We Say Summer

I smelled burning wood and lake water as Lisa and I stepped onto the beach. The shore looked small packed with warm bodies, mingling and dancing to Top 40 radio. Lisa dove right in, saying hi and waving to people as she moved through the crowd. She introduced me to a few of them, but I could barely catch anyone’s name over the loud music. Finally we stopped at an old shack by the dock that was decorated with fairy lights and had a sign above the door that said “Lifeguards Only!” in big red letters.

“Beer?” Lisa motioned to the two coolers sitting out by the front steps.

I eyed them for a moment, biting the inside of my cheek. “I think I’ll pass.”

She nodded and grabbed one for herself. “C’mon, Naomi should be around here somewhere.”

“Ruocco!”

Lisa stopped short, a big smile on her face. “Barakat!” she ran forward, jumping into the arms of a tall guy that had choppy black hair with a streak of blonde on the side. I waited behind, holding my hands awkwardly behind my back. “Oh sorry! Jack, this is my roomie, Jamie. It’s her first year.”

“Welcome!” Jack smiled at me.

“Thanks.”

“Have you seen Naomi?” Lisa asked, looking at Jack.

He thought for a second. “Nope. I thought she was coming with you.”

Lisa frowned. “I thought she was coming with you…”

Jack looked like he was about to say something else when we heard a voice behind us.

“Hey there, strangers,” a pretty blonde said. “I hope I’m not interrupting anything important.” She had her hands on her hips, dressed in a bikini top and denim cut-off shorts.

Lisa and Jack turned to her, but said nothing.

“Well why the long faces? Aren’t you having fun?” the girl asked. Her eyes were narrowed at Lisa, her lips curled up in a smug grin.

“What do you want, Sara?” Lisa finally spoke.

“I just wanted to find you two and offer a truce. I think we all can agree that last year got out of control and we just want to move on from it. Let bygones be bygones.”

Lisa and Jack exchanged wary glances.

“We’ll think about it,” Lisa said hesitantly.

“Great!” Sara smiled wide. “We’re all down by the lake if you wanted to come. The water’s really great.”

“Uh, thanks. We’ll be there in a little bit,” Lisa replied, still sounding unsure.

“Okay, see you later!” Sara smiled again, even bigger this time if that was possible. She waved goodbye and sauntered off, leaving both Jack and Lisa speechless.

“What the hell was that about?” Jack turned to Lisa, whose eyes were still staring off in Sara’s direction.

“Who cares?” she said. “Let’s just find Naomi. Are you sure you didn’t see her before?”

“Positive,” Jack answered.

“Maybe she just went swimming or something,” I suggested.

Jack shook his head. “No, Naomi can’t swim.”

Just then, a piercing scream sounded from the dock, followed by a big splash. The three of us whipped around and saw a crowd forming by the lake.

“I don’t think she can swim!” we heard someone cry in the distance.

Wasting no time, Jack took off toward the dock and Lisa and I sprinted behind him. He yanked off his shirt and dove into the water. The rest of us waited, watching with bated breath. He burst through the surface with Naomi clung to his side, coughing and spitting up lake water. Her face was ghost-white and she looked absolutely terrified.

“The water’s freezing! Someone get her a towel!” Jack commanded as he swam them both over to the ladder. One of the girls in the crowd offered hers. Lisa grabbed it and held it open for Naomi, but she didn’t budge.

“Get everyone back to the beach,” Jack said.

Lisa scrunched her brows together. “What, why?”

“Just do it!”

With a sigh, Lisa turned around. “Everyone clear out! She’s fine. Nothing to see here!” she yelled, and soon enough the dock was empty except for us. “Alright, come on, Nay,” Lisa turned back to Naomi, holding the towel up again. With Jack supporting her, Naomi started to climb up.

“Oh!” I gasped when I saw her—a lot more than I’d ever planned to see—step onto the platform stark naked. Lisa quickly wrapped the towel around her and rubbed her arms to warm her up. Jack climbed up after and placed his hand on her back to support her.

“She is so wasted,” he whispered.

“I’m s-sorry,” Naomi whimpered, shivering. Jack pulled her close and kissed her head comfortingly.

“We should get her out of here,” I said, catching a few people from the beach looking over at us.


We took Naomi back to mine and Lisa’s cabin, dried her off, and lent her some clothes. Jack sat with her on my bed, rubbing her back as she rested her head against him. I felt nervous as I saw her face turn a greenish color.

“I think I’m gunna hurl,” she whined, clapping her hand over her mouth as she sprinted to the bathroom. Jack got up and followed her. Lisa and I sat in silence. She looked so angry that I was almost afraid of breathing too loudly in case she decided to take it out on me.

“This was no accident,” Lisa broke the silence.

“What do you mean?” I asked. “You think someone tried to drown Naomi?”

Lisa sighed. “This camp is notorious for pranking…”

My eyes shot open at this. “Are you telling me that some psycho out here thought nearly killing someone was a prank?”

She shook her head. “Someone out here took it way too far this time…and I think I know who did it.”