Chapter 31
After lunch they were sent to their cabins to change into swimwear – or clothing that they didn’t mind getting wet – and were told to meet down by the main swimming beach in fifteen minutes. None of the boys changed into their swim trunks. Barnes didn’t; he told them he was just going to wear the shorts that he was wearing, now, so none of the boys did, either. Ross watched, amused, as the campers emulated their counselor, and then gestured for them all to grab their towels and head to the water.
“How are you holding up?” He asked Barnes while ensuring all their boys were accounted for and headed in the right direction. “Is it as hard as you thought it would be?”
Bucky shrugged, slipping a towel around his neck and closing the door behind them.
“It isn’t as bad as I thought it’d be – but it’s harder.”
“Because…?”
Since Barnes wasn’t, necessarily, a sharer, he had to force down the scowl.
“Because there are more kids to watch than just the kids in this cabin.” And just Peter and Ned, who had to be his primary concerns. “We’re a day in and I’ve seen a few minor injuries. I find myself trying to make sure to look ahead and keep that from happening with the boys in our cabin, and the little girls that have been partnering with us.”
The other counselor smiled at that.
“Makes sense.”
“That’s a good attitude to have,” he told him. Then he looked around a little. “Are you getting to know any of the other counselors?”
“Just you.”
“None of the women?”
Barnes shook his head.
“No. Not really. Should I? Is there going to be some kind of partner thing that I don’t know about at the end of camp?”
Ross chuckled and shook his head.
“Nothing like that. I’m just curious. You haven’t seen the way Mandy has been watching you?”
“No.”
“Ugh. I know you’re supposed to be focusing on Peter,” he said. “But open your eyes. She’d absolutely do you if you asked.”
Ugh was right.
“She’s in college.”
“She’s completely legal.”
“And half my age.”
A lot more than that, but that remained unspoken.
“She’s cute.”
“Not interested.”
“Well, how about Katie?”
“Not a chance.”
It was definitely time to end this conversation. Luckily, Peter and Ned both came running back up the hill, grinning.
“Everyone’s at the water,” Ned told him. “Looks like we’re going to be swimming.”
“That’s the whole idea behind the swim trunks,” Ross said, unable to not echo the boys’ smiles. “It’ll be fun to see what they have in mind.”
“Yeah.”
OOOOOOOOOOOO
What they had in mind were all kinds of relay races. Not just in the water, but around the water, as well, including using the dock that went out into the lake and even the water slide and diving board that were at the end of it. The kids had been divided into teams by cabins. This time Peter’s cabin was teamed up with one of the older girls’ cabins. The girls were 13- and 14-year-olds and they might have been annoyed at being partnered with the youngest boys in the camp if not for the fact that several of them thought the counselors of Alaska were cute. Ross with his blonde hair and blue eyes (and that neatly trimmed beard) and Barnes at the opposite of the color wheel with his dark hair and chiseled jaw that always seemed to have a five o’clock shadow, no matter what time of day it was.
The relay races were eclectic at best. One race had the kids taking turns to race around with a pumpkin while being pelted by the other teams with water balloons and another had then carrying a measuring cup one by one to the water and running back to slowly fill up a bucket of water – which was then dumped over one of the counselor’s heads, much to the enjoyment of that person’s campers. The grand finale had them at various places along the water. One started in the canoe and rowed to the swimming area, then tagged to the next who had to use a fishing pole with a giant Styrofoam hook to catch an inflated fish that was floating in the water – while making sure not to catch another team’s fish – and then running the remainder of the relay with that fish in hand, culminating with another canoe trip back to the canoe area (a convenient way to avoid having the staff have to carry them all back where they belong, Barnes was sure) and a final swimming relay to the beach where all the rest of the campers were waiting, screaming encouragement to their teammates and urging them to go faster.
All in all it was controlled chaos and a great way to expend a lot of energy. Enough to make sure they had a relatively calm evening.
The winners were announced and celebrated with a dunking in the lake, and then the kids were sent off to their cabins to get changed and ready for dinner.
Peter noticed that Doctor Strange had come down to the waterfront, presumably to ask if he could join one of the teams, and assumed he’d been too late to get in on the relay races. He was leaning against one of the trees that shaded part of the beach, and seemed to be watching the water rather than anything interesting. The boy ran over, and not surprisingly, Ned trotted over with him.
Barnes noticed and followed at a more sedate pace. The camp doctor wasn’t a perceived threat to his charge, but he wasn’t going to get reckless and allow something to happen that might have been preventable.
“Hi, Doctor Strange.”
The man gave a smile that almost made Bucky smile. It was forced but not unfriendly. As if he wasn’t all that used to the action – or maybe he was still not that comfortable around little kids.
“Hello, Peter. Ned.”
“Did you come down to do the relays?” Peter asked, looking up at him.
“They probably would have let you join a team,” Ned added. “You should have asked.”
“You have a better chance of winning the lottery,’ came the reply.
Peter’s smile widened.
“Peter’s too young to buy a lottery ticket,” Ned said.
“And the odds are like 1 in 292 million,” Peter added. “Even if I could buy it.”
Strange raised an eyebrow.
“One in 292 million, huh?”
The boy shrugged a bony shoulder.
“Give or take. Depending on if I played powerball and got the powerball or not.”
“You’ve given it some thought?”
“No. Not for a while. When I was little I did the math on it – my Aunt May wanted to know.”
Now the doctor frowned.
“When you were little?”
Ned grinned.
“Peter’s super smart,” he told Strange, proudly. “He’s a genius.”
“I’m sure he is.”
“He’s in high school,” Ned added, feeling like the doctor should be more impressed.
“Really?”
Peter shrugged, again.
“Yeah. But I’m taking college classes next year. Ned’s going to be in my school, too,” he added. “I’m not the only smart one.”
“Huh.” Strange looked at Barnes, wondering if this was some kind of prank, or something. The other man didn’t smile as if to let him in on it. “What’s the square root of 85?”
“9.22,” came the immediate response.
“That was an easy one,” Ned said, cheerfully. “I could have figured it out. Ask him a hard one.”
Another glance at Barnes, but the SHIELD agent (or whatever he was) clearly didn’t see any threat in the challenge.
“How about 344?”
“18.55.”
“What’s the first play that Shakespeare wrote?”
“Who?”
Barnes snorted.
“Math and science only, doc,” he said, settling his hand on Peter’s shoulder and ready to end the conversation. “Peter’s a genius, but he isn’t as well rounded as some of them.”
“He’s brilliant, though…”
“Pretty smart, yes.”
“I’m good at odds,” Peter told him, flushed with pride and knowing he was showing off, just a little. “I can figure out sports betting and show you how to count cards.”
Now Strange frowned.
“What is Tony Stark teaching you?”
Another amused snort from Barnes, but Peter didn’t hesitate to reply.
“How to be a superhero.”