Chapter 9 - In Which There Are Games Afoot

     "So that just happened," Valerie quipped as we exited the chapel.

     "Yep, pretty much.  It's a good thing we have a few hours to recover - I mean relax," I replied.

     "Aren't you forgetting something?" Valerie asked, quirking her eyebrows.

     Before I could answer, a herd of wild buffalo who looked vaguely reminiscent of male camp counselors burst out of the chapel, whooping and stampeding toward their cabins.  Moni and Sandra trailed out after them and walked over to us.

     "We're gonna play Wells Fargo!"  Moni's eyes glittered with excitement.

     "Sorry, what?" Valerie and I both asked at the same time.

     "It's like Capture the Flag but waaaaaay better!" Sandra interjected. "C'mon guys, let's go get our war paint on!"

     Like the true Amazons they were, Moni and Sandra let out a battle cry and raced toward the girls' side of camp.

     I groaned.  All I wanted was a little peace and quiet.  Maybe go lay out on the dock... listen to some music on my iPod... try to find shapes in the clouds... daydream about a certain missionary kid from Vietnam...

     "Hello, earth to Janae!  Are you coming or what?"  Snapping out of my thoughts, I realized Valerie was waiting for me to walk with her the rest of the way to the cabin.

     "Do you think it would be completely obvious if I suddenly came down with a cold or fell and randomly broke a limb so I wouldn't be able to play the game?" I asked nonchalantly.

     "I mean, you can try it if you want, but that will mean no tubing at the lake later," Valerie said, her eyes glinting with mischief.  "And they might even quarantine you in an empty cabin or make you sleep in the nurse's office."

     "Ok, fine, I'll go put on the stupid face paint and play the stupid game, but I won't be happy about it!"  Satisfied with my petulant toddler outburst, I resigned myself to following behind Valerie and complaining every couple of steps.

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     And of course I ended up on the team opposite Valerie.  Judd and Cassidy were appointed captains, and guess who was Judd's first pick?  Yours truly.  Followed by Evie, Alejandro, Jeff, Johnny, Charity, Moni, Leslie, Doug, and Esther.  Cassidy snagged Sam (of course, just my luck), Gavin, Jeremy, Shelley, Harriett, Callie, Valerie, Sandra, Fitz, Brando, and Peter.  The rest of the junior counselors were appointed by Jacob to go down to the lake and get the boat and life jackets ready for tubing.

     After Jacob had a chance to explain the rules and tell the guys no less than five times to not do anything crazy, he looked around at everyone and got a goofy grin on his face.

     "Alright everybody, each team will start at opposite ends of the camp and you'll have 5 minutes to hide your flag in plain sight - at least half of it will have to be visible to someone walking by.  When you hear the sound of the camp bell, you can begin searching for the other team's flag.  Anyone who is captured by the other team has to go to jail until the end of the game, or until a jailbreak, whichever comes first.  Is everybody ready?"

     "Yeah!" everyone cheered at the same time I said, "No!"

     Jacob chose to ignore my outburst and clapped his hands together.  "Let the games begin!"

     It was all a blur.  I was basically herded around like a cow or a sheep for most of the game, my heart pounding and my feet getting way too dirty because I was stupidly wearing flip flops.

     At one point, I was trying to blend in with the bushes outside the gym when I saw Sam sprint past, headed in the general direction of my team's flag.

     Not really sure what came over me, I lunged out of the bushes, twigs snapping, and started running after Sam.  I felt wild, brazen, and pretty awesome.  Until I missed the step up onto the platform of the carpetball pavilion and fell face first onto the concrete.  Yep, so awesome.

     Stabbing pain shot through the palms of my hands and my right shin.  Moaning, I turned over until I was laying on my back, too afraid to look at the damage that had been done.  Luckily, Sam was long gone, so there was no one to witness my utter humiliation.

     "Hey, what are you doing laying down on the job?  That's not why I picked you!" a voice boomed around the pavilion, making me jump.  I looked up into Judd's smirking face.  Of course, my night in shining armor would be this guy.

     Before I could say anything,  Judd noticed my bleeding leg and hands, and his face melted into a look of... compassion maybe.  It was obviously a foreign expression for him.

     I tried to stand up, but I ended up putting way too much initial weight on my right leg and almost fell down again.  A strong hand grabbed my arm and leaned most of my weight against Judd's shoulder.  I looked up at him, briefly struck dumb.

     "Can you make it to the nurse's office, or am I gonna have to carry ya?" Judd asked with a teasing grin.

     Horrified at the thought of being swept into anyone's arms but my one true love, I immediately began to hobble as fast as I could away from Judd.  He tightened his grip on my arm and walked with me the entire way.  Secretly, I was relieved, but by the time we got to the nurse's office, the number of weird looks and catcalls we both got had me blushing like a tomato.

     "Well, chick, looks like the end of the road for me.  I'm gonna get back to defending our team's honor and what-not.  Catch ya later."  And just like that, Judd was back to being Judd.

     I plopped down in the nurse's chair and fanned myself.  "Is there any way you could write me a note to get out of ever playing this game again?" I asked as the nurse clucked her tongue sympathetically and went to retrieve the neosporin and gauze.

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     Two miserable hours later, I sat under the shade of an oak tree, watching all the rest of the counselors take turns tubing around the lake.  The nurse had recommended not getting my bandage wet for at least 2 days in order to give my wound a chance to stop bleeding and start healing.  

     I tried not to notice how good Sam's curls looked after they got wet and he shook his head like a dog, spraying a giggling Charity and Esther with water.  If looks could kill...

     My phone vibrated in my pocket, startling me out of my homicidal thoughts.  

     Hey, what's going on?  I was just sitting here thinking about your cute self, so I thought I'd see what you were up to.

     I groaned in frustration.  Dustin was the last person in the world I wanted to flirt with at the moment.

     Hello?  You there?

     Sighing, I turning my phone off and stretched my leg out along the bench of the picnic table I was sitting on.

     "Man, that's some kind of battle wound," a voice said from behind me.  

     I whipped my head around just as Sam sauntered around to my side of the table, willing my face not to achieve tomato red status again.  

     "Is this seat taken?"

     I pulled my leg off the table and shook my head mutely, motioning for him to have a seat.

     Water droplets fell from his wet ringlets, and the ones that landed on my leg seemed to sigh in contentment.  

     Realizing Sam had said something, I snapped to attention and grunted a ladylike, "Huh?"

     Smooth, Janae.  You've got him eating out of the palm of your hand now...

     "I said, you don't look like you're having much fun up here by yourself.  Why don't you come sit at that table right down by the lake?  Or you can ride on the boat with Jacob."

     Flattered that he was thinking of me, I smiled before answering.  "The sun is too hot on my leg."

     Realizing how much I just sounded like an idiot, I stammered to correct myself and answer him more eloquently.  He just laughed.

     "Well, it was worth a shot anyway.  Have fun up here, and try not to get too off-track..."  He winked and chuckled to himself as he walked away, leaving me with my jaw hanging open in shock that he actually came and talked to me.  

     Grinning like a lovestruck teenager, I began humming a wordless song.  I couldn't wait to tell Valerie every single little detail...and maybe embellish the flirting just a little bit.  After all, what witnesses were there to refute me?