When the girls finally settled down to sleep, it was nearly daybreak. On this fourth day, the schedule offered a canoe trip down the river and a nature hike up to the top of a mountain known as Thompson Peak. It was scheduled to be an all-day event, with those interested to meet at the river dock by 9:00 AM sharp. Knowing Dan would be leading the adventure, Adelyn did her best to get what little sleep she could before rising to shower and get herself ready for a rigorous day of paddling down river and trekking up a steep forest trail.

While Cheryl and Julie had at some point that early morning made it back into their cabin, leaving a quieter environment for Adelyn and Courtney, sometime around eight o'clock that morning, Courtney's alarm went off on her smartphone.

"Oh my God, Courtney. . . your alarm!"

The obnoxious little song played on under Courtney's covers as she lay motionless in the bed, seemingly oblivious to the wake-up sound.

"COURTNEY! Alarm! Jesus, turn it off. Please!"

Finally, she detected some movement under Courtney's sheet and the phone stopped.

"Hey. . . You going to that canoe thingy today?" she asked Adelyn in a groggy voice.

"Yeah. Thinking about it."

"Me too. I'm not getting enough exercise at this place. Everyone here is so lazy!"

"Yeah, OK. It's Summer, Court."

"Yeah, but I remember once I went to this cheer leading camp in high school . . . Cheer Camp?  God, we were up every day at seven. We practiced cheers for like three hours after breakfast. Then volleyball and swimming after lunch. We stayed at this college. It was so cool!"

"Ok. I used to have to get up with my dad in the summer and jog with him. Every day. What a terribly boring thing to do. Then I did like two hours of study . . . SATs mainly."

"You always were a nerd, Ads."

"Yeah. I guess you're right . . . I really was, kind of."

"Still are."

"Maybe not these days."

"Right."

Adelyn thought about what Dan was doing that morning to prepare for his big day.

"See, the only thing bad about Cheer Camp, was . . . NO GUYS!  So you know what we did?"

"No telling, Court. You sometimes hung out with some pretty wild girls."

"Yeah, cheerleaders rock! Whoa. Yeah!"

"Shhhhhh! Don't wake up the whole camp, OK?"

"See, we used to wait till the chaperones were asleep. Like eleven or twelve at night? And then we'd sneak out and go down to this fraternity house just off campus? The college guys there were always partying. Like every night twenty-four seven. Geeez. Those guys were amazing. Sex maniacs, all of them."

"I can imagine Court. And I'm sure you didn't encourage them one bit. Right?"

"Didn't need to. That's where we all learned you just don't get drunk around guys like that. You do? . . . . and you're dead meat!"

"Jesus, Court! And you were all minors then, right?"

"Oh yeah. Totally!"

"Wow. A pretty different life, you and me."

"Yeah, I guess. So . . . you still got your V-card I'll bet, huh, Ads?"

There was something inside Adelyn that wanted to lie. To teller her she had by now had sex with a guy, and lots of it. But her upbringing had built in her a strong firewall against lying about anything, and to anyone.

"Well, As i told you before . . . .it's not a terminal condition, you know." 

"Don't know, Ads. With you? . . . It just might be."

"Thanks, Court. Thanks for your faith in me."

"No Prob."

"Look. I'm not a freak because of that, you know . . . And besides, things just might change along that topic. Here at camp. Maybe this week."

"For reals?  You think so?"

"Maybe."

"Whoa, Ads!  So this mystery guy. . . You might have found the real thing, huh?"

"Looks that way."

"Well, if it happens, it happens. It's all good, you know."

"Yeah, I'm taking that approach."

"So OK . . . are we going to this crazy canoe-hike thing today, or not?"

"Yeah, I'm there."

"Cool. Let's go get a shower to wake up."

"Right. Toast and juice at the dining hall, and were outa here!"

* * *

When Adelyn and Courtney reached the river dock, several counselors were on hand to group people, four in each, near the many-colored canoes. The little crafts bobbed in the water next to the dock and were ready to be boarded. Adelyn immediately spotted Dan who was standing next to an older, bearded counselor and the same female employee the girls had seen on their first night at the ice-breaking party. As before she was tanned, super-fit in her khaki shorts and noticeably big-breasted in her navy blue "Camp Harmony" polo shirt. Adelyn also noticed that she still wore her many gold chains around her neck and on her wrists.

The female counselor suddenly produced a battery-powered megaphone and spoke into it, giving her voice a metallic sound.

"Could I have every one's attention here along the dock, people?

The camp attendants in small groups suddenly began to listen for directions. The two girls rushed up to be included in a last group, and Dan moved forward and motioned for them to stand near him--obviously  to be included in his canoe. For an instant, his eyes met Adelyn's and he nodded expressionlessly, careful not to let the others know of his favoritism to her. Adelyn, too, acted as if she had never met him before as she took a place with Courtney near him. When the last straggling campers coming from the dining hall ran up onto the dock now, somewhat after 9:00 AM, they were divided up with the other two counselors and a single remaining male was put in with Adelyn's and Courtney's group, making, with Dan included, an even four passengers.

"So how you all doing this bright morning campers?" the young woman with the megaphone shouted out. She waited for and received a subdued response. 

"Good morning! Hey, I can't hear you guys!"

The group of twenty-some young people this time cheered back, feigning some real, but mostly pseudo enthusiasm for the adventure ahead.

"Well if you remember . . . my name is Diana. And I'll be accompanying you all on this river trip into some dangerous waters, dense forest lands, and possible bear-attack country."

This invoked sporadic laughter and some comical comments by the more amused and fun-lovers in the crowd.

"So did everyone bring with them a bottle of drinking water?"

The older, bearded counselor was walking up alongside the groups of four. From the simple observation of concern on the faces of those who had forgotten their water, he reached into a heavy bag he carried and threw them each a small clear bottle.

"And as most of you forgot to put sunscreen on today, my male assistants here have volunteered to apply it thoroughly on the bodies of  you girls this morning. So girls, please remove all your clothing!"

This announcement, in jest, brought out real and sustained laughter from most the adventurers, Courtney being one of the loudest of the respondents.

Adelyn looked over into Dan's eyes and they boyishly twinkled back at her.

"So now, people. I want to turn this mission over to our expert mountaineer from Canada. The daring, the bold . . . and damn handsome . . . Mr. Dan, the man!"

Suddenly, all eyes were on Dan next to her on the dock—cheering for him, as he shyly stepped forward and took the megaphone from Diana.

"Hello campers," he said dryly. "Some of you have been here canoeing with me already this week, and I would appreciate it if you'd be the one at the back of your canoe to do the steering. The others will be doing the hard work today. You will find four life-jackets in each canoe, which all of you are to wear. So now, please carefully get into your canoes and sit in the center to keep it steady on the water. Put on the jackets and I will release your bowlines when we are all ready to leave the dock."

As Adelyn, Courtney, and the male passenger delicately climbed into their canoe to put on life-jackets, Courtney came close to Adelyn's ear with her mouth to whisper something.

"Can you believe what a babe this Dan the counselor is, Ads? My God. Where has he been these last days? I think we won the jackpot being in his boat. How lucky was that?"

Again Dan's voice rang out from the megaphone. 

"You will each have a paddle and after a while will get the feel of traveling down river. Remember, there are three of us counselors to help you if you get into difficulties. Jim's canoe will be in the lead, Diana's in the rear, and mine will be in the middle to observer our progress. Let's have a great day, everyone. Stay alert and let's have fun."

Adelyn was stunned by Courtney's whispered words. It came as a powerful indication of the evolving situation she knew would occur that day. For she suddenly realized what was already on Courtney's opportunist mind. And it involved the very guy she had herself singled out as so special! She also, with much trepidation, knew exactly what her flirtatious friend's game plan would be on this trip all-day long. For sitting in the rear of the craft, just before last seat, where Dan would soon enter and take his place to steer, Courtney had purposely placed herself at the optimum place to communicate with Dan. The exciting young man of Adelyn's dreams.

As she turned back to look at Courtney, Dan walked along the dock checking the canoes. That's when Adelyn also realized for the first time that morning that her devious friend had purposely worn her revealing short shorts and tight-fitting T-shirt for the outing—carefully and intentionally revealing the perfect sculpture of her cheerleader's body for all to see that day.

The unfamiliar passenger in their canoe, who introduced himself as "Michael" had already, as Adelyn observed, taken in a long look at Courtney's total package as a siren to the mariners. As they maneuvered onto their single seats in line,  and picked up their paddles, Dan climbed into the rear of the canoe and pushed it away from the dock.

"Everybody OK?" He asked.

"Yeah, perfect!" Courtney replied, excitedly.

"Great," he said steering the canoe into a straight line with the others. More quietly he said to his crew, "So you all know I'm Dan . . . and you are . . . ?"

"I'm Courtney. . . this is Adelyn . . . and he's Michael."

"Cool. Thanks, Courtney."

As Dan positioned the little craft closer to the other canoes on the river, Adelyn felt a strange feeling come over her about her good friend, Courtney. It was a mixture of uncomfortable anger and heightened competition she had never sensed before about another girl. It came from deep inside her chest and made her head pound with rage. It was clearly a sensation of new territory she had read about, but had never truly experienced---jealousy!

* * *