Summer Memories

Summer Memories
By Jacob Bazarov

It was September. I always hated the month September the month that ended summer. The month that took me away from her. It was on fitting she would die on September 1st 2032 She was only 34 years old. I sat at the funeral and listened to the pastor talk about the girl I loved as he did I remembered the first time we met in the summer of 2000. I was on the bus to the new summer camp just outside PA which meant it was the middle of nowhere. My family had finally saved up enough money so I could attend. As the bus pulled into the camp I notice 2 things. One that the camp was located in a clearing In the middle of the woods, and two that there were no counselors. As the kids stepped out of the bus and trooped into the main buildings hall they were met by the camp director. She got on the podium and began making the usual start of camp speech. “This is a different kind of sleep away camp. We do not have counselors or the usual camp activates. Instead we offer a wide arrange of other children. This summer you will make friends and you will make foe’s. You will come back here every year till you are 18 years old.” The director proceeded to talk about camp rules and regulations at which point I tuned out. After the speech we were given ID cards mine said Joseph Carter. The picture there showed a young boy around 6 with sort blond hair and chubby cheeks. That boy was me. After this we went to dinner and then bed preparing for a day of fun and excitement tomorrow.
The next day after breakfast we were let lose into the camp (or at least the portion of the camp dedicated to little children) I socialized with other kids best I could but then something caught my eye a limousine just pulled into the entrance. The door opened and a girl was helped out by the driver. She was around my age, She had long blond hair and was wearing a dress that looked like it cost more than my entire house. Her name tag said hi my name is Rose.
Over the next few summers camp proceeded as a normal camp that all changed in the summer of 2004 when I was 10 years old. Cliques and groups became apparent among the campers. My friends were Danny, Mike, and Steve we stuck together and had a good time for the most part. But nothing can be perfect. The rich popular girls how thought that they were goddesses on earth and treated everybody else in the camp like crap were our targets. We considered it our job to put them in their place by doing things like putting the occasional garden snake in there purse or perhaps trashing there cabin among other things. The Popular Girls consisted of Rebecca, Jenna, Olivia, and Rose who was the biggest bitch of them all.
It was lunch time during Monday on the first week of camp we were sitting at our usual table and debating on what to do after. Steve said “lets hit the tennis courts or maybe play some football” “Hey let prank the girls” I suggested. “Speak of the devil here they come” chirped in Mike. We all turned around and sure enough there they were strutting towards us. Rose smacked her hand on the table and said “we now it was you asswipes” “And what exactly did we do this time young bitches” I replied “you set of a smoke bomb in our cabin” replied Jenna. “and how exactly do you know we did this” Mike answered. “how else could have” Jenna said. “were going to tell he director on you” “Yeah” says Rebecca. “you do that” I answer as they walk away I yell “bye powder puffs” after them. Mike says “ we definitely gota pull a prank on them” “and I know what it is, were gonna steal Rose’s diary” I add.
We waited until it was night and prepared for our mission we snuck out of our cabin at around midnight and slowly made our way to the girls cabin (bunk #64). Opening the window slowly and quietly I opened the window and climbed in followed by Mike and Danny. Even though it is dark we can just make out the small table next to Rose’s bed and on top of it our prize. Danny moves in and takes it without making so much as a peep. We sneak out without being caught but of course something goes wrong. A volunteer with a flashlight is searching the grounds for campers “duck” I whisper and dive behind the cabin narrowly avoiding the flashlights beam of light. “Run” Danny whispers and we scatter just barely missing the light again. Once we are back in our cabin we open up the diary that almost got us kicked out of camp. I flip through the diary. But then just as it becomes boring, I see it “Jackpot” I say right there on page 61 is a picture of Brad one of the camps “jocks” with a heart around it fallowed by mushy lovey crap. “when we leak this shes gonna have hell” I said. I put the diary next to me and went to bed. At 8:30 next morning the alarm sounds. We all get dressed and get ready to go to breakfast. Just as were about to walk out the door it opens. And the director comes in with few volunteers. She says in a very stern voice. “sit down all of you” One of the volunteers say “I got it”
We were all kicked out of camp for the rest of the summer. We never got to leak the story about Rose and Brad to the other campers. Nobody was allowed at camp the next year due to the filming of some horror movie. So we arrive at camp me being 13 now. Im at camp sitting with my friends watching Rose and Brad coming out of the bushes near the mess hall. “dear god those two make me sick says Danny”. The next day I wake up early I try to fall back asleep but I just can’t. I get up and go for a walk up to the lake. It 6:00 in the morning and the sun is just rising. There’s a thin mist over the lake and as I walk towards it I see a shadowy figure sitting on the dock. It Rose.
I see her sitting there alone crying her eyes out. She is holding something. It’s a knife. I walk over to her and put my hand on her shoulder. It feels so warm and nice I wonder how someone so warm can act so cold. She sniffles “go away”. I don’t move. I stand there for what for a few minutes but I don’t know how much time has passed maybe a few minutes or hours or days. At long last she lets the knife fall from her hands and sink into the water. I sit down next to her. “what happened I say” “Brad tried to rape me then dumped me when I didn’t let him” she replies. We continued talking for a hour or so until it was time for breakfast. We became friends after that day. Because saving the life of another human was just one of those things that friendship fallowed. We spent the rest of the summer hanging out. I still remember those long night camping out at the lake staring up at the stars. That summer ended to quickly for my taste before I knew it I was on the bus home.
The year to fallow was eventful I started dating one of my good friends from school her name was Amanda and she was the one who kissed me on the cheek as I boarded the bus to summer camp. “don’t cheat on me” She whispered in my ear. I arrived at camp at camp after 2 hours of boredom on the bus and was immediately jump hugged by a large amount of silky blond hair which was Rose. She kissed me on the cheek and said “I missed you” Brad came up to her and put his hand on her shoulder “you coming babe” he said. Ill be a sec Rose replied. “your dating him again after all he did to you.” I said in outrage. “yeah” she said. “He didn’t mean to do it before and he’s had counseling, He is better now”. With that she fallowed brad to the meeting hall to listen to the directors usual speech about the camp rules. The next day I found Brad near the lake I went up to him and grabbed him by the scruff of the shirt. I said “if you ever hurt her I swear to god I will end you miserable life. With that I pushed him of the dock and into the lake.
Several more summers passed and I began to realize something I was falling in love with my best friend. Nothing else mattered except for her anymore. I wanted to tell her that I loved her but I was to cowardly I just couldn’t. I ended up dumping Amanda. I couldn’t be with any one exept Rose.
20 years later. We were all done with camp and still kept in touch I already finished collage and was well on my way to having the best job in the world. The trouble started when I got a letter in the mail to attend the wedding of Rose and some guy she was dating for a while. I stood there and watched her walk down the isle and the priest start talking. I listened to them exchange vows and watched them kiss. During this something inside me was burning. I wanted to tell her that I loved her, To leave the guy behind but I couldn’t. I was too shy and I knew it. So I swallowed my feelings and simply contended myself to be happy for my best friend. After the wedding was over we all went out for ice-cream. Just like old times it brought up old summer memories. Years past I was working my dream job and so was rose her husband was nice and we were all close friends. Me and Rose got a letter in the mail inviting us to attend a camp reunion we thought it would be fun to go.
That night we went to the reunion. We said Hi to all our old friends Rose showed of her husband. Brad did not look happy to see her married. We all went to the lake and sat at the dock looking at the stars and for a moment it felt like we were kids again having the time of our life. But it was to good to last. Suddenly gun shots sound far away I get up and run towards the “cabin. Stay here” I say to Rose I head towards the cabin, Running as fast as I can when reach the main building I see the floor littered with bodies and blood. Realizing what happened I start running back towards the lake I see brad with the gun and it aimed at Rose Stop I yell but too late. I see it as if its happening in slow motion his finger closes around the trigger and he fires. The bullet exits the gun and enters Roses head. She makes a small quiet ah sound and then falls back, back into the waters depth. Her limp body sinks deeper and deeper till it settles at the bottom of the lake right next to an old rusted kitchen knife. Brad turns the gun towards me but no. My fist makes contact with his face. Disoriented and staggering he drops the gun. I pick it up Put it next to his head and say “ I promised that I would kill you if you hurt her” My finger closes around the trigger and I fire. Once, Twice, Three times I shoot him in the head.
Making sure he is dead I jump into the icy water. Minutes later I surface with Rose in my hand. I make my way back to the dock. And place her on it. Slowly very slowly with my hands shaking I place two fingers to her neck to cheek for a pulse. I don’t feel it. I close her eyes. I hear sirens in the distance but I block them out. I sit there for minutes but it feels like days until finally the hand of the police officer appears on my shoulder as I am guided away from the scene I look back I sigh to myself and say “she is at peace, nothing can hurt her now, and no one will see my tears” And so I sit there at the funeral listening to the pastor talk about the girl I love and her untimely death. He says “I would like to read a entry from the Rose’s diary. It is the same one me and my friends stole all those years ago. “ dear diary I love him, but he doesn’t love me I know it and I cant tell him im just to cowardly, to shy I love Kevin.” My name is Kevin. As I hear this I cant help but to smile. That something in side me is gone. And I remember the good times. The good summer memories.