Chapter 2

There were already small groups of people milling around in the parking lot of the lodge when Kenny hiked up the trail just before nine. Barb and Joshua greeted each car as it pulled up to the gate and aimed the occupants toward the spot where the appropriate counselor waited to take charge of their child. A couple of vans waited to drive the girls and their counselors around the lake to their own area.

Kenny was posted at a picnic table under a huge Sitka spruce and given a clipboard with a list of names to check off as each boy arrived. Once he had his eight, he would lead them back to the cabin to get settled in as he explained to them the general camp rules. They’d all meet at the dining hall at noon for lunch and the official welcoming.

There would be no special classes during the first week while the kids got comfortable with their surroundings. Kenny figured he would need that time to get to know each of the boys a bit more intimately before bridging the topic of sex with them. He still wasn’t sure exactly how he was going to carry that off, but he was nevertheless feeling rather proud of himself for being selected as one of the special counselors.

He was still very curious about what kind of background check they’d run on him that qualified him for the position. Barb already mentioned that the check had confirmed he wasn’t some kind of sexual deviant, but what else had they learned? Did they know about Laura? He didn’t have a criminal record, but his prepubescent years weren’t exactly spotless. He done his fair share of mischief as he was growing up, some of it most certainly to spite his mother.

After he checked off the last name on his list, Kenny looked over the disparate bunch and tried to imagine them being taught how to fuck a girl ... well, with the possible exception of the kid who was gay. A couple of them didn’t look sexually mature enough for their testicles to have dropped, and he had to stifle a snicker when the thought crossed his mind that there might not be condoms small enough to fit snugly over their little boy pee-pees. It seemed unlikely that a couple of them would even be able to impregnate anyone. That didn’t mean they couldn’t try, though.

Kenny whistled to get their attention and said, “Okay, guys, my name is Kenny Evans, your counselor for the summer. Grab your stuff and follow me to the cabin. The first order of business is that you’re gonna make up your beds and get your areas squared away while I go over a few camp rules and regulations.”

One of the smaller boys raised his hand.

“Yes?”

“Um, Mr. Evans, I haven’t had my breakfast yet, and I’m getting kinda hungry. When do we get to eat?”

“Call me Kenny. What’s your name?”

“Jackson Reed.”

“Okay, Jackson, wait here a minute while I check on that.”

Kenny trotted over to Joshua and asked about snacks, then he trotted back and said, “When your bunks are made up and your personal stuff is stowed in your footlockers, we’ll head up to the dining hall where they’ll have granola bars and fresh fruit laid out for you. Okay, gentlemen, follow me!”

The new counselor and his gang of eight headed down the hill to the lake and the cabins. As they stored their personal belongings and made their beds (a new experience for some of them), Kenny read off a list of camp rules they’d be required to follow. Then came a list of activities they could sign up for, like horseback riding, archery, target shooting, canoeing, a ten-mile hike with an overnight campout, swimming lessons; that sort of thing. Nothing about sex-ed classes. He wondered if any of them even knew about that ... or was it going to be a total surprise?

As they sat around a table in the dining hall snacking on apples, oranges, bananas, granola bars and half-pint cartons of milk, Kenny had each one of them introduce himself and say a little something about the kinds of things they liked to do. He hoped it might break some ice and give him a little insight into who he was dealing with.

Jackson, naturally gregarious, was the first to volunteer. He was maybe five-foot, two, sandy-haired and rosy-cheeked, and his voice varied between a boy’s and a man’s, right in the middle of the change. He said he liked school and that he belonged to the science club and the chess club at school. That got groans from two or three of the others.

Kenny was quick to call them on it, saying, “None of that, guys! What makes the world interesting is that we’re all different. It would be kind of boring if everybody liked the same things, wouldn’t it? And anyhow, while some of you might grow up to drive trucks or sling burgers, brainiacs like Jackson might be creating all the great technology you spend your hard-earned cash on. So, let’s show a little respect, okay? Who’s next?”

One of the groaners held up his hand. Kenny pointed to him and said, “Start with your name.”

“Scott Jaffe. Well, um, I always wanted go to the Naval Academy and be a pilot, but my dad says I’m not smart enough for that. So maybe I’ll enlist in the Navy when I get out of high school, because I think I’d like being on a big ship like a carrier out in the middle of the ocean.”

“Or,” Kenny offered, “you might just prove your dad wrong. I think a lot of parents don’t have any idea what their kids are capable of, so maybe hanging out with guys like Jackson could be of some benefit.”