"Hey this thing can handle more then one cookie buddy," remarked Nicky, his warm eyes smiling." "You better watch out yourself. Here, have another cookie. You'd do well around here to have a little more meat on those bones."
"Thanks..." Matt replied. Nicky continued on his way, but Matt was sure he had seen Nicky wink at him before he left. Before Matt even realised it the cookie was gone. Had he finished it already? Better have another....
Three cookies later, another, older, man came into the kitchen. "Matt?" he asked, and when Matt nodded, he continued. "Nicky said he'd seen you in here. Welcome to Camp Willix, I'm sure you'll have a great summer with us! I'm Rob Godfrey, the Camp Director and part-owner, and we'll be working closely together. Rob put out his hand and Matt shook it, marvelling at the size of the hand, and its owner.
"Now, as a new counsellor I'm putting you with Nicky and Cabins D, E, and F. Have you read over our camp aims and rules?" Matt nodded, though really he'd only skimmed them - this was only for the summer, after all! "Good, good, then we have a staff meeting over lunch and tomorrow morning the first campers will start rolling in. Around here, everybody does pretty much everything to keep the camp rolling, even Tim, though he spends most of his time in the kitchen - but you've already met him, you know that. Now, this afternoon, you and Nicky will need to make sure your cabins are clean, that any touch-up painting is done, that the washrooms up in that sector are stocked with t.p. etc., and then then at 3 pm everyone is gathering down by the wharf to put in the floating docks and diving tower. We will need all hands for that! Then you'll have a little free time, then supper, then we go over the schedule and events for the campers for this week. Then you have some more free time - there's the lake to swim, there's our gym and training centre, there are trails for hiking and biking, there's canoes - just use the buddy system for all water stuff, right?"
"Right," Matt replied.
"OK, go up the staff cabin behind D, unpack your bag, and we'll see you here for lunch," Rob said with a broad grin.
Matt followed the signs to D staff cabin and unpacked while marveling at the generous accommodations - of course, he and Nicky had to spend all summer here, but still, the double bed, flush toilets, and refrigerator were more than he was expecting. He headed down to the cookhouse again, where he could see Nicky and Rob, and a variety of other counselors, some his age, some older, most Nicky's size or bigger - he might actually be the lightest guy here, Matt thought idly to himself. Weren't camp counselors usually lean, sunburnt types?
He sat beside Nick, and then they all trouped up to the serving windows for their food. They sang Johnny Appleseed, then Matt made to sit down, only to realise nobody else was.
"All right, fellows, welcome to Camp Willix for those of you joining us today, we're going to have a great summer," Rob began. "As our camp slogan says, after summer camp we and the campers will be ..."
and the other counselors joined in loudly, "HAPPIER, HEALTHIER, and HEFTIER!!"
Then they all sat down. Matt wasn't sure he heard right, so after his first mouthful he turned to Nicky and asked quietly, "Happier, healthier and heftier? What's that about?"
"Oh,didn't read all the literature, huh?" Nicky replied. "That's the Camp Willix motto - Happier, Healthier, and Heftier. Kids come here and leave in better shape than when they arrived, but we don't starve 'em - we're no diet camp - in fact they're heftier in muscle and fitness when they leave."
"Oh," replied Matt, surprised. "Do you mean...
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