by Rock, J. K.
“She will?” I was so used to being the one who got things done that it felt weird and really great to have someone else take over a job. And I’d never even met Kayla’s mom. “That’s so generous.”
I toyed with the zipper on my new Divas’ Den jacket, thinking I would have had a lot to offer the Kindness Cup this week. Too bad they didn’t have such a thing in my new cabin.
Kayla shrugged. “She works all the time and I don’t get to see her much. But when she can help out with stuff like this…yeah, I guess she is pretty cool about it.”
When my mom messaged me with the information I was looking for, I forwarded it to Kayla to give to her mother. I didn’t even wince when my mom added a note about my leaving camp a few days early to attend final dress fittings and a bridal luncheon. I’d known all along that was a possibility and, given the way things had gone for me at Juniper Point this year, I didn’t think I’d be missed all that much anyhow. At least I’d be able to stay through the Talent Show.
“My dad works all the time, too,” I admitted to Kayla, keeping the news that I’d be leaving camp early to myself. “He never used to be that way, but he took a new job this year and he’s gone constantly.”
I still hadn’t opened the excuse-letter thing he’d sent me. Then again, I hadn’t seen it since the day Kellianne gave it to me. It had to be somewhere in my old cabin. That is, if my former friends hadn’t tossed it in the trash.
My eyes went to Siobhan and Alex as they stood to leave. Siobhan flicked her eyes at me, then strode past us. But Alex slowed her step and gave a quick wave hello.
“Nice jacket, Lauren,” she said.
For a moment, I thought she was being sarcastic about my new Divas’ Den gear. But when Siobhan turned around to glare at her, I realized she must have been sincere.
Alex hurried to catch up to Siobhan, but she covered her mouth to whisper, “Purple looks good on you,” as she darted past.
“Thanks,” I called, regretting that Alex wouldn’t stay and hang out with us. With a pang, I remembered purple was her favorite color.
“Ready?” Kayla asked, hitting the send button on the note for her mom and shutting off her computer. “Our time is almost up.”
“Yes.” I was relieved to have the bridal party gifts taken care of, but torn about not being able to hang out with Alex. I gathered my things and shut down my computer. “Do you ever wonder how we all got so divided here?”
Kayla frowned.
“You mean, the Munchies and the Divas?”
“Yes.” We waved to Leslie Kim, the dance instructor who was still working on one of the computers, as we went left. “Remember when we first started coming to camp? We all caught butterflies and made macaroni necklaces together. There wasn’t this huge gulf separating us like we were from different planets.”
“We grew up, I guess.” Kayla’s face looked wistful for a moment, the expression so fleeting I thought I imagined it. “We made new friends and lost some too,” she added in a voice full of longing. I wondered if she thought of Nick, her oldest camp friend before she’d become a Diva. He’d been in the Wander Inn and I was pretty sure her friends had convinced her not to hang around him.
We stepped outside and waited for a barrage of junior campers to pass us as they streaked toward the Field of Dreams. The younger campers must have one of their big playoff games. They carried glittery signs to cheer on their teams and a few were already chanting, “We want a pitcher, not a belly-itcher.”
“I’m just so tired of the whole clique thing.” I followed Kayla toward the dance studio where we were supposed to meet up with the other Divas’ Den girls to practice our routine for the talent show. “It’s even worse here than at my school.”
“Really?” Kayla hitched her floral bag higher on her shoulder. “This is nothing compared to my school. I don’t even rank on the popularity scale there since we’re not as rich as everyone else.”
“You’re kidding.” I felt embarrassed as soon as I said it. “Um. Not about the rich part. I mean, I can’t believe you wouldn’t be popular anywhere you went.”
“You’re not like most people, Lauren. You don’t judge a book by its cover.” Kayla might have said more, but Hannah and Rachel met us on the path and started asking for opinions on the dance routine we were planning.
I didn’t answer, thinking about what Kayla had said. Sure, I wished I were the kind of person who didn’t judge until I knew someone, but that wasn’t necessarily true. I’d gone headlong into the most popular crowd at Jefferson Davis High this past year, seeking out the cool kids to give myself a safety net in a new school. I was totally guilty of judging books by covers.
But it wasn’t too late to change.
“I’ve got an idea for the dance.” I announced before I’d thought it through. We were all inside the studio now. Brittany and Rachel were already rehearsing some dance moves, trying to put together a routine.
“Congratulations,” Hannah said dryly.
“Let’s hear it,” said Brittany, her ponytail bobbing in time to her step as she came toward me. “We’re stumped.”
“You know how Gollum is pushing healthy food on us and trying to brand the camp as environmentally friendly?”
“Sustainable is the new black this season,” Kayla added. “Even the fly paper in the dining room is made out of bamboo.”
“Eww.” Brittany made a big show of pretending to retch. “Like, who gets close enough to the fly paper to notice?”
Rachel rolled her eyes while she practiced her power jumps to one side of the dance floor. “There’s a huge sign in the dining room that lists everything that’s made of bamboo now. Duh. So what’s your idea, Lauren?”
I hoped they wouldn’t see right through me, because I totally had an ulterior motive. But my heart was in the right place and my motives were good. Or so I thought.
“Well, think how many points we’d score with head judge Gollum if we did a dance routine that was an ode to Mother Earth or a save the rainforest theme.”
Hannah was already shaking her head. “No way am I dressing up as a tree frog to score a few points from Mr. Woodrow.” She did a butt-shaking move and tossed her hair. “I’d rather win the popular vote.”
Brittany tapped a finger against her lips as if she was deep in thought. Finally, she nodded.
“Nature can be sexy.” She pirouetted around. “The wind can flow through our hair and we can get high-cut blue skirts to represent the ocean.” She did a belly-dance move that looked like one long wave.
Rachel stopped jumping and came closer. “We could do some yoga stretches toward the rising sun in the background.” She did a back arch that would undoubtedly make a few boys swallow their tongues.
Even Hannah looked impressed. “You really think we could come up with hot outfits for this?”
“My mom will find us whatever we want,” Kayla volunteered.
“My dad will pay for it,” Brittany offered.
I checked my watch. “The computer lab is already closed—”
The rest of the girls laughed.
“Cameron sells prepaid 4G cell phones,” Kayla informed me. “Brittany is his favorite customer.”
Given her legendary bank account, that made total sense.
“We can use Michael Jackson’s ‘Earth Song,’” I chimed in, the energy in the room tangible now.
Hannah squealed and went back to booty-shaking. “Love MJ. Now you’re talking.”
We spent the next hour working on routines and I realized that I was totally happy.
This was what I’d missed about Camp Juniper Point. It wasn’t just about kisses and boys. It was also about friends and fun. And if a little piece of my heart wished I had someone to sit next to tonight at the bonfire, I quickly smothered the thought. I was figuring out who I was and what I wanted, which was the first step in understanding who—if anyone—I should be with.
For today, I was content to enjoy the moment. And hope the Divas didn’t kick me o
ut of their cabin when they realized I’d given them a dance routine that perfectly complemented the performance art piece the Munchies’ Manor cabin already had planned.
* * *
Two days later, we gathered after breakfast for the senior scavenger hunt. It was one of the few events where we skipped regular activities to do something special, kind of like the overnight canoe trip. We would be paired up and armed with lists of stuff to find in the woods or around the campgrounds.
The Divas had sprinted from their seats after breakfast as soon as Gollum announced that the pairings were posted outside.
“I’m Matt’s partner!” Hannah squealed as she arrived at the list. Her shrill announcement rang out over our group while the rest of the senior campers caught up to us.
Hannah practically knocked down Brittany in her haste to find Matt. No wonder she was happy. They’d be alone together all day. I tried to ignore the knot in my stomach. Unlike the rest of the Divas, Hannah had refused to take the “boy-free” summer pledge.
“Don’t worry, Lauren.” A familiar voice in my ear surprised me.
I turned to find Emily dressed in a camouflage shirt three sizes too big for her that could only belong to Bam-Bam. She’d dressed it up with white denim cutoffs and rhinestone pins on the sleeves that gathered the material away from her shoulders to make it look sleeveless.
As soon as Emily said, “don’t worry,” I worried.
“Why?” I looked past her to where Alex and Piper were shoving Rachel out of the way to check out the list for themselves.
Gray storm clouds were moving in overhead, but that wasn’t the only reason I sensed trouble.
“Because the counselors helped choose the partners and I put in a good word for you, even though you deserted us.” She winked at me before she went over to Siobhan and Jackie.
“Ohmigod.” Kayla latched onto my arm. “I’m with Vijay and you’re with Seth.”
That was Emily’s favor to me? I stared at her, wondering what she’d been thinking. Alex marched up to us, no doubt aware of the news. I braced myself for her reaction, knowing how much she liked Vijay.
“Looks like you got my guy and I got yours.” Alex snapped her gum and gave Kayla an even look. “Or at least, he was your boyfriend.” She pointed to Cameron. “How about we make a deal that I won’t take your man and you won’t take mine?”
Kayla rolled her eyes. “I’m taking a break from guys, so you can have Cam if you want him. But I promise Vijay is totally safe with me.”
“For real?” Alex raised an eyebrow and looked skeptical.
While Alex quizzed Kayla about her commitment to not dating anyone, I couldn’t help but notice Breyanna and Seth exchanging some terse words.
I grabbed a list of the items we were supposed to find and waited for Seth.
All around me, kids were pairing off and heading in different directions. Hannah had Matt’s sleeve and was practically dragging him down toward the beach. He looked back at me, and I shrugged, helpless to save him from her clutches.
Besides, I was still a little mad at both him and Seth for the way they’d acted the other night. They fought about me after I’d broken up with both of them. I might as well be one of Hershey’s chew toys.
Was I important to either of them, or just a small part of the bigger reasons they didn’t like each other? The guys in the Wander Inn didn’t get along with the Warriors any better than the Munchies girls got along with the Divas. I was problematic for everyone because I didn’t fit in anywhere.
I’d messed up all the boundaries that everyone else had been perfectly happy with.
“Are you ready?” Seth asked, appearing out of nowhere.
I nodded, wishing I’d brought a rain jacket in case those clouds let loose. “I’ve got the list.”
Seth took the extra copy from me and studied it, his sandy hair falling over one eye.
“Asimina triloba,” he read aloud with a laugh. “That’s a common pawpaw.” He flipped the paper around to show me the “points” column. “That plant is worth a lot and I don’t think many people will even know what it is, let alone where to find it. Are you up for a hike on the other side of the river?”
Was he asking so that we could win the game? Or was there a chance he was trying to be alone with me? I didn’t think any other campers would be making that long trip, especially since it was off the approved grid. My indecision must have shown, because he stuffed his list in his back pocket and turned his full attention on me.
“You know that, if we stay by camp, our every move is going to headline the gossip over dinner, right?” He surprised me with that one, but he had a good point. “I don’t think that’d be any more fun for you than it will be for me.”
“Agreed.” I didn’t need to draw any more attention to myself. With only one more week left for me at Juniper Point, I was keeping things low-key. “But we could just split the list in half to divide and conquer. If we’re not together, no one can accuse us of…” My cheeks warmed as I thought about the way we’d ended up kissing. More than once. “…anything.”
“It’s a team game,” he protested. “I don’t want to get disqualified when we can win easily with pawpaw. The winning team is excused from chores for the rest of camp.”
I did hate waking up early to set tables in the dining hall…
“Fine. I just hope it doesn’t start raining.” I looked up at the clouds. Maybe they were moving away from us.
I wondered if I should lay down some ground rules to make sure things stayed platonic. But since he seemed to be moving forward with Breyanna, why should I worry? So as I followed him into the woods, I kept my eyes on the trail ahead instead of Seth’s broad shoulders. Honest.
Yet every step I took felt even more dangerous than when I’d snuck out of camp to go to the D&O. I couldn’t shake the feeling that I’d signed on for a lot more trouble.
Chapter Nineteen
“How much farther?” I groaned as we slogged up another muddy hill.
A light rain had been falling for the last half-hour. Even though I was wearing a hoodie, my hair was plastered to my head. Seth had been quiet and so had I, the awkward silence feeling as chilly as the weather.
We’d passed the hermit’s hut a few minutes earlier without so much as a comment. Hard to believe that I’d occasionally daydreamed we’d go there this summer.
“Depends.” Seth stopped a few yards ahead and waited for me. The rain didn’t look bad on him. In fact, his wet T-shirt clung to all the major muscle groups. “What does the compass say?”
“As if that will help.” I pulled it out of my sweatshirt pocket, irritated that I had noticed anything attractive on a guy I was still mad at.
It was one thing for the Munchies to think the worst of me with Trinity’s diary. But Seth? We’d known each other so long. He should have believed me.
“It does help,” he said gently, tugging the device out of my hands. My skin tingled at our brief contact, like he’d transmitted electricity through my skin. “Staying on course will get us there faster.”
A few weeks ago, having this alone time with Seth would have been a huge thrill. Now, I couldn’t stop thinking about how quickly things had fallen apart for us. Had he been right to break up with me at the end of every summer, knowing one of us might find someone else? Or had his insistence on breaking up every year been the wedge that helped drive us apart?
I pointed at my soaked sandals, practical in dry weather but a slippery disaster in a summer storm. “I can’t go faster. These aren’t the right shoes.”
“Just like the other night when you were coming home from the bar?” His straight eyebrows lowered over his eyes as the rain fell between us.
“Exactly.” I folded my arms, daring him to suggest I’d stumbled that night for any other reason. “I fell because of the shoes, Seth, not because I had been drinking. Do you think I’m a liar now?”
He held my gaze for a long moment before looking down at the compass.
>
“We went too far west.” He peered around the woods as fog started to roll in. “When did we start drifting off course?”
Annoyed that he’d avoided my question, I yanked the compass away and chucked it into the mist. “I’ll tell you when we started drifting.”
“What are you doing?” he demanded. “I needed that.”
“Well, I needed you. But we got off-course when you stopped caring about me. How did that happen?”
Thunder rolled in the background, the deep bass startling a brown rabbit. It flew into the brush, its white tail bobbing.
“I’ve never stopped caring.” Seth gazed after the animal. “I’d better get you back before things get nasty.”
My blood simmered at the double meaning behind his words. Once again, Seth was avoiding a serious talk about our relationship. So much for thinking he was opening up. I could ask him about the life cycle of a fruit fly and he’d speak for an hour, but one question about where we stood and he ran for the hills—or straight to another girl. Suddenly I saw Breyanna for what she was. Not competition. She was a distraction. To avoid dealing with missing me, he spent time with her. It was another way for him to escape his problems.
“Lauren, we need to keep moving if we want to get back before dark,” he urged, then headed downhill.
I stomped after him, swiping rain off my cheeks as the wind picked up.
“I’ll tell you where we got off-track,” I fumed, shivering despite the anger that fired me up inside. “How dare you tell my friends you helped us get back into camp because you didn’t want me to leave. What a joke. You’ve spent half the summer either hanging out with Miss Headband, avoiding me, or accusing me of stuff I didn’t do.”
“Are they really your friends, Lauren?” Although his voice was steady, his tone sounded grim. “They’re encouraging you to sneak out at night and betray your old friends.”
“Now wait a minute—”
“Are you going to deny that you let them into your cabin and gave them Trinity’s stuff?” He paused to squint through the rain as if trying to get his bearings.
