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                 K R I S T E N' S    C O L L E C T I O N
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--------------------------------------------------------
This work is copyrighted to the author © 2006.  Please
don't remove the author information or make any changes
to this story.  You may post freely to non-commercial
"free" sites, or in the "free" area of commercial sites.
Thank you for your consideration.
--------------------------------------------------------

Finding Balance
by Douglas Fox (douglas_fox482@yahoo.com)

***

Kyle Martin has to follow in his valedictorian, class 
president, year book editor older brother, Will Henry’s 
very large footsteps. Kyle works on finding a way to 
meet the lofty expectations at school, make a name for 
himself in football, deal with the adulation and girls 
his on-field success brings and finding love with his 
friend and neighbor Penny Edwards. (MF-teens, 1st, 
coming-of-age)

***

This story is a sequel to “Algonquin Memories.” It is 
written from the perspective of Kyle Martin. All 
characters, situations and actions are completely 
fictitious. 

The previous stories in the series are: 

“Algonquin Memories” is available at 
http://www.asstr.org/files/Authors/Douglas_Fox/Algonqui
nMemories.txt 

“The Tailback and the Cheerleader” is available in 
http://www.asstr.org/files/Authors/Douglas_Fox/Tailback
.txt 

“Second Chance at Love” is available in 
http://www.asstr.org/files/Authors/Douglas_Fox/SecondCh
ance.txt

“Love by the Side of the Lakes” is available in 
http://www.asstr.org/files/Authors/Douglas_Fox/LoveLake
s.txt

Any resemblance to reality is purely coincidental. 
These teenagers practice unsafe sex repeatedly. No one 
should do this in real life. Real unsafe sex leads to 
pregnancy, AIDS and death. Be safe!

=========
Chapter 1
=========

I dug in, waiting for the commands.

"On your mark!"

I crouched, getting ready.

"Get Set!"

I leaned forward. At the crack of the starter's pistol, 
I sprang forward, building speed rapidly. Knees high, 
legs pumping. My arms swung in time with my steps. I 
thought, 'Dig, Dig, Dig! Push yourself.' Out of the 
corner of my eye I saw another runner nearly keeping 
pace. I pushed for the finish line, using every ounce 
of my strength. I crossed the finish line of the 100 
meter course a fraction of second ahead of my nearest 
competitor, trailing the finish line tape across my 
chest.

I stretched my thin 6'0" frame upright and thrust my 
arms in the air to celebrate my victory. I walked 
around by the finishing line, trying to relax my 
muscles. My hands were on my hips as I tried to catch 
my breath. My teammates were pounding me on the back to 
congratulate me on our homeroom's victory.

My best friend, Eddie Fritz pumped my hand up and down. 
"That was great Kyle. I've never seen you run faster. 
You did it in 10.63 seconds!"

I took a few more deep breaths. "That felt great. I 
thought Drew was going to catch me."

The loudspeaker blared, "The next event for the Middle 
School Field Day will be the 400 meter run. Runners, 
prepare to race."

I stepped off the track, Eddie at my side. Mr. Abbott, 
my eighth grade gym teacher stopped me. Another teacher 
I didn't know was standing beside him.

Mr. Abbott said, "Kyle, I'd like to introduce you to 
Mr. Caffrey. He is the head football coach at the high 
school. He would like to talk with you. Walter, I'd 
like to introduce you to Kyle Martin."

I said, "How do you do Mr. Caffrey?"

He answered, "Fine Thank you. You ran a fine race son."

"Thank you sir."

Mr. Caffrey asked me, "Mr. Martin, have you ever played 
football?"

"Yes Sir. Eddie and I played together in Midgets a few 
years ago." I answered, motioning towards Eddie.

Mr. Caffrey asked, "And what is your name son?" looking 
at Eddie.

"Edward Fritz sir. I played quarterback on the JV team 
last fall." Eddie replied.

Mr. Caffrey continued the questioning, "Yes, Fritz. I 
have heard about you." He looked back at me. "What 
position did you play in Midgets?"

I said, "Wide receiver, a little running back and 
cornerback."

Mr. Caffrey asked, "Have you considered going out for 
football next year? I think I could use someone like 
you on the team?"

I said, "I hadn't really thought about it. Maybe."

Mr. Caffrey asked, "Can you stay after school for a 
half hour so we can talk a little about coming out for 
the team?"

I answered, "Sure, I guess."

Mr. Caffrey said. "I'll meet you in the High School 
Boys Locker Room at 3:00pm. Get into your gym clothes, 
OK?"

I asked, "Could my friend Eddie come too?"

He answered, "Sure, we could use another QB this 
afternoon. Fritz, you suit up too."

Mr. Abbott and Mr. Caffrey turned and walked away. I 
overheard them say, "I told you he was fast." "Hmmm... 
The AAA State record is 10.44 seconds. He is less than 
2/10's slower. But can he catch a ball?"

Eddie slapped me on the back. "The coach wants you on 
the team!"

"Nah! Why would he want me?"

"We'll find out at three!"

After dismissal, Eddie and I headed over to the senior 
high boy’s locker room and changed into our gym 
clothes. We waited a few minutes. There wasn't any sign 
of the coach. I asked "How long do think we should 
wait?"

"As long as it takes Kyle. If the coach wants to meet 
with us, he'll be here eventually."

We heard the back door of the locker room clang shut. A 
tall dirty blonde headed teenager walked up to us. He 
said, "You're Kyle Martin, right?" I nodded yes. He 
extended his hand to me. "I'm Zack Hayes. Coach Caffrey 
sent me to get you two." I shook his hand.

I said, "This is my friend Eddie Fritz."

Zack said, "I know who you are. Follow me guys." Zack 
led us out the back to the football field. Coach 
Caffrey was already there with another man. Zack 
brought us over to the two men.

Coach Caffrey said, "Thank you for coming boys. I want 
to introduce you to Coach Graham. He is the offensive 
coordinator for the football team. We'd like you to 
catch some passes with Zack. He is the starting 
quarterback for the team."

"Sure thing."

The coach said, "Go down the field ten yards and turn. 
The pass will be there."

I ran the route. The second I turned, the ball came 
flying at me, chest level. I scooped it into my body. 
The coach had me run the same route half a dozen times. 
Zack threw beautifully. Every pass was dead on target.

Coach Caffrey said, "That was good Kyle. Let's try 
something different. Fritz, I'd like you to throw to 
Kyle on this route. Kyle, go fifteen yards down the 
sideline and turn back to the QB a step. Fritz, put the 
ball on his chest when he does the hitch."

Eddie said, "Yes sir." I ran the route the way they 
described. The first time I had to stretch a little to 
get the pass, but I pulled it in. We repeated this 
route six times.

Coach Caffrey said, "Kyle, this time I'd like you to 
run flat out for the goal post. Zack will hit you about 
five yards short of the goal line."

I ran as fast as I could down the field. I started to 
slow a little when I got to the five yard line. I came 
to a dead stop before the ball finally arrived. I 
nestled the ball into my chest.

I ran back to the coaches, Zack and Eddie. Zack was 
apologizing when I arrived, "Sorry Coach. My timing was 
off. He's faster than I thought. Let's try it again."

Coach Caffrey said, "Run the post route again Kyle. Go 
as fast as you can. When you get the ball, stay down 
there. I want to see Fritz throw some deep balls too."

I took off for the goal post. This time I turned my 
head back to look for the ball when I got to the five 
yard line. The ball streaked over my shoulder and 
landed in my hands. I trotted into the end zone and 
spiked the ball.

I waited in the end zone. Eddie started throwing balls 
my way. All his throws were landing about ten yards 
short of the end zone. The coaches signaled for me to 
come back. They stopped me when I got to the fifteen 
yard line. I caught almost all the passes Eddie threw 
to me. Finally the coaches signaled for me to come back 
to them.

Eddie had a huge grin on his face when I got back to 
the group. The coaches and Zack Hayes were smiling too.

Coach Caffrey asked, "Kyle, I'd like you to come out 
for football this fall. I think you would make a good 
wide receiver. Our team can use someone with your 
speed. Are you interested?"

I asked, "I might be interested. What do I need to do?"

Coach Caffrey explained, "Try-outs start August 18th. 
Can you be there?"

I answered, "No coach, I'm sorry. I will be on a trip 
then. I don't get back until the 22nd."

Coach smiled, "I think I can hold off until the 23rd to 
make cut down decisions. Get to practice as soon as 
possible."

I said, "Thanks coach."

Eddie interrupted, "Coach, The trip is a scout trip. I 
won't be home until the 22nd either. Is that OK?"

Coach Caffrey laughed and said, "Sure. You have a nice 
arm Fritz. But don't go thinking you're going to beat 
out Zack for starting quarterback on varsity though. 
Thanks for coming out and spending some time with us. 
We appreciate it."

The two coaches turned and headed back to the school. 
Zack Hayes stuck around to walk back to the locker room 
with Eddie and I.

Zack asked, "You're Will Henry's little brother aren't 
you?"

"Yes, well, he's my half brother."

"You two are pretty good players. You could use some 
work on pass catching. I would like to work on pass 
route timing with you. Would you two be willing to work 
with Mike Wagner and I on Saturday afternoons this 
summer to practice?"

I said, "Sure thing." 

Eddie had a huge grin on his face. "You bet Zack. I 
appreciate your agreeing to help us."

I asked, "Can I ask you a question Zack? Why are you 
doing this for us? We're just a couple of eighth 
graders?"

Zack said, "I think you have the potential to help out 
our team. Also I owe your brother for all the help he 
gave me two years ago on the last Algonquin trip. Let's 
just say I'm repaying an old debt."

We filed into the locker room and changed into our 
school clothes. When we were changed, Zack asked, "How 
are you guys getting home?"

"I guess we'll wait for the late bus." I said.

Zack suggested, "I can give you a ride home if you 
want. How about it?"

"Sure" "Sure thing Zack."

Zack inquired, "I know where Kyle lives, where do you 
live Eddie?"

"I live three doors down the street from Kyle." Eddie 
answered.

"Good. That's settled. Let's go guys." Zack said.

Zack drove the three miles from the school to my street 
in Paradise, Pennsylvania. He dropped both of us off in 
front of my house. We thanked him for the ride.

Eddie couldn't stop smiling. "Kyle, do you realize 
we're gonna make the football team? We haven't even 
finished eighth grade and the varsity football coach 
knows who I am and he came to recruit you to play for 
him. This is amazing."

"I know Eddie, I'm stunned. I hadn't even thought about 
playing football. This is going to be so cool. I'll 
call you after dinner, I've got to go study for 
finals."

"See you later Kyle." Eddie said as he walked down the 
sidewalk towards his house.

=========
Chapter 2
=========

I went to my room and emptied my backpack of school 
books on my desk. I took my history book and lay down 
on my bed, the bottom bunk of the bunk beds I shared 
with my younger brother Andrew. I opened the book up to 
Chapter 12 and started studying.

I heard a moan coming from my brother's next door 
bedroom. I thought, 'Great. Another afternoon listening 
to my 18 year old brother have sex with his girlfriend 
Abby.' They had been driving me crazy ever since they 
decided I wasn't too little to overhear them having 
sex. Thirteen year old guys are horny enough without 
having to listen to other people have sex.

My history book got set aside while I dreamed. My cock 
inflated, turning hard as steel. I unzipped and pulled 
down my pants. I poured a dollop of hand cream on my 
hand and rubbed it all over my cock. I remembered what 
Cheryl looked like. She was on her hands and knees, 
those huge tits swinging wildly as I thrust my cock 
into her cunt. I gripped my cock firmly and slid my 
hand up and down my 5 1/2 inch cock. Thrusting into 
that juicy pussy, my hands on her hips. My hand rubbed 
my cock furiously.

The headboard of Will's bed was bouncing against the 
wall, thudding rhythmically. Abby let out a scream and 
Will grunted. I continued rubbing my cock. My feelings 
were building to crescendo. Pushing my hard cock into 
Cheryl. Almost there! My cock throbbed and pulsed. My 
cum squirted out, pulse after pulse. It made a big 
puddle on my chest. A little relief. Will and Abby 
finally got quiet.

My fantasy of fucking Cheryl was my favorite. Four 
years ago I sneaked out of bed one Saturday night and 
watched my brother Will fuck his girlfriend in the 
family room. I always got off when I imagined it was 
me, not my brother with her.

I desperately needed to get a girlfriend. If only I 
wasn't too chicken to call a girl up and ask for a 
date. I was pathetic. I resolved to talk to Julie 
Simpson tomorrow before math class. I've had a crush on 
her for months. I had eight more days to get up nerve 
to ask her out before school ended.

The next morning between classes, Eddie caught up with 
me. He asked, "You going to ask Julie out today?"

"I don't know. I guess."

"Just do it Kyle. Stop being a weenie. Just go up and 
ask her for a date."

"Like you've ever asked a girl out." I retorted. We 
walked into the room and headed for our seats. Before I 
could sit down, Eddie gave me a shove that pushed me 
right in front of Julie. She looked up at me and 
smiled.

"Hi Kyle. What's up?"

'Shit! The sneaky bastard. Time to go for it.' "Hi 
Julie. Uh, I was wondering, um, would you like to go to 
a movie with me on Friday night?" Time stopped. 'What 
would she say? Am I a complete idiot? Why did I ask 
this beautiful girl to go out with a loser like me? 
Crash and burn time.'

"Sure. That sounds like fun Kyle." Julie answered.

'Holy cow! She said yes! I have a date! My first. What 
the hell do I say now?' "grEAt." I squeaked. I hate the 
way my voice cracks all the time.

Julie asked, "What movie do you want to see?"

'Shit! I don't know what is playing. Now what?' I 
thought trying to come up with a plan. Finally I had 
it. "I'll bring the newspaper in on Friday. We can pick 
something out before this class."

Miss Finch called for everyone to sit down then. It was 
time for math class to start. I looked at Eddie and 
smiled. I mouthed the word 'Thanks.'

Just before dinner that night, I asked, "Mom. I'd like 
to take Julie Simpson to the movies on Friday night. 
Can you or Dad give us a ride?"

She said, "Sure Honey. Is this a group thing or is it 
just the two of you?"

"It's just the two of us, mom."

Mom gave me a big hug. "I'm proud of you son, you're 
growing up."

A few minutes later while the family was eating dinner, 
Will announced, "Abby and I are going out for pizza and 
a movie on Friday night. I won't be having dinner with 
the family."

Mom said, "Kyle asked a girl to go to the movies on 
Friday night. He needs a ride. Would you mind taking 
him and his date?"

Will said, "Sure. No problem."

I whined, "MOM! I can't go on a double date with Will. 
Not on my first date."

Mom answered, "Your dad needs one car that night. Will 
is using the other car. Either you go with Will and 
Abby or you can stay home."

"OK." I said.

Will added, "It'll be fine Kyle. We'll get some pizza, 
you and your date go to your movie, Abby and I go to 
ours. It's that simple."

"Yeah. I guess." I said.

Later that night Will was in the basement doing his 
weights. I headed downstairs to talk to him. I asked, 
"Will, could you help me get started on weight 
training. I decided to try out for football in the fall 
and I thought it would help."

Will replied, "Sure thing Kyle. It'll help on the 
Algonquin trip in Canada this summer too. The packs we 
have to carry up there are really heavy."

Will helped me work my way through some easy routines. 
I felt good, but sore when we were finished.

Will said when we finished putting the weights away, he 
said, "Kyle, I usually go for a run when I'm done. Are 
you coming too?"

"I guess" I stammered. 'Getting in shape is going to be 
harder than I thought.'

We headed down the street. I think Will was trying to 
take it easy on me, the pace wasn't too brutal. We did 
three miles. I never thought I could run so far. The 
last half mile, I fell further and further behind Will. 
He waited for me on the front porch.

Will said, "You did pretty good little brother. You 
need..."

"I'M ALMOST AS TALL AS YOU WILL. I'M NOT LITTLE ANY 
MORE!" I screamed in his face.

Will didn't even blink. He smiled and said, "The 
operative word is 'almost', little brother. Now, the 
important thing with training is that you have to do 
this every day. Otherwise it won't do any good. Are you 
going to keep this up?"

"Yes. If I'm going to play football, I need to improve 
my strength and stamina. Otherwise, some one will hand 
me my head on a platter on the field."

"Good Kyle. Keep this up, even after I leave for scout 
camp in two weeks. You do this all summer, you'll be in 
great shape by fall."

"Thanks for helping me Will."

=========
Chapter 3
=========

Thursday before math, I stopped to talk with Julie. I 
told her about double dating with my brother and his 
girlfriend. She was cool with the idea. 

Thursday night Will made me get all the packing done 
for our camping trip over the weekend. We had a 
shakedown training weekend at the local scout camp to 
help us get ready for our ten day trip to Algonquin 
Provincial Park in August. Our Venturer Crew, well my 
brother's Crew since I wasn't old enough to join for 
another month, did this trip every two years. It is 
canoeing and primitive camping in the lakes and pine 
forests of northern Ontario. This trip was going to be 
my brother's third time there. He loved the place. I 
hoped I enjoyed it as much as Will did.

Friday morning before math, Julie and I picked out the 
movie we were going to see. She gave me directions to 
her house and we agreed that Will and I would pick her 
up at 5:30.

Abby met Will and I at our house Friday evening. I sat 
in the back while Abby sat up front with Will. We drove 
the mile and a half to Julie's house and picked her up. 
I had to withstand five minutes of Q&A with her dad. I 
guess I answered his questions correctly. He wished us 
well as we left.

Will, Abby and Julie made small talk during the half 
hour drive to the strip mall on the west side of 
Lancaster. I just couldn't think of much to add to the 
conversation. Will parked near the pizza shop. Will and 
Abby held hands as they walked to the shop. I held my 
hand out to take Julie's hand. She seemed to hesitate 
at first, but then she held on.

We ordered our dinner. We sat talking while the pizza 
baked. It was marvelous to watch my brother in action. 
He was so natural and at ease around girls. I wished I 
could be half way as charming and gracious as him. Will 
and Abby held the conversation up while I stammered and 
occasionally added my thoughts. Julie seemed to be 
having fun though.

We headed to the movie theater at the other end of the 
mall around 6:45 pm. We bought our tickets and waited 
for the time for our showing. I bought some popcorn and 
sodas for Julie and I.

Julie and I found seats near the back. Before the 
lights went down, Will and Abby came into the theater 
and picked seats about three rows in front of us. I 
just couldn't get alone time tonight.

When the movie started up, I put my arm over Julie's 
shoulder. She snuggled up close to me. I took a deep 
breath, enjoying the aroma of her perfume. We cuddled 
through most of the movie, holding hands. She pulled in 
even closer during the climax of the movie. She turned 
her head towards me. I asked, "May I kiss you Julie?"

She smiled and whispered, "I'd like that Kyle." I 
turned my head a little and brought my lips against 
hers. We pressed them together. She smelled so sweet. 
Her lips were soft and moist. We separated for a few 
seconds and kissed again. I rubbed my hand across the 
side of her breast and opened my lips a little. I 
pushed my tongue against Julie's lips, seeking entry to 
her mouth.

Julie's eyes opened with shock and she jerked away from 
me. She exclaimed, "What the hell are you doing Kyle?"

"What? I thought that is what I'm supposed to do when I 
kiss you."

Julie slid over on her seat as far from me as she could 
get. "I don't know you well enough for that Kyle 
Martin. That was disgusting! Stay over there!"

Julie and I watched the rest of the movie that way. 
Every minute or two, Julie would look over at me and 
glare.

When the movie ended, I told her, "I'm sorry Julie. I 
thought that was how you are supposed to kiss." Julie 
wouldn't accept my apology. I followed her out to the 
car. She did her best to ignore me. Julie didn't say 
one word on the way home. Will dropped her off and then 
returned to our house.

After Abby left, Will took me aside in the living room. 
He asked, "What the hell happened between you and 
Julie?"

"We were holding hands during the movie. She snuggled 
up close to me when the hero was trying to rescue his 
girl from the burning building. I asked her if I could 
kiss her. She said yes. The first kiss was great. On 
the second kiss, I slipped my tongue into her mouth and 
she freaked. I thought that is how you're supposed to 
kiss."

"It is Kyle, but only after you've known the girl for a 
while. Don't push things too hard or too fast when 
you're with a girl. Try a little and see how she 
reacts. Talk to her. Kissing, making out, even sex is 
all about communication. That is the key. Be careful 
the next time you go on a date. OK?"

"Thanks for helping me Will."

"Get to bed Kyle, we have to be up early tomorrow for 
the shakedown weekend. Good night."

Saturday morning Will and I headed over to the church 
that sponsored our Venturer Crew to meet the rest of 
our two crews. The leaders in our Venturer Crew had set 
up two crews for the trip. Will and Abby were in the 
first crew along with their friends Gary Musselman, his 
girlfriend Linda Zook, Jason Sauder, and his girlfriend 
Sarah Kopanski. The adults with the crew were going to 
be Justin and Sherry Baer. I use the term "adults" 
loosely, Justin and Sherry were 20 years old. Justin 
wouldn't turn 21 until a week after the trip was over.

The second crew was led by Alex Winters. My friend 
Eddie and I were in the crew along with our close 
friend Jeremy North. Hal Long, Kathy Trimble and our 
neighbor Penny Edwards rounded out our crew. The adults 
with our crew were Joe and Barb Baer. Justin was Joe's 
younger brother.

Will's crew had six people returning to Algonquin. Most 
of his crew were 16-18 years old. In our crew, Alex was 
the only one who had been to Algonquin before. Most of 
us were 14 or 15 years old.

We spent Saturday morning learning low impact camping 
skills, what to pack, how to use light weight 
backpacking stoves and how to hang a bear bag. In the 
afternoon we canoed around the camp. I was partnered 
with Penny Edwards most of the weekend. She was my 
canoe partner as well as working with me to cook, clean 
dishes, or whatever duty was needed.

Each sternman had to carry their canoe from the center 
of camp to the creek by themselves. The blasted canoes 
had to weigh a hundred pounds. I had no idea how I was 
going to do this on the trip. Alex assured me that the 
canoes in Canada weren't this heavy. I decided I better 
keep doing my weight training and running anyway.

Our crew worked together well. We had fun together. We 
teased Will's crew that they were the old farts. They 
called us the green horns.

=========
Chapter 4
=========

The last day of school for seniors like Will and Abby 
was on Monday. The rest of the school had another week 
of finals before we were done. I made sure to make lots 
of noise when I got up to go to school on Tuesday. I 
was delighted when I elicited a growl from Will when I 
woke him up on the way downstairs.

Graduation ceremonies were scheduled for Wednesday 
night. Of course I was required to dress up and attend 
my brother's graduation. It was cool to think that my 
big brother was finished with high school. Will was the 
class valedictorian. He was senior class president and 
editor of the school yearbook. He had a 4.0 grade point 
average. I was going to have a huge load of 
expectations heaped on my shoulders in the fall when I 
started high school.

On the way home I teased him. "How soon until I get to 
move into your bedroom?"

Will took the teasing in stride. "You have to wait ten 
more days little brother." I hated him calling me 
little brother and he knew it, which why he always 
called me that. Will was going to work on camp staff at 
the local scout camp for the summer. He was coming 
straight home the night before our trip to Canada. We 
would be gone almost two weeks for the trip. When we 
came home from Canada, he would be home for three days 
before he and Abby moved to the University of 
Pennsylvania. Both of them were attending the same 
college. Will was going for a degree in physics. Abby 
was going for a pre-med degree.

My family, Abby Hendrick's family and the Edwards 
family planned a monster graduation party for Will, 
Abby and Niki for Saturday night. We put up a big tent 
in our back yard. The three dads grilled burgers, hot 
dogs and chicken to feed the whole neighborhood as well 
as family and friends of the graduates. The moms made 
mountains of side dishes and deserts.

I filled my plate the first time and went to the front 
porch to find a seat. Will and Abby were already there 
holding court with their friends. Justin and Sherry 
Baer were there. Jon and Amy Miller came. Katie Landis 
and her boyfriend Richard Hess made it. Rob Stevens and 
his girlfriend Cindy Jacobs sat on the porch railing.

I listened in on their discussion while I ate. When Joe 
and Barb Baer walked up the walk and through the house, 
Katie said, "It's official now. Everyone from our 
Algonquin trip from four years ago is here. It was a 
life changing event wasn't it?"

Jon laughed. "You bet. I might do a couple things 
differently if I could do them again. I'd wait a few 
more years to have kids. I probably got Amy pregnant on 
the beach on Lake Lavielle. But that trip helped me 
find my wonderful wife." Jon leaned over and kissed 
Amy.

Justin said, "I'd change a few things in my life too. 
But one thing that wouldn't change is me proposing to 
Sherry on the beach at Farnham Lake on our lay-over 
day. I don't think you guys knew about that part of the 
trip, did you?"

The group indicated that the news was a surprise. Will 
said, "I know that night changed my life. I was this 
geeky, clueless 14 year old when I went. When Katie 
asked me to make love to her that night, the course of 
my life changed. A lot of who I am today is thanks to 
Katie."

I thought, '14 year old geek. I can understand that 
feeling. Would I be like this group in four years?'

Abby punched Will in the shoulder. "OK, with a little 
help from Abby." Abby punched him again. "All right, 
with a lot of help from my wonderful girlfriend Abby."

Jon asked, "How is work going Justin?"

Justin answered, "Great. I love cadd drafting. I've 
finished enough night school courses that I'm now 
considered a college sophomore. Another five years, 
I'll have my engineering degree. How's college going 
Amy?"

Amy said, "I am doing quite well. I think I'm going to 
enjoy accounting. I see Sherry sometimes on the 
Millersville campus."

Sherry continued, "I can't believe I'm half way through 
college. Another year in the classroom and then I'll be 
student teaching. It's amazing how time flies."

Rob said, "Did you guys hear that Tina Mayer got 
engaged to Phil Fredericks last weekend?"

Cindy added, "Locker room gossip has it that Tina is 
three months pregnant."

Abby asked, "Phil Fredericks? The guy who carries a 
bible around all the time? He's such a meek, quiet guy. 
Who would have thought it?"

Will said, "If Phil is engaged to Tina, he's not meek 
and quiet, at least not when he's with Tina."

I got up to leave. I had enough of the old folk’s 
conversation. I muttered, "Old Farts" as I started to 
leave. Will, Abby, Justin and Sherry all said "green 
horn" together.

Jon looked perplexed. "What's that about?"

Justin explained, "Kyle's Algonquin crew was calling 
our crew the old farts all weekend at the shakedown."

Jon asked, "Kyle is old enough to go to Algonquin?"

Will said, "Yep, He turns fourteen next month."

Jon continued, looking at Justin, "Your crew at 
shakedown? Are you going back to Algonquin?"

Justin answered, "You bet. I've been working for two 
years. I have two weeks vacation now. Sherry and I 
haven't had a vacation since we got married almost four 
years ago. We're going back to Canada. And here's the 
real hoot. We're the adult chaperones!"

Jon exclaimed, "You're not old enough yet. Don't you 
have to be 21 to be an adult in scouting?"

Justin explained, "Technically you do. None of the 
parents of the kids in our crew are going to worry 
about the fact that I don't turn 21 until a week after 
the trip."

Jon asked, "Who's in your crew?"

Will answered, "Abby and I, Justin and Sherry, Gary 
Musselman and his girlfriend and Jason Sauder and his 
girlfriend."

Jon said, "It sounds like your planning a trip similar 
to ours again?"

Will smiled and said, "You bet."

I walked down the steps and around the front of the 
porch to go to get more food. I called out "Old Farts." 
as I turned the corner.

"Green horn." I wanted to find some company more my 
age. I filled my plate with another helping of food and 
wandered around the back yard until I found Eddie, 
Jeremy, and Penny sitting on lawn chairs near the 
garden. I pulled up a chair and joined them.

I said, "You should have heard the 'Old Farts' on the 
front porch. They're talking about marriage, kids and 
jobs. Jeez, they sound like our parents."

Penny said, "I guess we'll sound them in a few years."

Jeremy said, "I'm not even in high school. I'm not 
going to worry about any of the shit yet. I want to 
have some fun first."

Eddie suggested, "Let's head out for burgers and a 
movie next week, what do you think gang?"

I said, "Yeah, that's cool."

Jeremy said, "Sure thing. I'll give Brandon and Tammy a 
call tomorrow."

Penny said, "I'll talk to some more of our friends on 
Monday."

Eddie, "Cool. It's date. Hey, Kyle, has Zack Hayes 
talked to you yet about getting together to catch some 
passes yet?"

I answered, "No, not yet."

Jeremy stared at me, "What? Why would the varsity 
quarterback want to play catch with string bean over 
here?" Jeremy pointed toward me when he said it.

Eddie said, "That's right, I forgot, you haven't heard. 
Kyle is going out for football this fall."

Jeremy scoffed, "What are you trying out for? Water 
boy?" Jeremy outweighed me by a good thirty pounds. He 
and Eddie had been playing football together since they 
were eight years old.

I bristled a little. "I'm trying out for wide 
receiver."

Jeremy said, "Shit! It figures, a wussie position. I 
eat wide receivers for lunch." Jeremy started as middle 
linebacker for the JV team last year.

I laughed, "The position suits my physique."

The whole group cracked up at that comment. Jeremy kept 
probing, "What made you decide this? You haven't played 
football for three or four years."

I said, "Believe it or not, Coach Caffrey and Zack 
Hayes asked me to go out."

Jeremy said, "Now I've heard everything. The Varsity 
Coach and the starting quarterback asked you!"

I answered, "Yep. That's right."

Jeremy said, "Seriously Zack. You be careful on the 
field. A good stiff wind will blow you away."

I said, "I've started weight training with my brother 
Will. That and running. We've been doing three miles 
every night."

The conversation turned back to school. Who's finals 
would be worst. It was the usual type of eighth grader 
conversations. The party went on until almost midnight. 
When it was over, my family, the Hendricks family and 
the Edwards family had to clean up the mess. I didn't 
get to sleep until 1:30 am.

I was allowed to sleep in on Sunday. I spent the day 
studying for finals. I wanted to do well. That 
afternoon Zack Hayes called me. We set up our practice 
time for 2 to 4 pm every Saturday.

My finals went well. I thought I did well, especially 
on the history final. I didn't like the course much, 
but I knew I aced that final.

=========
Chapter 5
=========

Saturday afternoon Eddie and I met Zack Hayes and Mike 
Wagner at the township park. We used the softball 
fields for our practice. 

When Eddie's dad dropped off Eddie and I, Zack greeted 
us. "Thanks for coming guys. Do you know Mike Wagner?" 
Zack pointed to the 5'-10" blond senior standing beside 
him."

I said, "No. We haven't met."

Zack proceeded with the introductions. We got started 
on our practice. Mike showed me some routes. I mirrored 
Mike on the routes. Eddie threw the ball to Mike and 
Zack threw the ball to me. Zack gave Eddie a lot of 
pointers while Mike helped me. Our two hours of 
practice went pretty quick. I decided that football was 
going to be fun. Zack gave Eddie and I a ride home 
after we were done.

I took a shower immediately. I needed to hurry to get 
ready for the movies tonight. My dad drove Eddie, Penny 
and I to the McDonalds near the movie theater. Most of 
our gang were there already. We ended up with 5 guys - 
Eddie, Jeremy, Brandon, Hal and I and three girls - 
Penny, Tammy and Stef tonight. Our group went out every 
two or three weeks to catch a movie, go bowling, just 
hang out. The people in the group changed from get-
together to get-together. We add a person or two or 
lost someone. We went out together, we ate lunch 
together at school, and a lot of us were in the same 
classes. We were simply 'the gang'. 

I sat down in the booth beside Penny. Her perfume 
smelled wonderful. Subtle, but arousing. I have known 
Penny since we went to pre-school together. Penny had 
worn an old T-shirt tonight. It was a little too small. 
Her tits stuck out prominently. My buddy had tits! I 
tried not to stare. 

When we finished dinner, we went over to the movie 
theater. Everyone picked up snacks and found seats in 
our show. I sat beside Penny again. The lights went 
down and the movie started. Every few minutes I got a 
whiff of Penny's perfume. Then I would glance at her 
tits. God, I wanted to touch them. Half way through the 
movie I had a nasty boner that wouldn't go down. I 
shifted a little trying to find a comfortable spot. It 
didn't work.

Unfortunately, Penny noticed my discomfort. Penny asked 
me, "Kyle, do you have an erection?"

I turned bright red. "I'm sorry. I hope it doesn't 
embarrass you. I was just thinking of this really 
beautiful girl I know." I didn't have nerve to tell her 
exactly who the girl was.

Penny asked, "No, it's alright Kyle. I don't mind. Is 
there anything you can do about it?"

"No. Nothing, at least not here. It has a mind of its 
own. It comes and goes when it wants." I explained.

Penny said, "My girlfriends and I have been wondering 
what it is like to have something like that between 
your legs. It must be weird."

I answered, "No, it's not weird. I'm a guy. It's just 
how we are."

We went back to watching the movie. It took a half an 
hour, but my boner finally went down. The gang went out 
to the sidewalk to wait for our rides after the movie 
was over. We chatted about the movie. Penny's mom 
picked up Penny, Eddie and I and took us home.

Will was in his room packing for scout camp when I got 
home. Even though I tease my brother all the time, I 
still was going to miss him when he left tomorrow for 
eight weeks. I stuck my head in his room and asked, "Do 
you want any help packing Will?"

Will answered, "You really can't wait to get my bedroom 
can you?"

"Moi?" I asked, pretending to be shocked. "No, really 
Will, I'm going to miss you. Can I help you with 
anything?"

"Thanks Kyle, but I'm just about finished. I cleaned 
out three dresser drawers for you. The closet, the desk 
and bookcases are still mine until the summer is over 
and I move to Penn. It should give you enough space for 
now. OK?"

"Yeah. I appreciate you giving up your bedroom before 
you move to college."

"I guess you are looking forward to having some 
privacy?" Will asked.

"I need it desperately, especially after tonight. I got 
a boner that wouldn't quit during the movie. The worst 
part was that Penny noticed it. I thought I was going 
to die of embarrassment."

"Kyle, does Andy jerk off yet?"

"Not that I've seen. I don't think Andy knows anything 
exists except that damn computer of his."

"Kyle, I want you to work on something while I'm gone. 
Get Andy out of the house more. He needs to do more 
than play video games on his computer. I don't want a 
computer geek for a little brother."

"I'll do that Will. I don't want that either."

"How was your practice with Zack Hayes?"

"It was cool. I had a lot of fun."

"Listen to Zack. He's a good guy. He'll take care of 
you."

"I will. I can't believe how lucky I am to have Zack 
helping me."

"Uh-huh. It sure is lucky. You are going to keep up 
with your training, aren't you?"

"Yes. I plan to every day."

"I'm going to go to bed Kyle. Good night."

"Good night Will."

I went to my room to grab a pair of boxers. I grabbed a 
shower before I went to bed. My cock stood up part way 
through the shower. I soaped it up and started jerking 
off. 'She's on her hands and knees. I thrust my cock 
into the wonderful wet pussy. Those tits are bouncing 
around.'

"SHIT!" I said out loud. Those are Penny's tits! I'm 
fucking Penny!?! I pounded my cock furiously. My cum 
shot across the tub and splattered on the wall. That 
was one of the nicest cums I had in many months. 
'Fucking Penny! Where in the hell did that come from?'

I rinsed soap off of myself and cleaned the cum off the 
wall. I dried off and went to bed. 'Did I want to do 
things with Penny?' I fell asleep wondering.

That Monday was the last day of school. Finals were 
done. We only had a half day. At each class the teacher 
collected the books and gave us free time. It was a fun 
day. During third period, Eddie and I got to talking. 

I asked, "Do you want to do weight training and run 
with me. Since Will is gone, I don't have anyone to 
work with."

Eddie answered, "Sure. Why not." 

We agreed to meet at 2 pm. Eddie and I worked the 
weight training the way Will taught me. When we were 
done with the weights, we stretched a little and then 
went for our run. Eddie seemed to have a little trouble 
keeping up with me. I was amazed at how much better I 
was after only two weeks of practice. I had a little 
mercy on Eddie. I slowed down a little on the last 
mile.

When we got back to my house, after Eddie caught his 
breath, he asked, "How in the hell could you go so 
fast? I thought I was going to die!"

I chuckled, "I've been running with Will for two weeks. 
He goes a lot faster than that. You'll get better soon. 
I did."

That is how our first two weeks of summer vacation 
went. Afternoons with Eddie doing weights and running. 
Saturday afternoons working with Zack, Eddie and Mike 
on pass routes. Also, a lot of time for goofing off. I 
was determined to enjoy this summer. Next summer I knew 
my parents were going to make me get a summer job.

=========
Chapter 6
=========

The third week, the Fourth of July week, my scout troop 
was going to scout camp. On Saturday night I helped my 
brother Andy get packed. Even though he was twelve and 
in his second year of scouts, this was his first year 
at scout camp. Last summer Andy had a chance to visit 
our cousin's farm in central Pennsylvania and went 
there instead of going to camp.

This was my fourth year at camp. I was experienced. I 
planned to take Canoeing and Environmental Science 
Merit Badges. I also signed up to start Climbing Merit 
Badge. I knew I couldn't finish it at camp, but I could 
do about 80% of the required work. I helped Andy pick 
out his merit badges. I had him take Swimming and 
Basketry.

Mom and Dad drove us up to camp. We stopped for ice 
cream on the way, just before we got to camp. We met 
our troop in the parking lot. It was mass chaos. 
Eighteen troops and nearly four hundred scouts all 
arrive at the same time. Andy and I found the tree 
where Mr. Clark, our scoutmaster, was gathering our 
troop. I checked in with Eddie, my patrol leader. I 
sent Andy to see Hal Long, his patrol leader. When all 
thirty-two scouts in our troop showed up, everyone 
loaded their packs, duffel bags and trunks in the camp 
truck. We marched off to our campsite while the truck 
delivered our gear. 

Jason Sauder, the senior patrol leader (SPL), assigned 
patrols to their tents. I helped Eddie get our patrol, 
the Eagle Patrol, situated. Eddie was the patrol 
leader. I was his assistant. Eddie and I took the first 
tent and assigned the other five members to the other 
tents. They were large canvas wall tents with wooden 
floor. It was quite roomy for two people. Eddie and I 
each had a army cot to sleep on. Jason came around to 
remind us to get changed into our swimsuits. It was 
time for the tour of camp and swim tests.

When we got to the pool, Rob, the aquatics director, 
met us at the gate to the pool. He made us listen to 
the boring safety lecture. After four summers, I could 
probably recite it from memory too. Then we showered 
and went in for our swim tests. I spotted Will at the 
other end of the pool, watching scouts floating on 
their backs. I waved. He didn't see me. I took a look 
at Andy. His eyes were big. I could see that all of 
this was a little overwhelming.

I patted Andy on the shoulder, "You'll have fun Andy, 
don't worry. Did you see Will down there?" I pointed 
our brother out from the group of lifeguards at the far 
end of the pool.

"Yeah, I see him." Andy answered. He seemed too quiet. 
I stuck with him. I wanted to make sure that he wasn't 
afraid of the swim test. When our turn came, Andy and I 
stepped up to the edge of the deep end of the pool and 
waited for the word to go.

The lifeguard, I think his name is Jim Hardy, reviewed 
to us, "Jump in feet first. Swim with a strong stroke 
to the other end of the pool and turn. Come half way 
back with the strong stroke. Roll over on your back and 
do the Elementary Backstroke to the end of the pool. 
Any questions?"

Andy and I nodded no. Jim said, "Jump in guys." I 
hesitated a moment to let Andy go first. I wanted to 
see how he did. Andy came to the surface OK and started 
doing the crawl. 

Jim prodded, "Let's go. What are you waiting for?"

I answered, "I'm just keeping an eye on my little 
brother." I jumped in, surfaced and started off. I'm a 
good swimmer. I expected to catch up to Andy quickly. 
Instead I fell further behind him. When Andy passed me 
on the way back when I was only 2/3 of the way to the 
far end, I concentrated on what I was doing. Obviously 
I didn't need to worry about Andy in the pool.

I was almost to the end when Will yelled at me. Will 
said, "Get your stomach up Kyle. I want to see a decent 
backstroke!" I arched my back a little more and tried 
to do my kick better. Will tapped on the edge of the 
pool with his reach pole when I got close to the end. 
He said, "Float on your back for a minute."

I was resting on my back in the water when I heard two 
taps on the side of the pool. Will said, "Andy get 
out."

I heard Andy say, "Did I do OK Will? Did I pass?"

Will answered, "You did great squirt. Real good. I'm 
proud of you." Then Will tapped me on the stomach with 
his reach pole. "Get your stomach up little brother." I 
shivered when the cold metal pole touched me. I arched 
my back a little more. Finally Will tapped the side of 
the pole and said, "You're done little brother." I 
climbed out. Will turned to the CIT beside him and 
said, "This one is a beginner."

I bristled, "What the heck Will? I passed the test!"

Will said to the CIT, "No, actually he's a swimmer. I 
was just yanking your chain little brother." He held 
his hand out to me. I shook it. "It's good to see you 
Kyle. You still doing your training?"

"You bet Will. Eddie is training with me."

"Cool. I go running in the evenings at 9 pm. Do you 
want to run with me this week?"

"Sure Will. Can Eddie come too?"

"Why not. We'll start tomorrow evening. We're too busy 
with the opening campfire tonight."

"Thanks for offering Will. I'll see you later."

I met our troop outside the changing room. Jason 
counted heads to make sure we had everyone. When he 
counted our 32, we marched back to our campsite. We 
spent the rest of the afternoon getting our campsite 
set up. 

We had dinner at the dining hall. After dinner, Will 
got up in front of the 400 scouts and leaders and 
called for quiet with the scout sign. Silence came 
swiftly. Will welcomed the campers, did a couple 
announcements and then said that we're going to sing 
"Green Grow The Rushes Ho."

Will started the song off and the whole dining hall 
joined in. When we finished and were filing out of the 
dining hall, Andy yanked on my shirttail. "What's up 
Andy?"

"I didn't know Will could sing. It sure was weird to 
see our big brother up in front of all of these 
scouts."

"Yeah, it is cool. You'll get used to it. The other 
staff members often treat me special since I'm Will's 
brother. It's neat."

"How will they know that?"

"C'mon Andy. The three of us look too much alike. 
They'll recognize us, no doubt about it."

"I guess I have a lot to learn about camp, don't I 
Kyle."

"Yep. You know which merit badges you're signing up 
for?"

"Yes. Swimming and Basketry, right?"

"You got it. Those two, and work with Mr. Clark to 
finish First Class this week. That's what you need to 
do Andy."

The camp did merit badge sign-ups after dinner. I 
signed up with the Envi-Sci counselor first. Then I 
signed up for Climbing. Last I went over to the 
Aquatics section and signed up for Canoeing. A CIT was 
taking names. I wondered who was going to be the 
counselor. The CIT didn't say. The scouts scattered 
around camp to tour, buy stuff at the trading post or 
just hang out at camp.

All the troops met at the campfire area for the opening 
campfire at 9 pm. After some skits, songs and cheers, 
everyone went back to camp. Our troop had a cracker 
barrel every night. We pigged out on trail mix. I went 
to my bunk. Eddie had a Patrol Leader's Council meeting 
to go to, so I was alone in our tent. I fell asleep 
before Eddie got back.

The next morning, Mr. Clark woke Eddie and I up. We 
woke up the rest of our patrol. We showered and cleaned 
our tents up for the day. The whole troop marched to 
the dining hall for breakfast. We sat by patrols in the 
dining hall, so Eddie and I were together with the 
other five scouts in our patrol. Mr. Good, one of the 
assistant scoutmasters sat with us. He looked after us, 
making sure we went to classes and did the things we 
were supposed to do.

I purposely kept the first of the three morning merit 
badge periods open. I could hang around camp, make sure 
my tent and my patrol site was cleaned up properly. 
Eagle Patrol ALWAYS did well on campsite inspections. 
We didn't want to let down the older guys who set the 
tradition years ago. We were proud of our patrol.

At 10 o'clock I had Environmental Science Merit Badge 
at the Nature Lodge. The counselor was Rich Short. I 
had him for another merit badge last year. Rich 
recognized me as soon as I came into the class. 

Rich asked, "Hey Kyle. Good to see you again."

"I'm glad you're teaching this badge Rich. I enjoyed 
Fish and Wildlife Management with you last year."

"How old are you Kyle?"

"I turn fourteen on Friday."

"Ahh, a birthday in camp. You ready to be embarrassed?"

"Yeah, this will be the fourth birthday I celebrated in 
camp. I'm used to it now."

"Are you going to sign up to be a CIT next summer? 
You'd be good at it."

"I don't know Rich. A month ago I was planning to do 
that, but I've been recruited to play football in high 
school. I don't know how that will fit in. I've been 
working with our quarterback Zack Hayes this summer 
practicing pass routes. I’ll see how things will turn 
out next summer."

"I remember Zack. He attended camp a few years ago. He 
was in a couple of my classes when I was a camper. 
Where's he at now?"

"He has done quarterback camps the past two summers. He 
really has his heart set on a football scholarship for 
college. That's why he isn't coming to summer camp 
anymore."

"Kyle, tell Zack I said hi, OK?"

"Sure thing Rich." I said.

Rich glanced at his watch and realized that class had 
to start. Rich went over the requirements. This merit 
badge was going to be hard. A lot of essays and study. 
I needed this merit badge to finish my Life Rank. Will 
got Eagle last year, so everyone expected that I would 
do that too. I had to work hard to keep up with my 
brother. 

I went to the climbing tower at the center of camp for 
my next merit badge. I didn't even get a chance to sit 
down before the counselor recognized who I was.

He asked, "You're Will Henry's brother aren't you?"

"Yes. I'm Kyle Martin." I extended my hand to shake 
his. 

"Hi. I'm Bill Jones. Have you done any climbing before 
Kyle?"

"No, but it sounds like fun." I had a seat at the 
picnic table. A minute later, Eddie joined me. This was 
the only merit badge class we shared. Bill went over 
the badge requirements, the safety rules, belaying and 
the commands. We had about fifteen minutes to try 
climbing at the end of the day. I hoped we would spend 
more time actually climbing tomorrow.

Eddie and I walked back to our campsite together. I 
said, "Did I tell you Will asked us to go running with 
him tonight at 9 pm?"

"No, but that's cool. Do you think Mr. Clark will have 
a problem with that?"

"If it's with Will, I'm sure it'll be OK."

The troop had lunch at the dining hall and then went 
back to camp for siesta. Everyone had an hour of free 
time in our campsite. At a quarter to two, I headed for 
the boatyard at the far end of camp. I got there a 
couple minutes early. Will was sitting on the picnic 
table when I got there.

I asked, "What are you doing here? I thought you worked 
at the pool."

"You didn't hear did you? We had a shake up during 
staff week. The guy who was going to run the boatyard 
this year called the first day to say he quit. I got a 
promotion. I'm in charge of the boatyard this year."

"Cool. So, who is the instructor for Canoeing?"

Will smiled and said, "Me."

"Oh man. You're going to work my ass off aren't you?"

"You bet little brother. I have to get you ready for 
Canada."

The other kids started to file in and find seats. "Have 
a seat Kyle. We're going to start class soon." Will 
explained.

Will went over the parts of a canoe, how to do the 
strokes, and what the requirements for the badge were. 
Will assigned everyone a canoe partner. He assigned me 
to work with a blond haired guy from Troop 187 in 
Manheim. His name was Trent Wilson. Finally it was time 
to get out on the lake. Trent picked up two PFD's for 
us. I went for the canoe. I grabbed the canoe off the 
rack and laid it on the ground the way I was taught at 
shakedown last month. I pulled it up on my knees and 
flipped it over my head. I could feel the difference my 
weight training was making. This was much easier than 
last month.

Trent came over just as I flipped the canoe up on my 
shoulders. "Jeez Kyle. Don’t you want some help with 
the canoe?"

"No, I'm good. My Venturer Crew is going canoeing in 
Canada in August. I have to do this up there. I might 
as well practice here." I carried our canoe down to the 
lake edge and walked into the water. I carefully set 
the canoe down in the water. I asked, "Ready Trent?" I 
noticed Will was smiling as he watched me. I guess I 
did things right. I steadied the canoe while Trent 
climbed in the front.

The other students in the class weren't willing to 
stand in the lake. The stood on the shore and tried to 
climb in the canoes from the shore.

Will shouted, "C'mon guys. You can't canoe without 
getting your feet wet. Get out in the water before you 
get in your boat!" The other students reluctantly waded 
into the lake and climbed into their canoes. We 
practiced strokes for about fifteen minutes. I had 
trouble with the J stroke.

Will noticed, "Kyle, what are you doing? Put more twist 
in your wrist when you do the stroke."

We practiced some more. I couldn't keep the canoe 
straight. Will yelled, "Kyle, what are you doing? Lift 
more at the end of the stroke." We practiced for a few 
more minutes. I was getting better. The canoe didn't 
weave too much. I thought I was getting it.

Will shouted, "C'mon Kyle. Twist your wrist more. The 
blade of the paddle should be perpendicular to the 
water at the end of the stroke. Get it right!"

I said, "OK, Will."

Trent quietly said, "The instructor sure is hard on 
you."

"I know. He's my brother." I said.

"His last name is Henry. I thought your last name was 
Martin."

"It is. We're half brothers actually."

Trent sympathized, "Now I understand why he is so hard 
on you. It must suck having your brother as your 
instructor."

"I've gotten used to taking orders from my brother. 
He's been SPL, JASM, Venturer Crew President, most 
every leadership position scouting has. That's just how 
things are for me."

After canoeing, I went over to the pool for free swim. 
It was nice to have free time at camp. Eddie and I 
spent the evening hanging out at camp talking and 
joking. Around 8:30, one of the second year scouts from 
Andy's patrol ran over to our tent.

"Kyle, you've got to come. Andy's in his tent crying. 
He won't talk to anyone!"

Eddie and I went running. I motioned for Eddie to wait 
outside the tent. I sat down on the bunk beside Andy. 
"What's wrong?" I asked.

"I hate camp. I want to go home!" Andy declared and 
then he started to cry again.

I stuck me head out of the tent and told Eddie to go 
get Will, immediately. I held my little brother and 
patted him on the back. "Will's going to come and talk 
with you, Andy. Please stop crying." He cried and 
sniffled the whole five minutes it took for Will to 
arrive.

I slid over when Will arrived, making room for him 
beside Andy. He put his arm around Andy. "What wrong 
big guy?" he asked quietly.

"I miss my family. I wanna go home." Andy said as he 
sobbed.

Will laughed a little. "Look around the tent. We're all 
family. We're here for you." It took Will about ten 
minutes to get the whole story out of Andy. Some of the 
other second year scouts had been teasing him about 
being a baby since he didn't know where anything was or 
what to do in camp.

Will called Hal Long over. He explained that a good 
patrol leader better take care of all his scouts. Hal 
needed to fix the problem and get his patrol working as 
a team again. Hal agreed to work on it.

Will joined Eddie and me when he was done talking with 
Hal. "You guys ready to run?"

"Sure Will."

Will said, "We're going to run to the main road and 
back. It's about three and a half miles. It's a good 
workout."

Will took off. Eddie and I struggled to keep up. The 
run was a lot harder than the one at home. The camp 
road had a lot of hills on it. Part way through, Will 
must have felt pity for us. He finally slowed the pace 
down so we could keep up. It was nearly forty minutes 
later before we got back to camp.

Eddie and I went straight to our bunks to sleep. Later 
Jason came to our tent. "Eddie! Wake up!"

"Huh" Eddie groaned.

"You have a Patrol Leader's Council meeting in five 
minutes. Get up."

"OOohhh... I'm sleeping. I'll send my assistant." Eddie 
said.

"NO WAY!" Eddie's assistant, me, exclaimed.

"You're the patrol leader. Get up and get your butt to 
the meeting." Jason said.

I laughed at him as he got out of bed and dressed. 
Eddie said, "You suck Kyle." as he left our tent. I 
didn't hear him come back. I was long asleep.

=========
Chapter 7
=========

The rest of the week about the same as the first day. 
Rich Short did a good job teaching Envi-Sci. It was 
hard, but interesting. Eddie and I loved Climbing. We 
spent every second they would allow us at the climbing 
tower. Will pushed me every day at canoeing to make 
sure I did everything perfect. I tried to accept it all 
in good humor. What else could I do? I became a good 
friend with my canoe partner Trent Wilson. Even though 
we were from different troops, we hung out together 
some outside of class. 

Andy got accustomed to scout camp. By Wednesday he was 
having a blast. On Friday he asked me if there was any 
way he could stay for another week. 

Friday was the day I dreaded. I knew I couldn't avoid 
it. Eddie wished me a happy birthday when we got up. 
That was OK. The troop sang happy birthday to me at our 
troop flag raising. That was OK. Andy gave me a 
birthday card and a present before breakfast. He bought 
me a video game, a good one. That was cool. 

I didn't know when, but I knew Will would make fuss 
over my birthday, a very public fuss. I escaped at 
breakfast. Nothing happened. When lunch was done, Will 
got up in front of the 400 people at the dining hall 
and called for silence. Here it comes!

Will announced, "Today is a special day for one of our 
campers. Kyle Martin, please come up front."

I walked the walk of the doomed to the front of the 
dining hall. Will pulled a chair out from a nearby 
table. He said to me, "Stand up on this, Kyle."

"I hate this Will. I really do!" I said quietly so only 
Will could hear me. I stood up on the chair.

Will announced to the crowd, "My LITTLE brother has a 
birthday today. Kyle turns 14!"

I towered over Will standing on the chair. I looked 
down at him and declared, "I'm not LITTLE anymore!"

Will ignored me and carried on, "Let's sing Happy 
Birthday for my little brother Kyle." The large crowd 
in the dining hall sang to me while I turned bright red 
from embarrassment.

Will gave me a hug when I got down. He said, "I love 
you Kyle."

I got a few handshakes and slaps on the back as I went 
back to my patrol's table. I was glad when we were 
dismissed from the dining hall.

After siesta, I headed to Canoeing Merit Badge. Will 
gave everyone a final written test before we took the 
canoe handling test in the lake. I knew I aced the 
written test. Will had beaten all the terms and safety 
precautions into my head a long time ago. Will made 
Trent and I take the handling test first in our class. 
We blasted through the maneuvering test, kept the canoe 
straight on that part of the test and demonstrated our 
sweeps, draws and sculling perfectly. Will called Trent 
and I in and congratulated us. We passed.

Trent and I sat down at the picnic table while we 
waited for the rest of the class to be tested. I said, 
"It's been fun working with you Trent. You've been a 
good friend and canoe partner."

Trent said, "Yes, it has been fun Kyle. We're both from 
Lancaster County, maybe we'll meet again some day. You 
going to free swim when we're done?"

I said, "Yes. Let's buddy up. We can enjoy another hour 
together."

When Will dismissed the class, that is exactly what we 
did. I headed back to my campsite after the swim. 
Things always got busy Friday night at scout camp. The 
camp invited parents for a barbecue. The troop leaders 
made everyone clean up so the campsite would look good 
for the parents.

Mom, Dad, and Lizzie went through the dinner line with 
Andy and I. Will was serving the barbecued chicken like 
usual. I knew he hated chicken so I couldn't resist 
teasing him. "Mmmm... I love chicken Will, can I have 
extra?"

"No Lizard breath!" Will snapped.

"Toad!"

"Twerp!"

"Baboon!"

Jim Hardy, standing beside Will, laughed at us. "Ahh, 
brotherly love. You want some potato salad Kyle?"

"Sure Jim, Thanks." I said.

I enjoyed having dinner with my family. Andy couldn't 
stay quiet. He had to tell Mom and Dad every single 
thing he did all week. Scout camp had turned another 
young kid into a dedicated scout. I knew Andy would be 
back to summer camp many times like Will and I.

Andy and I gave Mom and Dad a tour of camp after 
dinner. At 8:30, all the troops gathered for the 
closing campfire. The staff handed out awards. Troops 
did skits. Everyone had a grand time.

When the parents left, our troop gathered for our 
cracker barrel. Tonight we had birthday cake and ice 
cream. I didn't mind people singing to me when they 
brought ice cream. I loved it.

Saturday was anti-climactic. We packed up, had a cold 
breakfast and attended the closing ceremony at the 
parade field. When the ceremony was done, Andy and I 
met up with Will to say good bye. We wouldn't see our 
brother for another five weeks.

=========
Chapter 8
=========

The next weeks passed quickly, too quickly. Eddie and I 
did our training and running every day. Every Saturday 
Zack, Eddie, Mike and I met at the park to practice 
pass routes. Mike taught me a lot I didn't know before. 
I think Eddie was learning a lot from Zack about being 
a quarterback.

Eddie and I played catch with football some days, 
watched TV or DVD sometimes. Sometimes we simply hung 
out and talked. We passed the time without cares. It 
was great to have one last summer without 
responsibilities. 

Our gang of friends caught a movie one Friday night. 
Another Saturday afternoon the gang went out to play 
mini-golf. I really enjoyed hanging with the girls in 
our group, talking with them and flirting with them 
without the stress of a real date.

The evening before the Algonquin trip, Dad and Abby 
brought Will home from scout camp. Mom and Dad wanted 
to take the whole family out for ice cream that night, 
but I begged off, since I hadn't finished packing. Dad 
was going to insist, until Will said it was OK that I 
stayed home.

Will and Abby started his wash as soon as the rest of 
the family left. Then Will checked in with me to make 
sure that I was getting packed. 

I asked, "Do you and Abby need my bedroom tonight 
Will?"

Will looked me with a bemused smile on his face, 
"You're serious, Kyle? Why do you think we want that?"

"You and Abby haven't been together in eight weeks. I 
thought you might want some privacy and a bed a little 
bigger than the bunk beds."

"That's really nice of you Kyle. I think Abby and I 
will take you up on that offer in a few minutes. You 
really don't mind?"

"No, it's not a problem. I'll finish packing and get 
out of your way."

When I had all my things packed, I headed over to 
Eddie's house. I really didn't want to listen to my 
brother and his girlfriend have sex tonight. 
Unfortunately, Eddie wasn't home when I got there. I 
decided to try the Edwards house. Maybe I could help 
Penny pack for the trip.

Penny's older sister Niki answered the door when I 
knocked. "Hi, Kyle. Come on in." she said.

I said, "I came over to see Penny, is she upstairs?"

"Yes."

When I appeared in Penny's room, I saw piles of clothes 
and camping equipment surrounded her.

She asked, "I thought you would be home packing for the 
trip tomorrow."

"I'm done. Anyway, I need to be scarce for awhile. Will 
is home from camp and Abby is over there."

"Ah, yes. I guess it would be a little, uh, too 
stimulating to stay at home while Will and Abby get, 
um, reacquainted."

"That is a very delicate way to put it. They are going 
to fuck their brains out tonight, Penny."

"Oh! You're so bad Kyle!"

"Well, that's what they are doing."

I helped Penny finish packing her things for the trip. 
We went downstairs to the kitchen and had a snack.

We were half finished eating when Penny asked me, 
"Kyle, have you ever gone on a real date?"

"Yes, one time."

Penny asked, "With who?"

"Julie Simpson. It didn't go as well as I hoped. By the 
end of the date she wouldn't speak to me."

"What happened Kyle?"

"She got upset when I used my tongue when we were 
kissing. Boy, did she get upset. Have you gone on a 
date yet Penny?"

"No, I've never been asked. You guys have it lucky. You 
can ask a girl any time you want. We girls have to wait 
for someone to ask. It sucks."

"I don't know if guys have it easy. It took me two 
months to get up the nerve to ask Julie. I finally 
asked her out, take her on the date and two hours later 
I'm shot down in flames. It's not easy for guys 
either."

"Yeah, I guess. You know what Kyle. We should go on a 
date. We don't have to worry about all the asking and 
getting to know you crap. Just go and have some fun."

I said, "I know we'd have fun. Is it a good idea to 
risk our friendship by getting it mixed up with the 
whole boy-girl thing? I don't want to lose your 
friendship over something like me using my tongue on a 
kiss. That would really suck."

"I don't think that would happen, but I understand what 
you mean. Well, it's something to think about at 
least."

"I'll do that Penny."

When we finished our snack, I went back home. I hung 
out downstairs a little while, trying to find out if 
Will and Abby were finished yet. They weren't. God, 
those two could get me horny so quick. I went to the 
basement to watch TV and to try to get the sounds of 
love making out of my head.

I wasn't successful. My boner refused to go down. I 
finally pulled my pants down to my knees and jerked 
off. I kept thinking of Penny's beautiful breasts while 
I stimulated myself. Our conversation tonight didn't 
help me at all. I finally blasted a big load of cum all 
over my chest. 'I wonder if it is possible for two 
friends to get romantically involved. Could I date 
Penny and not screw our friendship up?'

I heard the front door slam just as I finished cleaning 
the cum off of myself. I pulled my pants back up 
quickly. I didn't need to get caught like that! I 
headed to bed after that.

One problem I didn't count on when I generously allowed 
Will and Abby to use my bed was just how messy they 
would leave my bed. I had to scoot to one side of the 
bed to stay out of the wet spot in the middle. What a 
wonderful way to go to sleep!

=========
Chapter 9
=========

Dad woke Will and me up at 5 am to get us off on our 
adventure to Canada. We showered and grabbed a quick 
breakfast before we went to the church to meet the rest 
of our group. The drive north was boring. I slept part 
of the way and listened to music the rest of the way. 
We tented out in a state park in New York near Niagara 
Falls the first night. The next day at lunch time we 
arrived at our outfitters.

After lunch the outfitter brought everyone to the back 
room to get our food and equipment for the trip. Eddie 
and I couldn't believe how much stuff we were going to 
carry. Alex helped Eddie, Jeremy, Hal, Penny, Kathy and 
I carry our Duluth packs back down to our cabins. We 
spent half the afternoon sorting and repacking 
everything into five packs.

We practiced canoeing for awhile in the afternoon with 
our canoe partners, long enough to get the OK from Will 
that they knew what they were doing. The Baers let 
everyone go swimming when the canoe tests were done. My 
friends and I had a blast diving, jumping and dunking 
each other.

After dinner, we went back to the outfitters and hung 
out around a campfire. It was cool to listen to all the 
stories that Joe and Will told about their many trips 
to Algonquin. It sounded like we would have a really 
cool trip.

After breakfast the next morning we loaded up in our 
two vans and headed east for our entry point in the 
park. We drove back a dirt road after about an hour on 
the main road. When we crested the last hill, Opeongo 
Lake came into view. The lake extended as far north as 
I could see. It was surrounded with pine covered hills. 
The only sign of civilization was the three buildings 
at the bottom of the hill by the edge of the lake.

Joe, Justin, Will and Alex had planned the trip out for 
both crews to follow the same route on the trip. We 
would each camp on our own campsite, but we would canoe 
together and the two crews would help each other out as 
needed. Alex had appointed me to be the navigator the 
first day. It was my job to lead the two crews to the 
Northern Arm of Opeongo Lake to our first night's 
campsite. I studied the map carefully the previous 
night to make sure I knew where we were going. I 
surveyed the surroundings while the canoes were loaded, 
relating the look of the lake to the map, so I knew 
where to go.

I climbed into the middle of Alex's canoe when we were 
ready to take off. Alex decided to have the navigator 
ride as the third person in the three man canoe. Since 
the navigator's job changed every day, no one would be 
stuck in the uncomfortable position in the middle of 
the canoe every day. Hal Long was odd man out in the 
canoes, he took the navigator's normal spot each day. 
Today Hal would canoe with my usual partner Penny.

Alex, Kathy and I floated out a hundred yards from the 
dock while our group got all eight canoes loaded and 
ready to travel. When the last canoe, Justin and 
Sherry's canoe, pulled away from the dock, Will yelled, 
"Let's go Alex. Take us north!"

We paddled north to the north end of the North Arm of 
Opeongo Lake. We wanted to find a campsite near the 
portage to Proulx Lake. We would do that portage 
tomorrow morning. The paddlers had to work hard. We 
were canoeing into a pretty strong head wind. We picked 
out a couple campsites a 1/4 mile from tomorrow's 
portage for our first night.

Alex ended up tenting with Hal, Penny and Kathy shared 
a tent while Eddie, Jeremy and I ended up together. We 
cooked our shish-kebobs over a big campfire for dinner. 
After dinner was cleaned up and the bear bags hung, we 
all gathered around the campfire to talk, like we did 
back home. Except for Alex, our crew leader, this crew 
was just an extension of the gang of us who hung out 
together all the time.

I asked, "Alex, how come you aren't with the other 
crew? You're going to be a senior next month, while the 
rest of us will only be freshman?"

Alex chuckled, "Some one needs to wipe your noses. 
That's my job."

Eddie protested, "We don't need a babysitter. Really, 
why are you with us?"

Alex said, "I don't fit in that crew this summer. 
Everyone else is here with his girlfriend. My 
girlfriend Terri moved to Baltimore last winter. She 
couldn't come on the trip, so I'm on my own. I would be 
a fifth wheel if I hung out with all the couples in the 
other crew. So, here I am."

I said, "It must suck having a girlfriend that lives so 
far away. How do you do it?"

Alex answered, "I make the trip to Baltimore 
frequently. I write to and call Terri a lot. We hope we 
can make our relationship work for a year this way. 
Both of us are applying to the same colleges. We expect 
to be back together again in college. We want to go to 
University of Maryland together."

Eddie said, "That's cool Alex."

Alex asked, "Do any of you have girlfriends or 
boyfriends yet?"

"No!"

"Not me."

"Nope!" was the reply from our group.

I explained, "We don't formally date, the six of us and 
three to six friends back home go on group dates. 
Nobody is really a couple. We have a lot of fun this 
way."

Alex replied, "That's cool. My friends and I used to do 
that when I was in eighth and ninth grade. It was nice 
until Terri and I got serious in ninth grade. Then 
Terri and I stopped hanging out with the group as much. 
You'll see one of these days."

I said, "I guess so."

It was getting dark and the mosquitoes started to come 
out. Everyone headed to bed quickly when they appeared. 
I settled down in the middle between Eddie and Jeremy. 
We overheard Alex and Joe talking outside while they 
put out the campfire.

Alex, said, "You know Joe, this trip is going to be a 
lot different than two years ago. These kids are so 
young! I wasn't like this then, was I?"

"No you weren't Alex. Remember, you were a year older 
than these kids last time and you had a steady 
girlfriend. They are really good kids. We'll have a 
nice trip. It will be a little quieter in the 
evenings."

"Joe, I guess you and Barb will need to be a little 
more careful at nights. You made just as much noise as 
the rest of us at night."

Joe chuckled, "I guess we did. We'll be quieter this 
trip, definitely!"

Alex said, "Good night Joe."

Joe replied, "Good night Alex. Remember you're sharing 
your tent with Hal not Terri, OK?"

"You bet Joe. I think I can remember the difference."

I whispered to Eddie, "What do you think they mean by 
this trip is going to be really being different?"

"I don't know Kyle. Go to sleep."

==========
Chapter 10
==========

After breakfast the next morning, our crew met at 
Will's crew’s campsite before we headed out for the 
day. We had a fifteen minute paddle to the portage for 
the day. Alex explained the duties to everyone. Since 
Kathy was so short, she only had to make a single trip 
on the portage trail. The rest of us made one and a 
half trips carrying packs and canoes.

I was back at the end of the portage with my second 
load and we were still waiting for Kathy. Eddie and I 
went back to find her and help her out. We met her in 
the middle of the portage. Kathy was quite a sight. She 
stood about 5'-1" tall and weighed in at about 90 
pounds. The pack she was carrying extended from over 
her head down to her knees. It probably weighed 50 
pounds, over half her weight. She was staggering when 
we met her. Eddie and I took turns carrying her Duluth 
pack to the end of the portage.

I took the group an hour to cross to the northern end 
of Proulx Lake. Then we spent two hours paddling 
through a swamp that the map called the Crow River. I 
didn't look like any river I had ever seen. I also 
found out why Will had been so demanding when I took 
Canoeing Merit Badge. Maneuvering a canoe through the 
narrow channel was challenging. I loved having Penny in 
the front of my canoe. She was an excellent canoeist 
and fun to talk with.

Our crews found two adjoining campsites on the western 
end of Big Crow Lake. After lunch our crew had free 
time. Most of our crew decided to follow Will's 
suggestion that we check out the fire tower on the hill 
across the lake from our campsite. We paddled over and 
hiked up the steep hill. The climb was worthwhile. The 
view from the top of the tower was amazing. I finally 
understood just how isolated and remote Algonquin is. 
We could see for miles. There were no signs of 
civilization in view. When we returned to camp everyone 
went swimming. We had a blast wrestling and playing in 
the water.

Our crew settled into a comfortable routine at meal 
times. Half the crew worked together in Boy Scouts 
before we became Venturers, so cooking and clean up 
were easy. The food the outfitter gave us was good; 
especially considering it was all freeze dried or 
dehydrated. You never would have realized that the food 
was vegetarian unless you read the label on the package 
carefully.

After dinner Alex talked to the whole crew about 
tomorrow's portage. It was 2 1/2 miles long, by far the 
longest we would do on the trip. Alex wanted to lighten 
Kathy's pack so she wouldn't have so much trouble on 
the portage. She ended up with the barrel full of bread 
along with her personal stuff. It felt a lot lighter 
than it did earlier in the day when we helped her on 
the first portage.

After a busy day like that, sleep claimed us quickly 
when Eddie, Jeremy and I finally got in our sleeping 
bags.

==========
Chapter 11
==========

The sun was streaming in the tent door when Alex woke 
us up the next morning. Penny and I were assigned to 
cook today. We made instant scrambled eggs. Alex had us 
dice up and add salami to the eggs. It sounds weird but 
actually was pretty good. The rest of the crew packed 
up camp while Penny and I washed the dishes from 
breakfast.

Hal was the navigator that day, so everyone climbed in 
their canoes with their usual partners. Our crew met 
Will's crew at their campsite about 9:30 in the 
morning. Hal pointed the way north, and Alex, Hal and 
Kathy took the lead. The other seven canoes followed 
behind them. We only needed 45 minutes to get to the 
northern end of this lake.

We did the long portage in stages. Carry gear for half 
an hour. Go back for a second load. When everything was 
together again, we started the process over. It took us 
four stages and 2 1/2 hours to get our canoes, packs, 
paddles, PFD’s and other assorted equipment to Hogan 
Lake.

We loaded our canoes and headed north into Hogan Lake. 
Alex was aiming for an island with two campsites on it, 
one at each end. It was nearby, so we reached it in 
fifteen minutes. The first campsite was empty. Will and 
Alex conferred. They agreed that we could have this 
one. We pulled our canoes into the rocky landing and 
carried our packs up the hill into the campsite. The 
site was about 20 feet above the lake. It was covered 
with tall pines. It was quite open. There was no 
undergrowth under the pines. You could see across Hogan 
Lake in three directions. It was an awesome campsite. 

After lunch, Eddie and I decided to explore our island 
home. The island was almost a 1/3 mile long, according 
to the map. It was never more than 100 yards wide. We 
followed it north until we came to heavy brush. The 
island was only 20 yards across at this point. 

We had to jump from rock to rock on the shore to get 
past this brush. The underbrush cleared a little after 
about 100 yards. We continued north on land. A couple 
minutes later we came to a small clearing. There was a 
trail that went north from the clearing. We followed it 
for a couple minutes. It took us directly into the 
middle of Will's campsite.

We walked out into their campsite. Justin and Sherry 
Baer were sitting on logs beside a campfire. Justin 
looked up and said, "Hey, guys. What's up?"

I said, "We're just exploring the island. Where is the 
rest of your crew?"

Sherry pointed towards the lake at the end of the 
campsite. Justin said, "Come, have a seat."

Eddie and I sat on the log beside Sherry and Justin. 
Will, Abby, Gary, Linda, Jason and Sarah were out in a 
small bay in front of the campsite. They were playing 
and splashing each other.

Justin asked, "What do you guys think of Algonquin?"

I said, "I've listened to Will rave and carry on for 
four years about how great this place is. I finally 
understand what he is talking about. Did you hear the 
wolf pack howling last night?"

Justin chuckled, "No. Sherry and I were a little busy 
last night. We missed them."

Eddie asked, "When do you think we'll see moose? I 
really want to see one of them."

Justin answered, "I don't know. I only saw one on my 
first trip. It was on the Crow River below Big Crow 
Lake. We almost ran into it. It was standing in the 
middle of the river."

Eddie exclaimed, "Wow. You must have gotten close. That 
river is so narrow."

Sherry smiled and said, "I felt like I could have 
reached out and touched her. She was standing neck deep 
in water. It was amazing."

I added, "Will said he and Abby saw two moose on this 
lake last trip. I hope we get lucky and see some."

Justin said, "We may have a good chance. On my brother 
Joe's first trip, he went to the northern end of the 
park. His crew saw 8 moose on that trip. All of them 
were on Catfish Lake and Burnt Root Lake. "

Eddie said, "I sure we see some. That would be so 
cool."

Justin continued, "We'll see. We go to both of those 
lakes on this trip." Gary, Linda, Jason and Sarah came 
out of the lake as we talked.

Gary asked, "Who let these green horns in our 
campsite?" He tousled my hair as he walked by towards a 
pack.

I protested, "Hey. Knock it off you old fart!" I dived 
for Gary trying to tackle him. He dodged me easily. I 
laughed and dived at him again. He held me at arm's 
length, his hand on my chest. I was an inch taller than 
Gary, but he had at least 35 pounds on me. My fingers 
could just barely reach Gary's sides. I started 
tickling.

Eddie sneaked around Gary and attacked from the back. 
He started tickling too. Gary called, "Jason, help me!"

Jason came running. He made a diving tackle of Eddie. 
They both fell on the ground and wrestled around.

Will and Abby came out of the lake at this point. He 
said, "Are these two green horns bothering you guys?"

I squealed, "Will help me." By this time Gary had me 
pinned to the ground and was tickling me. I looked over 
at Jason and Eddie. Eddie was pinned to the ground. He 
was still squirming but Jason had him.

Will just stood there and laughed. "You should choose 
your opponents more carefully little brother."

Eddie said, "I give up Jason. Uncle!"

Jason got off Eddie. He sat up and looked at me. I 
said, "OK. You’re not an old fart. Sorry Gary."

Gary smiled at me and stood up. "That's better green 
horn. Respect your elders!" He reached a hand down to 
help me up.

When Eddie and I had brushed the dirt and pine needles 
off our shirts, he asked, "What's up little brother?"

I said, "Nothing, we just came to visit. See what you 
guys are doing."

Will answered, "We're just relaxing this afternoon. 
Nothing special."

I said, "We're going to go back to our campsite. See 
you guys later."

Eddie and I were at the edge of camp where the trail 
headed to our side of the island when I shouted, "We'll 
see you old farts later!" Eddie and I took off running.

"We'll get you guys. Count on it!" Will shouted as we 
ran.

When Eddie and I got back to our campsite, we gathered 
our friends together to plot our revenge. Eddie grabbed 
Kathy and Penny. I got Hal and Jeremy. We decided to 
keep Alex out of our plans. He's cool, but he's also 
too close to the people in the other crew. We talked 
for awhile and decided to have a midnight raid on their 
campsite. Hal's job was to let us know when Alex fell 
asleep. The rest of us would conduct the raid.

Penny and I cooked supper over a blazing fire that 
evening. We made lasagna. The desert was a berry 
cobbler. The outfitter had given us great meals! We 
licked the bottoms of the pots to get every speck of 
food out of it. Penny and I finished the dishes around 
7 pm. The whole crew sat on the west side of our island 
and talked while we watched the loons play in the lake 
in front of us. We stayed there until sunset. The sun 
sunk into the trees 1/2 mile away on the opposite side 
of the lake from our campsite. If every day of the trip 
was as beautiful as the first three, we were going to 
be truly blessed.

Alex had the whole crew hoist bear bags at dusk. 
Everyone headed to their tents after that. Hal gave me 
a smile and a thumbs up when he went in his tent. 
Eddie, Jeremy and I just hung out in our tent and 
talked while we waited. It was nearly an hour later 
before we heard Hal get out of his tent.

Hal shook the tent and whispered, "You guys awake?"

Jeremy said, "Yeah, we're ready. Is Alex asleep?"

Hal answered, "Yep. It's safe."

Eddie, Jeremy and I hopped out of our tent, joining 
Hal, Penny and Kathy.

I asked, "Is everyone ready?"

I got nods from the whole group. "Let's go gang!" I led 
the way across the island following the way that Eddie 
and I explored. 

Half way there Kathy asked, "What are we going to do?"

Eddie answered, "We are going to move their bear bags 
and hide their canoes. Won't they be surprised in the 
morning?"

Kathy, "OK, I don't want to cause any trouble over 
there."

I said, "We won't. This is just good clean practical 
joking!" We were approaching the small clearing near 
their campsite. I held a finger to my mouth to indicate 
silence. I approached quietly; ready for any sign that 
they heard us.

When we were about fifty feet from the first tent, we 
heard a women's voice, "Ohhh... that's it Justin."

"God, yesss... Sherry I love.... OH GOD! I love you... 
Sherry!" a man's voice groaned.

I looked around our group. The light of the flashlights 
showed shock and amazement on every face I looked at. 
Eddie whispered, "They're fucking!" I nodded my head in 
agreement.

Penny mouthed, "Now what?" I put me finger to my mouth 
again to mouth to indicate silence. We crept past 
Justin and Sherry's tent further into their campsite. 

When we got close to the next tent I heard my brother 
grunt, "Unnhh! Unhh, unhh, unhh."

Abby cooed, "God, I love you Will."

Will sighed and moaned, "I love you too, honey. That 
was better than the first time tonight." We continued 
past Will and Abby's tent into the center of their 
campsite. The other two tents were on the other side of 
the fire circle. We approached them.

We could recognize Gary's voice. "That felt great 
Linda. Do you want me to eat your pussy now?" She 
answered, "Yes, please."

In the next tent we heard Sarah say, "I'm ready Jason. 
Push in now, please." She let out a contented sigh 
after that. 

Jason, purred, "I love you so much Sarah. I could do 
this all night."

I looked at my fellow raiders. I mouthed, "Now what?"

Eddie pointed and whispered, "Let's get the hell out of 
here before we get caught. They will kill us if they 
find us here now!" Everyone nodded yes.

We crept very quietly out of the campsite and headed 
back to our own site. We stopped a couple hundred yards 
from our campsite.

I exclaimed, "I don't believe it. It was like an orgy 
over there!"

Penny said, "The guys and girls are sharing tents?!?!?"

Eddie said, "Justin and Sherry don't make very good 
chaperones, do they? What happens if Joe and Barb find 
out about all this?"

I said, "I think we better keep this quiet for now. Do 
you think it's safe to talk to Alex about this?"

Hal answered, "I think so. Alex is cool. I don't think 
he would try to get the kids in the other crew in 
trouble. Let's talk to him in the morning."

We split up and went back to our tents. When Jeremy, 
Eddie and I were in our sleeping bags Eddie said, "I 
can't believe I was ten feet away from kids having sex! 
What does it feel like? I wish I knew."

I said, "I know. I've barely even kissed a girl. I wish 
I had a girlfriend."

Jeremy said, "You guys are going to drive yourselves 
crazy. Just beat off and go to sleep. That's what I 
plan to do."

I exclaimed, "What? You're kidding!"

Jeremy didn't answer, he just opened his sleeping bag 
and started jerking his dick. I shrugged my shoulders, 
brushed my sleeping bag aside and started rubbing my 
cock. Eddie stared for a minute and finally joined us. 
It only took a couple minutes for us to shoot our cum. 
We cleaned ourselves up and then fell asleep.

==========
Chapter 12
==========

The next morning while Hal and Kathy were cooking our 
flapjacks for breakfast Eddie and I took Alex aside.

I asked, "Alex, we need some advice."

Alex said, "Sure. What's up?"

I said, "Some of us were going to pull a prank on the 
other crew last night. We sneaked over to their site. I 
don't want my brother and his friends to get in trouble 
with Joe and Barb, but the guys and the girls were 
sharing tents last night. It sounded like they might 
have been having sex."

Alex laughed. "That's what you're worried about? Of 
course they were having sex."

I exclaimed, "You know?"

Alex answered, "Of course. I was in your brother's crew 
last trip. Spending the trip sleeping with Terri is my 
favorite memory of that trip. It was awesome."

I said, "But didn't Joe and Barb care?"

Alex said, "Yes, of course they cared. They insist that 
if you have sex, it must be consensual, you have to use 
birth control and you need to keep the information 
private to our group."

Eddie said, "You mean if we wanted to have sex, Joe and 
Barb wouldn't mind?"

"No they wouldn't."

I asked, "Alex, what the hell are you doing with us if 
you could be in Will's crew having sex every night?"

Alex answered, "If Terri could have come on the trip, I 
would be in Will's crew, but she couldn't come. So I'm 
stuck with you guys."

Eddie said, "You mean I could have sex on this trip if 
I wanted?"

I teased, "Only if you could find a girl that wanted 
you! I think you're going to die a virgin Eddie."

I ran off, avoiding Eddie's attempt to punch me in the 
shoulder. He chased me for a few seconds and then gave 
up. Alex doubled over laughing at us. Hal and Kathy 
called everyone for breakfast.

Our crew sat on the logs around our campfire and chowed 
down on our Dutch Apple Flapjacks. This was the best 
breakfast we had yet on the trip. After Hal and Kathy 
cleaned up we packed our things and paddled north to 
Will's campsite. We floated in the small bay in front 
of their campsite while we waited for them to finish 
packing and join us for our journey north. Catfish Lake 
was today's destination.

We paddled across the upper end of Hogan Lake to the 
first portage. It was a long one, 1945 meters. With 
Kathy carrying a light load, and everyone getting 
experienced at portages, we did it pretty easily. The 
portage took us to Manta Lake. It was a small lake. We 
only needed ten minutes to cross it. We had another 750 
meter portage to Newt Lake. Newt Lake was so small, our 
first canoe was at the opposite end of the lake and the 
next portage while the last canoe was shoving off from 
the previous portage.

We did an 1105 meter portage to Sunfish Lake. By the 
time we arrived on Sunfish, it was lunch time. Both 
crews gathered at the end of the portage to enjoy 
salami on pita bread with mustard. We topped it off 
with trail mix and Gummi fruit strips. We lounged 
around for a little while, enjoying the noon day sun. 
Finally we set off on the last leg of our day's journey 
to Catfish Lake.

The "river" between Sunfish Lake and Catfish Lake was 
worse than the Crow River. You could barely see the 
path through the swamp. The "river" was about 6-8 feet 
wide with tall rushes on either side. It took us an 
hour to push our way through the mile of swampy river. 
We followed it to the Petawawa River. Just when we 
paddled into the Petawawa River, we spotted a bull 
moose a 1/4 mile downstream of us toward Catfish Lake. 

We paddled quietly towards it, hoping we could get 
close enough to get some good pictures. The bull 
ignored us. We got within a 150 feet. We sat and stared 
at this massive moose. Our two crews must have taken a 
hundred pictures of the immense creature. We wanted to 
see one. This certainly fulfilled our hopes. After 
twenty minutes of observing, we finally paddled north 
into Catfish Lake. It was mid afternoon and everyone 
wanted to set up camp and relax. Will shouted out to 
his crew when we spotted a campsite, "Crew 1, let's go. 
I want that campsite!"

Eddie, Alex and I dug our paddles in, trying to 
overtake Will's crew. Joe said, "Relax guys. I have 
been here before. I know about a better campsite in the 
middle of the lake. Let them have this one."

We slowed down and paddled past the island that Will's 
crew was going to camp on. Joe led the way to the 
middle of the lake and pulled in at a tall island. The 
landing was poor. The island sat about 25-30 feet above 
the lake. We pulled along side a long sloping rock 
face. One canoe at a time, we unloaded our gear and 
scrambled up the hill to the campsite. Joe was right. 
This was an awesome place to camp. We could look out in 
every direction at Catfish Lake. Most of the island 
ended in bluffs, except for the sloping rock we used to 
get into the campsite.

We set up our tents and dining fly and settled in to 
enjoy our stay at Catfish Lake. We planned to have a 
lay-over day at this lake, so we wouldn't have to move 
camp tomorrow. We finished the afternoon off by 
swimming in the lake. Eddie and Jeremy cooked a huge 
dinner for us. Joe baked a chocolate cake for desert. 
It was delicious. Our crew hung out around our campfire 
in the evening just swapping stories. Joe and Barb 
promised us we could sleep in the next morning and have 
a big breakfast. 

We woke up the next morning to the smell of bacon and 
eggs cooking. Joe and Barb lived up to their promise of 
a big breakfast. They made biscuits and gravy to go 
with the bacon and eggs. They also stewed up some dried 
apples in a cinnamon sugar sauce. It was the best 
breakfast of the entire trip!

Joe and Barb went fishing after breakfast was finished. 
The rest of us decided to go to the north end of the 
lake and check out the rapids and falls the map showed. 
We paddled to the north end and followed the Peatawawa 
River to the falls. We spent most of the day playing in 
the water in the rapids and falls. We had a blast. Our 
group didn't return to camp until almost 4 pm.

Joe and Barb visited Will's crew during the day. We 
were to meet them at their campsite at 9 the next 
morning. Alex, Joe and Barb made dinner that night. We 
enjoyed Alfredo Primavera. Our lay over day was 
excellent. We needed the break from paddling and 
trekking every day. We went to bed early, to be ready 
for a long day of paddling tomorrow.

Penny and I had cooking duty for the sixth day. We made 
pancakes for our crew. After breakfast, we loaded up 
our canoes and paddled down the lake to meet Will's 
crew. They were floating out a hundred yards for their 
campsite waiting for us.

This day became known as the "Moose Day." We saw eight 
moose on the eight mile paddle up the Petawawa River to 
Burnt Root Lake. Three of them were bulls, with immense 
racks. There were four females and a calf. This day was 
a long hard day. We ate lunch at the last portage, just 
after we got to the northern end of Burnt Root Lake. 
Alex and Will had agreed in the morning that we would 
head for campsite at the south end of the lake where 
they had stayed the previous trip two years ago.

My crew ended up camping on an island about a 1/4 mile 
from the peninsula where Will's crew camped. After camp 
was set up, Will invited our crew over to jump into the 
lake off the twenty foot high rock at their campsite. 
We spent half the afternoon jumping and playing 
together on the rocks and in the lake. We brought our 
dinner along. Both crews cooked together and spent part 
of the evening talking, laughing and just hanging out. 
We enjoyed our time together.

The next day Will's crew met us after breakfast for our 
day's paddle. We paddled about half mile before we got 
to the first portage.

Will called out, "Remember this spot Alex?"

Alex looked around. "Yeah, I remember this place. This 
is where I flipped Terri and I into the lake when I ran 
up on a rock in the rapids. That was a very bad day!"

Will and Alex told the story about all that had 
happened on that cold rainy day two years ago when they 
spilled half the crew in the lake. I really felt lucky 
that we had such good weather on our trip. Two years 
ago they had three straight days of rain. It must have 
sucked!

We did the short portage around the rapids and paddled 
up river to Longer Lake. At the south end of Longer 
Lake we did the portage into Big Trout Lake. We paddled 
half way down the lake before we made camp. My crew 
stayed on a small island. Will's crew was about 100 
yards away on a peninsula across from our island. Joe 
and Barb went fishing in the afternoon. The rest our 
crew swam and played in the water. 

We had a huge supper, including the 3 trout that Joe 
caught. I never tasted anything as good as fresh caught 
trout fried with some lemon pepper. We had a beautiful 
view of the sunset. It painted the sky shades of 
yellow, orange and pink. It was a fitting climax to a 
wonderful day in the wilderness.

==========
Chapter 13
==========

Our last full day in the wilderness began with 
delicious cheese omelets, freeze dried of course. Our 
two crews paddled south and followed a "river" through 
the swamp at the south end of Big Trout Lake. Our loads 
were finally small enough that we could finish portages 
in a single trip. The first portage was 1 1/4 miles 
long. We did it easily. After a week of practice, we 
were really good at portages. This portage took us to 
Merchant Lake. This is a small lake, probably no more 
than a mile across. We paddled across it to the other 
end. We had a 1/2 mile portage to Happy Isle Lake. 
Happy Isle was our destination today.

The two crews chose adjoining campsites at the southern 
end of Happy Isle Lake. We were about ten minutes away 
from our final portage. Tomorrow morning all we needed 
to do was paddle to the portage, carry our canoes and 
gear to the other end and meet the water taxi that was 
scheduled to pick us up at 10 am. Tomorrow would be an 
easy day.

Justin, Sherry, Will, Abby, Joe and Barb went out for 
an afternoon of fishing. The rest of the group stayed 
at camp and relaxed. Eddie, Jeremy, Hal, Penny, Kathy 
and I went for an afternoon swim. It was nice to get 
out of the hot sun and enjoy the cool lake water. We 
feasted on more fresh fish for dinner. Joe caught four. 
We ate so well on this trip, I expected to gain weight 
instead of lose it from all the hard work we did. After 
dinner, our crew got together with Will's crew for a 
big campfire at our site. We told stories, did skits, 
and sang some summer camp songs. It was a great end to 
our week. After dark, Alex asked Penny and I to take 
care of putting out the fire. Today was our turn for 
fire duty. 

Penny and I had a seat on a log by the fire. I asked, 
"Did you enjoy the trip Penny?"

"I loved this. The animals we saw, the beautiful stars 
in the night sky, all the moose we saw two days ago. 
This trip is great."

"I know. I listened to Will rave about Algonquin for 
four years. I understand now. This place is beautiful. 
I hope I can come back the way my brother did."

"You know what I liked most about the trip, Kyle? It 
was working with you. Cooking together, canoeing 
together, doing our chores together. You made this trip 
special for me."

I answered, "I feel the same way Penny. You remember 
the night before we left? When we talked about if we 
could stay friends, but start to date? I think I want 
to try it. What do you think Penny?"

Penny smiled. "I think I'd like to try Kyle." She 
leaned in closer to me.

I asked, "May I kiss you Penny?"

"I'd like that." she answered.

I leaned in to meet Penny. Our lips met, lightly at 
first. They were so warm and moist. I pressed a little 
harder. Penny put her hands on my shoulders. I wrapped 
my arms around her. Finally we needed to pause to catch 
our breath.

We pulled apart slightly. I asked, "Did you like that 
Penny?"

"I did Kyle. Let's do it some more." Penny pulled me 
towards her. I hugged her tight to my body. Our lips 
met again. I felt Penny's tits mashed against my chest, 
her hard nipples pressing into my skin. Our lips 
pressed together harder, expressing the urgency and 
need we felt.

Then I felt it. Penny's tongue! She was pressing it 
against my lips. I happily opened my mouth and let her 
slide her tongue into my mouth. I pressed my tongue 
against hers. It felt like electricity was flowing 
through us. Our tongues dueled with each other.

"Hey you two. Knock it off! Put the fire out and go to 
bed!" We broke apart and turned to look. Alex's head 
was sticking out of his tent. He yelled, "Make sure the 
fire is dead and get to bed. Now Kyle and Penny!"

"OK Alex." I answered.

"Sorry Alex. We'll get it done." Penny said.

We quickly doused the fire, stirred the water in and 
doused it again. I felt it for heat. It was dead. I 
said, "I really liked that Penny. I'll talk to you when 
we get home and set up a date. Does that sound good?"

"I can't wait Kyle. I want to try some more kissing. 
That was spectacular."

"Good night Penny."

"Good night Kyle."

We went to our tents. When I got in mine, Jeremy was 
already asleep. Eddie asked, "What took so long Kyle?"

"You won't believe it. Penny and I were kissing. It was 
spectacular!" I pulled my pants off. My dick agreed. It 
was hard as steel. "Eddie, do you mind if I jerk off 
before I go to sleep. I'm horny as hell!"

"No I don't mind Kyle." I started rubbing my dick. It 
only took a couple minutes until my dick shot arcs of 
sperm all over my chest. I wiped it up with toilet 
paper.

"Good night Eddie."

"I really have got to get a girlfriend! Good night 
Kyle."

Alex and Joe woke us up earlier than usual. We ate a 
quick breakfast of oatmeal and pop tarts. We packed our 
camp up for the final time and loaded our canoes. 
Will's crew meet in front of our site. We paddled the 
ten minutes to the portage. Our last portage was a long 
one. It was 1 1/2 miles. We reached the opposite end 
around 9:30 in the morning. Plenty of time to catch our 
water taxi ride back to civilization.

Two water taxis picked our crews up and delivered us to 
Opeongo Store and civilization. A shower and clean 
clothes made me feel almost human again. I filled up on 
snack food when I was cleaned up. Our group spent an 
hour at Opeongo Store before we headed back to the 
outfitters. We spent our afternoon cleaning and 
returning our gear. We had a little free time to shop 
for souvenirs at the outfitter's store. We spent the 
night in the same cabins we had at the beginning of the 
trip.

We toured Niagara Falls the next day and camped out at 
the same state park as we had eleven days earlier. Our 
last day of the trip was boring, a long eight hour 
drive home to Lancaster County and our homes.

==========
Chapter 14
==========

We got home late on Wednesday afternoon, the 22nd. Will 
and Abby offered to take Eddie, Penny, Jeremy and I 
along with them for dinner at the Red Lobster. Man, did 
that meal taste great!

When we got home, there was a note on the refrigerator. 
It said, "We went shopping. Help yourself in the frig 
for dinner. We'll be back around 9 pm. Love Mom."

I asked, "Will, do you and Abby want to use my bedroom? 
I don't mind."

Abby smiled. Will said, "That's very generous of you 
Kyle. I think we'll take you up on that offer."

I said, "I have a couple phone calls to make and then 
I'm going over to Eddie's. Have fun."

Abby said, "Thanks so much Kyle."

Will and Abby disappeared upstairs. I picked up the 
phone. I needed to check in with Coach Caffrey.

"Hello"

"Hello, Coach Caffrey, this is Kyle Martin. I wanted to 
let you know that Eddie Fritz, Jeremy North and I are 
home from Canada. I wanted to know what time try-outs 
are tomorrow."

"Try-outs are over, but we have three spots saved for 
you guys, assuming that you're in good shape."

"Absolutely sir. We're in great shape. After carrying 
50 pound canoes and 60 pound packs over 1/2 to 2 1/2 
mile portage trails, we're ready. Eddie and I have also 
been doing weights and running all summer. We won't 
disappoint you."

"You three aren't the first football players to go on 
that trip. Every trip there are one, two or sometimes 
three guys that come back in absolutely superb shape. 
Sometimes I wonder if I shouldn't take the whole 
football team up there to get in shape."

"It would certainly get them in shape, but there isn't 
much space up there to line up and play football." I 
indicated.

"No, I guess not. Did you say you had to carry 50 pound 
canoes on 2 1/2 mile portages? How many kids carried 
each canoe?"

"Just one sir."

"No wonder you guys come back so strong. Can you come 
for practice at 8:30 tomorrow morning? You need to get 
equipment and do some physical fitness tests."

"Martin, can you let Fritz and North know about 
tomorrow's arrangements?"

"Sure thing Coach. I was about to head over to Eddie's 
house now. Thanks for everything Coach. Bye."

When I got to Eddie's house, Jeremy was already there. 
They were busy downloading the photos from the trip and 
reliving those awesome memories. I finally understood 
why Will loved Algonquin so much! I told the guys about 
football practice tomorrow.

==========
Chapter 15
==========

The next morning, Mrs. North dropped Eddie, Jeremy and 
I off at the high school. We found Coach Caffrey in the 
boy's locker room. He sent us to Coach Wyndham, the 
defensive coach for our team, to pick up equipment. We 
went back and got dressed for practice. Coach Caffrey 
sent us to Coach Graham for conditioning tests. The 
first was for vertical leap. Coach Graham was surprised 
when I cleared 37 inches. Eddie managed 31 inches. 
Jeremy, who is built like a fireplug, had to be 
satisfied with 22 inches. Coach Graham weighed and 
measured us next. He confidently placed the heavy 
weight on 150 for me. 

"Uh, Coach, I don't weight that much." I said.

He moved the heavy weight back to 125. 

"Lower coach. I was 122 when I left home two weeks 
ago."

Coach Wyndham finally got the scale to balance. "117 
pounds. Stand up straight son." I stretched to my full 
height. "Hmmm, 6'-2. Thank you Martin."

Next was the 40 yard run. I beat Eddie and Jeremy 
easily. My time was 4.53 seconds. Then we did sit-ups 
and pull-ups. Coach Graham seemed very pleased with our 
numbers. 

The last test was a 1/4 mile run. Eddie and I had no 
problems with this one. We crossed the finish line 
almost at the same time. Jeremy struggled a little to 
keep up with us. Coach Graham had a huge grin on his 
face when we finished. Jeremy looked dejected. "North. 
Your time is 1:35, third best on the team. Good job. 
Fritz and Martin, I don't know what to tell you. The 
two of you crossed the finish line at 1:24. That’s the 
best time by anyone on the team. I guess you guys are 
ready for some football."

The three of us followed Coach Graham over to Coach 
Caffrey. Coach Caffrey looked our numbers over. "Very 
impressive gentleman. Go over and join the rest of the 
team."

We joined the crowd of seventh to twelfth grade kids. 
The JV and varsity teams were still working together. 
Eventually we would split up when the coaches figured 
out who made each team. Coach Caffrey called for 
everyone's attention. "We're going to start with a two 
mile run. Let's go boys." He was met with almost 
universal groans. Eddie and I looked at each other, and 
shrugged our shoulders. Eddie said, "Bring it on!"

The team set out on the run. Eddie and I soon ended up 
in front, as other players slowed down and fell back in 
the group. Twenty minutes later, when we finished, 
Eddie and I were alone at the front of the group.

After some stretching and flexibility exercises, we 
split up in groups by position. I ended up with the 
quarterback/receiver group. We ran drills. I learned a 
lot that day.

When practice was finally over, Coach Caffrey called me 
over to talk. He said, "I'm impressed Martin. You did 
very well for someone who hasn't played football for 
five years."

I answered, "Zack Hayes, Mike Wagner and Eddie Fritz 
really deserve the praise. They have been working with 
me all summer to help me get ready."

Coach said, "It shows. Keep working. You'll do OK 
here."

"Thanks Coach."

The next day of practice went like the first. Drills, 
conditioning, running routes, learning the play book. I 
worked hard to keep up.

Saturday was finally a day to rest. I goofed off while 
Will frantically ran around the house finishing his 
packing. He and Abby left tomorrow for college. I was 
designated baby sitter for Andy and Lizzie while Mom 
and Dad drove Will to Penn. They didn't get home until 
late.

The team went through four days of practice before the 
coaches decided who made the varsity and JV teams. Just 
before the decisions were to be announced, Coach 
Caffrey called Eddie and I to meet with him.

Coach started, "Fritz, I'm real impressed with you. I 
have to rate you the second best quarterback on our 
team. I wanted to talk to you before the lists come 
out. I want you to lead the JV team this year."

Eddie's face sunk. He said, "Why? You just said I beat 
out everyone except Zack. Why do you want to send me to 
JV?"

Coach Caffrey smiled, "I expected that you would react 
this way. Let me explain. You're a better quarterback 
than Steve, but he is a junior. I can't send him to JV. 
He'll do well as our varsity backup QB. You on the 
other hand aren't going to improve a lot sitting on the 
varsity bench. I want you to lead the JV offense. I 
want them to have the best chance to win at their 
level. I want them expecting to win in a year or two 
when you and they are our varsity squad. Do you 
understand your job Fritz?"

Eddie answered, "Yes sir." His face showed he was 
dubious about the whole arrangement.

Coach turned to look at me. "Martin, I'm going to do 
something I don't usually do. I'm going to take a 
freshman on the varsity squad. You're going to be our 
number three receiver. You have a lot to learn. If you 
don't work your tail off, I'll send you down to JV so 
fast your head spins. Are you up to the challenge?"

I broke into a big grin. "Yes SIR!"

Eddie and I walked away. Zack caught us. He said, "What 
do you think of the news Eddie?"

Eddie said, "Not too much. I really thought I could 
make varsity. Even the coach told me I performed better 
than Steve. Why am I stuck in JV?"

Zack laughed. "You don't know how coach works. Steve is 
going to pick up splinters all season sitting on the 
bench. He's going nowhere. When coach named you 
starting QB for the JV team, he just about anointed you 
to be my replacement next year. This is reason to 
celebrate."

Eddie said, "Really?"

Zack continued, "Our school has had a lot of success in 
football. After I leave, it's your job to keep our 
school on top." He clapped Eddie on the back. Then Zack 
looked back at me. "And you. Mr. Freshman Varsity 
Football Player. Congratulations!"

"Thanks Zack. I owe you a lot for your help." I said.

Zack went on, "You keep practicing and studying the way 
you have been, you'll be taking Don's starting spot in 
a few weeks."

I said, "I'll try my best Zack. I'll do what ever I can 
to help the team."

Zack smiled and said, "That's exactly the right 
attitude for a freshman. Humble and willing to help. 
Keep repeating that to everyone. You'll do well on the 
team."

Eddie and I sat in the back while the final rosters 
were announced. We watched the elation of the guys who 
made varsity and the dejection of the guys who didn't 
make either team. Jeremy made starting middle 
linebacker for Eddie's JV team. A lot of my freshman 
friends were starting on JV. I hoped Eddie would do 
well. I wondered if I was up to the challenge I had. 
Would the upper classmen accept me as a part of the 
team? Time would tell.

We had two more days of practice before school started. 
I worked exclusively with the varsity now. Some of the 
guys, like Mike and Zack, where really helpful to me. 
Some of the guys resented me being on their team. I was 
lucky Zack was on my side. He was elected team captain.

The freshman class had a half day orientation on 
Friday. They wanted to try to get us ready for high 
school. Everything felt different from our comfortable 
world in middle school last year. We all expected it to 
get even worse when the upper classman joined us on 
Tuesday.

Penny and I sat together on the bus ride home. Penny 
asked me, "When do you want to go out Kyle?"

I answered, "I'm not sure. I've been dead tired after 
football practice the last week. It would have to be 
next weekend at the soonest. My family is taking a trip 
this weekend. We'll talk next week when I have a better 
idea of my schedule."

After a long lazy three day Labor Day weekend at the 
beach, it was back to school on Tuesday. Virtually 
every class, the teachers would take one look at me and 
say, "You're Will Henry's brother aren't you? Will was 
such a good student."

With my brother being all-everything super student, I 
knew I would have to meet some expectations. The 
reality was much worse then I expected. I had no idea 
how I could do anything but fail to meet everyone's 
lofty expectations for me.

The first week of school was a little confusing, but 
not too bad. We freshman got some hazing occasionally, 
even from my so-called teammates. I was going to have 
to keep my distance from Jack Steffy and George 
Reynolds.

Football practice was comforting. I could just go out 
and work. Most of my teammates helped me get ready. 
This week we were preparing for our first opponent. The 
game was Friday night. I felt really proud to wear my 
jersey to class on Friday.

I got a lot of comments from my classmates when they 
realized I was playing varsity football. I also got 
some compliments from the girls in my class. That was 
cool.

==========
Chapter 16
==========

My Dad dropped me off at the school after dinner. Coach 
had us review the game plan first. Then we went out for 
warm-ups. I got the first look at our opponents, the 
Trojans. They looked a hell of a lot bigger than me. I 
hope I made the right decision to go out for football.

It was a beautiful night for football. The early 
evening sun bathed the field and stands in a yellow 
light. The announcer said the field temperature was 75 
degrees. Perfect weather for football. Not too hot, not 
too cold.

I stood in the back of the group while they announced 
the starters on our team. I ran out on the field with 
the rest of the back-ups. I took my spot on the bench 
and waited to see what came next. I looked through the 
stands, looking for Dad. He said he would come to the 
game. I couldn't find him. A lot of people in the 
stands were wearing our team colors, red and white. I 
was a little amazed at the crowd. There had to be at 
least two thousand people there to watch our game. The 
crowd was a mix of school kids, parents, alumni and 
fans.

We kicked off to the other team. They started off well. 
They pushed our defense down the field. We finally 
held, but they managed to score a field goal. We were 
happy they didn't score a touchdown. Well, most of us 
were happy. Zack was simply pissed.

He led the offense out on the field. The first play was 
a pass to Mike. He was double covered. One of the 
defenders knocked the ball out of his hands just as he 
landed on the ground after diving for the ball. The 
second play was a run off tackle. Stan managed to pick 
up five yards. It was third and five. Coach Graham 
called for a three receiver set. I watched wondering 
what came next.

Coach Graham yelled, "MARTIN! Get the hell out there. 
You're in this set! GO!"

"Sorry coach!" I ran on the field and joined the 
huddle.

Zack said, "Nice of you to join us, Kyle. Z streak, X 
curl, Y out."

Things finally registered. Z streak. That's me! Zack 
continued, "Ready Kyle?"

"yEAh!" I squeaked.

"On one!"

"BREAK!"

I lined up in my slot position. I looked at the nickel 
back across from me. What the hell was I doing here?

"Blue 42, Blue 42, Hut." Zack yelled.

I ran down the field, flat out, as hard as I could. I 
glanced back to look for the nickel back. I couldn't 
see him. At the spot Zack taught me, I put my hands up 
and looked for the ball. It dropped right in my hands. 
I pulled it in. I kept running for the end zone. Their 
free safety was chasing me. I angled away from him. He 
caught a piece of my jersey at the one yard line. I 
went flying to the ground, landing in the end zone. I 
rolled over and held the ball up.

OH MY GOD! I SCORED! I stood up. The crowd roared their 
approval. Mike and Don ran up to me and slapped me on 
the back. "Great job, Kyle!" Mike yelled into my ear 
hole. Zack arrived a second later.

"Good work Kyle. You did it perfect!" Zack yelled. He 
grabbed my facemask and banged his helmet against mine. 
"I told you so."

I followed my teammates back to our bench. Coach 
Caffrey grabbed me after he got the kicking team on the 
field. "Nice work Martin. Maybe we'll keep you around."

I beamed. I wandered back and sat down on the bench. It 
all happened so quickly.

Our team brought down their kick returner at the 22 
yard line on the ensuing kick-off. Our defense did a 
better job, holding the Trojans to one first down on 
the series.

I started paying more attention to the offensive sets. 
I didn't want to be napping the next time I was 
supposed to be on the field. Stan made 4 yards a carry 
on the first two plays. It was third and 2. Coach 
Graham called for the three receiver set again. I ran 
out to the huddle. This play called for me to run 
another streak, this time towards the goal post. I 
streaked down the field at the snap. This time I had 
two defenders. I out ran the nickel back, but I 
couldn't get behind the safety. He lined up too deep. I 
stopped running when I heard the whistle blow.

Mike had run a fifteen yard out pattern. He caught the 
ball and made the first down. I trotted back to the 
sidelines. Coach Graham chased me back on the field. I 
was in again! I joined the huddle. The next play called 
for me to run another deep route. 

I was on field for almost half of the offensive plays 
in the first half. I didn't catch another pass in the 
first half. Our opponent always seemed to have two 
defenders around me. Fortunately Mike did much better 
than me. He had 5 catches for 97 yards and a touchdown. 

The offensive line opened some nice holes for Stan to 
run the ball. Near the end of the second quarter, their 
left tackle dragged Andy Groff, our defensive end down 
by the collar while he was rushing the quarterback. 
Andy hopped up, expecting to see a penalty flag for 
holding. There wasn't any. The left tackle said 
something to Andy and laughed. Andy went at him. 
Fortunately for Andy, our defensive tackles were right 
there to pull Andy away. Andy spent the next few 
minutes, on the field and off, firing everyone on 
defense up. Our guys started hitting harder. Trying to 
take their heads off.

We went to the locker room ahead 17-10. I thought 1 
catch for 57 yards and a touchdown wasn't too bad a 
start for a football career. I hoped I would catch 
another in the second half.

Coach Caffrey and Coach Wyndham called the defense 
together during half time. Even though the offense at 
the opposite end of the locker room, we could hear the 
coaches chewing out our defense and getting them 
psyched to hit harder in the second half.

Coach Graham talked to us. He complimented us on the 
work we had done so far. He told us to keep working our 
game plan. Things looked good.

I asked Zack, "Am I doing OK? I haven't caught many 
passes for you."

Zack said, "You're doing great Kyle. They are double 
covering you, so I can't throw the ball your way now. 
We'll work on fixing that in the second half."

We received the kick off to start the second half. Our 
returner managed to take the ball out to our 41 yard 
line. Great field position. Coach Graham sent out the 
three receiver package, so off I went. The first five 
plays were all runs. I was sent down field to help 
block for Stan. We picked 27 yards and two first downs 
that way.

The ball was on their 32 yard line. Zack called for a 
play action pass. I was to run as fast as I could for 
the corner post at the goal line. At the snap I started 
down field. I was by the nickel back in an instant. I 
looked at the safety that had played me deep. He took a 
step forward towards the line of scrimmage, then he saw 
me coming. He tried to turn around and stay with me. I 
flew by him while he changed directions. I was open! I 
kept running for the end zone, watching for Zack to 
throw me the ball. It came over my shoulder and into my 
hands as I passed the two yard line. I pulled the ball 
into my body and ran into the end zone. TOUCHDOWN! Deep 
throated approval swelled from the throng in the 
stands.

Don was the first guy to catch me. He gave me a bear 
hug, picking me up. Don gushed, "I love ya man! That 
was beautiful." My feet had barely touched the ground 
before I was mobbed by more teammates. We headed to our 
sideline so the kicking team could do the point after 
attempt (PAT). They made it. Score: 21-10

After the kick off, our opponents took over the ball at 
their 24 yard line. Our defense was pissed. The first 
play was a sweep. Andy Groff chased the ball carrier 
down from the back and slung him down for a two yard 
loss. The next two plays were passes. We sacked their 
QB both plays. By the time the punter came out, it was 
fourth and 27. We got great field position.

Our team went with the running game. We moved the ball 
down the field slowly. On the fifth play, Zack called 
for me to run a hitch route. On the snap I ran ten 
yards down, turned and came back towards Zack. As I 
turned I saw that their end was closing on Zack. He 
threw the ball to me just as he was tackled. I jumped 
to catch the ball because it is a little high. I 
stretched up as high as possible, snagging the ball in 
my hands. As I came down I heard footsteps coming at me 
and then felt searing pain as their safety crunched 
into my side. I lay the ball down on the field and 
gasped, trying to breathe. 

Zack and Don came running to me. Zack asked, "Kyle are 
you all right?"

I just gasped and held my side. Finally my lungs 
started to work again. "Oohhh, what happened?"

Zack answered, "I'm sorry I hung the ball up on you. 
Their end hit my arm as I was throwing. Are you OK?"

"Ooohhh... I think." I sat up and rolled onto my knees. 
I asked, "Did we make the first down?"

Zack said, "Yeah, you held on to the ball. Good job 
Kyle."

I was getting on my feet when Coach Caffrey and the 
team doctor reached me. The crowd gave me a cheer as I 
hobbled off the field, holding my aching side.

Coach said, "Check him out Doc and let me know how he 
is?"

Doc said, "Sure Walter." The doctor led me over to the 
bench and had me sit down. He helped me take off my 
jersey. Doc asked, "Where are you at?" "The football 
stadium." "What is the score?" "21-10" He poked and 
prodded my side. "Does this hurt?" "No" "How about 
this?" "No" "This? "No"

Finally the Doc helped me put my jersey back on. My 
side didn't hurt as much. My breathing was normal. Doc 
said, "You've got few bruises, but otherwise you’re 
fine Kyle."

"Thanks Doc."

Zack sat down beside me. He asked, "How are you doing?"

"Doc said it’s just a bruise. I'm good to go. What 
happened on the drive? Did we score?"

"No. The drive stalled after you left. We got close 
enough to try a 40 yard field goal. We missed."

Zack and I went back to stand by our coaches. I asked 
Coach Graham, "Can I go back in? I want to settle a 
score with a certain safety!"

Coach Graham laughed. "Go sit down Martin. We're in 
good shape. Rest a little. You've had a big night 
already."

I went back to the bench and sat down. I was a little 
pissed off, but I did what I was told.

I watched the rest of the game. Our defense kept their 
attitude. The Trojan's QB was running for his life on 
most plays. They didn't score any more points in the 
game.

Near the end of the third quarter I went to the table 
to get a drink. I was standing there when I overheard 
Coach Caffrey and Coach Graham talking while our 
defense was on the field.

Coach Graham said, "This has worked just the way we 
expected."

Coach Caffrey laughed and said, "Did you see Harris' 
face on the first touchdown? He didn't have any idea 
what hit him."

Coach Graham said, "Yeah. Man did they ever make 
adjustments on defense after that? Everything else has 
opened up. Stan is running great. Mike is almost always 
open. Speed is what we needed."

Coach Caffrey said, "It seems so. We know he can run 
and catch. How did he like that hit a few minutes ago?"

Coach Graham laughed, "Didn't you hear him? He was 
bugging me to put him back in so he could go after the 
safety who clocked him."

I realized who they were talking about. Me!

Coach Caffrey ended the conversation with, "I think we 
found ourselves a football player."

I went back to my seat, very pleased with myself.

We ran the ball a lot until the end of the game, 
killing time on the clock. The final score stayed 21-10 
Wolverines.

I was standing by the bench after the game was over 
just absorbing the atmosphere. I felt a tap on the 
back. Dad was standing beside me. He said, "You played 
a great game Kyle. I'm proud of you."

"Thanks Dad. I wasn't sure if you made it to the game. 
I couldn't find you in the stands."

"I wouldn't miss this for anything. I'll hang out at 
the parking lot and give you a ride home when you’re 
done changing."

"Thanks Dad."

When we got back to the locker room, Coach Caffrey 
gathered the team together. "First I want to thank all 
of you for a strong first game. We have some things to 
improve on for next week's game, but this was a solid 
effort. The game ball goes to Andy Groff for his four 
sacks and six tackles. Good job Andy!"

Zack came by my locker a couple minutes later. "Some of 
the guys on the team are getting together for pizza 
tomorrow night. You want to come?"

"Sure, if I can get a ride."

"I'll pick you up on the way. I don't mind giving you a 
ride."

"Thanks Zack."

I finished dressing. I met Dad in the parking lot and 
we headed for home.

==========
Chapter 17
==========

Zack called after lunch on Saturday. He said he would 
pick me up around 4:30. I talked to Mom and got 
permission to go.

I showered and prepared for my night out with my new 
friends and teammates. Zack was right on time picking 
me up. We talked about the game and some of the things 
I needed to do next week to keep improving my game. I 
wasn't going to surprise all our opponents with simple 
speed.

I asked, "Do you have a girlfriend Zack?"

"Not right now Kyle. I've been playing the field since 
Beth and I broke up last fall."

"Did you go out with her very long?"

Zack answered, "We did. She and I dated and went steady 
for fifteen months."

"What happened?"

"Well, I guess football happened. I just couldn't give 
her enough time last year during football season. We 
started fighting about it. Finally we decided it was 
time to break up. I decided then that if I was serious 
about football, I better concentrate on it. I'll worry 
about getting serious with girls when I get older."

"That sure is different from my brother. Will and Abby 
have dated for three years. Frankly, I expect Abby will 
be my sister-in-law someday."

"Will and Abby certainly are a great couple. I just 
don't have time to invest in that kind of relationship 
now. I do envy your brother though."

We were meeting at a pizza shop outside Lancaster. Some 
of our friends were there when we arrived. Zack and I 
found seats at an empty table on the edge of our gang. 
Teammates came in and found seats. The cheerleaders and 
their friends piled in too. I definitely was at the 
right get together. There were enough bouncing breasts 
around to keep my fantasies fresh for another year. 
Three really pretty girls sat down at our table.

Zack smiled and said, "Welcome. Kyle, do know these 
beauties?"

"No."

Zack leaned over that kissed the cheek of the tall 
brunette sitting beside him. "This beauty is Annie 
Lowell. She's a cheer leader, as you might guess."

Zack picked up the hand of the blonde across from 
Annie. "This is Cynthia Anderson. She has a smile that 
lights up the room." Cynthia blushed a little and 
unleashed her smile.

Zack continued, "And sitting beside you is Stacie 
Thompson." I unabashedly stared at the beauty sitting 
beside me. She had curly shoulder length red hair. Cute 
freckles on her nose and cheeks. I looked down. Her 
tits were the prettiest I had ever seen. Perfectly 
rounded. The nipples poking her T-shirt out just 
slightly. They looked so....

"Earth to Kyle. Come in Kyle." Zack said, waving his 
hand in front of my face.

I blushed and stammered, "Um, uh.... sorry. I was just, 
uh..."

Zack interrupted me, "Right! We know exactly what you 
were just doing. Girls, have you met Kyle yet?"

"No." "No I haven't." "No." the girls replied.

Zack said, "Kyle Martin is the newest star on the 
football team."

I protested, "I'm not a star!"

Annie said, "Two touchdowns last night say you are."

Cynthia continued, "They couldn't catch you last night. 
You played great."

Stacie put her arm around me and said, "He's fast, he 
can catch and he's cute. Did you girls see his butt 
wiggle in those tight pants last night?"

I felt my cheeks flush. I stammered, "I, uh... um..." 
then I gave up, "Thank you."

The waitress delivered our drinks and took our order. 
We talked for a few minutes. I discovered that Stacie 
was a sophomore cheerleader. She was Annie's best 
friend. Mike Wagner walked in, spotted us and came to 
our table.

Mike asked, "Got room for one more?"

Zack said, "Sure, pull up a chair."

The words weren't out of Zack's mouth before Stacie 
hopped up and said, "Sit here Mike, I'll sit with 
Kyle."

She plopped down on my lap and wiggled her butt on me. 
"You don't mind, do you Kyle?"

"No, i’m FIne!" I croaked, my voice changing a whole 
octave mid sentence. The rest of the kids at the table 
laughed at my uncomfortableness. Where do I put my 
hands? I finally settled on resting them on Stacie's 
hips. I smiled as I looked around the table across 
Stacie's perky tits at my giggling friends.

The conversation returned to teenage routine. School, 
teachers, friends, who did what to who, who was dating 
whom, the usual. I didn't say a lot, but I enjoyed the 
conversation.

Every minute or two Stacie would squirm a little, 
further encouraging my impure thoughts. I felt my cock 
filling with blood. I dreaded the moment when its 
presence would announce my fantasies to the girl on my 
lap. She wiggled again, causing my fully erect boner to 
stick between her ass cheeks.

Stacie turned to me and smiled. "This is nice, isn't 
Kyle?" She took my hands off her hips and crossed them 
so they met on her tummy. She held her hands on top of 
mine. Stacie leaned back, resting herself against my 
chest. I could smell her perfume.

Stacie let me have one hand when the pizza came, so I 
could eat. Zack was flirting outrageously with Annie. 
Even a clueless nerd like me could see what they had in 
mind for tonight. Zack finally said, "Annie and I are 
heading out Kyle. Do you want me to give you a ride 
home or do you want to catch a ride with someone else?"

I sai