Snapshot (3 page)

“On the positive side, you have lots of clothes you can borrow,” Brooke offered.

Outside, the warm day had turned into a balmy evening. The sun lay low in the western sky and sparkled across the calm lake.

“This is so gorgeous. Makes me want to start snapping pictures,” Marti said, her fingers itching for her camera.

“Totally. When we drove in I saw two deer standing at the side of the road. We don’t get too many deer in Chicago,” Kayla said.

They followed the path to the Nature Center, tucked in a clearing surrounded by tall trees. Tonight, they’d meet the other kids in the photography group. When they entered the cozy building, they discovered a large room where one side was the nature center with displays of driftwood, pressed leaves, butterflies mounted behind glass and jars of mysterious bugs. The other half of the room boasted a large area rug along with two comfy couches and a dozen giant floor pillows in an array of colors. A piano was placed behind one couch and faced a stone fireplace.

“This place keeps getting better!” Marti said, wishing she could live here forever.

“I know, isn’t it great? I’ve been here the past two years,” Kayla said.

“Really, you like it that much?” Marti asked.

“Yes and no. My parents want to keep me busy and hopefully out of trouble, so every summer they fill my calendar with one camp after another. I’m getting a little old for it, don’t you think? The thing is, I’ve probably gotten into more trouble at camp than I would have if I stayed home. If they only knew.” Her face broke into a sneaky grin.

“Let’s grab the pillows.” Brooke led the way, and they plopped down in the corner as more kids arrived.

“Don’t look now, but things just got better.” Brooke tipped her head toward the guys from dinner.

Tall, dark and steamy led the way. “Hey,” he said to Brooke and relaxed on a pillow next to hers.

Brooke arched a perfectly tweezed eyebrow and looked away, but then smiled at Marti and Kayla.

The girl from registration joined them. “Hi, everyone. I’m Melody and I’m your counselor.” Melody wore frayed jeans and a camp t-shirt.
 

Melody tucked an escaped strand of blonde hair behind her ear and sank into the couch. “We’re going to do one of those lame ‘get to know you games.’ Sorry.” She smiled. “But first, let’s start by going around the circle. Say your name and something about yourself, like where you’re from.”

Everyone looked around. No one wanted to start. Melody looked at AJ. “Why don’t you start.”

His eyes widened, but he recovered quickly. No one likes going first.

“Okay. Sure. My name is AJ. And I’m from… Iowa.” He looked to the guy with dark hair the girls had been gawking at to go next.

“I’m Justin, and I’m from St. Paul, Minnesota.”

“Hi, I’m Kyle and I’m from Naperville, Illinois,” said their roommate with the wavy hair.
 

Marti knew this was a prestigious camp and loved the idea that kids came from so far away. Introductions continued around the circle until it reached Marti and her friends. Marti lived in Madison, Kayla drove up from Chicago and Brooke was from La Crosse.

“Great. Now, have any of you ever played Two Truths and a Lie?”

Marti nodded, along with most of the others.
 

“What’s that?” whispered Haley.

“For those of you who don’t know, each person takes a turn and tells two things about themselves that are the truth and one that’s a lie. Then everyone guesses which one is the lie. I’ll go first,” Melody said. “I’m majoring in Poly Sci, I’m allergic to horses and I’ve been sky diving.”

“Cool,” said Kyle, the guy with the wavy hair.

“Now you guys have to guess. Which one is the lie?”

“Sky diving,” Marti said. She couldn’t imagine why anyone would ever want to leap from a plane.

“No, that’s too obvious,” AJ said, with a deep look.

Marti didn’t know if she should be irritated he disagreed with her or if she should find a way to stop noticing the way his mouth curled into a smile every time he spoke.

“Is it the allergy to horses?” Haley asked.

“Yup, you got it,” Melody answered. “Now let’s split the group in half so it’s a bit more manageable, and you guys can play. Let’s have the people on the pillows be one group and the rest on the couches be another.”

Marti’s group gathered up pillows and moved into a corner of the nature area where a taxidermy fox watched over them and a fish tank containing tiny turtles bubbled.

“Okay, I’ll go first.” Kyle leaned back on his hands and blew his bangs out of his eyes. “I was born in Hawaii, I put ketchup on popcorn, and I can snort Jell-O from one nostril to the other.”

“Oh that’s gross!” Haley groaned.

Everyone laughed, and Marti relaxed even more as she sensed these would be fun kids.

“So what’s the lie?” Brooke asked.

“I bet it’s the ketchup on popcorn, because no one would think of snorting jello unless they’d done it.” Marti tried to imagine how one went about snorting jello.

“You got it.” Kyle flashed a sexy grin her way.

Marti couldn’t help but blush.

“I’ve got one,” AJ said, crossing his long legs at the ankles in front of him. She could almost reach out and touch him. “My favorite singer is Justin Bieber, I know how to drive a coach, you know those big buses, and when I was little I stuck peas up my nose.”

“Eww.” Marti laughed.

“Justin Bieber. No guy in their right mind would like him,” Kyle said.

“I think he’s kind of cute,” Kayla said, ducking her head and nibbling on her lip. Marti bumped shoulders with her.
 

“Yeah, the lie is Bieber.” AJ laughed.

The game went around the circle, and Marti learned tidbits about the others like the fact that Brooke played volleyball and dipped French fries in milkshakes, but was afraid of thunderstorms. Justin liked miniskirts, took a girl to prom on his motorcycle, but didn’t like the taste of cherry lip gloss.

“Okay, everyone. You have free time until lights out at eleven,” Melody said.

“You’ve got to be kidding. It’s not like we’re six years old,” Kyle complained.

“Sorry, bunk checks happen at eleven. It’s the rules. Don’t complain to me. I don’t make ‘em.”

“Well I break ‘em,” Justin said under his breath.

“Wake up bell is at seven-thirty, and breakfast is at eight-thirty. You guys have a full day tomorrow. Your photography instructor has a ton planned.”

Marti liked the kids already and the gorgeous camp. The food didn’t even suck, but she really wanted to get out and snap some pictures.

“Okay, outta here. I’ll be by your cabins at eleven for lights out.” Melody slid the furniture back in place.
 

They all stood and wandered out of the building into the balmy evening air.

“What do you want to do?” Kayla asked.

“I don’t know. Let’s explore,” Marti said. “I’ve barely seen the camp yet.”

As they walked toward the cabins, the guys followed.
 

“You guys want to party later?” Justin asked

“What’d you have in mind?” Brooke flipped her hair. Marti was pretty sure Brooke wanted to do anything that involved Justin, who in Brooke’s eyes was a dark-haired God.

“Let’s meet up at the ball field around 11:30. We’ll bring the beverages,” he said.

“Sounds good to me. What do you think?” Kayla looked to Marti, Haley and Brooke.
 

Marti and Kayla nodded.
 

“Abso-fuckin-lutely,” Brooke added.

“Awesome. We’ll catch ya later then. Come on guys.” He motioned up the path. AJ, Kyle and Ryan followed.

*
 
*
 
*

A few minutes before eleven p.m. the girls pretended to get ready for bed. They even changed into pj’s. Brooke wore an oversized athletic shirt. Haley organized her camera equipment.
 

Melody popped in. “Time for lights out. Tomorrow’s a big day, so I’ll see you in the morning.” Melody flipped off the light and let the screen door softly creak closed as she went to the next cabin.

Brooke groaned.
 

And then, the sounds of a cello playing a lullaby sounded over the outdoor speakers. The strains of Brahms Lullaby floated through the air. Marti smiled as she lay in bed and listened to the haunting sound of the low strings’ vibration. It was a beautiful piece when played in its entirety. She wondered who played it; one of the kids from camp or an instructor?

Finally, at eleven thirty, and the four girls popped out of bed, changed clothes and snuck down the wooded path to the open ball field. They whispered and giggled as they followed Kayla’s flashlight beam. In the middle of the field, they spotted the guys sitting in the grass talking around a small cooler.

“Oh my god, they totally brought booze!” Kayla whispered.

“How do you know it’s booze? Maybe it’s just soda.” Haley sounded worried.

“Don’t worry. Stick with me, and I’ll get you educated in the ways of the real world.” Brooke slid her arm around Haley’s shoulders and pulled her forward.

“Hey guys,” Marti said as they approached. “What’s up?
 

Justin swirled the contents of his yellow plastic cup. “We’re debating whether vodka gets you drunk faster or brandy.”

“Definitely brandy,” Brooke stated with confidence.

Marti looked wide-eyed at the others.
 

“I think we need to do a test to decide for ourselves,” Kyle said.

At home, Marti didn’t go out drinking. The last thing she wanted to do was worry her grandmother. Grandma had her hands full with her own daughter, Marti’s mom. But this was camp, and the odds of getting caught were pretty low. This was a perfect chance to finally cut loose.
 

“Okay, who’s Team Brandy and who’s Team Vodka?” AJ grinned.

Here we go
. She knelt next to AJ and the cooler.

The low light of the moon illuminated his impish grin. Something about him seemed familiar, but she couldn’t figure out what. He pulled more plastic cups from the cooler, along with a two-liter bottle of fruit punch. Maybe he was from Madison or used to live there.
 

“I’ll try the vodka,” Marti said.
 

“Excellent choice. That puts two of us on team vodka.” His eyes flashed.

Marti’s stomach tightened in a good way. So AJ already put her on his team. “Want some help?” she asked.

“Absolutely.” His eyes met hers and Marti’s stomach did a little flip.

“Haley and I will go for the Brandy,” Brooke said.

“Awesome, come join us.” Kyle scooted over to make room. Brooke dragged a nervous Haley over to join him.

“I think that makes you a vodka girl tonight,” Justin said to Kayla.

“Twist my arm.” She giggled and wiggled in between Justin and Marti.

Marti put ice in the cups and held them. She watched AJ as he poured juice and a generous amount of booze, admiring how the shadows created by the bright moon defined the structure of his face. He seemed to have a permanent glint in his eye as if he were having more fun than anyone else. She couldn’t help but smile.

He took an empty cup and poured the drink back and forth to mix it up.

“You’ve done this before,” she said, realizing he was much more experienced with booze than she was.

“Nah, this is how my brother used to make chocolate milk.” AJ finished, the corner of his mouth turned up in a devilish grin. “That ought to do it.”

Marti handed the cups down the line to the girls, and Justin made a toast. “Here’s to an awesome two weeks.” They all leaned in and tapped their plastic cups together. Haley’s hand shook nervously, sloshing out some of her drink, but she didn’t back down. “Cheers.”
 

Here’s to uncharted territory
. Marti took a drink, a little too big as the strong alcohol made her want to cough, but she choked it down.

“Here’s to new friends,” Haley said.

“Here’s to what happens at camp stays at camp.” Kyle looked straight at Kayla, and she raised an eyebrow before lifting her cup. They toasted again.
 

Marti toasted silently to Grandma. Grandma made up for Marti’s absentee parents. She always found a way to make Marti’s dreams come true. Not that Grandma had any idea Marti would be drinking her first night at camp. She felt a teeny bit guilty, but brushed it away.

She leaned back on her hands and gazed at the night sky. The moon rose, illuminating the clearing. Stars twinkled as if telling her she was in for the time of her life.
 

*
 
*
 
*

“Nice view.” Adam leaned back next to Marti and looked up. He liked how the treetops framed the edge of the playing field and the stars above.