My Silver Mate

[Day One - Part Two]

[Samara]

By the time we got to the camping ground, we were all tired. The weather wasn’t all that great, since the sky was muddy and a cloudy blueish gray. It was somewhat disappointing.

"Ok, let's set up camp," Ben said, and I glanced over at him. Even he looked pretty beat. No one argued with him as we each got busy ourselves by setting everything up. Wesley and Heather had their tent up in minutes and while they worked on getting their mattresses and sleeping bags sorted, Ben and I worked on our tent.

"Are we missing something?" I asked as I looked at the mess.

"No," Ben replied. "You just suck at putting up a tent," his remark made me look at him, but he was smiling. I sighed loudly before I tried to get my corner up once again. This time it worked, and I was grateful our tent was finally up. It was our turn to get the inside ready and since Wesley and Heather were done with their tent, they started to prepare for the fire. Once Ben and I were done, I was ready to take a nap. Instead, we joined Wesley and Heather, who had gotten the fire going. The fire sat in the middle of the fire pit, which was surrounded by perfectly placed logs. The grill had already been placed over the fire and I was relieved it was all set up so quickly. It meant we got to eat sooner rather than later. I glanced up at the darkening sky and sighed. The forecast had said it would be clear this weekend, and I hoped it wouldn’t rain.

"What shall it be?" Heather asked as she dug through our food supply. We had already worked out our meals, so it wasn't a question that actually required an answer. Wesley chuckled as he set the coffee pot on the fire. Ben started to prepare our cups while I decided to assist Heather.

"I can scramble the eggs," I offered. Heather nodded before she handed over one of the bottles of scrambled egg mixture, one of the many we had made last night. I grabbed the frying pan, bottle, and oil before I joined the guys by the fire. I carefully situated the pan and then added some oil. The sounds of nature surrounded us, and it felt like we were in our own little bubble, and I loved it. As the pan heated up, I gradually poured in the egg mixture. Heather was right beside me with a pack of bacon and sliced bread.

"I'm starving!" Wesley complained as he watched us prepare our breakfast. Ben poured our coffee while we finished up with breakfast. Heather and I assembled the breakfast sandwiches before we gave the guys their plates.

"Why does it always taste so much better when we are out here?" Ben questioned as he bit into his toasted sandwich.

"Who knows," Wesley remarked as he stuffed his face. Ben made a good point though; it did taste better. Maybe it was because it was cooked outside on a fire? I pondered over that as I ate. I barely listened to the conversation as I chewed my own toasted sandwich thoughtfully.

"What do you say? Samara?" Heather asked as she bumped her knee against mine.

"Huh?" I stared at her blankly and then I realized they were all looking at me.

“Are you interested in going to the fall?” she asked once again, and I immediately nodded as I stuffed the last bite of my sandwich into my mouth. I once again glanced up at the sky and while it was still dark and gloomy, it wasn’t raining.

“Let’s clean up, then we can go,” Ben suggested as he stood up. Heather and I hurriedly collected all of the dirty dishes before we headed over to the makeshift washing basin. Between the two of us, we got everything washed and dried to be used later. Meanwhile, the guys had already grabbed our swimming gear. The walk up to the fall wasn’t too long, thankfully, and we managed to make it there in under an hour. The fall was Oakville’s waterfall, and the large pool of water made it great for swimming in the summertime and while the weather wasn’t great, we could still take a swim. Heather and I headed into the ‘changing room’, which was a smallish cave next to the falls. We hurriedly changed into our swimsuits. We had gotten the matching bikinis last month and where Heather’s was a bright pink, mine was a pale blue. I shivered as I carefully folded up my clothes.

“I hope the water won't be too cold,” I said as we left the cave.

“Either way, we’ve been waiting for this for months,” she remarked. The guys had already changed and were waiting for us to join them.

“Ready?” Ben questioned as he held out his hand to me. I nodded as I grabbed his hand and followed him to the edge. As we peered over the edge, a rush of excitement bubbled inside of me. The thrill of jumping off the cliff had always been adventurous, but I loved it. “One, two, three!” on three, the two of us jumped off the cliff. I tried to hold onto Ben’s hand for as long as I could but, as always, I let go as my arms tried to stop me from falling. My brain was clearly slow to catch up and when we hit the water, I may have screamed.

“COLD!” I yelled as I broke through the surface of the water.

“In coming!” Wesley called out from above us and I quickly swam out of the way, the cold water chilling me to my core. I glanced over my shoulder to see Wesley and Heather jump off the cliff, and I smiled. It was the best feeling. However, the cold water soon warmed up as we swam around, playfully splashing each other. This is what I had been waiting for. This feeling of complete and utter freedom.