Date: Sun, 12 Feb 2006 14:38:18 EST
From: Jetjt@aol.com
Subject: Super Jeff, Chapter 8

The following story is a work of gay fiction. If you are offended by the
subject matter, or if you are too young, please exit now. This story is the
property of the author and may not be reproduced without permission. John
Tucker, JETjt@aol.com.


				SUPER JEFF

			       Chapter Eight

Jeff's POV

My mouth dropped open. We hadn't been here an hour and already we'd outed
ourselves.  Yikes!  I took a second look. Wow! I forgot my
embarrassment. Was that guy cute, or what?

Chris and I stepped away from each other revealing for our newcomer a view
of the large bulges straining the zippers holding closed the fly openings
in our shorts. Seeing his eyes again dart downward taking in this view,
accompanied by a smile appearing on his lips, my shock completely
disappeared, though Chris' face was blood red at being caught.

"I see you're enjoying the comforts of the camp," the handsome young man
began. "I'm sorry to intrude. My name is Jamie Farmer. I'm the Head
Counselor here."

I turned, approached our boss and extended my hand. "Hi, I'm Jeff Richards,
and `Bashful' there is my boyfriend Chris Parker. We're your new
Counselors."

"Glad to meet you two," Jamie said. "You don't know how your arrival has
`saved the day.' It looked for a while that Carl was going to have to be a
cabin Counselor."

He laughed at the thought.

"We're happy to be of help," I said as Chris joined my side and offered his
handshake.

"The Counselor's meeting will be starting soon," Jamie informed us. "You'll
learn more of your duties there, and since you're last minute arrivals,
please feel free to call on me if you have any questions."

"Thanks," Chris replied, fully recovered from his earlier
embarrassment. "I'm sure we'll have several."

"I'll see you over at the hall then," Jamie said, stepping back into the
hallway in preparation for leaving. "I hope you enjoy your work here. It's
a very rewarding experience." Then lowering his voice he said, "Oh, and if
the campers are here, make sure you lock your door and pull the curtains if
you need some `private time.' Officially the Camp more than frowns on any
romantic displays of affection between Counselors, male or female."

"Thanks for the `heads up' Jamie. We'll be more than cautious," I said as
he disappeared down the hallway heading back to the Hall with a perfunctory
"Bye."

When we heard the door slam, we breathed a sigh of relief.

"Whew!  I'm glad he's one of us," I exclaimed. "It would be a bit hard to
explain how we'd been fired before we met the first camper."

"I thought we were dead meat," Chris said with a sigh of relief.

"Hey, we'd better get our stuff. It wouldn't look good if we were late to
our first meeting too. Besides, we haven't the foggiest idea what we're
supposed to do," I said glancing at my watch.

"You're right. We'd better get moving," he agreed.

We took off on the trot back to the pick-up. As we approached the truck
another pickup, a Ford 150 pulled up and parked nearby. Grabbing our bags
from the back we were quickly loaded up to haul our stuff as the two guys
who were in the truck approached.

"Hey!" The taller of the two said with a smile. "You guys must be the
newbies. I'm Jake Johnston and shortie here is Pat Taylor. We're counselors
here too. We've got the 13 & 14's and we're in cabins 7 and 8."

"Nice to meet you Jake, Pat," I said dropping the luggage I was carrying
and offering my hand to shake. "I'm Jeff and this is Chris. We've got the
14 and 15 year olds, and we're in cabins 9 and 10."

Handshakes were exchanged as well as greetings.

"I hate to say `hi' and run," I said, "but there's a counselors' meeting in
10 minutes and we still need to stash our stuff."

"We do too," Pat said turning to the truck. "We'll see you inside."

"Nice to meet you^Å. Laterz," Chris said as he bent over to pick up again
his gear.

"Take care guys," I echoed, repeating Chris' motions.

Ten minutes later we were opening the door to the hall where we'd had
lunch. Inside we saw several guys milling around talking and laughing. We
headed toward them when Carl appeared and said in a loud voice. "Everyone
take your seats."

The hubbub of conversation quickly died as the guys took seats at three of
the picnic-type tables. Another table was taken by adults. We recognized
Frank and Betty Charles.

"If any of you don't know me, I'm the Director of the camp, Carl
Jepperson," he began with a smile. "I'd like to welcome you all to Bear
Camp and just say that if all else fails; my door is open to you at any
time. This camp has been run successfully for around 50 years and helped
many youngsters to have a new, fulfilling adventure in their young
lives. Your first job is the safety and wellbeing of those in your
care. Your second job is to provide leadership and guidance to your charges
so that this camping experience is both educational and fun. Last, I hope
that you enjoy the experience of being leaders and have fun.  Don't get the
order of these three things mixed up. That will only lead to trouble, both
for you and for the Boys and Girls Clubs. You all will be given Counselor's
packets. Read and know the contents of the information given to
you. Ignorance of the rules about what is and isn't permitted is no
excuse. I expect that information to be ironed into your brains. We try to
run a pretty laid-back camp here, but knowing the line between acceptable
and unacceptable behavior is a must."

"Now with that said, I'd like to introduce you to the others of the
staff. First I'd like to introduce Mrs. Charles, the office manager." She
stood up to a round of applause. "Next is Frank Doolittle who is in charge
of our kitchen and this building. If you have any questions about the
meals, or the use of this building, Frank's the man." More applause was
generated by the counselors. "Next is Sherry Jones our nurse. If there are
accidents or illness, she's the one to see."  Then there is Tom Sherlock,
who is in charge of facilities here. If you have a problem with your cabin,
or any other of our facilities, including the grounds, see Tom." More
applause.  "Next I'd like to introduce you to the two guys you'll be
working with most closely. First is Eric Jackson, our Program Director. He
plans out the activities for all of the groups. He is also in charge of our
special activities. Under his guidance is our Athletic Manager, Bill
Thompson, and our Arts and Crafts Manager, Sarah McDermott. You'll hear
more from each of them later." Another round of applause filled the lodge."

"Now, finally, I'd like to introduce Jamie Farmer our Head Counselor. He is
the guy that all of you are working for. If you have any problems or have
any questions, he's the guy with the answers. What he says goes."

I looked at Chris as we applauded. It was clear that we recognized
immediately the cute guy who had caught us kissing.

"Now with the introductions complete, I'd like to thank you again for
joining us this summer. I'll now turn the floor over to Jamie."

The counselors all clapped as Carl sat down at the staff table while Jamie
assumed the floor.

"I'd like to add my welcome to Carl's. I'm sure we'll have some challenges
ahead this summer, but we'll have fun too. I'd like to first have each of
you stand, one-at-a-time and introduce yourselves. Then I'll hand out our
Counselor's Packets, and go over a few things^Å."

Each of the counselors stood, including Chris and me, giving our names and
the city where we lived and our cabin number. Of the counselors, therere
about half who were very good looking. The others were pleasant looking but
wouldn't turn any heads when walking into a room. It was fun to guess the
personality of each as they stood and spoke. There were a couple besides
Jake and Pat that I was interested in getting to know better. I took
special note of a guy named Sam Parker when he said that he was in cabin
6. He was not particularly attractive, but seemed to have a pleasant look
and personality.

Once the introductions were finished, the packets were handed out, and
Jamie began to go over the rules and what was expected of us. Then Eric
took the floor and discussed the activities schedule. Three-quarters of an
hour had passed since Carl had first begun when the meeting was
adjourned. As we arose to leave, it was announced that the buses would be
arriving in less than an hour and we were instructed to be back at the
lodge by three o'clock to greet our charges. We were then dismissed.

Jake and Pat stood and joined Chris and me.

"I've heard that same spiel for the last three years," Pat said. "I could
just about give all the speeches from memory.

"You've been a counselor here for three years?" Chris asked in
astonishment.

"Yeah, lucky me," Pat replied. "Of course this is where Jake and I first
met. We've been best friends ever since, so I can't complain."

"I didn't catch where you live when you introduced yourself. Do you live
near each other when you're not up here?" I asked.

"Only if you call Burbank and Whittier `close'," Pat answered. "It was
tough after the first summer when neither of us had cars. We managed to get
together about once a month anyway. Then after the second summer, my
parents moved from Burbank to Pomona, and it became a lot easier as we now
live only 5 miles apart.  Do you guys live close to each other?"

I looked at Chris, wondering how much I should tell. He beat me to the
punch by replying, "Yeah, practically in each other's pockets."

"Whereabouts?" Jake inquired. "I forgot too."

"Palos Verdes," I replied.

Pat and Jake's eyebrows rose.

"Oh, rich guys, huh?" Jake challenged.

"Would rich guys drive that truck?" I said quickly pointing toward the
parking lot.

"Sorry, I guess I was jumping to conclusions," Jake apologized.

"Hey no sweat," I added not wanting the impression turning into an outright
lie. "Our parents do alright, I guess, but we wouldn't brag about it."

"I think we should go unpack," Chris interjected, wanting to change the
subject.

"Good idea, Chris. Let's go set up home sweet home."

"You'll be plenty tired of it by the end of the summer," Pat advised.

"We're only staying for the first session," Chris responded. "We're just
taking the places of a guy that got hurt and one that took him home."

"I guess I knew that," Pat said slapping himself on the head. "I suppose I
was just wishing you were staying longer. We seem to hit if off pretty
well. Dennis and Tom are kinda jerks and you aren't, so I'll be sorry to
see you guys leave."

"You don't know us that well yet," I laughed, `but thanks for the
thought. We'll catch you guys around."

"Yeah, we'll have to compare schedules and see if we can find some time
away from our `charges', as Carl would say," Chris added with a smile.

"There will be time," Jake revealed. "There are times when the kids are
involved with sports or crafts, and other times where they have free
time. When they have free time, we do too. This age group is in many ways
easier than the younger kids that will be here second session. They're
pretty self sufficient. That's not all good, but at least you don't have to
worry about them wandering off, falling in the lake and drowning. Well,
we'll see you later."

"Bye," Chris and I said in unison as we turned toward the door and headed
for our cabins.

Chris and I hurried to our cabins, splitting up so we could unpack and get
ready for our new arrivals. After unpacking, I made up my bed, and then I
took out the Counselor's manual and read it. Looking into the packet, I
also found the schedule of activities for my group, a welcoming speech we
were to read to our campers, and a listing of each of the campers assigned
to me. I read that list twice, memorizing the names, then I memorized the
welcoming speech. Now I was ready. All I'd have to do is to place the names
on the list with the faces. I had just finished when Chris appeared in my
doorway.

"I think we'd better get over to the hall," he advised. "The buses should
arrive at any minute."

"Let's go," I agreed, putting the packet on my small table.

Five minutes later we were in the hall with the other counselors. Three
tables had been set up to check in the campers. Jamie directed us to take
our places around the room when the buses arrived, under the signs with our
cabin numbers. We then sat down to wait.

We didn't wait long. Within 10 minutes the first bus arrived, honking its
horn as it stopped. The bus unloaded and the kids were directed to the hall
where we awaited. No sooner had the last camper stepped through the door
than we heard the second bus's horn, announcing its arrival. The campers
were directed to the registration table, where their names were checked
off, then redirected further to their cabin counselors, us. We tried to
keep our groups from wandering off as the process was completed. After
being told that all names were checked off, we led the boys, (who were
hardly younger than we were) to the buses to get their gear which had been
unloaded, then on to our cabins. Stopping outside my cabin, I held up my
hand, signaling that I wanted to speak before we entered. The boys set down
their burdens and turned to me, finally quieting down.

"Hi guys," I began, without notes. "I'd like to welcome you to cabin 9, the
Grizzly Cabin. All the cabins are named after Bears, and you lucky ones are
the Grizzly Bears. You're lucky too to have me as your Counselor," I added
extemporaneously this bit, which was not on the speech I'd memorized. "My
name is S.J. or Jeff, if you prefer. You and I are gonna become good
friends. We'll have lots of fun and do lots of things in the next three
weeks." I left the script completely and continued. "Ya see I'm a pretty
easy guy. I like to have fun. We can all have fun if we remember just a few
things. First, I'm the boss. I'm a fun boss unless we disagree, or you
don't do as instructed. Second, we have scheduled activities. We expect you
to be on time and be ready to participate. Third, we have plenty of free
time for you to visit with others or go wandering around. Just be back when
you're supposed to be. Finally, and in my book, most important, we need to
respect each other. That means that we have to understand that we're all
different. Some are a different color, come from a different school, come
from a different land, or are different from you in beliefs or
background. We have to accept those differences with kindness and
consideration, not with scorn or teasing. I'm pretty tough on people who
pick on other people. If you don't think I mean it, just try me on. You
won't like the results.

"I may just do that," a tall black camper mumbled. I looked at him squarely
in the eyes.

"Anytime Son," I said. "I'll try not to break anything on you." My
self-assurance must have convinced the youth that now was not the time for
a confrontation.

"Maybe later," he said quietly, then closed his mouth.

"Now guys, I want you to go in and choose beds."

The guys started moving toward the door.

"Wait. I don't want any hassles," I said. "You'll draw numbers for the
order in which you'll go into the cabin." I pulled a plastic baggie from my
pocket. Inside of this zipped pouch were 8 numbers on small pieces of
paper. I unzipped it, and dumped the numbered pieces into my cap, which I'd
removed from my head and turned upside down.

"Everyone, take a number," I ordered, holding the hat up so that the
shortest camper could reach it, but the tallest couldn't see inside. Once
everyone had a number, I called out, "one" then waited until `one' was at
the door. "Two." I called out second. I continued calling numbers slowly
until each camper was inside. I followed.

"You'll see on your bed a pillow, two sheets and a blanket," I said loudly
after I got the guys to again quiet down inside. "Stow your gear, make your
beds, then it's free time until chow, which will be at 6 o'clock at the
hall where we met. We'll sit together at our cabin's table. Look for it
when you get there. Oh, and the bathroom is across the hall from me. I live
right there," I said pointing to my room. "I'll be in my room for a while
in case any of you need to see me."

I left the large room and retreated into my own small room.

I dug into my backpack and pulled out my MP3 player, selected some music
that I enjoyed, then lay down on my newly-made bed, stretching out as
tiredness crept in. I must have fallen asleep because the next thing I knew
I awoke to a knocking on my door.

"Come in," I said tiredly but with enough volume that I didn't expect to
have to get up.

"Hi Babe," Chris said cheerfully. "All my guys are out exploring and from
the looks of it yours are too. I was getting bored."

"Gosh Chris I'm sorry. I have most of the audio equipment with me. I should
have at least given you the CD player."

"It's not a problem, SJ. I just missed you, I guess."

I smiled. I knew that I missed Chris too. We had become incredibly close in
just a few short days. It was hard to believe that a week ago I didn't know
he existed. Now we were joined at the hip, and I was enjoying every
minute. I'm not sure what came over me.

"Earth to SJ!" Chris said with a pretend microphone in his hand.

"Oh, sorry," I said with a start, "Guess I just zoned out."

"You're forgiven Babe," Chris said. "I'd kinda like to look around. You
wanna go with?"

"Sure," I replied as I coaxed my relaxed body into movement resulting in my
sitting up and putting my feet on the floor. "I'll just put my shoes back
on and we'll go.

"Let me help you," Chris offered kneeling.

"For Christ sake!" I said with an irritated tone, "I can put my own shoes
on!"

Chris jumped back as if he'd been shot.

"I'm sorry," he apologized. "I just thought I'd try a little `foot
action'. I didn't mean to imply that you're helpless." His hanging head
quickly made me realize that I'd been a fool to shoot off my mouth like
that.

I reached down and pulled him to me.

"I'm sorry Chris. I didn't mean to blast out like that. I feel like an
ass. Besides, if I'd known that you wanted to get frisky, I would have had
the opposite reaction. I might have even jumped your bones right here in
front of God and all the campers."

I kissed Chris gently on the lips.

"Am I forgiven Babe?" I asked. "I promise not to do that again."

"I guess so," he said with reluctance. I could tell that I had hurt him and
that it would take a little time for him to really get comfortable again.

"I won't push it," I said. "I just hope you don't hold my stupidity against
me. I'd rather hold you against me."

He smiled at my attempt at humor.

"I'd like that," he said, as he backed away. "Now put on your shoes and
let's go."

"Yes sir," I obeyed.

Chris' POV

`I shouldn't be so wounded,' I admonished myself in my thoughts as Jeff
hurriedly put on his shoes. `I've been so jumpy though since my natural Dad
had yelled at me before he threw me out. I guess that Jeff's yelling was
just so unexpected. Don't fuck up a good thing by acting like a baby," I
concluded my thoughts, just as Jeff stood up. I smiled and offered my
hand. He pulled me to him again and kissed me lightly.

"Am I really forgiven?' he begged.

"Yes, I'm sorry I acted like a kid," I apologized .

"Let's just put it behind us and go on," he advised. "I'm sure we'll have
bigger things than that come up, but as long as we can depend on each
other's love, knowing that we each want what's best for the other, then I
think we can weather any storm."

"How did you get so smart?" I asked in a half-kidding tone.

"English class," he replied with a grin.

I laughed out loud at his reply.

"Come on let's go," he said dropping my hand, opening the door, and
indicating that I was to go first.

"Thanks," I said walking through the opening and heading toward the
outside.

We had just left the cabin and hadn't traveled 50 yards when we saw a
circle of guys watching what appeared to be a fight. We rushed over and
pushed our way through.

In the center were two guys with fists raised. The smaller one had fear in
his eyes and was obviously losing.  Jeff jumped in the middle. It was
apparent that at least the bigger one was from his cabin.

"Collins!  Enough!" Jeff screamed at the larger boy, a black boy who was
two inches taller than Jeff and outweighed him by probably 40 pounds.

"Fuck you!" Collins replied. "Get out of the way, I'm going to kick his
pansy ass!"

"You'll have to go through me," Jeff answered staring at the larger youth,
as two of the campers pulled back the smaller of the fighters, a slight
Hispanic boy who couldn't have weighed 130 pound with all his clothes on.

"Keep out of my business," Collins warned.

"Your picking on a smaller camper made it my business," Jeff replied.

"You're asking for it," Collins said as he threatened his Counselor.

"We don't need to settle this with fists," Jeff offered. "We can sit down
and talk it out."

"That fag touched me!" the larger youth said accusingly.

"I was pushed into him," the voice from behind Jeff said.

"He was pushed," Jeff repeated.

"I don't give a fuck. The bastard shouldn't be breathing the same air as
me. That faggy shit might be catching."

"That's ridiculous," Jeff explained. "Even if he was gay, and I'm not sure
how you'd know, I can assure you that homosexuality is not catching."

"I ain't gonna argue. I'm jus' gonna whup his ass. Maybe I can beat them
thoughts outta his skull. Who knows? He might jus' come after me while I'm
asleep."

"Well, I guess you could just yell for help," Jeff advised with a grin.

"I don't need no help to make short work out o' that piece o' shit,"
Collins said.

"Collins. I won't stand for that kind of talk or attitude," Jeff
declared. "I told you guys that outside the cabin."

"And I tol' you that I might just prove different."

"You're welcome to try, here and now," Jeff said. "I'd hate to embarrass
you though."

"We'll see about that!" Collins shouted as he rushed Jeff, fists raised.

With lightning-fast moves, Jeff stepped aside, dodging the flailing black
fists.

"Come on and fight!" Collins challenged. "You keep dancing away like some
kinda sissy!"

Suddenly Collins opened his arms like a bear on a charge, and rushed his
smaller, but older opponent. As he got near, Jeff grabbed one of Collins'
arms, made a dodging and twisting move, throwing the larger youth over his
back and shoulders and onto the ground. Collins landed with a thud on his
back, the wind knocked out of him. He gasped for air. Jeff knelt beside him
as he recovered. The fight had gone out of the youth, but not the
antagonism.

"You lucky fucker! I must have slipped," the dark skinned youth explained,
mostly for the benefit of the onlookers.

"Whatever," Jeff replied, not challenging the larger boy. The onlookers
knew the truth. They had seen it with their own eyes. "Are you alright?"

"Shit, a little slip like that couldn't hurt me," boasted Collins.

"I'm glad," Jeff said with a smile as he jumped to his feet and offered a
hand-up to the youth still on the ground.

"I don't need no help from you," Collins said as he refused Jeff's gesture,
instead rolling over and unsteadily regaining his feet solo.

"I'm saying this for the last time Collins. Learn to get along or suffer
the consequences. We're here to have fun, not a war."

"I'm here because it was an easy way for my Momma t' git rid of me for
three weeks, for free," rejoined the black youth, "but nobody challenges me
on my turf, and I'm claiming this camp as my turf."

"That remains to be seen Son," commented Jeff. "Let's just say that in my
cabin I'm the one that calls the shots. Don't challenge me. You'll lose. We
can be friends or not, it's up to you."

"I ain't got no frien's," Collins declared.

"I'm offering to be your friend," Jeff stated. "I think others would too,
if you weren't so threatening."

"I don't want no frien's."

"Everyone wants friends," Jeff replied. "Just know that I'm offering. If
you want to talk or just hang out, that's okay with me. If not it's your
loss. Now I'd suggest you go get cleaned up. It won't be long now until
chow. Catch ya later."

Jeff turned, and I followed him away as the crowd dispersed. The excitement
was over.

"I think you handled that well," I praised the object of my affection.

"I handled it like shit," Jeff countered. "I should have never let it get
to the place where he tried to take a swing at me."

"It's not that he was a paragon of reason," I differed. "As it turned out,
he just got a bit dirty and his pride was hurt."

"I didn't want to do it that way though," Jeff said. "Violence answered
with violence is a loser's way out."

"I'm afraid you're a bit of an idealist," I mused. "Bullies need to learn
that there's always somebody who can clean their clocks, whether he's
bigger or not. As they say, `It's not the size of the dog in the fight;
it's the size of the fight in the dog."

"I just don't think that fighting is an acceptable answer," Jeff
theorized. "There has to be a better way."

"I'm surprised you say that with all the karate stuff you take."

"The karate equips you to fight. Reason makes it unnecessary. I'm a man of
reason."

"I wish you luck," I said. "I'm not sure you'll convince Collins though."

"As I said before," Jeff declared, "That remains to be seen, and I don't
give up easily."

You want to go down and take a look at the lake?" I asked.

"Sure, but we'll have to hurry," he said as we turned toward the lake and
began to descend the slope. "It's only about an hour to dinner, and I'd
like to sit with the guys in my cabin. I want to get to know them."

"That's a good idea," I agreed as I walked beside him, "at least for a few
days."

"How well did your guys settle in?" Jeff asked.

"Pretty well until we got inside," I replied. There were the usual
arguments about who got which bed. I had to step in. How about your guys?"

"Not a problem," he said. "I made them draw numbers outside and let them in
by-the-numbers. A couple of them swapped around afterward to be near a
friend, but that was voluntary. I left them to unpack or roam around or
whatever. Except for my friend Collins, they seem like a pretty nice
bunch."

"One bad apple spoils the bunch," I philosophized.

"It can," Jeff agreed. "It's up to me to see that it doesn't happen. If I
have to, I'll send Collins home, but that's a last resort."

"I can see how you'd think it was your fault," I sympathized, "but you have
to remember that it's hard to change someone in only three weeks."

"It doesn't hurt to try," Jeff said.

"No, but don't blame yourself if it doesn't work. You didn't give Collins
the chip on his shoulder."

"I think he has problems that he needs to let out," Jeff theorized. "Most
bullies are either insecure, lonely, or have been abused themselves and
think that being abusive is the sign of being an adult. I think if I can
get him to open up, either to me or to someone else, we can do something to
change his attitude problem."

"Just don't let him screw up everyone's camping experience."

"Don't worry Babe. I'm going to keep him in my sights," Jeff promised.

We arrived at the lake and looked around. There was a beach where swimming
could occur and a dock with a dockside building, where watercraft appeared
to be kept. The area was clean and the water clear. The fresh mountain
breeze was different from the ocean breeze that we were used to. The air
was dryer, and filled with the smell of the pine trees that surrounded the
lake. There were trash receptacles about every 200' along the tree
line. We'd have to remind our campers about keeping things neat and clean.

After 30 minutes of strolling along the waterfront we decided that it was
time to return to the camp, so we headed back up the hill. We stopped by
our cabins just for a quick pit-stop and Jeff picked up a small `Grizzlies'
sign he made. I saw what he had planned and asked him if he'd make me one
too for my `Polars'.  He took the sign he was holding and moved it. Behind
it I could see the sign he'd already made for me. I rewarded him with a
quick kiss and a word of thanks. We then left his cabin and continued on to
the dining hall. We were 10 minutes early but already campers were lined up
at the door. We slipped around to the kitchen door and entered the
building, passing through the busy kitchen and out into the large dining
area. Picking out two tables next to each other we set up our signs.

 At 5:55, Frank appeared from the kitchen and went to the entry doors,
unlocking them. As the kids rushed in, he shouted, "FIND A TABLE AND BE
SEATED!"  He kept repeating the message as the 80 campers trooped
in. Seeing our signs, the "bears" from Jeff's and my cabins were soon
seated with us. I looked over at Jeff's table and saw that he was seated
next to Collins.

Carl appeared on the small podium where he could be seen by everyone. He
raised his hands for silence. It took a minute, but eventually the room
became quite.

"Gentlemen," Carl began. "This evening is our first one together. Normally
at this time we will have some announcements or a program for the day. It
may happen before or after we eat. In order not to overwhelm the servers,
you will serve yourselves cafeteria style, in order of cabin. We will vary
the order nightly so that Cabin 1 is not always first. We will announce the
cabin number, then those from that cabin can join the line. Until then
please remain seated. Once everyone is served seconds will be available for
those who are still hungry. There is only one announcement tonight. Light's
out is at 9:30. Be sure you're in your cabin. I'm sure you're all starving,
so now Cabin 1 may go to the line.
 The cabin one boys got up quickly and almost ran to the food line. So it
continued until all the boys were served and busily chatting away as they
shoveled their dinners into their mouths.

Jeff and I were seated facing each other but a table away. During the
course of the meal, I saw him engaged in conversation and laughter with all
the boys at the table. As the boys made their way to dessert, I saw Collins
and Jeff talking to each other. It wasn't with raised voices like
before. As the boys finished they took their trays and dirty dishes to the
window, dumping any unfinished food and paper goods, into the trash can,
then most exited the building. My boys had nearly all left when Jeff and
Collins stood up. I grabbed my tray and met them at the window.

"Chris, after you dump your things, can we talk for a minute?" Jeff asked.

"Sure SJ," I replied and quickly performed the task. Jeff had moved away
from Collins and was standing alone. I stepped over to him.

"Uh Babe," he began. "I'm not going to go with you now. I'm not sure what's
on his mind, but Collins wants to talk.  I'll come by your room later when
we finish."

"Sure Jeff," I said in surprise. "Good luck."

I flashed a smile at Collins, then another at Jeff, and turning, left the
building.

		*	*	*	*	*