Summer Camp Surprise

Summer Camp Surprise
(1000 words)

Julie was the fat girl at camp.  There was no denying it, and there was no point in beating about the bush.  Fat!  Fat!  Fat!

But she could hardly spend the whole summer in the cabin.  Although it was tempting to go on pleading illness and hiding herself under the covers of the bunk bed.  She’d been given the lower bunk.  The others had probably been afraid of putting her in the top bunk, thinking that she’d break the bed and crush the one underneath.  Splat!  Like a bug.

Julie sighed, pushed the covers back and tiptoed across the cold planked floor to the window.  She could see everyone clustered around the lake’s dock.  The orange life-vests on top of their skinny legs made them look like orange lollipops.  Lollipops, hmm.  Julie scurried back to her bed and pulled out her suitcase.  A little excavating through summer shorts and T-shirts brought up a few hidden Hershey bars.  She quickly unwrapped one, and sat on the bed enjoying the delicious chocolate.  Chocolate makes everything better, she thought.

A little while later, with the sugar-rush running through her veins, she plodded down to the lake in her bathing suit.  The chocolate courage helped her ignore the sniggers of the other camp residents. 

“Julie!” Sean exclaimed, “I’m glad you’re feeling better.  You’re just in time to take a ride with me in one of the boats.”

Sean, the camp counselor, was gorgeous.  Not really a George Clooney handsome, more of a Zac Effron cute, although his longish hair reminded her of that new guy in the Twilight movies … she couldn’t remember his name.  She watched Sean’s face crinkle in a grin as he made the others in the motorboat make room.  She squeezed in next to him, praying that her fat butt could fit.

“Here.”  Sean leaned toward her with a life-jacket and slipped it over her arms.  She could smell his hair.  She took a deep breath and held it, wanting to keep the fragrance inside her forever.  It smelled like flowers and sunshine and a little like peanuts … there were peanuts in Snickers bars … yum.

Pretty soon they were zooming across the lake.  She barely had time to register the radiant reflected sunlight on the water ripples because she wasn’t looking at the glistening lake – she was watching every move Sean made.  His white T-shirt flapped in the wind and his hair blew every which way.  She wished she could comb it back out of his eyes, and one of her hands moved of its own volition. 

“See something you like?” Debra yelled over the roar of the outboard motor.

Julie gasped and thrust her guilty hand behind her.  Debra and her posse eyed Julie and giggled like geese.  Julie glared at Debutante-Debbie and her stupid cronies.  They shared the cabin and she’d made up names for all of them.  Giraffe-Jenny, Air-head-Alex, Hollywood-Molly, and Manolo-Mindy, because she always bragged about her fantastic Manolo Blahnik shoes.  Nasty pretentious ho’s.  She dropped her eyes and chuckled as she thought of the names 50 Cent would call them.  He would know how to dis them, for sure.

All too soon, the ride was over.  She watched Sean leap off the boat like swashbuckling Captain Sparrow.  The others disembarked, but Julie hung behind, trying to think of something clever to say.  He walked up to her, smoothing his long brown locks out of his face; she opened her mouth, but her words stopped just like her heartbeat, as he reached out his hand to touch her. 

He’s gonna kiss me!  He’s gonna kiss me! her hysterical mind burbled.

Sean deftly removed her life-jacket and deposited it in her arms.  “Hey, wouldja mind helping me carry the vests to the boat house?” he asked, charm oozing out of every tanned pore.  He is so all that, she sighed silently.

“Glup. Shjeah”  Julie was sure an alien had taken over her speech process and was forcing her to speak in some kind of outer-space-language. 

“Great.” Sean approved as he gathered up the vests and handed them to her.

And that was how she ended up in the dusty boat house, alone with Sean, her heart beating so fast that her hands began to shake, desperately wanting something, anything, to happen.  What happened was one of the other counselors called him to answer the phone, and he tossed her the rest of the vests, along with a warm smile, and left.

He’d never want me, anyway, ‘cause I’m fat, Julie told herself, wiping away a tear.  I’ll never get a boy-friend; I’m doomed to be fat and ugly forever.  The tears were flowing freely now, and in the quiet retreat, she released her misery in long whinnying sobs.

When at last she was cried-out, Julie found the door stuck closed.  She pushed and shoved, but it wouldn’t move more than two inches; something was blocking it – someone had put something in front of the door – on purpose.  She yelled and screeched and banged, but after fifteen minutes, no one came.  Then she searched the boat-house for a whistle, a boat-horn, anything that she could use to summon help.  What she found was a framed picture of camp residents from six years ago.  She read the names.  Sean Mills?  She matched the name to the row and place, and shock electrified her brain.  Sean was a fattie!  Sean was even fatter than she was – he was a blimp!  That was six years ago.  She turned it over in her mind.  He used to be just like her, but now he was a hottie.  All the girls in camp wanted a piece of that.

Julie launched herself with renewed vigor at the door, and her secret knowledge gave her power.  She burst through the door and strode out with a new decisive step.

If Sean could do it, so could she.  Maybe in six years, she’d be the new, hot camp counselor.  Yeah, I’ll be all that.



(Words: 1000)