Hello, I've been lurking on this website forever and I final worked up the courage to bring an idea to y'all. Unfortunately I'm not a brilliant writer, but thanks to nerdjarvis on for their hard work bringing most of my story to life with me! Their work helping me realize the story and it is absolutely fantastic. My friend Mr. King also did the editing so thank you to both of you for putting up with my ideas.
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This was the 8th day of the camp and everything was going smooth except for one thing- Rob is being bullied by his childhood friend.
Rob is an average 18-year-old boy. This was his first time at this art camp, glassblowing as a counselor and instructor. He had been coming here since he was a kid, and at that time, it was his dream to become a counselor here at camp and teach the kids as an actual instructor of the art. Rob was not a shy person while teaching, but at the same time, he was not such a social butterfly either. He always kept to himself and was unsure if anyone took interest in him outside of friends. Glassblowing had given him a decently built body. His brown/ auburn hair somewhere between curly and wavy. He also wore glasses which compounded the nerdy look. Honestly, he was quite the nerd in taste too. When he wasn't glassblowing, you could find him reading Marvel comics, or watching old Star Trek and BattleStar Galactica episodes on his phone.
Everyone at the camp fell into three groups of people for Rob. Group one: the people who liked Rob, such as the counselors or his other friends. Group two: the popular and athletic leaning teens who treated Rob poorly. And lastly, Group three: June.
Rob was very concentrated on his lesson, the heat of the furnace causing beads of sweat to accumulate on his forehead as he carefully twisted the Punty in his fingertips. Then he heard a knock, the familiar clang of knuckles on the metal support beam of the GlassBlowing hut. It snapped him out of his lesson and he turned scanning the room of campers until he saw Stephanie. "Come in," he spoke loudly and reluctantly over the fans and blazing furnace. Stephanie, the assistant counselor for tennis, came up to talk to Rob while he continued to work
"Sorry for disturbing Rob, but June wants to see you after class." Rob's face changed, but he tried to hide it from the counselor. "Thank you Stephanie, I'll see her after class," Rob said, stammering a bit.
Rob returned to the class as the assistant counselor left, a thousand things going inside Rob's head. Although he taught the lesson, his mind was elsewhere. What could June want with him this time? Why send Stephanie? She would usually come here and torture him herself.
June and Rob used to be friends when they were kids coming to this camp. She was a year older than Rob. She had darker - almost brown skin. Her rich brownish-black hair was wavy, long and kept in a ponytail. She looked like she was a mix of native Central American and white like her mom. He never asked but her home's culture said enough for him to guess the unimportant details. June is a tall girl. She towers over Rob, which probably helped to intimidate him. Her 6 feet of height dominating Rob's 5'9" stature.
Even though Rob and June were friends when they were kids, things changed as time went on. Their friendships and their friend groups changed as she got prettier and her body started filling out. She started doing more sports like tennis (Which she was a counselor for now). She'd spend less time coming over to indulge in the newest sci-fi flick or getting on her bike with him to go to the comic book store. Rob was saddened by change in their relationship and longed to be close with her but it had been three years now where they barely interacted, outside of her bullying him or when Rob's parents invited June's parents over for dinner.
At camp, June's bullying really increased with their proximity. Her words were more cutting and her actions caused him shame and embarrassment. She'd make him do things for her and he would oblige (hoping to uphold some semblance of their old relationship), Or else she'd embarrass him in front of the other counselors and campers. She was rambunctious, dominant and tough. No matter how rude June was, Rob always found some kindness in him to forgive and give in to her.
Soon as the lesson ended Rob trepidatiously went to June's cabin, thinking of what she wanted him to do this time. As Rob reached her cabin, he knocked on the door. But there was no response. He waited before knocking again. After fifteen or so minutes, he pushed the door open and peeked in. There was nobody inside the room and he walked into the room hesitantly. "June," he called out softly and in a lower voice. 'Maybe she had her headphones in', he thought. Still, there was no response.
Rob walked to her table to check her schedule, wanting to find out where she was at the moment and if it was worth waiting or incurring her wrath for walking away early. As he got closer to the table, he saw a note with his name on it. He picked it and opened it with a bit of a surprise. Meet me by the ladies' restroom, it's an emergency, the note said. Rob first thought that this was another joke of her's. But soon he feared if there was something wrong and she actually needed his help. Maybe he was being ridiculous. It could just be another embarrassing trap. Should he not even bother? He decided to go however. Despite how awful she had been, she'd never done irreversible damage to him.
He rushed over towards the ladies' showers/ restrooms to find June. Once it was in view, he stopped his brisk pace and looked around with no sight of her "Maybe she was inside?" he said softly as he caught his breath. There was no choice but to get closer. Outside, he called out for June but the restrooms were suspiciously quiet. Then he heard a voice inside say muffled 'I'm in here. I need help Rob.' Rob hesitated. He wasn't about to just walk into the women's stalls.
He answered back, "Can I help from out here?" It was silent for a second before she responded. "I don't think so Rob. Listen I really need your help. Can you come in?" There was no one around and Rob took a deep breath before opening the door and walking in.
He exhaled when he saw no one in there and the lights were off. It was dark but not too dark to see. "Where are you?" He called out again at a lower volume given the circumstances he was in. Another second passed and she responded "The last stall Robbie." She called him by the name she used to when they were younger. It made him feel warm but also raised suspicion in him.
He walked over and opened the stall. June sat there with her phone out and her beautiful long caramel legs crossed. Rob was about to ask why she asked for him to come when suddenly he felt hands behind him tug down his pants. Before Rob could react his pants and underwear were off, exposing his flaccid penis. Suddenly the restroom door opened and two female counselors walked in. Then followed another few. They all saw Rob and started laughing. It was all happening too quickly. He turned around and saw it was Stephanie who had pantsed him. His face felt red and his eyes started to become wet. A few of the women laughed and some seemed appalled. Even June was giggling at him. He realized he should pull up his pants and did so before pushing past the women and out of the bathroom. He could hear the women laughing and talking as he ran. He felt ashamed, why June would do this to him!
June's laughter faded after Rob left. She saw the tears in his eyes and a pit started to form in her belly. She remembered Rob as that redhead boy. He was her first friend when she moved into the neighborhood all those years ago. All the girls laughed and gossiped about what happened but she didn't join in. She felt frustrated more than anything... but at what? June walked out of the restroom and watched Rob moving away in the distance of the evening orange light. Even though June bullied Rob all the time, she felt safe around him. It was how she treated him that had turned into the wrong kind of aggression. She was always tough and tomboyish. She used to tease Rob endlessly but was also kind to him. She'd always defend him and pick him up when he was down. June thought about all their memories as she watched him disappear into the distance. Deep down June liked Rob, but she never wanted to admit it. So instead of admitting that she liked him, she constantly teased him.
June had a nice childhood with Rob and their nerdy friends but everything started to change as puberty hit. She was becoming easily one of the prettiest young women in their town. But she also started growing taller, like super tall; taller than any other girl of her age and they'd be mean to her for her height even acting like they were better than her for it calling her names etc. hurting her so much. She liked being popular and adored and loved by everyone. But deep down she was just like Rob; a nerd. She was teased by her peers for not having a boyfriend or keeping a guy around, for loving nerdy things, for acting silly, and being around Rob. So she started bullying him to fit in. Even after everything, Rob would still always be there for her. But now she feared she really had nobody after that stunt. She bullied him because when they were friends, he always took the teasing so well. But this- what she had just done wasn't really teasing anymore. It was cruel.
Days passed like this, June would watch Rob from a distance. Whenever he looked at her, he didn't smile his big goofy smile like he used to. He looked at her with venom in his eyes. She wanted to break out crying but was too scared to look weak. People would laugh at him or make comments and passes, bringing Rob down further and further. She could see it in his posture. She could see it in his face. Finally she decided she had to do something. She needed to talk to him and say sorry. She needed to do more than that. She needed to tell him how she felt.
