"Mads, I'm only going to be gone for a few weeks, it's not that big of a deal," I calmly said into my cellphone. I was talking to one of my best friends, Madison Cooperstein. She was a little less than happy that I was leaving her for part of August to go to band camp. "You'll be fine..." I assured her as I walked across my bedroom. "Maybe. But Lauren and me will still miss you!" Madison replied through sniffles. I heard her blow her nose over the phone, a sign that maybe it was time to cut this conversation short. "I'm sorry Madison, but I have to go. I have a lot of packing to do," I confessed, staring at my empty suitcases. I began unzipping one as my friend gave her goodbyes. I hung up my cell phone and was just about to start piling clothes into the two boxlike bags when my thirteen year old sister, Ashley, walked in. "Hey," she greeted me, her normal emotionless tone turning into a excited one. Sensing the good vibes, I looked up. "Hey. What's going on?" Grinning from ear to ear, Ashley pulled something from her pocket and handed it to me. "Your camp buddy info came," she explained. I returned the smile. The band camp that I was going to be attending,James Willcott Music Academy, gives each new student a "Camp Buddy". A "Camp Buddy" is a teen that has already been to the camp before, and can he or she is responsible for helping out the newcomer. I pulled the letter out of the envelope and gasped. "Him?" I swallowed. "Are you serious?" Ashley snatched the letter back and laughed. "No this is a fake letter I made for you. Yes seriously!" my sister said sarcastically. "Why aren't you excited like me? He's so hot! And I bet he has condoms..." she exclaimed. "Ashley!" I cried. I sat down on my bed. This was a little too much. "What? He probably does." My sister joined me on my bed and handed the letter back to me. I starred at the name on the page....Ricky Underwood. It sounded like a movie star's name. Glancing at his picture, I nodded. "Well, he is pretty attractive...maybe we'll have fun together," I said optimistically as I returned to my suitcases. "Just don't have too much fun," Ashley warned. She left and I rolled my eyes. What sort of fun could I really have at band camp?

"I am not fu**ing going!" I screamed at the top of my lungs. My foster mom looked at me as if I had killed someone, but her tone of voice didn't change from it's usual coolness. "Do not use that kind of language in this house. And yes, you are going to band camp." I scanned the kitchen, looking for something to do, anything to keep my hands busy. I didn't want this conversation to go to far. I reached for a box of gram crackers and started playing with the packaging. "I go every year...I think it's time I sat this game out," I remarked with a half smile. I kept twittering the box, matching my movements to the sound of the kitty clock on the blue kitchen wall. I was a drummer, so this kind of behavior wasn't unusual for me...nor was the fighting with my foster mom. We generally fought every single day. "Well, I think it's time you stepped up to the plate!" she said, taking the box of crackers away from me. "Plus...from the looks of it, you have a really nice camp buddy..." the annoying woman continued. I tried to drown her out by tapping my hand against the counter top. "A girl," she added. "A girl?" I asked, as quick as a fat boy eats a twinkie. "Yes, Ricky. A girl. See for yourself." My foster mom handed me the letter and crossed her arms over her chest. Shaking her head, she stared me down while I eyed the page. Amy Juergens...She was cute. Very cute. She might even have potential..."So, Mr.Underwood, what'll it be? Are you going to camp, or are you going to stand here and cuss some more?" my annoyed foster mother asked me. "Oh...I am defiantly going to camp," I assured her, putting the letter on the table I was tapping. "Alright then. Don't worry, you'll have fun," she told me. I think I know the sort of fun I could really have at band camp.



As the bus sped up, so did my heart. I was so nervous. In a mere forty-five minutes I'd be meeting Ricky and going to a new place where I wouldn't know a soul. I pressed my head against the window and took a deep breath. I was doing yoga breaths when something hit me in the back of the head. Annoyed, I picked up the offending item. It was a drum stick, a monogrammed one. I lowered my eyes to examine the name on the stick....Ricky Underwood. What? Where? How? "Hey," I heard a deep voice close by say. Looking up, I found myself staring right into Ricky's eyes. "Sorry about that. Ya know, my friends...they're kinda crazy." In the background, stupid sixteen and seventeen year old boys laughed like Ben Stiller himself was sitting with them. "It's....it's...okay," I stuttered. He laughed and surprised me by asking "Can I sit here for a sec?". My mind was racing with thoughts, and my own brain begged my mouth to say something, anything, before my camp buddy left. His friends from the back of the bus made kissing noises and rude comments, postponing my thoughts. And yet, I was able to say "Uh...yeah. Okay, sure. Okay". Laughing again, he sat down. It was then that I realized how out of place he looked with the falling-apart bus seats and the half-cracked windows. He was totally gorgeous, from his naturally messy hair to his perfect teeth. "Amy right?" he wondered, turning towards me. "Yup, that's me," I said. Wow, I actually managed to say something without freaking out! "Looks like we are gonna be buddies then," Ricky reminded me, pulling out his buddy info. I nodded. "It's gonna be great, getting to know eachother," he continued, taking his drum stick back from me and slowly getting up from the seat. "See you later," he whispered coyly before walking to the back of the bus where his loser friends sat. Wow, he is too cute! I wonder if other girls think he's..."hott?" Oops...did I just say that out loud? "I said, do you think Ricky is hott?" a girl with pink hair sitting behind my seat asked me. I turned around to face her and said "Uh, I guess..why?". "Because all of the girls at JWM think so. Except me. I don't follow the crowd," she explained with a brace face grin. Then she extended her hand. "Robin." I told her my name and breathed a sigh of relief on the inside. Thank God I was meeting someone that I could actually talk to! "What brings you to James Willcott?" Robin wondered, running a brush through her bright hair. "French horn. What about you?" Robin tensed her body as if she had been dreading this question. "Promise not to laugh?" I nodded. "I play triangle". Seconds after the name of the simple instrument was uttered from Robin's mouth, we both burst into hysterics. I then had a feeling that band camp was going to be sweet!

"Ah, there's the man!" my friend Chuck greeted me with a punch in my arm. Most people...well, most girls really, called him "The Up-Chuck" for his cheesy pick up lines and series of one night stands. Still, Chuck was my best friend and I was happy to see him. The other back of the bus boys, Chuck's gang, followed saute and arm punches were exchanged. I laughed and as they demanded to know who the hottest girl I hooked up during school was. But just as I was about to dish about Alicia, the sexy foreign exchange student from Spain, Chuck looked up from his cell phone and made an announcement. "I just got a text from Mark that Amy Juergens is on this bus." The other boys whooped as I shook my head. "Doesn't she live some where else, like Wisconsin?" I asked the group. "Nah, she lives in our city, man. I've heard about her. Shy little girl. Easy target," Chuck pointed out as he got back to his cell. "Go find her, Ricky!" a wannabee Chuck named Ryan demanded. "Ha, now's not such a good-" I started, but it was too late. The boys were in full swing now, throwing things around like my sheet music and my drum sticks. "Alright, alright." I caved in and was walking up to my new camp buddy when I saw one of my monogrammed sticks hitting her in the back of the head. Without even giving myself a second to think, I greeted her. Thinking that it was better to start easy and apologize, I did and it worked like a charm. "It's...it's...okay," she said. Chuck was right...easy target. She already can't speak around me and I just got there. "Can I sit here for a sec?" I asked her. And now....in 3-2-1..."Uh, yeah. Okay, sure. Okay". I took a seat and made myself comfortable, leaning my head back. "Amy, right?". She confirmed that with shaking words. "Looks like we're gonna be buddies then. It's gonna be great, getting to know each other." I took my drum stick back from her soft hands before whispering her a goodbye. When I returned to my spot on the bus, the boys were still laughing. "Something funny?" a familiar voice said in a slightly annoyed tone. "Adrian?" I turned around, and there she was. Adrian Lee. The girl I thought I left behind for the summer. The girl I thought I was done with. "You thought we were done, didn't you Ricky?" Damn she was good. "Well, you're not," she mumbled, wrapping her arms around for me and giving me a deep kiss. My mind was racing with thoughts of the two hook ups I was going to have. I then had a feeling that band camp was going to be sweet!


I let out a scream of rage the second we were safely out of listening ears. How could this happen? The first party of the year ruined? What kind of goody too shoes idiot would...."Hi Ricky," a nervous sounding male voice stuttered behind me. Jack. "What the hell man?" I yelled, pushing him in the chest. Jack flinched, but didn't do more than that. I didn't care how big or intimidating he was, he wasn't fooling anyone....except maybe Grace. Still gasping for air, she pulled the two of them apart. "You don't need to fight over me! Jack is my boyfriend, Ricky is a....". Before the pretty cheerleader could say what I was, I made another attempt to punch Jack. Just as my arm was heading into full swing, Mrs. Oberbrockling, the camp activity director, blew her whistle. She was wearing her usual all white outfit...like a referee or something. Mrs. Oberbrockling was known for being a sand volleyball coach...and for getting the most students kicked out of camp. Lucky me, right? "Mr. Underwood!" she cried. She walked as fast as her all white Nike sneakers could take her over to where we all stood. "This kind of behavior will send you right to he-" the camp director began. "Ricky is not going to hell! He is going to heaven because the Lord knows that..." Grace but in, her wavy blonde hair bouncing as she spoke. Adrian rolled her eyes. "Oh, please, Grace. We all know that Ricky is no Saint," she admitted. "He certainly isn't. Which is why he is getting some privileges taken away," she shared, staring me down. "Privileges? What privileges?" I asked, annoyed. "You are no longer going to serve as a camp buddy. We will find a new leader for Amy here," said Mrs. Oberbrockling, gesturing toward a confused Amy. Amy crossed and recrossed her arms, obviously upset by the news. Ha, of course she is. Who wouldn't want me to be their camp guide? "And..." Mrs. Oberbrocking continued. I leaned forward in surprise. "There's more?" I whined. The white clad Satan nodded. "Yes, Ricky. There's more. If I catch you doing anything other than talking with any girl, and I mean any girl, there are going to be serious consequences. And I don't mean just a stern talking to like last time. I mean expelled!" I gulped. Keep your cool man...keep your cool. "No problem, Mrs. Oberbrockling. Not a problem," I assured her, waving her off. Finally, after one last sharp blow of her whistle, the evil lady left, leaving everybody speechless. "Well, Ricky...guess I better go find Jack if your orders are true," Adrian whispered in my ear, referring to my punishment. I shrugged her off, knowing that she would never really hook up with Jack...would she? I couldn't let that happen...Grace would be heartbroken. I like her enough not to let that happen. Well, I might break her heart, but there is no reason some other moron should. Thinking fast, I found a way to distract Grace as she lead Jack back to her room for a "talk about how Jesus has influenced his life". Oh please. Adrian cares as much about religion as I do about abstinence. In other words, she doesn't give a flying fish about what Jack was saying. All she wanted to do was get some and distract Jack from discussing the party with the counselors any further. We were already busted, but as everyone knew, they wouldn't make any quick moves until they found out more information. And I bet that Adrian wanted to make sure that she was getting something out of Jack, but the counselors wouldn't. Smart girl. "Grace, would you pray for me? It looks like I'm going to need..." I requested, smiling down at the beautiful blonde. She squealed in delight and ran toward a bench to get started. That left only me and Amy left. "Do you...do you...want to go out for coffee sometime?" she asked. "I know you aren't, aren't my buddy anymore, but..." Amy continued in her cute little way. "Sure. I'd like that," I said, shooting her a toothy grin and taking her hand. Mrs. Oberbrockling can try to stop me, but she can't stop the girls.