Remains Of Summer Memories
"Here they come," Jon sighed, voice filled with foreboding, as we watched the buses full of campers roll towards us. I knew he was just being pessimistic, but I was getting anxious all the same. It was my first year as a counselor at Camp North Star, and I was determined to be as good as Jon, who had been my counselor the year before. Jon's attitude did nothing but leave me feeling nervous.
"Is it really going to be that bad?" I asked. The buses had pulled into the camp's parking lot, and I could see happy faces peering out through the windows.
"I'm just kidding. Relax," Jon told me. I tried to calm down, and told myself to breathe. "Sure, you might end up with a troublemaker, but most of the kids are pretty cool."
I nodded and watched as the campers streamed off the buses and started going through the piles of luggage. Once everyone had found their bags, the camp director began shouting out cabin assignments through a megaphone.
"Cabin four," she called, turning to point at me. "Your counselor is Aiden Serrano." A list of names was read off, but I quickly forgot them. A group of six or so boys separated themselves from the rest of the campers and walked towards me. I smiled warmly at them.
"Hey guys. I'll take you to the cabin and you can put your things down." I led the way down a narrow path to our cabin, a small wooden building with only the four bunks as furnishing. As I watched them claim their beds, I noticed how close to my own age they seemed to be. I'd expected to be put in charge of fourteen or fifteen year olds, but these kids seemed to be no more than a year or two younger than me.
Once they had more or less unpacked, most of them left to go explore the camp before dinner. I decided to do the same, not wanting to be stuck in the cabin all afternoon. I wandered down to the lake, where a group of girls had started a water fight. I wanted to get away from the commotion of camp, so I walked along the lake's shore towards a spot I'd been to often in my years as a camper. A flat outcropping of rock jutted out over the water, and was hidden from view on three sides by a ring of trees. I climbed onto the rock and stretched out on my back, relaxing in the warm summer sun. I closed my eyes, letting my mind wander off.
A branch snapped behind me and I sat bolt upright, spinning around to face the source of the noise. A boy stood a few feet away, his pale face turning red from embarrassment. It took a moment for me to recognize him as one of the boys from my cabin.
"Um, sorry… I didn't mean to intrude…" he mumbled, staring at his shoes. He turned around and made as though to leave.
"Hey, wait," I called. The boy stopped, his back to me. I had noticed earlier that he'd been quiet and reserved around the other kids in the cabin. I'd assumed that he had friends in a different cabin, but he seemed to be just as lonely as before. I knew how hard it was to be all alone at camp, so I figured the least I could do was be friendly. "Why don't you come sit with me and we can talk?"
He hesitated for a minute, then climbed onto my rock and sat down. He sat quietly, avoiding my gaze, while nervously fiddling with a strand of his long, straight blond hair.
"I don't think I know your name," I commented, breaking the silence.
"Tyler," he replied, tracing the smooth surface of the rock with his finger. Clearly he wasn't much of a talker, but he was probably just shy.
"Nice to meet you, Tyler. Is this your first year here?"
"How could you tell?" Tyler looked up and our eyes met for the first time. My breath caught. One eye was blue, the other green, and they were so pretty. I stared, completely unable to look away.
"I…I've been coming here since I was fourteen and I've never seen you before," I stuttered. Get a grip, Aiden. I forced myself to turn away from his piercing gaze. Tyler nodded and looked out at the lake. I sighed inwardly, glad his eyes weren't on me anymore.
"How old are you now?" he asked, glancing at me before hurriedly looking away.
"Nineteen."
"Oh." Tyler hesitated, then added, "I'm seventeen."
We fell into a comfortable silence, simply enjoying each others' company. I glanced at my watch and, seeing the time, jumped to my feet.
"Look, I'm really sorry, but I've got a meeting with the other counselors I need to go to," I told him apologetically. "I'd love to hang out again, though. Maybe we can sit together for dinner?"
Tyler's face visibly lit up, and I knew it had been a good suggestion. "Sure, I'll save you a seat," he promised, and I agreed. I was surprised at how quickly he had gotten over his self-consciousness, and I definitely liked this more confident side of him. Waving goodbye, I headed back towards the counselors' cabin for the meeting.
---
Jon and I walked into the dining hall bearing plates piled high with food. The meeting had taken longer than expected, so we were a bit late to dinner.
"I promised one of my camps I'd sit with him, but you can join us if you want," I offered, looking around the room for Tyler. I spotted him sitting at a table in the corner and pointed him out to Jon. Tyler looked up and smiled at me as we approached. My stomach did flip-flops when his eyes met mine, and I had to force myself to sit down before I did something stupid.
Jon and Tyler began to introduce themselves to each other, but I didn't pay attention. I could only think about Tyler's gaze, and why I was so affected. Why did I react so strongly to simply making eye contact? I was acting as though I had a crush on the kid, but that couldn't be true. He was my camper, and I was supposed to be in charge of him. Not that he'd like me back even if I did have feelings for him. His eyes were so incredible, though. I was a sucker for pretty eyes, and I'd never seen eyes like his. It was just amazing how much power they had over me.
"So Tyler, tell us about your life outside of camp. What are your friends and family like?" Jon was asking when I tuned back into their conversation.
"I don't hang out with my friends very often anymore. We kind of… started going in different directions," Tyler explained, his eyes flickering to me. I shifted uncomfortably, wondering why he kept looking at me. "It's the same with my family. We don't talk, just keep our distance."
No wonder Tyler seemed so lonely. I wondered if he'd been telling the truth and they had all simply drifted apart, or if something had happened to mess up their relationships.
"What about you, Aiden?" Jon asked. "You always tell me stories about your friends, but you've never mentioned your family."
I froze, my eyes widening. On a list of things I didn't want to talk about, my family was at the top. I shoved a big bite of food into my mouth and chewed slowly in an attempt to stall for time. What could I say? My family had kicked me out of the house my junior year of high school after I'd told them I was gay. I had had to move in with one of my best friends and spend all my time either working or studying. Camp had been the one thing that I looked forward to, a place to escape from all my problems at home. I wasn't about to let my personal life interfere with my time at camp, even now when I was at college and away from all the people and memories of my past.
Luckily, dinner ended at that exact moment, sparing me from having to answer. I jumped out of my seat and managed to lose Tyler and Jon in the crowd leaving the dining hall. Once outside, I took in a deep breathe of the cool night air. What I needed at the moment was to take a walk around the lake in order to relax.
"Aiden!" A shout from behind made me turn around to see who was calling. Tyler had separated himself from the rest of the campers making their way to the cabins and was jogging down the path towards me.
"Are you okay? You got really quiet after Jon asked about your family, and then you just ran off," he asked once he had caught up to me. He was staring at me with eyes full of concern.
"Yeah, it's just… My family is sort of a sore subject," I explained, although that much he had probably figured out on his own.
"How come?" Tyler blushed. "Wait, forget I said anything. I'm sorry, it's none of my business."
For some reason, I found myself wanting to tell him why I was so upset. I'd known him for less than a day but at the same time I felt as though I could trust him. He didn't seem like the type that would go running off to tell everybody that I had been disowned.
"No, it's okay." I took a deep breath, preparing myself to share with him something that I hadn't even told some of my close friends. "My parents kicked me out of the house my junior year of high school." I briefly considered telling him the reason behind my parents' actions, but decided that would be too much too soon.
"Wow, that's horrible. I'm really sorry," Tyler whispered, his eyes wide. I could tell from his voice that he was sincere in what he said. I smiled at him, suddenly feeling as though a weight had been lifted from my shoulders. It felt good to have shared a piece of my past with him, even if it wasn't a particularly pleasant memory.
We walked in silence back to the cabin, not needing to say anything in order to understand one another. Having shared one of my most painful memories with him had created somewhat of a bond between us, and the feelings between us went beyond words. When we reached our cabin, though, I felt I had to say something.
"Look, Tyler…" I began, stopping him before he went inside. "I know we have only known each other for less then a day, but… I feel like there is some sort of connection between us, you know?"
"I feel it, too," Tyler replied softly, almost tenderly, and it suddenly occurred to me too late that my words probably sounded more romantic then I had intended. I flushed, hurriedly trying to come up with something to say so he wouldn't get the wrong idea.
"No, well… I just meant that it's nice to know I have someone to talk to. As friends," I added hastily. "That's all I was trying to say."
Tyler stared at me for a moment, expression unreadable, and I hoped he didn't start to wonder why I was putting so much emphasis on 'friends'.
"Well, um, it's getting late so I guess we should go inside," I suggested, breaking the uncomfortable silence. Tyler nodded and I followed him into the cabin. It was nearly lights-out, so most of the boys were already talking quietly in their beds. I put on a pair of sweatpants and an old shirt, then slipped into my own bed. The lights were turned off, and aside from a few soft whispers, it was completely silent in the cabin.
I stared up at the ceiling, mulling over everything that was going through my mind. I had tried all day to ignore my growing attraction towards Tyler, but my efforts were hopeless. So, alright, I liked him, but I couldn't let it become anything more then a crush. Losing my job wasn't worth what would be only a summer fling. All I could do was remind myself that he was my camper, I was his superior, and nothing could or would ever happen between us.
Wishing I could believe myself, I finally fell asleep, thoughts of Tyler haunting my dreams.
Author's Note: Another new story! I actually have most of the second chapter already written, so I hope to get it posted before too long. Of course, knowing me, it'll probably take years... But I'll try. Anyway, thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed it.