Chapter 27
“This is going to be emailed?”
Barnes shook his head.
“Regular mail is what I was told.”
“That’s right,” Ross confirmed. They were all in the cabin, now, and they were getting settled in for the night. “We have envelopes,” he added, holding up the small stack that he’d been handed. “To put the letter in so they can be mailed, properly.”
“Nobody sends mail,” Ned objected, even though he was looking fairly cheerful holding the pencil and the page of camp stationary that he’d been given to write his letter home from camp. “They just send texts and emails.”
“My grandma sent me a birthday card,” Brian disagreed. “It came in the mail and had $50 in it.”
“Can’t get that in an email or a text,” Ross said, nodding.
“You can do cash app,” Carlos pointed out.
“It’s more fun to get a birthday card.”
“True.”
They’d played more group games in the gym after dinner. Barnes wondered (to himself) how many group games the camp director knew, because it seemed there was a plethora of them to turn to when the campers started losing interest in the one they were currently playing. They weren’t even similar games, either. The first game had been a version of freeze tag that had the counselors playing the role of ‘it’ and the kids running and screaming happily. After that game had been some relay races with the kids divided by cabin. All sorts of regular household items had been used for their races; eggs had been passed over and under and if broken they had to start over with a replacement egg. Then it had been a large-scale game of Simon Says – although it had been Jay leading it so it was Jay Says. Finally they’d played an even bigger version of Duck, Duck, Goose with the entire camp forming a huge circle in the gym making the chase a lot longer than if there were only a few kids playing. Even more confusing (and fun) there was more than one camper walking the circle at a time and the chaos that ensued was enough to make Phil Coulson who was watching from the doorway wish he had a video camera.
Once that was done and the campers were properly wearing down, they’d been sent off to their cabins to finish the evening by writing letters home to their parents. Something that the boys in Alaska weren’t against, but they didn’t really understand the point – and weren’t afraid to let anyone know.
It was how you learned, after all.
“It’s a tradition, guys,” Ross said, smiling at their baffled expressions. “You go to camp, and you write a letter home while you’re there.”
“Won’t we get home before the letters do?”
“Maybe. Probably,” he conceded. “But that isn’t the point.”
“There’s even an old song about a letter home from a kid,” Barnes added, trying to help Ross, since the boys weren’t outright revolting, but were still uncertain. “Just write a letter and tell them what you’ve done so far.”
Peter nodded; he was all for it.
“Okay.”
Once one agreed, the others did as well, and soon the room was quiet except for the sounds of pencils scratching on stiff and proper stationary.
Dear Mom and Dad.
I’m having fun at camp. Ned and I went canoeing today and played some games in the gym. I fell and scratched my head but Doctor Strange took care of me and I’m okay. There was a squirrel in his cabin. Last night we had bonfire and had smores but I only had one so I didn’t get sick like I did, before. I don’t know what else to write but the other guys are neat and I’m having fun. Thanks for letting me come and tell everyone I said hello.
Love, Peter.
“What do you think?”
Barnes read the letter (quickly since it was a pretty short letter) and nodded.
“Looks good.”
Do you think it’s too long?”
“It’s perfect, buddy.”
“Did you write one?” Ned asked Bucky.
“I did,” Barnes confirmed. “I sent one to Steve, since he’s the closest thing I have to a family.”
And because he didn’t think Romanoff or Fury would be all that interested in receiving a letter from him telling them how camp was going.
“Neat.”
The boys who were still writing returned to their letters and Peter went into the bathroom and brushed his teeth and got ready for bed.
OOOOOOOOOOO
“Camp was a terrible idea…”
Pepper smiled, leaning against Tony side and rubbing her hand along his forearm.
“Why? He’s happy and healthy and seems to be having a good time.”
“Because he isn’t here, Pep.”
“He’s spreading his wings. It’s good for him.”
Ugh.
“He could spread them doing something closer to home that isn’t for a week. I should go get him and bring him home. Where he belongs.”
She rolled her and, her smile softening and her arm going around his arm, now.
“You’re not going to rush into camp in the middle of the night and take him home,” she told him.
“I know.”
But he wanted to.
“Just think of all the stories he’s going to have…”
Tony huffed.
“So?”
“So then we get to watch him tell us them.”
Another huff, but Tony could already see Peter’s brown eyes lighting up as he told them tales from camp. He really loved to see Peter excited and happy.
“Fine. I won’t go get him tonight.”
“Or tomorrow.”
Ugh.
“No promises.”
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
Nighttime at camp was harder for Peter than he’d thought it would be. Not so much because he missed Tony and Pepper. He did miss them, of course, but camp was exciting and fun and there was a lot to do with the other kids that kept him from being able to think about the fact that they weren’t there with him, just then. At night it was a little different, of course, since the kids were all asleep and Peter didn’t have that distraction. But he didn’t often go seek out Pepper or Tony in the middle of the night, anyway, so that wasn’t the main problem for him at night at camp.
His problem was that he missed Jarvis.
Jarvis was always willing to talk to him when he woke in the middle of the night and wasn’t ready to go right back to sleep. But Jarvis wasn’t integrated into the little cabin, and while Peter knew that he could connect with the AI through the complicated watch that he wore, he also knew that the conversation would keep the others awake – or wake them up – and he knew that wasn’t okay. It was the same kind of thing that had kept him from using a night light when he was still a foster kid at Eric’s.
Instead, when he woke after only a few hours of sleep, he lay in his bunk looking up at the ceiling and then watching a bug crawl across the floor. Not a big, scary bug, or anything. Just an ant. But it was something to do. It didn’t last long, though, and there weren’t any other bugs. The boy rolled over and looked at the wall but that wasn’t interesting. He slipped out of his bed, silent as always, and crouched down by his bags.
“Are you okay?” came a whisper from Bucky’s bunk.
Peter wasn’t startled, but he did feel bad for waking him up.
“Yeah. Just looking for something to read.”
“It’s late.”
“I know. I’m sorry I woke you up.”
“Go back to sleep, buddy.”
“I will.”
Later. Maybe.
The boy found what he was looking for and pulled a comic book from his bag, making as little noise as possible. Then he climbed back into his bunk and sat up with the book in his lap.
“Sure you’re okay?”
“Yeah.”
The dark cabin quieted then, and the only sounds were the occasional page turning as Peter read in the dark and distracted himself. Barnes listed to that noise, and listened for any strange noises outside the cabin door that might indicate any threats to his charges, but aside from what he assumed were the normal night noises for a camp out in the middle of nowhere, he didn’t hear anything, and allowed himself to go back to sleep.