It's been years since my last summer at Camp Campbell. All of us tried to stay as many summers as we could but people grow older. I miss the gang, sure, but I have other things to think about. Like working on musicals to pitch to Broadway and my job at the moment.
I work at a popular coffee shop chain, it's not my first choice but it helps pay the bills at least.
But I got reunited with someone, a certain ruffian who always messed up my plays since we were kids. The fucking bane of my existence.
It was a humid day out in New York, people were piling in by the second, ordering iced coffee and iced tea like they're lives depended on it.
Me and my co-workers scrambled to get each order below five minutes, so we don't have to deal with any heathens.
Sweat dripped from my forehead because of the heat and exhaustion. My head was pounding like someone was playing drums inside my skull.
As I was finishing an order, my manager suggested I take a ten minute break and he'll cover for me. It felt like an angel came to my rescue before I died from heatstroke.
I gladly walked out the door with my green apron trailing behind me.
I sat on a warm bench outside the building. The sun shone down on me like a blanket. The cars raced past me making a subtle breeze. The chatter of people walking on the sidewalk was mesmerizing. What were these people saying? Where were these people going? No one will ever know. I thought I should incorporate it into a play, it worked good and it sounded mysterious.
I peered at all the little shops and cafes on the block, to seek for more random ideas of inspiration. Toy stores, candy stores, smoothie shops. Everything you would expect would be downtown was here.
But across the street, was an outdoor supplies store. It was painted green and yellow, with two symmetrical display windows and had a sign on it that said “Lilac Outdoor supplies.”. With a pine tree silhouette replacing the I in Lilac.
The color scheme and name struck a weird energy. I felt an urge to go to that store. Even though I'm an outdoors person. It hit me with confusion and curiosity.
I walked across the street to it. For some reason I was dead set on going to this random store
I glanced at the one of the windows, in them were fake campfires and mannequins in t-shirts, shorts and differing hats. All gathered around it roasting fake marshmallows.
Thinking nothing of it, I opened the symmetrical glass doors.
A smell of pine air conditioner and wood loomed into my nostrils. It felt like I just walked into a cabin.
It was a small quaint store, with wooden flooring and green walls painted on pine trees. With wooden shelves holding different outdoor items and essentials.
The sudden change in environment was so sudden.
All the sounds from the loud city were lowered so that all you could hear were the chatter of customers and the patter of feet hitting the wooden planks.
I stumbled around, browsing in the different little isles. Until I saw him.
A man dressed in a plain yellow shirt, jeans and blue slip-ons. He had curly black hair wrapped in a messy soft bun, he had a little bit of facial hair under his lip and his eyes were as green as anything in this store.
