Camp Forget-Me-Not

by J. K. Rock

  I stepped back on the beach and bent to grab my towel. Before I could cover back up, Cameron wrapped me in his arms. Nick scowled before he turned and grabbed Brooke, throwing her into the water before diving after her.

  “Babe, you are freaking hot,” Cameron breathed in my ear. “Are you still mad at me for charging you for the skunk deodorizer last year? ‘Cause if you are, I’m so sorry that I’ll buy you a whole damn case.”

  His grin brightened his boyish face, and I had to laugh. Besides, weirdly, the skunk episode had turned out kind of fun in the end, cementing my friendship with one of the Munchies girls.

  “It’s fine. I totally forgot about that.” I pushed him away. “Friends?”

  He pulled me close again. “How about more?” His hands wandered down my back and cupped my hips.

  Yikes. I dodged his mouth and struggled to put some space between us.

  “Cam, stop. Come on. Let’s just have fun. Okay?”

  Strong hands suddenly tugged me backward. I stumbled, caught off-balance.

  “Back off, dude,” Nick growled.

  “What the hell?” Cam stepped forward, the top of his head just brushing Nick’s nose. “You think just because you’re some hotshot athlete now you can come back to camp and act like you’re better than us?”

  “He is better than you,” called Rachel. She sat on top of one of the Warriors’ shoulders. “But if you want to prove he’s not, then let’s play chicken and see who wins.”

  I released a pent-up breath. Leave it to Rachel to diffuse the situation with competition. Brittany ducked her boyfriend Eli underwater and climbed on his back. When he straightened, he blew out a stream of water while Brittany cheered and pointed at Rachel. “You are so going down. Mooooooooo.”

  “That’s a cow, Brit, not a chicken.” Rachel kicked a spray of water at her and Eli.

  Brittany splashed her back. “It’s still a zoo animal.”

  Rachel opened her mouth, then closed it when she caught my stunned expression. Finally, we both shrugged. There was no calling out Brittany. “You chickens coming?”

  “Yes. Come on, Nick!” Brooke jumped up and down so hard she had to catch her loosened bikini string before it fell from her neck. “Weeeeeeeee are the champions my frieeeeends,” she sang, her pitchy voice making my ears hurt.

  Cameron wiggled his eyebrows at me. “Guess that makes us a team.”

  I sighed. “Guess so.”

  He bent over, and I climbed on his back for a piggyback ride into the water.

  The lake felt cool as it rose around my legs and then my chest as we waded deeper and deeper. At last, Cameron helped me up on his shoulders, and we lined up against each other. Cameron and I, plus Rachel and Devon, versus Nick and Brooke, plus Eli and Brittany.

  “Go!” called Brooke before anyone was ready. She and Nick plunged through the water toward Cameron and me, and in seconds, her hands were in my hair, her fingernails digging into my skull. I pushed at her shoulders just as Nick and Cameron began shoving each other—hard. Nick’s intense expression was fierce and unfamiliar. He looked as though this competition was life or death, not just fooling around. Beside us, Rachel and Brittany locked arms while their guys pretty much let the girls go at it.

  With a splash, Brittany toppled into the water and came up sputtering. “That is so not fair. Rachel’s, like, practically a professional athlete.”

  “Sorry, loser! You guys are out.” Rachel pointed to the shore while I dodged an eye poke from Brooke.

  “Hold on, Kayla. We’re coming!” Rachel and her partner splashed our way as the Nick-versus-Cameron fight intensified. I felt Cameron’s knees buckle as we dipped in the water. Meanwhile, I did everything possible to stop Brooke from tearing my hair out.

  When Rachel wrenched Brooke’s death grip loose, Brooke’s fingernail scraped along my cheek, leaving a long, stinging gash. Nick fought hard against the two boys and somehow managed to stay upright. As for Brooke, she leaned backward at Rachel’s hard shove, making Nick stagger.

  Suddenly Nick stopped fighting and dodged the other guys. He stared at me, his body so still it looked like he’d forgotten how to breathe.

  “Are you bleeding?” he asked.

  My hand rose to my cheek and came away sticky-wet. I nodded as Rachel’s team went in for the kill, toppling a distracted Nick and Brooke with a last, final push.

  “Rachel, that was so not cool,” Brooke hollered when she resurfaced.

  “Not a loss. We were on a timeout,” called Nick, a competitive glint in his eye.

  “At least I didn’t nearly claw someone’s eyes out.” Rachel pointed at my cheek, then glared at Brooke. “What the hell was that?”

  Brooke held up her long fingernails. “Acrylics.” She slid her eyes Nick’s way and gave him a sideways smile. Had his need to win driven her to do anything to beat us—even hurt me?

  “Hello? You’re at camp.” Rachel helped me off of Cameron’s back and walked with me to the towels. “Cut the damn things off. Especially if you’re going to be playing in our volleyball tournaments with us.”

  “If you think I’m risking this nose job for some stupid volleyball match…”

  The stunned silence made Brooke swallow the rest of her sentence. Rachel crossed her arms and glared while Brittany booed. As for me, I kept dabbing at the liquid seeping out of my cut and tried avoiding Nick’s narrow-eyed stare. Why did he look so angry? Was he mad at me for bringing heat on his girl?

  Brooke threw her arms in the air. “Fine. Whatever. I’ll cut off the nails and play volleyball. I can always get more acrylics before the video shoot.”

  Brittany clapped her hands together. “Oh, I can’t wait for that! I already have some moves. Want to see?”

  No one said a word, especially the boys, as she wiggled on the sand, her body moving as smoothly as the water behind us.

  “Close your mouth, Cam,” I said, knowing without looking. In fact, I could have said the same thing to the rest of the boys except Nick. He seemed more interested in skipping stones across the water whenever I caught his eye.

  Brooke caught Brittany in a tight hug. “Those are perfect. I’m almost done with the song. Once we have that, we’ll be able to do a whole camp-themed video. So awesome.”

  Rachel ruffled her hair. “Can’t wait, Brooke. You’re still using some shots of me playing volleyball, right?”

  “Um, sure,” said Brooke, not sounding sure at all. But it was enough to make Rachel smile.

  “I can’t believe no one heard us down here.” Brittany looked at the forest that separated the cabins from the lake.

  “I did.” Gollum stepped from the shadows, earning his nickname as a major sneak.

  “Ahhhhhhh,” we shrieked and ran for our towels.

  “Stay where you are. I need to see whom I’m assigning bathroom and shower clean-up duty to this week.”

  “Nooooooo,” we groaned.

  “Can I call my agent?” Brooke whined. “Bathrooms are not in my contract.”

  Gollum’s flashlight blazed in her face. “Miss White?”

  Brooke preened. “The one and only. Are you absolutely sure we need to be punished? We were just practicing for my video. You know, the one that’s going to feature Camp Juniper Point…”

  Gollum’s outraged expression transformed into a star-struck one. I almost laughed. “I wasn’t informed that you’d be down here for the shoot, Miss White. We’ll just need to make sure we have a lifeguard on duty at all times. The other campers should have informed you. But I know how the entertainment world works, of course. I used to be a juggling waiter back in my college days.”

  A muffled snort sounded to my right, and I nudged

  Rachel in the ribs.

  “I’d love to have you juggle in the video, Mr. Woodrow,” cooed Brooke, sauntering closer to our director. There was something off about her tone, but I couldn’t pinpoint it. I figured she was just super-dramatic. “So don’t you think we can forget about all of this if we promis
e to get a lifeguard next time?”

  Gollum smiled. “I suppose, as long as no harm seems to have been done.” His eyes passed right over me and my bleeding cheek. Apparently my invisibility cloak was back in place. He tucked his whistle back in his shirt pocket. “Though I’ll need your promise that the next time you decide to practice for your video, you’ll notify me first. A counselor will accompany you or…” He made a nervous sound that reminded me of a twelve-year-old girl at her first dance. “I will. Deal?”

  “Deal.” Brooke smiled and patted his arm. “We really appreciate your understanding.”

  “Of course. Now, if you’re finished, it’s off to bed.”

  “Sounds good. Let’s go, guys.” Brooke waved us on, giving each of us a wink as we passed her. Could she be more obvious? But then again, it seemed to work. I’d always been afraid to be noticed, whereas Brooke lived for it. And look where it got her.

  I slunk in the shadows while up ahead the moon shown on Brooke, her arm slung around Nick’s lean waist.

  Chapter Three

  FOUR YEARS AGO

  I waited for Nick on the path to Crystal Falls, a place we hiked to sometimes when we could get away on a free period. It wasn’t far from the tennis courts and the lacrosse field, so if one of the counselors took a big group up there during free time, you could slip off for twenty minutes or so.

  When I heard his feet on the path, I couldn’t help a little buzz of excitement. Nick always made me feel happy inside. Plus I had something fun to show him.

  “You got my note?” I called, waving to him as he leaped over a fallen tree.

  His jump startled two birds and sent dead leaves flying.

  “Sure did.” He pulled a crumpled sheet of my notepaper out of his shorts’ pocket. “You put it in a perfect spot.”

  He looked happier today than he had earlier in the week. His folks had blown off Parents’ Weekend to go watch his athlete-brother play a baseball game. I’d made him a present to cheer him up because I knew it had bothered him.

  “Well, yeah. Only because it’s the same place you use on my cabin.” I matched my step to his as we walked toward the falls, the sound of water rushing getting louder as we neared the river. He was faster than me, but my strides were longer.

  I’d found a note from him the first morning after we met, but only because he’d told me where to look during breakfast. When I went back to check the spot between the spindles at the base of the railing, I found the folded paper. It had said:

  It’s going to be a good summer.—Nick

  The handwriting had tilted sharply to the right and those few words had made me forget all about the way some girl had thrown popcorn pieces at me during Movie Under the Stars the night before, chanting “feeding time at the zoo.” Nick and I had been writing notes every day since.

  When we got to the falls, he jumped up to a log that spanned the water in a quick, athletic move. His balance was amazing.

  “Here.” He held out his hand to help me up.

  I’d started looking forward to stuff like that. Him touching me. His fingers closed around mine while I found my footing on moss-covered rocks.

  “Ready for your surprise?” I sat beside him, smiling while the rush of water kicked up a small spray on my bare ankles.

  “You’ve got something for me?” He sounded surprised. As if that alone—knowing I wanted to give him something—was special for him. “That’s what the note said but—”

  He stopped when I took out two friendship bracelets from my front pocket.

  “For us!” I announced triumphantly.

  I always complained about lanyard making, but I was good at it and these were nicer than most.

  “Really?” Nick’s eyes darted from the bracelets to me and back again.

  “Yes.” I slipped mine onto my wrist easily since I already had it pre-tied. Then I went to work knotting the strings on his.

  He held his hand up while I concentrated, his skin super warm beneath my fingers even though it was shady and cool by the falls.

  “It’s awesome, Kayla.”

  He admired his new friendship bracelet, a black-and-gold cuff that was the same colors as the hoodie he wore to the bonfires at night.

  “Mine is the same pattern.” I held up a cuff that was a trickier pattern than most kids tackled—just like Nick’s except mine was yellow and white. “I didn’t want to be too matchy, but they go together, right?”

  “They’re awesome. But just curious…why didn’t you want them to match?”

  “I didn’t want the kids in your cabin to…you know…” I shrugged and picked at some mushy bark on the damp log where we sat above the falls. “They could give you a hard time about being my friend.”

  “They’re cool. They wouldn’t say anything bad about you, Kayla.” Nick picked up a rock and skimmed it along a patch of slower-moving water to one side of the falls. “Everyone knows we’re friends.”

  Best friends, I amended silently.

  Ever since Nick had helped me up the path on Tennent Mountain, we’d hung out a lot. We had tons in common.

  “Do you think it’ll be the same next year?” I was already worried. In my experience, things changed. One year, you were cute and everyone said you were a sweet little girl. The next year, you needed plus-sized shorts and you had cooties.

  I knew that was baby stuff, but I also knew that a whole year would make a difference for me and Nick.

  “Don’t be crazy.” He linked his arm through mine, and I felt all sing-songy inside. “Who else would I talk to about my brother, the jerk?”

  His older brother was the star of his family and some big-deal baseball player. Nick had started coming to Camp Juniper Point because his parents followed his brother’s Minor League team around to every dopey game he played. Nick said Single-A wasn’t like the Major Leagues, but it was close and his brother would get there one day. All I knew was that his parents didn’t pay much attention to Nick.

  “You’ll tell me.” I knew I’d be there for Nick. Would he be there for me? “Obviously, I’ll still be your friend. But…”

  I didn’t know how to say it. I hated seeming like the girl who was scared all the time. And with Nick, I usually wasn’t. But I was scared of this. My chest ached with the worry.

  “Kayla, I’ll be here for you.” He threaded his fingers through mine. Almost like a boy-girl thing. Except we were just kids and I knew we were only friends. “I’m always going to be here for you.”

  I let out a breath I’d been holding, and my heart started again. I threw my arms around him, and it didn’t matter about the boy-girl thing or that Nick was two inches shorter than me. It should have been weird, but it wasn’t at all.

  Nick was my BFF.

  “Thank you,” I whispered against his dark curls, knowing that bright yellow-and-white bracelet wasn’t coming off my wrist until the threads wore down to nothing and it fell off.

  TODAY

  Three days after my chicken fight with Brooke, I jogged up my porch steps and eased open the screen door, carrying a peace offering to Nick’s girlfriend.

  Since I was stuck at camp for the rest of the summer, forced to witness the Nick-Brooke lovefest, I was trying to get over it.

  Him.

  “Cameron came through!” I announced, trying to sound excited as I skidded to a stop in the middle of Divas’ Den. “He got them!”

  I held up a small bag of what looked like spiders but were really false eyelashes from my ex’s secret, contraband camp store.

  Brooke clutched a pillow to her chest, a dreamy smile frozen on her mouth.

  I waved the package as I approached her. “Hello? Earth to Brooke. Your false eyelashes.”

  Rachel closed a sports magazine and sat up. “Forget it, Kayla. She’s been like that since she and Nick came back from their hike.”

  I stumbled mid-stride. “They hiked during free time?”

  Brittany’s blue eyes twinkled over the top of her bunk. “I think ‘hike’
is now code for ‘hook up.’”

  “When was it ever not code for that?” Hannah muttered from her bottom bunk nearest the bathroom.

  I dropped down beside Rachel and tried not to care.

  And failed.

  “Oh.” I cleared my throat. “Do you know where they went?” Please don’t say Crystal Falls, I begged silently, my chest tight.

  Rachel picked up her magazine again. “Who cares? They probably only made it a hundred yards up the trail.”

  My eyes closed, blotting out that image. Hopefully they hadn’t gone up to Crystal Falls. It used to be our special place—mine and Nick’s. We’d almost kissed there before he told me about his Olympic tryout invitation, and his decision to turn it down so he could stay at camp with me.

  Someone struggled to open the door, but it slipped from her hand and thumped against the frame.

  “Coming, Nia!” Brooke snapped out of her trance and sprang to her feet. She hurried to her overworked personal assistant who balanced a large laundry basket with her uninjured arm, piled high with clothes, an oversized bag of candy, and a handful of lip gloss wands in varying shades of red. I spotted a wine shade and knew it’d be perfect for Nia if she ever let me make her up again.

  Nia hadn’t gotten a day off to have fun since she’d arrived with Brooke four weeks into camp. Her suitcase remained unpacked, her one drawer under her bunk taken over by Brooke.

  “What is this?” Brooke’s nose wrinkled as she sniffed at the sweets.

  Nia glanced over her shoulder, then stuffed Brooke’s clean clothes in her drawers, her hands a blur as she balled up socks. “Uh…the sour apple gummies you ordered.”

  “Gummies? I asked for taffy.” Brooke whirled toward me. “Do those sound remotely close to you?”

  I sent Nia a sympathetic look and shrugged. Brooke shook her head at both of us and muttered, “Useless.”

  “Guess those fans aren’t what they used to be, like oh, say, when you were famous fifteen minutes ago.” Hannah flipped on her stomach, her brown eyes wide and innocent, her hair a red waterfall.