lake is a much deeper green than the grass, and there are leafy and piney trees alike. Ginny takes a deep breath or two of the fresh air. Not another second passes until Ginny is running around again. I can't wait for this to start! I can't wait to do everything here, and to meet new friends too, she thinks to herself while prancing on the grass of the meeting area of the summer camp.

Well, it is called the meeting area for a reason. A camp counselor blows a whistle, calling for everyone's attention, including Ginny's. "Alright, everyone!" the counselor shouts to all the kids attending the camp. "When I blow this whistle, that means we all gather in a circle! Can we do that?"

The kids all begin to form one big circle. Ginny does so too, while looking around at everyone else. Some are walking, some are skipping, some are running. Among these kids is a blonde girl, around Ginny's age, timidly walking over to join the circle. Ginny feels an urge to talk to her or at least help her out, but now isn't the time.

The counselors and guides of the camp introduce themselves and give an itinerary of the camp schedule. It turns out they'll be doing hiking, sailing, swimming, biking, and various activities involving nature. The announcement of all the cabin groups is also accounted for. Although everything sounds interesting, Ginny nearly falls asleep standing up while having to listen to the adults talk on and on.

Finally, after what feels like hours, everyone is dismissed to settle in and socialize.

Once again, Ginny looks around at the other kids. Most of them are chatting in groups. Ginny approaches one of these groups and says hello, but no one in the group even acknowledges her existence. This happens with all the other groups she thinks would be nice, so she stands by herself in defeat. Ginny then looks over to just the right spot in the grass, and that's when she remembers the blonde girl.