Surprise by Zlata Karbovska

It was a dark and late night on the summer school campus for boys.

Because the campus was located beneath the mountain, surrounded by thick trees, and with a huge lake within walking distance, it had become a popular choice among parents for their children’s holidays.

There were plenty of activities during the day — enough to exhaust even the most energetic boys. Yet, there were still some who remained tireless at the end of the day. One of them was me, Jimmy. I kept tossing and turning, thinking about the next day. I definitely needed someone to share my thoughts with, but who? Everyone was already sleeping.. .

“Hey, Luke! Are you sleeping?” I whispered.

No response. Only buzzing flies kept chasing each other beside my window.

“Luke! Luuuuke...”

Oh my god, how can someone sleep so deeply they don’t hear a thing? Wait—why don’t I hear him breathing? Maybe he already...

I got up and went to his bed, standing right above him, watching closely for any signs of life. I was slowly inhaling and exhaling.

“JESUS! You scared me to death, Jimmy!” Luke finally woke up. “Are you out of your mind? Why are you standing here staring at me? Crazy.”

“I couldn’t fall asleep and wanted to talk to you, but you didn’t answer, so I came closer.”

“Yeah, right. Didn’t you think I wasn’t answering because I was sleeping?”

I sat on the floor beside his bed.

“What do you think—will Carter come tomorrow? He’s a real leader. It’s always so much fun when he’s around. Not like with Sofia. We always go swimming, hiking, and climbing with Carter, but today we just painted plates. Who in the world thought painting plates would be interesting for 12-year-old boys?”

“Well, I mean, it’s only the first day. And Sofia was probably afraid to take responsibility for 13 boys at the lake. Actually, I heard her tell one of the boys today that Carter will come tomorrow. So, he’s coming.”

“Oh, great! We need to surprise him somehow. I think we could fill balloons with paint and start throwing them at each other. Then he’d know he came to the right place and didn’t end up in the wrong camp or something.”

“Sure, what an original surprise. Now go back to your bed—I’m going back to sleep.”

I got up and headed to my bed. Sleep, sleep. Everyone only thinks about when they’ll eat or sleep next.

I laid down in bed. There are so many mind-blowing things that come to your mind at night, and people just sleep? I’ll definitely tell Carter about all this tomorrow...

—and on that note, tireless Jimmy finally got tired and joined the rest in their dreams.