Camp Payback

by J. K. Rock

  “Goodbye, Alexandra.” It was Mom’s turn now. She hugged me and kissed my cheek. I kissed hers, too, wondering how she’d survive the summer with no one to stand up against my opinionated father. His successful books only reinforced his certainty that he was always right. “And don’t do anything that will upset your dad,” she whispered in my ear so he couldn’t hear, “or make him send you away.” She looked a little teary, and for the first time, I wondered if she really wanted me home, no matter how many arguments I caused.

  I returned her squeeze, feeling it was the closest we’d been to acting real in a long time. But I couldn’t make her any promises, not without lying again. Pretending not to notice guys for ten months out of the year was really tough. At camp, it was impossible. But boys didn’t top my to-do list this summer anyway. Having a good time did. I smiled and shouted goodbye while hustling toward the administration building.

  Hello, freedom!

  The pine-log scent of the interior felt like a hug as I pulled my suitcase inside behind me. Tables lined the walls for check-in, with the registration packets sorted alphabetically by last name. I got in the M-R line and waited while my phone buzzed again.

  “Alex!” My friends and cabin mates, Piper and Siobhan, rushed over, surrounding me for a group hug. They both looked the same. Piper had a neat braid swinging over one shoulder and a bright T-shirt that said “Recycle This” with a peace sign. Siobhan wore her Coke-bottle glasses that magnified her light hazel eyes and a Hello Kitty tank-top that I was pretty sure came from one of her P.J. sets.

  These were the “right” kids my parents approved of. They were smart, kind, and never got in real trouble. But they weren’t saints. I could get them into some mischief if I worked at it.

  “Did you see Emily’s lanyard display?” Siobhan pointed to the other side of the room where campers could sign up early for activities or learn about the special overnight hikes and canoe trips.

  “Do I want to?” I pulled out my phone while keeping an eye out for Emily’s bright blonde ponytail.

  “Right there.” Piper turned my chin to help line up my gaze. “Instead of Secret Santa, she’s doing a Secret Camp Angel.”

  I spied Emily behind a hunk of gnarled driftwood covered with dozens of bright lanyards. The Munchies’ Manor counselor wore layered neon polo shirts in shades of pink, the collars starched to stand straight up and the sleeves rolled up to her shoulders.

  “Secret Camp Angel?” It sounded way too Wholesome Home for my taste.

  “All the seniors get a lanyard with the name of another camper inside.” Siobhan fanned herself with a page of graph paper that looked to be filled with quadratic equations. She did homework year-round and was a shoe-in for valedictorian at her school in Georgia. “You keep the name a secret and do nice things for that person all summer long.”

  “Emily has a list of suggestions,” Piper added as I moved up in line. She caught me up on a few other camp headlines before blurting, “Oh, and best of all! Did you hear there is a movie being shot in Waynesville after the Fourth of July?”

  “Are you kidding?” Despite my parents’ obsessive tracking of their social media status, I only had access to the Internet for homework. “Any big name actors in it?”

  I did know who the hottest male stars were thanks to People magazine covers at the grocery store.

  “No one I’ve heard of,” Siobhan answered as a group of younger campers entered the admin building in a swirl of sleeping bags and chatter. “It’s a historical drama—”

  “Ohmigod. Who’s that guy?” Piper’s voice cut through the buzz. Her jaw dropped, her gaze fixed on a point in the center of the room.

  I turned to see. A dark-haired boy prowled among the campers, his hands in the pockets of faded khaki cargoes. An equally faded gray T-shirt stretched over shoulders that had filled out more than most of his peers. A straight nose and prominent cheekbones were probably handsome when he smiled, but right now he scowled at all he surveyed, almost as if Camp Juniper Point was the last place he wanted to be.

  “I don’t recognize him.” Siobhan straightened her glasses. “But we’re bound to get a few new campers this year with Matt and Seth gone. I hear the new boy in the Wander Inn is some kind of chess champion, but their counselor said he hasn’t checked in yet.”

  “Of course you’d be keeping your eye out for a chess whiz.” I laughed, so happy to be back with my friends. Some of the hurt of the last few days with my family fell away.

  “And we’ll have a new girl in our cabin now that Lauren is gone this year, too,” Piper added distractedly, never taking her eyes off the new kid, who was, now that I thought about it, kinda hot. Super hot, actually.

  Lauren Carlson, one of my closest friends, had been admitted to an Aerospace Camp this summer, and I was really happy for her. She’d worked hard to get in. But a part of me wished she was here so that she could enjoy this wild ride of a summer with me.

  “Too bad Vijay won’t be among the missing,” I complained, noticing that my ex had strolled in the registration area—laughing and horsing around with another kid from the Wander Inn cabin. Vijay looked more muscular than I remembered, his lanky body gone. “He must have worked out since last summer.”

  “I thought you guys were still cool,” Piper whispered to me before I got up to the front of the line.

  While I registered, I tried not to look back at Vijay. Last summer, we’d hung out and I’d wanted to go all the way. But then I’d gotten cold feet. At fifteen, a girl is entitled, right? Not according to Vijay.

  I thought he’d been okay with it at the time, but by the end of the summer, he’d turned downright cold. And more recently? Nasty. I couldn’t think about the text he sent me about asking if I still wanted to be a virgin, the message that had turned my life into hell, without fuming. If it weren’t for him, I would be going back to my regular school and friends at the end of the summer instead of to problem-child prison.

  “We are not cool.” Finished with registering, I noticed that Vijay was studying his phone before he turned it in for the week. I’d have to hand in mine, too, because we only got an hour of electronics time per week and the counselors held all devices until then. “You guys already handed in your phones?” I checked mine for texts.

  “Yes.” Siobhan craned her neck to look toward the main door. “Is that Jackie?”

  One of our cabin mates must have arrived, but I was too distracted by my messages. The last two were from Vijay.

  My stomach dropped.

  Still keeping your legs crossed? said the first.

  U R a tease, read the second.

  Fury whirled inside like a white-hot tornado. I marched over to him.

  “Seriously?” I waved my phone under Vijay’s nose. “Do you have any idea how much trouble your last stupid text got me in?”

  “Got you thinking about me?” He flicked his tongue up and down.

  So gross. How could I have ever liked this guy?

  “My dad saw it, Vijay.” I refused to allow tears to spring to my eyes, but my heart beat so hard I could barely hear anything over the sound of my pulse in my ears. “My parents are sending me to an all-girls’ boarding school thanks to you.”

  We were attracting an audience. I knew I should keep it down, but I was too pissed. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Emily round the corner of her lanyard display and head our way.

  “All girls? Great.” He lowered his voice. “Now you can all be virgins together.”

  His dark eyes were cold and unforgiving. They reminded me of my father.

  “What is your problem?” I hissed.

  “My problem is girls like you who put on a big show of liking a guy and then turn into a prude when it comes time to put out.”

  I shook with fury.

  “Oh yeah?” I slammed my phone down on the counter to turn it in. “Well, my new boyfriend doesn’t think I’m such a prude.”

  I turned around in a rush of rage and hurt. Unsteady, I marched toward
the first guy I saw.

  The new kid.

  I threw my arms around his neck and planted a kiss on his mouth. Hard. Fast. Wet.

  I didn’t know him, and I didn’t care. Vijay needed to stay the hell out of my way. He’d only ruin my best-summer-ever plans. The yummy kiss I’d just gotten, however, might be exactly the payback I had in mind.

  There was nothing wholesome about it.

  Javier

  What the hell?

  I pushed back from the crazy girl kissing me. I knew better than to touch her, or I’d end up blamed for this somehow. My arms pin-wheeled like a freaking Scooby-Doo character as I stumbled backward to break the contact. My arm connected with something and then—thwack! Stuff went flying all over the floor.

  Crap.

  I blinked to take it all in, from the cute girl who glared at me like I’d done something wrong to the hyperventilating counselor who was wailing about lanyards. They must be the leather strap things spilled all over the floor. I’d hit the display trying to escape.

  A shrill whistle cut through the sudden rush of noise, and the camp director barreled through the kids toward me.

  “What’s the problem here?” the guy demanded, still holding his whistle in one hand. Beady eyes darted back and forth between the girl and me. “Ms. Martineau? Mr. Kovalev? Care to explain this?”

  “She kissed me.” I pointed at the dark-haired girl who gnawed on her lip, her eyes troubled but defiant. “I was just standing here.”

  Behind the girl, a couple of guys doubled over in silent laughter. What was that all about? I had a vague sense they were to blame for setting her off, given the dirty look she sent them. But I couldn’t think about that now when my job at camp might be over before it began. My shoulders tensed. Fists tightened.

  “Is this true, Alexandra?” The camp director—finally letting go of his whistle—took out a notepad from his shirt pocket and scribbled. “Your parents will be disappointed if I need to call them.”

  The girl’s face went white as she nodded. I shouldn’t feel sorry for her, but it was obvious that a parent phone call was the last thing she wanted.

  “As for you, young man.” The guy’s attention turned back to me, and he stepped closer and pointed a finger in my face. A crunch under his hiking boot suggested he’d destroyed a few lanyards in the process. “You’re off to a precarious start here.” He gestured to the mess on the floor and the crowd of gawkers watching him yell at me. “If you want to keep your job, I suggest you look sharp from now on, Javier, or you’ll be sent right back to foster care. Understood?”

  Fury crawled up the back of my neck at the guy for announcing my status. Not that I cared about fitting in, since that was a lost cause for me. And the only time I’d see the other kids was when I bunked down with them or served them meals. Still. My situation was no one’s business.

  “Yes, sir,” the girl—Alexandra, apparently—answered for both of us while I gave a stiff nod.

  I couldn’t afford to lose my temper now. But, oh, man. The tic behind my eye was racing at lightspeed.

  “Alex, since you are the instigator, you’re assigned to breakfast cleanup all week.” The camp director tapped the side of his nose. “You’ll work with Helena, our new kitchen director, and miss your first activity to fulfill the duty. Let this be a lesson to everyone else about public displays of affection and inappropriate touching.” He glared around the room until his eyes stopped on me. “And staff members are reminded to reread page twelve in the employee handbook about appropriate conduct with campers.”

  My body tensed. Like I’d asked for her kiss? And yes, I’d read page twelve. I had read the entire handbook to make sure I wouldn’t lose this last chance I’d been given before being sent to a group home.

  The director turned on his boot heel and stalked off after warning me to get my butt to my cabin. I was about to do just that, had even made a few steps toward my bag, when Helena rushed toward me. I wanted to keep walking. But if it hadn’t been for her stepping up and giving me a place to stay this summer when my foster parents kicked me out…

  I ground my teeth and forced myself to stop.

  She clamped a hand on my shoulder and looked into my eyes, her wiry blonde hair showing signs of going prematurely gray. She wasn’t much older than my mom, and it killed me to think of my mom going gray before she’d ever get out of prison to have any fun. Saddled with a kid before she could even get to college, Mom had sacrificed everything for me. She would be hurt if I blew this chance at the camp that Mom’s old prison friend, Helena, had secured for me until my problems with foster care could be worked out. Again.

  “Javier.” Her gravelly voice was matter-of-fact, but her face was bright red. “Do you have any idea who you just kissed?”

  Around us, activity returned to normal. A bunch of girls surrounded Alexandra. They all comforted her while the counselor tried to resurrect her lanyard display. Every now and then, one of them looked my way, and I glared daggers back at them. Did they have any clue how much their friend might have messed up my life?

  “I don’t care. Look, I didn’t do anything.” I wanted Helena—needed her—to believe me.

  “Well, you should care. Alex’s parents are famous for raising wholesome kids. They write blogs and books about it. Messing around with her is even worse than messing around with any of the other campers. Not only would you lose your job, but the negative publicity would be horrible. Even your mom would hear about it.”

  I froze. I’d caused Mom enough grief. I would definitely stay clear of Alex.

  My eyes strayed to the dark curls waving over her slender shoulders when she picked up a piece of the broken display. “Trust me. She’s the last girl I’d be interested in. The only thing I want to do this summer is make money and stay off the director’s radar.”

  Helena made a face. “Well, I hope you have some fun, too. You’re only seventeen. For that matter, I still wish you’d reconsider working in the kitchen. You could have picked an outdoor job.”

  “I like cooking.”

  Helena sighed. “Maybe it’s for the best. Mr. Woodrow told us that BLISS Network is showing up unannounced this summer to film her. You do not want to be the guy caught fooling around with the Wholesome Home girl. Understand?”

  I nodded, a pang of sympathy making me look up at the cute girl whose mouth I still tasted. Strawberry lip gloss and bubblegum. It must suck to be followed by cameras wherever you went. But like Helena said, even more reason to forget the feel of her soft body and the taste of her.

  Helena’s fingers snapped in front of my face, and I tore my eyes away Alex. “Stick with your goals, and you’ll be able to help your mom when she’s released this fall. The last time you ran off to see her, your foster parents threatened to report it and send you to a group home. And if this camp job hadn’t come through, that’s where you’d be. No more bad reports.”

  My teeth clenched. “I won’t go to the group home. It’s on the opposite side of the state from Mom. I’ll never get to visit.”

  Helena’s face softened. “We’ll sort it out, Javier. But for now, better head to your cabin. Okay?”

  “I need to get my stuff first.” I’d left my bag near the registration table.

  “I’ll have it sent over to you later.” Helena turned me toward the door. “It’s my fault I kept you here talking when Mr. Woodrow asked you to get to the cabin.”

  I had a real problem with other people touching my stuff. Maybe it came from leaving behind a lot of my things when I went into the foster system.

  “It’ll only take a sec—”

  “Please go before anything else happens.” She gave me another nudge. “Mr. Woodrow is about to leave, and I don’t want to miss my chance to talk to him.”

  She hurried after the camp director. I didn’t want to upset her for a second time today, so I trudged outside and hoped she wouldn’t let anyone mess with my bag. It was all I had. All I could call my own. Home for me was a duffle bag I c
arried one-handed.

  “Javier?” A muscular dude in a fishing hat and camouflage cut-offs called the second I stepped outside. Had to be a counselor.

  “Yeah?” I stuffed my hands in my pockets.

  “I can show you where the cabins are,” he offered.

  I could figure it out by the sea of kids streaming away from the administration building with their suitcases, but I figured this was just the guy’s polite way of giving me a warning or some advice that wouldn’t help.

  I shrugged.

  “I’m Bruce. They call me Bam-Bam.” He offered his hand, and I shook it. “I’m the counselor for the Wander Inn, but you’re not on my list.”

  “I’m sleeping in the Warriors’ Warden.” I had no idea if that was bad or good, but this Bam-Bam guy seemed all right. “Guess they didn’t think I was old enough to sleep in the staff cabin.”

  “Right. One of the campers cancelled last minute, and Mr. Woodrow thought if you took his bunk, you’d have some camp experience when you’re not working. My cabin’s right next door.” He pointed out a baseball field and a few other kinds of athletic fields nearby. I could see the Nantahala River in the distance, shimmering in the bright afternoon sun.

  If I didn’t have to be here, maybe I wouldn’t mind this place so much. But I could almost write the script for the rest of my time at Camp Juniper Point now that I’d been branded as the staffer accused of kissing one of their precious girls. What the hell had she done that for? Whatever her reasons, I wasn’t planning on getting too comfortable.

  After taking the scenic route, we arrived at the boys’ cabins. Apparently, the girls bunked on the far side of camp. The log cabins were different shapes and sizes, as if they’d added on as the camp grew. For the most part, they were in a circle, with the kiddie campers separated by the boys’ showers. Now, kids hung out the windows and aired out the buildings. Every now and then a pair of sneakers flew out of a door or guys wrestled in the common area between the buildings.