Page 3 of A Twist in Fate
“Me too,” James replies, completely unbothered. “Either way this will be fun also if we are put in different houses, I will have the opportunity to beat your ass next week.” He looks at me with a smug look on his face that makes me roll my eyes.
Next Thursday is the fourth of July which means we do some sort of competitive activities between the housesthe entire day. At the end of that day, we watch fireworks over the pier and eat around a huge campfire. I am pulled from our conversation when a car pulls up that I recognise instantly as Bailey’s. She practically jumps out the car and then the door on the other side swings open. Time slows down.
My eyes are suddenly upon long brunette hair, freckles, and a gorgeous smile. I don’t even remember moving my eyes but here I am with them completely fixated on her. The girl stepping from my sister's car looks nothing like I had expected. I’m not even sure what I expected but it is definitely not this.
Her long wavy hair reaches just below her waist, the wind blowing it away from her face. Her eyes are like deep chocolate, much like her hair and her face is painted with freckles that follow down her neck and arms. She is wearing simple grey comfy shorts and a t-shirt that exposes a small amount of her stomach.
She walks through the gate, staring around and taking in her surroundings. As soon as her eyes meet mine, she offers me a small smile, one it seems like she cannot control, and she tilts her head slightly as if she’s trying to figure me out. The feeling is definitely mutual.
It takes me a moment to realise that I have been staring too long but even clearer when her cheeks turn pinker and she looks away, staring at her feet. I do the same, trying my best to conceal the warmth spreading across my face too.
Suddenly, I am pulled into a tight hug. I know instantly that it’s Bailey. “Don’t squeeze me too tight or I could pass out,” I say, in a strained voice. She’s clearly missed me, and I almost forget about the brunette standing beside her, but I don’t. As she pulls away, I turn my attention to the girl standing next to her, still speaking to Bailey when I say, “so, introduce me to your new friend.”
“Right! Lucas this is my best friend, the one from England, Ivy Banks.”Ivy. As soon as she says her name I memorise it, becoming more and more eager to know everything about her. “Ivy, this is my brother and the guy over there pulling Oreos out of his pockets is his friend, James,” Bailey continues and I turn around to see where she is pointing, watching James pull a half-broken Oreo out of his front pocket and stuff it in his mouth. As he notices us watching, he waves and smiles while still chewing the cookie.
“I’m sorry about him, he is a bit weird,” I start to ramble, not fully focusing on the words I’m saying but theshy girl I’m saying them too. “I am not saying that is a bad thing. He is great and a great friend. He really just loves Oreos.” I take in a sharp breath and then continue, “Sorry again. I promise I do not usually talk this much.” I offer my hand out for her to shake it, feeling unusually nervous.
I am usually great at meeting new people, especially if I am not in a large group. This feeling is new. She unsettles me. I can overly feel her presence when she is close. I have no clue what else to say because I am acting like such an idiot.
She laughs quietly and shakes my hand. The moment our fingers brush I can feel a sharp buzz of electricity flow through from my hands and then to the rest of my body. Her laugh is light and as soon as I hear it, I am desperate to hear it again.
“Don’t apologise, I am so excited for this summer,” she replies.Wow. Her accent.I forgot she would have one for a moment. Now I am becoming more of an idiot because I just want to talk to her again. I suddenly feel this curiosity that I have never felt before when meeting someone new. I cannot explain it. She is shy and sweet and all I want to do is find out more about her.
Her smile, her voice, the way she looks down sweetly after holding eye contact. It all sparks something within me.
Desperate to continue the conversation, I start to speak but I am interrupted by the hoarse voice of an older man.
“Good morning, everyone!” Charlie exclaims in a powerful tone, “thank you everyone for joining the team this year. I am Charles but you and the kids can call me Charlie. Just because I let you use my nickname does not mean I am all sweet and kind. If you get on my bad side, you won’t just be calling me Charles again, you will have to clean up the kids’ bathrooms.”
He looks all commanding and scary right now, but I know that this is all an act. He is one of the kindest people I know and while he can act harsh sometimes, he is also a firm believer in treating people with kindness.
“More importantly,” he continues, “the days you have off are also on the notice board in the dining hall. Schedules for activities are also posted there. Finally, as you know you will be assigned an age group as well as a cabin animal.” Charlie starts announcing the groups, starting with the badgers then moving to robins. Finally, I hear my name.
“Lucas Miller, you will be with the six to nine-year-old’s and your cabin animal is donkey. You are paired with Ivy Banks.” I nudge the brunette next to me with a bright smile on my face and she offers me a smaller, shyer one, but it felt just as bright to me.
She looks away and over to my sister asking, “quick question. Why are they called donkeys? It feels out of theme. You know the robins and badgers, they feel like they stick to the woodland vibe, but donkeys feel so random.”
My sister replies, “Charlie and his late wife saw one on the drive when they decide to move out here, so they decided to choose it for sentimental reasons I guess.”
Bailey and James are taking care of the kids in donkeys’ group too but the 10–13-year-olds. The other age group, fourteen- to seventeen-year-olds, are being taken care of by an old friend, Abby who is partnered up with a new counsellor, Alec.
Abby used to come to Lake Sylva every summer as her dad lived here and it was the only time of the year she spent with him. Either way, she would only be able to see him for three weeks and the rest of her time would be spent here. She has medium length, straight, red hair and green eyes. Alec is lightly tanned and wears round glassesthat fit his face well. His brown fluffy hair almost reaches his eyes. He seems to be a lot like Ivy except he is much more outgoing, like James.
I never have thought which age group I would prefer but I honestly think we got the best. At this age they are too young to understand everything, so they can enjoy this place as much as possible. The older kids usually have parents who cannot afford to take time off work and cannot take care of their children the entire summer.
I can see it on Bailey’s face that she wanted to be partnered up with her friend this summer and I can see it on Ivy’s face that she wants that too. I feel bad.
“Sorry you are not partnered up with Ivy,” I say.
“It’s okay,” Bailey says with a small smile creeping onto her face, “I will be practically living with her for eight weeks and if anything, I am glad. She will start getting on my nerves.” Laughing, she warps one arm around Ivy beside her who laughs too, looking down at her feet again.
“I lived with you for fifteen years, Bailey. I am pretty sure you will be getting on her nerves much more,” I say.
The afternoon is filled with unpacking and moving everything into our cabins. They each have a shared bathroom and three bedrooms that lead to the outside porch. There are two adult cabins in the donkey’s area, one for the boys and one for the girls that face opposite each other. There is four children’s cabins facing opposite each other too, making a square with all the cabins. There are two for the fourteen- to sixteen-year-olds and one for each of the other two age groups. Each cabins have an old sign with a small donkey and the age group written on it.
The cabins in our area are almost completely surrounded by trees and the way to the main activities is marked by the dirt pathways and painted wooden signs up upon nearby trees. The paint is slightly chipping, and it all looks exactly the same as when it did when I was younger.
The bedrooms in the cabins are quite small but still fit a small double bed, a set of drawers and a mini side table. I put up the photos of family and pictures of me and James at school on the wall with sticky tack. The bedding is white, and I place two new pillows from my dorm on it by the existing ones. Above my bed is a small window that lets the evening light pour through it. It is almost six thirty when finally goes quiet. I lay down on my bed,closing my eyes when all of a sudden, my door flies open, and something flops onto my bed with a thud.
