Summer's a Bummer, as Dull as Can Be... or is it?

[Poison ivy. Olivia stared at the plant and logged it away in her brain, storing it with things to avoid among thunder storms and sharks. She frowned at the poison ivy until she was positive she could remember what it looked like without too much trouble, making a careful note of its defining qualities and physical characteristics. She rather enjoyed learning new things, even if they were for her own safety, or rather, to remain as itch free as possible. This brought on further thoughts, curiosity as to whether someone could be more allergic to the plant than most people and have a worse reaction to it. Wasn’t that what usually caused the itchiness and rash the ivy normally did? A natural allergy that could be found in just about every single human being on the planet, something their bodies just couldn’t handle exposure to. Olivia wasn’t positive on that… She’d have to look it up in more detail when she got home. Oh goodness, she wished she’d brought her notebook with her to write things down, but it was back in the cabin, hidden under the bed in her dingy suitcase.

As they continued down the trail, Olivia found herself even more grateful for Rodina’s hand. While she was quite used to walking to school every day, she was not used to the ups and downs of the path they were currently on. Combined with the climbing heat of the sun beating down upon them despite the canopy of the trees. She could feel herself starting to sweat and her cheeks were heating up quite a bit. Great… Just what she needed, a potential sunburn. She was very good at burning. That was something else she hadn’t had to pack, sunscreen. She supposed the camp probably had some down in the first aid station in the main building connected to the mess hall, but she hadn’t thought to ask for any. She was about to reach back to get her water bottle to splash some on her face when her eyes were suddenly shielded by the brim of Rodina’s hat. She blinked, looking up at it and then turning to gaze at her friend. She smiled, a bit sheepishly, grateful for the offer of sharing Rodina’s hat. Out of the sun, her cheeks began to cool down considerably, and while they were still a bit red, it made her feel a lot better.

Olivia frowned, wishing even harder that she had remembered her notebook as their counselor went over more interesting bits of nature. Bugs and plants and birds. Other creatures that she found herself intrigued to learn about, though that was typically always Olivia’s way. She sought knowledge, drinking it in like a necessity for life. It was particularly exciting when a mouse ran across the trail and then, was quickly followed after by a snake who seemed to be feeling a bit lazy with the heat of the day. It was a garter snake, a simple every day garden variety with no dangerous qualities except that it had teeth and could bite you. Well, unless you were a mouse. Then it could swallow you whole. Olivia supposed everything needed to eat, though, she did hope the mouse escaped and if not, she hoped the snake enjoyed his dinner.

At the river, Olivia tugged on Rodina’s hand, not minding when the hat was taken off of her head. It was cooler here by the river and there was a nice big rock right over there, closer to the water but not so close that it would be dangerous for them to sit on it. She made her way over to it, looking back to check that Rodina was still with her even though she still had a firm hold of the older girl’s hand. She flopped down on the rock which was cool from being in the shade and pulled off the backpack. She got out their water bottles and the brown paper bag lunches, smiling as she dug into hers and pulled out a simple sandwich in a plastic baggy. After hiking for so long, tuna with bits of celery had never looked better. It was slightly warm, but had been kept cool enough in the backpack by the water bottles. She peeked deeper into her lunch bag and let out a little chirp like she had that morning, tugging out a baggy of purple grapes. Oh how she loved the purple grapes. There was also a packet of cookies, but she was much more excited about the fruit.

The river flower along lazily, the sun glinting off of it. Olivia ate and watched it flow, finding it pretty so long as she didn’t have to go in it. She blinked and jumped, pointing and tugging at Rodina’s sleeve, to a pair of little brown creatures floating down the river on their backs. They were holding hands and looked impossibly content with themselves. Otters.

Olivia carefully placed her trash back into her paper bag, chugged a bit of water, and then gently stowed it all in Rodina’s backpack. She watched as the older girl shouldered it, smiling back and happily reaching out a hand to grab hold of her friend’s. She skipped along, enjoying the cooler air that was down by the river until they headed up the slope. It was still cooler than it had been earlier, but not nearly as much now. Olivia didn’t mind though, she was having too much fun. With her stomach full and face only slightly burned to the point where it didn’t hurt yet but probably would later, she was feeling quite pleased with this hike so far. They had seen so many creatures and plants and the gorgeous river, not to mention she was with her best friend in the entire world. Mostly because Rodina was her only friend in the entire world, but Olivia was pretty sure she would always consider her the best even if she did someday manage to make others. She doubted it though. Once camp was over, they would probably never see each other again… Oh.

This thought hit Olivia like a pile of bricks and her smile faded. She didn’t like that idea, not at all. They could write of course, but it wouldn’t be the same as now, where she didn’t have to use words in order to properly convey the things she wanted Rodina to know. There was no way Olivia would be able to come to camp next year, it wouldn’t be her turn and she probably wouldn’t make the list again until she was thirteen and by that point, she’d be too old. The home never sent anyone over the age of twelve, expected the teenagers to take on bigger summer duties until they were old enough to go out and try and find a real part-time job. Olivia clutched harder onto Rodina’s hand, relishing it all the more in that moment, knowing that their time together would be limited. At least until they were adults, then maybe… But no. That too, would be rather difficult. People changed dramatically between the ages of ten and eighteen. Rodina would probably forget about her by that point.

Pushing the unhappy thought aside for now, Olivia picked her pace back up just as they were coming around the bend. She blinked, eyes widening at the sight of the waterfall. She shifted slightly, moving closer to Rodina, afraid of falling or getting too close to the waterfall. It was insanely pretty, and yet, terrifying at the same time. Should one have misstepped and gone tumbling… If she had… there was no way she would be able to swim her way out or even get back to the surface most likely. The rail made her feel a little better, but it was still just a rail, easily gone over if one wasn’t careful enough. Thankfully though, they made it up to the top without any troubles and Olivia wrapped both of her arms around Rodina’s pressing her cheek to the older girl’s shoulder nervously as they gazed down at the torrentially pouring water. The mist felt wonderful against Olivia’s skin and she eased a bit, eyes having found the rainbow.

Nodding in agreement, Olivia grinned, raising up her bunny and making him nod with her. She hugged him and Rodina’s arm tighter though, eyes moving back to the rainbow, glued there as she took in the colors and tried to see the places where they meshed together. Oh it was gorgeous.

Olivia smiled at Rodina, grateful for when they went back down the rocks to where it was safer. She had really enjoyed seeing the waterfall and rainbow, but it was a little to high up and the water was a little quicker than she would have liked. Maybe if she had been a better swimmer she would fear it less, but she hadn’t gotten there yet. The amount of time spent at the public pool back home was limited and no one had ever really forced her out of the baby pool. Most thought she was dim headed or something as she didn’t speak, though, that was as far from the truth as possible. She was quite smart and while she understood the concept behind swimming and knew she could probably do it if she tried hard enough, she just was not so inclined to put it into practice yet. She was not a very strong child, her muscles weak from spending more time reading than playing out on the playground, so she doubted she would be able to keep herself afloat for very long, especially if the water was above her head.

Shaking her head, Olivia poked Rodina’s cheek. She wasn’t exactly sure how to tell the other girl that it was okay to be afraid of some things. Fire, especially, was something most people were fearful of and with good reason. It could be quite destructive and really hurt you if you go too close to it. The smoke alone could choke one’s lungs to the point of suffocation, and knowing that Rodina had been trapped in a burning house, well… Olivia rather thought the older girl was pretty brave to be honest. She pressed a finger to Rodina’s chest and then held up her arm, flexing it like someone lifting a weight and trying to show off their strength.

As they headed back down the trail, Olivia was grateful for the addition of Rodina’s hat to her head once more. Despite the fact that the sky was growing slowly darker, it was still quite dark out and her cheeks were already a bit burnt from earlier. That, and it was just a nice thing, sharing a hat with a friend. She’d never really had anyone to share anything with really, well, aside from the required sharing that went on in most children’s homes of course. Communal books and toys were different though. Other items, personal ones, like her rabbit, were of the sort she had never had an opportunity to share. Of course, she would never, ever, think of sharing her rabbit. He was too much apart of her, the feel of him clutched safely in one hand keeping her sane in this big crazy world. Perhaps, if they had time, she could share her books with Rodina when they returned to their cabin. She’d only been allowed to bring the two, but she was hopeful Rodina might like them… even if they were aimed at older teenagers and not a pair of pre-teens.

At the mention of stargazing, Olivia perked up even more, bouncing and nodding. She pointed up at the sky and grinned, excited by the prospect. One couldn’t see the stars very well in the city, but she had caught a decent glimpse of them last night. Taking the trail back wasn’t nearly as long as it had felt earlier, as things usually are when returning. There was a lot less stopping to admire the sights of nature except for a few new evening things that had started to come out. Crickets were chirping, as were the frogs down by the river. Little glimmers of lightening bugs began to blip in and out of the ever growing darkness, cause Olivia’s face to light up even more. She pointed one out to Rodina, opening and closing her hand in time with the flickering light of the bug. Eventually, nearing the end, they had to begin pulling out flashlights, something else Olivia hadn’t packed, and the fireflies had grown even more common. The woods lit up with them, glimmering and dancing among the darkness of the trees and grasses. Olivia let out one of her rare little chirps and bounced. Her foot hit a rock and she tumbled, landing hard on one knee on the packed earth. She blinked and rose, looking down at her knee, but she couldn’t see it very well. It stung a good bit and she was pretty sure she’d nailed it on another rock. She reached down, feeling at it. It was wet, and when she drew her hand away, her fingers shone slightly in the light of the flashlights. Oh dear.

Now, Olivia was good about most things, however, she had never really been very good at getting hurt. It happened rarely as she wasn’t one for frolicking about as much as she had been the past couple of days. Normally if she went outside, she found a nice quiet place to sit and read or play with her rabbit. It was probably just a silly little scraped knee, a superficial wound that would need to be cleaned out and bandaged, but otherwise nothing to really worry about. However, the ten-year-old’s bottom lip began to quiver and she blinked rapidly, trying not to cry before a whimper escaped her lips and she let out a wail. She stopped, dropping Rodina’s hand and standing there, clutching her rabbit tightly as the tears started to fall down her face. She didn’t want to be a baby about her knee, but it was starting to hurt really badly and she was still just a kid after all.

Olivia shook her head when Rodina asked if she was alright. No. No she was not alright. She was bleeding, there was a hole in her knee from which her life force was leaking and she wasn’t the least bit happy about it. She had always been awful about getting injured, even the minor things. She couldn’t exactly remember why it bothered her so much. Perhaps it was the blood that tended to make her feel woozy at the very sight of it, usually giving her a bout of dizziness so strong she was apt to faint of exposed to it for too long. She sniffled, calking slightly as Rodina said she’d take care of her… that made Olivia feel a bit better. Rodina was very nice and she had taken care of Olivia all day so far, making sure they didn’t slip going up the rocks, sharing her hat, and getting her away from the waterfall when it had become too much. As Rodina bent down, Olivia moved forward, flinging her arms out over the older girl’s neck, but not chokingly, her bunny dangling down from one hand as Rodina managed to lift her from the ground. Olivia pressed her face tightly against the back of Rodina’s neck, burying it in her hair and calming more completely now. Her knee stung, but Rodina had her and she was safe. The back pack bounced on her back as they moved along, heading for their counselor.

Olivia whimpered as she was set down, her arms hanging on, trying to cling to Rodina but to no avail. She slid to the ground and tearfully gazed up at her best friend, not liking it as the counselor rubbed clear her knee and bandaged it. The rubbing alcohol made her howl and she lashed out, kicking, nailing the counselor in the leg, but she didn’t seem phased. The woman just grabbed hold of Olivia’s legs and held them still while she managed to get the bandage on over the wound while Olivia continued to wail. She knew she was being impossibly childish at the moment, but this was how she interacted with the world when overtaken by hurt or anger. It was the only way she knew how, the only way anyone had ever bothered to listen to her even if it was just to get her to shut up.

Sighing, the counselor lifted the small girl from the ground, denying Rodina’s desire to carry her friend. It wouldn’t have been right, when the counselor was responsible for the safety of the campers and while Rodina’s offer was admirable, she too, was still just a child. Olivia screamed, the rage in her eyes evident as she did so, face going entirely red. This too, was normal. The counselor closed her eyes, getting her bearings for a moment as Olivia flailed in her arms, but was held too tightly to actually break free. ”Oh, they warned me you’d be a feisty one, Olivia, it’s not going to work on me. No worries, Rodina, we’ll see you back at the cabin. Enjoy the rest of the hike!”

Olivia continued to scream like a banshee was she was carried quickly back down to the cabin, the counselor hurrying along with her like she weighed almost nothing. She was a petite little thing, under the average height for her age by a good deal not to mention quite whispy in general. She was like a little willow weed of a child. When they got back to the cabin, the counselor gently set Olivia down on her bunk while Olivia continued to scream. The counselor shook her head, patting Olivia’s and double checking to make sure the girl’s knee was patched properly. It seemed to be. ”You rest. Your friend will be back shortly, just chill.” With that, the counselor left her, heading over to the bathroom to get herself cleaned up before dinner.

Olivia quieted once the woman was gone. She nuzzled her face deep into her pillow and against her rabbit, shoving her thumb in her mouth and curling up into a tightly little ball. She was not happy and felt quite well… lost at the moment. Rodina had been such an absolute presence at camp so far, Olivia wasn’t entirely sure what to do with herself without her. It was a relief, when the cabin door swung open and the rest of the group came in, shucking off their backpacks and getting ready for dinner.

Olivia sat up as Rodina came over, gazing at her with the wild eyes of some forlorn creature. She let out a small hiccup and shot forward, her arms wrapping tightly around Rodina, fingers latching into the back of the older girl’s shirt as she buried her face against her shoulder. If there had been words behind her gesture, they probably would have been something along the lines of ‘mine’ or ‘I missed you’ but there weren’t. There was simply Olivia’s usual silence and she nodded, putting most of her weight on her uninjured leg and Rodina.