Free Benjamin Dragon - Awakening (The Chronicles of Benjamin Dragon) by C. G. Cooper

remember what they were about. The dreams merely left him with a feeling that he was falling…or was it flying?

Chapter 19 : Camp Stuff
     
    The first full day of camp was filled with activity. Benjamin enjoyed all his morning classes, but was ready to see his friends at lunch. The other older kids that weren’t in Tomahawk looked at him funny all morning.
    Nathan couldn’t stop talking as they ate peanut butter and jelly sandwiches with a layer of crispy crunchy potato chips in between. It was a habit Benjamin had recently picked up from Nathan.
    “I wish you guys were in my archery class,” said Nathan. “It was awesome. The counselor said I have a natural gift.” Benjamin’s ears perked up at the sound of the word ‘gift.’ “Can you believe it? I’ve never even picked up a bow before!”
    And so it went for the rest of lunch. Benjamin told his friends about what he’d learned in craftsmanship, and Aaron instructed them in the proper way to hogtie a prisoner. The counselor teaching his wilderness survival class was a tough old Marine who liked to demonstrate his knot tying techniques on campers. It was all in good fun, of course.
    Lunch was done and the three companions split up for their afternoon sessions.
    Benjamin was headed to the lake for his first canoeing lesson when someone called his name.
    “Benjamin!”
    He looked around, not picking out the voice until the other campers cleared. Benjamin’s eyes widened. It was Emily, the girl he’d saved.
    “Benjamin!” Her smile was wide as she made her way over. Benjamin marveled as her ponytail swung and bounced as she walked.
    “Hey!”
    “Hi.”
    “I didn’t know you were coming.”
    “Yeah.”
    She waited for him to say something else. Instead he kicked a rock and avoided her gaze.
    “Are you okay?” asked Emily.
    Benjamin didn’t know how to reply. Whenever he saw her in the halls at school he’d had a whole period to think about and muster the courage just to say, “Hi.”
    “I’m okay. When…uh, where are you going?”
    “Oh! I’m going to canoeing. You?”
    He blushed. “Uh, me too.”
    “Great! Can I walk with you?”
    He nodded and they went on their way. As they walked, she talked and Benjamin tried not to say anything stupid or trip over his feet.
    This was Emily’s second summer at camp. She liked the classes he’d chosen. She’d taken most of them the summer before. Canoeing was the only class they had together. It made Benjamin a little sad.
    Emily hadn’t come with anyone. She did have a lot of friends from the summer before. Some of them waved to her as they neared the lake.
    “Have you ever canoed before?” she asked.
    “Just a couple times with my dad,” croaked Benjamin. He couldn’t seem to make his mouth work the way he wanted.
    “I tried it last summer during free time. I think it’s gonna be a really fun class.”
    “Yeah,” he managed to get out.
    Emily was right. Canoeing turned out to be a lot of fun. The teacher, a slightly chubby teenager named Rankin, was really funny and made the nervous campers laugh. He was also very serious about safety and made sure each camper could recite the rules before they were allowed into a canoe.
    Despite his size, Benjamin took to canoeing like a bird to flight. By the end of the hour he’d manned the back of one of the canoes and was easily maneuvering in and around the floating buoys. Even Rankin noticed.
    “It’s Benjamin, right?”
    Benjamin nodded.
    “I wasn’t too sure about you, kid, but I think you’re a natural. Good job.”
    Benjamin thanked the counselor and silently enjoyed the pat on the back. It wasn’t often that he was singled out for doing something good when it came to physical fitness.
    Emily said goodbye and promised to find him at free time later that night. Benjamin stowed his life jacket and walked down a new trail to his next class: Wilderness Discovery.
     
    +++
     
    The instructor for Wilderness Discovery was a very fat man named