The Girl in the Blue Hoodie

In the winter of 2007 I had just screwed up my only chance with, who I thought was, the girl of my dreams. I was kicking myself the rest of that winter (not literally, that would be inconvenient.) I got really down in the dumps about it. It wasn't just that I had screwed up any potential romantic relationship with her, but I completely obliterated our friendship. The lesson I took from that was that it is better to never love than lose a friend. I thought I'd feel that way forever. I felt like I'd die alone (that may still happen, but that is beside the point.) Little did I know how quickly I'd get over this.

     It was my first time going to summer camp. Technically it wasn't "summer" camp because I was staying for a special weekend in March of 2008. But it was my first time at camp all the same. It was called Camp Heritage, and that is where I met the Girl in the Blue Hoodie.

     The camp director had arranged some group activities to break the ice among the campers. The most memorable was called "Cat & Mouse." Basically the way you played the game was, each guy would link arms with a girl and one guy and one girl were left unattached and tried to tag one another. If the one being chased was able to get to someone of the opposite sex and link arms with them, the person currently linked to that individual would have to let go and run.

     Being rather antisocial, I didn't want to play this game. I shied over into a corner, hoping not to be noticed. No such luck. The camp director found me and brought me to the middle of the room and that is when I saw her. The only girl not currently attached to anyone's arm. The girl I had the privilege to link arms with. She was the most beautiful girl my young eyes had seen. She had sandy brown hair that fell just slightly past her shoulders and she wore an unassuming, blue hoodie. The look on her face indicated she was just as apprehensive about this game as I was.

     We linked arms and the game began, but I wasn't paying attention to the game. I was too preoccupied with the girl on my arm to give a crap about that stupid game. For the first time since Christmas, I was truly happy. But all good things come to an end. Inevitably, another girl ran up and hooked onto my arm, and with that, the she was gone, lost in the madness of Cat & Mouse. It was then that I knew I had to spend the rest of that weekend finding the identity of the Girl in the Blue Hoodie. . .

To Be Continued. . .