Page 2 of It Starts With Summer

“Likewise.”Ravi gave me a small smile.His eyes darted around nervously.“This place seems interesting.”

Matt cleared his throat.“Well, I’ll leave you two to bond.I need to talk to some of the other new counselors.”He clapped me on the back.“Parker, I’m thrilled to see you, as always.And Ravi, welcome to Eagle Ridge!”

With that, he turned and walked away, leaving Ravi and me to stare awkwardly at each other.I shoved my hands into the pockets of my shorts and stared down at my feet.Then his feet.I frowned, tilting my head.“Those hiking boots look brand new.”

“Top of the line,” Ravi said, lifting the edge of his jeans and showing me his boots.“I did extensive research and found these to be the best.”

“You need to break them in before we do any long hikes, okay?It’ll help prevent blisters.”

“Well, the manufacturer said specifically that these won’t need to be broken in,” Ravi said.“But thank you for your advice.”

I blinked at him, not entirely believing the manufacturer’s promise.“Alright, well.I suppose I’ll show you around?Have you seen much of the camp?”

“No.I just arrived.”Ravi reached for the handle of his two suitcases, which were enormous and had wheels."I only had enough time to talk to Matt."

“All right,” I said.“Let’s drop our bags by our cabin and take a walk.”

He narrowed his eyes at me.“Are you trying to trick me into breaking in my boots?”

“Nah, never.Why would I do that?”I winked at him, and he somehow managed to look even crankier.Our cabin was a short walk from the green where we'd run into Matt, though it was made longer by Ravi's two suitcases.I wondered what he even had in it — I traveled with a backpack and an efficiently packed duffel, but I didn't have much stuff.Ben and our other roommate weren't around when we got to the cabin, which was basic but clean, the same one I'd stayed in the year before.There were two bunk beds, a small sitting area with a couch that had seen better days, and a door that led to a bathroom.

“We’ll be looking after twelve middle school-aged boys.They arrive two days’ time.Camp is quiet now, but it changes a lot once the kids get here… so enjoy the peace while you can.We won’t have more of it until the session break in three weeks.”

“I have a big family.I'm accustomed to noise.”Ravi was staring up at a towering, red-barked ponderosa pine as he spoke, and tripped on a root, barely catching himself before face-planting on the trail.I barely held back a laugh.

As I unlocked the cabin and surveyed the familiar space, I thought of all the fun pranks and adventures from last year.Even the light, musty scent of the old wood structure made memories come rushing back.

"What do we do until campers arrive?"Ravi asked.

“We need to clean and set up our cabin, plus set up the Raven cabin.We’ll make welcome messages and make the beds in the campers' cabin today and tomorrow.I’ll show you the ropes.”

Ravi was staring down at the dusty dresser.He swallowed.“I’m not sure I brought enough Lysol wipes.”

“This is summer camp!There’s going to be some dirt.”

I threw my duffel on a bottom bunk, the same one I'd slept on the summer before.Ravi stared at the beds for a long moment.There was a pile of books on the top bunk of the bed across the room — surely Ben's, since I knew I was rooming with him again.The bottom bunk that Ben had claimed was still empty, and I could see Ravi weighing his options before taking the bed above mine, carefully unpacking a pillow and comforter from one of his bags and arranging them on top of the scratchy summer camp blanket.Feeling restless, I paced to the door, then turned back to Ravi.

He was cleaning the inside of the dresser drawers with a disinfecting wipe.

“Hey man, it’s a beautiful day.Let me show you around camp.”

"Um…" He eyed the bed, then his container of disinfecting wipes.“Shouldn’t we get settled in?”

“We’ll be here all summer — plenty of time to get settled in.Don’t you want to get the lay of the land?”

He pushed his glasses up on his nose, eying the cabin as if it might jump out and attack him at any moment.“The lay of the land.”

“Yeah, I mean, you know Aiden, right?He’s my best friend.”I was hoping like hell Aiden recommended this guy for a good reason, because right now, he seemed a little odd.

Ravi nodded.“He recently started in the same biology program I’m in.”

“Fantastic!So you go to Stanford too?I’m a psychology major.Anyway, I'm sure you've heard how incredible this place is.It'd be worthwhile to see all the sights, not spend all day indoors.”He did not look convinced, and I was considering going for a walk without him.“You should know where all the buildings are, in case there’s an emergency.”

Ravi hesitated, looking longingly at his second bag.I’d have bet my entire camp salary that everything inside was neatly folded and organized by color.But after a moment, he nodded.“Okay.I can unpack later.Show me what to do in an emergency.”

I completely forgot about the emergency thing the moment we got outside.Ravi didn’t talk much as we walked, and I let the conversation fall off, going first to the beautiful Eagle Lake, my favorite part of camp.A dense pine forest surrounded the high mountain lake and a sandy beach and boat dock sat on the east side, facing camp.To the west, the dramatic snow-capped peaks of the cascades rose behind the trees, reflecting in the clear waters.

I took a deep breath, taking in the familiar beauty.When I glanced at Ravi, he was staring down at a weed on the ground, frowning.Weird.I kept the conversation to a minimum as I turned and showed him the activity area, which included an arts and crafts cabin and an archery range.I pointed out the historic lodge, which held the dining hall, and the shower building, then led him down the path to the Raven Cabin.

---