I’m not sure what comes over me, but my chest tightens and the next thing I know, I’m throwing my cup of punch right into Madison’s face.
“Oh, my god!” She shrieks and steps back. “Oh, my god!”
The music suddenly comes to a stop and everyone looks over at Madison. Mrs. Jacobs rushes over and steps between the two of us.
“What’s going on here, ladies?”
“Mariah tossed her drink in my face.” Madison whines, sounding more like a twelve-year-old than I do. “She did it on purpose.” She wipes her face with her shirt and some of her make-up comes off.
“What?” Mrs. Jacobs looks at me. “Did you really do that to Madison on purpose, Mariah?”
I start to own up to it, but I’m tired of fighting fair with Madison.
She is a cunt... (whatever cunt means. I read somewhere it’s offensive.)
“No, I promise I didn’t mean to do that.” I mimic Madison’s innocent voice she always uses when she picks on me. “It was an honest accident. I tripped when I was trying to rush back to my seat.”
“I figured. I don’t think you’re capable of ever doing something like that,” Mrs. Jacobs says, patting me on the head. “You’re the quietest camper here, but just for the record ... Do you swear on the Camp Briar seal that it was an accident?”
I glance at Madison, reveling in the shocked expression on her face and nod. “I promise on the Camp Briar seal that it was accident.”
“Great!” She claps. Well, glad that’s settled. DJ, you can turn the music back on now. Madison, let’s go get you cleaned up, shall we?” She leads Madison toward the bunks and I’m not fazed at all by the way Madison is looking at me.
This is totally war ...
I pour myself a cup of punch I actually plan on drinking and head back to the wall-flower chairs. Taking small sips, I glance at the clock on the wall, hoping that the next two hours will fly by so I can sleep the rest of this night away.
Sam Mason, one of the older boys who everyone considers an outcast, suddenly sits next to me. Even though he’s a loner just like me, he takes the word “weird” to a whole new level. He talks to the birds whenever he’s at the lake and swears he can communicate with the mosquitos. (He says the itchy bites he often gets covered with are simply proof that the bugs love him back.) In addition to that, he insists on wearing blue nail polish (on his eyebrows), and he always finds a random corner to talk to himself. He says he has to do that at least twice a day to get in touch with his “inner self.”
“Hey, Mariah,” he says.
“Hey, Sam.”
“I um ...” He moves a bit closer to me and starts to wave his arms back and forth. “I think we should dance together.”
“No, thank you.” I smile politely, tempted to grab his arms so he can stop looking crazy.
“No, really. We should.” He scoots his chair even closer to mine, too close for normal personal space boundaries. “It beats sitting here being bored to death. Besides, no one else has asked you to dance. You should be honored that I’m even talking to you.”
“Well, I’m not. But thank you anyway, Sam.”
“You can’t afford to be picky, Mariah,” he says, giving me a pleading look.
I don’t respond. I simply scoot my chair away from him and hope he gets the hint.
“Fine, then!” He gets up and moves on to another girl who’s also sitting by herself at another table. I roll my eyes and glance at the clock again.
Only one more hour...
“This is an all call!” The DJ calls over the speakers. “I repeat, this is an all call! It’s line dance time! Everyone report to the dance floor!” Everyone screams and rushes to the dance floor, and I risk the chance to finally get away.
Walking into the girls’ restroom, I make sure all the stalls are empty before lifting the window. I turn over an empty trash can and place it under the window, using the extra height to hoist myself up. Then I swing one of my legs over the ledge.
As soon as both of my feet hit the ground on the other side, I let out a sigh of relief.
“Well, look who we have here,” a husky voice says from behind me. I jump back, completely startled.
Please don’t be a counselor, please don’t be a counselor...
I slowly turn around and see that the voice belongs to Josh, one of the peer leaders from Liam’s side of camp.
“Oh, it’s you,” I say, rolling my eyes. “Don’t scare me like that.”
“I wasn’t trying to,” he says. “But I guess great minds think alike. I snuck out of the boys’ restroom. I couldn’t take it anymore.”
“Tell me about it.” I laugh and lean against the building. “Are you going back to your bunk?”
“No, I just need a quick place to do this.” He pulls a small box from his pocket.
“What’s that?”
“Cigarettes.” He tosses the box to me. “Mild and mint flavored.”
I stare at the box in complete confusion, wondering how the hell he managed to sneak these inside the grounds. There’s a strict no smoking/no drinking/no nothing outside of candy and food policy here, and anyone caught breaking the rules gets an immediate expulsion. And they’re never allowed to come back.
“I stole them out of Counselor Steven’s bunk,” he says, noticing the look on my face. “Everyone always smells the smoke on his clothes and now I think I’m slightly addicted. Have you ever smoked one?”
“No.”
“Well, I think we should fix that.” He takes out a match and strikes it against the wooden steps. Then he places the flame against the tip of a cigarette. He takes a few puffs and holds it out for me to take. “Here.”
“No, that’s okay. I don’t want to get expelled.”
“You’re not going to get expelled, Baby Mariah.” He shakes his head. “No one can see us and I have some pine spray in my pocket for after we get done. Step outside of your square for a change and try it.”
“Okay, one puff can’t hurt.” I take the cigarette from him and hold it between my fingers.
Mimicking exactly what I saw him do, I take a big puff and immediately start coughing, wincing at the awful and sudden burn in my throat.
“Not that fast!” He laughs. “You’re a first timer, so you have to take it slow.”
“It tastes awful.” I hand it back to him.
“You get used to it, Mariah.” He says. “Here.” He holds the cigarette out for me again. “Just try it one more time.”
I do, but this time, I inhale very slowly and I don’t cough at all.
“See? It’s not so bad, right?”
“No, it’s not.”
We move to the edge of the building so we’re further away from the lights, as we continue sharing the cigarette. He even lets me share two more with him.
“Do you have a boyfriend, Mariah?” he asks.
“No.” I laugh, coughing as he blows a bit of smoke in my face.
“Why is that so funny?”
“Because no one here has ever even asked me to sit next them at lunch. So, no one here would ever be interested in me being his girlfriend.”
“I don’t know why the hell not.” He moves closer to me. “You’re pretty. Actually, you’re literally the prettiest girl here.”
I blush. “You really think that?”
“I do, and I’m more than interested in you.” Josh says putting his arm around me, causing my cheeks to turn an even brighter shade of red.
Before I can say, “Okay,” there’s a sudden snap of twigs in the distance, and the next thing I hear is someone running behind us.
“What the hell are you doing, Josh?” Liam pushes Josh off me, knocking me off balance. “Get your hands off of her!”
“I’m not doing anything.” Josh says glaring at Liam. “I don’t see how what I’m doing is any of your business.”
“My best friend’s little sister is exactly my business.” Liam balls up his fists and looks as if he’s ready to beat Josh into the ground.
I want to say something, but I can’t. I’ve never seen Liam this angry before.
“Get lost before I beat the shit out of you, Josh. Now.”
“Whatever.” Josh says tossing his cigarette to the ground. “Catch you later, Mariah.” He looks over his shoulder at me before he walks off.
“Why did you do that, Liam?” I push his shoulder. “We were just hanging out and you ruined everything!”
“I didn’t ruin anything.” He looks at me. “He’s way too old to have his hands on you, and everyone on my side of the camp knows he’s a creep.”
“You’re overreacting.” I hate him right now. “He’s one hundred percent harmless and he was one of the few people at this hell hole who was actually being nice to me. We were just talking!”
“And smoking apparently. I can smell it all over you.”
“Why are you acting like a cop all of sudden? Are you going to snitch on me?”
“No, I’m your friend and I’m just trying to look out for you. Why didn’t you stay at the party with your friends?”
“What friends?” I yell at him. “If you haven’t noticed, aside from Josh — who you just pushed away from me, no one here is lining up to talk to me. Not even you! I don’t have any friends.”
“We are friends, Mariah.”
“No, that was last summer.” I look away from him, frowning. “We’ve been here three weeks so far and this is the very first time you’re talking to me! You didn’t even wave back at me when I tried to get your attention in the mess hall last week. You are not my friend.”
He looks as if he’s about to laugh.
“This is not funny.” I push him for the second time. “This is so not funny, Liam.”
“No, but you are.” He smiles at me. “Look, I’m sorry. It’s my fault for not being there for you like last summer. I’ve had a lot on my mind, but that’s not an excuse.”
“Nope, it sure is not.”
“Well, I want to change that now. Will you let me make it up to you, so it won’t happen again?”
I cross my arms, and I don’t say anything. I fell for this last summer and although he treated me nicely then, I’m not interested in negotiating a friendship-renewal plan every year.
“Mariah,” he says. “I promise this won’t happen again. I really like having you as a friend and I’m sorry. Let me make it up to you.”
“I’m thinking about it.” I tap my foot against the ground. “How exactly do you plan to make it up to me? Dancing with me at the party?”
“No, you hate dancing.” He pulls a set of keys from his pocket. “I stole the keys to the indoor pool slides. I was hoping someone would want to sneak in with me.”
“I’m sure someone would.” I’m not letting him get off that easy, even though I am more than interested. “Maybe you should ask Madison.”
“I hate her just as much as you do.”
“Well, I still need time to think about it. Maybe another night ...”
“I also stole the keys to the ice cream stand. They just ordered new tubs of your two favorites.”
“I’m in.”
“I thought so.” He laughs and we start walking toward the other side of the camp. “I promise I’ll be the best guy friend you’ve ever had from here on out.”
“And I promise I’m going to hold you to that ...”
7
Mariah
“I am so sorry for the way I treated you over the weekend, Mariah,” Austin says to me the following Monday. He’s looking at me with puppy dog eyes and leaning against my locker. “I had no idea I was a future rapist in training and I’m grateful that Liam was there to beat my ass and change my ways for the better. Also —”
“Team B, do you have a final answer?” A familiar voice calls out. “Team B, do you have a final answer?”
I look up and realize that I’m not at my locker and Austin in nowhere around with puppy dog eyes or an apology. I’m actually standing at the front of the room in Knowledge Bowl practice, with the final seconds of the game clock winding down on the board.
“Mariah ...” My teammate nudges me. “This is sudden death and we’re tied. Do you have the answer or not?”
I look at the question on the screen ahead and my stomach drops as I read over it.
“Last year, what criminal offense occurrence rose by more than twenty percent among people between the ages of 18-24?”
“Yes, we have an answer,” I say.
“Okay?” My coach crosses his arms. “Care to share what you think it is before the final ten seconds are up?”
“Sexual assault,” I say. “The answer is sexual assault.”
“Correct! Team B wins with a score of fifty-six to thirty-two. See you all at the next practice, and remember, we’ll be focusing on period literature and current events.”
I grab my backpack from the floor, and quickly rush out of the room, hearing my teacher ask someone, “What the hell is up with Mariah this week?”
After I stop in the girl’s restroom to pat my face with some cold water, Kelsey catches up to me in the hallway and stops to give me a hug. The fourth one today.
“You don’t have to keep giving me hugs every time we run into each other in the hallway, you know,” I say.
“Of course, I know that. It’s just what all the besties do in the movies. It’s worth a try.”
I laugh, for the first time this week, and hug her back.
We walk to my locker and I start organizing my books.
“I was thinking about something really fun we could do this weekend ...” Kelsey says, and I already know that whatever comes next will probably be the worst idea ever.
“What exactly were you thinking?”
“We should definitely go to the senior cove party.”
“Ugh. Absolutely not, Kelsey.” I roll my eyes. “That’s not what I would consider fun.”
“And why not?”
“Several reasons, but the most obvious one is because we’re not seniors and everyone knows the only reason people go to that party is to get drunk and hook up.” (Also I hate house parties, dancing and anything to do with “annoying popular people).
“And what’s wrong with that?”
I just shake my head and laugh at her.
“Besides, if we ask Zach, I know he’ll get us in.”
“Get you in where?” Zach asks, suddenly appearing beside us.
“We need you to get us into the senior cove party this weekend.” Kelsey smiles.
“Sure, I’ll get you into the party.”
Ugh, great. Now that Zach doesn’t have a problem with us going, there’s no way I’m going to be able to talk Kelsey out of it. “Great. I’ll come over Friday so we can plan what we’re going to wear.” Kelsey’s bursting with excitement. Too much excitement.
“Gotta go. Text me later.” She says rushing off to her Calculus class.
“Zach, I need to ask you something.” I follow him down the hall and talk to him outside his locker.
“What?”
“Did you see Austin this weekend?”
“Who’s Austin?” he pretends to be confused.
“Zach. Really?” I give him a blank stare. “I know Liam told you what happened this weekend. Did you beat Austin up?”
“Mariah, I don’t even know who Austin Prescott is.” He says with a straight face.
“Then how do you know his last name?” I sigh. “I’ve been hearing everyone talk all day about how he had to go to the emergency room and get stitches.”
“That sounds unfortunate.” He shrugs.
“Liam had already taken care of it, Zach. You didn’t have to do that.” I whisper.
“No.” He puts his hand on my shoulder looking me in the eyes. “Liam started it and I finished it.” See you at home.” He winks and walks away.
8
Liam
If I’d known that dumping Ashley Jordan would make my social life worse, I would’ve done it over the summer. At least then,
I’d be able to avoid people way more than I’m capable of now. Not one day has passed that Ashley’s friends haven’t harassed me about my decision, and if I get one more “OMG! You’re such a douchebag with an itty bitty penis!” text, I’m going to lose it.
Tossing my bag into my locker, I pull out my notebook and slam the door shut.
“Well, hello there ...” A soft voice says from behind, making me slowly turn around.
“What do you want, Julia?” I sigh. “Are you and your ‘squad’ delivering hate messages in person now?”
“Huh?” She actually looks confused. “Hate messages? I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“Okay, fine. What do you want?”
“To offer my condolences.” She steps closer. “I’m so sorry you and Ashley broke up.”
“I’m not. Anything else?”
“You know,” she says, rubbing my shoulder. “I never did appreciate the way she treated you sometimes. She never did talk about the things you wanted to talk about, and she thought it was lame that you spent so much free time studying.”
“Julia ...” I gently grab her hand and move it away. “You two have been best friends since the second grade.”
“That’s not that long.” She touches me again. “I’m sure she’d understand if you and I became closer. I’m a lot nicer.” She lowers her voice all of a sudden. “And I actually put out.”
I roll my eyes. I really don’t have time for this right now.
“I appreciate the offer.” I move her hand away again. “But I’m going to have to pass.”
“Is that just for right now or forever?”
“Forever.” I walk away before she can say another word, quickly rushing into the one place where I know she won’t follow me. The library.
As soon as I step through the glass-paned doors, I immediately stop. I spot my dad sitting at a table, talking to a guy in a red tracksuit. As I’m walking over to where they’re sitting, I read the words “Kansas University” on the sleeve of the guy’s jacket.
What the hell?
“Dad.” I say, interrupting their conversation. “What are you doing here?”
“Oh, hey, Liam.” He stands up. “I’m just having a meeting, that’s all.”
Mr. Popular: A Falling For My Brother's Best Friend Romance Page 7
