by Serena Marie
Martin Price looked over at the creaky cabin door as the sunrise crept up the mountain side. Brilliant colors of pink, yellow and orange filled the sky as the last signs of night faded away. Martin walked outside onto the front porch, the old wooden boards on the porch floor still intact, but starting to rot from years of wear. Most of the flowers on the front lawn had already bloomed the month before, but some still remained. He sat down on the porch swing, and smelled the sweet air of a new summer. It was now June, and camp season was about to begin. Martin felt excited because he had a feeling that this was going to be the best year yet. He began to daydream of the future when all of a sudden the clock in the hall struck seven. Time had gotten away from him, as it does when you enjoy your surroundings. He quickly ran back inside to grab his things.
He grabbed his hoodie and his keys and headed down the grassy slope to his golf cart. He jumped in and got comfortable on the leather seat before admiring the beautiful golf cart that had served him all these years. He sighed, and started to drift off in imagination again, but quickly snapped back, realizing he better get going. He turned the key and the engine roared. He started driving up the hill to the mess hall. He moved as fast as the small cart would allow, eventually reaching the crest of the hill. As he got out, he waved to a few of the staff that lived at the camp all year round. He eyed a certain blonde lady, the sports director, Elizabeth Goodwin, and her daughter who was following her. He waved at the girl, then looked up at her mother, and gave her a smile. They had been friends ever since they were kids. They actually went to this camp together since they were eight years old.
"Today is the big day!" she said. Martin nodded and crossed his fingers. Elizabeth and her daughter headed towards their house as he opened the main door into the mess hall.
"Mornin' Joanna" he said gruffly to his wife, the camp event organizer, Joanna Price.
"Good Morning Marty," she responded with a smile. "Beautiful morning, isn't it?" He nodded, moving on to grab a big frosted jelly donut, his favorite daily breakfast ever since he took over the camp in 1995, 14 years ago. "Did you read the paper?'Joanna asked, shoving a big stack of thick paper towards him. "Not yet. I just got here," he replied anxiously. Before he looked at it, he noticed a smile peeking out from his wife's purposefully unexpressive face. He knew something was up. Martin looked down at the paper in his arms and a full color report stood out on the front page. He read, "Camp Northway: set to open another successful year". He kept reading. As he read, he gasped. "Camp Northway has been officially voted number one summer camp in the state of Pennsylvania." The article continued to explain all the amazing achievements the camp had made and how wonderful the staff was. There were two pictures beside the article. One was the camp picture from the year it first opened in 1945. The other picture was from just the year before. Everyone in both pictures looked so genuinely happy. After all, that was their goal. Looking up at Joanna, he shouted,
"We did it Jo!, We did it!"
"I knew we could!" she responded with excitement. Joanna was about to say more until something in the distance caught her attention. They both turned around.
"Mom!" A bright faced child shouted, racing towards them. "Zoe just taught me how to swing on the tire swing!" The child pointed out the big barn doors she had come through and into a grassy field outside, where one huge oak tree stood with a tire swing attached to the lowest branch. This tree had been a part of the camp ever since it was a sapling. It dated back to the beginning of camp. A few years ago they had added the tire swing to make a little cozy spot in the shade. A lot of the counselors had a tradition of carving their initials into the bark.
"How wonderful!" Joanna said, just as an older girl that looked to be around eight came running in after her sister. The older girl looked just like a younger version of her mother Joanna. "There's my little Zoe". Joanna smiled at her, brushing her hand through her daughter's hair.
"Daddy!", the younger child turned towards Martin, running to give him a bear hug. He swung her around in the air, finally setting her down. Then he picked Zoe up and let her fly before he caught her. They all laughed, happy with each other.
"Well we've got a long day ahead of us. The rest of the staff should be arriving soon," Joanna said, still with a smile on her face. Martin looked back at her with a grin.
"Well then, let's hurry and pick up a treat for our little princesses. How about that!" he said with a smile at the girls. The children looked up at their mom.
"pleaseee!" they said together.
"Alright. Fine. Let's go before everyone gets here." They walked off towards the little ice cream parlor on the campgrounds. Their lives were perfect. The sisters held hands, laughing as they ran ahead. It was as if nothing could ever go wrong...