[Something in the Way 01.0] Something in the Way by Jessica Hawkins

Author:Jessica Hawkins [Hawkins, Jessica]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Amazon: B06XBTFR8V
Barnesnoble: B06XBTFR8V
Publisher: Jessica Hawkins
Published: 2017-02-25T07:00:00+00:00

15

Lake

For morning Reflection, everyone gathered on the wooden bleachers to face the rising sun. Birds chirped, blue sky peeked through the treetops. While Gary spoke softly about positive intentions and what the day would bring, nine pairs of feet plus Tiffany’s trudged in. At seven-ten, they were the final cabin to arrive, which meant Tiffany would spend her morning cleaning up half-eaten food and used napkins. I couldn’t muster any sympathy. She knew the rules.

“Each morning, we’ll sing a special song to begin the day,” Gary said. “I discovered it earlier this year and thought—that song has a great message. You might’ve heard it on the radio. ‘Shine’ by Collective Soul is about the quest for guidance and acceptance. It has religious undertones, but you can sing it however it makes sense to you. But first, I want each cabin to come together and decide what they’re grateful for on this beautiful morning. The counselors will share it with the group.”

We huddled with the girls, who looked as energized and excited as they had getting on the bus the morning before.

“What are we grateful for?” Hannah asked.

“That we don’t have to clean up our mess today,” Bettina said.

“You’re grateful for Bobby Newman,” one of the girls teased.

Hannah and I looked at each other. “Let’s try for something a little deeper,” I said. “Any ideas, Hannah?”

“How about if we’re grateful for each other?” Hannah asked. “Friendship.”

“Three Musketeers,” Katie added. “It’s my favorite candy.”

“Friendship it is,” Hannah said.

Gary called everyone’s attention back to the front. “Friendship” came up three times before Manning’s turn. “We’re grateful for a lot of things,” he said, scanning the faces of the boys in his cabin. “But today, we’d like to say our thanks for the release of Mortal Kombat II last month. As a cabin, we agree that this is one of the best things to happen this year so far.”

Everyone stayed silent until Gary burst into laughter. “All right. That’s a new one. Videogames. I like it. Who wants to go next? Cabin four?”

I glanced at Hannah, who nodded and mouthed, Candy.

I sighed. “Cabin four is grateful for . . . Three Musketeers bars.” The girls cheered. “And,” I added when they’d calmed down, “having someone to share them with.”

Gary clapped. “Good one, cabin four.”

As it turned out, despite a morning of good intentions, large breakfasts, and lots of laughter, everything came crashing down when I checked our schedule for the day. Right off the bat, we were headed for danger—horseback riding. It wasn’t even my fear that bothered me. It was that I’d miss out on sharing an activity with the girls.

As a group, we walked from the dining hall through dirt and dead grass toward the stables. “Look, there’s Bobby Newman,” Katie squealed, pointing. I spotted a couple more boys from Manning’s cabin. Then his co-counselor Kirk. Like a trail of breadcrumbs, my eyes followed until they landed on Manning as he helped a camper up onto a saddle.

“We’re paired with them today?” I asked Hannah.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.