Camp Little Willow

Chapter 10

     I fall asleep almost instantly, dreaming of dancing in a ballroom practically identical to the retreat. My partner's face is blurred, but I can guarantee who my subconscious is imagining. I force myself awake and shake the thoughts from my head. I don't even like to dance. I don't even like Ryan Jefferson.

     I toss and turn for a while, trying to fall back to sleep, but my brain obviously wants to punish me for ruining that bizarre dream. I roll over and grab my phone, checking the time: 7:34 a.m. I groan and drag myself out of bed. I have an hour and a half before I need to head to the cabin and help Zoe get the girls ready for the day.   I consider walking through the trails again, but it seems kind of eerie when everyone else is probably still asleep, so I settle on the lake. It looked so tranquil last night; an early morning swim might just be what I need to wash all thoughts of that dream, or nightmare, away.

     When I've managed to wrestle my costume on, I pull my hair up into a bun and head down to the beach, towel, phone and hoodie in hand. I drop them next to a log not that far from the shore and kick my flip flops off.

     The water laps the sand invitingly as I roll my neck and shoulders. The sun is already up and bright, but the lake is empty as far as my eye can see.   I wade in, ignoring the goosebumps that spread across my body; I wasn't expecting the water to be warm. I dunk my head under the blue-green water, instantly feeling refreshed.

     For a few minutes, I float on my back, watching the wispy clouds dance across the sky like blobs of candy floss. Once I've found a cloud that looks like a tree, giraffe and boat, I turn over and front crawl towards the island in the middle of the lake.

     When I was little, the island had this awesome elephant slide that all the kids went crazy for; you slid down the trunk and then it would squirt water at you. It broke a while ago though, and Jen has only just replaced it with a taller, longer slide that throws you out across the lake to a floating, bouncy platform. It's still pretty cool, but I miss that dang elephant.

     I'm about to stop and take a quick break when my head bumps into something hard. Ow. I don't remember there being anything else in the lake. I look up quickly, rubbing my sore head, and come face to face with a small boat.

     "Oh, God, sorry! Are you OK?" I freeze at the voice. This is just perfect. A hand reaches over the side of the boat just before Ryan Jefferson's face comes into view.

     Well, I'm in deep water now. No pun intended.

     "Yeah. Fine. Thanks," I mutter, looking back across the lake. Crap, I swam past the island without realising. I'm in Jefferson Lake territory.

     "Let me help you, are you staying at the retreat?" Ryan asks, a quiver in his voice. He's probably afraid I'm going to sue.

     "Uh."

     "Wait, I know you, don't I?" He says rather proudly, as I cling to his boat. I try to steady myself as my head throbs. "You were at the welcome banquet?" It's a question. He's not sure. I can still get out of this.

     "I don't think so," I reply as he stretches his hand out towards me. What am I meant to do but take it? I doubt he'll let me swim away after I hit my head on his boat. I just hope that I look as far away from Eleanor Hepburn as I can right now.

     The boat creaks and rocks slightly as I, rather inelegantly, flop into it. I sit down on the bench opposite Ryan Jefferson, who looks like he's playing the role of outside-loving-teen-boy today, rather than the heir-to-a-stupidly-expensive-retreat he was the other night. His hair is gel less today, and it's actually a little fluffy on top. He's wearing bright red swimming shorts and a white T-shirt.