Page 5

Wyatt

I finished eating and like everyone else we stayed close to the mess hall waiting to see what we should do next. I looked around for Gavin but didn’t see him.

“Wyatt Andrews, I haven’t seen you since high school graduation.”

“Timmy?” I was so shocked and relieved to see a familiar face, I pulled him in for a hug. “Are you here for camp?”

“Yes, it’s nice to see someone I know here.

” Timmy and I didn’t run in the same circles in school and since I avoided any social interaction that wasn’t forced on me, we didn’t know each other well.

He was very active in band, theatre, and so many other things.

“What have you been doing since high school?”

“I graduated college and I’ve been doing remote work. Nothing too exciting,” I said and hated how that sounded. “How about you?”

“After graduation I tried college, but it wasn’t for me.

I’ve been working at a few restaurants since then.

I love it. I get to meet new people every shift, and I’m working at a restaurant close to the Memorial Coliseum.

I’ve been trying to get into one of their shows.

So far, I’ve only worked backstage, but I’ll keep auditioning.

” His eyes lit up just talking about possibly being in a show there and his passion for theatre showed.

“That is exciting. I’m sure you’ll get chosen for one soon,” I said and hoped that conveyed my wish for him to get what he obviously was willing to work so hard for.

“Thanks, Wyatt, I hope so. What made you decide to come out here?”

“I’m seriously questioning that,” I said making him snort.

“Remember when the whole class went to a camp in sixth grade?” he asked.

“Yes, but I didn’t go. I ended up with a homework packet for the week. But I was happy to stay home rather than go. I know that probably sounds weird.” I wasn’t sure why I’d never been one to go on group outings or even to a friend’s house after school.

“I got sick and couldn’t go, but I always wanted to.

When I saw Camp Acorn advertised, I thought it would be the perfect way to get the experience and actually learn something.

Who knows, maybe I’ll audition for a play where we go camping, or we’re lost in the wilderness.

” His face lit up making it hard for me not to grin back.

“I just want to survive the two weeks,” I grumbled to myself.

“You’re going to survive, and you’re going to have fun,” Gavin said, appearing out of nowhere, and dammit, once again I was stuck in the pull of that smile. “Did I hear you say you two went to school together?”

“Yes, we went to the same grammar school and graduated high school together,” Timmy said.

“You’re both in Arrowhead cabin. Almost everyone has arrived. It’s time to head back to the mess hall. We’ll do introductions and get everyone settled,” Gavin said before hurrying off to tell another camper the same thing.

“So, roommates,” Timmy said with that mischievous grin he’d had as a kid.

“Yeah,” I said, not really sure if it was good or not.

I knew Timmy, but not well, and I was still the introvert while he was obviously the extrovert.

But it was nice to think someone might notice if I came up missing.

“I’m glad you’re here, Timmy.” The two of us walked to the mess hall which was now filled with lots of new faces.

Most looked as nervous as I felt, which also eased some of my fear about being the one person who knew the least.

“Hi, everyone, welcome to Camp Acorn,” Gavin said, and explained everything he’d already told me before going around the room and asking everyone to introduce themselves.

“If you already have your cabin assignment and you haven’t unpacked you can do that now.

Everyone else can help me with the campfire area that we’ll use after dinner. ”

“I’ll be back soon,” Timmy said, and hurried off with his luggage to the cabin. There were only a few of us left to help Gavin but when we got to the area for the campfire it was ready.

“How can I help?” I asked.

“You can find a seat and relax. We set it up earlier and I thought we could give everyone else a chance to unpack while the five of us relax and enjoy this beautiful day.” He sat on one of the stumps that stood on end for seats and circled the campfire area.

I took a deep breath and a moment to enjoy how nice the weather was.

There was still a little nip in the air, but the sun was out, and I would have sworn the sky was bluer.

“It’s nice here.” I started to sit on one of the stumps just as a lizard scrambled across my foot.

I yelled and moved my leg in a way it wasn’t meant to move.

My legs tangled together as I spun around and I braced for the inevitable fall, but it didn’t happen.

Instead, strong arms held me just above the ground.

“Are you okay?” Gavin asked, so close I could see just how dark his eyes were and how soft his lips looked. His scent was clean man and something that must have just been him mixed with sweat and pine.

I shook my head and scrambled to get my feet under me while ignoring the other people I knew for a fact had seen what happened. “I’m okay,” I managed to squeak out. “A lizard startled me.”

“It was huge, I saw it,” one of the other campers said.

“They’re sneaky,” Gavin said. “But I promise they won’t hurt you.”

“I know, it just startled me. Thank you.” His eyes sparkled, and I hoped nothing happened to make him want to stop holding me because I could get used to being in his arms.

“It was huge,” the same guy repeated, making me grin. “That wasn’t a blue belly, it had to be an alligator lizard.”

“It was pretty big.” Alligator lizard? What the fu —after making sure there were no other lizards nearby, I took a seat on the stump and introduced myself.