Chapter 7

Morning came way too early for me. I had zero desire to get out of bed and even tried to burrow myself deeper under my blankets. If I could stay in the dark, I could fall back asleep, I thought to myself.

“Sam, time to get up. Breakfast is ready,” My mom called out. So much for me getting some more sleep. I sat up and threw the blankets off me, harder than I should have. The motion caught my mom’s attention. “Is something wrong, Sam?” She asked, her face showing concern and her eyes softened.

“I’m fine, just tired. I kept tossing and turning all night. I just couldn’t get any good sleep,” I grumbled.

“Come sit. I made eggs and bacon, your favorite. After you get some food in your stomach, you’ll probably feel better.”

I sat down at the table and mom placed a plate of scrambled eggs and a couple pieces of bacon in front of me. I just slumped there in the chair, looking at the steaming plate. I wanted to brood, but my dad gave me a look that told me to eat. Fork in hand, I started to shovel the food into my mouth.

While Sara and I were doing the dishes, she asked, “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing.” I replied, my tone was flat.

“Are you mad about yesterday, you know, when we–”

I quickly cut her off, “No, no. I just didn’t get much sleep. I’m fine. Yesterday was great. Just let me wake up all the way, okay?” I told her. I tried to change my melancholy voice to sound happier.

When the dishes were done, Sara went out to the porch to sit with our parents. I went to my bed and looked at my bag that was sitting on the floor next to it. I opened it up and grabbed my book. I debated on sitting in bed and reading or going outside. I decided I would go outside and enjoy the morning and fresh air.

I sat down in my usual spot, crossed my legs Indian style, and opened my book to read. Sara looked at me and smiled. Mom and dad watched me for a moment before going back to the conversation they were having before I sat down. I had just finished my second chapter and was starting the third when I noticed mom and dad were gone.

Sara, seeing me head out of the book for a moment, asked, “Are you coming with us?” Sara was standing up and I could see Jenny making her way over from her cabin.

“I am going to read for a bit. I will be fine here alone.”

“You sure? It’s just going to be me and Jenny today. If you aren’t coming, we will probably just go down to the pool and lay out. I can finally get a tan without any tan lines!” Sara snickered and then started laughing hard when she saw my eyes shift to her body, doing a quick scan. I just smiled at her and went back to reading.

Around lunch time Sara and Jenny stopped by our cabin. I was engrossed in my book and didn’t even pause to look at them when they passed me and went inside. It felt like a second later when Sara came back out. Jenny followed right behind with a sandwich and handed it to me.

“Here you go, Sam,” Jenny said, her sweet voice grabbing my attention. “ Want to hang out later? Sara and I were thinking about going to the hot spring. A few other kids from the pool said they were going too.” I looked up at her big eyes. Then down to the proffered sandwich she was holding out to me. PB&J, my favorite.

“Thanks. Maybe, come ask me when you two want to go and I will let you know.” I smiled at her and took a big bite from one of the corners. She just laughed and Sara joined in as they headed out to wherever they were going. I got back to reading, the story was getting really good, and I couldn’t put it down. There wasn’t much left so there was a pretty good chance I would be done when they came back.

I finished the book later in the afternoon. I couldn’t believe it ended on such a ridiculous cliff hanger. Willum, the main character, was set up perfectly to take down the demon. But he didn’t! It was stupid and I just couldn’t believe that’s how the author chose to end it. It was supposed to be a trilogy, but sure enough, at the end of book three, the final book of the trilogy was set up for a fourth. I opened the front door to the cabin and threw the book at my bed.

Sara and Jenny were just walking up behind me when they heard the book bounce off the bed and hit the floor with a loud thunk. “I take it you didn’t like it?” Sara asked, surprised to see that I had thrown a book.

I turned and gave her a glare. “The ending was terrible. I don’t even know how you could even call that garbage an ending at all!” Sara took a step back, sensing my mood and wanting to put a little more room between us. I saw the worried look in her eyes and I quickly tried to explain why I was so mad. “That book was the last book of the trilogy and now there is going to be a fourth book. Trilogies are three books, three, not four!” I growled.

“I hate it when that happens,” Jenny chimed in. I looked at her for a moment and I nodded sharply in agreement.

“You’ll just have to read the next one then,” Sara said, not picking up on the reason why I was mad, apparently.

Jenny spoke for me, “That’s not the point. When you read a good story, you’re invested in it and expect to see some dramatic and fulfilling ending and then the author throws in a curveball—” Jenny trailed off when I started talking again.

“Exactly, she gets it!” I exclaimed, pointing to Jenny who just nodded with a smile on her face.

“Well, I mean. Sorry, I didn’t know.” Sara said, acting surprised. She was holding her hands up as if surrendering.

“It’s okay, I’m just frustrated. I loved the books, but that was not at all what I expected. It didn’t make any sense. I’m sorry for startling you.” I honestly felt bad for my outburst.

“Let’s all go to the hot spring, Sam. Come on,” Jenny said, reaching out an open hand for me to take. I didn’t even hesitate and grabbed her hand in mine and squeezed. She smiled even bigger with a slight coloring in her cheeks. She turned to go, and I allowed her to lead the way, the two of us side by side. Sara walked on Jenny’s other side as we made our way to the steaming water of the hot spring.

When we got to the spring, there were five other people already in the water. Three of them were just floating around. Two girls and a boy. I could clearly see two sets of nipples poking out above the water. The boy was floating low enough in the water that all I could see of him was his youthful face.

Jenny, with my hand still in hers, led us into the water and into an area that gave us enough room to move around without having to worry about bumping into anyone. Sara didn’t wait and followed us in until the three of us were up to our neck in the hot, steaming water.

Sara and Jenny thought it would be fun to float around for a while. I agreed but found out quickly that when I tried to float, I would sink just enough for the water to cover my mouth. I wasn’t good at floating. I usually had to hold my breath in the swimming pool to manage it. They say muscle weighs more than fat, well I don’t have much muscle, but I have almost no fat. My body wanted to sink like a rock. With my inability to float and my head barely above water, I was forced to breathe through my nose. That didn’t work either as I attempted to breathe splashes of water.