Chapter 7: Cheer Camp

The school year had ended and summer was upon us. With the help of my girls I managed to keep my grades up and would be entering my senior year with a very respectable GPA. I had signed up to take a photography class next year since my folks got me a very expensive 35mm film camera outfit for Christmas. Brains must run in our family since Tracy graduated with a perfect 4.0 average and was class valedictorian. She had letters of acceptance at a few prestigious colleges and chose a local school to save money by living at home.

Since the squad had taken second place at state they got a free week at cheer camp. This of course included the coach and assistant. I was thrilled since I would not be away from Kim for a week. It turned out that the coach couldn't get away for the camp so it looked like I was it. It was a big responsibility but the girls were so cooperative that I didn't anticipate any trouble. Naïve? Well maybe a little, but I trusted them all.

On a Sunday afternoon the parents dropped their girls (and me) at the school. The school provided us with a bus and driver to take us to cheer camp. It wasn't awfully far, only about an hour trip. We all loaded up into the bus, along with all of our luggage and had room leftover. Tracy didn't come with us because she met a real nice guy and wanted to stick around. I met him and found him to be pretty cool. He almost measured up to what I deemed as worthy of my sister's affections. As a dedicated brother though, I had to warn him that if he hurt my sister in any way, even the slightest way he would have hell to pay. On this trip it was not necessary for Kim to ride on my lap but that didn't stop her climbing up there once the bus left town. Everyone on the squad knew about our going steady so it didn't bother them when we kissed a few times during the trip. There was a lot of respect for Kim and me so they all gave us our space. In spite of that I sensed a twinge of jealousy from a few of them.

We arrived at camp and checked in. I was told by the head counselor that I would not be allowed to sleep with the rest of the squad. They had a reputation to protect. I informed her that I had thought about that and had brought along my own wall tent and cot and I could pitch my tent at our campsite for convenience. She said that would be fine but to keep in mind that this camp is all girls so there may be some awkward and embarrassing moments. I laughingly said that I'd just have grin and bear it.

We got moved into our campsite easily. There were two platform tents with four bunk beds in each so they could hold eight girls in each tent. These tents were wood floors with canvas walls and roof. On the end wall there was a screen door and a privacy flap. It was kind of like the ones in the TV show MASH. While the girls were unpacking I came to one of the tents and knocked on the door asking "are you all decent?" The reply I got I should have expected but still it caught me by surprise. One of the girls answered "Since when did that stop you? Come on in Greg." I steped in, and found them unpacking and hanging their clothes. I handed out copies of the schedule and map of the camp. I also mentioned that since their captain had graduated they would have to elect a new one and this week is a good time to do that. I went out and over to the other tent and knocked asking "Everyone decent?" I got pretty much the same response so I went in. Handing out the papers I told them also about electing a new captain.

Sometime in the vicinity of six, we heard the dinner bell so we all hiked up to the dining hall. I had read a story by an author named Stepdad titled Cheerleader Camp that gave me some ideas so I had our squad line up as we marched to the mess hall singing our school song. Dinner was pretty good for mess hall food. My dad had told me about his Army mess hall experiences and I was apprehensive but, this was ok. The head counselor greeted everybody and made some announcements. She also included an announcement "Ladies, we have a boy acting coach for one of the squads camping with us so no running around in your undies or less." There was a collective "Awwww" from everyone, including me. She said that there would be a campfire at about eight that evening so everyone was expected to attend. We would have free time until then to look around and check out where every thing was. Of course Kim had to hold my hand as we strolled around the camp. She said she was afraid to walk alone so I begrudgingly (?) allowed her to hold my hand as we walked. Whenever we got to a section of the trail where we could not be seen we managed to sneak a kiss and a quick caress. The camp was laid out pretty well with specific areas for each of the lessons they offered.

The campfire that evening was a gala affair with singing and scary stories. A few of the girls even brought marshmallows to roast. I got offered roasted marshmallows from a few of them. I guess being the only boy in camp had its advantages. When everything wound down it was time for everyone to head back to their campsites. Being the concerned assistant coach I made sure Kim didn't get lost by leading her by the hand to our campsite. And if you believe that I've got...

Once I was assured that all of my girls had made it to their tents I decided to turn in myself. I got undressed and slid into my sleeping bag. I was just about to fall asleep when I heard a rustling of my tent followed by someone joining me in my sleeping bag. I could tell that it was Kim but I whispered anyways to her "Who are you and what do you think you are doing?" she whispered back "Just making sure you are comfortable. Those cots can be pretty bad to sleep on. You'd better lay on me so you will feel better." Better? Hell it felt fantastic. We had to be sure we were totally silent for fear of being discovered. Afterwards we didn't dare to go to sleep like that so after some quiet love making she returned to her tent.

In the morning we got up as a bugle played reveille. Every one of my girls got dressed and filed out for morning inspection. I checked my squad and then stood by as the head counselor made her rounds. Every squad checked out ok so she made morning announcements and we marched off to breakfast. Nothing special that morning but one of the other squads copied our marching and singing. I figured we should try another one the next day.