Chapter Text
Clay is six years old and watching from the office window when a boy with ginger hair trips and falls, splattering his ice cream cone all over the pavement in front of him. Clay watches for a moment as he stares at the mess of vanilla before his lip begins to tremble.
Clay doesn’t even think before he is sliding down from his seat and reaching for the ice cream freezer at the front of the counter, reaching on his tippy toes to reach the handle. He can hear his mom calling his name asking what he’s doing, but he ignores her, and tugs at the handle again.
“Clay, you’ve already had your ice cream for today sweetie,” his Mom says as she looks over the counter, softly pulling his hand from the handle. Clay shakes his head and points outside where the boy has started crying. He’s completely alone and sitting on the pavement, still staring at the ice cream as it melts under the Floridan sun.
“He dropped his ice cream.” She follows his line of sight and loosens her grip on his hand, allowing him to pull the freezer open and grab an icy pole. He grins at her and she mirrors it with a small smile, walking around the counter to take his hand and lead him to the door so she can open it. She stays in the doorway, letting the blistering heat in as Clay leaves.
The icy treat in his hand is already gathering condensation as Clay walks up to the boy and bends down, waving a cold hand in front of his face.
“Here.”
The boy sniffles and looks up, wiping his nose against his hand. His face is still partially covered with a backwards cap, but his fringe hangs in front of his eyes, hiding the tears that are drying on his skin.
“Who are you?” Clay thinks he sounds a bit like his grandma, with the way he says his words, it sounds a bit like drawl.
“It’s melting,” Clay says and shakes the icy pole a bit so that the boy can bring his attention to it.
“I can’t accept ice cream from a stranger.” The boy argues and wipes his face again. He gets up from the ground and tries to brush himself off, but there’s melted ice cream on his hands, and it gets over his shirt, smearing across the panda that’s printed on it.
“I’m gonna count to three, if you don’t take it I’m going to eat it.” Clay wiggles the ice cream again, and the boy frowns at it, then looks down at the mess at his feet. It’s completed melted now, and become a puddle of white.
“1…2…3.”
“Okay fine! Thank you.” The icy pole is snatched from Clay’s hands and he grins as the boy holds it close. He doesn’t open it straight away and for a moment the two of them stare at each other not saying anything.
“Where are your parents?”
“Bathroom…I think. I was walking around, I think I got a bit lost.”
Clay opens his mouth to say something but he hears his mom call out to him.
“Yeah, Mom?” He shouts back.
“Tell him to come in, Clay, we’ll find his parents then we’ll take him back.”
“Your name is Clay?” The boy asks, scrunching up his nose as he struggles with the plastic wrapping.
“Yeah, why?”
“Sounds stupid.”
Clay blanches, feeling oddly hurt but the boy pays no attention, finally opening the icy pole and slurping at the melted parts.
“Well, what’s your name then?”
“Not telling you, you’re a stranger.” Clay’s mom calls for him again and he finally starts walking back to her, ushering for the boy to follow him. Thankfully he does.
“Make a new friend Clay?”
“No, he’s not telling me his name and he said my name was stupid.” Clay’s mom’s eyebrows shoot up in surprise and she looks at the other boy who has walked over to the seating area but sat himself down on the floor, still eating his treat.
“I’m sure he didn’t mean it, let me talk to him. Can you watch the phones for me? Remember no answering, just tell me when it rings.”
Clay nods and walks back behind the counter, climbing the little stool his parents set up for him so he can sit on the big desk chair. From here he can hear his Dad talking in the back office, on the phone using his Very Important voice. He peaks over the desk to see his mom bending down near the boy, talking in a voice so soft that Clay can’t hear her. The two of them talk for a bit before she stands up with a smile on her face.
She beckons for Clay to come over and she leans down to him, whispering in his ear.
“Can you keep him company while I go call his parents, he’s just a little scared and shy, he said he didn’t mean what he said about your name. Try and be his friend, it’s his first time at Smile, show him how good we are at putting a smile on people’s faces.” Clay listens carefully and nods to her to show that he understands.
He straightens his shoulders walks closer to the boy, and sits down, holding his hand out the way he’d seen his dad do at the Very Important Meetings.
“My name is Clay and welcome to Smile Campsites where you’ll leave our campsite with a smile on your face.” He finishes with a wide smile, proud that he remembered the entire line. He hopes his mom heard him.
The boy stares at him blankly and licks the final bit of his icy pole away.
“Do you work here?”
Clay shakes his head, “No, not yet, Mom says I’m not old enough. We own Smile Campsites.”
“That’s kinda cool, do you live here?” Clay shakes his head again.
“We used to, but we just moved houses. What’s your name?”
“Not telling you.”
“Well, what do I call you?”
The boy shrugs and looks around the room for a bit. Clay copies him, pointing at things he sees that would be a cool name.
“You could call me Peter like Spider-Man,” the boy offers.
“No way, Spider-Man is my favourite superhero, I’m not calling you that.”
“He’s my favourite too.” The boy tugs at his shirt, stretching it out until it can fit over his knees, and tucks himself into it.
“Do you like pandas?”
The boy slowly nods. “Pandas are my favourite animal.”
“What if I call you Pandas?”
He looks a bit doubtful, but a small smile works its way to his mouth and he nods.
“I like Pandas…Hi Clay I’m Pandas.”
Clay’s mom is able to get ahold of Pandas’ parents and they walk through the office doors with worried looks, that slide off almost immediately when they see their son curled on the ground with Clay, head bent over a PSP. The two boys are giggling and poking each other as they play their game and before Pandas gets up to leave he cups his hands over Clay’s ear and says in a hushed voice his real name.
“That’s my real name, but you can keep me Pandas because I like it better. I’m sorry I said your name was stupid.”
Clay grins. “That’s okay, I forgive you. Do you think your parents will let you play with me later?”
Pandas looks at his parents in question and shrugs.
“I think so…I hope so. I’ll ask them. See you around?”
“I’ll see you around Pandas.”
~
That summer Clay has the most fun he’s ever had. Pandas’ parents let him play with Clay after dinner, and Clay shows Pandas around the campsite, showing him his favourite hiding spots, and they climb onto the roof of the office to watch the sunset.
During the days, Pandas is off with his family, but Clay stays with his mom in the office, or sometimes he goes to the beach with his older sister and they take surfing lessons. Other days he walks around the campsite, following his favourite workers, Luke is his favourite because Luke lets him hold the hose when they’re cleaning and they draw shapes on the pavement. He also lets Clay have candy and ice cream from the freezer when his parents aren’t looking.
When the sun begins to set, and families come back to their cabins, caravans, and campsites, Clay eagerly waits at the campsite kitchen in the middle of the camp (which is closest to Pandas) and once they’re back together, they run around camp, making their own games, throwing a ball around and racing each other down the road. Pandas has a skateboard and Clay has a scooter, and the other tenants occupying the campsites near plot 123 have gotten used to the two boys causing chaos. They ride their bikes at the local park, watched by Pandas family and in a way that is as natural as breathing, the two become inseparable.
Clay doesn’t think he’s ever had a best friend before, but he’s pretty sure that Pandas is his.
On the last week of summer, Clay’s family hosts an bonfire party on the beach and invites local talent. Clay’s dad sets up a barbeque, his mom sets up decorations, and he sits in the sand watching it all play out, but for once he’s seated with someone who isn’t his sibling.
The music plays into the night, and as the beach wind gets crisper and a jacket is forced over Clay’s arms, he doesn’t feel the cold. The bonfire is put out, and the two boys are up way past their bed time but Pandas is leaving tomorrow and Clay doesn’t want to say goodbye just yet.
“Will you come back?” Clay asks nervously as Pandas kicks at the sand.
He shrugs. “Dad said he wants to, dunno about Mom. I wanna come back here. Texas is boring.”
“I want you to come back too,” Clay says. His stomach feels kind of sore when he thinks about it but he ignores it and asks another question, “If you don’t come back, are you going to forget about me?”
Pandas looks at him confused.
“My memory isn’t that bad, Clay. My Mom said she has your Mom’s number so we can call if you want, and I’m asking for a computer for my Christmas and my birthday combined so if I get one we can play games.”
That puts a smile on Clay’s face and the next day when he’s waving goodbye, his heart isn’t so heavy.
That summer, Clay meets his best friend, though he doesn’t know it yet that this summer is going to be the beginning of many.