Benjamin Dragon - Awakening (The Chronicles of Benjamin Dragon) (7 page)

Chapter 15: Summer Camp

Benjamin and Nathan sat next to each other on the bus. Nathan wanted to talk about girls. Benjamin kept steering the conversation back to things like video games and new movies.

“I can’t believe we only have a couple more weeks of school. I’m sooo ready for summer,” said Nathan, sweeping a hand through his hair. “What are you doing this summer?”

“I don’t know. I think my parents want me to go to some camp. Camp Waha…”

“Camp Wahamalican?!”

“Uh, I think so.”

“You lucky turd. That place is awesome,” crowed Nathan.

“Have you gone?”

“Me? No way. My parents can’t afford it.” For one of the few times since Benjamin had known him, Nathan’s face colored.

“Well, I don’t even know if I’m going. I think I’d rather stay home.”

“No way, Dragon!” Nathan had recently taken to calling Benjamin by his last name. He said it sounded cooler. “There’s so much stuff to do. Plus, it’s half girls!”

Once again Benjamin shifted the conversation to something more comfortable. “What do they do at Camp Wahamachooky?”

“Wahamalican. It’s like all the outdoor stuff you want. Camping, fishing, hiking, canoeing, archery…Man, I’ve wanted to go there forever. I think Aaron’s going this year.”

Benjamin loved being outside. The only thing he didn’t like was mosquitoes. They always seemed to find him first. His mom called him the family Mosquito Magnet. He wished Nathan could go with him. At least he’d know Aaron. Maybe he could find his chosen path at camp.

+++

Benjamin could only fake doing homework for so long. So after finishing all his assignments, the two boys played video games. They were thrashing the enemy in
Call of Duty
when Nathan’s cell phone rang.

“It’s my mom. Can you pause the game?”

Benjamin pressed pause and waited.

“Hey, mom. Yeah, I’m over at the Dragons’.” He looked up at Benjamin and mimed eating. He was asking if it was okay to stay and eat. Benjamin knew his parents wouldn’t care. They barely paid attention to him at dinner anyway. Besides, Mr. Dragon was out of town again. Benjamin nodded and Nathan smiled.

“Is it okay if I stay here for dinner?” Nathan asked his mom. He listened to her response and moaned, “Come on, mom. We always eat dinner together.”

Mrs. Pratt finally relented and Nathan hung up the phone. Benjamin looked at his friend suspiciously. He’d never heard Nathan avoid his parents.

“What?” Nathan asked, noticing the look.

“Nothing. You ready to play?”

“Yeah. Let’s win this mission, Sergeant Dragon.”

+++

Nathan thanked Mrs. Dragon for dinner and left out the back door. Benjamin was still pushing penne pasta around his plate.

“Hey, mom?”

“Yes, honey?” Mrs. Dragon kept her eyes glued to her work. She’d already finished her nightly salad.

“Do you still want me to go to that camp this summer?”

The question perked his mom’s attention and she fixed him with a wary look. “Your father and I talked about it and we think it would be good for you.”

Parents were always telling their kids what was good for them. What was that all about? Did they give the same class to all parents?

“Well…I was thinking that…”

Mrs. Dragon interrupted. “Come on, Benji. I know you don’t like this kind of stuff, but…”

“Wait, mom. I was just gonna say that I think I want to go.”

Mrs. Dragon’s look of surprise almost made Benjamin laugh. Not many things surprised his mom.

“That’s a welcome change. How about we talk about it with your dad this weekend?”

Benjamin nodded. “I was wondering if…I just…”

“What did you want to ask me, honey?” Mrs. Dragon looked like she didn’t want the good news to stop. She rarely had anything in common with her son. There were so many things she wanted him to do. It was a delicate balancing act with Benjamin. She knew how smart he was, and yet he didn’t possess the same confidence that his parents had at his age.

“I know it’s a lot to ask, mom, but I was wondering if we might be able to pay for Nathan to go to.”

“That’s very sweet, but I’m not sure the Pratts would allow it, Benji.”

“Why not?”

“Some people are very sensitive about money. They might feel like they owed us. Mr. and Mrs. Pratt are the kind of people that work very hard for what they have and…” she struggled to find the words, “…they don’t like taking or borrowing money from people.”

“What if we just said it was a gift, mom?” The idea brought a smile to his face. “Yeah. If we said it was a gift then they couldn’t feel bad. Didn’t you tell me that people should be grateful when they get a gift? That’s what you told me when I got that sweater with the pig on it from grandma.”

Mrs. Dragon looked uncomfortable. She was in unfamiliar territory. On one hand, Benjamin was a good kid and never asked for anything. Mr. Dragon almost had to drag him to the mall to buy his Xbox. On the other hand, her lawyer brain was being outmatched by the wit of her son.

She groaned. “Let me talk to your dad. I’m not promising anything.”

Benjamin hopped up from his chair, ran around the table and gave his mom a big kiss on the cheek. “Thanks, mom!”

Chapter 16
: Plans

After discussions with Mr. Dragon and Mr. and Mrs. Pratt, it was decided that the Dragons would pay for Nathan to go to Camp Wahamalican with Benjamin. Mr. Pratt insisted that it was only a loan and that Nathan would work off the debt over the rest of the summer and possibly the coming school year. Benjamin figured that his parents probably wouldn’t take the money. They were different than he was, but they were always kind and generous.

Nathan practically bounced off the walls when Benjamin told him. He crushed his friend in a tight bear hug until he realized what he was doing, and promptly dropped Benjamin to the ground. Benjamin didn’t care. He was glad to see his friend so happy.

+++

The remaining weeks of school flew. Benjamin got straight A’s for the millionth time in his life.

The three boys, Benjamin, Nathan and Aaron, carefully planned out their camping adventure. They would have three whole weeks away from home. Funny Paul and Little Mikey looked on. Both were a bit jealous. Funny Paul would be spending the summer at his grandparents’ farm in Michigan. Little Mikey was going to soccer camp. He was already a really good player.

“We have to make sure we all get in the same cabin,” Nathan declared. “If anyone tried to split us up…”

“I definitely want to take fishing. Tommy Hiller told me they have bass the size of a car in the lake,” said the normally quiet Aaron.

Benjamin was just along for the ride. He was happy because his friends were happy. There hadn’t even been any nightmares since finding out about camp. Every time he started to worry about his ‘gift’ he would dive into one of his books about snakes or bears to distract himself. And it worked. Because of camp, Benjamin never thought about Old Kennedy and having to find his ‘chosen path.’  Camp Wahamalican would change that.

Chapter 17: Off To Camp Wahamalican

The morning of the first day of camp came after a whirlwind of shopping and packing. Mrs. Dragon and Mrs. Pratt drove Benjamin and Nathan the three hours to Camp Wahamalican. Aaron’s parents would be taking him separately. The three boys had already agreed to meet up at the large camp totem pole with the red eagle on top after dropping their stuff at the cabin.

Along the way, Nathan did most of the talking as they went through the camp brochures for the thousandth time.

“Everybody says we need to get to the chow hall early,” Nathan was saying. “If we don’t, all the good food will be gone. Did I tell you about…”

And so it went for the three hour trip. Benjamin enjoyed every minute. Nathan was an animated story-teller and had lots of tales to tell about so-and-so camper being attacked by a wolverine or so-and-so camper getting poison ivy all over their private parts. Benjamin laughed even though he’d heard the stories before. He was glad Nathan was coming to camp.

+++

When they arrived at Camp Wahamalican, registration was in full swing. Campers lined up with their parents to find out which tribe they’d be assigned to. Benjamin and Nathan were assigned to the Tomahawk tribe despite Benjamin being younger. Mrs. Dragon had somehow persuaded camp staff to allow the change in procedure due to the fact that Benjamin was two grades ahead of the kids his age. Benjamin figured that his mom had probably used some of her own powers to convince the camp director to let the two boys be in the same tribe.

After they’d paid for the camp store credit (Mrs. Pratt insisted she pay for Nathan’s), gotten their camp T-shirts, and picked up their activities list, the Dragons and the Pratts made their way to the Tomahawk cabin. The slightly musty log cabin was a bustle of activity. Kids and parents hurried this way and that. One boy was crying as he said goodbye to his mother. Benjamin promised himself he would not cry.

Nathan threw his bags on a top bunk and said he’d unpack later. Benjamin took the bed below Nathan and followed his friend’s lead. There would be plenty of time to put their things away. The boys were excited to go exploring.

+++

They said goodbye to their moms (Mrs. Pratt started crying when she hugged Nathan). Benjamin’s eyes got a little watery, but he didn’t cry. After waving to their parents, Benjamin and Nathan headed to the tallest manmade object in camp: the Camp Wahamalican totem pole.

+++

They found Aaron at the totem pole. He was leafing through the class brochure for wilderness survival. It said something about making a shelter out of branches and stuff.

“Let’s go check out the lake,” said Nathan.

They made their way through the tree lined path that they knew would open up to the lake. Benjamin had almost memorized the camp’s layout, as had the others. It was nice to walk in the shade and avoid the buzzing horse flies. They were anxious to see the biggest attraction at Camp Wahamalican.

Walking out into the sunlight, the three friends stopped. Nathan’s eyes popped wide. Aaron’s mouth hung open. Benjamin was speechless. The lake looked like a kid’s fairy tale. Canoes and kayaks were neatly piled in wooden racks close to the water. A sandy beach that looked like it had been recently raked lay just ahead. In the water just beyond the beach was a large water playground covered in ladders, diving boards, and slides. There were three bouncy inflatables tethered to the play center with ropes.

“Wow!” Nathan exclaimed, and took off running for the beach. The other two followed. Benjamin was admiring the view when they heard a whistle blow. All three boys skidded to a stop and looked for the whistle-blower.

Walking toward them was a tall blonde camp counselor. She looked to be in high school and had freckles painting a pattern under her eyes and over her nose. She was athletic and pretty. A brief whiff of sweet perfume accompanied her arrival. Nathan checked his hair with his hand as she came closer. Aaron just stood patiently and gulped. Benjamin stared at his feet.

“First timers?” she asked, spinning a lanyard around her finger.

“Uh huh,” Nathan manage to say.

“Didn’t they tell you not to go near the water until your swim test?”

“No.” Nathan’s face turned pink and then red.

The older girl cocked her head and looked from one boy to another. She grinned.

“You three gonna give me trouble this session?”

“No, ma-am,” said Nathan.

“Uh uh,” said Aaron.

Benjamin shook his head.

“Well good. I’m Isabelle, the head lifeguard. What are your names?”

Each boy mumbled their name.

“Good to meet you and welcome to camp. Now why don’t you all head up to the chow hall. The opening ceremony starts in fifteen minutes. You won’t wanna miss it.” 

Without another word, Isabelle turned and walked back toward the lifeguard tower. Nathan whistled softly.

“Wow…” he said.

The other boys just bobbed their heads.
 

+++

Camp Wahamalican’s director was an older man name Mr. Hendrix. He reminded Benjamin a little bit of Old Kennedy. Mr. Hendrix had long white hair that he tied in a ponytail. He was wiry trim and wore khaki shorts. Benjamin could tell he was a nice man by the way he smiled and joked with the campers. It was funny that adults thought that kids couldn’t tell whether a grown-up was nice or not. Benjamin could always tell by a smile (real or fake, nice or not) or their eyes (kind or mean, happy or angry).

Mr. Hendrix told the campers about Camp Wahamalican’s history and how it had once been an Indian burial site.

“And sometimes the ancient Indian elders come out at night to say hello,” Mr. Hendrix said. There was silence in the large room. “But don’t worry, we’ve made sure only the nice ones stuck around.”

There were nervous chuckles and a couple whimpers from new campers. Benjamin wasn’t worried about ghosts.

After telling them about the camp rules and eating schedule, the campers were released to their tribes. Tribe Tomahawk’s chief was a tall skinny red haired boy named Tony. He said they could call him Tomahawk Tony. The younger boys laughed. Tomahawk Tony gave his own set of rules (no talking after midnight, no sneaking food into the cabin, etc.) as they walked back to the Tomahawk cabin. There were a total of twelve Tomahawk campers. Since it was a tribe for twelve-year-olds, Benjamin was the youngest.

When they arrived back at the cabin, Tony asked Benjamin to stay outside. He waited until the other boys spilled in to speak.

“Benjamin, I’m not sure how you got assigned to this cabin.” Benjamin eyes widened a bit. He didn’t want to be sent to another tribe. “.But Mr. Hendrix said you’ve skipped a couple grades. I just wanted to make sure you’re going to be okay with the older guys.”

“I came with two of my friends, Nathan and Aaron.”

“Nathan’s the tall kid, right?”

Benjamin nodded.

“Okay. But you make sure you come tell me if anyone picks on you. I don’t put up with bullying in my tribe,” said Tony, seriously. Benjamin breathed a sigh of relief.

“Okay.”

“Good, now why don’t you go get changed for your swim test.”