An unexpected friend

As soon as we got out of sight from my parents, Isaac's demeanour totally changed. He didn't speak as politely as before when he said; 'You'll thank me for this, little Stephen. Now do you want to have some real fun?'

'I'm not little!' I retorted a little irritated by his condescending tone of voice. I might have been younger than him, but I had learned a lot about the world in the last couple of months, and saw myself as infinitely wiser than him. 'Anyway, how old are you?'

'Twenty,' he answered smirking. My outburst seemed to entertain him more than anything, which made me even angrier. 'Calm down, I didn't mean it that way. You still have a lot to learn about this camp.'

'Like what?' I snapped. 'All I see is some crazy religious cult, all camping together.' I shouldn't have been so open about my distaste for religion so soon, but he didn't seem too bothered by it.

'Well, that's partly right,' he said, looking around at a few of the other family caravans along the path. 'But it's much more than you think, Stephen. Just you wait and see.'

'What do you mean by that?' I asked, my face red as beets from anger.

'You're a little hot-headed, aren't you?' Isaac laughed pleasantly. 'Maybe I shouldn't have taken you after all.'

'Well why did you?'

'Because I could see something in you,' he answered simply.

'And what's that?'

'You're not like most people here,' he explained as we made a left turn, into a forest path. 'But that's not to say that you're alone in being the way you are. In fact, I know how you feel. Holding your beliefs in secret.'

'And what beliefs are those?' I asked, now made curious by his explanation. The blood in my face slowly retracted, but I was still irritated.

'Well come on, you know what I mean. All of us are being **** into this stupid religion, but not all of us willingly. I can see you're struggling, just like me.'

'You don't seem to be struggling,' I retorted. His pleasant, happy demeanour threw me off a little. How could he be so happy when being oppressed by this stupid camp.

'Because I know how to deal with it,' he smiled happily. 'And so will you. Just you wait.'

'How?'

'I'll show you the ins and outs of this camp. I've come here every summer for six years now. I know everything there is to know about this place. Just stick with me, and you'll be fine.'

'Where are you taking me now?'

'To meet my friends.'