Camp

The cabin was finally clean. After what seemed like an hour of sweeping and picking up garbage, Alex fell onto his bunk, smiling at the beauty around him. The previous week’s campers had been very careless with their trash, and had left Alex with a lot of cleaning to do in a very short time.

“Well, I’ll be darned!” Alex’s closest friend Peter stood in the doorway of the cabin, gazing in mock awe. “I though this place would remain dirty and tainted forever. It’s good to see it’s no longer dirty.”

Alex laughed. “Yeah, and not a moment too soon. The new batch of campers is going to be arriving in less than an hour.”

“You’re going to be counseling in this cabin again?” Peter asked.

“I will be. I guess Chris figured I did such a great job with teens that I deserve another week with them.”

“Yeah, we both know how much Chris loves your counseling abilities,” Peter sat down on the bunk opposite of Alex. “Would I be correct in assuming that he hasn’t exactly gotten over your emergency phone conversation last week?”

Alex rolled his eyes. “That guy just likes to hold a grudge for a petty reason.”

“What about the midnight walk with Lucas? Or the sex talk you had with the younger campers?”

“Just shut up,” Alex said, throwing a pillow at Peter. “Those campers were going to learn it at one point or another, so in many ways I did their parents a favour.”

It was the beginning of July, and second week of program at Camp Yawny-Wanna. Seventeen-year-old Alex was in his third year of counseling at the camp and was off to a rocky start. Chris, the new director of Yawny-Wanna, was strict and, as it seemed to Alex, humourless. Alex’s phone call to his girlfriend Danielle had resulted in a thirty minute lecture on the importance of using time wisely. When Alex had taken a camper outside late at night to talk one on one, Chris caught the two and ordered them back to their cabin. And when Chris walked in on a touchy conversation between Alex and several junior campers, he nearly fired Alex on the spot. Chris demanded order and law, two things Alex had problems dealing with.

Alex knew the other counselors loved Chris- he had a whole bunch of fun game ideas, he was always open to talk and he knew how to deal with difficult campers and even more difficult parents. But since they had met, Alex and Chris clashed, with Chris always coming out on top.

“Okay, so maybe I was a bit of a rebel,” Alex said. “This week I’ll be different. I’ll be really well-behaved. I’ll even suck up to Chris if I have to.”

Peter raised an eyebrow. “Dude, why do you have to lie?”

Alex grinned. “Because it’s so much fun!”

“Well, try to limit it.” Peter stood up. “I must be getting to my cabin. The new campers should be arriving anytime. Have fun, and please be nice to Chris. He knows what he’s doing.”

Alex shrugged. “I’m sure he does.”

Peter walked out the doorway, which was covered by two large flaps instead of a real door. Alex heard him greet someone, and a second later the flaps were pushed in as a boy and his mother walked into the cabin, with suitcases in tow. Alex stood up. “Hello!” he said

enthusiastically. “Welcome to Yawny-Wanna. I’m Alex.” He offered his hand, and the mother shook it.

“I’m Daniel!” the boy responded just as enthusiastically. “Were you here last year? Because you look familiar.”

Alex smiled. “Yes, I was. I think I remember you.” He was lying, but he didn’t want to hurt Daniel’s feelings.

“Daniel’s very excited about camp. He’s been talking about it since April,” Daniel’s mother said. “He really wants to do windsurfing, but I made him promise to wear sunscreen. Please make sure he keeps his promise.”

“Mom!” Daniel moaned as he threw his sleeping bag on the bunk above Alex. “I’m thirteen! I’ll wear sunscreen, don’t worry!”

“Did I hear someone talking about sunscreen?” a man asked as he entered the cabin. “Because Josh forgot to pack his.”

“No, dad!” a boy said as he ran into the cabin, holding a large duffle bag. “You forgot to pack it!” He looked at everyone in the cabin and smiled foolishly. “Uh, sorry. I’m Josh.”

“Hi, Josh, I’m Daniel!” Daniel exclaimed. “Did you come to this camp last year?”

Josh shook his head. “This is my first time at camp.”

“Well, you’re going to have a great week,” Alex said. “And we’ll have plenty of sunscreen for you to use.”

“Especially since I know Daniel isn’t going to use his,” Daniel’s mom said.

The flaps flew forward again and a large boy walked through, carrying a massive suitcase in his hand. “Josh, is this the right cabin?”

“It is, Curtis,” Josh said.

“You two know each other?” Alex asked, picking Josh’s sleeping bag up and throwing it onto a bunk.

“We’re best friends,” Curtis said. “In fact, we’re nearly twins. We both turned fourteen two weeks ago.”

Alex tried not to laugh. Their birth dates may have been the same, but they couldn’t have looked any more different. Josh was short and frail, whereas Curtis was tall and muscular. “Where are your parents, Curtis?” he asked.

“Oh, Josh’s parents brought me here,” Curtis explained. “My parents will be picking us up at the end of the week.”

“Have you been at camp before, Curtis?” Daniel asked.

“Yeah, I have. This is my second year,” Curtis said as he threw his bags on the bunk beside Josh.

“Are you happy, honey?” Daniel’s mom asked him. “Because it’s a long way home, so I should get going.”

“I’m fine!” Daniel huffed. “See you in a week!”

“You guys are okay as well?” Josh’s father asked his son and Curtis. They gave a nod of agreement as they unrolled their sleeping bags. “Great. See you in six days.” Josh’s father and Daniel’s mother walked out of the cabin together, leaving Alex with the three campers.

The four of them engaged in small talk for a while. After about thirty minutes the flaps flew forward again, and Mike, Chris’s assistant, walked in, with another camper behind him. “Alex, this is Kalvin.”

Alex shook Kalvin’s hand. “It’s nice to meet you.”

“Thanks,” Kalvin said. He looked at the other kids on their bunks. “How old are you guys?”

“We’re all around fourteen,” Curtis said. “How old are you?”

“I turn fifteen next month,” Kalvin replied. “I’m glad we’re all the same age. I was afraid I’d be stuck in a cabin with kids who were a lot older than me.”

“Well, it looks like you’re in the perfect cabin then,” Mike said. “By the way Alex, there was a bit of cabin switching done, and Ben is now in the cabin next to you.”

“Really?” Alex asked. Ben was another one of Alex’s close friends, though over the past few weeks the two of them had been divided over several camp issues, the biggest one being their respect towards Chris. Unlike Alex, Ben thought the world of Chris and looked up to him as a mentor.

“Yeah, so if you need any help ask him,” Mike said. The flaps, yet again, were pushed forward as another boy walked into the cabin. “Oh, hi there!”

“This is the cabin mom!” the boy shouted, ignoring Mike. Alex tried not to smile.

“Uh, what’s your name?” Mike asked.

“Oh, hi. I’m Evan. Are you Alex?”

“No he isn’t,” Alex said. “I am. It’s nice to meet you Evan.”

Evan’s mom entered the cabin, carrying several suitcases. “Hi, I’m Susan Pentney,” she said to Alex, offering her hand. Alex shook it firmly. “Evan’s a good kid, though he has a tough attitude, so you may need to keep in him order.”

Alex laughed and made two large fists. “Don’t worry. If he steps out of line- BAM! I’ll send him flying into last week.”

Susan smiled. “You hear that Evan? Alex is prepared to smack you into last week if you misbehave.”

“I’d like to see him try!” Evan said defDanieltly. “I doubt he could beat up a baby, so he’d stand no chance against a fourteen year old. I must be just one year younger than him!”

“That’s it Evan,” Alex said jokingly. “You’re now on my bad side. I’d watch your back for the rest of the week if I were you.”

The camp bell rung several times. “That’s the meeting bell,” Mike said. “Alex, you take your campers to the flagpole. I’ll escort Ms. Pentney back to her car.”

“Bye Evan!” Susan shouted as she left the cabin with Mike. Evan waved half-heartedly.

“Okay guys. Let’s head to the flagpole,” Alex said. He left the cabin, with his cabin group in tow.
* * *
The rest of the day was filled with orientations of the camp area and learning the fifty-some safety rules. That was followed by a dinner and then a large game of Capture the Flag. At around ten o’clock everyone headed back for their cabins.

Alex came back from the communal washroom feeling excited. The first nights were always fun. The campers were never tired, so conversations could go on for hours. The question for Alex was how long he would last before falling asleep.

He entered the cabin and sat down on his bunk. All the campers were still in the washroom, which gave him a few seconds of time to himself. Those seconds were destroyed when the flaps were pushed aside and the entire group barged into the cabin and headed for their bunks.

“Hey, what are you doing in my bunk?” Evan suddenly shouted.

“What do you mean?” Kalvin asked. “This is my bunk.”

“No, it’s not! I put my stuff on here earlier today. Get off of my bed!”

“Evan, settle down man. I was on this bunk before you-” Kalvin was cut off when Evan leaned across the bed and shoved him against the wall.

In a flash, Alex was up and grabbing Evan. “Guys, what’s the problem?”

Kalvin pushed himself away from the wall. “Beats me. I simply told him this was my bunk. He got all upset and shoved me.”

“Okay, well, to be fair, Kalvin was here first,” Alex said. “So Evan, we’ll move you to the bunk above him, okay?”

“Whatever,” Evan mumbled. Alex threw Evan’s sleeping bag on the top bunk and Evan climbed up.

Alex turned the lights off and got into his bed. The urge to have any conversation had diminished. He could see what Susan meant when she called Evan tough. Alex figured that he’d be in a fight by Wednesday.
* * *
It didn’t take half as long as Alex thought. The next day the trouble began. Alex was walking back from the rock wall with two younger campers when he heard shouts coming from his cabin. “Excuse me guys,” he said, and he ran to the cabin and burst through the flap doors.

The entire cabin had been ripped apart. Suitcases were open, clothes were scattered all over the area and sleeping bags were lying on the floor. Standing against the back wall of the cabin were Josh and Curtis. In the centre of it were Evan and Kalvin, brutally throwing punches at each other. Both of their faces were covered in blood.

Alex wasted no time putting himself between Evan and Kalvin. Adrenaline was pumping through his body. This was no time to be calm and organized. “What the hell is going on here?” he screamed, pushing the two campers away from each other.

“Get out of the way!” Evan shouted, unsuccessfully trying to get past Alex. “Kalvin, I’m going to kill you!”

“Screw you!” Kalvin shouted back. “You couldn’t beat up a little girl!”

Alex kept himself between the two of them. “Curtis, help me!” he screamed. Curtis, being much large than Kalvin, grabbed him and held him back, while Alex held Evan. “Josh, go get Mike!” Josh nodded his head and darted past the group and out of the door.

Alex and Curtis continued to hold the two fighters back, despite the constant struggles that Evan and Kalvin gave. They shouted insults at each other, threatening to cause severe bodily harm once they were released. Alex prayed that Mike would show up quickly, as he didn’t know how much longer he and Curtis could hold the two.

His prayers were answered quickly. Mike ran through the door, with Josh right behind him. “Alex, what’s going on?”

“Your guess is as good as mine,” Alex said. “I walked in here to see Evan and Kalvin beating each other. I’ve yet to find out what caused this fight.”

“He did!” Evan shouted, pointing to Kalvin. “He stole from my bag!”

“I don’t want to hear it,” interrupted Mike. “We need to get both of you to the nurse. You’re both bloodied up. Once we get you taken care of, we’ll talk about the fight. Alex, I’ll take them to the nurse. You stay here with the rest of your campers.” He pointed to Evan and Kalvin. “Both of you come with me. If either one of you touches the other, you will be sent home. Now let’s go.”

Alex let go of Evan and Kalvin pushed Curtis away. The two of them followed Mike out of the cabin. Once they were gone, Alex collapsed on his bed. “Well, we’re in for an interesting week,” he said. “I can only guess what’s going to happen next.”
* * *
An hour later, Alex was called to Chris’s camp house. Chris was not pleased with the fight, but Alex knew that he couldn’t be blamed for anything. He had walked in on it and broken it up. If anything, he was the hero.

“So you walked in on the fight and stopped Evan and Kalvin,” Chris said, walking to a pot of coffee sitting on the counter. He offered some to Alex, but Alex refused.

“Then Mike came in and took Evan and Kalvin away,” Alex said. “I had no chance to find out what had caused the fight to break out. The only thing they mentioned was stolen property.”

“What about it?”

“Evan said that Kalvin stole from his bag, but he didn’t mention what Kalvin had stolen.”

Chris sighed. “Probably something valuable and expensive. We tell parents not to send anything they’d want to lose, but they never listen!”

Alex smiled. “Ah, the joys of running a camp.”

“Alex, I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

“You’re doing a great job.” Sucking up wasn’t as hard as Alex thought. “Have the nurses said anything about Evan and Kalvin?”

“Well, neither of them broke any bones. Kalvin is going to have a large black eye, and Evan has a few bruises as well. Nothing major, thankfully.”

“When will they be returning to my cabin?”

“You’re only getting one of them. We’ll put the other one in Ben’s cabin to prevent any more problems. I’ll let you choose.”

Alex was silent for a moment. “Let’s put Evan back in my cabin. Though if problems persist, we could switch them.”

Chris shook his head. “I don’t want to have too much switching. Whatever cabins Evan and Kalvin are placed in are the cabins they will stay in.”

“I understand,” Alex said. “But I’ll still take Evan.”

Chris clapped his hands together. “Sounds good. We’ll switch them tonight. Now, keep this fight quiet. I don’t want the whole camp finding out about it.”

“My lips are sealed,” Alex said, standing up.

“Very good. You better get back to your campers. Mike and I are going to talk to Evan and Kalvin, and we’ll fill you in on what they said.”

“Hang on. Can’t I be a part of this?”

“You need to be with your campers, Alex,” Chris said sternly.

“Get another counselor to cover for me,” Alex said. “I was the one who saw the fight; I need to be there when you find out what happened.”

“Alex, get back to your campers,” Chris ordered.

Alex was filling up with rage, but he knew better than to release it upon the head of the camp. “Yes sir,” he said, turning for the door.

“Remember Alex, keep quiet,” Chris said, as Alex left the house. “I don’t want the entire camp to know about this.”
* * *
Chris may as well have asked the lake water to be dry. The story about the fight circulated like wildfire, and soon the entire camp was talking about it. Campers and counselors alike were approaching Alex and asking him what happened. To the campers, Alex would tell them it was nothing of their concern. To the counselors, he told them that a fight had broken out, but it was nothing to worry about. As much as he hated to admit it, Alex loved getting the attention. He loved knowing that he had information that everyone else wanted. If the fight had produced anything good, it was that.
* * *
Late Monday night, with Evan asleep in his cabin and Kalvin now sleeping in Ben’s, Alex slipped on some dark clothes stepped out into the fresh air. He turned to the right of his cabin and walked towards the washrooms. Peter was leaned up against the building, waiting for Alex. Alex smiled. “Thanks so much for meeting me at this time.”

Peter pushed himself away from the building. “Not a problem. My guys are completely out. I made them all run across the field three times. Tomorrow I’ll make them do it five times.”

“Maybe I should try that. I’m surprised my guys fell asleep. Today was so crazy, I figured they’d be up half the night.”

“Yeah man, I heard about what happened,” Peter said. “Is that why you wanted to talk now?”

“It is. Chris asked me to keep quiet about the whole fiasco, but I’ve never been one for following his rules.”

“Do you want to tell me what exactly happened?”

“Sure. I walked into my cabin to see Kalvin and Evan beating the crap out of each other. I broke up the fight and Mike took the two of them away. Then Chris called me to his house and asked me what I had seen. That’s all I can say.”

Peter was silent for a moment. “Hmm. So what’d you need to talk about?”

“I don’t know. You’ve always been a good friend when I needed advice. What do you think I should do?”

“If I were you, I’d let Chris handle it. He’s had a lot more experience with campers than you. I know you don’t like the idea, but it would probably work.”

Alex sighed. “You’re right. But I plan to approach Evan tomorrow and ask him about the fight, in a very friendly way.”

Peter punched Alex lightly. “Yeah, you’ve always been a very friendly person.”

“There’s just something about Evan that I can’t put my finger on. I’ll probably figure it out by the end of the week. Thanks Peter.”

The two of them wished each other a goodnight and walked back to their cabins. Despite the exhausting day, Alex lay awake in his bed for a long time before falling into a heavy sleep.
* * *
Tuesday evening was the first time Alex had the chance to talk with Evan. While the other campers were off playing, Evan was lying on his bunk. Alex took a chocolate bar out of his suitcase and threw it onto Evan’s bed.
Evan looked up. “What’s this?”

“Last time I checked it was some chocolate,” Alex responded.

“Well, uh, thanks.”

“How are you feeling Evan?”

“I’m fine.”

“Your face looks a lot better than yesterday. Does it hurt?”

“No. I’m fine.”

“What were you and Kalvin fighting over anyways?”

“Stop asking questions!” Evan snapped. “Just leave me alone!”

Alex walked over to Evan. “Are you okay? You’re shivering.”

“I’m fine! How many times do I have to tell you that?”

“C’mon Evan, let’s go to the nurse. Maybe that fight gave you a concussion. We should have you checked out.”

“No Alex. The nurse said that I wouldn’t have a concussion, especially since it happened yesterday. Just let me sleep. I’m really tired.”

“Okay Evan. But I’m going to wake you up in a few hours just to make sure you’re okay.”

“Whatever Alex. Turn out the light for me?”

“Sure.” Alex turned the light out and stepped outside, where the sun was still shining brightly. Alex knew his hunch was right. Evan was hiding something. If only he could figure out what it was.
* * *
Evan’s health had no improvement the next day. He remained in bed all day, in a constant half-sleep. Alex stayed with Evan for much of the day, and called a nurse in to check on him. The nurse said that it wasn’t a concussion, much to Alex’s relief, but most likely a bug of some sort.
Evan was continually talking in his sleep, though Alex could only make out several of the words. Evan kept repeating “No dad” throughout the day. When Alex woke him up to ask what he was talking about, Evan screamed at him to go away. Evan was no longer a camper to Alex. He was now an enigma. Alex had to figure out this enigma’s past.
* * *
Late Wednesday night, Alex crept out of his cabin and ran past the washroom to the phone booth. He swiped his phone card and quickly dialed a number, looking around for any signs of movement as he waited for the person on the other end to pick up. After what seemed like a minute of waiting, a groggy voice answered the phone. “Hello?”

“Danielle, it’s Alex.”

“Alex? Why are you phoning so late? Wait, aren’t you at camp?”

Alex laughed. “Yes, I’m at camp. Sorry to bother you at this hour, but it was the only time I had to make the call.”

“Don’t worry about it. How’s it going?”

“I’m having a fun time. Though some weird things have been going on recently, and that’s why I need your help.”

“My help?”

“Yeah. Can you look up the name Evan Pentney for me? Use an internet search. He lives in Guelph, if that helps at all.”

“I can do that. I’ll Google it, and I’ll also search police records from Guelph.”

“Danielle, can you do that?”

Alex heard laughter on the other end. “Not legally. But very little on the internet is legal these days, so it shouldn’t be a problem.”

“Okay, thanks so much Danielle. This is the second time this week I’ve been up in the dead of night, so I really have to go get some sleep. I’ll phone you back on Friday.”

“No problem Alex. I hope you’re having fun.”

“I am. Talk to you later.” He hung up the phone and left the phone booth. He had only taken a few steps when a strong light shined in his face, instantly blinding him.

“Alex?” Chris asked. “What are you doing?”

Alex panicked. Chris had found him. “Sorry Chris, I was just using the washroom,” he said. “I think I drank too much iced tea when-”

“Alex, please don’t lie to me,” Chris said. “You were coming from the phone booth. What were you doing there at this time of night?”

Alex hesitated. He was caught. His best way out was to just tell the truth. “I had to make a call to a friend. It was about Evan.”

“What about Evan?”

“Well, I asked my friend to look up his name on the internet, to see if we could figure out anything about his life prior to coming to camp.”

Chris was clearly trying to remain calm. “Alex,” he said slowly, “you are violating privacy regulations when you do that. Counselors are not to go around looking into the lives of campers.”

“I know that, but there is something about Evan that I can’t understand. There is more to him than what he’s telling us.”

“Of course there is Alex. It’s the same for everyone. And I can understand your concern for Evan, but you’re steeping past reasonable boundaries. I don’t want this to happen again, do you understand?”

“Yes Chris. I’m sorry.”

“Good. Now get back to your cabin. Good night.”

Alex ran back to his cabin and jumped into his bed. Curtis, Josh, Evan and Daniel were all still asleep. Alex lay in his sleeping bag, furious at his boss. Chris didn’t realize what was going on. Chris was too uptight and serious. Chris only cared about keeping the camp running and the campers happy.

The more Alex thought about it, the more justified Chris’s rebuke sounded.
* * *
On Friday, the day before the campers went home, Alex was surprised to walk into his cabin to see Daniel sitting on his bed. “Daniel, what are you doing here?” Alex asked, looking at his watch. “It’s four o’clock, you should be at your activity.”

“I’m about to go,” Daniel said. “But I need to talk to you first.”

“Okay, sure.” Alex sat down next to Daniel. “What’s going on?”

“Alex, I think someone is trying to pull a prank on me.”

“Why would you say that?”

“Well, I was taking all of the clothes out of my suitcase so I could fold them up, and I noticed a lot of them were covered in baking soda.” Daniel lifted a t-shirt from his bed. A white powder covered much of the surface of the shirt.

“Well, I wouldn’t worry about it,” Alex said. “You’ll be going home tomorrow, so it’s not like all of your clothes are ruined. I’ll see if anyone’s hiding a box of baking soda in this cabin, though, judging by the smell of it, I truly doubt it.”

Daniel smiled. “Thanks Alex. I better get to windsurfing.” He hopped off the bed and ran out of the cabin.

Alex spent the next half hour sweeping the cabin and preparing a final-night activity for the campers to do. He decided he’d write a song for them. He had just sat down on his bed when he remembered he had to phone Danielle. Now was the perfect time for him to do so. He grabbed has phone card and walked to the phone booth, which was unoccupied. Alex swiped the card and dialed Danielle’s number. After one ring, Danielle picked up. “Hey, it’s Alex.”

“Alex! I’ve been waiting for you to call all day!” Danielle’s voice was shaky.

“Really? Why? What did you find out?”

Danielle took a deep breath. “Okay, I searched Google and found some startling results. Richard Pentney, a man who lived in Guelph, killed himself about two months ago. His wife Susan, daughter Sarah and son Evan were devastated by the event.”

“Oh man,” Alex said. “Evan’s mother’s name is Susan.”

“There’s more. I searched Guelph police records and found nothing, but I then I searched the school board in Guelph. It took a lot of hacking, but I managed to find Evan’s school record. Days after his father died, Evan got into a large fight with another student at his high school. He was given a warning, but just a few days later he was suspended for possession of drugs. This occurred twice more before the school year ended.”

Alex was silent. It all made sense.

“Alex, are you there?” Danielle asked.

“Yeah, I am. Listen, I just figured it all out. I have to go. Thank you so much.”

“Okay Alex, bye.”

Alex put the receiver down and walked out of the booth. Everything was clear. Kalvin had found Evan’s drug, which explained why Evan hadn’t said what he was missing. The white powder on Daniel’s shirt was the drug, which had somehow been spread around the cabin, probably during the fight. Evan had been acting so out-of-control because he was in withdrawal.

“Alex!” Alex snapped back to reality and saw Ben running to him.

“Ben, I figured it all out, I know what is happening to Evan!”

Ben stopped him. “Alex, Evan is at the top of the rock wall, and he’s threatening to jump.”

Alex opened his mouth, but no words came out. He fell to his hands and knees, breathing deeply. Ben knelt down to his level. “Alex, are you okay?”

Alex shook his head. “I have to help him,” he whispered, more to himself than to Ben.

“No you don’t. Chris and Mike and the head counselors are there. We need to keep everything under control here.”

“I know what’s going on, Ben. I know Evan’s history. I’m going to help him.”

“Alex, you need to stay here with your campers. Chris told me to keep you here.”

Alex looked at his friend. “Chris told you to keep me here?” Ben nodded his head. “That’s unfortunate.” Alex sprang up from the ground and tackled him down. Ben shouted in pain as he hit the ground, but Alex was already up and running towards the rock wall.

The camp alarm went off. “Get to the flagpole!” Alex screamed at nearby campers, while running in the opposite direction. He had to make it to the rock wall before Evan jumped. It was a race against time.

Alex reached the climbing area to see a dozen people gathered near it. Two people were climbing the sides of it. At the very top, Alex saw Evan, standing at the very edge. “What are you doing here?” Chris screamed, running to Alex. “You need to get back to your campers.”

“No,” Alex said. “You need to let me talk to Evan. I know about his past. I know why he’s been acting so strangely.”

“Alex, I’m not going to let him anywhere near him. You turn around right now and run back to the flagpole and I will let you stay at this camp. You take even a step forward and you’re fired from this camp for the rest of your life.”

Alex looked around. No one was paying attention to the two of them. They were all concerned with Evan. So was he. Alex looked into Chris’s eyes and took a step forward. Chris grabbed his arm with his large hand. “I’ll give you one more chance Alex. Turn around right now and I’ll-”
Alex didn’t let him finish the sentence. He pulled himself free of Chris’s grip and ran towards the wall. “Evan!” he screamed once he was close enough. Everyone in the area looked at him. “Evan, I know why you’re doing this!”

“No you don’t!” Evan shouted from the top of the cliff. “You don’t know anything!”

“I do!” Alex shouted back. “I know about your family! I know about your father! I know what you and Kalvin were fighting about! I know you’ve been in withdrawal from drugs for nearly a week!” Evan said nothing. “Am I right Evan? Is this the reason you’ve been acting this way? Talk to me man!”

“Screw it all Alex!” Evan shouted. “I don’t care what you know! You haven’t lived my life! You don’t know any of this pain! This is my only escape!”

“No it isn’t! Jumping is going to get you nowhere!”

“Screw it! I’m going to jump, and you can’t stop me!”

“Well, if you jump, I will catch you.”

“That will kill you, Alex! Let’s not have this camp lose two members in one day.”

“The only way for you to prevent that is to not jump. If you jump, I’m going to break your fall.”

“I’m not worth it Alex. I thought that was obvious by now.”

Alex opened his mouth, but stopped himself. He had to take this extremely cautiously. “Evan,” he said slowly, “you are worth it. I know you’ve been through hell over the past few months, and I know you’re in more pain than I can, or want to, imagine. For you to make it through- I can’t describe the amount of respect, or love, that I have for you. If your mom and sister were to lose you, how would they survive? They need you Evan.”

“Stop talking Alex!” Evan screamed. “I’m done with this pain!”

“Then why haven’t you jumped?” Alex asked. Behind him, he heard Chris swear. “If you’re so keen on killing yourself, you would’ve done it by now.” Evan gave no response. “Why haven’t you jumped yet Evan? Are you wondering if you really want to do it? If you really want to just pass your pain onto your family and your friends? That’s all suicide is- passing your problems off to somebody else. It’s not going to solve anything for you.”

“Then what will?” It wasn’t sarcasm. It was an honest question.

“I... I don’t know. But we can find a way. See all these people here? Evan, they’re here for you. They care about you. I care about you. Man, don’t jump.”

Evan looked at the ground. Alex stood at the base of the cliff, praying silently that Evan would step back. The entire area was completely silent. Finally, Evan shifted his gaze from the ground far below to his feet, and then stepped away from the edge. The two counselors who had been climbing the wall finally reached him and grabbed onto him tightly.
Everyone around him started cheering, but Alex didn’t notice. He fell to his knees, crying. “Oh God...” he mumbled over and over. He could not believe what had just happened.

Alex felt a large hand on his shoulder. “C’mon Alex,” Chris said. “Let’s go to my house. You need to lie down.”

Alex nodded his head. “I was right, wasn’t I?”

Chris patted Alex’s shoulder several times. “You were right. Completely crazy, but right.”
* * *
It was well past midnight, but for the third night in a week Alex was outside. He sat on the ground next to his cabin, his head spinning with so many thoughts. Chris had taken back any threat of firing him, but that was the least of his worries. Evan hadn’t returned to the cabin, and the entire camp was talking about the event. This time, Alex hated the attention. He hated having to know what had happened. He wished he could forget about it, and return to a normal camp life.

Alex heard footsteps. He stood up and saw Mike walking towards him. “Alex, you can return to your cabin. Evan will be staying in Chris’s house tonight.”

“Is he okay?”

“He’s fine. We’ve phoned his mom and she’ll be picking him up early tomorrow. For now, you need to get some sleep.”

“Okay, thanks Mike.” Alex walked into his cabin and collapsed onto his bunk, falling asleep almost immediately.
* * *
“Alex, where is he?” Alex jolted out of his sleep to see Chris standing over him.

“Where’s who?” Alex asked.

“Evan! His mom will be arriving in a few minutes, so we sent him back to the cabin to pick up his stuff.”

Alex sat up and looked at his clock. It was 7am. His other campers were asleep. “Well, he certainly didn’t wake me up if he came back.” He leaned out of his bed and looked in the corner of the room, where Evan’s stuff had sat for the week. All of his bags were still there.

All the feelings of grogginess were gone. Alex jumped out of bed. “Did anyone come with Evan?”

“No, he said he’d go get his stuff and then come right back.”

“Oh God,” Alex said. “How long ago was that?”

“About thirty minutes. Alex, calm down, just because he’s not here doesn’t mean that-”

“Then where is he?” Alex screamed. All of his campers woke up. “Chris, where is Evan?”

The camp alarm went off.