[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/yoBkm3v.png[/img][/center]

[color=#DCD9D0]“Cool,” Matt exclaimed, when Piper mentioned the stories and legends of the camp. 

But when she quickly added, [color=39b54a]"Don't worry. There's nothing scary in the woods. It's just a story the counsellors make up so you don't wander off and get lost,”[/color] he frowned just a little and answered, [color=00aeef]“Aww, I knew it was too good to be true.”[/color]

Turning his head, he gazed out towards the trees that guarded the two ends of the beach. The enormous evergreen trees stood like sentinels, watching over a kingdom, and immediately Matt thought of the Old Forest in The Lord of the Rings. Remembering the place where Frodo met Tom Bombadil, his mind began racing. He already had the title for his next story … The Guardians of the Woods.

Looking around, Matt saw more and more of the canoes being pulled out and taken into the water. Piper didn’t seem like she was in any hurry, and he relaxed just a little as she began to explain the camp. When she nodded towards the campers, he noticed the kids who were swimming, some wearing life jackets, some using inner tubes. Seeing the boys wrestling on the floating dock made him laugh and he thought about last summer when his family had gone camping and he and his sister had tried to push his brother Danny into the lake. 

As soon as Piper mentioned baseball, Matt looked back at her, with a hopeful expression. Maybe she played the game. Maybe she knew who Bret Saberhagen and Mark Davis were. When she mentioned her dad liked the Braves, Matt grinned, [color=00aeef]"My dad says they're getting better. They've got Tom Glavine and he's awesome."[/color]

Before he could ask if she played baseball, Piper talked about soccer and mentioned she liked running. Excited about every sport and knowing a little about every league he grinned, [color=00aeef]“Did you watch the World Cup last summer? West Germany was so good.”[/color]

Piper just smiled back and when she asked if he played baseball, he answered quickly. [color=00aeef]“Yeah, I play on the Cubs. I’m a shortstop but I like soccer too. I sort of play every sport. Baseball, football, soccer. I even tried hockey but I’m not very good at skating.”[/color]

Realizing he was talking too much, he remembered his sister’s words and her advice before camp. Not everybody likes sports like you do. So don’t talk to everybody like you are with Danny or your buddies. Maybe you’re going to learn something new when you go to that place.

Remembering the artwork he'd seen back in the recreation hall, Matt asked, [color=00aeef]"What about you? Do you mostly do art, or do you play sports too?"[/color]

Before Piper could answer, one of the counsellors blew the whistle again, and the sound immediately caught everyone’s attention.

Matt glanced toward the water, then back at Piper. Had he missed something? Was there something everyone else knew that he didn’t?

[color=00aeef]“So what’s that about?”[/color] he asked. [color=00aeef]“Do we have to go down there too?”
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