NEWFOUND HAPPINESS - PART 10

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Part 10: The Summer Camp of Yesteryear

Among the swirling rumors spreading across the university forums and group chats, there was a young man sitting at his computer, smiling to himself. He was the other main character in those whispered tales, this year's student council president, Tamir. He didn’t bother explaining the rumors, even though they were all just a misunderstanding; for one simple reason that anyone could probably guess, he, too, wanted to believe the rumors were true.

He recalled a moment from six years ago, when he was still in ninth grade at a local middle school. Coming from a complex of factory housing, he had, to some extent, picked up the mannerisms of the people who lived there, in other words, he was “a bit of a punk.” Perhaps no one would ever guess that this handsome, tall, athletic student council president had once been a drifter with dyed green and red hair, years ago.

Back then, he had grown even more disillusioned with life after his parents divorced and left, leaving only his much older brother, Tyrus, to support the two of them with a meager-paying job at the mechanical workshop. He had planned to quit school right then and there to work in the factory, if not for his brother rapping him on the head. Of course, that was only a secondary reason. The real reason must have been the self-development summer camp organized by the city council that year.

This summer camp lasted for a week, organized annually by the city as a playground to bring young people together. The camp’s activities weren’t particularly different from other camps, still the same games, still the same nights gathered around the campfire. What made it special was its “mandatory participation” policy, meant to extinguish the idea of skipping out, common among students that age. So, though not the least bit enthusiastic, Tamir still had to attend.

That summer camp had a daytime activity, which was pairing up with another camper to paint a mural for an elementary school. Tamir hated pairing up, because he had no friends. On the other hand, no stranger wanted to be paired with someone who looked like he was ready to pick a fight. And yet, among dozens of students, there was one girl who was still cheerful and friendly toward him. Seeing that no one had come to talk to him, she took the initiative to pair up.

Throughout the camp, the energetic girl kept dragging him from one place to another, directing him on what to paint. Because of that, he accidentally discovered his talent for art. At first, Tamir was rather annoyed with her, as he only wanted to do the bare minimum. But a week was long enough for that annoyance to turn into a quiet sense of admiration. Tamir was genuinely impressed by her creativity and gentle nature. When he asked, he found out that she was actually two years younger than him, a seventh grader at a private school for the wealthy.

Tamir gradually opened up, or perhaps it was simply that he let his guard down around a girl two years younger than him. He told her about his family situation on those nights around the campfire. She comforted him and gave him a handmade bracelet, woven from twine and wooden beads, saying it would bring him good luck. On the bracelet, she had carved his name, Tamir. He wanted the memory to be even more lasting, so he asked her to carve her own name on it too. She smiled, and right beside his name, she carved the name Tracy…

At his computer desk, Tamir pulled up his sleeve, revealing a bracelet made of twine and wooden beads. Six years had passed, yet not once had he taken it off. Tracy believed the bracelet would bring Tamir good luck, but only he knew that Tracy herself was truly his goddess of fortune. Since returning from the camp, Tamir had resolved to change, to become the model student admired by all, just as he was today.

The summer camp ended, and the two never met again, as they went to different schools and lived in different worlds. It wasn’t until he unexpectedly saw Tracy the other day that he immediately recognized the girl from years ago, even though she showed no sign of recognizing him. Perhaps Tracy had only ever seen him as a friend, unlike him, someone who had carried a quiet, one-sided affection ever since that day.

“What are you grinning about all by yourself?” a voice suddenly rang out, cutting through Tamir’s thoughts. Tamir, startled, replied, “No… I wasn’t.”

Tyrus smirked, “Haha, I know damn well you’re thinking about that girl from this morning.”

Tamir didn’t respond.

Tyrus gave him a hard smack on the shoulder, “If you like her, then go for it!”

Tamir sighed, “But I’m not a good match for her, our family backgrounds are too different.”

Tyrus said, “Isn’t she the reason you’ve worked so hard all this time?”

Tamir blushed, “You… how did you know?”

“Because that summer camp, I was part of the support staff. I wasn’t blind; I saw the two of you whispering and giggling together. Just give it a shot. You see your sister-in-law, don’t you? She comes from a much better background than I do, yet she still chose to walk through life with me.”

Tamir drifted into thought. That’s right, his brother had married a beautiful woman from a well-off background, and they were still happy together, raising their two sons. So why shouldn’t he dare to try?

“But… I feel like she seems a bit different from before,” Tyrus remarked. “I mean, she’s still just as pretty and sweet-looking, but her personality feels more composed, maybe.”

In truth, that was something Tamir had noticed as well. She seemed colder now, and somehow more “chivalrous.” At the very least, from what he remembered of the Tracy from six years ago, she wouldn’t have carried him on her back from the school gate all the way to the student council office. And beyond that, in that brief moment when the thugs were beating him, he realized she seemed ready to fight them off to save him, even knowing it would have done no good.

But in that moment when she was flustered as he pointed out the bra mishap, her expression was no different from the girl she used to be. All in all, Tamir felt a little confused. But that was fine, he still had plenty of time to figure it out.

He gently stroked the wooden-twine bracelet and said, “I don’t know either, but I’ll do my best!” Tyrus laughed and ruffled Tamir’s hair into a mess before stepping out.

◉ ◉ ◉

Three months had passed since the moment the rumors began to bloom. Both Tracy and Tamir had boys and girls who secretly admired them, but they themselves knew they couldn’t step in. But there was one thing they didn’t know, the two of them had never actually been a couple.

Tracy continued to prove her extraordinary talent in painting. Bastian himself had once been exceptionally gifted in this field, and combined with the slowly unlocked memories of Tracy, a girl also highly skilled in art, the effect was nothing short of the equation “1 + 1 = 2.”

That’s right, Tracy had unlocked quite a few more memories, most of them coming from the tiniest details of everyday life. In other words, from habits. For instance, looking at “her own body” and wearing girls’ clothing, three months was more than enough to get used to it. Tracy had come to see it as something ordinary, no longer strange, and so she assimilated more memories. The peaceful life of being Tracy was a far cry from the anxious days Bastian once lived. She unconsciously enjoyed it and lived happily and so she assimilated more memories. She had gotten used to seeing her mother flirt with her father and so she assimilated more memories.

During this time, she had also agreed to join the student council. Not because of the invitation from the student council president who had helped her three months ago, though she was still deeply grateful and impressed by him. Sometimes, witnessing a guy who knew full well he couldn’t handle danger but still ran headfirst into it to help, that meant far more than the ones who could handle everything with ease. She joined the student council simply because Lina had joined. That was all.

Perhaps because of the rumor, the other members of the student council had deliberately arranged for her to sit next to the president. Tamir, of course, was grateful for their kind intentions, but Tracy didn’t seem to pay it much attention, as if, to her, every seat was the same, nothing special.

Three months of sitting beside her only made Tamir more certain that Tracy really was a little different from before. At times, he noticed she seemed very much like a guy, and in truth, this part of her personality made her even more admired by girls than most of the boys were. Yet there were also moments when he found her incredibly gentle. And of course, he’d have to be insane to ever guess that the cause of this was the original Tracy’s memories overlapping with Bastian’s. That’s also why this small change in Tracy never lessened the feelings Tamir had for her.

Life at the university went on like that, until the annual major event arrived, a kind of art exhibition workshop combined with outdoor games and entertainment. Tamir thought about it and suddenly felt the activities were oddly similar to that summer camp long ago. Strangely enough, this event happened every year, but he had never felt this way in the past two. It must be because this year, his goddess of fortune was sitting right beside him. He absentmindedly rubbed the bracelet beneath the sleeve of his uniform.

PART 11 >>