Chapter Text
“Look! Horses!”
Shane’s head shot up, eyes darting to see them. And yes, in the field ahead, dozens of horses stood grazing, their tails swishing and ears twitching under the morning summer sun.
“Do you see them, honey?” Shane’s mom, Yuna, turned from the passenger seat, grinning like a madwoman at her son.
Shane nodded enthusiastically, eyes still fixated on the ever nearing pasture.
“They sure are beautiful,” Shane’s dad, David, said. “I told you I would get us here in one piece.”
Shane’s mom rolled her eyes. “And we never doubted you.”
With the next turn, the smooth road turned into gravel, and they slowly drove up the winding path that would bring them to Camp Horizons. The horses were now so close Shane thought if he reached his hand out the window he could pet them. But he remained in his seat with his seatbelt fastened, his stomach flipping from the excitement that finally replaced the boredom of over nine hours in the car.
“Lots of kids fly in, they have a whole section about it on their website,” David Hollander pointed out a few months before.
“He’s only 10 and it’s his first time, I want to be there to drop him off. We’ll do the drive in two days. Then you and I can finally go camping in Shenandoah, which is something I’ve been asking for years to plan.” Yuna Hollander called over from the kitchen where she was doing the dishes. “Just this first year, okay? Then if he wants to go back, we’ll see about flying.”
“There wasn’t a closer co-ed riding camp? What about that one in the Adirondacks your friend told us about?” David could not wrap his head around a nine hour drive from Ottawa to West Virginia for a two week sleepaway camp.
Yuna turned off the sink and stood behind her husband, scrolling to the top of the website where a beautiful collage of promotional pictures framed the words “Voted Best Girls and Boys Riding Camp Ten Years in a Row!”
David sighed. He knew this was a fight he had already lost months ago when Yuna got her heart set on Camp Horizons to be Shane’s first adventure away from home. After all, he had turned ten this year, and it was time for him to spread his wings. After Shane fell in love with horses on a school field trip to an equestrian center, which Yuna had chaperoned, she knew this would be the perfect opportunity for their son.
Now, finally, after months of research, planning, shopping, packing, and driving, they were here.
David gave a wave to the counselor directing traffic and pulled into their designated spot on the grass. “Alright, kiddo! Let’s get you moved in!”
Shane flew out of the car and bounced on his heels behind the trunk where his many duffel bags filled with everything he would need for camp had been patiently waiting. David popped the trunk and arranged Shane’s bulky items right behind the car, labels clearly visible, like they had been instructed. Yuna collected Shane’s pillow, shower caddy, and backpack while Shane grabbed his stuffed horse toy and riding helmet.
“Ready?” Yuna asked.
Shane’s smile was evidence enough that Yuna, like always, was correct. Camp Horizons would be perfect for her perfect son.
The three of them walked up to the welcome tent where Shane received his group and cabin assignment.
“You’re going to be in the Dawn group! That’s the group I started in when I was first a camper,” a chipper counselor named Abby told them. “And you’ll be in Cabin 2 on the boys side of camp. Here’s a map to take you there, but please let anyone in a camp t-shirt know if you need any help!”
“Thank you, Abby,” David said, collecting the map and Shane’s own camp t-shirt.
Shane looked back at the horses and squeezed his stuffed animal. This was going to be the best summer ever.
The three of them made their way through the trees over to the Dawn Boys cabins, which Yuna noticed were right next to the dining hall. “That’s nice!” She said, “No long walks to breakfast.”
A counselor named Patrick greeted Shane from a large picnic table in the middle of a circle of three cabins. “Cabin 2? Hey, that’s my cabin! Let me help get you set up.” He led the Hollanders to the cabin in the center with a small metal “2” hanging above the door.
Patrick swung the door open and proudly gestured inside, “welcome home!”
Shane was the first to step inside, and his excitement about camp quickly turned to dread. Inside the cabin were four bunk beds lined next to windows made of mesh, and one small lightbulb hanging in the center of the room was the only evidence of the modern world. This is where he would be sleeping? For two whole weeks? He felt an ache for his bed at home, filled with all his favorite stuffed animals, with his turtle lamp and glow in the dark stars on the ceiling.
Most of the beds were still empty, with the exception of the two bottom bunks closest to the door.
“This is my bed,” Patrick said, gesturing to one of the bunks. “And this is George’s, your other counselor. You’ll meet him soon.” Patrick stood smiling, ushering Shane and his parents inside. “You’re the first one here so you get to pick any bed you like!”
Shane knew he wanted a bottom bunk, mostly because that’s what his mom told him he’d like best. He took small steps over to the bunk next to Patrick’s and sat down on the thin, crinkly mattress. The grip on his horse became tighter, and Shane fought back tears. This was all hitting him so suddenly, he would sleep here in a room full of strangers and his parents would be in a whole different country, unreachable.
Yuna sat down beside him and rested a hand on Shane’s back. “This is going to be such a fun adventure,” she said in a low voice. “But I know it’s scary, too.”
Shane sniffled and nodded.
“Ope, stuff’s here!” David called. A golf cart with Shane’s bags had pulled up in front of the cabin and two counselors were helping load it inside. “Guess that’s my cue.”
David wasted no time laying the foam mattress topper they had bought on the bed before putting on the sheets and blanket. He knew Yuna was correct in deciding to drive down to move Shane in. He couldn’t imagine their ten-year-old son in this cabin all alone, struggling to make his own bed in a brand new place with brand new people.
“I’ll be making friendship bracelets outside by the fire circle,” Patrick said to Shane, and then to his parents, “let me know if there’s anything I can do!”
***
The three of them finished unpacking and organizing Shane’s things until Yuna was satisfied with the state of the bunk. She even laid down on the bed to give it a test run. “It’s nice, actually,” she said, mostly to herself.
When they returned to the “fire circle” as Patrick had called it, a bunch of other kids and their families were starting to move in. Shane and Yuna played a game of tetherball while David chatted with Patrick, and after about an hour, Shane’s parents decided it was time for them to go. Two other kids had moved into Cabin 2, Hayden in the other bottom bunk and J.J. on the bunk above. Shane’s top bunk remained empty.
“Dawn is usually the smallest group,” Patrick explained, “since we’re the youngest. Mostly ten and eleven year olds, but we have a couple nine year olds this year. There should be two empty beds in your cabin, Shane, so it’ll be just four campers.”
“We’ll write letters every day,” Yuna said while she hugged her son tightly. “Tell us all about riding! I’m so excited for you.”
David took his turn hugging Shane goodbye. “We’re so proud of you, and we love you so much.”
Shane really didn’t want to cry, especially not in front of Patrick. He held his eyes closed and tried not to think about how scared he was.
And then, they were gone, and Shane was alone. He sat on his bunk with his legs crossed and his horse in his lap. What now? Was he really stuck here for two weeks? He hadn’t been away from home without his parents for longer than a sleepover, and even then he was reluctant to actually do the sleeping over part of a sleepover.
“Just one from the airport shuttle this session,” Shane heard a voice outside the cabin say. “Going to Cabin 2.”
Airport? A kid flew here? He leaned over towards the door to lay eyes on the last kid in his cabin. Soon enough, the door swung open, and Patrick walked in behind a boy, here without his parents.
“We have three beds available, but I think it’s more fun to bunk with campers instead of smelly old counselors,” Patrick said.
The boy looked around the cabin, then over at Shane, and finally on the bunk above his. “I guess this one,” the boy said, but his voice was strange, like he came from a movie.
“Great choice, Ilya,” Patrick said, “you’ll be bunking with Shane! Shane, this is Ilya, who flew all the way from Russia, isn’t that cool?”
Ilya and Shane stared at each other. Ilya was taller than Shane, and his head was a mess of frizzy brown curls. He had a backpack that was way too big for him slung over one shoulder and gripped a pillow in his other arm. His wide eyebrows framed his face and his lips were pouted as he looked around the cabin.
“Hi,” Shane said.
“Hi,” Ilya replied.
“Do you want help making your bed?” Patrick asked.
“No, I do it,” Ilya said in what Shane now knew was a Russian accent.
Ilya dropped his backpack at the edge of the bed and grabbed the duffle Patrick was holding.
“Okie dokie then, I’ll leave you to it!” Patrick said cheerily. “Welcome to Camp Horizons, boys!”
Shane sat frozen on his bed while Ilya climbed up and down the wooden rungs, carrying his sheets and blanket. He felt bad that Ilya didn’t have a mattress topper like he did. Eventually, Shane remembered he could move and that he still had his pictures of his family and friends from hope to tape up in his bunk. He began to silently decorate.
“Is that your parents?” Ilya asked, causing Shane to jump a little.
He turned to see Ilya standing beside the bunk, out of breath from making his own bed.
“Yeah,” Shane said, “I’m from Canada. But that’s not as far as you.” Shane thought it would be rude to ask why Ilya’s parents didn’t come to help move him in, but he became excited there would be someone else who wasn’t from the United States. He knew his mom was worried he wouldn’t fit in with the American kids.
“Yes, Russia is far,” Ilya said in his fragmented English. “I am glad to be away.”
“Really?” Shane was already horribly homesick and couldn’t imagine feeling happy to be an ocean away from his parents.
Ilya just shrugged, and climbed back up into his bed.
Shane got up and put his sneakers back on, which were already covered in dust and dirt even though he had got them brand new just for camp. “I’m going outside,” he said to Ilya, who didn’t bother to respond. Shane figured he was exhausted from travelling all the way from Russia, so he didn’t think much of it. He pushed open the screen door and walked back to the picnic table where Patrick was sitting with some other kids and two other counselors.
He sat down next to Patrick and watched carefully as Patrick tied small knots on his friendship bracelet.
“I can make you one next!” He offered. “Just tell me what colors you want.”
Shane smiled. No one had ever made him something before. “Ok.”
“We have quite the international cabin. You’re Canadian, Ilya, is Russian, and George is British! He has the best accent,” Patrick said.
“Is that so?” A man said behind them. Shane turned to see a tall muscular man in a camp t-shirt wearing the nametag “George.”
“Speak of the devil,” Patrick said. “Shane, this is George! Shane is in our cabin.”
“Awesome!” George said.
Shane smiled. His accent was pretty cool.
“What time is it? I'm already so hungry.” George looked down at his watch and smiled.
“Are we missing anyone?” Patrick asked.
“I think our airport kid was the last. We’ve got a full house!” George replied.
“Sweet, let’s round them up.” Patrick stood and cupped his hands around his mouth, then in a booming singsongy voice, called out “fire circle, fire circle, Dawn is coming to the fire circle! That means can everyone please join us on the benches!”
Shane hurriedly followed Patrick and George to the ring of wooden benches that surrounded a small fire pit. He took the seat next to Patrick. Within a few minutes, everyone found their places in the circle. Shane counted 13 kids, including himself, and 6 counselors.
“Is ok if I sit?” Ilya asked from Shane’s right.
Shane just nodded in reply and scooted over a bit to make room for Ilya. Their other bunkmates, Hayden and J.J., who must’ve been friends already, were sitting across the circle.
“Hey everyone!” Patrick said, waving around the circle. “I think I’ve met all of you already, but again, my name is Patrick, and I’m your group leader! I’m so excited that we’re finally all here together, this is looking like an awesome group. We’re going to head to lunch in a bit, but before we do, we’re going to play a little name game so we can start to get to know each other.”
The name game was nothing extraordinary, Shane had done similar activities plenty of times in school. Afterwards, Patrick and George taught them some of the Dawn group chants, starting of course with “fire circle.”
“Alrighty then, Dawn, let’s head to lunch!” Patrick said with a loud clap. All of the boys stood and formed a clump behind the counselors as they headed in the direction of the dining hall.
“I hope food is good,” Ilya said to Shane.
He gave Ilya a smile. “Ugh, me too.”
The two of them walked side by side to the dining hall and found seats next to each other at the Dawn boys table. Shane was immediately overwhelmed by the sheer amount of bodies in this small space, the competing waves of voices coming from all directions. Everyone around him seemed older, more sure of themselves. Even the Dawn girls, sitting at the table across from theirs, were all leaned in close and giggling together. Shane looked up at the ceiling, trying to concentrate on his breathing like he practiced with his mom.
“You ok?”
The boy’s voice next to him seemed to reset Shane’s nervous system, bringing him back into the present moment. He looked over at Ilya, what a strange name, and nodded. Yes, he was ok. He would be ok. He would make it through this day and then maybe tomorrow he could ask to be picked up and he could go home and just pretend this never happened.
Ilya didn’t seem concerned about Shane’s well-being for long, though, as soon as the tray of turkey sandwiches and heaping bowl of potato chips was placed on their table.
“Everyone say ‘thank you kitchen staff,’” George called out, and the boys echoed in response.
Shane took a sandwich and chips and began eating. He could hear the boys around him asking each other where they were from, what sports they played, if they had been to camp before, if they had ridden a horse before. A few times he looked up and thought about chiming in, but he knew no one would be interested in what he had to say. He noticed that Ilya wasn’t really chatting with their fellow campers, either. The two of them ate their lunch in silence, and for some reason that made Shane feel better. At least he wasn’t the only one.
***
After lunch they went back to the fire circle at Dawn and spent another hour or so playing get to know you games. Shane still felt like he didn’t know everyone’s names and he was worried that when the counselors took off their nametags he would forget theirs, too. Everyone’s faces and names blurred together, except Patrick and George of course, and Ilya too, he figured. They were all released to their cabins to spend more time getting settled before heading to the pool to take their swim tests.
Shane already felt as settled as he could be. He had displayed the few bunk decorations he brought: photos, Pokémon cards, an Indiana Jones poster he saved from a magazine, and a postcard of two horses his mom got on his school field trip.
“Wanna play cards?” J.J. asked, leaning over the wooden rail of his top bunk.
“What game?” Hayden called back up.
“I dunno.”
“Do you know ERS?” Hayden asked Shane.
Shane shook his head. “What’s that?”
“Oh my gosh it’s so fun you’ll love it. You have to slap the cards the fastest if like, there’s two of the same or if there’s a sandwich and also if a queen and king are together and that one’s called marriage.” Hayden was already sitting on the floor with a deck of cards and began to deal four piles.
J.J. hopped down and sat next to Hayden. “We played this all the time at hockey camp last year,” he explained.
Shane carefully joined their small circle. “Ok, but you’re going to have to explain the rules again.”
“It’s really easy,” Hayden promised, “you’ll catch on really fast.”
“Ilya, do you wanna play?” J.J. called up to Ilya, who was laying in bed with a book.
He didn’t respond.
Hayden stopped dealing the cards for a second. “Should I do three or four piles?”
J.J. shrugged.
“Ilya,” Hayden said, “wanna join? It’s fun, we promise.”
Ilya put his book down and leaned over a bit. “Is there winner?”
Hayden let out a laugh. “Oh yeah, it’s super competitive. J.J. usually beats me but it’s still fun even if you don’t win.”
Ilya smirked. “No fun in losing.”
Apparently the promise of competition was enough to pull Ilya out of his bunk to join the three boys on the floor. Hayden finished dealing and explained the rules again. “We’ll play a practice round,” he said.
He didn’t want to admit it, but Shane also loved to compete. More precisely, he loved to be the best. He loved to win. He suspected that when he played board games at home, his parents still let him win sometimes. Especially playing chess with his dad. But here, on the dusty floor of his cabin, he could maybe actually prove himself a champion of something. Even if that thing was a dumb card game he had just learned from people he just met.
Right away, Hayden and J.J. were the only ones winning any cards, but after a few minutes, Shane started to get a hang of the rules. His hand raced to slap the pile the fastest, successfully earning more cards for his hand.
“Woah, how did you even see that?” Hayden exclaimed, wiping sweaty hands on his shorts. He smiled over at J.J., “looks like Shane is coming for you!”
Shane grinned widely. Hayden remembered his name. Maybe he could make friends with these people, maybe they would like him here.
J.J. flipped a seven, then Ilya a four, then Shane threw down another seven, and Shane’s hand dove back down to slap the pile. He swore he was got it, but when he looked down he realized that his hand was halfway underneath Ilya’s, with a few of each of their fingers claiming the pile.
“Holy!” Hayden cackled. “Wait who gets that?”
Shane looked up from the floor and over at Ilya, whose smile was even bigger than Shane’s. He noticed this was probably the first smile he had seen from his bunkmate.
“I think this is mine,” Ilya said confidently in his thick accent.
“Um, I’m pretty sure I got it first,” Shane replied.
“Pretty sure you are wrong,” Ilya snapped back, still smiling.
Their hands remained firmly on the ground, interlaced.
“Ok, well, let’s just say it’s a tie and keep playing,” J.J. suggested. “Who’s next?”
In response, Hayden played a card, a ten. J.J. quickly added a five, and Ilya played a jack. Now, Shane had only one chance to play another face card or Ilya would win the whole pile. Shane took a deep breath. “Holy…” Hayden muttered. Shane played his card: a two.
“Crap!” Shane cried.
“Ha!” Ilya swiftly scooped the pile and added it neatly to his hand. He thumbed through the cards to show off what was now the largest stack in the game, putting Ilya in first place. “I am best at this game,” Ilya said.
“You got lucky,” Shane said.
“I am winning still, no?” Ilya smirked over at Shane. “Ok, I go again.”
***
“Dawn! Let’s make sure we have our swimsuits on and get ready for swim tests!” A counselor called from outside.
All four boys’ heads snapped to the door and groaned. They were so invested in the game they completely forgot about changing. Shane scanned the current state of things: Hayden had only five cards left, J.J. had a thin stack, and Shane and Ilya were pretty much tied with about half the deck each.
“Pause?” J.J. suggested. “Put your cards on your bed and we’ll come back later.”
Shane and Ilya nodded. “Is not over!”
“Definitely not over,” Shane said back. He stood and brushed the dirt from his butt, gingerly playing his cards at the foot of the bed.
“Or we could start over,” Hayden said. They laughed, because it was clear that Hayden was probably the worst out of the four of them. “Maybe we can ask Patrick and George to play?”
“Yeah,” Shane said, “that sounds fun.”
They started digging into their bags and trunks for their swim shorts. Shane’s heart dropped when he realized what was about to happen. They were all going to change, undress, together in the same room.
“Ok, um, turn around,” Shane said quietly. They each turned into a corner of a cabin to slip off their sweaty move-in clothes and into their swim shorts. Shane carefully turned to see if everyone was decent before rummaging around in his duffel for his towel and sunscreen. His parents made sure he packed extra, since this far south he would be getting hit with way more sun than in Ottawa.
Patrick stepped inside, “hey guys? We ready to hit the pool? Make sure you have everything you need, but we’ll be coming back here to shower before dinner.”
“Is the swim test, like, hard?” J.J. asked.
Patrick chuckled. “Not at all. We just have to make sure you can tread water and swim a lap in order to let you guys into the deep end.”
Shane had been going to his neighborhood pool for many years and took swim lessons when he was younger, so he wasn’t worried. He was excited to get in the water with his new friends.
Cabin 2 followed Patrick to the fire circle, and once the whole group was present, they walked over to the pool. They were introduced to a woman named Erica, who said she was the head of aquatics and would be helping give their tests.
“If you don’t pass, don’t worry, you can still go in the pool, you just won’t be able to go into the deep end. And you’ll still be able to go tubing next week with the rest of your group!”
Tubing sounded fun, Shane thought. “Can you swim?” he asked Ilya.
Ilya smiled one of his half-smile-half-smirks that Shane was quickly getting used to. “Duh.”
Shane shrugged, not wanting to egg him on anymore. “Sorry, I don’t know.” Ilya didn’t seem mean exactly, just a bit cold. He didn’t want to say or do anything to potentially make Ilya not like him. He wanted to get along with his bunkmate, if only for practical reasons.
Cabin 1 was first in the water to take their test, and one boy named Jack didn’t pass. He was only nine and wasn't able to tread water.
“Okay, Cabin 2! That’s J.J. Boiziau, Shane Hollander, Hayden Pike, and Ilya Rozanov,” Erica called.
Shane stood with his cabin and slid into the pool. The water was cold, but it was also super hot out and it felt refreshing compared to the sticky West Virginia air.
“Shane Hollander.” Ilya articulated each syllable of Shane’s full name and chuckled to himself.
“That’s my name,” Shane said with a half smile. “Ilya Rozanov.” Shane used his best Russian accent, which wasn’t very good at all.
“Wanna race, Hollander?” Ilya said, nudging Shane with his shoulder.
“Oh, you’re on, Rozanov.”
“Just to the end of the pool and back please, however you want to accomplish that,” Erica said. There was a slightly awkward pause, then she added, “you can go.”
Shane and Ilya dove below the water, both immediately picking up a strong freestyle. Shane tried to remember what his instructors had told him back in his swimming lessons, but the only thing he could think of is how good it would feel to pop out of the water before Ilya did.
“I win!” Shane spat, head still halfway underwater. He opened his eyes to confirm that he had made it back first.
“Barely,” Ilya replied and shook out his hair. His curls reappeared, hanging in front of eyes that Shane now noticed were a sparkling blue-green.
“Still beat you,” Shane said.
Ilya splashed him playfully.
“And now, swim a few feet out and I’ll time you for one minute of treading water. And, go,” Erica did not seem to care about Shane or Ilya’s nonsense.
Everyone in Cabin 2 passed their swim test, and they sat together in the grass wrapped in towels while Cabin 3 took their turn. They took turns teasing each other about looking silly while treading water, and Shane couldn’t help but notice that he really wasn’t dreading camp at all. And they hadn’t even spent time with the horses yet.
***
“You’ve never had s’mores?” Shane was genuinely shocked.
“What is s’mores?!” Ilya threw up his hands in frustration. “That is not a real word.”
After returning to Dawn to shower and get in comfy clothes for dinner, the group sat around the fire circle while the counselors built up a fire in the middle.
“S’mores are amazing and delicious,” Hayden said, “just wait.”
“Before we get started,” George said from the middle of the circle, “it’s time for the fire safety talk.” George gave a fairly entertaining run down of the rules of the campfire, but Shane’s eyes were locked on the growing flame in front of him. He loved the smell of campfires, he decided.
“Cabin 2, come grab your marshmallows!”
“Are we going to be second every time?” J.J. asked.
“They can’t do that to us,” Hayden said.
Each of them stuck the marshmallow on their stick and found a spot around the fire to roast.
“How you know when is done?” Ilya said.
“Um, depends how roasted you want it, I guess,” Shane said. “But I like mine on fire. Crispy and gooey.”
“Ok. I will do that too.”
Shane’s cheeks flushed from the heat of the fire and the warmth of Ilya’s confidence in him.
“Fire in the hole!” Hayden yelled when Shane lifted his flaming marshmallow to blow out the flames.
“Perfect.” Shane admired his marshmallow handiwork.
The three boys watched eagerly for Ilya to take his first bite. They leaned in around him, laughing when Ilya’s graham cracker immediately broke in two after he sunk his teeth in.
“So?” J.J. asked.
All Ilya could get out with his mouth full of s’mores was “wow.” That earned a chuckle from Hayden and J.J.
Shane ate his s’more carefully, making sure he collected all the crumbs in his napkin, then collected the trash from his cabinmates.
“That’s nice of you Shane,” Patrick, who was in charge of the trash bag, told him.
Shane just shrugged. “Makes it easier.” He sat back down on the bench and returned his gaze to the fire, which was burning strong. The sun was setting now, and a light breeze cooled the air, and Shane was content.
Soon, everyone had finished their s’mores, and the group sat quietly around the flames as the sky grew dark.
“Now what,” Ilya whispered, “we just look at it?”
“Yeah,” Shane whispered back.
“Fun.”
Shane rolled his eyes at Ilya’s sarcasm. He was exhausted from the long day, which started with many hours of driving. That felt like so long ago now, it was like he had been at camp for days already. He looked up at the night sky framed by trees, the stars were brighter than he’d ever seen from home. Home. What were his parents doing right now? He hoped they were on their way home safely so they could start sending him letters. Shane started to plan what he would write in his first letter.
“I like the people in my cabin. I passed my swim test. I learned a new game and I’m really good. My bunkmate is from Russia. I am having fun.”