5: Crystal Lake

The summer between sixth and seventh grade was just awesome. Mostly. The downside was that I didn't go to science camp. But I did get a week at a dude ranch and Dad delivered my papers. I was really beginning to like horses—even Princess and Gypsy. I couldn't take any more time off after that. I had a paper route and didn't have any way to keep my customers satisfied if I left. I needed to train a replacement for next year or I'd never have a vacation again.

On the positive side, I had a girlfriend. Well, sort of. I went to church with her family. It was nowhere near as fun as the church Brenda and Carl had described. We spent an hour-and-a-half every Sunday memorizing Bible verses. The boys all sat on one side of the room and the girls all sat on the other. Sometimes when we were sitting in the backseat on the way back home, Cassie's hand would just touch mine a bit. We had to sit on opposite sides of the bench seat, though, so the touch was always fleeting.

Inspiration. It was the new word in my vocabulary. I learned it in sixth grade from Miss Sullivan. I'd spent a lot of afternoon recesses writing poetry in her classroom and occasionally we'd talk. That's when she told me about being inspired and asked what my inspiration was. I couldn't exactly tell her that she inspired me, but I did tell her that her class was an inspiration. That got a smile.

But my big inspiration in July, when I was moaning to myself about not going to science camp this summer, was to meet Cassie in the woods. I loved the woods and as soon as I could get free every day, I'd walk through it to the Hopkinses' or just ride Gypsy out to one of my favorite spots. One day I was out and realized I'd walked farther than usual. You can't really get lost back there because it is just a strip of woods that sits about four hundred yards away from the road and runs along behind everyone's property. Grandpa told me that before he started selling off sections on that side of the road, he plowed and planted everything from our house north, but that he always felt it was important to keep a woodlot so there was plenty of fuel in the winter. I took a left turn and made my way to the edge of the woods so I could see where I was.

To my surprise, I was looking out at the grass runway of Mr. Clinton's airport. Now that was cool. I'd walked almost all the way to Cassie's house. That's the moment that inspiration struck. I ran through the woods to get home and find something to mark a trail. The pioneers blazed trails by cutting a notch in the trees along the path, but we were taught that we shouldn't do that now because it damages the tree and leaves it vulnerable to disease. 4-H Forestry I. I wasn't sure what I could use, but Betts was out riding with her friends and I could search the house. I found a spool of ribbon in Mom's sewing drawer.

I knew better than to take the whole spool. I used her sewing scissors to cut five lengths about a foot long. I could hardly tell anything was missing from the spool. I found some thumb-tacks and headed back for the woods. I had to do this carefully and took my chemistry note tablet so I could record where the landmarks were. I worked inside the edge of the woods so no one would see me from the house and found two trees that I thought were identifiable. I sighted the windsock and her mailbox in a straight line between the two trees and carefully drew that out on the map. Then I looked back into the woods. I chose a tree and paced off ten steps to it and tied my red ribbon around a branch. I looked for the next easy target and counted the steps to another tree and tied the ribbon around it. In two more segments, I was definitely out of sight from anywhere on the airstrip or Cassie's house. There was a big oak tree a few feet away from this spot and I tacked the last ribbon to it. Then I took my notes home.

It took me most of the next day upstairs in the heat of the attic to draw out the map on a clean sheet of typing paper. There was a straight line through the mailbox and windsock to between the two trees at the edge of the woods. Then careful instructions about which way to turn to look for the next red ribbon. Finally, at the fifth tree, I put a circle with an 'X' in it and wrote "Treasure" beside it. Now, when? I figured that Wednesday would be good enough and 1:00 should be the time of our meeting. I sure hoped she could follow a map.

I went to the woods the next day and followed the map as if I was looking at it for the first time. I crept along the edge of the woods until I could sight the windsock and mailbox. Then I turned into the woods and could immediately see the red ribbon. I went to it and just looked until I saw the next ribbon. I realized I could actually see two ribbons, but it was obvious which one was first. The next ribbon took me deeper into the woods, and finally I saw the ribbon under the big oak. They were a clearly marked trail.

When I got home I read the instructions and wrote at the top of the map, "Memorize this map and then burn it!" I sure didn't want her parents to find it.

Sunday on the way home from church, I slid my hand over toward Cassie. She looked up to make sure her parents weren't watching and then reached over and touched me. I pushed the note into her hand. I looked at her and mouthed "later."

I don't know why I made the meeting for Wednesday. I walked to the spot every day to make sure I could be there at exactly one o'clock. Then, of course, on Wednesday Betts didn't go riding and she was being a bitch all day long. I finally had to sneak out the front door. We always used the back door. I ran around the house and stayed all the way over by the fence row to keep out of sight from the house. Once I was past the barn, I took off at a run.

I'd been to the rendezvous site every day for the past week, so I knew my way there and crashed through the branches trying to make sure I made it by one o'clock. I was panting, but I was sure I made it on time. Then I waited. And waited. I'd about given up when I heard a twig pop and footsteps not far away. I carefully looked around the oak and saw Cassie headed my way. She hadn't burned the map. She was looking at it and then checking around for the next mark. I let her spot the last ribbon and head toward it before I stepped out from behind the tree. I didn't do it to scare her, but it startled her anyway.

She ran the last few steps and then stopped in front of me.

"This is so neat. I followed a treasure map and look what I found!" she said.

"You were supposed to burn the map so no one else could find it," I said.

"No way. I have a secret place I can hide things that no one knows about. I'm going to keep this forever. It's so romantic!" Wow! I hadn't thought of it that way. I just wanted to see her.

"I just wanted to see you and talk to you and stuff without church or your parents watching us," I admitted.

"I was afraid you wouldn't be here because I had trouble getting out of the house and was late. I'm so glad you waited."

"I couldn't ask you what was a good time for you, so I just had to guess. We can meet again anytime you want." Cassie took my hand and we started wandering around the woods. I asked her about how her summer was going and she asked me. And we just walked for a long time.

"Let's climb a tree!" I suggested. Heck, what else are you supposed to do with a girl? We climbed and laughed and played tag in the woods.

"You should probably get back, but you can come and meet me here any day now. I liked playing with you."

"I can come again on Wednesday, but make it two o'clock so I can finish my chores. And make another map and leave it there. Okay? this was fun!"

"Okay." She was off following the ribbons back the way she came. I watched her all the way till she was out of the woods. The summer was going to get better.

"Hey."

"Oh. Hey, you." It was Monday afternoon and I was hiding out in the hayloft as usual. The county fair was over and school would start in a week. Betts had only placed second in the horse show so she was being really bitchy. I'd won the barrel race on Gypsy so that just made it worse. I'd actually thought about masturbating, but I was glad now that I hadn't. I hadn't seen Joanne all summer and here she was in the hayloft with me. "Where have you been all summer?"

"I went to a modeling school. I've been in class till last week. I couldn't shake the rat until today. I know he's my brother, but he's beginning to give me the creeps."

"No kidding. I know what you mean."

"Why did we both have to have such crappy siblings? We should have been brother and sister."

"Except then we'd probably hate each other and you would never have taught me to kiss," I grinned. Oh crap! I shouldn't have said that.

"Got a girlfriend, I see."

"Oh ... well ... uh..."

"Don't you dare try to lie to me, Brian Frost. I saw you."

"You what?" I panicked.

"I got home last week and came straight to find you. I saw you disappear into the woods and thought I'd catch up with you. I got turned around and when I finally found you, I saw you were playing tag. It looked like fun and I didn't think you'd mind if I joined you, but just as I was ready to yell to you, you took her hand and started walking her toward the airport."

"Please don't tell anyone, Joanne. Please. Her parents are really strict and they'd never let us see each other if they found out. The only time they let us get together is for church on Sunday. Do you know how many Bible verses I've memorized just so I can sit across a room from her?"

"You've got it bad. Don't worry. You're my friend. I wouldn't tell anyone about you meeting your girlfriend. I just wanted to talk to you, too, for a while. Is that okay, or should I go?"

"No! Don't go, Joanne. You know I always want to talk to you. I wish we weren't in different grades. We hardly ever see each other," I said. It was true. For all that we lived fifty yards apart, our school schedules never let us get together. Maybe that would be different this year, but Joanne would be a freshman and I'd be a lowly seventh grader. The fact that we'd be riding the same bus and attending the same junior-senior high school didn't mean we'd suddenly be best buddies.

"So what are you studying with your girlfriend? Biology or chemistry?"

"Uh..."