I had written about half of this chapter several weeks ago when I hit a block. Yesterday, I came back to it and just started over. Then it was easy! Thank you for your patience. Lydia Belle, your comment made me laugh. : ) ClassicTVGrl6080, I have two more parts planned after this. Thanks everyone for all the reviews!
Same disclaimer as always. On to the third chapter!
-----Despite her hunger, despite her scratches and bruises, despite the water dripping from her from head to toe, Angela was the happiest she had been since arriving at camp. She was almost skipping as she approached the shadowy outline of the cabin she shared with Ginny. The sun had dipped completely below the horizon and the lights at Camp Wildwood were all out; Ms. Birkenschlager was a firm believer in the 'early to bed, early to rise' maxim.
Angela paused to admire the natural beauty of her surroundings before going inside. The moon, a silvery nimbus of light, was waxing almost full. Partially obscuring it were clouds, which hung so low and thick in the sky that it seemed as if they were being held up by the treetops. Thousands of crickets chirruped cheerfully back and forth.
Taking a deep breath of air, which smelled like rain, the girl exhaled shakily. A broad smile was forming around the red feathered arrow she held clenched between her teeth. To think that this day had started out great, then turned into a complete disaster, and then ended as one of the best days of her life! No, the best day of her life.
The cabin door opened and shut with a small creak as Angela slipped through. In the quiet she could hear a squishing sound whenever she took a step, so she bent down and unbuckled her wet sandals. Immediately, a puddle began forming around her feet as water ran uninhibited down her legs and trickled from her hair.
Upon reentering the camping grounds, Angela had stopped by the deserted shower room to clean herself and her clothes. First she had turned the faucet handle over to very hot, so hot that steam clouds formed and, after stripping off her shorts and blouse, washed the dirty articles of clothing using liberal amounts of that gritty soap that smelled so bad it made her nose wrinkle. Wringing all the water she could out of them, she had then let them soak up the steam while she stepped under the spray of water herself. Forgoing the soap, she had simply used water – hot to get clean and cold to soothe her sensitive skin. Her wounded cheek almost felt normal again.
Afterwards, she had dressed again to get from the shower room to her cabin. Now, leaving her sandals by the door, she tiptoed across the log floor to the bunk bed. There were a couple of towels in her suitcase underneath the bottom bunk; she could use one to dry her hair and the other to wrap around her still damp clothes. Her nightgown was in there, too.
She edged the zipper along the seam of her suitcase as slowly as possible. Once it was open all the way, she dove both hands into the layers of clothing inside. She felt the smooth fabric of tops, the slightly rougher material of her shorts, and the thin cloth undergarments… Ah, there was her nightgown. Now where were those towels?
"Angela? Is that you?"
There was a click and suddenly a bright arc of light swung down from the top bunk to shine directly on Angela, who had been kneeling on the floor beside her suitcase. At the sound of the voice, however, she toppled backward in surprise. All she could see was a shimmering green haze, interspersed with black spots every time she blinked.
Angela took the arrow out of her mouth and set it down beside her. "Ginny?" she wondered, shielding her eyes against the bright light as she looked up. "I thought you were asleep."
"I thought I was, too…" replied her cabin mate. There was a pause before her voice took on a concerned tone. "Why are you all wet? And oh! You found the arrow!"
"Yes…I did."
"You don't know how sorry I am…for what happened, I mean."
Angela returned to looking through her suitcase for her towels. "Aha! There they are!" she exclaimed as she tugged them out from behind her clothes. She looked up at her cabin mate, even though she still couldn't see her. "Don't be sorry, Ginny. It's alright."
"I felt so bad when Ms. Birkenschlager made you go out into the woods –"
"No, really! It's okay. It's more than okay." She giggled and then, clasping the towels to her chest, she spoke the magic words. "I met a boy."
"A boy? From the Y camp?"
"Mm-hmm." She began wrapping one towel around her hair. "After I change, I'll tell you all about it!"
Five minutes later, Angela was dry and in her nightgown, sitting cross-legged on her bunk. Ginny had climbed down to join her, bringing a plate of food she'd smuggled away from the dining room. In the soft glow of the flashlight, now lying on the table next to the bunk bed, Angela related her tale of what had happened that afternoon in between bites of a (cold) hot dog and spoonfuls of coleslaw. Ginny, a natural sympathetic ear, added winces of embarrassment and sighs of delight in all the right places, but mostly she just listened.
"So he asked me to meet him at Kissing Rock tomorrow night at nine, and I agreed," Angela finished, stifling a yawn as she set the empty plate down on the table. Not for the first time that night, she reflected on what a day it had been for her - the near win in the archery competition, the search for the arrow in the woods, her meeting with the boy, and now her blossoming friendship with Ginny.
"You're so lucky, Angela, to have a boy who likes you. I'm really jealous."
"Of me?" The tone of her voice showed how hard it was for Angela to imagine anyone being jealous of her.
"Yes." Ginny took a deep breath, which turned into a yawn. "Oh, but if you promise to tell me all about what happens tomorrow night, I suppose I can live vicariously through you."
Angela couldn't help but giggle as she gave the girl a hug. "You're the only other person my age, Ginny, who knows words like 'vicarious.' And yes, I promise."
With that, the two girls said goodnight and Ginny climbed back up to the top bunk, taking her flashlight with her. In a matter of minutes, her breathing had slowed to near silence. Even though Angela was tired herself, it took her awhile longer before she drifted into a slumber of her own.
The next day, which was hot and humid like all the days that had preceded it, seemed especially unbearable for Angela. After lunch, she returned the red feathered arrow to a scowling Ms. Birkenschlager and then joined the other girls waiting in the playing field to begin that afternoon's group activity – volleyball. Another sport in which Angela did not excel. The only thing that made the afternoon more tolerable was that she and Ginny were on the same team, so they could suffer the bruises together.
At the end of the day, the two girls were approached by Regina. "Hey! Amanda!" she called, her voice dropping as she came closer. "You know how those criminals from across the lake are always bothering us? Well, the other girls and I decided we need to make them pay. Tonight. We're meeting at nine o'clock, after that old witch Birkenschlager is in bed, to go over there. Do you want to go with us?"
"She can't go with you," Ginny said quickly, her face bright pink. "She's going to Ki–"
"I wasn't talking to you, Ginger," Regina interrupted, before turning her attention to Angela. "So? What do you say?"
Angela didn't know. She was actually glad Ginny hadn't completed her sentence. Last night, her encounter with the boy in the forest had seemed real. Her heart had pounded every time she thought about their embrace. She was sure she had memorized everything about those few moments in his arms – the warmth of him, the smell of sweat and pine resin, his breath on her neck, and his soft, dark hair. But in the light of day, she wondered if he had been serious in his suggestion that they meet at Kissing Rock. What if she arrived there at nine only to find herself alone?
However, Regina's offer wasn't necessarily any more sincere than the boy's. Neither one of them knew her name. She supposed it was a question of what she wanted more: to be part of Regina's group or to have her first real kiss?
"Well, Allison?" Regina asked impatiently. "Are you coming with us tonight or aren't you?"