First Kiss: The Ghost Bird Series: #10 (The Academy Ghost Bird Series)

by C. L. Stone

  “We’ve got some,” Victor said. “And extra air mattresses.”

  “I guess that’ll be okay.” Carla seemed to be unsure as she looked toward Taylor. “Do you have room for everyone?”

  Taylor pointed as she counted the five girls and Carla. “Six, and...” She pointed to Lake. “Seven?”

  Lake looked at me and frowned. “I think I’m staying with Sang,” she said, her eyes wide.

  I cringed, but also felt compelled to agree and let her stay with us. I could be wrong, but I suspected Lake wasn’t really a girl. The other girls might be okay with hiking with her, but...if she had boy parts, would the girls feel comfortable with her in the tent? And what if the girls didn’t know she was a boy, but then discovered it later?

  I glanced questioningly at Victor and then at Gabriel. I wasn’t sure they saw what I saw, but I hoped they understood that there was a reason we might need Lake to go with us.

  The boys both nodded slightly. Fine by them. They didn’t question me.

  “No,” Carla said. “We should all stick together. That way we’ll be ready for Mrs. Rose in the morning.”

  I shared a look with Lake. Carla was taking this group thing a little far and was acting a little bossy.

  “It’ll be crowded with us,” Lake said. “And Sang’s got her own tent already set up.”

  “I can give you all an extra heater,” I said, trying to show my support. “And we’re not far.”

  “We’re supposed to be getting to know each other,” Carla said. “I don’t want two tents because it means one side will feel left out.”

  “I’m not going to feel left out,” Lake said, saying what I was thinking.

  “I want Sang and Lake in our tent,” another one of the girls said. The others nodded their heads in agreement.

  I was outnumbered. I pressed my lips together, not wanting to say anything but I didn’t like Taylor’s tent. It smelled. And what about Kota?

  “It’ll be okay,” Taylor said with a smile, looking right at me. She was trying to tell me something, but unlike Gabriel and Victor, I couldn’t read her face. “We should be able to fit. Can we bring your tent over and put our things in it?”

  I glanced at Gabriel and Victor, who were sympathetic but were both serious now. They knew I wasn’t happy with this decision.

  What could I do? The girls wanted me with them, and they were new.

  Reluctantly, I looked at Lake. She frowned but shrugged. “Whatever,” she said. “It’s just sleeping.”

  Taylor nodded and then pointed at me. “How about you and I go check it out and make sure everything’s put together?”

  “I’ll walk with you,” Victor said.

  “Me too,” Gabriel said, standing up. “I’ll come back another time and make bracelets.”

  Lake stood, also. “Me, too. I’ll help move things.”

  Carla was about to talk when Emma moved to where Victor had been sitting and smiled brightly at her. “You’re Carla, aren’t you?” she asked and then beamed at her and then the other girls. “So cool. What are we making here? I want to make something.”

  “We’ll come back,” I said to Carla, who was still looking at us. “We’ll set everything up. Stay with the girls?”

  Carla nodded and slowly sat back down.

  Once we were away from them, I breathed out loudly.

  “My God,” Lake said. “She’s clingy. And bossy.”

  “Happens,” Taylor said. We walked in a line together, the girls in front, the boys trailing behind us. “Although she moves quick. Usually by midweek, the new girls try to stick together like that.” She looked at us. “Something happen to you all on your hike?”

  “A cave,” I said, checking in with Lake. She shrugged so I continued. “And Nettle. Minor trouble but we got out of it.”

  “Crazy bonding?” Taylor asked.

  I looked at Lake. Had we bonded?

  Taylor waved her hand toward us to direct our attention back to her. “It’s easy for new people to want to stick together, even if they aren’t a good team, or don’t even know anything about one another. It’s good to get them to splinter out and get to know other people, but that ‘we’re new together’ bond can stick fast if something happens. It can be hard to get them to split up until camp’s over and they go home and reality sets in.”

  “We didn’t do any of that,” Gabriel said behind us. “Did we, Victor?”

  “We already had a group going in,” Victor said. “It’s different when you come in solo. You’re given a team—it makes sense you’d bond with them quickly.”

  “That’s usually what happens,” Taylor said. “Sometimes it works out and they stay together, or they get placed in temporary groups. My team was paired up to go on a mission. We started with five. Two split but the three of us stuck together.”

  “I don’t think I want Carla in my group,” Lake said.

  “Give her a chance,” Taylor said. “You don’t know her story yet. You might not get along with her, but she’s still Academy in training, and deserves a fair shot and our respect.”

  That was going to be difficult. Maybe because Carla was older than us, and considered herself responsible, she felt compelled to take charge, especially since she’d had something of a head start learning about the Academy.

  We came up to Taylor’s site first, stopping to look inside her tent.

  The moment she opened her door flap, I froze, trying not to be obvious about my nose wrinkling at the very potent scent that hit me even outside the tent.

  Gabriel had stopped when I did, his own nose wrinkling as he looked at me. “Wow,” he said. “That’s some strong...potpourri.”

  I elbowed him. I couldn’t believe he’d said that out loud! Weren’t we supposed to be nice?

  “April spilled some perfume,” Taylor said, looking back at us. Her eyebrows went up. “That bad?”

  “What’s wrong with fresh air?” Gabriel asked. “That’s what we’re here for.”

  “Our tent had a musty smell before,” she said.

  Gabriel shook his head. “Naw, you don’t cover up must with perfume. You spray it down with some water mixed with baking soda. Actually, we’ve got some back at our camp in North’s Jeep. We’ll grab it when we get back. Leave your tent open.”

  “It’s not that bad,” Taylor said.

  Victor went up to the open tent and poked his head in. “It’s kinda bad,” he said. “I don’t think I could sleep in it. The other girls might not mind, but...”

  “Shit,” Taylor said. “Well, I guess I’ll keep the flap open and let it air out.”

  “Hey, hey!” Gabriel said, pointing at Taylor. “You cursed.”

  “Uh, I’m an adult,” Taylor said, standing taller with her shoulders back. “You’re a kid. You’ve got to watch your language.”

  Gabriel grumbled about not being a kid, but Taylor ignored him, tying the door flap so it’d stay open while we walked over to the other camp. There were windows, too, and she unzipped the coverings.

  It took us a good hour, but we managed to scrounge up some air mattresses and extra cots.

  Lake and I claimed cots; if we were going to be trapped in with a bunch of girls, we wanted to at least not have to share our sleeping spaces.

  I hated every moment of moving their items inside the tent that belonged to me and moving the new tent Kota had set up over, putting his things back into the main boys’ tent. Every piece I moved made it feel like I was pulling myself apart from the boys. I hated the thought of spending the entire week inside the tent with the girls.

  When I got a moment alone with Victor, I tugged his hand, pulling him aside while the others continued setting up.

  “I haven’t seen Kota today,” I said. “We need to tell him.”

  “He told us that you said you were staying with him in the small tent,” Victor said. “Did something happen? He wouldn’t explain it and I didn’t want to press him.”

  I nodded, although it felt like centuries ago
now. “I still need to spend time with him and explain things, but if I’m stuck with the girls...”

  “I’ll tell him you got roped in, but you wanted to stay with him. Maybe he’ll be able to get away and come talk to you.” He frowned. “It’s only a week. We go home after. If you don’t get a chance before the closing interview, then we’ll just have to maybe say you’re thinking about joining, but aren’t sure of a team yet...or something.”

  I raised my eyebrows. “An exit interview? Is that like this morning?”

  He nodded. “Maybe? It depends on how you do this week. Or if something crazy happens and they don’t get to you. If they start asking you what you think of the Academy, and if you’d like to join, they might suggest to put you on a starter team, like what happened to Taylor.”

  “And I can’t just say your team without Kota knowing...the plan? Because everyone has to be in agreement?”

  He nodded. “You can try, but it’ll be harder. Mr. Blackbourne said...”

  “Hey!” Taylor called to us. She held onto a cooler and looked at us from the road. The others were carrying some extra food the guys had brought so the girls would have plenty to eat. “Don’t get lost. Let’s go.”

  “We’re coming,” Victor said, waving to her, and then slowly started toward the road that would lead us to their camp. He spoke to me quietly as he walked. “Look, I’ll tell Kota to meet you tonight.”

  “Where?” I asked.

  “At the latrine. Just pretend you’re going to the bathroom around nine. He’ll make sure to find you. Maybe go for a walk or something.”

  “Is that enough time before the ten p.m. curfew?”

  “He might not be available before then,” he said. We were catching up to Taylor and the others who had paused to wait for us. “Man,” he said a little louder as we got closer to them. “Wow, that cave does sound kind of cool…”

  I got that we couldn’t let Taylor in on the plan. I didn’t know why, though. She seemed trustworthy.

  Once the camp was set up, we sat on the picnic table, looking over the site. The small tent that was now for storage had been placed beside the big one. Inside it were chairs holding the three brown suitcases, and now my things as well. If any of the girls had brought any clothes, they’d have a place to put bags.

  “Good thing I brought... you brought extra clothes, Sang,” Gabriel said.

  “I already gave shoes to someone,” I said.

  “You’re going to lose some clothes,” Taylor said. “When the new recruits are brought in, they are being taught to ask for help when it’s needed. At the same time, you’re taught to give where you can.” She glanced at me meaningfully with her brown eyes.

  I understood. Everything we have, we can share with everyone else. That’s just the way the Academy works.

  “I brought extra clothes, too,” Taylor said. “We’ll have plenty. That’s if you don’t go on any more crazy hikes and get them all dirty like that.”

  “I don’t want to go on another hike,” Lake said. “I’m done with hikes.”

  We talked about going back to the art area but then kept getting distracted by talking about the different camp activities the others had discovered.

  “I don’t have to teach another class until Thursday,” Gabriel said. “Which is good. I wanted to try crab fishing.”

  “I just want a nap,” Taylor said and yawned, stretching her arms over her head. Her brown sweater was a little too short for her arms, and the ends slid down her forearms as she stretched.

  “Me, too,” Lake said, muffling a yawn by covering her mouth with her elbow. “Is that allowed?”

  “Yup,” Gabriel said. “You’re allowed. It’s camp.”

  I hated to say so, but I was feeling worn down, too, after moving all the supplies and the day I’d had. Gabriel had sprayed down the inside of the tent with his baking soda mix, and with the flap open, the inside was smelling better. The cot I’d set up with my pillow and sleeping bag looked really cozy. “We can just lay on top of the sleeping bags, Lake,” I said. “And change later.”

  “Just lying on your back should be fine,” Taylor said, standing up and trotting over to the tent. “Your back is clean.”

  Victor stood up. “If you all want to sleep, Gabriel and I will go tell the others you’re here and where to find you.”

  “No way,” Gabriel said. “I want to nap.” He combed a lock of his blond hair away from his eyes and started toward the tent. “Let me borrow a bed.”

  “Buddy system, Gabriel,” Victor said. “Come on. Let them sleep.”

  Gabriel grunted and shot me a look. “Don’t let any bears in,” he said and started following Victor toward the paved road. They soon disappeared on their way toward the craft station.

  I was sorry to see them go, but at the same time, too tired to want to follow. I also wanted to calm my nerves with some sleep.

  One week, I told myself. All I had to remember was this wasn’t my group. The boys were. I just had to find the right moment to tell the others.

  JUST TRYING TO GET AWAY

  I slept deeply, and woke, not sure where I was when I heard voices. I opened my eyes and saw the material of the tent above me and remembered.

  The other girls were inside, whispering and trying to be quiet, but Taylor woke up and took them to go outside to light a fire.

  By the time I was able to get myself to sit up, I was still tired, but it was clear the sun had started to set. I needed to be awake, and aware of the time...

  The time. I didn’t have my phone. I’d looked for it while we were moving stuff but hadn’t found it yet. I meant to ask Kota about it. How was I going to meet Kota if I couldn’t keep track of the time? I glanced around, looking for anything that would have a clock on it, finding nothing.

  Lake was still asleep in her cot, her arms over her face.

  I’d have to ask someone around when I thought nine o'clock was and make my excuse to go then.

  “Lake?” I said. I was trying to get myself to go out of the tent and join the others. I didn’t want to, though. I didn’t want to face Carla and the other girls.

  “Yeah?” she said but didn’t move.

  “We should go...” It was a little better with Lake around. I wasn’t sure why. I didn’t know her as well. Maybe because she was a little calmer than Carla.

  “Mmm.”

  “Are you hungry?” I asked. “Do you need water?”

  Lake moved her arms from her face and sat up. Her short dark hair was in all directions and revealed more of the shape of her jawline. With her fingers, she combed her hair around her face, locks falling in front of one eye as if to hide it. “I guess,” she said. “I might not be able to sleep tonight. Let’s get this over with.”

  I hoped she wasn’t having a bad time. I knew it was tough fitting in when you felt alone.

  The tent flap had been closed. When we got out, the other girls were sitting in folding chairs around the fire.

  “Yay!” they cried when they noticed us. “They’re awake! Now we can start!”

  Taylor, April, and Emma were there. They pointed at the two remaining folding chairs nearby. “Come sit,” Taylor said.

  “Hungry?” April said and then pointed to a cooler. “There’s burritos and coffee if you want.”

  “Or water,” Taylor said. “And there’s some Pop-Tarts and crackers in the cooler.”

  “Burritos?” Lake asked, and headed toward the cooler.

  I waited until Taylor and April weren’t paying attention anymore and I snagged Lake’s elbow to whisper to her. “They’re black bean and avocado burritos. Spicy.”

  “Ew,” Lake said. “Black bean is okay, but I don’t like avocado. I’ll take a Pop-Tart.”

  We found strawberry Pop-Tarts and water and brought them back to the seats. Had Taylor and her team only brought spicy burritos? I wondered if I could exist on Pop-Tarts and water for the week. Luckily, I’d eaten a lot at lunch with the hamburgers and potatoes, and still felt fine. I ho
ped lunches like that were normal for camp. I wondered if we could team up with the guys around dinner time.

  When Lake and I sat down, Carla gave us two minutes before she stood up. “Okay, now that we’re settled, I wanted to go around the circle and have us all kind of talk about how we found out about the Academy and maybe go over what we learned today.” She looked at Taylor and the other older girls. “Maybe you can fill in any holes we’ve got?”

  “Sure,” Taylor said. “We’ll take turns, too.”

  “Well, I was hoping—” Carla said, glancing toward the younger girls, who were looking eagerly at her.

  “Might be best for us to start,” April said. “We’re your hosts tonight. You should know who you get into tents with.” She laughed, as did her teammates.

  Carla sat down in her chair and nodded, seeming to lose her bossy nature.

  Maybe Taylor had informed her team about Carla because April, Taylor, and Emma went through early chapters of their Academy careers, explaining how they tried different groups, and it took a while and some team changes for them to figure out what—and who—worked best for them.

  “You never know with your group,” April said. “One day, you run into people and you just click. You just know.”

  “But you had to work together on something and stick with each other for a while,” Carla finally said after letting Taylor and her team speak for a long time.

  Taylor shrugged. “Technically yes.”

  “So we should stick together,” Carla said, smiling with some complacency.

  “For now. However, you might also not be a best match within even your first team,” Taylor said. “People switch all the time. You have to be open to change.”

  “They give up?” Carla asked.

  “No,” Taylor said. “Sometimes you just don’t get along. Your manager might make suggestions to meet other people he feels might be a better match for you.”

  “Do we have a manager?” one of the girls asked. “Mrs. Rose?”

  “Not yet,” she said. “Not until you’re officially invited to join the Academy. Your manager could be anyone, and he or she will basically be your team and family lead all in one for a while until a council feels you’re ready to take over and assign your own lead. They teach you about the Academy, help you find a role to fill, give you jobs.”