Chapter 2 Goodwill camp

Sitting in the passenger seat of my mum's car as she drove me to camp. I found myself looking out the window."Honey, the gap year your dad suggested seems to be a great idea. Don't you think so?" Her voice cut through the silence, "uhmm, yeah.. I guess" I said, trying not to prolong the topic. My dad had made me take a gap year after highschool, I didn't like it, but I also couldn't complain . I was 18 now, and my parents were preparing for me to go to college the following year. My mates from school were already in college, and would post pictures of them living the 'college life'.

"Have you noticed you've put on a little weight my dear?" my mom once again broke the silence, "really? " I said with genuine surprise," I had no idea" I added.

I could see the sign board of our camp ahead, it read the GOODWILL RESOURCE CAMP. It was a camp aimed at training teenagers/ youths in order to make us better people.

Soon after we arrived at the gate , my mom dropped me off, and before she left she wished me the best summer ever, "baby, I love you okay. Have fun, you're beautiful dear, never forget that" were her last words to me because she drove off. Fun? Beautiful? and me in the same sentence didn't seem right. But mom was right, I did add some weight, I was too busy dwelling in my self hate to notice.

I walked through the gate with my roller box in my left hand, I was on time too. Other campers had formed a queue just ahead of me, and I hastened my steps to join. Just then I heard my name, I turned to see who it was. It was none other than Nina, she ran to hug me. I hugged her back, I missed her so much, but I've never been good at showing or understanding my emotions. "You came!" she said, still holding on to me. " Of course I did, I wouldn't miss seeing you again for anything" I said, pulling slowly away from the hug. " Girl! You added some good weight", Nina said confirming what my mom had told me, I smiled trying to take in the compliments.

Nina and I both joined the queue, I let her stand in front of me since she was shorter.

Soon after, Nina and I were in our rooms. Lucky for us, we managed to be roommates .

The rooms at camp were spacious enough for two people, small student mattresses were placed at either edge of the room."I have a lot to tell you", she said as we unpacked our luggage into our separate wardrobes that were close to our students' beds. "I'm happy I came then", I said trying to match up to her vibe. " Uhmmm, how's Victor? Are y'all still together?" I said, " he's fine, he's gonna be at the camp soon" she said excitedly. More bridesmaid duties I guess, I'm happy for Nina, truly I am. And this year I have no intention of wanting to be seen or admired. I'll just accompany Nina to meet up with the love of her life and give her space when needed.

Orientation was going on for first timers, Nina and I weren't first timers. Nina had been here 3 times already . Nina was checking her phone very frequently, with an anxious look on her face, "he's supposed to be here already" she muttered underneath her breath. I immediately knew she was waiting for Victor.

We made our way to the camp resting area, it was a garden.it had benches scattered around it with a beautiful entrance made of flowers. We walked past the entrance and sighted Victor, there appeared to be someone standing behind him, someone taller than he was. As we got closer, Nina ran over to give him a hug. With a half smile I waved victor, my eyes met that of the person standing behind him. It was a 6 feet chocolate skinned young man, with a low shave, he had very full brows that complimented his face perfectly, he also had a cute beard that appeared to be trimmed.

Marcus didn't stand a chance when it came to this man's looks, he was gorgeous. Nina and Victor finished their emotional hug and turned to introduce us to his friend, the man standing behind him.

"This is my friend Ken", Victor said, "hi Ken" Nina said with her hand stretched to him for a handshake. "Hi Nina, I've heard so much about you. You have my guy here in a lock and key", Ken said, Nina's face flushed. Ken had the sexiest voice I had ever heard. He talked softly with a baritone voice. That's what made it sexy, the baritone. I stood behind Nina stealing glances at the man in front of me. "And this is Lora, Nina's friend", Victor said pointing in my direction. Ken walked a few steps towards me, with his hand stretched out for a handshake. "hi Nina, I'm ken" he said, "ken like the Barbie ken?" I said, trying to be funny, I felt stupid for the joke immediately after. Ken chuckled, "yes, exactly like the Barbie ken", he replied. Making me feel less stupid, Ken held my hand a little longer than necessary as his eyes peered into mine in a way that I didn't quite understand. Our little episode came to an end as Victor cleared his throat, giving Ken a knowing look. I tried my hardest not to steal glances at Ken for the rest of the evening, each time I looked over at him, his eyes were on me, I didn't know how that made me feel...We soon felt the need to excuse the couple. Ken and I walked in the opposite direction to where Nina and Victor sat in an attempt to give them privacy. When we were far enough, Ken and I sat down on a garden bench as we had left Nina and Victor on the mat.

"So... you go to the same uni as victor?" I managed to break the awkward silence. "Yeah, we do," he said, his answer was brief. I felt like the man next to me had no interest in talking to me, and I wouldn't blame him, men that looked as good as he did didn't interact with people like me . Silence lingered. "What's camping here like?" he said after almost 10 minutes of complete silence, "I think camping here is alright", I said, trying to match the energy he gave in his previous reply. There was space between us on the bench, almost enough for another person to sit, and each time I turned around I caught him looking at me. The way his eyes moved around my body made my palms sweaty, 'is something on my face?, are my clothes worn wrongly?' were the thoughts in my head...

Victor and Nina soon joined as we made our way back to our separate quarters, females and males were separated for obvious reasons.

I sat on my bed thinking about the awkwardness between Ken and I, I didn't know him until today. But his coldness towards me was nerve wrecking, it made no sense with me constantly catching him stealing glances at me. And he didn't look away when our eyes met. "How's the Ken guy?" Nina asked, interfering with my thoughts. "He's chill" I said, I was trying not to think about him and our awkward interaction. "I caught him looking at you", Nina said with a suspicious grin on her face. "Oh, I'm sure that was nothing. He definitely doesn't find me attractive" I said getting up and heading towards the bathroom that was located not very far from my bed space. "And how are you so sure??" Nina said as her eyes didn't leave the screen of her phone, I'm sure she was texting Victor. "Our interactions Nina, he wouldn't even talk to me" I said, trying not to sound concerned that a complete stranger had no interest in talking to me. "Why are we even having this conversation?" I asked Nina. "Because I think he's into you," this time her eyes were on me. "It's a bit too early, don't you think?. And I honestly don't want anything with anyone not after..." I hesitated, not wanting to say his name. She looked at me knowingly. "I understand," Nina said.

The next morning was a brief lecture about CPR. Nina and I got to the lecture hall and found out Victor had kept seats for us, and my seat was next to Ken's. I sighed 'how perfect ' , definitely being sarcastic. I sat down after saying hi to the guys and I could feel Ken looking at me again. I was suddenly so self conscious, and I mustered up the courage to ask, "why are you looking at me like that if you wouldn't even hold a conversation?" I regretted it immediately as my lips parted slightly, as though I would swallow my words. "You have beautiful eyes," he said, still looking at me. A smile formed on the edges of my lips as I looked up at him, I was terrible at accepting compliments. "Thank you," I said. "And.. uhmm, about yesterday, I'm not very good at starting conversations but I promise you, I'm not a snub" he continued. I was quiet, did Nina tell Victor what I had said? Is he thinking I'm a nag or something..

"I understand," I managed to say, trying not to get mad at Nina.

The lecture was over and we were on our way to the camp cafeteria to get our lunch as we missed breakfast.

"Oh, sorry I didn't see you there" someone said as they bumped into me, the voice was too familiar.

I turned and it was Marcus,my blood ran cold as his gaze met mine, with the same shock on his face.

"Lora, uhmm..." he muttered, "I wasn't expecting to see you here this year". I was completely silent, staring at him....