AN: Apologies for the short chapter. I'd wanted to post it yesterday, but there weren't enough hours in the day. Next chapter will be the last, so enjoy.
The mess hall was packed with the multitudes of campers and their dinner plates filled with hot dogs, pizzas, and a great assortment of other foods. In their usual table by the window, Kris and Lucia sat together in silence, waiting for the boys to arrive. It was everyone's last night at camp, and the counselors were getting ready for the end-of-the-year awards ceremony.
As they waited, Kris glanced out of the corner of her eye at where Charles was sitting. She'd only known him for a little while, but she could still tell that the smirk on his face was a smug one, and that he was planning to rub it in to Rodolfo that the Blue Team had lost the competition that year. She seriously hoped that he wouldn't have the chance to do so.
"You have room here?" Rodolfo's voice asked, surprising Kris and Lucia. They hadn't even heard him walking up with Alvin. Without a word, Lucia scooted over, allowing Rodolfo and Alvin to help Zack sit down next to his sister, making sure nothing bumped against the brace wrapped around his ankle. The two boys had worked together to help Zack get to dinner, by acting as a pair of human crutches, to keep Zack from putting any weight on his bad ankle. Mark and Emily had agreed that Zack could stay at camp for the remainder of the week, on the condition that Rodolfo personally 'escorted' Zack to each of the sit-down activities, and that they would be picking them all up the day after the awards ceremony instead of taking the bus ride home.
Just as Rodolfo and Alvin were sitting down, the head counselor suddenly called for everyone's attention. The awards ceremony was now beginning. The five kids all listened without much interest for a while. The first half of the awards ceremony, once all the 'good jobs for all the hard work' were delivered, was quite dull. It was filled with pointless awards, such as 'cleanest cabin' and 'neatest trunk.' After that, they progressed to some of the awards that were named after some people who had came to camp a long time ago, among others. After what seemed like ages, they came to the part that Rodolfo had been dreading.
"All of you have done wonderfully this year in the Blue-White Competition," the head counselor smiled at the entire mess hall. "Everyone should be proud of how hard they've worked this year. I can't remember the last time it's been as close as it has came this year. I trust everyone will therefore extend their congratulations to the White Team for their job well done."
"You gonna be okay, Rodolfo?" Alvin asked, noticing that Charles was sending the brown-eyed boy a smug look.
"Yeah," Rodolfo shrugged, sounding unemotional about the news. "Of course I am. No big deal, right?" Regardless of Rodolfo insisting he didn't care about the White Team winning, everyone still reached out to place supportive hands on their friend's arm.
Shortly afterwards, the ceremony began to come to an end, but it turned out that the head counselor had one final award to give out.
"As always," the head counselor spoke, "I have saved the award of the Adirondack Eagle for last. This award is the highest honor everyone can receive at camp, since you can't just try to win an Adirondack Eagle. It is given to the select few campers who embody a pure sense of wonder and fun and the core values by which we stand: responsibility, creativity, spirit, growing, independence, effort, courage, sharing, leadership, and cooperation.
"Three campers from each age division will receive an Adirondack Eagle in Bronze, Silver, or Gold. I shall announce the names of each camper who have earned this high award, starting from the Junior age division."
The Boho Kids only half listened as the names were called off, automatically applauding for each camper, until their age division was reached, and….
"Rodolfo Davis." It took a moment for Rodolfo's mind to process the fact that his name had just been called out. Even when it did, he could only sit at his table, staring in complete shock at the counselors' table. Did he just hear that right? Did they seriously just announce that he'd won one of those Adirondack Eagles?
"Rodolfo, come on!" Zack cried, pushing him lightly. "Wake up and get going!" With the push, Rodolfo finally managed to regain control of his legs, and slowly progressed up to the counselors' table, nearly in a trance. It was John, the counselor who'd recognized him as Roger's son on the first day of camp, who presented him the award.
"Well done, Rodolfo," John congratulated the young boy with a warm smile.
"I…I don't understand," Rodolfo whispered. "H…how did I…?"
"We were all told about what you did after Zack's accident during the rely race," John explained. "Moments after Charles Miller reached the finishing line, Ryan Prichard came running up and told the first counselor he found about Zack's accident. He told us all how you threw the race when you realized your friend was in trouble, and immediately took charge, telling him to get help before going down to look after Zack until it came. The other counselors and I all agreed that in doing so, you showed a great amount of responsibility and leadership, among other things. And that's not mentioning the fact that you've obviously grown as well. When you first came here, winning the Blue-White Competition seemed to be all that you cared about. But you proved that you were able to put the safety of others ahead of what you wanted. So, from what I've seen, you've undoubtedly exhibited some of the character traits that the Adirondack Eagle stands for." For another brief moment, Rodolfo couldn't find the energy to speak.
"Does… does this mean," he began, not daring to believe it quite yet. "My name's going to go up on the wall, like my father's?"
"That's exactly what it means," John confirmed, patting Rodolfo's shoulder. "I hope you'll forgive me if you're tired of hearing this, Rodolfo, but… you truly are your father's son." Rodolfo gave a shaky smile, still unable to get past the shock of receiving what had been described as the highest award at the camp. As he slowly made his way back to his friends, he managed to catch a brief glimpse of Charles looking scandalized, and Ryan, Tony and Kwan all waving or giving him a thumbs-up. His shock of achieving the goal he'd planned on reaching when he first came to camp, however, didn't disappear until arrival at his table, when Zack, with the help of Alvin and Kris, managed to get up on his feet, in order to give his best friend and 'cousin' a hug that would have been worthy of their fathers.