Date: Sat, 16 Feb 2002 16:13:18 -0500
From: Rory M <st_rory@hotmail.com>
Subject: Bailey chapter 10

Bailey
Chapter 10
By Rory M.


	Bailey sat at the edge of his bed counting pairs of socks and throwing them
into a duffle bag.  So far he was half way down his checklist that the camp
had sent both him and Shane, which wasn't so bad except for the fact that
Karen added another page and a half.  It read along the lines of thick
socks, ankle socks, formal socks, boxers and briefs (5 pairs of each),
shampoo, conditioner, two tubes of toothpaste, floss, mouth wash, facial
wash, blemish controller, deodorant, toilet-seat covers, moist towelettes,
razor, shaving cream, etc. etc.  And this was only a segment of the list
that Karen had edited.
	Bailey sat, slumped against the headboard of his bed, pondering on whether
he even used half of the stuff that his mother listed.  He didn't even know
what toilet seat covers were.  Frustrated with a list of supplies that he
didn't think necessary, he scrapped the list into the garbage pail by the
door and started packing what he thought he needed.  One tube of toothpaste
and brush, deodorant, some other listed toiletries, about a dozen t-shirts,
4 button downs, 7 pairs of boxers (he figured for each day of the week) 2
dress shirts, 8 pairs of shorts, 3 pairs of jeans, 2 pair of khaki's, and a
pair of dress shoes and pants for whatever reason they were needed.  Now all
he had to do is make sure his mother didn't inspect.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


"Bailey, you don't have sun screen in here, and where is your hat? At least
take the visor you got for Christmas." he cringed as he watched his mother's
inspection of the oversized duffle bag, "Ok, this will have to do, not half
bad after Shane's, he had a t-shirt and two pairs of underwear," she ruffled
his hair as he turned around to load the bag into the explorer.

"You almost ready, kiddo?"  Collin said as he hoisted it into the back of
the vehicle.

"Can't I just go to church every day?  At least I'll be sleeping in a
sanitary environment with decent food."

"As much as your grandmother would love that...no.  Now get in the car,
we're stopping for lunch on the way down."

"Great..." Bailey's sardonic tone got him a glare from his father as he got
into the back seat of the car.

	Shane jogged out in front of his mother and grandparents to the back of the
car and then hopped in next to Bailey, a little too exuberant for the
elder's taste. The boys' grandparent's said their goodbyes from the windows
of the vehicle before they all buckled in for the ride down to Camp
Georgian.  Bailey pulled his navy blue addidas cap over his eyes and settled
in for a nap.  Though he wasn't sleeping, he didn't feel like talking to his
family that much.

	For the past few weeks Bailey had been walking a very rocky path.  Off most
of his medications his sleep regained some normalcy, but his moods were
erratic at best, especially when it came to seeing Dr. Lavine.   His temper
was short fused, especially with Shane, which wasn't helping the brothers'
situation with coming to terms with each other.

	Bailey's relationship with Rich was growing, which made him happy that he
finally had someone he could call a true friend, yet angered that he
wouldn't see him for most of the summer.  Rich had helped him come out of
his shyness at the F&T meetings and branch out to some of his other friends
that were introduced.  Rich found a confidant that truly understood the
emotions that he had gone through without the sympathy, and Bailey found a
person that he could do the same with, and a best friend, which he so
desperately needed.

	After catching a pizza and saying their goodbyes the night before, Bailey
had nothing left but to grow apathetic and withdrawn.  Nothing was left to
look forward to in his opinion.  He started the day with an overwhelming
feeling of dread, which only grew more apparent to him as they drove nearer
to their destination.

	Shane had since come to look forward to getting away from his parents and
Princeton. He was excited to meet more people, especially girls.  For some
unknown reason the now 14 year old thought that the cabins would be co-ed.
He was sadly in for a disappointment, but it didn't hinder him too long.

	Bailey, unlike Shane, would be staying in a lodge, that was co-ed, at least
in respects.  The camp split the campers into four different groups by age.
The 10-11 year olds were together, 12-13, 14-15, and 16-17 were each grouped
together and stayed in different areas of the camp, although they all ate
together at the large lodge by the lakeside.  Each group had a different
focus and program, although all the campers had similar schedules during the
day.

	Bailey's group, the 16 to 17 year olds, had one of the three lodges on the
property.  Hardly glamorous, it served as a crude dorm.  There were girls'
rooms on one side, boys on the other, 2 to a room and a living area in the
middle.  A twin bed also rested along the far wall so that a councilor slept
to make sure there was no swapping of sides, that position was shared by all
councilors at least once every two weeks. The youngest group also had the
same arrangement, while the two others had an assortment of cabins in the
woods near by.  The third lodge was used by the staff, which consisted of
mostly college students and the director and his family, the nurses and the
cooking staff. The lodges themselves could fit over 100 people each, with 25
small rooms lining each side and then the bathrooms, but no more than 40
were usually in them.

	Though even the fact that he would be sleeping in doors didn't please
Bailey that much.  He didn't like the idea of a roommate, a public bathroom,
and communal dining as something to look foreword to.  He also didn't like
the idea of having to be walked to a nurse's cabin to take medication every
day. Self-medicating would apparently get you kicked out.  Bailey pondered
this closely.

"Bail... Bail do you want to eat or not?"  Karen nudged his knee from the
front seat of the SUV.

"Umm...yeah, where are we?"

"At Lay Monte's diner.  We're about 45 minutes away from camp."

"Come on, ass. I'm hungry," Shane hopped out of his side of the vehicle and
walked with his father up to the restaurant ahead of the other two.


"Come on, Bailey.  Cheer up a little. Give something new a chance.  Now come
in or you're not getting my fries," Karen squeezed his knee before getting
out of the vehicle as well.  This time, however, Bailey followed. He just
made a note to himself that sulking about it wasn't going to help the
situation, especially if he ever wanted sympathy from his parents to let him
come home.


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*


"ATTENTION, ATTENTION.  ALL CAMPERS MUST REGISTER AT THE MAIN HALL, AND ALL
NEW CAMPERS MUST GO DOWN TO FLEDGE LODGE FOR THE NEW ARRIVAL'S MEETING WITH
YOUR PARENTS.  BY THE WAY, WELCOME TO CAMP GEORGIAN!!!!" the booming voice
from the megaphone stopped and the energetic councilor jumped off the picnic
table she was standing on.  There were councilors (most young college
students and a few foreign internees) throughout the large clearing,
scurrying from one family to another taking down names and directing them
where to go.  There were maybe 200 people in the large clearing.  All were
unloading cars and saying goodbyes as the camp employees rounded up the
campers and disbursed them to where they needed to be.  The whole scene was
dizzying to Bailey, and he hadn't really met anyone yet.

	After an hour of being shuffled around from building to building, from
orientation to orientation, the boys were tired and sour from having to
carry their bags, sleeping bags, and the supplies the camp gave them.  The
group they were in was made up of about 40 kids and their parents; most of
them younger, considering this was the group of first year campers.  By Four
O-clock that afternoon, however, it was time for the McCorristins to say
goodbye to their sons.

	Shane had already made a few acquaintances while waiting around in lines
and in the orientation meetings.  With a quick kiss and a hug he was off to
his cabin with two other campers, already acclimating himself to the
camper's lifestyle.  Bailey on the other hand was on the verge of an anxiety
attack.  He saw where he would be sleeping, bathing, eating, who he would be
staying with and what he would be doing on a daily basis and hated it.  He
hated the smell of muskiness and dirt that every building had; he hated the
fact that he had swimming lessons for an hour a day, exercise (some sort of
sport) for an afternoon and then group for god knows how long in the
evening.  The restrictive activity schedule and the forced group
participation turned him off like a Bruce Willis movie and he felt sick to
his stomach.  More importantly, he was afraid of being outed.  He wasn't
sure if Shane would think before he spoke or if he would even come off as
gay to other people.  The conservative environment already made him uneasy,
he didn't want to think of what could happen if others in the camp knew.

"Mom... please," Karen knew that tone well enough.  IT was meek and
somewhere between a whimper and a beg.  Looking into his face she could see
the tears welling up and the fear he had.  It was silly to her, but for a
moment she pondered on just taking him home.  She knew this was scary to
him, that it would be a hard adjustment for Bailey, but she also knew that
there was a reason for bringing him there, and that he needed it as well.

"Listen, kiddo," Collin spoke before Karen could process her thoughts, "You
have to give it a chance.  You have to have an optimistic outlook on this or
you're going to make it worse for yourself."

"I've tried, Dad!! I really have!" a tear rolled down his cheek as a family
near by turned to see what the screaming was about.

"Alright, that's enough.  Bailey, we're not having this discussion again.
It's not going to bring you home.  Your attitude right now needs an
adjustment, and I hope it happens before we come to pick you up in August,"
Collin punctuated his last remarks with jabbing his finger into the air at
Bailey.  He regretted immediately losing his temper, but what was said had
to be said.  Bailey, on the other hand, did not feel the same way. He picked
up his bag from next to him on the ground and darted towards the lodge he
would be spending the rest of the summer.

"Bailey!! Bailey, wait," both parents called out to him, Karen twice, but it
was no use, he didn't even turn back.  In a moment he turned up the trail
that led to the seniors' lodge and was out of site.

"Just let him go, he'll come around.  Let's get back on the road, it's gonna
take a good hour to get out of this place," Collin resigned.

"But we shouldn't leave him like this..."

"We're leaving him," and with that, the McCorristins walked back down the
clearing to their explorer and started a very quiet ride home."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"Bailey... McCorristin, cool name, kiddo.  You're in room 4 with Drew Smith,
I think he's already in there," the councilor said with a smile to Bailey,
who ignored the man's politeness and shuffled his belongings passed other
campers to his room.  Within it stood a well-built teenager unpacking a
suitcase onto the bed that he selected.  He was much larger than Bailey's
5'1 frame, and intimidating to him at first glance.  The teenager turned to
see Bailey walk through the door to see who would be joining him.  With a
quick up and down glance he let out a humorous grunt and turned to ignore
Bailey again as he threw some boxers into a drawer.  Inside Bailey was
already feeling the rejection that he was sure all of his fellow campers
would feel for him.

For 45 minutes he busied himself with unpacking his bag and making the small
bed that would be his for the next two months.  Within that time he had
introduced himself to Drew, his roommate, but there was little other
conversation after that.  He didn't mind so much, though.  At that point he
was too busy thinking up a sob story to write home with so that his parent's
would break him out of the prison that he was being kept in.  At least that
was his mindset at the time.

After unpacking, he quickly left the room and entered the large living area
of the lodge.   There were several old couches around the room as well as a
few coffee tables, numerous magazines and board games stacked in one corner
and probably about three decks of cards on each table.   Several campers
were already well into a game of rummy while others sat around and chatted.
In all, the 'seniors group', which Bailey was in, had 37 (19 guys and 18
girls) 16 to 17 year olds in it and 3 councilors, two males and one female,
who were all college students. Bailey spotted an empty couch along the back
window of the lodge and huddled himself into the corner of it and picked up
an old Cosmo that was sitting on the side table closest to him.  Though he
really wasn't interested in the magazine, it made him look busy.

No one approached him for a half hour except for one of the other new
campers that also felt left out in the group, but she just sat at the other
end of the couch and stared out at the busy room.  He worked up enough
stamina to
try to talk to her, but Jerry, the female councilor, cut him off before he
got off his first word.

"Alright Seniors, if I could have your attention please!!" she screamed out
over the commotion in the room.  When it quieted, she continued, "Welcome to
Seniors lodge! Many of you have known each other for a few years or at least
a summer, but we've got a few new campers that don't know anyone right now.
So, since we've got an hour before we've got to get to the dining hall,
we're gonna do some 'getting to know you' activities.  If everyone can come
out of the rooms and find a seat please!"  There were a few moans and groans
but everyone did as they were told.  Another guy and a girl join Bailey and
the other new girl on the couch that he was sitting on.  The impending doom
of all eyes on him surfaced in his mind and for a few moments he wanted to
run from the room.

"Alright.  SO, we're gonna start with you guys just introducing yourselves
to the people around you. After a few minutes we're gonna start a little
game."

	With that, the now 7 people who were around Bailey started to greet each
other and mockingly introduce themselves. It was obvious that they had all
known each other and had done this very activity for years.  Bailey just
curled his knees up into his chest(as he often did) and watched in silence.
For a few minutes he was ignored as one of the girls, by the name of Jenna,
started to give a run down about how her and her previous boyfriend broke up
after camp last year and how he wouldn't be returning for their last year at
Georgian.  After a few laughs and some obvious inside jokes one of the boys
turned his attention to Bailey.

"Hey, I'm Travis.  Sorry for completely not seeing you there.  This is
Jenna, Mary, Zack, and Trish," after Bailey said a meager 'hello' to those
five, the girl on the end introduced herself as Amy and another boy
introduced himself as Brandon.  Small talk pursued as to where he was from
and where he lived and went to school.  He received some condemnation when a
few members of the group found he was from Princeton, but it didn't hinder
most because they either didn't know where it was or didn't care.

	People moved around the room every five minutes or so doing the same thing.
  Bailey felt more at ease with some than others. It was clear to see that
there were cliques that were long forged and yet others who seemed to float
around or those that were floated to.  His roommate, Drew, seemed to be in
the preppy/ jock kind of crowd.  A few were very nice to him but the guys,
including his roommate, wanted little to do with him.  Partly because he was
from a very affluent area of the state, but more importantly because a few
of the girls in the group had already commented on how cute he was.  Things
looked rough for Bailey so far.

	After an hour had passed the group had become reacquainted and introduced
with name games, socialization activities and a little getting to know the
new people.  Bailey didn't say much when his turn came around.  He was still
brooding about being there and was definitely sheltering himself from the
group.

	The dining hall was uneventful by far.  It was basically an oversized
cafeteria with a lakeside view.  Bailey sat near the end of the table at
which his group sat with Amy, who he seemed most comfortable around and a
few others who were still going over the introductions process.  He saw
Shane momentarily when his rambunctious group walked in, but true to Shane's
appearance he didn't even glance twice at his older brother.  Bailey ate his
meal quietly, listening more closely to the conversations around him.  He
laughed a few times at some jokes and wise cracks, but never got into the
conversation much.

	The group that had sat next to him was quite amusing to him.  What Bailey
didn't realize is that they sat next to him and Amy to get to know the new
kids, which they made a point to do every year for the past few.  Some were
good friends that didn't return and others drifted into other cliques or
graduated out of the camp.  Now all that was left were two girls and one
guy, who's obnoxious banter set both Bailey and Amy at ease.  Halfway
through the meal Bailey knew their names and had joined into (though not
entirely) some of the conversation.  They were all from the central jersey
area, and Trina (one of the girls) was from a town not to far away from
Bailey. Jared seemed to be a pervert, not that it bothered Bailey, and Liz
was the loudest of the group.  Her humor was off the wall and she always had
a wise crack for everyone, she reminded Bailey of Veronica from the First
and Third meetings.  For most of the meal the banter was of the previous
summer and other things, Bailey realized Jared seemed to like Trina, for it
was obvious to everyone at the table and many jokes were said about it.
	Before the meal was over, Trina abruptly sat up from the table and ran
towards the door of the very crowded hall.  She half jogged up to a camper
who had obviously just arrived as he made his way to the table.  Bailey
didn't make much of it; most of the people here knew each other already and
already had their bonds. What did catch his attention was how cute the guy
was.

	Trina and the new arrival made there way back to the table and took seats.
A greeting was given from others at the table, many of them laughing that he
was late.  Apparently some weren't surprised.

"I thought you weren't coming back this year? Something about getting a
life?"  Jared cracked as he smacked palms with his late friend.

"I wasn't going to, but then I realized I'd have to stay home with my
parents... I decided you guys would be a better punishment."

"Cal, this is Bailey and Amy.  You guys, this is Caleb Davids, the camp
troubadour.  He's usually a little late," Trina cracked.

"Yeah, where is the guitar, I'm surprised to see you without it," Liz didn't
look up from building something with her green beans.

"It's back at the lodge.  I feel safe enough to leave it there, no animals
are going to drag it into the woods this year," Bailey looked at him
quizzically.
Caleb laughed at him, but before he could continue the director of the camp
asked everyone to be quiet before he started his welcome speech.  Within 15
minutes the group was on it's way to 'free time' before evening bomb fire.
Bailey retreated back to the lodge to play cards with Amy and Jared and
Trina and Caleb went for a walk down by the large dock that the camp had on
their side of the lake. They say with there feet in the water and chucked
rocks out into Lake pollen scum (as the campers referred to it).

"So really, why did you come back?"  Trina asked as she nudged her long time
friend in the arm.

"I missed you guys terribly," there was a long pause before both of them
started laughing hysterically, "I had to, my mother wouldn't hear it.
Besides, certain people didn't come back, so maybe it won't be so bad."

"THANK GOD.  Last summer sucked for you, but we're glad you came back."

"Thanks, I just hope no one will give me shit anymore.  Besides, we're
seniors now, it's time to kick some grunts around," they again both laughed.

"So, who's the new kid?"

"Which one, Bailey?"

"Yeah, he didn't talk at all, is he weird or something?"

"I don't know, I think he's just shy.  He doesn't seem to want to be here.
Plus, he shows no interest in Liz, so obviously he's not good group
material," Caleb rolled his eyes, "He is cute, though."

"Yeah, I noticed.  That's hard to come by in these parts," Caleb threw
another stone into the water.

"Don't sell yourself short, hot stuff," She flicked his ear and jumped up
onto the deck before he could retaliate.

"You bitch!!"  he chased her around mockingly before they made it back to
the lodge.