Underneath the Sun

A Morning of Isolation

It was as if they wanted to find the cheesiest, most outrageous thing for me to wear that would draw as much attention to myself as possible. The outfit was a cross between Zorro and a cartoon burglar, with a dash of post-apocalyptic gas mask to round it out.

"Is this another joke?"

Pat's chest deflated as he looked at the costume in his hands.

"Well, we consulted a few people, including your parents, and this is what they recommended."

My parents? Really? There must have been a serious miscommunication somewhere along the line.

"I assumed they told you I was bringing my own uniform for the outdoors."

A moment of illumination came over Pat.

"Right, and you can have this as a backup. We don't get much laundry done while we're here," he beamed.

I nodded and looked to the door to cue him to leave. He took the hint and stepped out in the same manner that he entered, but not before leaving that stupid costume, which is what I'm going to call it, behind. I got dressed and made my way to the meal cabin.

It was a bit of a trek to get there as they built it right beside the small lake at this camp. Its selling feature to any group interested in booking the campground were the giant windows looking out over the water, allowing campers to enjoy some serenity while they ate.

This was about to be ruined for everyone here thanks to me.

Entering into the open room, with its rows of wooden tables and benches, the many campers there shot me a look. The windows were covered up with cloth tarps and were painted with inspirational messages:

"I am not a product of my circumstances. I am a product of my decisions."

"With the right kind of coaching and determination, you can accomplish anything."

"If you look at what you have in life, you'll always have more."

And they kept going, but judging by the looks I was getting, they knew. I had taken their view of the lake and replaced it with motivational sayings they've probably seen a thousand times before. I was about ready to run back out when Krissy's voice stopped me.

"A VIP and a snowflake? This is rich. You trying to intimidate us with that mask or give us a laugh?"

A chorus of chuckles came from those nearby who could hear. I ripped the cloth covering from my face as fast as possible and pulled back the hood. I guess when you're dressed all in white and they don't know why, it's tough to know how to take it in. I shrugged.

"Just trying to join the fun," I lied.

Without another word, she grabbed some apple juice from the counter of the kitchen window, brought it over to me and splashed it on my outfit.

"There you go," she said. "Having fun yet?"

She walked away and grabbed a seat at the table without saying another word. I was stunned. Did she really just do that? Before I could go over and yell at her, my ears began to burn. Was sunlight getting through somewhere?

I pulled my hood up and before I could take another step, a counselor jumped into my view.

"You must be Tate!" she beamed.

She was smaller than me, but you could feel the energy shooting off her. It was like she woke up and immediately crushed ten cups of coffee. It was her giant eyes that really freaked me out though, which eclipsed everything else going on. They gazed downward at my chest.

Her lips pursed as she sucked in air.

"Let me guess - Krissy dumped that on you."

Not sure if that knowledge made me feel better this wasn't the first time, or worse because I was never warned.

"Yeah," I choked out.

"Let me talk to her right now. Don't worry, she probably likes you."

That was only going to make things worse. I put my hands up to stop her, but she had already pivoted and had her sights set. Her head turned to me briefly.

"I'm Joanna, by the way. Looking forward to chatting with you soon."

Then she darted off.

I turned around, loaded a plate with pancakes and fruit and quickly found a spot in the corner of the room away from everyone. Pulling the hood over my head even tighter, I bent my head low to keep me from anyone's gaze. If they looked in my direction, I wanted them to get the message to leave me alone.

It worked.

The cabin filled with the rest of the campers, each one talking about the horrible night sleep they had. I kept my ears perked in case anyone slipped up about coming to my cabin in the middle of the night, but heard nothing.

Krissy's figure filled my view after everyone was seated. The annoyed look on her face told me she was being forced to do something.

"Joanna told me to come over and apologize, so yeah."

She turned around and walked back to her table. If that was meant to be an apology, she had done a piss poor job of it. More laughter erupted from her table when she sat down. Whatever she was getting at, I would be more than happy to not deal with her the rest of the time I'm here.

I looked around for the other counselors. A few were at the tables with the campers, but most of them were in the corner eating together. None of them better come this way because nothing is worse than forced conversation from someone who is being paid to care.

Pat eventually stood up from the corner table and got the attention of the hall.

"This morning is an opportunity for you to see all the great activities we have here," he began. "We have setup stations around the camp and you can visit whichever one you want. If you're heading to the docks, you must go through the safety check first. There are plenty of outdoor and indoor activities."

At this, he shot me a quick glance.

"We'll meet back here for lunch. Enjoy the morning!"

I cleared my plate and ran back to my cabin. The door was locked and the keyhole was jammed with broken twigs. It was going to take a locksmith to fix this or a crowbar to pry open the door. I wanted to hurt somebody, very bad.

Unfortunately, I also needed to get out of the sun or things would get worse. There was no way I was heading to any of the activities while they all made fun of me. I needed time to process.

I ran into the nearby woods and went as deep as I could to find the most shade coverage. I found a giant tree to sit down and lean against.

Then I buried my head into my hands and began to cry.