My Summer with Meg: Age of Discovery, Chapter 1

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My Summer with Meg: The Age of Discovery

Chapter 1

I always looked forward to spending two weeks each summer with my grandmother at her home by the Elk River.

My grandmother had a rotation going with me and my cousins. My cousin Jackson, who was the same age, and I would stay for two weeks, help her around the house, in the yard and garden. But most of it, we spent trying to squeeze every second of fun out of the two weeks that we could.

His sister Meg, who was two years older than we were, and our cousin Maya, who was a year older than we were, would spend the next two weeks with her.

That's the way it always happened. It was a family tradition.

Jackson, or Jack as I called him, was the leader. He was all-boy. He was much more rougher than I. I always lost our wrestling matches.

He insisted on playing one-on-one basketball, and would kill me every time despite spotting me points.

We always played war with a group of boys who lived on the river, or were like us, were visiting grandparents. We hit the motocross trail. I was scared and really didn't care for it all too much, but played along. I didn't want to be teased.

I think that was the way it was with most of the activities we did. They were what Jack liked to do, and he was the leader. But they were fun, so I'm really not complaining

We also went fishing, hunting for frogs and turtles, canoing and boating, which is what I really liked about going to my grandmother's, well that and her cooking. And of course, we had our marathon of video gaming, especially when it rained. It was about the only thing I could do, it seemed, as well as Jack.

We were best buds, no doubt about it. And we teased Meg and Maya when our week was up that they were going to be dancing around in tutus, playing house and having tea parties.

It was girl-time at our grandmother's and we clearly didn't want any part of it.

The summer I turned 10, everything changed.

I found out family traditions were made to be broken, that maybe Jack wasn't my best bud after all...and maybe how I viewed who I really was inside wasn't who I really was inside, after all.

Of course, I knew none of this as my mother and I drove down that winding country road for which we both were all familiar during the second week of June.

Like the last two years during my visit, my mother would go on a vacation with a couple of her girlfriends, who like herself, were divorced. So the two weeks I was about to spend was unrevokable.

There was no reason for me to believe we should have changed the weeks, that was until shortly after we pulled into my grandmother's driveway.

"Jack, will you stop it, you creep!" Meg yelled as he chased her around my Aunt Amy's SUV with a water gun that resembled a rocket launcher.

"Go get her!" I laughed.

Same old Jack.

"Alright you two, cut it out," my aunt yelled from the porch, where she was talking to my mother and grandmother. "And Jack, help your sister get her stuff out of the car!"

Her stuff? I shrugged my shoulders and gave Jack a "what gives?" look.

I was about to find out that all-star baseball and a ballet intensive had shot to hell our family tradition.

"Jackson made all-stars, can you believe it?" my aunt asked my mother.

"Yeah, who knew the little creep was so talented in baseball?" Meg said in jest.

He would be practicing the first week he was supposed to be here. The double-elimination tournament would be played the second. If his team didn't win, he would be spending his two weeks here with Maya.

And Meg, my aunt explained, was accepted for the intensive at The Rock School in Philadelphia, one of the top ballet intensives in the country. She would be leaving during what would have been the first of her two weeks with Maya.

"So your stuck with Meg," Jack said, poking fun at his sister. "You'll get to do loads of girlie stuff, I'm sure."

"Oh don't listen to the moron," Meg said, putting her arm around me. "We're going to have loads of fun and make him jealous."

The two weeks didn't officially begin until the goodbye hugs.

Mom sensed I wasn't too thrilled about the turn of events.

"I'm sure you'll have fun," she said.

"Yeah, I guess I will," I said, trying not to sound too excited. "Have fun in the Bahamas with your friends."

One part of the ritual reversed itself. This time Meg gave her mother a hug. And as with custom, Aunt Amy made her hug her brother.

"Hope you guys lose two straight," Meg said.

"Hope you break a leg at the intensive," Jack snapped back.

"See what I put up with all of the time?" my aunt told my mother. "But deep down, I know they really love each other."

*****

Boredom. That was what I was expecting for the next two weeks. Might as well make the most of it, I thought.

I did the usual on the first night there. I went in and plopped my stuff in the room where Jack and I usually stayed and made myself at home.

Meg settled in across the hall. It was usually the empty guest room when I came to visit since Jack and I shared the same room.

Meg and Maya did the same when they were here.

But there would be no coed rooming over the next two weeks. Meg, with my grandmother's permission, gave her room a complete makeover with a couple of posters and a couple of nets with starfish. I have to admit, I thought it looked pretty cool.

I went and turned on the X-Box and soon found one-player games not nearly as fun as two-players. Jack and I usually played video games until Grandma was through cooking supper.

I soon found out that was not how Meg and Maya did things when they were here.

"Oh Collin....would you care to join us?" Meg said as she motioned for me to join her and Grandma in the kitchen.

I shrugged my shoulders and said "I guess."

"Don't tell me you and Jack never helped Grandma cook?" Meg asked.

Grandma laughed.

"Their contribution has always been the eating," Grandma said.

"Boys!" Meg said, rolling her eyes. "Well, it's time to educate Collin on the family recipes."

"I guess," I said.

"My mission these next two weeks is to get more than an 'I guess' out of my cousin Collin," Meg said with a laugh.

She handed me a list of ingredients to get out of the cupboard. We were having my grandmother's amazing spaghetti, along with French bread and salad.

Grandma showed me what she put in her sauce. We took our turns stirring...and tasting to make sure things were quite right. I helped Meg make a super-duper salad with croutons, cheese, strips of ham, peppers, broccoli and cauliflower.

And then I received an etiquette lesson on how to set the table. It made me appreciate what all Grandma did for me and Jack.

"I never knew how much you did Grandma," I said.

"You'd never hear anything like that from Jack," Meg said.

We actually had a good time talking at the table. Jack never let on that Meg liked some of the same of the same music I did. She promised to burn me some CDs for me to take home.

"That would be cool," I said.

I found out we liked some of the same subjects in school, which was something Jack and I didn't have in common. He always thought I was a bit nerdy.

"I heard Mrs. Jones has transferred to your school," Meg said.

"I have her for homeroom in the fall," I said. "Mom requested her."

"She was the best fifth grade teacher I had," Meg said. "She really challenged me to read as many books as I could."

Meg also talked about going into seventh grade. Grandma asked her if she had a boyfriend. Meg blushed.

"There are a couple that I like," she said.

"Let's not get into the mushy stuff," I said, trying to be funny.

"So what are you two going to do tomorrow?" Grandma asked.

"I texted Lindsey," Meg said. "She and Mauve are coming over after breakfast. Thought we might go bike riding, then maybe swimming after lunch."

"Who are Lindsey and Mauve?" I asked.

"You don't know Lindsey and Mauve?" Meg replied.

They never came around during my weeks with Jack. All we hung out with were the boys in the subdivision.

Lindsey and Mauve were sisters who lived three houses down. Lindsey was Meg's age. Mauve was mine.

"You're going to love Mauve," Meg said. "She's pretty cool. And their dad has a really cool boat. We're going to have some fun skiing and tubing."

"Skiing and tubing?" I asked.

"You're kidding, right?" she asked. "You guys don't do that. What do you guys do here for fun when you're here?"

So much for dancing in tutus, tea parties and house. How could Jack be so wrong about his sister?

*****

The first night always ended with "movie night."

We took our baths first, got into our bed clothes. In Jack and my case, it was always a t-shirt covering the briefs. Then we would go into the den and watch movies with Grandma. We'd have vanilla ice cream with chocolate syrup while we watched the movies, and then go head to bed when we were too tired to watch.

The events leading up to this particular "movie night" was the first in a series of things that would have me questioning my identity before our two weeks was up.

Meg took her bath first. I followed. Yeah, I know, most guys my age have reached the point of taking a shower. But I followed the same ritual we always had and took a bath.

The shower curtain was still closed, but there was a crack.

"Excuse me, Collin," Meg said. "I forgot my hair brush."

I only saw for a few seconds. But it was like a weird shock to me.

She stood at the sink, looked at herself for a second in the mirror. She hadn't put her t-shirt on. She was just in a bra and panties.

I had heard Mom say before that Meg had already hit puberty. I noticed the curves, the contours of her body.

She was beautiful. And in an odd way, I wanted my body to be like hers.

I tried to get that thought completely out of my head.

It was way too weird.

But there was more to Meg than just her body. I liked how she acted, her spirit. And in just the few hours I spent around her, I found that I admired her and liked being around her a lot more than I liked being around Jack, although I did like Jack.

I tried not to think about the "body" revelation when I walked into the kitchen and grabbed my ice cream and chips and went to take my usual place on the couch.

"You are coming down here, aren't you?" Meg said, sitting on a blanket in the middle of the floor, which I found out was place where she and Maya usually spent movie night.

She was wearing a t-shirt, pair of panties and socks, which seemed to match my t-shirt and briefs. She sat Indian style with the bowl of ice cream resting in her lap. She looked so cool.

I rolled my eyes when I found out our first movie of the night was the DVD of Meg's spring ballet performance. She danced the all-important role of Aurora in Sleeping Beauty.

I tried not to be too interested, but eventually gave in.

"Wow!" I said. "I didn't know you could dance that well. You were awesome!"

"Glad you noticed," Meg said. "Jack seems bored to tears every time he watches me dance."

"Well, I'm not Jack," I said.

"That's not a bad thing," Meg whispered.

My movie was next. We watched Transformers. And Meg liked it a lot more than Jack would have led me to believe.

We wrapped up movie night with an ultimate chick flick, Meg's choice, "My Sister's Keeper."

Yes, I liked it better than I let on.

"Don't worry, I won't tell Jack you cried during it," Meg said. "He just wouldn't understand."

He wouldn't understand a lot of things that were going to happen this summer.

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Comments

Promising

Well, a bit short but shows promise. I'm looking forward to more.

Karen J.

"Being a girl is wonderful and to torture someone into that would be like the exact opposite of what it's like. I don’t know how anyone could act that way." College Girl - poetheather


"Life is not measured by the breaths you take, but by the moments that take your breath away.”
George Carlin

Great Start

I am liking this story. Keep it up.
Hilltopper

Gina_Summer2009__2__1_.jpgHilltopper

You'd think

Jack would have more fun around Meg. It is probably that he has not yet grown past the cooties fear! ;)

Faraway


On rights of free advertisement:
Big Closet Top Shelf

Where you can fool around like you want to and most you get is some bemused good ribbing!

Faraway


On rights of free advertisement:
Big Closet Top Shelf

Where you can fool around like you want to and most you get is some bemused good ribbing!

Collin will be finding out

Collin will be finding out that being around girls is not half bad and he will begin a new discovery of what his true nature is. I would guess that by the time of the next movie night, he will be s/he in a training bra and panties and will be having a sleepover with Meg and her two friends, with Gramma's help of course. Jan

Great start

A nice intro to Grandmar's place and how the holidays were spent.

Sounds interesting as to the way it's going, can't wait for the next chptr?

LoL
Rita

Age is an issue of mind over matter.
If you don't mind, it doesn't matter!
(Mark Twain)

LoL
Rita

Good start!

Fairly slow and gentle to start off with, and even within the first 24 hours Collin's discovering that Meg is far, far, cooler than her brother would admit, and he's already respecting her and possibly even envying her.

Of course, with the overt foreshadowing, we've got clues that "things will never be the same again"...
 


EAFOAB Episode Summaries

There are 10 kinds of people in the world - those who understand binary and those who don't...

As the right side of the brain controls the left side of the body, then only left-handers are in their right mind!

My Summer with Meg

What he discovers will be very eventful, no doubt. :)

    Stanman
May Your Light Forever Shine