A Summer To Remember

Chapter One

--Thanks for choosing my story! In the first few chapters, I tried to give as much detail as possible and set the surroundings so it may be a bit boring, but the book starts becoming a lot more action-packed as it progresses.Leave any comments or suggestions in the comments. Enjoy--

Also make sure to check out @CAZ_2004 stories. Thanks!

The camper had always been my happy place. A place where I am free to be myself and be with the people that really matter to me. Thanks to the camper, summers have been my favorite time of year. Winters are just the long dreadful days between.

I started going to the camper when I was around 10 years old. Something about the camper had always just been magical. I remember how I felt when we drove into the campground for the first time. I could tell immediately that it would be a place to remember. We drove through the entrance gate, and the first thing I could smell was campfires, pool water, and dirt. I learned to love that smell, a smell which made me alert that the campground was nearby.

When I first started going to the camper, I had no friends. I usually partied alone in the sandbox by the rusty paint-peeled playground. Luckily throughout the years, I have made a lot more friends. Xavier and Brooke, the twins as I refer to them as approached me one day the summer I was 11. There was an instant bond and since we have been great friends. I had pretty good tabs on everybody at the campground since the first summer I got there. We were a community, everybody knew each other. Like one big family in a way.

The summer the twins and I were 12, on a sticky August day, an older boy with dark sandy hair and a sweet smile came along. He was playing volleyball with a girl a few years younger than us. He was definitely new and it made me restless to meet him.

"Why don't we go say hi?" Brooke nudged me with her elbow and jerked her head the boy's way. She smirked at me and took my hand before I would protest.

"What are you talking about?" I tried to act like I didn't know what she was saying, although I knew she had noticed me staring at him for some time. I made an effort to escape her strong grip, but it was no use.

"Hi, there!" she said with no delay. The boy caught the ball to pause their game and smiled an enchanting smile.

"Hi." he seemed a bit nervous, I could tell. He ran his hand through his messy hair and threw the ball on the ground next to him.

"I'm Brooke and this is Leah." she put her arm out to motion to me and I blushed a little.

"Hi," he laughed anxiously and smiled at us, "I'm Cameron."

"Well, nice to meet you, Cameron." Brooke nodded and we sat there a few seconds, none of us knowing what to say. We were 12 after all.

"Want to join?" he asked motioning to the volleyball court. I immediately joined him on the sand followed by Brooke and later Xavier. I didn't know how to play but I didn't even care. We passed the ball over the net continuously, laughing at god knows what until we couldn't stand. We connected that day, and since then we have all been the best of friends. Inseparable together, a bond that could not break.

<><><><>

Times were a lot easier back then. Growing up puts a lot of pressure on your life. But I always knew that things would always be harmless and less stressful at the camper. There are no worries, except when running out of marshmallows for smores. Now the twins and I were 16 and Cameron was 17. The campground had not changed one bit through the years and neither had our friendships. June had been slowly approaching, but now that it was here I could almost smell the camper already. It was summer 16 and it was going to be one to remember.

<><><><>

I woke up to the sound of my alarm blaring. I shot up, startled, and rubbed my eyes. I was about to fall back under the promising and luring covers until it hit me. It was June 9th. The last day of school. The first day of summer 16 (I liked to name my summers by my age). Today would be the first day going to the camper again since last year. The thought made me wake instantly, and I got out of bed excited and rushed to the bathroom to get ready. I wanted the school day to be over with as soon as possible.

Since I was 11 a tradition started where we would go to the camper straight after the last day of school to start the summer off. It was the day that I waited for all through winter and thankfully today was that day.

I showered, threw on new jeans and a cute shirt that I had shopped for the week before. Now that I was older than 12, I cared about my appearance and I wanted to be taken seriously. I was no longer a little girl. With that thought, I decided to open my makeup bag. I put some soft colored eyeshadow over my lids and covered my lashes with mascara. I decided to leave my hair down and I took one last look in the mirror. Good to go.

School went by in a slow but insignificant blur. I sat at my desk, looking at the clock. It seemed to be going a lot slower today, and I was growing anxious. When the bell finally rang I dashed from my desk to get outside as quick as possible. I didn't stop to give dramatic goodbye hugs to my friends from school like everybody else. My school friends did really matter to me, but my summer friends were who I really valued (not that I had many school friends).

I rushed to my mother's gray honda pilot and jumped in the back seat as quickly as possible. My older brother, Scott, was sitting in the seat next to me looking bored. He and I had never been that close. I got situated in my seat and cleared my throat, anxious to get on the road.

"Let's go!" my mom said excitedly, pumping a hand in the air.

<><><><>

"Yo, wake up Lee." my brother was nudging me in the side with great force and I winced in pain. I sat up, not believing that I had fallen asleep. I looked around. I had memorized the 40 minute drive years ago, and I could recognize that we were close. I could smell the campfires, pool water, and dirt mixture and I smiled to myself. My summer had finally started.