There was one strange item in the instructions. Participants were directed to wear clothing designed for comfort, and they specifically barred briefs for men and athletic bras or pantyhose for women. Jack bristled at the restriction; he liked the way briefs showed off his assets. Oh well, a little shopping trip wouldn't hurt him.
Thinking about briefs brought the previous night back to Jack's mind. His tutor had not, as it turned out, been wearing panties. A sudden rush of blood into his groin reminded him he needed to call Sherry. He rearranged his shorts and reached for the phone. She wasn't terribly put out about his canceling their weekend movie, although she expressed some surprise at his reason. "A writing seminar? Jack, it's unlike you to be so... studious." She emphasized the "oo" sound in "studious", holding it long enough for Jack to picture the way her lips were pursed as she giggled and hung up.
Was Ken staring at him? He turned around suspiciously, but his roommate was merely sitting in his chair, smiling faintly, headphones over his ears and a thick book opened in his lap. The lack of sleep, Jack thought, must be playing tricks on him. Anyway, between the confused images of last night and his conversation with Sherry, he needed a cold shower.
*****
Friday afternoon found Jack standing nervously by the bookstore, his gear in a backpack (including the newly purchased boxer shorts). By the time 4pm rolled around, there were a half dozen students gathered, two other men and three women, none of them anxious to break the common silence. At the stroke of four an SUV arrived with Chris driving and an athletic-looking man in the front passenger seat. She introduced him as Greg, another tutor, and they quickly got everyone into the vehicle with the guys in the back seat and the girls in the middle. They started off, the radio playing some foreign sounding music mixed with white noise and fading oddly in and out.
Jack dozed for a good deal of the drive, as did his fellow passengers. They left the city behind and entered an area with tall trees as the afternoon gave way to dusk. When the van finally came to a halt, everyone piled out to stretch their legs, and Jack realized he had no idea where they were. Trees, bushes, an open area with a large grill and several long tables were visible nearby. At one side was a wooden cabin of recent construction, and the sound of a river echoed in the air. "Pretty," said one of the girls. "Pretty bleak" grumbled one of the guys. Chris and Greg wasted no time in chivvying them into a line outside the wooden cabin for "check-in and team assignment". There were already a number of people in the line, evidently from the three other vans parked nearby.
Inside the cabin, when it was Jack's turn, he was greeted by an older couple who introduced themselves as Carl and Maria Weber, "sort of den parents at Camp Get-in-Touch". They went through his bag, checked his newly-bought boxer shorts, and confiscated his CD player and dress belt, telling him he would get those back at the end of the session. They also asked him a few questions to corroborate a medical form that he didn't remember filling out. Finally, both welcomed Jack to the seminar and expressed their hope that he would find the experience insightful and mind-opening. Carl shook his hand, and Maria gave him a very thorough welcoming hug before they sent him out of the cabin.
Conversation was scant among the group as they waited for everyone to get through check-in. What little talk there was revealed that they spanned the range from freshman to senior, and all had coursework problems of one sort or another. Eventually the last of their group came through the cabin, and Chris and Greg joined them holding clipboards. Chris spoke up, "Okay gang, I've got Jack, Martha and Tom, and Greg will have Sally, Nate and Shavonne. My group follow me and we'll get you set up in our cabin."
The brunette set out into the woods, and Jack and his new cabinmates followed uncertainly while eying each other speculatively. Martha was a statuesque redhead who radiated confidence and took the walk with long hip-rolling strides. Jack found himself wondering what she could possibly need from the seminar. Tom, on the other hand, was a thin bookish type with glasses and looked the type to need help at most everything. Their cabin, when they arrived, was a low- slung affair with an undecorated wood floor and spare furniture, the only note of comfort being the four large beds, two against opposite walls. "Where's the bathroom," whined Tom. Chris waved a hand toward the cabin door. "Those are outside; you'll get that in the main camp tour and orientation. We'll go there in a few minutes, but right now just grab a bed and put your things on it." Tom slunk across to the farthest bed on the right, muttering under his breath about privacy. Jack took a bed on the left wall to avoid Tom, and Martha took the bed nearest the door, sitting down and bouncing experimentally. "Nice mattress," was her only comment. Chris seemed to find the appraisal humorous. "By the time you get to bed, you'll appreciate it. Okay, folks, it's a short weekend and you've all got a lot to do. Let's go!"
The camp extended much farther than the greeting area promised. The grounds included a swimming pool, frontage on the river, a well-groomed soccer field, several camp-simple restrooms (which Tom gratefully availed himself of), and a roomy combination meeting hall and covered dining area. There they found some thirty other students gathered, and everyone found seats while the Webers and the counselors took the front table.
Carl Weber came to the podium. "Welcome, folks. We're glad you could join us for this weekend retreat. All of you are having problems in focus, one way or another, and we're going to give you some tools to help you accomplish what you want in life. Or at least in school." He chuckled at that, and his audience did likewise.
"You've all had the camp tour and gotten your cabin assignments, so we'll have a hike and some warm-up exercises before dinner. The Romans had a saying, "mens sana in corpore sano", a sound mind in a sound body, and we adhere to that philosophy here. During the weekend you'll probably experience a number of activities that are new to you, from breathing exercises to different ways to experience your surroundings. Pay attention to your counselors, and feel free to ask questions, but remember that this can only work for you if you're prepared to have an open mind and work hard. Remember, we're all here for the same thing - to help you be all you can!"
And with that the meeting was dismissed. The groups separated in various directions through the woods to the various clearings scattered around the grounds. Chris quickly rounded up her group, and Greg's group joined them for what turned into a strenuous five-mile hike through the woods. Even Martha looked winded by the time they returned to the camp. They followed their leaders to the meeting hall, where dinner was already waiting. The food was spare but tasty, heavy on the vegetables and fiber, surprisingly filling, and apparently the seminar was to be meat-free.
After dinner the groups retired to their various cabins. Chris gave them all ten minutes to bask in the after-effects of their meal, and then had the three cabinmates sit on the floor in the middle of the cabin. "This is an introduction to meditation," she told them as she slid a CD into a small stereo. Muted sounds of sitar and tabla echoed in the room. Chris circled around and between them, slipping a soft blindfold around each student's head. Jack smiled as she put his on; he could tell she was wearing that same perfume from when he had met her over dinner. The next half hour was a somewhat fuzzy lesson in floating, focusing, hearing the music and not hearing the music. "Meditation," Chris said at one point, "is about focusing and losing focus simultaneously. It's like the old joke about being told not to think about an elephant. The only way to succeed is to allow the elephant into you so that you can get past it." At least half of this was gobbledygook to Jack, but he was trying to keep an open mind.
"I'm going to give each of you a focus phrase now. The next time you do meditation practice, I want you to repeat your phrase until the words lose their meaning and just surround you with sound. Tom, you're 'Scent of Green Papaya'. Martha, you're 'Sliding on Silk'. Jack, you're 'Hot Apple Pie'. Now I want each of you to repeat your phrase, and keep on until you forget I'm here."
This, thought Jack, is just plain silly. Still and all, he went along with the gag, and a strange thing happened. First, he did forget about Chris and the other students; it began to seem as if he were alone, floating in the universe, a babble of meaningless syllables echoing in his head. Then, as sudden and sharp as a flashbulb, he saw meaning everywhere. He could picture the Earth and planets orbiting the Sun. He saw the beauty in the whorls of his fingerprints. He understood women. The tax code made sense... well, almost. He felt a touch on the back of his neck, and sensed a familiar perfume. Somehow, he realized, Chris knew that he'd gotten it. He felt oddly proud at the accomplishment, as a student praised by his teacher.
After a time, Chris went around the room removing the blindfolds. Jack and the other two each stood up and shook their heads to regain their bearings. A low gong sounded in the camp, and Chris nodded her head. "Time to get ready for bed; we've got lights-out and one last exercise, then you'll be up early in the morning!" Somewhat subdued by their own individual experiences, the three roommates quietly went through their things, hiked to the restroom facility for tooth brushing and other needs, and returned to the cabin. Tom had taken his pajamas and changed in the restroom since there wasn't any private area in the cabin. Jack, on the other hand, planned to sleep in his sweatpants and shower in the morning.
