Nothing Happened

by Molly Booth

  “Yes, I can show you how to use a smartphone,” I replied calmly. “But honestly, I’d ask Hana before me.”

  “Nooo.” Mom shook the phone again. “I got a call from Senator King last night. John’s back in New York City. As in, not at camp.”

  “Why would I know anything about that?”

  Mom raised her brow at me. That brow, tho.

  I held up my hands. “I seriously have no idea, Mom. Is someone covering for him?”

  “Doug,” she huffed. Then she grumbled something about camp drama, like she had any idea. She was living in a blissful bubble.

  Hana left for therapy again around lunchtime. Which ended up working out well, because lunchtime, oh lunchtime, imploded in a way I’d never thought possible of lunch.

  “Bee?” Ben approached my table, mid-conversation with Kamile and a few older campers.

  “Ben?” I asked dramatically. The girls giggled. Ben turned red, which was satisfying.

  “Can I talk to you?” he asked. I nodded, ignoring my table’s escalating giggles.

  He led me down the center of Dam, past all the tables. I felt Claudia and Donald watching us.

  “Where are we—”

  There, at the flagpole, stood Sophia, Vanessa, and Wallace, shifting and whispering to one another.

  “What’s going on? Do we need to get my mom?” I whispered on our way over to them.

  “Not just yet,” Ben said. “Hear this first.”

  “Hey. How’s your headache?”

  Margo looked up. She was sitting on the little bench she’d put in the goat pen. Her phone sat next to her. The four kids crowded around her knees.

  “Hey, Bee,” she said. The goats turned and stared at me with their weird eyes. I eased into the pen, reached into the bucket, and scattered a handful of feed to clear a path to Margo.

  I sat down on the bench next to her. “We need to talk.”

  “Are you breaking up with me?” she joked. But she wouldn’t meet my eyes. It was only when I put my hand on her hand on the bench that she looked up at me.

  “Never,” I said. “But I do need to ask you something—have you been hooking up with Bobby this summer?”

  Tears formed in her perfect twinkly eyes. “Bee, I promise, I didn’t know.”

  “At the volleyball court?”

  She nodded. “Bobby and I have been meeting up there.”

  “And so…”

  “And I think Donald and Claudia must’ve seen us.”

  “Why didn’t you say anything?”

  “I didn’t know what they were talking about that night!” she cried. “I thought they were talking about Christopher. And then I thought they meant that Hana had been hooking up with him at the volleyball court, too.”

  I raised my eyebrows.

  Margo blushed. “Okay, but Hana was still texting him,” she protested. “And with how things went last fall, I thought it might be a possibility….”

  Mushroom Fairy tried to eat the end of my shirt. I brushed him away.

  “I only found out the other night what had actually happened, for sure,” Margo admitted. “Vanessa told me that John had set me up, and Bobby had been in on it.”

  “Vanessa told Ben, who told me.”

  “Makes sense.” Margo shrugged. “I knew she probably would. I just freaked out. I couldn’t believe that I’d…That Hana had stopped coming to work…That this was all my fault.”

  “Not all your fault,” I said quickly.

  “Hugely my fault.” Margo sniffed. “If I had been honest and told you. Or if I’d been less pathetic, and just gotten over Max, or Donald…”

  “Donald?” I gaped.

  “Oh my God, you prude.” Margo rolled her eyes. “Yes, I like Donald. And he asked you out.”

  “But he didn’t really—”

  “Darlin’, you need to stop pretending people don’t feel things.” Margo stood up. “Camp is complicated, and we all feel stuff about it. Including you. That’s part of why we like camp.”

  I crossed my arms and stared at the goat poop. Maybe she was right.

  “But I do have an idea,” she continued. “About a way we could fix this.”

  “That seems impossible.” I sighed. “We’re too far into it.”

  “It’s only second session.” She smiled. “Summer’s only just started.”

  I TOLD HANA about the misunderstanding, and about Margo’s idea. Her whole face lit up for the first time in a week. After a quick conference with Raph, Margo released the news the next morning.

  Kangaroo Court that evening, after camper pickup. Counselor and CIT–only edition.

  Thus, camper pickup buzzed with tension. Yes, yes, here, take your child, right now, please. They had a good time, but we have a ton of shit to sort out.

  Raph, Margo, and I walked over to Luna together, conferring on the stage directions.

  Luna felt especially packed with all the adult-size people. Everyone was murmuring, and the crowd’s eyes widened when I walked in.

  No Bobby in sight. Connie sat at the front of the room with Ellie and Rachel.

  At first, I didn’t see Donald and Claudia, but Ben pointed out Claudia in one corner, and Donald in another, no longer united in their assholery. I nodded at Ben, walked to the back of the room, opened a window, and then sat down at the defense table. Ben sat down next to me, and Raph took his place front and center.

  “Welcome to another round of Kangaroo Court,” he announced. The room hushed. “Today, I present to you a personal case. We won’t be needing a jury, no offense.”

  Ben called out: “Also, we’re gonna have a dance party afterward.”

  A few tentative giggles from the crowd. “Yes, that too,” Raph agreed. “Dance party in the dining hall after we’re done here.” He banged the gavel before continuing. “No doubt you have all heard rumors,” Raph said, raising his voice slightly higher than the whispering, and they were quiet once more. “That our beloved Hana viciously betrayed Claudia.” Audible gasps. Were we really going to address that here? “Bee, please present the rest of this case.”

  You bet we were. I tried to see Claudia’s face in the back, but it was hidden in shadow.

  I stood. “I don’t know how many of you believed this absolute and total falsehood, but let me set the record straight: my sister did no such thing. She did not deserve your glares or gossip, and she left, humiliated, determined to spend the summer somewhere other than Camp Dogberry, for the first time in ten years!”

  My crowd delivered a reaction with an appropriate amount of terror and excitement. I turned to look at Ben, whose face clearly said to me: Oh, Bee, come on.

  Okay, okay.

  “All right, so, I want to clear the air here for Hana. This week—”

  “Wait, Bee!” Margo stood up.

  “Oh right, your turn.”

  Margo marched to the front of the room and stood where the witness usually stands.

  Raph smiled and gestured at her. “Ms. Margo, you have the floor.”

  “Thank you.” Margo nodded back. Her purple hair flew out in all directions. She glanced around the room until her eyes landed on me. I smiled at her, and she lifted her chin.

  “I need to apologize,” she said. “For what’s happened here. Donald and Claudia made this assumption because they saw two people on the volleyball court…together.”

  The room murmured.

  “I know you’ve all heard about that,” Margo said, raising her hands up. “But what you didn’t know was that was Bobby and me.”

  Gasps. But I couldn’t take my eyes off Claudia, who flinched so hard it looked like she’d been punched.

  “I didn’t realize what had happened until it felt too late to tell the truth,” she explained. Raph nodded encouragingly, Santa beard bobbing. “But Vanessa did, and she convinced me to do the right thing.”

  All eyes turned to Vanessa, whose cheeks flushed pink. She gave a small wave.

  “And here’s the thing: this was just an enormo
us waste of time!” Margo smiled, a little unconvincingly, but the room felt lighter when she did. “And really, the problem is: people need to stop making out at the volleyball court. It’s not camp appropriate.”

  Everyone laughed, even Donald.

  “I highly recommend any romantic endeavors happening in a less public spot.” Margo shrugged, finishing the last line of her statement. “And I’m sorry for any part I played in this.”

  The audience murmured in what sounded like disapproval. But at the exact right moment—

  “I forgive you!” Hana’s beaming face appeared in the open window.

  “She’s aliiiiiive!” Margo shouted.

  All the counselors burst out laughing and started shouting. Hana ran around the front, and walked through the door to an enormous cheer. Everyone crowded around her, hugging her, yelling their apologies. She hugged everyone and smiled. The laughter in the room sounded relieved, and my heart panged.

  Hana pushed forward to me and slid under my arm, and the audience began to clap, but then another person took the stage, one who was definitely not included in my carefully planned script. Bobby had jumped up toward the front of the room, over by Raph.

  “Hey, so, umm…” The happy action immediately paused. When did he get here? “Yeah.” He sighed. “I need to come clean. John was really into Claudia—” He gestured at Claudia, who looked like she might dissolve instantly into bug juice. “And he thought they were gonna, um, go out. So he got really upset when he heard about her and Hana, and we planned this thing, and then things got out of hand….I’m sorry, Margo.”

  The whole room went silent. I quickly looked at Ben, then Margo, who looked like she might stab Bobby with an improv’d knife. I wouldn’t have blamed her at all.

  “And to be fair”—he turned to Claudia and Donald—“we were the ones who helped spread all that Team Claudia stuff. I’m sorry about that, too.”

  “You’re fired,” I said firmly. I totally didn’t have the authority to do that, but in that moment, it didn’t matter to me at all. I was sure what he’d done crossed professional lines.

  Bobby shrugged. “Yeah, that makes sense.” And he hightailed it out of the room. Nobody had any idea what to make of all of this, so I went into teacher mode.

  “Another lesson needs to be learned here—we need to be careful with gossip at this camp.”

  I was met with dubious stares.

  “Look at where these rumors got us!” I gestured at Hana. “It’s one thing to buzz for fun, another to believe everything we hear and pass it along as if it’s truth.”

  The room was absolutely silent, but then Connie raised a fist in the air. “Yeah!”

  “Hear, hear!” called out Raph, banging his gavel. The crowd began to disperse, in a giant, rumbling cloud of excitement. “Dance party in Dam!” Raph shouted over everyone, and began leading the staff out the door, still wearing his puffy white beard. He turned and winked at me. Thank goodness for Raph.

  Hana turned to give me a full-on hug. I was so happy to have her back from the edge that I almost starting crying right there. Then I saw someone approach from the corner of my eye. It was Connie, with Donald and Claudia hovering behind. I nudged Hana and she released me.

  “I’m sorry,” Connie said. “I knew what John was doing, and I didn’t stop him.” Her eyes were watery, too. She looked genuinely ashamed.

  “That’s okay,” Hana said. “We all get confused sometimes.” My benevolent sister pulled her in for a hug.

  “But, um…” Connie glanced between us nervously. “Do you know where John is? I haven’t seen him.”

  “John’s left camp,” Donald cut in, his voice flat. “My dad’s gonna be so pleased.”

  Connie smiled tightly. “Thanks. Good to know.” She turned and caught up with Rachel and Ellie on her way out. Donald, after shooting Ben and me a rueful, apologetic glance, followed.

  But Claudia stayed, eyes locked on one person.

  CLAUDIA GLOWED FAINTLY, like the sorriest star in the sky. She walked toward me, past Bee and Margo, as if right out of a dream. I walked toward her, and we met in the middle of the room.

  “I’m sorry,” she whispered. “I can’t believe I thought—”

  “It’s okay. You were tricked,” I said. “This whole thing was unreal.”

  Tears were falling on the floor, pattering quickly, like rain.

  She took my face in her hands. “I’m so sorry. I’m so, so, sorry.”

  “I’m sorry, too.” I gently reached out for her waist. “I’m sorry that I texted Christopher back, and that I didn’t tell you.” When I said this, her gaze never faltered. “I wasn’t hooking up with him,” I explained, my voice low. “He just messaged me a couple times, and I messaged him back…and then realized I needed to shut it down. I promise, I’m done with him.”

  It’s you forever and forever.

  “I believe you,” she said, so seriously I almost laughed, but I didn’t. “I shouldn’t have assumed. I was just afraid, I just thought—I thought you didn’t love me like I love you.”

  I blinked, then smiled. “I think I love you exactly like that.”

  CLAUDIA RAN OFF as soon as the group got to Dam. She made Hana wait outside on the porch while she sprinted to her cabin and inside the dining hall. About fifteen awkward minutes later, Hana was allowed to enter.

  Strung in the entryway, across rows and rows of garlands, were a million little paper stars.

  “I got them out of the compost,” Claudia explained. “The less gross ones, anyway. I was going to apologize, but then you left, and now…Here.” She gestured, spastically, romantically, above her head. “I’m sorry.”

  Hana cried, and they kissed. It was pretty freakin’ cute.

  And then the dance party finally started. Raph had dimmed the lights, moved the table, and happily DJed from the kitchen counter.

  It felt like a fog had finally lifted from camp. Nessa talked and laughed with her friends. Rachel, Ellie, Connie, Jen, and Margo led the Macarena and Electric Slide. Maybe the drama had just exploded early in the summer, and we’d be done now!

  One could only fucking hope.

  Eventually, a slow song came on. Couples immediately formed, pulling each other out on the floor. Bee and I automatically didn’t look at each other. No matter how much I wanted to sweep her into the music, I wanted her to be comfortable. And she clearly wasn’t.

  I offered her a baby carrot instead. She smiled, like she knew the carrot was really a dance.

  Suddenly, a shout from our left startled me.

  “Ben, Bee!” Donald stepped forward. “Aren’t you two going to dance?”

  Suddenly, we’d attracted our entire group’s attention. Even Hana and Claudia wandered over.

  “Oh yeah,” Margo chimed in. “I think they really should.”

  “What?!” Bee shouted, looking like a deer in headlights again.

  Everyone burst out laughing. I leaned over and whispered, “Umm, maybe they know?”

  “They can’t know anything—we have nothing to tell them!” she hissed back.

  Maybe before that would’ve hurt, but I knew Bee now in a way I didn’t before. I squeezed her hand again. “Bee—”

  “Okay, listen up.” Donald laughed. “It’s time for us to reveal our plot.”

  “Yes!” Margo squealed. “It’s the best thing we’ve done all summer.”

  “By far.” Claudia rolled her eyes. Hana kissed her cheek.

  “What?” Bee demanded.

  “Cupid Donald’s plan,” Margo explained. “Hana and I—”

  “And Claudia and I—”

  “Set you two up!” Margo finished proudly. “We tricked you into liking each other!”

  I thought back to what had started this—the conversation in Dam, Claudia and Donald saying she liked me. It all dawned on me at once.

  They must’ve have seen that on my face, because everyone burst out laughing.

  Bee looked at me, in a mix of emotions I’d never qui
te seen on her before. She was half laughing, watching everyone shout, half crying, for, like, four thousand reasons, and one part of her looked at me in the way I wished for every second I was awake, and in every dream I had.

  Bee

  Did everyone seriously know? Was this entire camp shipping us the whole time?

  My knees shook forcefully, knocking and rubbing together under the table. I looked at Ben—he seemed okay, smiling, laughing at their reactions. Why couldn’t I be so relaxed?

  And yeah, I was happy we’d all united again, in the name of humiliating me. I felt anger bubble up inside me, and then the truth along with it—

  “You didn’t trick us,” I said, my voice cutting like the adult scissors in the art building. “We’re—we’re not—”

  “Before you say anything,” Ben said, “can I see your phone?”

  What? But I pulled it out of my pocket and handed it to him.

  “Ahh, yes, here it is. Here’s mine.” He handed it back to me. “Open up the texts from me.”

  I did and immediately burst out laughing.

  Hey, girl. I like you so much. I’m actually in love with you. I worship the ground you walk on. I think you’re funny and fiery and gorgeous and ambitious. Please go to college prom with me

  Ben showed me the text on his phone that I’d apparently written.

  Hey, I like you so much Ben. Really, I love you. You’re super hot, and hilarious, and you’re premed, which is devastatingly attractive, and I think it’s really sexy that you sleep in late

  “In writing, remember?” Ben said gently. My heart warbled, and then sang out long, clear notes.

  And then we both cracked up, but nobody knew what we were cracking up about. When I finally recovered, I replied to their amused stares.

  “Fine, fine,” I said. “You didn’t trick us, because Ben and I have liked each other for years.”

  That sent up a big cheer from all of our friends.

  Including Ben. He grinned. “Years and years.”

  “And I’ll have you know—”

  “Bee.” Hana put an arm on my shoulder. “Babe, just dance with Ben, okay?”