The rest of the night was a blur of people introducing themselves to me, and my mother and Carlos telling their friends about their plans for me once I’d finished school. I was still overwhelmed and wanted to keep things pleasant, so I didn’t protest at their talk of me being based in Ibiza or London. To be honest, it was nice to feel that they had a space for me in their future plans, even if the future they were hypothesising wasn’t the one I wanted.
By the time I got home, it was very late. As I headed up the stairs, I could see that the NAD’s door was shut and his light off. He’d obviously decided to get a good night’s sleep in preparation for camp tomorrow.
I felt guilt wash over me again as I stood outside his door. I had to do the right thing and tell him about Mum’s impending nuptials. I couldn’t do it tomorrow though. To drop a bombshell this big just before the NAD was obligated to be a responsible adult presence for three days was not only insensitive, it was also dangerous. We were going to be carrying out activities on high ropes — what if the NAD was so devastated by the news that he forgot to clip onto the safety line or fasten his helmet? I’d seen enough movies to know that a situation like that could end in tragedy.
I wasn’t risking it. I’d tell him on Saturday, when he could go through whatever emotional trauma ensued in the privacy of his own home.
CHAPTER 17
The NAD and I arrived at the school car park right on schedule at 7.30 am. Jelena’s camp had certainly drawn a lot of enthusiastic attendees. Throngs of students stood round with their backpacks and sleeping bags, chattering excitedly. Mr Quinten, decked out in full camouflage attire, was loading bags into the back of the bus.
The NAD went to help him and I made my way over to where the girls were standing. Jelena handed me a takeaway cappuccino.
‘I need you guys pumped full of energy,’ she said, beaming.
‘Thanks,’ I said. ‘Pleased with the turnout?’
Jelena shrugged. ‘Oh, the turnout’s as expected. No, this stunning smile is due to my finding out that Matt Stevens has dropped out of the race for school captain. Apparently he’s been selected for the training program for the state rugby team, and he told Mr Quinten that he needs to focus a hundred per cent on that. So, I only need to beat Alex and Julie now. I’ve got a way more interesting platform than Julie, and this camp will totally knock Alex’s gym plan into insignificance.’
Talk about a turnaround. Matt had held a major proportion of the athletic community’s votes. Picking up some of those would surely give Jelena a good chance of winning.
‘Can you guys hold the top of my pack together while I do up the straps?’ Sara asked, huffing as she tried to wrestle the almost body-sized bright blue backpack.
‘What on earth have you got in there?’ Cass asked.
‘The usuals — waterproof mat, Thermos, water bottle, air sofa, solar light set, battery-powered fan, trekking boots, collapsible shovel —’
‘A shovel?’ Lindsay gaped at her.
‘In case we need to build a pit for shelter,’ Sara said unblinkingly.
Lindsay looked unnerved. ‘Aurora, I didn’t bring a shovel. And I’ve only got my sneakers. I didn’t know we needed proper trekking boots.’
‘Linds, it’s fine.’ I felt like giggling but kept a straight face. ‘I’ve only got sneakers too. And the NAD camped all through New Zealand when he was young and he didn’t have an air sofa.’
‘Plus a microfibre towel, a heart-rate monitor and a packet of anti-mosquito bracelets,’ Sara went on.
‘Where did you get all of this?’ I stared at the assortment of items that she’d pulled out to reconfigure the space in her pack.
‘I joined the Adventurer Club at the outdoor equipment store, so I got big savings,’ she said. ‘All you had to do was spend five hundred dollars. I put it on Dad’s credit card — I figured it’s part of this year’s school supplies. Plus I got a bonus head torch.’
‘A head torch?’ Jelena spluttered. ‘We aren’t going caving. The camp leader told us to pack light. You’ll be whining all the way up the mountain.’
‘Hey, who’s the one who brought a self-inflating queen-sized mattress?’ Sara pointed at the huge box that Jelena’s campaign team were heaving into the bus’s baggage compartment. Mr Quinten was frowning as he looked at it.
‘Guys, let’s not start the trip sniping at each other,’ I said. ‘Professional equipment or not, it’s going to be the five of us chatting and laughing for three whole days. Nothing can spoil that.’
‘OMG.’ Lindsay’s face became a thundercloud as she checked a newly arrived text. ‘Tyler just texted me that he’s not coming on the camp.’
‘What?’ we all cried in unison.
‘He’s lent his sleeping bag to Paul from the soccer team. The coward!’ Lindsay’s voice was bordering on a shout. She never shouted.
She turned her back on us and marched over to the school gate. I saw her lips moving furiously so she’d obviously called Tyler. She returned a couple of minutes later, her face still stormy.
‘He’s changed his mind again about putting up with the soccer team’s jokes,’ she said, and rolled her eyes. ‘Just about all of them are going on this stupid camp.’
Uh-oh. My co-Cupid wasn’t backing out last moment, was she?
‘Lindsay, I hope you’re not going to give up on the camp too,’ I said.
‘Your payment’s non-refundable,’ Jelena butted in.
‘Of course I’m coming!’ Lindsay snapped. ‘If Tyler wants to miss out on bonding time because of some stupid teasing from a few guys, then that’s his problem. He’s all “oh, I’ve got a whole romantic date planned for Sunday”, but he knows this trip was our opportunity to break out of the routine. Idiot.’
She marched off in the direction of the bus. As she reached the door, I saw who was standing there, checking off students.
‘OMG.’ I grabbed Jelena’s arm. ‘What is Ms DeForest doing here?’
Ms DeForest taught interpretive dance and had kept up a steady flow of criticism of me, which included giving me detentions, pointing out my supposedly black aura and hypnotising my cat, which had resulted in him escaping into the wild and becoming a prime target for cat poachers. Worst of all, she was also the NAD’s ex! We were talking breakdown instead of breakthrough! Even if the NAD kept his professionalism like I hoped he would, Ms DeForest was going to serve as a three-day-long reminder of his failed attempts at relationships. This trip wasn’t going to help the NAD take charge of his life; it was going to spin him back down into a spiral of loss and grief.
Jelena winced at my death grip on her arm. ‘The stupid woman signed up yesterday. Mr Quinten only told me this morning. I have no idea what possessed him to allow her to be a supervisor — we don’t need lectures on chakras and the healing benefits of interpretive dance while out in the bush. We need practical people who can make hot chocolate and lug food-supply boxes. Plus, who wears crushed velvet on a school camp?’
‘Oh no. He’s spotted her.’
I watched as the NAD made his way over to Ms DeForest. I couldn’t see his expression, but she had a pleasant smile on her face. The NAD gave her a hug.
‘Your dad’s really understanding,’ Cassie said. ‘I don’t think I could hug my ex.’
The poor man was obviously bewildered by the situation he’d found himself in. I supposed he was doing all he could to apply the principles of forgiveness he’d learnt through the support group.
Sara whistled. ‘That’s one long hug.’
I was a second from running over there and breaking it up. Any moment now, the NAD might start weeping on her shoulder. How on earth was I going to focus on my matchmakees and their dates when I had to maintain constant vigilance over the NAD’s emotional wellbeing?
‘Okay, you and I had better get on the bus first,’ Jelena said to me. ‘Remember, we want to get Chloe and Jeffrey to each sit next to a match.’ She turned to Sara. ‘Don’t worry, we’re not going to attempt the assigned seati
ng thing with you. That’s a battle I’m not willing to fight this early in the trip.’
Jelena headed for the bus and I followed her. The NAD and Ms DeForest were still standing by the door, talking.
‘That’s so interesting that you’ve been doing forgiveness forums,’ the NAD said, his face lit up with enthusiasm. ‘Essentially that’s what my group’s been focusing on too. I’ve reworked my entire approach to both physical and emotional nourishment.’
The NAD saw me. ‘Oh, honey, hey, isn’t this great? Dana’s lending a hand at the camp too.’
‘Ms Skye.’ Ms DeForest actually gave me a smile.
‘Hi,’ I said, feeling slightly unnerved. I gave Jelena a look and we boarded the bus quickly.
‘I can’t believe she smiled at me,’ I said once we were inside.
‘It was kind of like a crocodile,’ Jelena replied.
I wanted to laugh, but then got a horror-movie image of the NAD being swallowed whole by Ms DeForest’s jaws, her beady eyes glinting in triumph. I shivered.
Jelena elbowed me in the ribs as Ruby got on the bus. ‘Here comes one.’
‘Welcome, Ruby.’ I gave her a friendly wave.
‘Hey, Aurora.’ Ruby’s voice was full of enthusiasm as always. Her dark hair was in a ponytail that seemed like it was bouncing with its own energy.
‘Ruby, we’ve got you next to Jeffrey Clark today,’ Jelena said, pretending to read off her checklist.
‘Oh, I didn’t realise it was assigned seating,’ Ruby said. ‘I was going to sit with Samantha over there.’
‘Jelena thought it’d be nice for us all to do some bonding with people we don’t share classes with,’ I explained, leading her halfway down the bus to where Jeffrey was sitting in an aisle seat.
He had his headphones in and seemed to be asleep. I gave him a poke in the shoulder. He started with a fright, saw Ruby standing expectantly next to him and leapt to his feet so she could get past. Unfortunately, in his haste to be polite, he stomped on her left foot.
‘Ow!’ Ruby’s smile faded slightly.
‘The lady is hurt!’ Jeffrey threw himself down on the floor and grasped her purple and orange sneaker in his hands.
Ruby looked seriously scared for a moment.
‘I offer my lips to your fair sneaker as a humble apology,’ Jeffrey said, closing his eyes and puckering his lips.
Ruby let out a big laugh. ‘I wouldn’t put your lips there. I had a bunch of puppies nipping at my shoes this morning.’
‘Oh.’ Jeffrey jumped up again. ‘They probably liked their awesome colours.’
‘Well, dogs can’t actually see colour, so I figure maybe it was the suede material they liked.’
Ruby smiled at Jeffrey as he bowed elaborately and motioned for her to take the window seat. Fortunately she didn’t hesitate. I breathed a hopefully-not-too-obvious sigh of relief.
‘No way!’ Jeffrey exclaimed, taking his seat next to her. His eyes never left her face, even when he put his seatbelt on. ‘You’re telling me that David Copperfield can’t tell just how much rainbow style I’m rocking on a daily basis?’
‘David Copperfield’s his puppy,’ I explained to Ruby. I’d met him during our wardrobe consultation. ‘A Great Dane.’
Ruby’s eyes lit up.
‘He’s called that because he makes stuff disappear all the time,’ Jeffrey said. ‘His food, of course, but also socks, cotton balls and once an entire plate of chocolate brownies.’
‘Does David Copperfield go to puppy school?’ Ruby asked. She’d twisted her body round so her whole attention was on Jeffrey. ‘It’s really vital that dogs learn about boundaries early on …’
I could tell they were off and running, so I headed back to Jelena, who was surreptitiously nodding towards Benjamin, who’d just boarded. He was wearing perfectly pressed pants, a blue and white checked button-up shirt and a cable sweater tied perfectly round his shoulders.
‘Benjamin, I’m going to put you next to Chloe for the trip,’ I said in a low voice, gesturing for him to follow me down the aisle. ‘I thought I’d let you establish a rapport with her before the other guys get a chance.’
Sure, at this stage we only had one other guy lined up as a potential suitor for Chloe, but Benjamin didn’t have to know that. Plus, Chloe was gorgeous. She should be treated like a woman worth a bit of competition.
‘Oh.’ Benjamin looked oddly affronted. ‘I was actually going to work on my monologue for the skits tonight.’
‘You don’t want the first chance with Chloe?’ I stared at him disbelievingly. He couldn’t be that self-involved, surely.
Benjamin shrugged. ‘I was hoping my art would speak for itself. You know, my female fans usually spot me in a production and that’s where the interest starts. I brought a costume for tonight too, to give me an extra edge.’
Well, at least he was putting in the effort — even if his style was off base.
‘I think you should treat Chloe a little differently from your typical female fan,’ I said. ‘She’s very intelligent — not to say your fans aren’t — so she’d probably love a chance to chat about theatre and opera and all things stage-related during the two-hour trip.’
Thankfully, before Benjamin could respond, I saw Chloe coming up the aisle behind us.
‘Chloe,’ I called, and watched Benjamin give her a full head-to-toe surveillance. Chloe’s dark hair floated in loose waves round her shoulders, and the cornflower-blue top she wore enhanced her violet eyes, while her dark denim shorts showed off her tanned legs. I could tell Benjamin’s aesthetically demanding eye found her pleasing.
‘Good timing,’ I said to Chloe. ‘I was just showing Benjamin to his seat, but, gentleman that he is, he didn’t want to take it until you’d found yours. You’re here, next to the window.’
Chloe gave me a look that said she knew the whole assigned seating thing was a farce, but she was willing to play along. What I couldn’t tell from her expression was how she felt about Benjamin being one of her matches.
Chloe held out her hand in greeting. ‘Benjamin, this is the first time I’ve seen you properly since I played the mermaid in Peter Pan.’
‘Ah, the siren.’ Benjamin lifted her hand and kissed it. Chloe lowered her eyes and I thought she looked slightly nervous. ‘One of Mr Peterman’s better casting choices, I must say. Why no more drama club since Year Nine?’
‘I guess I went all out on one performance,’ Chloe said wryly, obviously referring to the Dido moment. Maybe she wanted to get the awkwardness out of the way early on. ‘I figured I’d fulfilled my quota of drama for high school. That hasn’t stopped me from going to a lot of theatre in the city though. My uncle’s a theatre reviewer, so I take full advantage.’
‘Ah, a critic. Is he the scathing type?’ Benjamin stood aside to let Chloe into her seat.
I gave them a wave as I headed back to Jelena, but neither of them noticed. I had a feeling the next two hours could go very well, as long as Benjamin kept his ego in check. Chloe was pretty switched on — I couldn’t see her indulging Benjamin’s Narcissus moments.
‘All good?’ Jelena asked as I returned.
‘Perfect. I think it’s going to be a good trip for both couples.’
‘Brilliant. You take your seat with the girls and I’ll finish letting everyone on,’ Jelena said.
I walked back down the aisle to our spot, a couple of seats back from Jeffrey and Ruby and Chloe and Benjamin. Not so close they’d feel self-conscious, but near enough that I could intervene if I saw any negative body language.
Lindsay was in a window seat, staring pensively out at the car park. Cassie was next to her, thumbing happily through a design magazine. Sara was sitting across the aisle, with a romance novel in one hand, a pen in the other and a notepad on her lap. I sat down next to her, leaving the seats in front for Jelena. She’d claimed two spots so she’d have space to stretch out.
I saw the NAD and Ms DeForest take a seat together up the front, near Mr Quinten.
>
‘Why are they sitting together?’
Sara shrugged. ‘You know, Aurora, I hate to say this, but maybe he was hoping she’d be on this trip. Have you thought about that? It’s the adult equivalent of strolling by your ex’s house in the hope he’ll be outside. Maybe he’s still hung up on her. Sometimes the flame refuses to die, you know.’
So the NAD was a moth and Ms DeForest a lamp? As I watched the NAD laugh at something she said, I felt like yelling, ‘She dumped you over a tarot card! Back away from the flame!’ Instead, I rested my forehead on the seat back in front of me.
‘Let’s not assume the worst, Sara, please.’
‘That doesn’t sound good, Princess.’
I pulled my head up and looked into Hayden’s eyes. He was crouched down in the aisle beside my seat.
‘Dad and Ms DeForest,’ I whispered, subtly nodding in their direction.
Hayden looked. The NAD’s and Ms DeForest’s shoulders were touching they were sitting so close. ‘Seems like it’s far from over,’ he said. Then, taking in my pained expression, he put his hand over mine.
Sara stood up. ‘Why don’t you sit here, Hayden? I was planning to sit with Jelena so I can get her opinion on some of my character motivations.’
Jelena groaned, but started moving her stuff over. She obviously wanted to aid my and Hayden’s relationship.
‘No, no, that’s fine.’ Hayden stood up, taking his hand from mine.
Jelena, Sara, Cassie and even a sullen-looking Lindsay all exchanged glances. I could see ‘he’s rebuffing her?’ jumping out in fluoro letters in their minds.
‘Mr Quinten asked me to sit at the front of the bus,’ Hayden explained. ‘You know how crazy these trips can get. He’s told me I’m responsible for maintaining a certain code of conduct amongst the students.’ He gave us a wave. ‘I’ll see you at the campsite, Aurora.’
Cassie reached over and gave my hand a squeeze. ‘Don’t worry, you’ll see tons of him over the next few days.’
How to Convince a Boy to Kiss You Page 22