[Fiction] A Different Kind of Summer Camp

[Markbassplayer]

A Different Kind of Summer Camp

Prologue: Day Zero

***Chapter One***

“Meghan? I didn’t know you were coming!”

I finished lugging my suitcase up the worn stairs and looked up. Valerie was walking toward me with a big goofy smile on her face.

“Valerie? Wow, I didn’t know you’d be here either. Cool!”

After a quick hug, Valerie said “Isn’t this awesome? Living in dorms like college students, away from our parents for a week! I can’t wait to find out who my roommate is. Have you met yours yet?”

I shook my head and pointed toward my suitcase. “I just got done at the registration table downstairs. I’m in room 313.”

“Hopefully our roommates are cool,” Valerie said. “They used to make you answer all sorts of questions to match you up, but now it’s totally random.”

A tall boy with frizzy hair came in behind us and walked past, stopping in front of one of the dorm doors. He took out a key attached to a shoelace, opened the door, and went in.

“Oh. My. GOD.” Valerie whispered. “That’s my room. My roommate is a boy.”

I gasped, and felt butterflies in my stomach. I’d almost been able to forget that this wasn’t a normal summer camp session at the college. The past few weeks had been a mixture of dread and nervous excitement, wondering exactly what would happen and just how bad it would be. I’d heard rumors and whispers of all sorts of crazy things, but no one seemed to know exactly what was true. The possibility of having a guy roommate in the dorm was just the beginning.

Valerie was just standing there staring. She turned to me with a frightened look on her face. “What am I going to do? I knew it was a possibility, but I didn’t think it would ACTUALLY happen!”

I smiled weakly and shrugged. “I dunno. As excited as I am for classes and band, the other stuff has me scared to death. Especially since no one will actually tell me what exactly it is.”

“I’ve heard all sorts of rumors,” Valerie said quietly. “Having to go around in just your underwear. Sex Ed classes and stuff. But that was before they mixed the boys and girls in the same session, so this year it can’t be that bad. Can it?” She started nervously playing with her hair. “God Meghan, what am I going to do? I was nervous about sharing a dorm room with a stranger, how am I going to get changed in front of a BOY?”

I didn’t think I’d be doing any better if I was in her place, but I patted her arm comfortingly. “It won’t be that bad. You can like, hang a sheet up or something. Or wait until he leaves in the mornings. He’s probably nice, and he’s probably as nervous as you are.” I picked up my suitcase and started down the hall. “Here’s my room. Do you want to come in and hang out here for a while?”

“Yeah,” said Valerie.

****************

The room was small and cramped, with two worn desks, two chairs, a dresser, a wardrobe, and two old metal frame beds bunked one above the other. This was an old dorm that hadn’t been renovated yet, which is why the college was using it for the summer camp session.

The first thing I noticed was that there was a wardrobe instead of a closet. Damn. So much for hiding out while changing. What if my roommate is a boy too?

Valerie sat down on the bottom bed and sighed. I opened my suitcase and started pulling out clothes and tossing them in drawers.

There was a knock at the open door. I looked up to see the frizzy haired boy standing there. He looked as nervous as I felt. Also kind of cute, in a nerdy sort of way.

“Um, hi,” he said. “I’m Daniel. Do you know where we’re supposed to go to get our meal cards?”

I realized I was standing there holding a handful of my underwear, and quickly shoved them into a drawer. “I think we get them tonight when we go to the cafeteria. That’s what they said at the registration desk.”

I looked a little more closely at Daniel. Brown frizzy hair, a shy smile, skinny, and kind of cute. I found myself wondering what it would be like to change clothes at the same time as him, and felt myself start to blush. “Uh, I’m Meghan.”

“Good to meet you Meghan. Hey, are you in band?” he said, pointing to my trumpet case.

“Yeah, and so is Valerie here—we both go to Mitchell, and we march in the band there. Are you?”

“Yeah, I play sax. Cool! So are you two roommates?”

I glanced at Valerie. “No, she’s just hanging out while I unpack.”

Valerie gulped and said quietly “I’m in room 315.”

There was a pause. “Oh,” said Daniel. Then, very quickly, “Um, me too. So I guess we’re roommates then. And we’re both in band, so we have something in common. Well, I’ve gotta go finish unpacking, I’ll see you later.”

After Daniel shut the door I turned to Valerie, who was still pale. “See? He’s just as nervous as you are!”

Valerie shook her head. “That doesn’t make it any less weird. But okay.” She stood up and sighed. “I’m gonna go find my classrooms. I’ll see ya soon.” She took a step, then turned and gave me a sudden, fierce hug. “I’m really glad you’re here. I’m so nervous about this week.”

“Me too,” I said.

But you’re also excited, aren’t you? I thought to myself, though I would never admit it out loud.

[Markbassplayer]

I've got quite a few things planned for this story, and I've outlined several of the upcoming chapters....but I'm also eager to get feedback.

What do you think is going to happen?

[Blue Balloon]

i like it a lot. a great setting for sexual adventures! idk whether her roomate should be or will be a boy... i guess it would make it more interesting if it was!

[slutjuice]

Nice to see you writing!
This is a really nice beggining!

[daremaster 1]

Nice intro, interested in more!

[Markbassplayer]

***Chapter Two***

It was not only Meghan’s first year at camp, it was the year of many changes at the long-running program. Sponsored by the college, the camp was several things: A way to keep students learning throughout the summer, a taste of college life experienced through living in the dorms, and a two week break for their parents.

Students picked four classes to enroll in. Some of the classes allowed them to earn extra credit to be applied in their next school year, while others were merely interesting subjects outside the normal high school curriculum. In past years the camp sessions had been segregated by gender, in order to help the students focus on learning and enjoying the experience rather than mooning about and primping. The students also took a mandatory sex ed class, and the general theory was that such things were more comfortable to learn about without the nerves caused by dealing with the opposite gender.

This year was different, though. A series of new studies had shown that students subjected to single-gender activities throughout school had a more difficult time once they got into the real world, while those used to dealing with the opposite sex were less distracted by them, since they had less of a “forbidden, mysterious” quality.

****************

I finished unpacking and sat down on the bed. I figured since I got here before my roommate, I could claim the bottom bunk. I opened my schedule and tried to distract myself from my whirling thoughts.

Each day started with breakfast at 8:00, followed the first of four classes at 9:00. I stared at the name of the first class, then shook my head and kept reading.

For my second class I was taking an acting class. Not my choice. I’ve always been much more introverted, more interested in reading a good book than getting up in front of a crowd and carrying on, but the deal was that I got to pick a class and my mom got to choose one. She picked the acting class in order to give me more self-confidence.

I dunno. I mean, it’s not like I’m ever going to be an actor. I’m pretty average looking. Medium height, average weight, brown eyes. The only thing I’ve got going for me is my red hair. I guess I have a pretty loud voice when I need to yell, so that should help in the acting class. Maybe it would actually help make me more outgoing, and help me get over the stage fright I got from time to time when I had to present in front of the class at school.

After the second class was lunch, and then the third class started at 1:00. This was creative writing, the one I chose. I love to write, and I was looking forward to practicing it and maybe even finishing one of the stories I was always starting but never finishing.

The last class of the day was band, which I always looked forward to. I’m not great at the clarinet or anything, but I love playing music, and Valerie would be in there with me.

I sighed and looked back at the first class on the schedule. “Gender Relationships and Sexual Education.” It was a required course, and everyone at the camp would be in it. That was the one that worried me. My parents had to sign all kinds of wavers when they found out about the experiment the camp was doing this year, but they said it would be good for me (even if they wouldn’t tell me exactly WHAT was going to happen).

I’m pretty shy about that kind of stuff. I blush and get all embarrassed and giggly. I’ve barely done anything with a guy. LAME, I know. And since I get good grades and play in band everyone just assumes that I’m a total good girl and don’t even think about that kind of stuff.

They have no idea how wrong they are. I’m a total perv. I would never admit it to anyone though. So as nervous as I was about everything that would be happening over the next two weeks, the nervousness was mixed with excitement. Yes, that kind of excitement. Dammit.

I looked at my watch. It was 4:00, and there was still no sign of my roommate. I decided to walk around the dorm some more and see if I ran into anyone else I knew from school.