Chapter 2 – His Name Was Jason
A year had passed. The residents in town tried to forget the horrific summer before. One boy had drowned. One counselor had died and Camp Crystal Lake had been shut down indefinitely. Moving forward would be difficult, but not impossible.
Tom Walters was the man who would attempt to bring the sullen area back to life. The space was too beautiful to waste. Crystal Lake was the perfect place to spend the summer.
There was a only a week left until the camp opened. Although the number of children signed up to attend didn't meet the goal he had in mind, it was still a step in the right direction.
Tom grabbed a clipboard from the desk in his office. He had created an attendance list of the counselors who were working for him. The clock on the wall signaled it was about time for a staff meeting.
The crew met by the edge of the lake. People were scattered about in small groups as Tom marched his way down toward the water. His employees stiffened up and gathered in a tight half circle as he approached them.
"Hey gang," he started, "We are a mere seven days from this place opening. Next Friday is when the campers move in. Did all of you pick up a copy of the ice breaker activities we have planned for that weekend?"
There were nods from the group of young adults.
"Good. Closer to the date we'll go over exactly where people will be in regards to that among other things."
"I used to run a check in table here the last two summers when I worked for the other guy," a shaggy haired blond boy said, " I wouldn't mind doing that again."
Tom nodded, "If no one else objects, that would be fine with me Eddie."
"You worked here when that boy drowned?" a short brown haired girl asked.
Eddie shrugged, "Yeah."
"Wow, and you wanted to come back after that?"
Before Eddie could answer, a boy put his arm around her waste and gave her a look as if to say, "shut up."
"You don't have to answer her," he told Eddie, " I'm Barry. This is Claudette."
They all shook hands.
"Since we're on the introductions," Tom stated, "Why don't we go about introducing one another. I met each of you in your interviews and briefly one other time. Do any of you know each other?"
"I worked here last summer, too," another boy said, " I'm Patrick."
Everyone took turns saying their name a little bit about themselves.
Julie the medical student.
Will the basketball player.
Amy the aspiring teacher.
Evan the cook.
The group was well rounded and ready for the summer.
"Now I've basically set up the camp in a very simple fashion," Tom explained, " The cabins to the right of the beach will be the male side. The cabins to the left will be the female side." He pointed to where several cabins were clustered together, "There is one cabin on each side with separate bedrooms, which is where the counselors will stay. The cabins surrounding it will be where your campers will all stay in one big open room. There are several sets of bunk beds scattered around most of them."
"Do the cabins have bathrooms?" Amy asked.
"There are two main washing areas, or out-houses."
Groans loomed through the crowd.
Tom laughed, "There are about ten showers in each out-house, as well as a plether of toilets and sinks."
"A plether?" Will chuckled.
"A plether." Tom repeated shaking his head.
"Does your cabin have it's own bathroom?" Barry asked, crossing his arms with a smirk.
Tom smirked back, "Don't worry about me, Barry."
A few people laughed.
"Now, with all seriousness, I don't want to live in the past but I feel the need to touch upon the incident from last year one time and then it will not be spoken of again."
Everyone quieted down and listened.
"What happened here was a tragic accident," Tom told them, "For those of you who had to go through that, I'm sorry. You're very brave to return after the unfortunate death of a child. I want to make sure that everyone is safe at all times. Don't ever abandon the children you are responsible for, even if they say they'll be fine. Kids will always give you that line. Do not pass off a responsibility to another camp counselor because you're not feeling up to it. That's the quickest way to get fired. You get fired, you don't get paid. Bottom line."
"What if there's an emergency?" Claudette asked, "Could you have someone cover your responsibility then?"
"Of course," Tom said, "But only if it's an emergency. If one of your campers falls and scrapes their leg and needs medical attention, you can radio me or someone else so one of us can bring the child to the nurse's station."
"So we all get radios?" Eddie asked.
"That's right. Beginning next Friday."
"Cool."
"Any other questions for tonight?"
The counselors exchanged glances and shook their heads.
"Okay then. You're free to have the rest of the night to yourselves. If you decide to go out on the town, make sure you're back here around midnight. I'm not going to babysit you guys, but I expect you to be ready in the morning for Day 2 of training. Today was just a warm up. Tomorrow we'll get started."
The group nodded and began to talk amongst themselves.
"What was the boy's name that drowned?" Claudette asked Eddie after Tom walked away.
"Claudette!" Barry said in an annoyed tone.
Patrick cut in before Eddie could answer, "Jason. His name was Jason."
