Disclaimer:
Emmett: Knock, knock.
Me: Who's there?
E: Donna.
M: I'm there?
E: Just ask Donna who? Jeez.
M: Okay fine, Donna who?
E: Donna doesn't own Twilight.
AN: I want to point out that I have nothing against people who are Type A. I have several of them in my family although I am not one of them. And not all of them are bad, they just want things the way that they want them immediately when they ask for them and they will not accept the word no. Also, thank you to everyone who has liked, added and is following this story and sent in reviews for this story so far. I love and appreciate all of you. You guys are the reason that I love doing what I do.
The counselors were woken up by the sound of a trumpet being played over the PA. Even after two years Bella woke with a start, not used to the sound after not hearing it in over ten months. Leah was already awake and fresh from the shower.
"I detest that he feels the need to do that, it's rude," Leah said sullenly.
"Why did your mom buy him a sound board?" Bella asked with a tired sigh.
"Boys and there toys," she answered with an eye roll.
Bella understood that since her dad had more rifles and fishing rods than one person should own. She threw her legs over the side of the bed and jumped down, landing square on her feet like Jacob had taught her. She had bruised her heels twice and the balls of her feet once before she learned her lesson her first summer.
She took her time getting dressed. She had no shame when it came to changing in front of Leah. Leah had broken the ice when Bella was twelve when she made comments about Bella's newly developing body. Leah stopped calling her 'Flag Pole' after that; Bella's 'Mosquito Bites' were never mentioned again either.
Breakfast was cereal and orange juice from cartons. Simple, fuss free fair would be served until the kids got there on Saturday. Bella sat in between Angela and Seth while the 'couples' were paired off. Leah and Sam sat with Emmett and Rosalie while Alice and Jasper sat with Jessica and to Bella's surprise, Mike.
Even though Seth wasn't a counselor he was an honorary one and he was expected to pull his weight with the preparations during the coming days. Edward sat across from Bella silently. Bella gave him a tight lipped smile while Seth launched into a customary get to know you conversation with him.
It looked like Bella wasn't the only one who was from out of state but it was the only thing she had in common with Edward. He was from Chicago but went to school in DC. His father was a senator and his mother was a Ambassador for the United Nations. He had gone to the same private school as the Bush twins although they had graduated six years before him. Emmett and Alice were his cousins, and they were both from Forks while Jasper was from Texas and Rosalie was from North Carolina.
"Bella's from out of state too," Seth stated.
"Where are you from, Bella?" Edward asked casually.
"I was born here in Washington, Forks actually. I lived in Arizona for ten years before moving to Jacksonville," she said, not making eye contact with him.
"It must be nice living near the ocean," Edward said as if lost in thought.
Bella nodded half heartedly. She wished that Jacob, Quil or Embry were sitting at her table. Jacob sat with Sam and Leah, going over things with Emmett. They were planning some kind of end of summer games thing for the kids and counselors.
"Are you starting college in the fall, Bella?" Edward asked.
"I'm headed to UDub," she answered.
"Where are you going to school Edward?" Angela asked.
"I've been accepted to NYU, pre med."
"That's amazing, I haven't decided what I want to major in yet," Angela admitted with a bashful laugh.
"Me and you are in charge of clearing the beach. That hurricane that came through a few weeks ago did a number on it," Embry said, leaning in to talk to Bella.
"I need to get my sunscreen."
"I've got some, come on," he said pulling her up by her elbow gently.
Bella passed Jacob on her way to throw away her trash and as she passed him again to walk out the door he took hold of her hand and squeezed gently in greeting. She smiled endearingly down at him before letting go of his hand. Quil playfully tugged on her ponytail once she stepped out onto the porch. He and Mike were in charge of fixing the loose boards on the porch then painting it.
Embry and Bella talked idly as they made their way to the 'beach'. It was really a lake with a giant sandbar. They both had a lot of sweet memories of swimming in the lake and swinging from the tire swing that had been recently taken down because the tree had been struck by lightning.
Embry sprayed the back of Bella's neck and legs with sunscreen before spraying her with insect repellent.
"You didn't have to do that," Bella protested lightly.
"You wouldn't mind if it were Jake," he said with a teasing sneer.
"Don't go there," she warned with a laugh.
He handed her a pair of work gloves and they got to work on clearing fallen limbs and trash. They soon realized that the dock was warped and would need to be torn down and rebuilt.
"You up for that?" Embry questioned.
"Do you want to trust me with a hammer?" Bella questioned with a quirked eyebrow.
"Good point. You can be in charge of the nail bucket and hold the boards in place while I hammer them down," he said in agreement.
"Mmkay," she said with a quick nod.
As the day wore on Embry set to task with pulling dock apart board by board and Bella went up to the mess hall to grab them a couple of sandwiches and something to drink once she had cleared the sandbar of debris.
"How are things going?" Harry asked her as she waited her turn in the lunch line.
"Not bad, the dock is completely warped and Embry's taking it apart."
"I'll send Sam down to help him, Sue needs to go over your plans for the summer."
"Okay," she agreed.
She grabbed lunch for Embry and Sam took it with him when he left. Bella sat with Jacob and Leah, glad to have a chance to talk with him. He threw a balled up napkin at her and she threw it back at him with an eye roll. Alice sat down across from her with an expectant look.
"You ready to discuss those cooking lessons?"
"Uh huh," Alice said brightly.
"Well, lets start by telling me what you can cook."
"Grilled cheese?" she said in question form with an impish look.
"Hey, there's an art form to making grilled cheese; you should be proud of yourself," Jacob reprimanded her playfully.
"I like you," Alice said with a click of her tongue.
"Next question; what would you like to learn how to cook?"
"Jasper's favorite food is chicken alfredo."
"That's actually really easy to make, especially if you use an alfredo mix."
"Do you mean alfredo from a jar?" Alice asked confused.
"Bella rarely uses anything from a jar," Leah explained.
"It's a packet mix that you can make on the stove. How about we work on it tomorrow?"
"That sounds good. How much do you charge?"
"It's free," Bella said with a laugh.
"You should charge people! It's a great way to earn extra money!" Alice encouraged her.
"She has a point," Leah interjected.
"Twenty bucks?" Bella asked Alice.
Alice nodded in agreement, reaching into her pocket. She pulled a small amount of money and counted off a ten and two fives. She held it out for Bella and Jacob took it with a sigh.
"Thank the nice lady Bells," he teased.
"Thank you," Bella said bashfully.
"You're welcome," Alice said with a sweet smile.
Alice left with Leah a few minutes later to go back to work on the flower beds in front of the girls cabins. They would be planting new flowers in the window boxes that afternoon and tomorrow they would be pruning and planting bushes on the boys side of camp.
"I hear you have a not so secret admirer," Jacob broached.
"Mike is all about Jess, he wouldn't do that to her...he'd better not," she muttered the last few words under her breath.
"Not Mike," he said with a shake of his head.
"Yes, my love spell on Paul worked!" she said enthusiastically.
"Yeah, it did," Paul answered back.
"Love you," she said with a laugh.
"Love you too," he called from across the room.
She blew him a loud kiss and he blew her one back as Jacob shook his head with a chuckle. Bella giggled as she looked at him out of the corner of her eye.
"Edward has been asking Seth about you all day."
"Ugh," she said in disgust.
"My sentiments exactly."
"Does he have any weird hygiene habits?"
"He gave me a list of rules last night. Do you want to know what number one is?"
"What is it?"
"I can't make any noise from midnight to seven because he needs at least seven hours of sleep," he said with an eye roll.
"Eff that! Like that's gonna work once the kids get here," she said with a scoff.
"Oh, I know it won't. We'll have Colin and Brady in our cabin. Just so you know, he wears an eye mask when he sleeps."
Bella threw her head back in laughter knowing exactly what to expect. Jacob's cabin was going to be the place to be that summer. At least Harry and Sue had thought to keep Seth out of the equation. Although the three of them would more than likely find creative ways to cause trouble.
"Which girls do you have this year?"
"Mostly newbies, but I have Claire and Bree," she said with a smile.
Claire Marks and Bree Tanner were Bella's two favorite campers and along with Seth, Colin, and Brady she would have her work cut out for her. Especially if Bree was still harboring a secret crush on Seth. Bella had been touched that the girl had let her in on the secret last summer.
Sue called for Bella from the kitchen and Bella nudged Jacob as a way of saying goodbye. In the kitchen Sue had a yellow pad sitting on one of the prep tables.
"We need to make a plan for what you want to do for the summer."
"I was thinking I could do what I did last year. Let the kids toss around ideas and we could go from there," Bella explained.
"That will work. What were thinking about for your private lessons?" Sue asked writing something down.
"Alice has already talked to me about making chicken alfredo."
"Write down what you'll need and I'll pick it up tonight."
"I was going to put up a sign up sheet on the board and people could tell me what they want to learn, how much I'll be charging that kind of thing."
"How much will you be charging?"
"It depends on what they want to learn. Alice gave me twenty and that's fine," Bella explained as she wrote down what she needed from the store.
A few minutes later Bella made her way back to the cabins. Paul and Jacob were riding lawn mowers over the massive field in the center of camp that would be used as the sports area. She could see Angela and Edward in the distance weed eating the area that hugged the forest.
She didn't know what to think of Edward. To be honest she didn't know what he saw in her. Sure, she wasn't from the same small town as the other girls except for Rosalie and Leah who were already taken, but that didn't mean that she was anything like him. She considered herself plain and simple. She was as down to earth and easy to read as they came. She wasn't the type of girl to fall over any guy who showed interest in her. If that were the case she and Mike would be married by now.
She started going through trunk that had rainy day things for the girls to do once she got back. She found board games and a deck of cards but nothing that would work for her girls. They would all be teenagers and she and Leah were going to have to get creative. Maybe they could talk Sue into letting them bring down the TV and DVD player from the main cabin if it was necessary.
Once she finished that she sorted through the laundry bags with the girls names on them. It would be nice to have them lying out when the girls got there. Sue had never liked doing laundry so when a local dry cleaners had offered to do the camps laundry once a week for a discounted price Sue had jumped at the chance.
The air horn blasted through out the camp a few hours later signaling the end of the work day. Bella didn't feel like she had done much work wise and planned to talk to Harry about it during dinner. Leah came in sweaty, dirty and with twigs nestled in her hair. You could tell that she had put in a hard days work. Bella on the other hand, hadn't broken a sweat since that morning.
"Did you straighten up in here?" Leah asked as she grabbed her towel and shower caddy from under her bunk.
"Yeah, I didn't have a lot to do today," Bella said sheepishly.
"That's gonna change tomorrow. Dad put up tomorrows list earlier. You and Jake are gonna be busy for the next few days. He's got the two of you power washing every building."
"I can handle that," Bella said confidently.
She and Paul had power washed the camp last year. It wasn't a hard job, just tedious. Leah waved over her shoulder before walking out the screen door.
Bella decided to grab a few drinks and head down to the beach. If she knew Embry and Sam, they would work until dark and they were due for a break.
Emmett, Jasper, Alice, and Rosalie were swimming in the lake when she got there. She waved in greeting and followed the sound of the table saw. The guys had already set new pillars in the ground and the stairs were up so that they could start placing planks. She grabbed two of the waters from the bucket of ice she had carried them down as Embry made his way towards her.
"Thanks," he said tipping the bottle back and drinking half of it in one pull.
She nodded in response and handed one to Sam as he came to stand on her other side.
"What did you end up doing today?" Embry asked.
"Nothing too exhausting. I'm saving my energy for the rest of the week."
"Are you on power washing duty again?" Sam teased.
"Yep. This time Jake is helping me."
"Jeez, could Sue be anymore blatant about her wanting the two of you together?" Embry asked with a sigh.
"Jealous?" Sam asked with a laugh.
"Yes, I want a chance with Jake too!" Embry said, stomping his foot with a pout.
Sam snorted and Bella shook her head with an amused smile. If Jacob had something he wanted to tell her than he needed to be up front about it. If she were honest with herself she would admit that she were questioning her feelings for him too.
XXXX
Word spread like wildfire among the counselors that everybody was invited down to the beach after dinner on Friday. It was their last night to unwind before the kids came. Harry and Sue didn't keep a tight reign on them but it was an unspoken rule that alcohol was not prohibited on camp grounds. Not even Leah was willing to go against her parents rules.
During dinner there was excited chatter about what might happen that night. Jared and Sam had spent a couple of hours building up a stock pile for a bonfire. It would be Jacob, Embry, Quil, and even Seth's first bonfire. The four of them were huddled together in a corner, leaving Bella to find another place to sit. Alice waved her over and she sat in between Alice and Emmett. She had been meaning to talk to the group since the first day but she'd been side tracked by Jacob, Leah, and every one else.
"How have you been? Are you guys ready for tomorrow?"
"Jasper was a little nervous, but he's doing a lot better," Emmett answered.
"I was nervous my first time here too. This is my third year," Bella said to reassure Jasper.
"How long have you known the boys?" Rosalie asked.
"Jake, Embry, and Quil? I've known them since before they could talk. My dad and Jake's dad are best friends."
"Didn't I hear Seth say that your last name is Swan?" Emmett asked.
"It is," Bella said with another nod.
"Your Chief Swan's daughter?" Alice asked with wide eyes.
"Mmhmm."
"She has a tiny crush on him," Emmett said holding his thumb and index finger a few inches apart.
"This is the first I've heard about this," Jasper said intrigued.
"Her dad is gorgeous," Alice said with a confirming nod.
"This conversation doesn't make me uncomfortable at all," Bella lied with a nervous chuckle.
"Okay, time to change the subject," Emmett said with a loud clap of his hands.
Angela and Edward sat down as he said this.
"What are you guys talking about?" Angela asked.
"Something you and I can talk about tonight," Alice promised.
"Really?" Bella asked, shocked.
Alice nodded, opening her soda.
"You two have been spending a lot of time together," Rosalie said to Edward and Angela.
"I'm just making a new friend," Edward said uncomfortably.
Angela smiled shyly before taking a bite of her hamburger. Obviously Angela hadn't picked up on Edwards weird vibe or maybe it was just Bella.
Bella smiled at Angela when there eyes met a minute later. It was obvious that Edward wasn't the only one uncomfortable by what Rosalie had said. Angela was nothing like Jessica and she was even more of a social wallflower than Bella was. She wasn't the type to pick up on a boys signals of affection. Even Bella could see where she was coming from to an extent.
The conversation then changed and they asked Bella and Angela about the campers that would be coming tomorrow. They answered their questions, stifling their fears about being in charge of nearly three dozen children that they had never met before.
"How many kids are there this year?" Jasper asked.
"Thirty-five, five campers per cabin," Bella explained.
Everyone started to leave after Sue gave them their kitchen duty assignments for the duration of camp. Every cabin was required to help set and cleanup after every meal for a week and Bella and Leah's group fell over the Fourth of July, at least they wouldn't be in charge of cleaning up after Embry's birthday party. Last year Sam and Paul's kids had been in charge of clean up and the group included Jacob, Seth and Seth's two partners in crime. An all out food fight had ensued and Sue had not been happy.
Bella was reading a book while she waited for Jacob, Embry, and Quil. She never heard the stairs creak or the porch groan under their weight so she continued reading.
"When did you get that?" Jacob asked.
Bella looked up in surprise to see him looking at the Kindle Fire she was holding.
"It was a going away present from my mom and Phil," she said once she found her voice.
"It's a lot easier than bringing the duffle bag full of books you brought last year," he said with a chuckle.
"Where are Em and Q?"
"They're already down at the beach. Sue needed help bringing stuff down for us and they got roped into helping."
"Let me guess, you mysteriously vanished?" she asked with a teasing smile.
"Yep. You ready to go?"
"Sure."
She went inside to grab her shoes and put her reader on her bed before heading back out. Jacob sat on the porch swing with his arms extended on either side. He stood once the door slapped closed behind her. He ran a hand through his short dark locks as he crossed to where Bella stood.
They walked down the path then across the soccer field in silence before Emmett and Alice joined them. Alice nudged Bella's arm lightly and Bella looked over at her in confusion. Alice fluttered her eyelashes and gave her a dreamy eyed look and Bella rolled her eyes in response. Something told her that Alice was a little boy crazy.
Music could be heard from the beach along with shouting and laughing as they made their way down the narrow dirt path, apparently they were the last ones there. Emmett and Alice left them and they found a secluded place so they could talk. They had talked a lot over the past few days while they worked. It was surprising how much you could talk about in a four day period when left alone with someone. Jacob had recently broken up with his girlfriend of a year and a half. Bella had liked Nessera, 'Nessie' as Jacob had liked to call her.
Jacob had first told Bella about Nessera over two years ago when he had run into her at a party on First Beach. Because her parents were strict and refused to let their daughter date someone who was not Indian as they were she and Jacob had been friends at first. Jacob had finally won them over nearly a year later. It wasn't like they would be getting married and once her parents found someone for her to marry Jacob would gladly step out of the picture. He had called Bella with the news that they were no longer together not long after his birthday that spring. Bella could tell that he was taking it hard and she was willing to be there for him as long as he needed her.
"You okay? You seem awfully quiet," Bella observed.
"Yeah."
"You sure? What happened to the guy who's been talking my ear off all week?"
"I got a text from Nessie before I came to get you. She hates the guy her parents have found for her," he said with a sigh.
"What are you going to do?"
"There's nothing I can do, if I try to see her her parents will probably send her to New Delhi to live with her grandparents," he said with a shrug.
"What did you tell her?"
"I told her that we could be friends but that was it."
"You're a good guy Jake, there's a girl out there for you," she said draping an arm over his shoulders.
He leaned against her, putting all of his weight on her with a heavy sigh. She wanted to take the pain away but she didn't know how.
They sat like that until Embry came over to ask them if they wanted to go swimming. Jacob pulled away long enough to pull his shirt over his head. Bella pulled her shorts and shirt off shyly pushing her hair out of her face. Jared whistled and Emmett cat-called from a few yards away. She knew letting her mom talk her into buying the skimpy purple and white striped bikini was a bad idea. She'd never wear it around the kids.
"Need a hair tie?" Leah asked holding one out to her.
"Thanks," she said as she took the tie from her.
Embry waited until Bella had put her hair up before picking her up and running towards the dock with her over his shoulder.
"Stop, no!" she protested.
"You might want to shut your mouth, unless you want to chug water," Embry warned.
Seconds later he jumped off the dock with a rebel yell. They flew a good ten yards before hitting the frigid water. She came up sputtering and saw Embry a few yards away. She dunked him forcefully. She swam towards the shore to the cheering crowd collected there.
"That'll show 'im Bells," Quil congratulated her.
Jessica handed Bella a towel and Bella wrapped it around her tightly.
"Come on Bells, don't be mad. I had to get Jake out of his funk," Embry argued.
Bella searched the crowd to see Jacob grinning as he shook his head. He gave Embry a gentle shove with a laugh.
"Could you imagine me trying to lift him? I'd have broken my back; so I went for the closest person," Embry said in apology.
"Just don't do it again," Bella said with a sigh.
The party wound down three hours later around midnight. The campers would start arriving at nine and there were still a few things to be done. Bella walked back to the cabins with Jacob and Quil on either side of her. Embry and Quil took off down the broken path to the boys cabins after telling Bella goodnight. Bella turned to Jacob giving him a worried look.
"I'll be fine. I just never expected to hear from her again," he said sadly.
"Don't beat yourself up, you did the right thing."
"Then why does it hurt?"
"Because you loved her," Bella said quietly.
Jacob pulled her to him and hugged her tightly. He kissed her hair lightly before letting go. Bella watched him walk up the dimly lit path. She hoped that he would be able to move on without anymore trouble.
XXXX
Bella waited patiently as the campers were signed in and handed over to the camp. So far only two of the girls from her cabin had shown up but it was only ten thirty. Leah had led the girls up to the cabin to drop off their things then took them to the mess hall where Harry and Sue were having orientation at noon.
"Bella!" Claire called excitedly.
"Hey, Claire Bear," Bella said as her parents signed her in.
Claire had missed the cut off date to be a counselor by two months. She and Quil had been dating a few months and Bella was happy for the two of them.
"I'm so glad that I'm with you and Leah again," she gushed.
"We are too," Bella said with a smile.
"Did we give you everything she needs?" Claire's mom asked.
"Yes, ma'am, it looks like everything is here. You're more than welcome to leave if you need too. She can stay with me until Leah gets back."
"Thanks Bella," Ms. Marks said with a smile.
Claire sat next to Bella and they talked while they waited for Leah. Claire launched herself at Leah once she saw her.
"Ease up Claire, it's good to see you too; even though I just saw you a few weeks ago."
Claire let go and launched into an excited conversation about how this was going to be the best summer ever. Quil came up to her and wrapped his arms around her from behind. Bree showed up after Leah and Claire went up to the cabin and hugged Bella tightly.
"Hey you," Bella said with a tender smile.
Bree waved back with a shy smile. Bree and Claire were best friends but they were complete opposites. Leah came back and ushered Bree up the path before she had a chance to see Seth who was coming down the stairs with Colin and Brady flanking him. Bella was left to wait to wait for their last cabin mate. Her name was Elizabeth Williams and like Bree she was fifteen. Claire who was sixteen would be the oldest camper that year which meant that setting the precedent for the other campers would fall on her shoulders.
A little while later a girl with shoulder length wavy blond hair came to stand in front of Bella. Her name tag said Beth which confirmed that she would fill the last spot in the cabin. Her parents exchanged pleasantries with Bella while Beth took in everything around her.
Her parents were filling out the required forms when Leah came back down the path. Bella noticed her and waved her off then shook her head. She could handle taking Beth up to drop off her things.
They were halfway up the path when Bella felt that Beth was starting to relax.
"You'll love it here," Bella promised.
"There aren't any little kids in our cabin are there? Not that I don't like kids, but I came here to get away from them," Beth explained.
"The youngest girl in our cabin is thirteen. Does that work for you?"
"I guess. I don't mean to sound stuck up and snobbish but I really need this summer to relax and not worry about what's going on back at home."
"I can understand that," Bella said as they stepped into the clearing with the cabins in front of them.
Bella introduced Beth to the girls from the cabin at orientation and she took a few minutes to get to know the other two new campers. They were thirteen year old twins named Carrie and Nora. Harry and Sue called for every one to settle down so that they could have lunch.
Beth sat in between Bella and Carrie and Bella was glad that the two girls were becoming friends. Carrie and Nora were fraternal twins with curly red hair and more freckles than Bella could count. Nora was sweet and quiet while Carrie talked a mile a minute and was very friendly. Carrie and Nora reminded Bella of a young Jessica and Angela.
With all of the campers there the season could officially begin. Bella couldn't wait to see how the kids grew and changed over the next eight weeks.
AN2: I want to explain to all of you how to pronounce Nessera's name. It's Nes-sir-uh. I didn't want there to be any confusion.