Broken Little Melodies(6)

There was something special about the girl with big brown eyes. It was going to be the best summer of my life.



At first my buddies were pricks about me and Isabelle hanging out. One of the guys in my cabin was even dumb enough to ask why I’d want to hang around with “trailer trash.” I tackled him to the ground, earning my first disciplinary action at Camp Oscines.

But once I made it clear that she was my friend and I wouldn’t let anyone give her shit, everyone started being a little nicer to her. Well, everyone except Brooke.

After hanging out with Isabelle for three solid weeks, I realized I had more fun with her than with the guys. She wasn’t like the other girls at camp who were always throwing me flirty looks and giggling whenever I was around. She got excited when I pointed out different kinds of plants while hiking, and she was eager to bait a hook herself once I showed her everything I had learned the summer before. She was determined to ride a paddle board, and didn’t care how dumb she looked or how many times she fell.

Best of all, she always knew how to make me laugh, and taught me not to take everything too seriously. There were rumors going around that she was my girlfriend, but Isabelle and I were close enough friends that we didn’t care.

On the first of July, she finally agreed to practice warm-ups together before both our morning and afternoon sessions. It was the first I had heard her sing, and I can’t say I was anything less than totally blown away by the sound. She was especially happy that day, smiling non-stop and bouncing around like a little kid. At first I had no idea why until mail call at dinner.

Adele, the camp’s director, came out with the day’s mail under one arm, and carrying a simple vase filled with one pink rose and one blue in her other hand. It was a sad-looking little bouquet, like something cut fresh out of a garden. When I turned to Isabelle, intending to make some smart comment about how the director must have a boyfriend, my friend’s face was the reddest I’d ever seen it.

“Looks like we have a birthday, boys and girls!” Adele called out, setting the box on a table and holding the vase high. “Isabelle Martin, come on up here so we can give you a proper Camp Oscines birthday greeting!”

An odd little beat of silence followed as everyone turned to stare our way. At first Isabelle ducked her head against my shoulder, too embarrassed to stand. So, as her best friend at camp, I gently took her hand in mine. The look of betrayal on her face gutted me as I coaxed her to her feet. But I decided it was too late to back down without causing her even more embarrassment.

“Ooooh, Roman got flowers for his girlfriend!” one of the guys yelled out. A bunch of chuckles followed until I glared back in the direction of the voice.

“Roman wouldn’t buy anything that sad looking,” Brooke snickered, meeting my glare. “They must be from someone in her trailer park.”

There were a few giggles from Brooke’s friends, but it seemed everyone else held their breath, waiting to see what I’d say. Isabelle pulled away from me before I was fully aware she had gone. I twisted around in time to see her dark hair flying behind her as she sprung from the dining hall.

“That’s enough, Brooke,” the director warned in a sharp tone. “We don’t make fun of our fellow campers.”

I sprinted after Isabelle, ignoring the snarky comments hurled my way. She was already down the long stairway and headed for the thick of the woods by the time I made it outside.

“Slow down, Belle!” I shouted, scaling the steps two at a time. “You never told me you were a track star!”

When she didn’t turn back to laugh like she usually did with my lame jokes, I realized she was more upset than I knew. I finally caught up to her at the other end of our favorite path that split right down the center through the giant Jeffrey Pines, leading right to the lake’s shore.

I’ll never forget walking up to her that day, seeing her silhouette framed by the still water and the peaks of mountains in the background. It was the prettiest thing I had ever seen.

Wordlessly, I ran up to her, wrapping her in my arms from behind. I had never hugged a girl like that before, but it felt natural with Isabelle, like we’d done it a thousand times before. Her shoulders shook as she cried, and her little sniffles could barely be heard over the water lapping against the shore.

“Forget what Brooke said, she’s a bitch,” I said, bending to rest my head against hers. “Why didn’t you tell me it was your birthday?”

“Because…I don’t like…to celebrate it,” she answered with hiccuping breaths.

“Why not?” I pushed.