Foxglove cabin rowed past Columbine as they headed out towards the lake. “Talk about having your own personal flotation devices.” One of the girls laughed. “Did you know that Foxglove is a poison?” Krystal said aloud for the other cabin to hear, “No wonder their cabin is full of bitter, jealous girls, no other cabin would want them.”   Camp Kumoni By Anistasia Allread Sorry this one not edited either :(

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Slowly, Victoria moved her arms to gather herself up.

Skyler was racing to the creek, “Victoria, are you alright?” he was scared for the girl.

Victoria lifted her head up in shock. One side of face was covered with mud and decaying leaf debris, the other side was white, her eyes wide in shock. Her mouth gaped open as she got to her knees.

Skyler jumped down into the creek bed and ran up to her. “You okay?”

“I. . . I. . . can’t. . . breathe.” She wheezed, putting one hand to her back the other to her rib cage. “Oh. . . my. . . God. . . I’m. . . going to . . . die.” She barely made the words heard.

“You knocked the wind out of you.” Skyler put a hand on her shoulder. “Relax it will start coming back in just a moment.”

Victoria’s gulped and gasped for air, trying to make her lungs take in oxygen.

“I know it hurts and it’s scary as hell.” Skyler sympathized. “It will pass in just a moment.”

Phoenix unclipped from the green rope. “Stay here.” She commanded. She raced forward and slid down the side of the creek. “You’re doing just fine,
Victoria, just relax.” She echoed Skyler’s instructions.

“Light. . . Headed.” Victoria gasped.

“You’re doing fine,” Skyler reassured her. “If you pass out, it will be just like rebooting your system. Just take it easy.”

Slowly, Victoria was starting to gulp small breaths of air.

“She’s all right.” Phoenix assured the girls.

“Okay, let’s get you to your feet.” Skyler put an arm under hers and helped her up. “You doing okay?”

Victoria nodded as she continued to catch her breath in short quick gulps.

“Let’s get you clipped in up there.” Phoenix looked anxious.

Skyler and Phoenix helped Victoria up out of the creek bed, where she stopped again to catch her breath.

“You don’t have to finish.” Skyler told her.

“I’ve. . . got too. We need. . . the points.”

“Nonsense.” Skyler shook his head. He looked up at the rest of the Columbine girls watching with concern for their friend. “Samantha, Come here.” Skyler called.

Samantha joined the three near the creek.

“I stopped my watch when she took a head dive into the creek. You can pick up where she left off. That way, you won’t lose any points.”

“okay.” Samantha began to climb down into the creek.

“We’ll just start from up here. She wasn’t going to try crossing the rope anyway.”

“Thanks Skyler.” Phoenix smiled at Victoria.

“Go on join your cabin.” Skyler instructed the two girls. He turned back to Samantha. “Go.” He clicked his stop watch.

“Katie, could you take Victoria to the infirmary?” Phoenix asked.

“Of course. Is she all right?”

“She just had the wind knocked out of her.”

“Ouch. That hurts.” Katie groaned. She turned to Victoria. “Scary isn’t it?”

Victoria nodded as the tall model led her through the trees.

* * *

The Lavender Ladies emerged from the woods from the rope course, battered, bruised, but not beaten. They slowly made their way out of the cool of the trees down to the heat of the sand and sun.

The other girl cabins were all gathering in groups along the water’s edge.

“Oh, look, Erika brought her own floatation devices.” Ashley snickered as Columbine passed Foxglove.

Erika flushed red.

“Are you jealous, bread board?” Rachel snapped back.

Ashley and her cabin just snickered.

“Don’t listen to them, Erika.” Tricia soothed.

Todd came down from the dining hall and walked out onto the dock and faced the girls. “Rule number one…” He called out.

“This is your lake!” All of the girls finished for him.

Todd nodded with a smile. “Okay, listen up. We have these large canoes that seat ten,” he pointed to the canoes tied up along the dock. “Each cabin will be assigned to one. They all are the same. They only go as fast as you paddle them.” He chuckled at his own joke, “You will have fifteen minutes to make your way down to the other end of the lake where one of my guards is waiting for you. Those fifteen minutes is all the practice you will get working together. My guard will start you off. The first cabin to have their canoe touch the sand on the beach over there,” he pointed, “Will be the winner. Any questions?”

No one had any.

“Okay, one other thing.” He stated, “Any cabin not at the starting line after the fifteen minutes will be disqualified. Got it?”

Heads nodding met his eyes.

“One of the Columbine girls was hurt on the rope course, so they are a person short, so the head cook, Sheila, is going to row in her place.”

Erika looked around and saw Katie walking down the path with the cook smiling beside her.

The canoes were quickly assigned and the girls donned their life jackets before entering the large canoe.

Daisy cabin rowed past Columbine as they headed out towards the lake.

“Talk about having your own personal flotation devices.” One of the girls laughed.

“Did you know that Daisies are sour?” Krystal said aloud for the other cabin to hear, “No wonder their cabin is full of bitter, jealous girls, no other cabin would want them.”

“Save it for the race.” Phoenix warned.

The girls settled into their seats and pushed away from the dock. They were half way across the lake before they fell into a comfortable synchronous rhythm.

Once on the other side of the lake the canoes turned around and edged up to the rowboat that the guard stood in with an air horn.

“Azela, move back a bit, no head starts.” The guard warned, “Columbine, come up just a bit. Good, right there.” He looked up and down the row of canoes. “Ready! Get set!” the air horn sounded.

Erika dug into the water with her paddle. The first two strokes didn’t seem to do anything but make the water swirl around her paddle. With the third stroke she could feel the canoe start to push through the water. By the fifth stroke she felt the canoe start to raise up out of the water a little bit as it began to slice through the surface of the lake.

“Dig, dig, dig.” Rachel chanted out a rhythm.

Erika thrust the paddle forward, reaching it out in front of her. She dug the paddle’s blade deep into the lake and pulled back using her legs and back as much as her chest.

“Dig, dig, dig.” Dani and Krystal picked up the steady chant.

The canoes jockeyed for position as they raced across the lake. Azela could have used that head start. They were already falling behind. Daisy was half a boat length behind Columbine, but with each stroke, they were inching their way forward.

Half way across the lake, Daisy was even with them, and starting to pull ahead.

“Don’t burn out too soon.” Sheila warned. “Just stay with them. When we get closer to the finish, we can pour on the speed.”

“Dig, dig, dig.” All of the Columbine girls chanted in unison.

Another cabin began to lag behind as Columbine pushed on. Erika’s arms were starting to burn. She hadn’t done this kind of exercise all summer. She was used to pushups and sit ups, not pulling an oar through the water.

They were coming up on to the last little bit.

“Now!” Sheila shouted.

The Columbine girls dug their paddles into the water with much more fervor, their strokes more aggressive.

“Dig, harder, dig, faster.” Rachel called out.

As they reached the end of the dock, Columbine had pulled even with Daisy.

“We can do it!” Sheila called. “Dig,”

It seemed like time was in slow motion as Columbine’s canoe began eking ahead of Daisy.

Erika dared to look up and saw Todd and the kitchen staff on shore, just a few yards ahead, the kitchen staff were shouting and waving as they gained a bit more of a lead. Erika put her head down and pulled hard three more hard strokes and felt the canoe hit the sandy beach, its momentum driving up a few feet before it came to a stop.

Erika’s breath came in ragged gulps as her lungs fought to pull in enough oxygen. Her heart sounded like a bass drum pounding in her ears. At this point she didn’t know or really even care if they won, she was just plain tired.

“We did it!” Tricia jumped up to join Rachel who was already on the beach jumping up and down with joy.

Erika looked over to see Daisy all still in their canoe, gasping for breath, but looking shocked and horrified at being beaten. Erika barely registered the dirty look that Ashley had thrown her way as she climbed out of the canoe and joined the rest of her cabin in a miniature celebration.

Victoria was there too. She wasn’t jumping up and down, but she smiled and cheered on her cabin mates.

“Thank you for letting me be on your team,” Sheila looked each to each of the girls. “I really enjoyed it, especially the winning part.” She smiled.

Once they had settled down, Todd had them launch the canoes and tie them back up to the dock where they had gotten them.

“Now we will begin the individual competitions.” Todd explained. Each cabin will create two, two person teams who will race the smaller canoes. You have five minutes to pick your teams.”

“Me and Erika.” Rachel posed.

“I’ve never been in a canoe with you before.” Erika shook her head.

“Katie and I make a good team.” Dani suggested

“I’ve seen them, they’re pretty good.” Tricia agreed.

“I think they should be one team.” Erika nodded.

“Who else has spent any time together canoeing this summer?” Victoria asked.

“Erika and I have a couple of times.” Samantha shrugged.

“I vote Dani and Katie as one team, Samantha and Erika as the other.” Krystal agreed.

“Same here.” Tricia nodded.

“But I wanted to. . .” Rachel let it die. She was the most competitive one in the cabin, she should be in one of the canoes, but Krystal was right, she hadn’t really canoed all summer, the others had. “Okay, you four.” Rachel closed her eyes but nodded with a smile. “Give them hell.”

Erika and Samantha found themselves in a canoe, Ashley and another girl on one side, Dani and Katie on the other.

“The race,” Todd gathered their attention, “Will be to paddle out to each of those guards,” he pointed to life guards out in row boats at different parts of the lake, “and take a flag from each of them. You will then have to paddle back here. The first team to reach the sand will win.”

Erika looked back at Samantha. “Should we go for the furthest flag first?”

“I don’t think it will make much difference, sure.” She shrugged.

“Get set. . . GO!” Todd shouted.

For the second time that day, Erika found herself digging a paddle into the lake, racing against Ashley and Daisy cabin.

Who would have predicted a midget and a model to win a canoe contest? Erika thought. She and Samantha came in third right behind Ashley, but Ashley had to settle for second and a loss to Columbine yet again.

After the canoe race, Erika was beat. Most of the girls stayed at the beach for their free time before dinner. Erika, being sleep deprived and worn out from the first day of the Olympics, trudged up to the cabin and collapsed on her bunk.

“Erika?” Katie shook Erika. “Time for dinner.”

“Already?” Erika protested.

“You’ve been asleep for two and a half hours.”

Erika sat up in bed. “Okay, I’m coming.”

Dinner consisted of spaghetti, salad, corn on the cob and fresh peaches. Erika hadn’t realized how hungry she was until after taking her first bite. It wasn’t until after she had eaten a few bites that she realized that the dining hall was quiet. She looked up from her food and took note that everyone else was as hungry as she was and eating their food in silence.

Krystal had a small helping of pasta, but mostly ate salad, peaches and a bit of corn. As hungry as she was, the poor girl was trying even now to lose weight. Erika found a new admiration for her friend and hoped that they continue their friendship at school. Would Krystal submit to knowing ‘the plague’? or would she ignore Eric and distance herself?

Erika sighed. That was still a few weeks away. She needed to concentrate on one day at a time and look ahead to only one week at a time. This week was to survive the Olympics and to not make a fool of herself at the dance.

Tricia, having satisfied her stomach’s growling lightly placed her hand on Erika’s thigh and gave it a loving squeeze.

Warmth of comfort and satisfaction washed over Erika. One day at a time, one week at a time and enjoy all aspects of this peculiar summer while she could.