The new campers streamed into Camp Jubilee. As well as twelve campers can stream. Most of the old campers had left, so all together there were 28 campers. I was the youngest at the camp. It was my birthday, 13. All the other campers were 14 or older. Around 6:00 my best friend Hoku took me for a walk. Me and Hoku had been best friends since I was a baby. She was 15, but too much older than me. As we walked, she talked to me, about Adam.

“You really like him don’t you?” I asked.

“I guess. He’s so sweet and cute. Don’t you like anyone? Have you ever?” she asked as she looked up at the stars.

“Not really. After all, I’m the baby of camp with the eyes. (AN: huh?) I have my own style of doing things and I see things that most don’t. Not exactly girlfriend material,” I replied. (AN: Okay . . . )

I followed her gaze upward. The stars seemed to shin extra brightly.

“Oh Meka. I’m sure if you tried you could get one. Everyone loves you, & your eyes are special. I’m jealous,” she laughed. I reached up and plucked an apple of a low branch.

“Someday I’m going to leave this place,” I looked around at my prison. Most people wouldn’t think of Camp Jubilee, located in Hawaii, as a prison. but to me it was, even though at the time I didn’t know why. I had a lot of learning left.

We ran back to camp with me laughing, my blue eyes flashing. once back in sight of the camp building she pushed me on my rear and took off running.

“Hey! That wasn’t very nice!” I yelled to her. I picked myself up and ran after her. I followed her around the mess hall then stopped.

“Surprise!” all the camp yelled. There were balloons and streamers all over the place. A dj booth was set up and Stephen counselor) was putting music on. One table was crowded with boxes wrapped up in different shades of brown paper. You’ll understand in a second. (AN: That’s what I keep telling myself.) Another table had a cake with confetti icing.

“Come on birthday girl, blow out your candles!” Ashleigh smiled. I took my place behind the cake made in the shape of a star. The camp sang Happy Birthday with all their hearts, even those new campers. And I mean all their heart. Pele did opera while Loke did country western. I smiled as I blew the candles out in one breath.

“Since you got them all in one breath you get two wishes,” Mahi said. I closed my eyes and silently said, “I wish for adventure and I wish for a boy, like a boyfriend.”

Karen (another counselor) cut the cake and passed a piece out to everyone. It was funfetti, only the best kind of cake.

“Present time!” Hoku danced around. She loved celebrations of any kind.

I sat on the ground and everyone sat around me. I looked around at the new campers. One boy specifically caught my eye. But Hoku thrust a present into my hand and disrupted my thoughts. Written in black ink on the top it said “To: Meka Pakuna la Mino’aka From: Camp Jubilee.” (AN: I have no idea what that means, but I went through a stage where I tried to learn Hawaiian and learned quite a bit.)

I opened it. inside was a green rock. Not naturally green, it was painted green with yellow flowers and the words “Fear Not” written in white. I knew it was homemade which made it even more special.

“I painted that. I know how much you like natural things,” Adam smiled. (AN: “So I took a natural thing and ruined it for you.”) I smiled as Hoku handed me the next box. It had the same thing written on the top in black ink.

“And to keep it in. . .” Ashleigh let it hang. I pulled out a tiny bag made out of leather. There was a chord attached which I looped around my neck. The stone fit perfectly inside. I started opening the next box as I thanked Ashley. This box had the same thin on top and a dreamcatcher insid.

“Made by yours truly,” Hoku smiled. It was very pretty, made of leather straps, clear fishing line, feathers, and ribbon.

“Thank you,” I smiled. The next box (I’m going to stop saying what’s on top; they’re all the same) contained a pocket knife. My initials (MPM) and a serpent, this is not a bad symbol, were carved in the handle. I knew who this was from. Mahi, he always gave people some kind of weapon. Pretty funny.

From Loke and Pele I got a beautiful crown made of roses and lilies. I put it on my head and Stephen yeleld out, “All hail mighty Mino’aka!” We all got a good laugh outta that.

Ka’ao, Grace, Savannah and Mahu had gotten together and gave me a bow and arrows. I thank them greatly. I knew they weren’t mocking me, like people out side of camp would. Craig gave me a beautiful new leather journal. Phillip gave me a stick pencil and Maho gave me a little jar set of paints. Akamai gave me a compass “for my adventures” as he put it. Kuna gave me a map book that was empty, just full of graph paper and regular paper.

“You know the island so well you might as well make your own map,” he explained. I thanked him too.

I didn’t expect the new campers to give me anything but they too had a present for me. It wasn’t bagged or boxed because it would have died. I knew that Karen’s parents breeded animals. She had gotten a baby animal for me. So from the new campers and counselors I got a young cappuchin monkey. When handed to me the first t hing he did was run onto me head and sit there. He yelled monkey noises.

The guy I had been looking at said, “Looks like had too much coffee.”

“That’s a good name. Coffee. Hello Coffee,” I said to the monkey. He stuck his tiny hand out and I carefully shook it.

Stephen let out a loud yawn. “Time for bed little kids,” Julia teased (another counselor, there were 6). I started picking up my presents, Hoku helped. The counselors began to clean up. I offered to help but they insisted the birthday girl shouldn’t clean up her own party. I heard Mahi talking to the new campers, telling them about all of us old campers. Coffee was jumping from shoulder to shoulder of each person. I silently prayed he would calm down when we got to the cabins.

We followed the dirt path through the trees, weaving around the roots that stuck up in the way. Within minutes we were at the cabins in the wood clearing. The cabins at Camp Jubilee were weird. There were three main rooms in each. The boys room, the girls room and the front room located in the middle. Each side had a bathroom.

The members of each cabin were listed on the door. I already knew my cabin since I lived there year round. Hoku was in my cabin so we went to the one farthest from the campfire.

“Look on the lists to see where you’re staying. The stuff you brought will be on your bunk. The counselors probably won’t be in until later. Don’t stay up too late because tomorrow is Sunrise Watching. See ya,” Phillip explained.

The new campers kinda wandered around, not knowing where to go. I ran, even though I wasn’t supposed to, to my cabin and came back with the camper list.

“Zac, Sarah and Nathan come with me!” I called out. Three kids stepped foward. One was a girl with jet black hair and tan skin. She looked Korean. One of them had brown hair in a bowl cut and the last was the boy. They followed me, Hoku and Craig to our desolate cabin. Craig lagged behind, kicking rocks.

Sarah saw our destination and ran ahead. She didn’t go inside though. “It’s kinda dark,” she stated the obvious.

It was by far the spookiest of all the cabins which is why me and Hoku had chosen it, we liked the adventure. Craig was somewhat of a scaredy-cat and had gotten stuck in our cabin. Before going in I grabbed some logs and Hoku did the same. We set them in the fireplace and after a short struggle with matches a flame developed.

“Is there no electricity?” one boy asked looking around.

“Nope,” Craig answered as he straightened a picture over the mantlepiece. I had painted it, of my horses Wild Rose, Meadowlark, Free Spirit and (AN: And that’s all she wrote.)

Written: Age 12

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