There is something so refreshing about coming back to a place from your childhood. I couldn't help but feel the first day jitters as I drove through the back roads to get to camp. Everything was the same as when I was a kid looking out the window of my dads old Honda. The only difference is that I am 19 now and I'm coming back as a camp counselor. As a kid I always looked up to my counselors at Camp Red Fox. I'm hoping that the kids can look at me the same way. Except that one counselor, Greg, whom I had a crush on. As a 12 year old I might have followed him around a little more often than the other counselors. It was his warm smile that brought on that bout of puppy love. I had no more time to think about it as I pulled into the parking lot of the camp grounds.
The camp was almost exactly as I remembered it. The entrance was repainted and the grounds seemed so much smaller looking at it from a adults perspective. There were no kids around because the owners of the camp, Jim and Lynn, wanted the counselors to get to know each other and bond for a week before the summer officially started. Jim and Lynn, who were both born sometime in the 60's, were really big on bonding. They had a thing for spiritual connections. I didn't mind because the more time I can spend at the camp the better. I also knew that they only had students from near by colleges work as counselors because they wanted the kids to see where hard work could get them. This was good news because it meant I might know someone from school. I am not the type to make friends quickly with strangers.
As I walked through the entrance I saw Jim talking to a group of boys. Well, they were more men than boys. Tan, muscular, gorgeous men. It didn't matter though because boys like that didn't look at me as more than a friend. I have medium length, curly, red hair. My eyes are green but different shades in different light. I stand at 5'4 with a body full of curves. I hear guys talk about curves but never mine. I have a 48 C cup and a booty to big for short shorts. Even now I felt self conscious as I got my stuff from my car and walked toward the group. I could see some of the men look me up and down. I folded my arms over my stomach as I got closer.
"Ah, Roxanne, you've grown so much since I last saw you!"
I had no time to grimace at his observation before he had me enveloped in a hug. That was another thing about the Adders, they were seriously into hugging.
"Mr. Adder, Nice to see you again."
" I already told you to call me Jim." He said this with a "playful punch" to my arm which suggested that I should get in the habit of calling him Jim.
"Um, Jim, Where can I get my room assignment?" The group of guys had moved over to a grassy area to play a bit of football before we officially started. The fact that they had all apparently gotten their rooms and were unpacked made me feel like I was a little late. When they decided to play shirts against skins I was glad I had come in time to see that.
"Lynn should be around here some where. Why don't you try looking ove- oh! There she is over there by the tire swing. See her?"
"Thanks, Mr. Adder, ugh, Jim."
I wasn't even half way near her when I heard, "ROXANNE? Roxy honey, where are you? There you are!" I almost hoped she wouldn't see me as the entire camp ground now knew who I was.
"You are in the first cabin down the hill to your right. You will be bunking with two other girls. Get cleaned up and unpacked and meet us down by the fire pit around noon, okay?"
I nodded my approval and did as she said. Most of the female cabins are up the hill, closer to the kids, except this one cabin. They ran out of room and refused to cut down the necessary trees to get the other cabin up so they just built it down the hill next to the male counselors cabins. Oh well, this won't be that bad. After doing as I was told to, I headed toward the fire pit. I remember the fire pit fondly from my summers here. Once I got there most of the guys had arrived and the girls were slowly gathering. I stood across from some guy I had never seen before. He was a weird kind of good looking.
He had short dark brown hair that was a little messy like he had just woken up. His face wasn't hot but it was handsome. He looked like he might be Irish. His eyes locked with mine when he caught me staring. I immediately turned away but not before I could see that his eyes were most definitely Irish green. He just had one of those faces where you couldn't stop staring. He was scruffy but in a good way. He was handsome no doubt about it but there was just something about him that made me want to know everything about him.
Jim and Lynn started the games which included writing out names down and passing the paper around and guessing whose it was. I couldn't lie, I had quite a bit of fun. My name was matched by this girl Ashley.
"Meeting over, hope you guys had as much fun as we did!" Lynn said everything with a smile. "Okay counselors, head back to your cabins and get to know your cabin mates. Have fun and see you all later tonight for dinner!"
I turned and started to walk toward my bunk when I changed my mind. Maybe I would take the path through the woods to our cabins that we weren't suppose to now about. I used to take that path before as a kid just to be in the forest breathing in the fresh air. I always liked to be alone for at least a couple minutes just to think. I came to a tree I recognized from when I was a kid. It still had the "R + G" I carved in a sloppy heart. I smiled to myself but then I heard something move. I turned around but I saw nothing. I turned back around and I started to slowly head toward the cabins. I took four slow steps away. Then I heard the crunch of boot on a leaf and I turned around.
There he was. The same guy from the meeting, leaning against the very tree I was just reminiscing at. "It's Roxanne, right?"
"I prefer Roxy."
I never knew why girls complained about not being able to talk to boys. I guess it came naturally to me since I had an older brother and I always talked with him and his friends. I was startled by him but I knew I wanted to talk to him so I took this chance.
"So, if you're "R" who's "G"?
"How do you know I'm "R"?
"I know because no one just stops to stare at a tree without a reason." He smiled. It was a warm smile. He meant no harm.
"Apparently you do." I knew he was joking but I felt embarrassed that he figured it out.
" I didn't come here to stare at trees." He stepped toward me. He kept his eyes on me the whole time.