My Summer Love Story

Jackie's Pov

"I can't believe it!" I state as soon as we are in our bunk and away from our counselors ears.
"Well, what did you get?" Lena asks timidly probably so I don't explode on her.
"I got sports, hiking, and nature!" I pace the floor quickly and all eyes shift to watch me.
"That's not so bad. I mean you got hiking with Cade." Liz points out.
"I wouldn't have picked hiking if it meant hiking a mountain and then camping out there!" I counter.
"I guess I should have told you that, huh?" Liz replies sheepishly.
"And sports aren't so bad. You don't even have to play if you don't want to!" Maxy adds enthusiastically.
"Plus you have nature with me so it won't be to bad." Lena says with a smile.
I brighten up immediately and cross the floor to give Lena a hug. "Your right. I'm so sorry guys."
"Aww! Group hug ladies!" Maxy says tumbling into our hug. We laugh and extend our hug for all of the girls. Olivia stands on the outside and glares at our circle.
"Livvv? You know you wannaaa." Liz sings.
Olivia snorts and swings the door open to leave the bunk.
"What bit her in the butt today?" Liz whispers in my ear with a laugh.
"I heard that!"
"Oops." And the door slams shut.
-------

"I didn't mean to offend her." Liz says frowning. "And I haven't seen her since I said that. It's almost dinner time."
"I know Liz." I say for the tenth time that day. "She'll be back. It's not your fault she heard you. She was probably just in a bad mood." I give her shoulder a friendly squeeze.
"Plus I wouldn't take missing dinner so seriously. The foods not so great around here." I joke.
"But-"
"Liz. It was not under any circumstances your fault. She probably has just had a bad day, that's all."
She finally agrees with a small sigh and we continue down the small path to dinner.

Dinner is loud and rowdy but we don't see any sign of Olivia. I can tell Liz is worried by the way she is peeling the hamburger bun off of her food.
"Lena, have you seen Olivia?" I say leaning across the table so Raine dosen't hear.
Her eyes cloud with sadness and I can tell she hasn't.
I turn to Maxy but she shakes her head and I finally let a sigh escape.
"If she's not back by nine we should go look for her. Agreed?" The girls nod and I push away my half eaten cheeseburger. Too worried to eat.
----
Nine o clock slowly comes and each girl watches the digital clock nervously, as if wishing Liv will appear. But she dosen't.
The counselors had left at eight thirty warning us to stay in bed. We had nodded innocently and let out sighs of relief when the finally leave.
Apparently they have no idea Olivia is even missing.
'How could they be so stupid?' I wonder as we silently grab our packed backpacks from under beds.
We leave the lights off and creep out the front door, careful to close it slowly so we don't wake up any of the other bunks.

A few lights shine through out the camp so we stick to the shadows determined to not get caught outside after hours. The counselors all hang out in this shack a little ways off from the cafeteria that holds a mini fridge, gaming devices, and all of the snacks and junk food they can carry. Liz had informed me of this.

We vow to get the counselors if we haven't found Olive by ten and head off onto the dark path that we assume Olivia might have taken. The bad part is we aren't positive and it's getting darker by the second. The trail leads past the cafeteria and then into a little secluded woods area. Near the place where I first met Alex.
We shuffle along avoiding the counselors hang out place and hold our breaths as we pass by where the cooks are still cleaning up from dinner. Liz leads the way confidently since she knows the trails and I fall in behind her matching her for every step. I can hear Lena's steady breathing a little behind my left ear and if I listen hard enough I can just barely make out the light footsteps of the other girls.

"What are you doing here?" I hear a light whisper and then a flashlight shines brightly into my eyes.
I blink a couple of times and then I see Cade and his friend, Shane, Jake, whatever his name is, next to him.

"And turn that light off. Your gonna get us caught you idiot." The light flicks off and their faces once again disappear into a black void.

"Sorry. We were just getting some snacks for the guys." Cade's voice says and then hesitates. "Wait, what are you guys doing out?" He says suspiciously.

"Nothing. Now leave." Maxy says stepping between them and us.

"Nothing eh? Shane I think we should escort these ladies back to their bunk don't you think?"

Shane! That's right!

Shane agrees and I can only imagine how angry Liz's face must be by now.

"Look, we're just going on a brief walk. That's it." She snaps at Cade.

"Well then we'll accompany you." Shane says and wraps his arm around Liz's.

"Well, I guess you can."

Aha! So Liz likes him to! I do a little dance.

"But Liz!" Lena whispers behind me. "We have to find Liv now!"

"You're right. We gotta get going. Sorry boys."

"Did you say 'Find Liv?' Where is did she go?" Shane says curiously.

"We don't know obviously. Or we wouldn't be looking for her would we?" Liz snaps back obviously now irritated.

"Fine whatever. Come if you want." She sighs in defeat.

So we keep going.

"What if she's hurt?" Lena whispers behind me after a few minutes in the dark woods. I quiet her but shiver because she had just echoed what I had been feeling since dinner.
What if she was hurt and we were to late? But I haughtily push those silly thoughts away. She has to be okay.

I still don't know the trail that well and I sure as heck do not want to get lost again out here so I keep my eyes on Liz's white sneakers that send a faint glow out from the moonlight.
And that's what I was doing when Liz stopped dead in her tracks making me run full force into her back and lose a shoe.

"Jeez, Liz. Give a girl a little heads up would ya?" I exclaim hopping around trying to find my lost flip flop.

"Sorry it's just those branches are all snapped." She says pointing a place out off of the trail.

As if I could see anything in this darkness.

"Snapped? Liz, your going crazy." I state still searching.

"No she's right." Maxy says coming up behind me. "We learned it in nature last year."

"Liv must have come this way!" Lena squeals excitedly clapping her hands.

"Or some wild animal just waiting to eat me." I mutter crossly on my knees now searching.

"Your gonna get poison ivy that way." Cade says getting down to help me look.

My hands trail loosely across pebbles, roots, plants, leaves and I sigh mournfully.

"Well now you are to. And it wouldn't matter anyway. I don't know what it looks like." I reply blindly reaching out again.

"You don't know what it looks like?" Shane's shocked voice fills the darkness.

"Um no. I don't think we have that stuff in California."

"It's a good thing your taking nature then Jackie." Vicky says from somewhere on the trail.

"Your taking nature? So am I! Do you want to be partners?" Cade asks some what excited .

I accept happily forgetting for a second that I am on my hands and knees in the middle of a dark forest to find my lost shoe.

"Aha!" Cade says triumphantly holding out my shoe like a prize. Which in this case it was. Since I didn't want to be hopping about the dark with only one shoe on.

I slip it on gratefully and offer him a quick word of thanks before turning back to the distraught Liz.

"You really think we should go back there huh? Even though it's off of the trail and I have already been lost here once." I say whispering the last part.

"I don't know Jackie. I want to find her but I don't know what to do." She wailed miserably burying her face in my neck.

"Liz! It will be fine. She's fine. We're gonna find her, okay?" I give her a quick hug and turn to the tired group.

"Anyone up for getting lost?" I say cheerily.