Cabin Nine [[Revised Edition] Under FURTHER Revision]

Four

Ten Years Old

Jack tells me that he moved to Vermont. Which takes me by surprise. When his dad said New York, I assumed he meant the city. I don't know. His whole family is a special kind of odd.

I rush my group through registration again this year. Jack said he requested me as his roommate. I'm sure I requested him, but I don't remember doing it. The possibility of not being in his cabin is really freaking me out. I heard that they let you switch cabins in teen camp. I hope I never have to switch. I don't want to have to ask anyone.

But Jack and I are in the same cabin so it's not even a problem. This is our first year without Hunter as a counselor. Jack's annual prank is tuned perfectly for Hunter. It's fine, I guess. It'll still work. It's just that we know how much Hunter hates frogs.

Our counselor is some guy named Thomas. He's kind of snippy to Jack and I think he might be the one who checked out my nose three years ago but I don't really remember what that guy looked like.

Jack and I stay in the cabin and do nothing but talk for three hours while other campers arrive. It's mostly Jack talking. Thomas is getting ready to say something, probably something like "Shut up before I shut you up" when someone steps into the doorway.

"Hey, Tyler," he says casually. I don't know him. He's older, maybe twelve, and leaning on the doorframe like he's the bad boy with a cigarette in a 90s family sitcom

Jack glances up. He barely sees the guy before he jumps up and slams the door in his face.

"Who was that?" I ask.

"Nobody," Jack says with an excessive amount of annoyance.

I want to ask more about it but Thomas interrupts. "I'm not dealing with your drama all week," he says bitterly.

"Save it, frog boy," Jack mutters.

Thank the Lord that Thomas didn't hear him. He would've gotten into a lot of trouble and it would've given away the prank. Jack snuck three frogs into Thomas's shower in the counselor's bathroom. We won't get to see what happens, but our cabin is close to the bathroom, so we'll hear him scream.

Jack won't tell me who the guy was and why he got so mad. It takes me bugging him until after chapel for him to tell me. We sneak onto the front porch of the lodge after everyone falls asleep. He tells me that it's some stupid bully from his new church. I guess he has some "suspicions" about Jack, but Jack won't tell me what that means. I don't know exactly what the guy is doing but I get the feeling it's bad.

We're only ten and it seems like this kid thinks Jack broke the law.

"So why don't you just tell an adult?" I ask him.

He gives me an are you stupid? look. "How well has that ever worked out for you?"

"What do you mean?"

"You said you tell a teacher when people are horrible to you."

"Yeah?"

"And how much does that help?"

"They stop talking to me."

"And how many friends do you have?"

"You," I say without thinking. I want to take it back. Before now, I made sure not to let it slip that he's my only friend.

Jack looks surprised. "Just me?"

"Kind of, yeah."

He bites his lip. It's kind of mesmerizing. "Me too."