Noah sat alone on a log far from the brightly blazing bonfire. His parents had sent him to camp, thinking it would be good for him. Being with other teenagers his own age was supposed to bring him out of his shell.
“All the camp activities are bound to help you make friends,” his father had said. He hadn’t said there would be girls there.
Noah’s already nearly crippling shyness had kicked into high gear. He mostly enjoyed the activities, though. He loved canoeing, even if he couldn’t make eye contact with the girl he’d been partnered with. Alyssa was pretty and seemed popular. A few minutes ago, he had seen her heading over to where the camp counselors were setting up for fireworks. He wished he were brave enough to join her.
Noah sighed, watching his feet instead of the happy, busy campers, noisily roasting marshmallows and making s’mores over at the campfire. He hadn’t even planned to come tonight but his mother had called and specifically asked if he was excited about the fireworks. He knew she’d ask about them tomorrow. He would dutifully take pictures of a few and text them to her as evidence he’d been here. And then he’d get the hell out of dodge and go back to his cabin to read.
He was just pulling his phone out of his pocket, expecting the fireworks to start at any minute when something bright and sparkly caught his attention. He looked up to see a sparkler, shooting stars of light, right in front of his face. A pair of hands, half hidden in the sleeves of a sweater, held it out to him. He looked past the sleeves, up the arms, to the face.
“I brought this for you.” Alyssa pushed the sparkler closer, so Noah had to take it to keep from being burned. “I really appreciated you giving me space today in the canoe. My dad is having surgery today, but my mother made me come to camp anyway. I just needed to be alone with my thoughts, you know?”
Noah swallowed the lump in his throat, pushing past his fear. “I’m sorry. How is he?”
Alyssa stepped over the log to sit next to Noah, so close their legs were touching. Noah had never been this close to a girl before, at least, not to one who wasn’t his sister.
“He’s going to be okay. He had to have a heart bypass, but Mom says the surgery went perfectly.” She paused for a few seconds, as they watched the sparkler sputter and go out. “I just wish I could have been there.”
Alyssa looked over at the staging area for the fireworks and Noah thought she was going to leave. She turned back to him and gave him a shy smile. “Would you like to go get a hot chocolate?” She slipped her hand into his and pulled him up with her as she stood.
Noah was halfway to the concession stand before he realized he had been talking to a pretty girl and forgotten to be nervous. Maybe his parents had been right after all.
Since tomorrow is Valentines Day, I thought I would bring back a sweet story I wrote back when I was writing on Medium. I always imagine this was the beginning of a great love story for Josh and Alyssa!
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A sweet one!
This is a lovely story. I can smell the fire and the s'mores.