Living History
A New Beginning
"So you live next door to Amelia and John, then?" fifteen year old Olivia Smith asked the blonde boy sitting across the table from her. The two were sitting under the awning of Olivia’s family’s tent while the adults played some sort of drinking game around the campfire.
"Yep," the boy, Benjamin Alexander, nodded and looked towards the adults behind him. He gestured towards his neighbors and said, "They invited us over for dinner when we first moved in and we've been friends since. Then they told us about camping like this and I really wanted to find out more about it. So I asked them to tell stories and show me pictures and basically just let me know what it was all about. And I loved it all, so I begged them to bring me to something. At first they didn't really want to because I was just thirteen and they didn't think I'd like it as much as I thought I would. But I pestered the crap out of them for the next year almost, and finally they promised that as soon as I turned sixteen, then they would take me. So here I am, since I turned sixteen last month."
"How are you liking it so far?"
"I love it even more than I thought I would," he chuckled, taking a drink out of his handmade ceramic mug – or rather, the one he was borrowing for the weekend. "It's just so cool! And it's pretty fun too. How long have you been doing this?"
"Since I was negative three," Olivia shrugged, smiling at his confused look before explaining. "My mom started doing this before I was born, so my whole life I've been coming here. I love it too. So do you think you'll be coming next year too? It'd be really cool to have a camp friend, since there's like no one my age here otherwise."
"Yeah, I really want to come back. And I'd love to be your camp friend. You're a really cool girl."
"Well you're a really cool guy,” Olivia laughed, standing up and adjusting her multiple skirts. “One thing you can learn about this camp right now is that we’re all huggers. Hugs hello, hugs goodbye, for celebration, condolences, just about anything. So you’ll have to get used to hugging a lot of people, especially once you get more familiar with people around the camp. Why not start getting used to it now? How about a welcome hug from your new friend?”
Benjamin laughed as well and pushed his chair back to stand up. Even though he was a year older than Olivia, they were almost the exact same height, with Benjamin being about a half inch taller.
“And how about a thank you hug from your new friend?” he smirked, stepping forward for said hug. Olivia chuckled lightly into his shoulder and stepped back.
“It’s good to have new faces. Especially when they’re as good looking as yours,” she joked, hitting him on the shoulder playfully. “Welcome to the insanity of this great group of reenactors.”
"Yep," the boy, Benjamin Alexander, nodded and looked towards the adults behind him. He gestured towards his neighbors and said, "They invited us over for dinner when we first moved in and we've been friends since. Then they told us about camping like this and I really wanted to find out more about it. So I asked them to tell stories and show me pictures and basically just let me know what it was all about. And I loved it all, so I begged them to bring me to something. At first they didn't really want to because I was just thirteen and they didn't think I'd like it as much as I thought I would. But I pestered the crap out of them for the next year almost, and finally they promised that as soon as I turned sixteen, then they would take me. So here I am, since I turned sixteen last month."
"How are you liking it so far?"
"I love it even more than I thought I would," he chuckled, taking a drink out of his handmade ceramic mug – or rather, the one he was borrowing for the weekend. "It's just so cool! And it's pretty fun too. How long have you been doing this?"
"Since I was negative three," Olivia shrugged, smiling at his confused look before explaining. "My mom started doing this before I was born, so my whole life I've been coming here. I love it too. So do you think you'll be coming next year too? It'd be really cool to have a camp friend, since there's like no one my age here otherwise."
"Yeah, I really want to come back. And I'd love to be your camp friend. You're a really cool girl."
"Well you're a really cool guy,” Olivia laughed, standing up and adjusting her multiple skirts. “One thing you can learn about this camp right now is that we’re all huggers. Hugs hello, hugs goodbye, for celebration, condolences, just about anything. So you’ll have to get used to hugging a lot of people, especially once you get more familiar with people around the camp. Why not start getting used to it now? How about a welcome hug from your new friend?”
Benjamin laughed as well and pushed his chair back to stand up. Even though he was a year older than Olivia, they were almost the exact same height, with Benjamin being about a half inch taller.
“And how about a thank you hug from your new friend?” he smirked, stepping forward for said hug. Olivia chuckled lightly into his shoulder and stepped back.
“It’s good to have new faces. Especially when they’re as good looking as yours,” she joked, hitting him on the shoulder playfully. “Welcome to the insanity of this great group of reenactors.”
♠ ♠ ♠
So I'm really curious as to how well this will go over and if it will take off at all...Things should get a bit clearer in the next chapter, as this is just a prologue really. So if you're a tad confused, just hold tight and it'll make more sense.
That being said, If anyone wants me to post some reference photos as to clothing, tents, utensils, food, or anything else, just let me know and I'll gladly do that. And I'm basing their camping off of the kind I actually do, so I can literally get info/pictures on whatever you might want to know about or see.
As always, comments are loved and appreciated.
They only make me a better writer, so why not, eh?