Disclaimers: Copyright: The characters belong to me, though they do resemble our
two favorite characters of Xena and Gabrielle. The location does
really exist, but I changed the name of the camp to protect the
innocent squirrels that reside there.
Sex: yes, but nothing graphic f/f and their will be a m/f
relationship that is very mild.
Feedback: All feedback is most welcomed. Please send to scouterpup@yahoo.com . Thank you to everyone who takes the time to drop me a line and help make this story better.
The alarm clock rang, and in the darkness of her tent, Scooter reached over and slapped it into silence. She stretched out, her arms over her head, her wiggling toes touching the bottom of her sleeping bag.
She turned on the battery-operated lantern that she kept on the crate next to her bed and allowed the last tendrils of sleep to leave her brain.
In the bed across the tent, dark red hair peeked out from beneath a green sleeping bag. Another body stirred as Copper rejoined the world of the living.
"Morning, Copper."
A hand emerged from the sleeping bag, slowly waved back at her and then fell limply to the mattress.
"Come on now, rise and shine."
"Yeah, yeah. Well aren't you Miss Sunshine today?" Copper pulled the sleeping bag zipper down and swung her legs over the side of the bed.
"You know that outside of camp life, I hate mornings as much as you do. Thanks again for sleeping down here with me. I hate sleeping alone in the tent, especially on the first night."
"No problem at all, Scooter. Let's get going to breakfast. I have to make sure I get there with you, and not after you. Otherwise there wouldn't be anything left to eat." Copper stuck the tip of her tongue out at Scooter, then leaned over and pulled her sandals on.
She grabbed her sleeping bag, pillow and her toiletries as she headed out of the tent and stepped down to the sand. Scooter followed, tying the tent flaps behind her.
Scooter could feel her body coming to life as they walked the waterfront trail to main camp.
A quick stop at the bathroom and they were on their way to the dining hall. They followed the scent of bacon all the way from the bottom of the stairs, through the breezeway and into the dining room.
A handful of staff was there, though the wrangling staff was completely absent. The stacked plates on the counter were evidence that the wranglers had already eaten breakfast and were probably back working in the barn area.
Silver waved Scooter and Copper over to her table, where biscuits, eggs, bacon and fresh cantaloupe were waiting in tan plastic bowls.
"Good morning you two. Sleep well last night?"
Copper was the first to reply, since Scooter's mouth was already full with a jam covered biscuit "Oh yeah, no problems sleeping. It's the getting up that is hard for me."
After chewing and swallowing the bite in her mouth, and chasing it down with a large sip of orange juice, Scooter was finally able to talk. "What's on the schedule today, chief?"
Silver looked over at her clipboard which contained scraps of paper with notes and a well marked Day-by-day. This schedule would become a most important tool for all camp staff. Their daily activities, scheduled time off and every detail of their campers' itinerary were recorded on this piece of Xeroxed paper.
"Well, looks like you guys are going to Echo Point this morning. Pax will be here about 8 am, so once she's settled, you can go. As for me, I will be up at the barn this morning helping the wranglers get ready for the drop of horses that are coming tomorrow."
"Better you than me." Scooter replied between bites of breakfast. "Though I will think of you while we are on our boat ride today." She shook her head in mock sympathy.
She nearly jumped when she felt a pair of hands on her shoulders.
"Easy there, Scoot, it's just me." Jojo gently said. "How's breakfast?"
Scooter waited for her heart to stop racing. She knew now that she was back at camp, she would need to get used to people randomly touching her. Jo knows that too. I suppose that's why she came up and did that. It's ok, Scoot, no one here will hurt you.
She answered more calmly than she felt and patted her stomach for emphasis "Breakfast is great, Jojo."
"Glad to hear it." Jo gave Scooter's shoulders a quick, gentle squeeze and slowly moved her hands away.
Silver stood, her empty plate in hand, and moved from the bench she had been sitting on. "Gotta grab another cup of coffee, then get to work. Thanks for eating with me guys."
"See ya, Silver." Copper responded.
A wave of Scooter's fork as she continued to eat breakfast was the only reply from the waterfront director.
The conversations at the tables continued causing a low buzz of noise that echoed in the near empty room.
Indy's barking and the slam of the back kitchen door heralded the arrival of the assistant waterfront director.
"Pax, you made it!" Jo ran to the kitchen and gave the beautiful, dark-haired girl a hug.
Laughing, Pax enthusiastically hugged the shorter blond. "Jojo, it's great to see you, too. You let your hair grow longer. It looks nice."
Jo took her by the hand and led Pax through the door between the kitchen and the dining room.
"Everybody, Pax is here."
They all quickly stood and went over to greet their friend.
"Wow, lot's of us returned this year." Pax enthused between hugs.
"Are you hungry, or do you want to get settled?" Jo offered her a bowl of biscuits.
"Already ate at home, but I will be ready for lunch, Jo."
"Well, let's go get you settled in the tent then. I am glad you're here. Now I have a tent mate so Copper can go back to her tent."
"Sounds good, I haven't slept well since I left that mattress last summer." Pax joked. "My gear is in my car. Let me go get it and you can help me lug my stuff to the tent"
"Oh, sure. You just want me for my muscle." Flexing her arm, she pulled her t-shirt sleeve up to expose well-defined and toned muscles.
"Scooter, you've been working out."
"Yeah, I took a couple of classes this past semester, one in kick-boxing and one in strength training. It was a nice change from all the hard-core upper division classes. Well, let's get your gear and go. We have a boat trip to Echo Point this morning."
"I love boat trips, especially if I get to drive."
"Nice hint. Yeah, you can drive there, but I get the wheel on the way back. Deal?"
"Deal."
The winter had been a hard one, with plenty of snow followed by a spring of heavy rain. The barn withstood the weather and only needed cosmetic touch ups, paint and the replacement of one broken board. The corrals and riding ring had not been so lucky.
The metal panels of the corrals and the riding ring, five-foot high sections of one-inch pipe welded together with one foot spacing, needed sanding and repainting.
However, the damage was most extensive to the ground in the corrals. The run off of snow and rain had caused deep erosion in the soil, and the uneven terrain needed to be leveled to reduce the risk of injury to the horses.
So, wheelbarrow after wheelbarrow of soil was carted over to the corrals and the wranglers worked with Ranger Bill to shovel and fill the low spots. They packed it in well as they could, but the horses would pack the freshly added soil further and the low areas would have to be filled in again.
The cool morning made good working conditions, but after an hour of backbreaking work, Shadow was starting to sweat.
"Ranger Bill, Tex." She loudly addressed the Ranger and the maintenance assistant, the only males present. "Would you be offended if I took off my t-shirt and worked in my sports bra?"
"Nah, go ahead." Ranger Bill nodded. "I've only got eyes for my wife."
Tex waved from the riding ring, his attention focused on the wooden beam he was painting. A tall, stocky man, he looked like a mix of his father, Bill and his mother Darlene.
He had finished serving 6 years in the Air Force and decided to move back home and return to school. Ranger Bill and his wife were happy to have their only son back home, and he was hired as the year round maintenance assistant.
It was working out well, he could schedule his work around his college classes and he received free housing as part of his employment compensation. He lived in his parents' house, though he had his own bathroom and his large bedroom had it's own exterior entrance. It was close to living on his own as his parents respected him and his privacy.
Shadow stripped of her t-shirt and reveled a well-defined back and solid arms, as well as a flat stomach. Her blue sports bra covered her fairly modestly and she immediately felt cooler as a breeze blew by and evaporated the moisture on her skin.
She pulled her straight black hair back into a pony-tail and resumed her work.
The other wranglers, including Pony, decided that Shadow had a good idea, and they also stripped down to work in sports bras and undershirts.
The drone of an ATV could be heard coming up the road. The two passengers in the three-wheeled vehicle brought additional manpower to the jobs.
Silver turned off the engine to the vehicle and hopped down. Indy beat her to the group of workers and went from person to person to say hello and to ask for a scratch on the head.
Her attention was cut short however, at the appearance of another dog. Stella, a Collie/Shepard mix, barked and wagged her tail as she caught sight of Indy. Ranger Bill laughed as he saw his dog and the camp ranger's dog chase each other in play. They had been friends from the first time they were introduced, and both dogs went through separation withdrawal at the end of the summer when they had to say good-bye.
The morning went quickly by as the many hands worked to get the area ready for the horses. The hay would arrive tomorrow morning, the horses in the afternoon.
Once they arrived, the bulk of the work would be devoted to working out the horses, feeding them and mucking up after them. There would be little time for maintenance of the facilities. Knowing this, the staff worked hard and the summons from Silver's radio was a welcome break.
"Lunch is ready ya'll" Jojo's voice crackled through the handheld device. "I have a delivery from Sysco today, so come down soon and eat so I can clean up and get ready for the food drop off."
Surveying their work, and satisfied with the good progress they had made, the wrangling and maintenance staff agreed to stop for lunch.
"I've got to use the biffy before I go down to main camp." Pony looked at her dirt and paint covered hands and realized she would have to wash up well before using the bathroom.
"Biffy? That's a new word." Shadow cocked her head, blue eyes observing her friend's inspection of her hands.
"Ah, it's a camp word. Biffy- it's an acronym. Bathroom In The Forest For You. So I have to use the biffy, meansá"
"You have to use the restroom, got it."
"Or if I say I have to biff, well, you understand."
Shadow's eyes showed her amusement. "Yeah, I understand, Pony."
"Want to be my biff buddy? There is only the pit toilet up here, but we can go down to Sequoia Unit and use the flush biff there."
"Considering that it looks like we rolled you in mud, I suppose we'd better clean up before lunch, and you can't do that very well at a pit toilet."
The motley group, including two dogs, walked off the horse area trail and turned left onto the main camp road. Lunch was sounding very good at the moment.
Washed up and ready to go after making a quick stop in Sequoia, the group walked down Singing Pines hill and into main camp.
_____________________________________
The powerboat was just pulling up in the bay. Pax jumped out to tie the boat's rope to the cleat on the dock as Scooter killed the motor.
Three laughing staff stepped out of the boat, removed their lifejackets and headed up to the lawn.
"Just in time for lunch. Perfect timing, eh, Scoot."
"Come on, Pax, I do think about more than food you know?"
"Yeah, if you say so."
Scooter gave a not so gentle push to Pax's arm. "Beat you guys to the lodge."
And with that, she was off, running as fast as her short legs would carry her.
"Hey! You cheat." Pax regained her balance and took off after Scooter with Copper trailing not far behind.
In the lead, Scooter was confident that the others would not catch her in time. That was, until a large black blur came from around the corner of the building, intent on colliding with the blond.
Scooter pulled up fast as Indy bounded towards her at full speed. She missed being tackled by the dog, but scarcely registered the brunette and redhead that flew by her.
"Good girl, Indy." Pax called over her shoulder as she took the steps two at a time to ensure her victory.
"Dang it, Indy." Scooter said between heavy breaths, the uphill grade of the lawn from the shore to the lodge catching up to her.
Giving the dog a big hug as a sign of forgiveness, she decided to go to lunch despite the ribbing she was sure to get from Pax and Copper.
Scooter sat on a wooden bench at a table with the camp director and assistant camp director. Surveying the offerings, she loaded her plate with a grilled cheese sandwich, celery with peanut butter, potato chips and Oreo cookies.
"How did it go this morning?" Pepper asked, passing the lemonade to Scooter.
"Really good. Echo Point's in good shape and will be great for the staff trip."
"How was the boat ride?"
Pax sat at the table, reaching for the lemonade. "You should see the way the boat handles doing donuts."
Scooter shot a look to say shut up already, but Copper, joining the table, ignored the glare and enthusiastically shared her description of Scooter's impromptu boat play.
"After we went across to Echo Point, we decided to go check out a couple more spots where we will send canoe groups. Gasser Point and Bell's Bay both look really good. I'm excited to plan trips there. We can probably send the advanced level sailors over to Bell's Bay, too. But once we saw the sites, Scooter drove the boat back to camp. Whohoo, that was fun! We jumped the wakes of some of the other boats, then Scooter did a few donuts out by the docks of Smugglers Bay."
Scooter sighed, sure that she was about to incur the wrath of the camp director.
But before Silver could say anything, Pepper interjected. "You should see Silver in the boat. I remember the time we had a group over at Echo Point and there was a storm coming in. Silver insisted on going over there before the storm broke. The waves had whitecaps on them, and we could barely see for the wind, but Silver went out of her way to catch the biggest waves. I was scared to death, but Silver was laughing her butt off. She's like a kid out there. She's safe, of course, but Silver loves a good boat ride."
Silver just grinned. "Sounds like we need to go for a ride together, Scoot. But as the camp director, I do have to tell you to be sure you are safe and to never do it where the kids can see you. I know you know, but I have to say it anyhow."
"I understand, and of course I won't do it in front of the campers." She saluted the director. "Aye, Captain Silver, safety first."
You two are in so much trouble. She smiled at Copper and Pax who were looking at her like innocent babes.
Silver stood and got the attention of all the staff in the dining hall. "Just so ya'll know, we're going to give Jojo a break and go into town for dinner tonight. The camp van will leave at 6pm. I need someone else to drive and take three other staff so we can all fit. We're going to 3rd Street Cantina, and since there are no campers in camp, if you're over twenty-one and want to have a beer, it's ok. I need the two drivers to be sober though, and I expect that anyone who drinks wont overdo it."
Scooter raised her hand to volunteer her vehicle and to be a designated driver.
"Ok, the blue van and Scooter's jeep will be the vehicles of choice. Make sure you're back at the lodge and ready to go at six. Until then, have a great afternoon. Anyone who can, spare a couple minutes and help Jojo when the food truck arrives. Call me on the radio if you need anything, or come find me in health care."
"Hey, Scooter." Pony called from the other table. "Mind if Shadow and I catch a ride to dinner in the jeep? We both tend to get carsick in the van."
"I'll go with you, too." Pax piped in.
"Sure, no problem. See ya'll at six."
Well, at least three of us will keep up our end of the conversation. Scooter looked over at the seemingly mute Shadow. The tall brunette hadn't spoken a word at either yesterday's dinner or today's lunch. Hope she rides in the back seat or it could be a long trip for me.