You Call This a Gift?

I opened my eyes and saw nothing but darkness. I felt cold, damp, and had something sticking to me. I brushed away what was over my eyes and saw that I was lying in the sand. I coughed a few more times releasing the last of the water. I sat up, my head was spinning. I stared out at the lake looking from side to side to see if the figure was still there. I found the silhouette of someone; they were too far to make out a face. I stood and gave a wave to whomever it was. They waved back, dove under, and disappeared. I sat back down to catch my breath and to see if they would reappear.

“Oh my goodness, are you alright, dear?” I heard echoing behind me.

I turned to see an older woman, maybe in her late fifties; her hair was as gray as I felt right now. She was quite beautiful. “Uhm, I think so. I mean, yes, yes, I’m alright,” I said. “Who are you? If you don’t mind me asking.” I immediately added.

“Oh, I’m Sharron Wisfield. I’m one of the staff here. Your friends Kenna and Sable came to me for help. They said you had been missing since 10:22pm. I was the first person they found. Everyone else is looking as well,” she said.

“Oh, What time is it now?” I asked.

“12:43 am,” she replied.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to worry anyone. I came for a walk, lay on the beach, and I guess I dozed off,” I said in response.

“We should be getting back now, Jeremy would like to speak to you,” she said trying to smile.

We pushed our way out of the woods and saw the gravel paths come into view.

“I’m going to go let your friends know you’re alright. You go straight to see Jeremy. No detours,” she said waving me in the direction of the counselors’ building. I came up to the building, opened the door slowly, and walked in.

“Ah, there you are, Miss. Fitz. Come have a seat,” I heard come out of his mouth. I walked over to the foldable chair that was available for sitting and sat with my eyes glancing at the floor. “Now, Anna, you are aware curfew is at 10 pm, correct?” he asked with an eyebrow raised.

“Yes, sir,” I said scared of what punishment he may have planned.

“And were you aware that it was after ten?” he asked his eyebrow now lowered.

“Yes,” I said.

“Okay, well, in that case, I will be calling to notify your mother first thing in the morning,” he responded quickly. “As for you, Anna, you will be covering clean-up in the lunch hall after dinner for this week from six to eight,” he added with an apologetic look on his face.

“Yes, sir. May I go now?” I asked politely.

“You may,” he said.

I yawned as I pushed open the cabin door. The second I stepped in, I had arms around me and voices chiming in my ears. “Oh my gosh, thank goodness you’re alright!” I heard coming from Sable.

“I’m so sorry, Anna. I didn’t mean anything; I said I was just nervous about seeing Bradley,” Kenna spurted out.

“It’s fine,” I said, albeit not meaning it. She had really hurt my feelings. “I’m tired and really need some sleep,” I said as I pushed my way to the room. I opened the door quietly not wanting to wake Lorraine. I walked in to find her wide-awake sitting on her bed with a book.

“Oh my gosh, are you okay?” she asked me with a worried face.

“Uhm, not really. But thanks for asking,” I replied a bit confused as to why she cared.

“Need to talk?” she added.

“Maybe later. I’m exhausted,” I replied still confused.

“Okay, no worries. I hope you get some good sleep. Goodnight,” she added.

I climbed in my bed facing the wall and wondered why she would care. I closed my eyes to try and sleep, but my mind was filled with that figure. Someone was there. Someone pulled me out of the water. Someone saved me, and I wanted to know who. My mind raced for an hour or so before allowing me to sleep.

I opened my eyes to see Sable hovering over me shaking me.

“Anna, get up, we have an assembly in five minutes,” she pleaded.

I gave her a glance of pure aggravation and groaned. “I want to sleep!” I moaned pulling the blanket over my head.

“I don’t care what you want! Get up! Now!” she shouted pulling the blanket off the bed.

“UGHHHHHH,” I sighed dramatically. I pulled myself up through on some clothes and made my way to the kitchen. I grabbed a cup of coffee and followed the girls out the door. We approached the gym where the assembly was being held and made our way in. we looked around at the bleachers full of teens and staff. I noticed some empty seats and pointed them out. We weaved our way through the crowds and got to the seats before anyone else. I looked around the building. It was an ordinary gym nothing special. Jeremy stood in the middle holding a microphone. Sharron and a few others were standing near him.

“Can everyone please take their seats?” he spoke echoing through the speakers.

I peered around as I watched everyone shuffle into their seats.

“Good morning!” he said happily. “Welcome to camp! I hope everyone enjoyed their weekend,” he continued. “For anyone who doesn’t know, my name is Jeremy and I’m the lead counselor. These are your other counselors: Sharron, Timothy, James, Lauren, and Claudia,” he said pointing out each one. They all stood smiling up at us. “Now there are six of us. Everyone here will be broken up into six groups. Your counselor will be the one whose cabin is nearest to yours. Your counselor will be available at all times for any questions or concerns you may have,” he explained. “For those of you newbies who have guardians, they will be here Monday and Thursday each week to meet with you and help you along,” he added. “Now for those of you in cabins A through E, you will be with Sharron. F through I will be with James. J through M with Claudia. N through Q with Timothy. R through U with me, and finally, V through Z will be with Lauren.

“Guess we have Claudia,” I thought to myself. I felt someone nudge my arm saying, “Claudia’s cool, I had her last year.” I looked over to meet eyes with Jonah. “Ugh, when did you even get here? You were not there a minute ago.” I sighed.

“Well, you see, I walked here, climbed up the bleachers, and sat in this seat because it was available,” he replied obnoxiously.

“Sweet,” I said rolling my eyes and focusing my attention back on Jeremy. I felt that stupid warmth again. Why did I feel it whenever he was around? It was aggravating. It was such an enjoyable feeling which annoyed me because I didn’t want to be anywhere near him.

The assembly ended after Jeremy finished discussing all the rules and requirements. We were sent to do group activities with our counselors. I walked down the path following the group of 15 teens that were ahead of me. I watched as our counselor Claudia came to a stop.

“Okay, guys, here is a good spot; let’s stop here,” Claudia said smiling.

I looked around at everyone wondering what powers they had.

“Okay, we’re going to pair up for a team activity; you and your partner will be given a list and you will have to work together to collect all of the things on the list. You can use your powers, if done carefully. Powers are not required,” she instructed. “Now, to form the groups, you will be picking a name from the jar. Make a single file line and we will go until everyone has a partner,” she added.

The line started moving slowly. Kenna picked a boy named Marks, and Lorraine picked Sable’s name. When I approached the jar, I wished not to get someone terrible. I pulled the paper out and unfolded it holding it in view. My stomach sank, and my skin felt cold. “Jonah,” I said turning towards him.

He glanced up and sighed.

“Well, I can see a few groups are disappointed with their picks and that’s fantastic! Now’s the time to learn about each other and make friends. You will be smiling in the end!” Claudia said enthusiastically.

We picked up our list and walked away from the crowd to discuss it.

“Look, I know you’re not happy to be stuck with me, but can we just pretend we’re not bothered and get through this stupid list?” he said distantly.

“I’m not bothered, let’s do this thing,” I pleaded. “What’s the first thing on the list?” I questioned.

“Uhm, a white stone from the creek. Where is there a creek?” he asked.

“I have no clue, but let’s start looking,” I said.

We began walking towards the woods. I watched as his hair moved in the wind. He was extremely attractive; his muscles glistened from the dampness of his skin caused by the heat.

“Something wrong?” he asked.

“No, just thinking. That’s all,” I replied moving my eyes off him.

His eyes were scrunched, his lips tense, and a drip of sweat falling off his brow. “Something wrong with you?” I asked returning his question.

He pushed through the branches entering the woods. He held the branches to the side to let me pass. “I’m just confused. That’s all,” he said.

We continued walking through the woods. The smell of pine and wildflowers filled the humid air.

“Confused about what?” I questioned.

“I, just from the moment I bumped into you, found something that keeps drawing me back to you, but you seem to have found the complete opposite in me and I don’t know what I did to make you feel that way,” he replied sadly.

I glanced over at him his head was now hanging lower as he walked while staring at the ground. I felt overwhelming compassion for him at this moment. “Does he like me, even after the things I’ve said?” I wondered.

He looked up stating, “I think I hear water.”

I glanced around. “Let’s follow the sound,” I suggested.

We walked towards the babbling sounds we heard.

“I’m sorry,” I stated.

“Sorry for what?” he asked with his face now soft.

He was so dreamy. I got lost looking at the details in his face; he had the kindest expression I’d ever seen.

“Anna?” he said.

“Oh, sorry. I’m sorry for the things I said.” I replied as my foot got caught on a branch. I began to fall when I felt his arms wrap around me.

“Are you okay?” he asked with a now extreme worry on his face. I met his eyes and I could feel him staring as deeply into mine as I was into his. The warmth I had felt before started overtaking my body drawing me toward him. I felt as if I had no control over my body. He began moving his face closer to mine ever so slowly. The warmth as it had before began turning to a burning pain, but this time it was excruciating. Just as his face was about to touch mine, I pulled away groaning in pain.

“I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to make assumptions, I shouldn’t have leaned in like that,” he said ashamed.

I stumbled down sitting onto the ground. A tear dripped from my eye the burning pain was overfilling my body.

“Oh my gosh, are you okay, Anna?” he asked dropping to his knees in front of me.

“I’m fine, I just need a minute,” I replied. I felt dizzy and sweat began dripping from my head. The burning got worse every minute. I involuntarily cried out in pain.

“Anna!” he shouted.

“My body, it burns,” I moaned.

He looked at me with a face of guilt as if it was his fault. He reached out placing his hand against my forehead. “Anna, you’re burning up literally, your skin feels like a stove top; you have a fever,” he said quickly pulling his hand off releasing a groan of pain trying to hide it from me.

“Did I just burn you?” I asked terrified.

His eyes said “yes,” but his words said “no.” He wrapped his arms around me lifting me off the ground. “I’m getting you to the nurse now!” he said. He began running through the woods towards camp. “Put your hands around my neck for support,” he ordered. I did as he said, but he smacked his teeth together in pain and tensed his face.

“Jonah, put me down now! I will not allow myself to hurt you!” I ordered him.

“I’m not putting you anywhere until we get to the nurse!” he yelled frightening me a bit. His eyes glowed like they had before.

I held on as loosely as I could while he continued running smacking his face through leaves and bushes.