Chapter 3

Week one went smoother than Kenny expected. All of the guys, including the two loners, Ziggy and Eric, seemed to be getting into the spirit of things. The boys were busy and active from sun-up through dinner and their evening showers. Ziggy and Ramon were natural athletes, and easily commanded the adulation and respect of the other kids when it came to any physically demanding activities.

Kenny, for the most part, worked from the sidelines as he adapted to his own responsibilities, moving the group from one activity to another, keeping them on schedule, and serving as referee for the occasional disputes guaranteed to crop up between teenage boys with surging testosterone levels.

And he observed. He watched each kid’s mannerisms and interactive skills like a hawk, looking for any clue to as to how they might handle the upcoming special program yet to be introduced.

After dinner, the kids were pretty much on their own, free to check out the camp library up at the lodge, or watch TV in the recreation hall. On Friday night they had a big campfire where they roasted wieners and toasted marshmallows as they sang familiar songs accompanied by Joshua on an acoustic guitar. The senior counselor was actually a pretty good musician, and Kenny later learned that he had paid his way through his undergrad years by singing and playing in off-campus hangouts. Barb said he was also an accomplished artist; apparently a man of many talents.

On Sunday, the boys were given the option of attending a religious service, but Danny and Eric were the only ones who opted in. That afternoon, some of them boarded a bus to take them into town to blow a little of the money their parents left for them on junk food and whatever.

Monday morning, they got down to business.

Joshua showed up at the cabin shortly after reveille and told Kenny to assemble the boys at the lodge after breakfast for their first class. They’d meet in a second-floor classroom with eight girls from across the lake, meaning the sex education classes were going to be co-ed, something Kenny hadn’t considered. This was definitely going to be interesting.

Kenny played almost no part in the first day’s class other than as an observer. And as a spectator, he developed a whole new respect for Joshua, who stood in front of the sixteen youngsters and set the tone for the rest of the program.

He began by introducing himself and the staff who would be involved in their training. “My name is Joshua and I’m Senior Counselor for boys. Barb, here, is Senior Counselor for girls. Counselors Sandy and Kenny in the back of the room are also going to be directly involved in your training sessions for the remainder of the summer.”

“Yeah,” Kenny wondered as he took stock of the blossoming young ladies from across the lake, “but just how directly involved?” As is generally the case, the girls were about a year further advanced into physical adulthood than the boys were, and most of them seemed to have bodies that were coming along just fine, thank you. He would have to be VERY careful about how he interacted with them. Jail bait was the operative term.

Joshua continued, “I can see by the looks on your faces that many of you have no idea what kind of training I’m referring to, so let me begin by asking a few questions. Okay, I’d like to see a show of hands. How many of you, as fourteen-year-olds, are NOT obsessed with thoughts of sex?”

That got some surprised looks, a few giggles, and a lot of looking around to see who might raise their hand. Nobody did.

“Okay then,” Josh continued, “how many of you think you already know pretty much everything you need to know about sex?”

Again, with the uncomfortable squirming, and again, no hands went up.

Josh laughed, “Honest people. I like honest people. Well then, how many of you think you know quite a bit about sex?”

This time there were half a dozen hands raised, but rather tentatively.

“Good! Good! Final question; how many of you would like to know a lot more about sex than you do now?”

All of the kids, with the exception of Ziggy, raised their hands.

Josh crossed his arms, leaned forward and said quietly, “Then that’s what you shall have. For the next seven weeks, you sixteen people are going to learn more about sex than you thought was even possible. And do you know why?”

Ziggy raised his hand.

Josh nodded. “Ziggy, isn’t it? Tell me, Ziggy, why are you in this classroom to learn about sex?”

Slouched in his chair and smirking cynically, the boy answered, “Because our parents are pussies? They don’t have the juice to do it themselves, so they’re payin’ you guys to do it for them. Am I right?”

Josh, unfazed by the surly (but partially accurate) accusation, answered, “You know, Ziggy, there may be something in what you say, but the truth is that there are as many reasons as there are people in this classroom. Some parents do a rather poor job of preparing their children to deal with their sexual natures, and some of your parents, appreciating that, have opted to put that education into the hands of professionals. Barb and I are professionals.”

Ziggy snorted, “So I’m right! They’re a bunch of pussies! And I suppose that means we’re gonna have to sit through the same old lectures we’ve already listened to in school all over again. Shit! This summer’s already a bust!”

Josh, still unfazed by the attitude, countered, “Oh, not so, young grasshopper! We will certainly review some important points, but take my word for it, this program goes far beyond anything you’ve seen in your schools. You’re going to get a complete sexual education. I’ll leave it to your imaginations to guess what that may be, but there is a caveat! Anyone care to guess what it is?”

Scott Jaffe raised his hand.

“Yes, Scott?”

“Um, what’s a caveat?”

“Okay, a caveat is a warning about a specific stipulation. By that I mean that if you participate in this very special training program, you have to make a promise. And keep it.”

A girl in the front row raised her hand.

Josh pointed to her. “Jennie, isn’t it? What’s your question?”

“What promise?”

“Just this. If you want to be a part of this program, you must promise to speak to none of the other kids in camp about it. They’re not a part of it and, therefore, they have no need to know about it. If you can’t make that promise - in other words, if you’re a compulsive blabbermouth - then you’re invited to leave and be assigned to another cabin. This is a very special training program, and you are all very special young men and women.

“Now, that said, none of you will be asked to participate against your will, regardless of your parent’s wishes. So, I guess it comes down to this: Those of you who want to learn a whole lot about sex should stay. Those of you who don’t, this would be a good time to leave.”

There was a long stretch of silence as the kids looked around at each other, but nobody left.

Finally, Josh took a sheet of paper from a folder and said, “So we’re agreed, then. I’m going to pass this around the room, and I want each of you to sign it. It’s a contract, and it simply states that you promise not to divulge anything that is a part of this training program to anyone outside this classroom. In other words, you’re signing an acknowledgement that you have a common bond and a mutual promise. And we don’t break promises, do we?”

Ziggy piped up again with, “We’re too young to sign any legal contracts. That piece of paper wouldn’t mean shit to the law.”

“That’s true,” Josh agreed, keeping his cool admirably, “but it does mean something to your peers, and it should mean something to you. Now, if you find all this not to your liking, Ziggy, you’re invited to say ‘bye, bye!’ I’m not asking you to leave, but I won’t allow you to make this class uncomfortable for the others. You choose.”

Ziggy chose to stay.

Well, to Kenny it was masterful. Joshua never once said they would actually be having sex as a part of their training, but there was little doubt that, by the time the class ended following Barb’s presentation, every one of them suspected, or at least hoped that it might be in their future.

As they left the classroom, Sandy, Kenny’s counterpart on the girl’s side of the camp, pulled him aside and introduced herself. “Hi, I’m Sandy Chaffin. Looks like we’re going to be fellow facilitators in this program, so how about we get together this evening during dinner and compare notes.”

“Oh, um, yeah! Good to meet you, Sandy. I’m Kenny. Yeah, I’d definitely like to hear your ideas on what the hell we’re supposed to do. Have you been involved with this program before?”

“Yes, I participated last summer. Barb told me you were a newbie, so I assume you might be kind of up in the air about exactly what your role is going to be.”