Camp Shoni
by Pamela
Chapter 11
Lauren and the bunnies in her cabin ate dinner together at an assigned table in the dining hall with Marilyn sitting at the head. It was a camp rule that everyone wear their camp tee shirt to dinner so the dining hall was broken up into pink and blue tables depending on whether the girls in a particular cabin were bunnies or wolves. Just next to Lauren's table were the girls from the wolf's cabin at the same age as Lauren's group. At first sight they didn't seem to be that much different from the girls in Lauren's cabin, but the more Lauren glanced at them during the meal the more she decided that they were somehow tougher than the bunnies. One girl in particular seemed to be very aggressive in the way she talked and joked with her cabin mates and Lauren decided that she was someone to avoid. In years past at Camp Dan, there had always been at least one tough guy each summer that Lorin had had to avoid lest he bear the brunt of some cruel stunt. Usually the bully picked on someone even more socially inept than Lorin.
During dessert Lauren happened to glance up at the tough girl at the wolves table just as she was staring directly at Lauren and their eyes met for a brief second until Lauren looked away. What Lauren had seen in that flash of contact was not nice. The girl had trouble written all over her. Lauren would definitely give her as wide a berth as possible.
After dessert, when the girls were about ready to head back to the cabin, Marilyn reminded Lauren that Ms. Rovelstad wanted to see her about being the camp gonger. While the other girls left for the cabin, Lauren went up to the front of the room where Ms. Rovelstad sat at a special table with the camp nurse, Scotty and some other camp employees.
Ms. Rovelstad noticed her and said, "Hi Lauren, I guess you're here about being the camp gonger?"
"Yes, ma'am," Lauren said politely.
"I can't thank you enough for volunteering! It's such an important job with so much responsibility. Are you sure you're up to the task?"
"Oh sure, Ms. Rovelstad. I love getting up early. I've always been an early riser. Actually I think it's kind of romantic early in the morning with the sun just brightening up the sky a little bit."
"You sound like a poet," Ms. Rovelstad said and Lauren blushed. Ms. Rovelstad went on to explain what her duties as gonger would be and gave her a special alarm clock that would shake her awake every morning as well as a fancy felt covered wooden mallet with which to strike the gong. "Remember, 7 loud gongs about 10 seconds apart every morning starting at 6:30 sharp and ending at 6:31. Got that?"
"Absolutely," Lauren said excitedly. She had decided this was going to definitely be a fun job.
"Tomorrow I'm going to meet you at the gong. If you do it successfully the way I described then you can consider yourself the official camp gonger."
"Great. Ms. Rovelstad. I won't let you down!"
On the way back to her cabin Lauren had to pass the wolf cabin where the scary girl from the next dining room table stayed. From a distance Lauren saw that some of the wolves were sitting on the front steps and she debated whether she ought to find a different way to her cabin - just in case. At the last second she resolved to not be paranoid - after all this was Camp Shoni and not Camp Dan.
When Lauren came abreast of the wolf cabin, she increased her pace a bit and looked at the ground, aware that the girls on the steps were looking at her. Lauren stole a quick glance their way and sure enough the mean girl was among them. She called out to Lauren, "what's the rush?" Lauren hesitated and the group of wolf girls got up and surrounded her blocking the path.
"What's your hurry?" the girl said.
"I've got to get to my cabin," Lauren said, resisting the urge to tell the girl it was none of her business.
"Duh, but why are you hurrying?"
"She's scared of you Marcie," one of the other girls said.
"I've never met a bunny who wasn't scared of me," Marcie said. "It's what makes them bunnies." The other girls laughed.
Lauren looked at Marcie and the other girls. There was a toughness about them that reminded her of some of the boys of Camp Dan. Still, they were girls and she was certain they could never be capable of the same cruel teasing that she had witnessed at Camp Dan.
"I'm not scared of you," Lauren said and as soon as she said it she realized that it was Lorin speaking. Lorin would never admit to being afraid of a girl.
Marcie grabbed Lauren's upper arm on her bicep. "Are you scared now?"
The firmness of Marcie's grip surprised Lauren. Marcie was powerful, there was no doubt about that, and suddenly Lauren knew that she would be helpless in a fight against her. "I don't want to fight," Lauren said.
"You're smart," Marcie said.
"You're hurting my arm," Lauren said.
Marcie let go of her. "Your arms are like sticks. How can you stand being so weak?"
Lauren looked down at the ground. "I exercise. I just don't get strong. I'm not a boy."
"That's such bullshit," Marcie said. "I can beat up a lot of guys."
Lauren shivered. "Can I go now?"
"What's this?" Marcie said indicating the gong hammer.
"It's for the gong," Lauren said.
"You're the gonger?" Marcie said incredulously.
"Yes. Ms. Rovelstad appointed me."
"You'll be all alone early in the morning."
"I know."
"A perfect meal for a hungry mountain lion."
"Who didn't find a meal during the night," said one of the other girls.
"Very funny," Lauren said. "There aren't any mountain lions, are there?"
"They've moved back into the region last year," Marcie said.
Lauren looked at her for a sign that she was joking but she seemed serious. "Can I go now?"
"Watch your step. What is your name?"
"Lauren."
"Just remember Lauren that the wolves have their eyes on you."
"I will," Lauren said and continued on her way thankful that Marcie and the others seemed only like they wanted to scare her, but not hurt her. Her arm still hurt slightly from Marcie's grip and she had the sudden insight that she was as vulnerable as any girl might be to physical domination posed by stronger boys or even other girls. In other words, Lauren could not just magically transform herself into a Lorin who would protect her from hurt. The boy Lorin was no stronger or able to defend himself than the girl Lauren.
***
When Lauren arrived at the bunny cabin she walked directly to her bunk. The other girls were occupied with straightening their areas, putting clothes away and otherwise relaxing after the excitement of the first day of camp. Joan was on the other side of the cabin talking to Thalia. Lauren lay down on her bunk, put her arms behind her head and surveyed the scene around her. She noticed Eileen had changed out of her clothes and into a thin pale green night gown. Ann nonchalantly pulled up her blouse exposing her bra and Lauren watched as she reached behind her back and unhooked it. The bra fell away from her revealing two small breasts with bright red nipples. Ann then unbuttoned the front button of her shorts and as they slipped down her legs she stepped out of them. Wearing just panties, Lauren saw her reach into one of her cubbies and take out a red nightgown. Before she put it on, Judy came over and engaged her in conversation.
This was a perfect time for Lauren to change into her nightie and she quickly got up, took off her shoes and socks and then, after double checking that no one was looking her way, took off her top and put her nightgown over her head. She would leave her bra on underneath the nightie until everyone had gone to sleep, so that no one would see how flat-chested she really was. If anyone asked her why she slept in a bra, she would say that she liked to wear it until she went to bed, just a habit she had gotten into, hoping that this would be considered enough of an explanation.
Joan came back to her bunk and sat down. She took off her shoes and socks and Lauren noticed that the same blue sparkly polish she had on her finger nails she had on her toe nails. Joan must have seen where she was looking since she said, "this is a perfect time to polish your nails."
"That would be so fantastic," Lauren said.
"I have some red polish but I don't have any pink polish," Joan said.
"Red is OK," Lauren said. "It's my second favorite."
"Good. First we'll do your toe nails and then your fingers," Joan said.
"Would you?" Lauren said excitedly.
"Sure," Joan said, "it's so much fun putting on polish. We can pretend we're at the nail salon." Joan moved over to Lauren's bed and Lauren extended her feet towards her. Working carefully Joan quickly applied the polish to Lauren's toe nails. When she was done, the two girls waited for them to dry and then Joan applied the polish to Lauren's finger nails.
"I can't tell you how excited I am," Lauren gushed. "For so long I've wanted pretty nails but my mom always said I had to be older."
"You have such long graceful fingers. I'm jealous," Joan said.
Ann, Susan and Judy came over to admire Lauren's nails. Judy was topless and Lauren watched her prominent breasts sway as she stood near by. The girls compared their own polished nails to Lauren's and Joan's and discussed the different colors they preferred.
It had been a long day for everyone and it wasn't long before they one by one retired to their bunks. Lauren surreptitiously watched the girls get ready for bed, making careful notes of things she could do so as to appear no different than anyone else. One thing she would have to remember to do more of was brush her hair since she noticed that every girl spent some significant time doing that before going to sleep.
In short order Marilyn announced "lights out" and the girls got under the covers in their beds and switched off their lamps and Ipods. The last thing Marilyn did before turning out lights was to come by Lauren's bed and make sure she had set her alarm clock for 6:00. Lauren had not forgotten. In fact, she had selected panties, a skirt, a bra and top to wear in the morning. When the alarm shook her awake she would grab her clothes, head into the shower room, wash up and then quickly get dressed. Then she would grab her mallet and head out to the gong.
Before Lauren fell into a profoundly deep sleep, she went through the events of this unbelievable day: the packing that morning when she almost slammed the trunk lid on her dad's hand, the bus drive, the haircut at Samantha's that produced Lauren, the kind help of Gus, her encounter with Joan, the trip to the camp, meeting the rest of the girls and settling into her cabin, the swimming, dining, her meeting with the wolves and finally the pleasant time with Joan putting on her polish. Thoughts of all these things swirled around in Lauren's mind. The one feeling she came back to over and over again was the sense of arriving at her true self that came with being a girl. It was a deep seated feeling that reached into her core - the need to be feminine, to express her femininity, to face the world as a girl. Penny's pretty face came to her mind and she felt a slight stab of regret. Yes, Lorin wanted to have Penny as his girl friend, but that was Lorin and she was Lauren. She couldn't see how she would ever want to be masculine, to be an aggressor in the relationship, to be a boy. If only Penny could love her as Lauren then maybe they would have a chance to further develop their budding friendship. These were weighty issues that deserved more thought in the weeks to come. In the meantime, she had the important job of waking up by herself and ringing the camp gong. She had better get to sleep so that she would be refreshed and awake at the first jolt of the alarm clock.
***
The next morning Lauren awoke to the insistent shaking of the alarm clock that she had put in the bed next to herself. The sun had not yet risen and Lauren grabbed the clothes she had laid out for herself and silently tip toed into the shower room. She showered, got dressed and precisely set out for the gong at 6:15 holding the mallet in one hand and her clock in the other.
Halfway across the field toward the gong Lauren was startled by the sight of a light brown, furry animal dashing away from her. At first Lauren was scared thinking it might be a mountain lion, but then she calmed herself with the realization that a mountain lion wouldn't run away from her. The animal was more likely a groundhog or something like that, or at least Lauren forced herself to believe that.
With some relief Lauren saw Ms. Rovelstad walking toward the center of the field and the two of them arrived at the gong at the same time.
"Hi, Ms. Rovelstad," Lauren called out.
"Good morning, Lauren," Ms. Rovelstad said as she came up to her.
"I didn't forgot!" Lauren said.
"I see that. You seem like the dependable type to me and I'm sure I've made the right choice for gonger."
"Did you see that animal running away?"
"No, what was it?"
"I don't know. I'm hoping it's not a mountain lion!"
"Mountain lion?" Ms. Rovelstad said laughing. "You've got to be kidding!"
"Some of the girls said there might be some here."
"Nonsense, Lauren."
Feeling silly, Lauren looked at the clock. "It's almost time!"
"Go ahead and gong away," Ms. Rovelstad said.
Lauren firmly grasped the mallet and swung it as hard as she could into the large, heavy gong, and it let out a loud ringing sound. She repeated the motion 6 more times.
"Very good," Ms. Rovelstad said, "tomorrow you're on your own!"
"You can depend on me," Lauren said.
"I will, but just in case I do set my alarm..."
***
Lauren walked back to her cabin and found the girls climbing out of bed to wash up or otherwise getting dressed.
"Great gonging," Marilyn said.
"So annoying," Ann said, "I never like getting up early."
Lauren discretely studied the different ways that the girls readied themselves for the day. She saw Ann lazily comb her hair while sitting up in bed while Thalia jumped out of bed and rushed to the washroom holding a towel. Joan took her nightie off over her head and fumbled around in her cubby for a bra. Lauren watched her put one on, stand up and then search for her hair brush. She had obviously slept without wearing panties. At the other end of the cabin Lauren saw Janet get up just in her panties and hurriedly run to the bathroom clutching what looked to be a box of tampons. There was a small blood stain on the front of her panties. Her period must have just started.
Judy was standing next to her bunk holding a white bra in one hand and a blue one in the other as if trying to decide which one to put on. Her nipples were unusually long and a far cry from Lauren's tiny boy nipples. Lauren wondered if one day she herself would have the nerve to walk across the cabin to the bathroom in just her bra and panties. Well, the panties would not be feasible since she doubted if she could fully hide her oversized "clitoris," but at least she could walk around in her padded bra and shorts. She hoped that that would not raise any suspicions.
Gazing at the girls, Lauren felt a wave of intense envy come over him. She ached to have breasts like theirs, or at least a vagina, or to have a nice rounded derriere. To all the girls in the cabin, being feminine was easy and natural and taken for granted, but for Lauren it was something that could at any second be betrayed. God forbid she should have an erection, but more likely to occur would be a mental breakdown: falling into depression at the hopelessness of her situation, and then maybe a confession to Marilyn or one of the girls. Lauren was an outsider in some ways, no matter how much she had a girl's temperament or demeanor.
Lauren's thoughts returned again to Penny. Maybe being her boy friend was ultimately less frustrating than pretending to be a girl. But now even that possibility was endangered. Surely before the summer was over Lorin's jig would be up. There would be a slip up, a situation where she could not conceal her true sex. She would be sent home in shame or maybe in handcuffs, and the great irony would be that she missed attending the cotillion.
"Let's go to breakfast," Thalia said to her, startling Lauren out of her depressing reverie and reminding her that for the moment she was truly one of the girls. They waited a second for Joan and the three friends filed out of the cabin with the other girls to walk to the dining hall.
***
Thalia and Joan asked Lauren about the gonging and she told them about how serene and peaceful the camp was since she was the only person up and about. There had been some animal, perhaps a ground hog but definitely not a mountain lion that had scampered away across the field as Lauren had approached.
During breakfast Marilyn announced that the activity schedule for each day would be posted on the bulletin board outside the cabin door. The girls needed to consult it to determine where they should be at any given time. Regardless of how individual routines might vary, the entire group had to assemble after lunch every day to go swimming in the lake. Every other day after swimming they would stay at the lake to go boating. Of course, Saturday night after dinner there would be a dance with the boys from Camp Dan. Every other week a bus would take the girls to Camp Dan. The first week the dance would be held at Camp Shoni. Sundays were free days where the girls could do whatever activity they wanted whenever they wanted to.
For the most part Lauren's activities were what she had put down on the application and centered on crafts, sewing and a few sports like archery and badminton. Thalia and Joan and other girls from the bunnies had a similar schedule. Lauren was particularly happy that she had been assigned to participate in the camp play. She wasn't exactly sure whether she would try out for an acting part or maybe just work behind the scenes making costumes or sets. She would see how it went as the summer progressed.
Of all the events of the week, it seemed that the dances were the biggest topic of conversation. There was much speculation as to what the boys would be like, how well did they dance, what kind of crushes might they get on the girls or vice versa. Was it OK to have a summer boy friend if you had one back home. The girls related stories about their past experiences with guys. So much of it was about hoping that a particular boy they knew back home would notice them and how they felt if he didn't. A lot of it was about feeling inadequate and klutzy or awkward. Lauren remembered Lorin's first times with Penny and how awkward Lorin had been. It was hard to imagine that Penny was feeling the same way also.
***
Everyday that went by Lauren felt more comfortable behaving as the kind of quiet girl she felt herself to be inside. She found herself slowing down and becoming more deliberate. Letting the world come to her rather than running about trying to capture the world. She increasingly thought of her body as being that of a girl, a young one who hadn't yet sprouted real breasts. Her nipples often felt slightly tingly and if she squeezed them gently with her fingers she felt especially good.
She thought a lot about the upcoming dance and what she would feel like. She hoped that many of the boys would ask her to dance and that at least one would develop a crush on her. What would she do in that case? She wasn't sure what Lauren wanted. Lorin definitely wanted girls but Lauren was less clear. If by some chance Penny could like her as a girl then Lauren would be pleased to be her girl friend to whatever level it led to. On the other hand, if she was to develop a friendship with just the right sort of boy, maybe she would like that also. It would have to be a boy who was gentle and treated her gently. Of course there was the problem of Lauren's penis: the boys who wanted to pursue Lauren would not appreciate finding out that she was a boy. Did this concern warrant her avoiding the boys? Should she not encourage their friendship? Of course, the more likely possibility was that the guys would find her to be a "skank" and not want to dance with her.
There was also the cotillion at the end of the summer to think about. By then she would know if any of boys wanted to dance with her or not. If they didn't she might just spend the whole evening sitting in her pretty gown watching the couples dancing and feeling like an ugly duckling. That would not be the nicest way to end the summer and she hoped that at least one nice boy would take an interest in her. With these thoughts increasingly entering her head, Lauren became more and more anxious about the impending first dance of the summer.
***
Later that week a letter was forwarded to Ms. Rovelstad from Camp Dan on the off chance that she could deliver it to its rightful owner. The letter was addressed to "Lorin Baxter" at Camp "Dah-nes-tsa" with a note scrawled on the envelope: "Amy, you've got a Baxter enrolled. Maybe this is for you?"
That evening Ms. Rovelstad called for Marilyn to join her in her cabin.
"We have a little mystery here that I'm hoping you can help clear up."
"What's that Amy?"
"Today a letter came to Camp Dan for Lorin Baxter. It's addressed from a girl named Penny."
"I wonder why Lauren's mail is going to Camp Dan and how did they know to forward it to here?"
"They know we have a Lauren Baxter here. But that's beside the point. It's not Lauren Baxter it's Lorin Baxter with Lorin spelled like L-O-R-I-N. They have no Lorin Baxter there this summer though they did for the last five summers."
"That's a remarkable coincidence."
"It's even odder since on the first day of camp there was a phone message for a Lauren Baxter received at Camp Dan that was forwarded to me that I gave to Lauren. The secretary also thought it must be for our Lauren Baxter."
"It's bizarre."
"Since it was a phone message we don't know if it was for L-O-R-I-N or not. Until this letter came I didn't think anything of it. Now, I don't know what to think."
"Maybe this Penny person got the camp names mixed up. You know lots of people find them confusing."
"That may be true but it doesn't explain the L-O-R-I-N does it?"
"You're right. So what are you thinking? That Lauren is Lorin!!! That's outrageous!"
"I know it sounds ridiculous."
"I don't think ridiculous is the right word. Lauren is one of the two or three most feminine girls in the cabin. She's a little angel. To think she's a guy is incredible!"
"I agree with you Marilyn and that's why I'm calling this a mystery. It could be that our Lauren has nothing to do with this Lorin boy. Maybe this girl Penny wasn't told that Lorin wasn't going back to camp this year and maybe our Lauren's mom and dad got the camp names mixed up."
"What should we do?"
"I don't think we should confront Lauren asking her if she is really a girl or not unless we have certain proof," Amy said.
"I agree. She's already so fragile. I often have the feeling that just about anything could make her cry. She's such a tender dear as it is."
"I was mainly thinking 'law suit' if she was indeed a girl. Her parents might not think too kindly about us accusing their daughter of being a boy. On the other hand, if Lauren is a boy, then the parents of all the other girls in his cabin might sue us!"
"Only if they find out!"
"Anyway, all we have right now is circumstantial evidence - it could all just be a lot of nothing."
"I sure hope so."
"I guess if more mail comes for L-O-R-I-N from other people beside Penny it could mean something strange is going on."
"That's true. I'll definitely keep a closer watch on her, though I must say it's not easy to catch her undressed. She is shyer than the other girls - at least I can't remember seeing her walk around in her altogether like the other girls. On the other hand, sometimes you do get shy girls who don't like anybody looking at them."
"Maybe she volunteered to be gonger so she can get dressed alone?"
"She showers every morning by herself - another bit of evidence I guess."
"You could go into the bathroom when she's showering one morning. Pretend you woke up early?"
"Yeah, that's a good idea. I'll try that."
"Anyway, I just wanted to get your thoughts on all of this. Of course, maybe the best thing would be to never find out the answer to the mystery! Ignorance is bliss."
Marilyn left the office but then returned immediately. "I have trick we could do."
"What's that?"
"Ask her if she knows Penny."
"Good idea. If she knows Penny then she'll have to explain why the letter went to the wrong camp and why it was made out to L-O-R-I-N. Here, take the letter with you. Let me know what you find out."
"I'll do that," Marilyn said.
***
On Friday morning, Lauren was taking a shower when she was startled by Marilyn's voice, "can I join you?"
Lauren happened to have her back facing the shower doorway and couldn't see her. Just a moment before she had lathered up with soap and her entire front was covered with suds. She turned her head and caught a glimpse of the naked form of Marilyn standing in the doorway.
"I got up early today," Marilyn said staring at Lauren's thin form. Lauren's behind seemed kind of small but her legs seemed effeminate enough.
"Sure, OK!" Lauren said with surprise. As if in a trance, her feelings ricocheted from a sense of total desperation that she had been found out, to fearless resolve that she would be able to find a way to protect her secret. In a fraction of an instant she formulated a plan: she just had to wrap herself up in her towel that was hanging on a hook on the opposite side of the shower from Marilyn. The only trouble was that she was soapy and she would have to rinse off without Marilyn seeing her front. She backed into the stream of water rinsing herself, turned her head to see where Marilyn was looking. By chance Marilyn was putting her own towel on a hook and Lauren lunged through the water splashing the soap off her front while bending over and grabbing her own towel off the hook and pressing it against her front. Marilyn swiveled around as fast as she could to get a glimpse of Lauren but the remnants of some soap and the towel made the view indecisive.
"You're still soapy," Marilyn said.
"I'll be late to gong," Lauren replied, and ran around Marilyn avoiding the running water. Once out of the stall she rushed to the bench where she had put her clothes. She dried herself as fast as possible and raced to put on her panties and skirt. Just as she got her bra on she heard Marilyn turn off the water. Lauren turned to face Marilyn trying to look and act as relaxed as possible.
Marilyn stood in front of her, large breasts swaying slightly, a full bush of pubic hair and water collecting in a puddle at her feet. Being naked was purposeful: Marilyn watched Lauren's crotch to see if an erection appeared. She hadn't met a man who could stifle an erection in her naked presence. However, nothing seemed to be evident in Lauren's case and she went about drying herself off.
Lauren quickly put on her top and sat down to tie her shoelaces. "I love hitting the gong. It's so much fun."
Marilyn smiled at her. She thought she might have seen a little red something poking up through the suds where Lauren's penis would be, that is, if she had one, but she could just have easily imagined it. She also seemed to have observed that Lauren was flatter than she should have been if she was a girl. Were there breast buds or not? Once again the soap and towel covered just a bit too much to be decisive. The fact of the matter was that Lauren either was the slipperiest little devil she had ever met, or she was truly excited about gonging. Unfortunately, Marilyn would have nothing to report to Amy on that front, though later in the day she planned to surprise Lauren with the letter and see what happened.
***
Walking across the field to strike the gong, Lauren attempted to recover from the harrowing experience with Marilyn. Was it an innocent move by Marilyn, or was there forethought? There was a real possibility that Marilyn was suspicious of her identity and Lauren would have to redouble her efforts at keeping her secret. One of her greatest vulnerabilities lay in the inevitable mail that would come to Camp Dan. Already she had accepted the phone message sent to Camp Dan. If letters started coming how would she explain them away? It was particularly incriminating since they would see that they were for "Lorin" and not "Lauren." On the other hand, she wasn't sure that the people at Camp Dan would even think to forward Lorin Baxter mail to Camp Shoni. Hopefully they wouldn't, and if they did, she would have to insist that she didn't know who Lorin Baxter was, no matter how implausible it sounded. Hopefully the first letter would be from someone like Penny so even if they opened it and read it, there wouldn't be some piece of information that would tie the letter to Lauren Baxter. After that they might start putting the Lorin letters in the trash, or sending them back. She could only hope.
As Lauren was striking the gong she had a brilliant idea. She would write letters to herself at camp, putting the return address for people back home. She could use different handwritings to make the letters look different. It was bound to reduce the suspicion surrounding the letters to Lorin at Camp Dan.
While walking back to the cabin she realized that this was too risky: Marilyn would be able to see to whom Lauren was sending letters when she collected the mail each morning. No, a better approach was to write to Beth and beg her to do the job. She could send a whole bunch of mail to her at Camp Shoni. A variety of different letters, in different hand writings from different people. Surely Beth would do it for her. With that mail coming it would prove that the Lorin Baxter mail was intended for someone else.
***
That afternoon Marilyn slipped the letter for Lorin Baxter at the back of the pile of mail that she was to distribute to the girls during mail call. She would ambush Lauren by calling out her name and handing her the letter. If Lauren knew who Penny was it would be revealed instantly before Lauren had a chance to protect herself.
Marilyn gathered the girls around and called out the names of those receiving letters. The first few were for Eileen who seemed to correspond to a large number of people, then there were letters for Ann, Thalia and Judy. The next letter Marilyn read out nonchalantly, "Lauren Baxter," and then saw that it was from a girl named Beth and indeed it was for L-A-U-R-E-N not L-O-R-I-N. It was a legitimate letter and suddenly she decided not to give Lauren the "Lorin" letter. She would have to tell Amy about the real letter before she did anything that she might regret. If Lauren were a boy, then he might have arranged for a friend to send a letter to Camp Shoni, but then that was getting into the realm of far-fetched. How much cunning was it fair to assign to Lauren before one was acting paranoid?
For her part Lauren was overjoyed to see that she had received a letter from Beth. It could not have come at a more opportune time since it offered her a measure of protection from any suspicion created by Lorin Baxter mail arriving at Camp Dan.
Lauren opened the letter and read:
Dear Lauren:
If you are reading this than I am so happy for you. It means that you arrived safely at Camp Shoni after your long struggle. You must let me know what the other girls are like. Have you made any friends yet? What activities have you been assigned? I can't wait to hear you tell me about your first dance. For my part I continue to work at the store. There are so many pretty summer dresses that have come in, and many are on sale. I know how much you would love them. I might put one aside for you, just for fun. All the best and love,
Beth
Lauren fought back tears and then laughed thinking about how well Beth knew her: getting a new dress was just about the most fun that Lauren could imagine. She took out her stationary and wrote a long letter to Beth answering her questions and then asking her to send various letters to her from made-up people. Considering the near miss in the shower that morning, the more letters that came for her the better. Once again Lauren began to relax. She had some breathing room and she would take every advantage of it to have fun at camp as the girl that she knew herself to be.
End Chapter 11
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