Nineteen
Gavin
“ H ow do you think they’re doing?” I asked Joe while everyone finished their lunch.
“Amazingly well. I expected way more complaining. And it’s nice not having to chase them out of the poison oak repeatedly.” He kicked at a rock and laughed.
“Keep an eye on Timmy. I don’t think he knows what to look for and he was standing right in the middle of it.”
“I noticed that. Way to take care of it early. Hopefully he’s not this year’s sacrificial victim.
” The two of us snorted then tried to cover it with a laugh.
I hadn’t lied to Wyatt, but I didn’t want him to know how bad the poison oak could get.
Making a mental note to be honest with him about it if he ended up volunteering, I glanced over at him and caught him laughing at something Dani had said.
It was so unusual for the whole group to get along, but so far, they all had.
“So, you and Wyatt?” Joe asked leaning in close and keeping his voice down.
“I hope so,” I said, not even trying to deny it.
“Good to know. He’s a great guy,” Joe said.
He was closer to my dad’s age than mine and had spent a lifetime working at one of the tech companies in Folsom.
One day he got tired of the grind and decided he was going to find a job doing nothing like he had been doing, Lucky for us he mostly did it for fun and didn’t care if we paid him so little.
“I think so too. He’s thinking of helping on trail maintenance after camp is done.”
“Well, we can always use more help,” Joe said.
“That’s what I said too. I’m hoping he doesn’t want to leave after overnight camp,” I said and tried to act like I wasn’t as worried as I was. We lost a lot of campers to the overnight part. Most didn’t want to hike and stay the night after sleeping in a tent at the camp.
“I wouldn’t worry about it. Something tells me it’ll take more than that to scare him off.
” Joe clapped me on the shoulder, and after a speech on the importance of not leaving any food or trash behind the two of us made sure everyone packed their lunch leftovers and trash back into the containers it had come in.
“Have you seen bears here?” Sal asked after packing up his container.
“Yes, but mostly they’re out away from camp.
They really don’t like to be around people so as long as you’re not too quiet when you’re out here, they’ll usually avoid you.
” His eyes were wide as he scanned the trees before looking toward the lake and then the camp beyond.
“Don’t worry, you’re safe.” Just then a squirrel came racing down a tree and across the table next to us.
“Ohmygod!” he yelled and jumped.
“Just a squirrel,” I said just as Bobbie and Lyn came over to see what made Sal jump.
“Time to get going back to camp. If you haven’t packed up your containers, now’s your last chance.
” Once everyone was ready, we all started our return to camp.
This time Joe led while I stayed in the back—with Wyatt.
“So, what’s on the agenda for the rest of the day?” he asked.
“We’re going to have a relaxing afternoon at the lake, but no canoes this time.
Everyone gets free time to swim if they want or just hang out on the beach.
We have a floating obstacle course too that staff are going to have ready to go for us when we return.
Jimmy is also going to barbecue for dinner.
So even if you’re tired after the hike you can still have fun. ”
“That sounds great,” Wyatt said.
“I hope everyone else thinks so too.” It was so different having adult campers compared to kids. The adults so far had proven they were up for anything where the kids took some convincing.
“They will. We’re all having a great time. It’s like a vacation more than school, which is what I sort of expected it to be. I thought we’d be getting up every morning at the crack of dawn and hiking daily before coming back and doing difficult tasks.”
“Is that really what you were expecting?”
“I honestly wasn’t sure what to expect but everything has been great.”
“We might need to rework what the website says. We have it focused on what the kids can expect but like I’ve said we’re new to having adult campers.”
“I can help if you’d like. I minored in marketing,” Wyatt said with a lift of his shoulder like it was no big deal. “You’re doing a good thing here. Most of us are hardcore introverts and you’ve managed to drag us out into the fresh air and sunshine. You should be proud.”
“We can always use help with the website. Most people just call or email for information, and I really didn’t think about you all being introverts, but I guess you’re right. When I had this idea, it was more about letting adults have the fun of camping they maybe didn’t get when they were kids.”
“You accomplished that. I had a chance to go to camp in sixth grade and faked being sick to avoid it. Just the thought of being with strangers in the middle of nowhere had no appeal to me. Then everyone was so excited to talk about it when they came back, and I regretted not going. Not enough to go on my own or try to get my parents to take me camping. I guess I just wanted to feel like I was part of the group that got to go,” Wyatt said, and I wondered how many other kids felt the same way.
“We’ve been camping as long as I can remember. When my parents opened Camp Acorn it didn’t seem all that different to me than what we’d already been doing other than there were more kids. Which I didn’t mind at all.”
“I wonder if I would have liked it if we’d always gone.”
The two of us were silent as we navigated the trail and since everyone agreed, we didn’t stop on the way back for a break and arrived at camp ahead of schedule.
As soon as they saw the blowups floating in the lake, they were all excited.
“Surprise, since you all did so well on the hike we’re taking the afternoon off.
Feel free to swim or try the obstacle course.
If you’re not a strong swimmer remember to put on a swim vest. And now my job is done for the day.
Have fun.” I slipped off my backpack and after untying my hiking boots I ran down the short dock and flipped into the water.
When I broke the surface, everyone was trying to get their own shoes off not even concerned about changing into swimwear. Wyatt wore the biggest grin as he ran down the dock toward me.
“Cannonball,” he yelled before tucking and hitting the water with a big splash. Laughing as I swam over, I grabbed him and pulled him close as soon as he broke the surface.
“I am so glad you’re not leaving yet.” I didn’t kiss him, but I wanted to so bad it hurt. The look in his eyes told me he felt the same way, but instead he splashed me before swimming away. “Oh, it is on, mister,” I yelled and swam after him.