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Seth lets out a loud groan as he hears Bob singing down at the other end of the cabin. 'I'd rather wake up to a crow!' he thinks, flipping over but being able to drown Bob's voice out. 'I'm sure my campers will love this.'
He gets up and shakes Tyler awake, who looks up at him sleepily. "Wake up Tyler. Your lady awaits."
This earns a smile on his face as Tyler rubs his eyes. "That's the way to get me up. Remind me of her."
Seth chuckles as he gets up and goes to the bathroom and gets ready. As soon as Tyler is ready, the two guys walk out of the cabin and head to the dining hall only to find Kassandra and May eating breakfast already. "Do you two ever sleep in?" Seth asks, leaning down and kissing Kassandra's forehead, making her smile.
"Good morning to you too," she responds. "To answer you question, as long as May is around, I will never be allowed to sleep in. She wouldn't allow it."
May laughs as Tyler tickles her but stops when he drops a kiss on her lips. "I guess I have an early bird on my hands."
"That you do," May responds. "Go get your breakfast and let us girls eat in peace!"
"Whoa, I think that was an order Tyler," Seth says.
"I think so too. Let's go," Tyler says with a wink as they head off towards the line.
By the time they had gotten their food together, the other counselors were beginning to come in. Vicky and Allison were already sitting at the table with Kassandra and May but the two guys decide to sit there anyway. The six of them get into a conversation about the previous night but stop when May makes an interesting observation. "Where are Vince, Joey, Jason, and Maya? They usually come in by now. Do you think something happened to them? It's so unlike them to not show up."
"Well Jason came back with us so he's fine. I don't know about the other three though," Tyler says. "I didn't think to check up on them this morning."
"Neither did I," Seth adds. "I'm sure they are fine though."
"Hopefully," Kassandra says with a worried look on her face.
"Hun, don't worry. I'm sure the twins and the other two are fine."
By the end of breakfast, the four were still not around so the group decided to go to the cabins to check up on their status. Sure enough, Joey was found asleep in his bed and Vince was under his covers sound asleep.
"Time to wake up!" Kassandra says loudly into Joey's ear, making him jump up and out of his bed.
"Man Kassie, you don't have to yell," Joey grumbles. "What time is it?"
"You missed breakfast. It's time to get all your things in order for your class."
All of a sudden, the room is filled with a female groan as Maya pushes the covers off of her, leaving the group to stare at her and Vince wrapped in a tight embrace.
May arches an eyebrow up which Joey laughs at. "Man Vince, you better get your behind out of bed. You are so busted!"
Maya pulls the cover around her and glares at the group. "Shouldn't you all be somewhere else?"
"We're going!" Tyler says, throwing up his hands in surrender. "Do you three know where Jason is?"
"Well he's not here," Joey says, pointing to Jason's neatly made bed.
"Let's go," Kassandra says. "We'll leave these three to wake up and get going on their own. At least we know they are safe."
"Right," Allison agrees, heading out the door.
Once outside, the group bursts out laughing but disperses quickly, noting that they had wasted some great amount of time already from their separate tasks.
Kassandra heads over to the dock and gets worried as she doesn't see Jason there. 'I hope he is okay.' She goes over to the boats and examines them, satisfied that they are dried and sealed properly. As she is beginning to lower one from its stand where it was propped up on, she sees a figure pop up from under the water.
"Hang on, I'll give you a hand with that," Jason says, swimming to shore and picking up his towel to dry off. "It's too heavy for you."
"Well here I am, all worried about you and your whereabouts and you were out swimming! Don't scare me like that!"
"Sorry," he says. "I didn't feel like breakfast."
"Well you missed it. We went looking for you and the other three that stayed out last night when you didn't show. We found Maya in Vince's bed!"
Jason laughs but shakes his head. "I hope they don't make a habit of that. That must have been priceless though."
"It was. You know, I'm a bit surprised that Joey wasn't involved to be honest," Kassandra remarks, looking at Joey's mirror image. 'It's remarkable how alike they still are,' she marvels. '6'2", short, dirty blonde hair, white skin that turns into a nice tan, and a well-toned and muscled body. Let's not forget about those sparkling blue eyes.' Kassandra shakes her head to clear it of an image of the two brothers from last summer when they were on the beach together for their last gathering before summer was out. 'There's no doubt that both are equally as cute as the other.'
Jason observes Kassandra as she seems to daze out for a moment, chuckling as he sees that familiar dreamy face come over her. 'She really has changed so much from last summer yet not really. Kassie's what, about 5'3"? Brown Asian eyes, shoulder length dark brown hair, and skin coloring that reflects her Asian ethnic background. Her body has definitely matured in some way or the other though,' he notes, chuckling at himself for his overview of her and startling Kassandra out of her dreamy state.
"What?" she asks.
"Nothing," Jason answers, shaking his head. "I was just wondering I guess where you were just then."
He sees her blush. "No where. Shouldn't we get moving these boats?"
Jason nods his head. "Sure. After we put them in the shed, we should probably swim along the shore to make sure there's nothing dangerous lurking around."
Kassandra nods her agreement and the two get to work at taking care of the boats and making sure the shore was safe for the campers.
"Boo!" Tyler says rather loudly in May's ear, causing her to startle and scream.
May looks at the 5'8" black guy with a shaved head and shakes her head. "You are horrible Tyler! You know how jumpy I am!"
"I know but I couldn't resist," he replies, taking in the beauty of the 5' Asian girl with short black hair and brown eyes. "Are you almost done with your lesson plans for the day?"
"Not even close," she mutters. "I have all these ideas but I don't know how to properly use them. I mean, I want the kids to have fun but I want them to really learn, you know?"
"I understand. If it helps, I'm not sure how I'm going to teach them all about the woods here. I think they'll enjoy it but I don't know if they really want to do more than pet them," he says with a chuckle. "At least now I know that Vicky won't be touching the reptiles."
"You didn't terrorize her by chance did you?"
"Of course not," Tyler replies, looking offended. "We just had a snake cross our path during the hike and let's just say she was not too pleased."
"I can imagine."
"So where's Allison? Isn't she supposed to help you?"
"Actually, she just went back to her cabin to finish packing up her bags. You know we're supposed to move out of the communal today and move to the respective cabins we were assigned, right?"
"Oh yeah, I forgot. We have to pack all our stuff up?"
May rolls her eyes. "Unless you want to make your move difficult, I suggest that you do pack your stuff back in their bags."
Tyler lets out a sigh. "Fine, I'll go. I can see I'm not wanted here!"
She laughs at his dramatic flair. "As if! You know I want you here but you need to pack. We're going on that night activity tonight so we won't have that much time to take care of the move and settling in."
"Fine, fine. I guess I'll see you for dinner?"
May nods her head. "You bet."
Tyler leans down and kisses May softly on the lips. "See you later cutie," he says, leaving her in the classroom.
"Hey Vince! You done blowing up those balls over there?" Joey calls out, looking at the 6'1" Latin guy with buzzed black hair and brown eyes that the girls seem to love so much, not to mention how built muscularly he was. "Vince? Do you hear me?"
"Yeah, yeah," Vince returns. "I'm almost done. Are you done drawing in the lines for the field?"
"Yup. It's all set. The basketball nets were all replaced too. We should be all set for the campers now."
"Good. So what are your plans for tonight?"
"After the move? I don't know. Maybe try my luck with a certain girl."
Vince looks at the other guy from over his shoulder. "Are you still after her? I would have thought you'd given up by now considering that she's kind of taken now."
"All is fair in love and war here at The Wild Woods. Trust me, I've seen plenty of relationships start only to fall apart real soon."
Vince shakes his head. "Let me guess, you're going to help it fall apart in accelerated mode, right?"
"You bet," Joey says. "It's not fair that some new guy gets first shots at Kassie just as she's ready to really start being a real woman."
"What is your obsession with the girl? I mean, Maya was throwing herself all over you last night and you could have cared less!"
"I like a challenge, not an easy target," Joey replies. "Besides, I've known Kassie since before she was in her training bra. She has definitely developed really nicely over the past summers and it's my last shot to have a taste of her."
"I think I have a lot to learn from you," Vince replies. "So you just want a piece of her huh? And after that, are you going to start after the other girls at camp?"
"But of course. I'm not the relationship type of guy, trust me."
"I see. Well, stay away from Maya right now. She's mine."
Joey laughs. "For now. Besides, something tells me that she doesn't have the same intentions as you as far as just sticking with you. I hope you recognize she's one of those players who just love being admired but never possessed."
"Oh I possessed her last night, didn't I?"
"This is true but I'm talking to possess her solely. Speaking of, how was she?"
"Good," Vince replies with a smirk. "And that's the end of that. You ready to head back to the dining hall for food? I'm starving."
Joey nods and the two head over to the dining hall after locking up the balls in the shed.
"So how does the theater look?" the medium height, black haired Allison asks Seth who sits down next to her at the table.
"It looks great actually," Seth replies. "Maya and I worked pretty hard to get all the old props and costumes cleaned up and made sure the stage was dust free."
"Speaking of, where is the typical tall, thin, blond girl with green eyes who loves to toy with guys now?"
"She's not that bad," he says. "As to where she is, I'm not too sure. We went our separate ways after we were done."
"Can I join you?" asks Vicky, standing next to the table with her tray of food.
Seth looks up at the tall female counselor with brown hair and green eyes. "Of course. Do you really feel like you need to ask still? I thought we established some type of friend vibe yesterday, didn't we?"
Vicky smiles and sits down. "Well, I like to make sure, that's all," she replies, looking at the 5'11", somewhat muscled guy with brown eyes and brown hair that was cut short. "You never know where you could walk and find yourself unwanted."
"This is true," he responds. "How is teaching the animal class with Tyler?"
"It sounds like it will be a great time but I really am going to leave the reptiles to Tyler. We had a run in with a few snakes that just made me shiver."
"I'd feel the same way Vicky, trust me," Allison responds. "Thank God I get to work with May with the poetry class. She's really great at it and I feel comfortable actually sharing my own work with her."
"That's great Allison!"
"Man, where is everyone?" Seth asks, scanning the room. "Isn't dinnertime like now?"
Tyler walks over and says, "Hey guys, what's up?"
Allison smiles at him. "Hey Tyler. You know those other counselors. They straggle in all the time."
"True but usually Kassandra and the others are on time."
"Someone's antsy to see someone," Vicky kids winking at him. "Look, there she is now," she says, pointing towards the main entrance where Kassandra, May, and Jason were looking over the crowd and heading towards the food line.
Soon, the three appeared at the table and sat down with their food. "How'd preparation go for everyone?" Jason asks, looking over the group.
"It went well," Allison replies. "May, did you get a chance to find that poetry book you told me about?"
"No, not yet. I promise I'll look for it tonight after I move my stuff over to the Rabbit cabin. You're only two cabins away in the Squirrel cabin actually, so it won't be out of my way to bring it over before the evening activities," May says.
"Anyone know what the evening activities are?" Vicky asks. "I'm curious since it is the last group activity that's planned before one last meeting tomorrow night."
"It's a surprise this year, no one knows," Jason supplies.
"Sounds scary," Seth jokes.
"You should be," Jason answers cryptically.
"Sounds like you know."
"Not really. I just like to tease you new counselors."
"Anyone have plans for tomorrow night?" May asks, trying to break the tension.
"Just getting ready for the little ones," Allison says. "Is there another tradition I should know about?"
"No, not really."
"There's a private tradition we do but I think this year it may be time for a change," Joey says, sitting down next to Kassandra and looking at her.
"What are you talking about Joey?" Kassandra asks.
"You'll see," he responds.
Vince sits down next to Joey as Maya quickly takes a seat on the other side of the table.
"Late as usual I see," Jason remarks. "We were just about to leave to move."
"Don't let us keep you," Vince returns. "We'll catch up with you guys later tonight."
Vicky, looking at her watch, looks up and says, "I guess we better. We only have an hour to move until we have to meet again in the courtyard."
"Catch you guys later," Seth says, getting up and carrying his tray to the cleanup area.
"Well everyone, I hope that you brought you good senses and your sense of adventure tonight," Kathy says as the group of counselors are all gathered in the courtyard. "Tonight is rather special because it is your last chance to really bond with one another before the camp is filled with young children and teenagers yelling and screaming. Enjoy it."
"Everyone, let's get going," Sally says, leading the group into the dark woods.
"Where are we going?" Seth whispers, bringing Kassandra's hand up to his for a kiss and holds onto it as they start to follow the leader.
"Believe in yourself, trust yourself. That's all I can really tell you," she responds.
"Well that was encouraging."
Kassandra smiles as she walks the familiar pathways in the woods she had hiked numerous times during the day.
After a few more minutes of walking, Sally stops the group. "All right everyone. If you're holding onto someone's hand, drop it. From here on out, it's you and your senses. What do I mean? For the next mile, in intervals, each of you will walk by yourself to the other end of the path. Use your senses and trust yourself. I will tell you it is a fairly wide ledge but there is a drop point on your right so try to stay away from it."
"Well that sounds fun," grumbles Maya.
"Jason, you're up first," Sally says, turning off her flashlight, leaving the entire group in the dark.
Jason walks to the head of the group and starts walking.
"You'll know when you're at the end when Bob stops you. He has a flashlight on at the end just bright enough to guide you."
Jason starts walking, having confidence in himself and his memory of this particular part of the trail. It was fairly straight with only a few random roots sticking up. He allows his body to take over and let's his thoughts flow freely. 'Valerie…still hurting aren't you Jason? You have to get over her. What's done is done. Just because you got burned doesn't mean Kassie is going to as well. You should be happy for her, not so worried. Perhaps you need to heal your own wounds,' he thinks, closing his eyes momentarily, thinking of all that he had just thought about. 'Valerie, why did you do it?'
"Kassandra, you're up," Sally announces.
Kassandra lets go of Seth's hand and steps forward, taking a deep breath. 'You can do this Kassandra. You've walked it a million times. You just need to think of what it looks like in the daylight.' With that thought, she takes her first few steps and begins to walk faster as she gains confidence. 'Just like it always has been. At least some things don't change. What's going on with Jason lately?'
"May, you're up. Joey, you'll be next."
May walks away from Tyler after a soft kiss and heads out into the unknown. 'I wonder what Kassandra is thinking. I know she's thinking something because she's had that worried look on her face lately. Could it be she's having second thoughts on this whole summer romance thing? They seem so happy. I wonder…"
Joey steps up when he's called and starts walking, stepping over all of the tree roots. 'This is too easy. I guess we're supposed to meditate and gain confidence in ourselves? This is so lame. I hate these stupid activities. If it wasn't for the sake of making money and meeting up with some hot chicks, I wouldn't be here. Hopefully, the girl part will work itself out soon…"
Jason sees the light ahead and walks towards, high-fiving Bob. Soon, Kassandra appears in the light with a smile on her face.
"Why are you so happy?" Jason asks.
Kassandra shrugs. "I made it. Let my thoughts run for a bit. It's a nice feeling to be out here in the woods again."
"That it is."
"Don't you miss it?"
"Yes, I do. I know I'll miss it even more after I leave here in another seven weeks or so. I won't ever be back."
Kassandra nods her head. "I know what you mean."
The two fall silent and talk with May, Joey, and all the other counselors that are steadily reaching their destination. Once the group is all gathered, they are led deeper into the woods to do more team building games, finally leading to each camp counselor heading to their own cabin, for their first night of sleeping alone in the cabins.