Page 71 of That Summer Feeling

I beamed at her. “It’s no first.”

Mason was sulking to a Frank degree. Any other person, any other version of me, and I’d have let it pass. But I knew the Magnussons well enough to understand that a little ribbing came with the family. “C’mon,” I said to him, patting his back. “Go tell Stevie you’re proud of her. It’s not going to kill you to show a little good sportsmanship. I promise.”

For the first time all camp, it was as if hereallysaw me. I wasn’t someone who everyone else had been telling him to like. An easy suggestion he followed, because why not? A summer camp fling sounds good. In place of whatever passing fascination he’d manufactured for me, there was now a genuine respect. I was the person who looked out for his sister.

“Well done,” he said.

He found Stevie and hugged her, whispering something as he did so. When they broke apart, she had tears along her lower lash line. She looked at me and mouthed,Did you just see that?

I sure did, I mouthed back.

The lead singer tapped the mic, creating an ear-piercing reverb that silenced the room. “Campers, back to your seats! We have more awards to hand out!”

Green and Red and Blue and Yellow were scattered throughout, now intermingled, sitting at tables with other camp friends and loved ones. Stevie and I were at a table with the twins and Michelle.

I learned quickly, as I had all week, that camp awards were a tradition not to be taken lightly. There were the standard awards. Most Helpful. Most Cheerful. And some sillier ones, like Most Bizarre Use of a Pool Noodle. That award went to someone I didn’t know. An entire subsection of camp became uproarious in laughter as the woman accepted her medal and sash.

There were whole swaths of campers I never got to meet, celebrating a moment I’d totally missed. It struck me again why kids wanted to come back to camp summer after summer.You could try to do everything and still miss so much. You never ran out of people to know or things to experience.

“Our next award is for our Most Influential Camper,” the lead singer announced. “This goes to the person who has made the biggest impact on our week here at Camp Carl Cove. Be it through acts of kindness or other memorable gestures, this is someone whose impact on camp will not soon be forgotten.”

It sounded like a lovely award.

“This year’s recipient embodies this completely. She’s new to Camp Carl Cove, and she has already made herself a part of the history here. She’s coined catchphrases. She’s formed new friend groups. We have watched her challenge herself all week, inspiring others to do the same.”

Stevie squeezed my hand.

“This year’s Most Influential Camper is Garland Moore!”

I rushed up to the stage to receive my trophy, bowled over with gratitude and also a healthy amount of shock.

“Thank you,” I told my fellow campers, feeling a bit like a celebrity at an awards show, clumsy and stunned and a little bit light-headed. “This is a truly unexpected honor. I am so grateful you guys think I’m influential. I feel like I learned everything from all of you, so I do not take this lightly. I’ve changed so much this week. You have no idea. But I never expected it was the kind of thing anyone else could notice. So believe me when I say this award means the world to me. Thank you so much for making this week such a goddamn delight! Hee-haw!”

The referee put a crown on my head, and a sash, and I went back to the fold of joyful campers, proud of myself for makingan impact. I’d set out to make friends, and I’d done that and more.

“I feel like you should have won that one,” I said to Stevie.

“Oh, no. That’s all you. Please. I didn’t start full-fledged dance parties two nights in a row or inspire any camp-wide trends.” She pointed to a large statue sitting at the corner of the awards table. “I want that one, anyway.”

“What is it?”

“Most Valuable Player,” she said.

Naturally, she won it. Because Stevie won every award she put her mind to, which is exactly how she wonmeover. My strong-willed, clear-minded sunshine girl.

Forever in first place in my heart.

33

The awards ceremony turned into an impromptu mixer in the event hall, until the twins and the camp staff forced all of us to get ready for the final dinner. It was hard to spend precious moments apart, even though I loved the ritual of getting ready with Stevie and Michelle.

“We really have the best cabin,” I said when we convened in our common area, about to head to the mess hall.

It broke Michelle, who up to that moment had not cried in front of us. Her eyes filled with tears as she gathered Stevie and me for a group hug. “I didn’t think I was going to like this,” she told us. “I hate the outdoors. I don’t need new friends. I’m on a deadline that creeps closer every day. But the twins promised me I’d enjoy this. And they were right.”

“You’re the best adult camp counselor in the world,” I said, pulling back to salute her.

She grabbed my hand. “Don’t let Tim hear you saying that.He’s the counselor for Cabin Fourteen, and he’s with five other people in bunk beds. We’re living in luxury here.”