Girl on the Run

by B. R. Myers

  “Why are you pissed at me?” Liam said. “It’s not my fault she doesn’t like you.”

  Duff lunged at his brother again, almost getting out of Kirk’s firm grip.

  Spencer and Scotty clambered up the steps with two of the cupettes following behind. Duff dropped his head and tugged free of Kirk’s hold.

  “Let’s take this inside,” I said.

  Half an hour later, Kirk and I stood on the porch. The boys were quiet in their bunks. Earlier, Lacey had taken her charges back to their cabin.

  I gripped the porch railing. “It’s my fault,” I said.

  “It was an honest mistake.”

  “How could I be so stupid?” I cringed. “You saw the look on his face. He’s so hurt.”

  “He’s twelve,” Kirk reasoned.

  I crossed my arms in from of my chest. “What she did was stupid and cruel,” I said.

  Kirk looked surprised. “You sound like you care.”

  Lacey danced up the steps. Her pink sweater was wrapped around her shoulders. “We’ll have to meet with Susan,” she said.

  “Is that really necessary?” I asked.

  “She thought he was Liam!” Lacey said. “It was a mean joke to play.”

  “It wasn’t a joke,” I said. “It was a misunderstanding. And speaking of mean, your little snotty-faced crybaby owes Duff an apology.”

  Lacey’s mouth dropped open. “An apology?” she said.

  “It means saying you’re sorry,” I said.

  “I know what it means,” she glared. “Diana is so upset she can’t concentrate on the decorating contest.”

  “Who gives a shit?” I said.

  Kirk moved between us. “It’s too late for this,” he said. “I’ll let Susan know in the morning.”

  Lacey stood on the porch, not moving. “It’s dark,” she said. “Kirk, please walk me back to my cabin.”

  He glanced my way.

  “Good night,” I said. I clenched my teeth and disappeared into the cabin. The last thing I needed tonight was to watch those two walk away hand in hand.

  TWENTY-FIVE

  Susan drummed her fingers on the desk, looking at the lineup in front of her. Lacey and Diana were in matching pink headbands, me in matching nothing, and Kirk in a wrinkled Kamp Krystal Lake T-shirt.

  He had walked in late. I did my best to ignore him and his sexy smell. I was anxious to get this meeting over with and get Kirk and Lacey out of my field of vision.

  “Where’s the boy?” Susan asked.

  I spoke up first. “He thought Diana would be too upset to see him, and I think he’s ashamed.”

  “See?” Lacey put a hand on Diana’s shoulder. “Shame equals guilt.”

  “He’s ashamed Diana dumped him because he’s hearing impaired,” I said.

  Lacey threw me a look. “He kissed her without permission.”

  “Permission?” I said. “From what I heard, she didn’t mind until she figured out it wasn’t Liam.”

  “Can someone tell me what happened exactly?” Susan asked. She read my bracelet. “Perhaps you can start, Jazzy.”

  It took all my willpower not to roll my eyes. “Diana gave me a note,” I began. “But I delivered it to the wrong twin by accident. I didn’t realize my mistake until after the fight.”

  Lacey snorted. “How could you give it to the wrong twin? Only one speaks.”

  I had been prepared to take the blame this morning and give a quick apology. But when Lacey said those words, a reaction began inside me. I believe it’s what a mother bear feels when drunk campers try to feed marshmallows to her cubs.

  My eyes narrowed on her perfect face. “What did you say?” I asked.

  “All you had to do was pay attention,” she said. “This whole mess could have been avoided.”

  “This whole mess happens to involve the feelings of someone I take care of.”

  Lacey put a hand on her younger charge’s shoulder. “What about Diana?” she asked.

  “Diana is the brute here,” I fired back.

  “She was tricked!”

  I made an exasperated noise at the back of my throat. “It was a mistake.”

  “How does that change things?” Lacey asked.

  “Are you stupid?” I blurted out. “There’s a big difference in planning something malicious and a simple case of mistaken identity. I believe I’m the person in this room with the most experience in that category.”

  “Thank you, counsellors,” Susan said, putting her hands up to stop our cat fight. “Diane, can you tell me what happened?”

  Diane? Holy crap! Can’t this woman get anyone’s name right?

  “Excuse me, Susan,” I said. “Some things about summer camp should stay private. I think the last thing Diana wants to do is tell us about their meeting.”

  “You might as well read her diary in front of the whole camp,” Lacey smirked.

  I wanted to punch her smug little face, but Diana clearing her throat put my attention back to the issue at hand. I had expected this cupette to cry and fold herself into Lacey’s embrace, but I was wrong.

  “We had been exchanging notes for a few days,” she began.

  “Didn’t you sign your names?” I asked, thinking these kids must be really stupid.

  “They were signed…differently,” she explained softly.

  Oh, pet names.

  “Whenever we saw each other,” she continued, “there was always a group, and I thought he was shy.”

  “Didn’t you notice he was using sign language?” I asked.

  “Both brothers sign,” she said. “And I couldn’t stare for too long, I was worried the others would notice.”

  All right, so far I don’t exactly hate her. I replayed the last week in my mind—Duff taking extra care with his appearance, always carrying a notepad and pencil. Poor Duff.

  Diana continued, “I finally got enough courage to ask him to meet me the night of the dance…privately.”

  No wonder everyone in the main hall was so rapt when Spencer read my diary. Despite my own recent experience, I couldn’t help but lean forward as she spoke.

  “We met and…um,” she paused, turning the colour of her headband.

  Susan’s voice was soft and considerate. “Diane,” she said. “All I need to know is if he made you do anything you didn’t want to do.”

  “No,” she said. “It was my idea from the beginning. It wasn’t until after we kissed and he began to sign that I knew.” She paused, then swallowed loudly a few times. “He tried to write something for me to read, but I was so upset I ran to my cabin. He caught up with me and kept doing the same sign over and over. Then I pushed him back and slammed the door. I stayed by myself and came out later when I heard the fight.” She looked like she’d aged a few years this morning. She blinked at Susan. “Can I go now?”

  Susan motioned toward the door. “Of course,” she told her.

  Diana left, and the room was quiet as a tomb. Susan stood up and folded her hands behind her back.

  “Quite an exciting summer this year,” she mused. “Do all three of you agree this incident has played itself out?”

  We all nodded.

  “Good.” She turned to me. “Now, the real reason for this meeting.”

  “Me?” I asked.

  “It’s about your capacity to continue as a counsellor.”

  “What?” I looked at Kirk, who was locking eyes with Lacey.

  “Jazzy,” Susan said, “there are certain allegations I need to follow up on.”

  I was hearing her words. She was speaking English, but it made no sense. “Allegations?” I asked.

  “Inappropriate dress in front of your cabin members,” Susan said.

  “I had to throw an eel out of my bed!”

  “Inappropriate touching, sweari
ng, having other counsellors take your kids on a regular basis…” she listed. “Is any of this true?”

  Uh-oh. Jazzy’s in trouble.

  I squirmed on the spot. “Sort of,” I said. “I did swear in front of them, but that was right after the fake drowning episode, and Lacey has taken the boys a few times, but it was always her suggestion.”

  “I thought she could use the break,” Lacey smiled. “She always seems overwhelmed.”

  “The touching?” Susan cringed.

  “No, of course not!”

  “Liam bragged he got to second base with you,” Lacey said.

  “What?” I was in a nightmare. “After the fake drowning he kissed me while I was doing mouth to mouth. Then he hugged me when I had my bathing suit on,” I said, motioning to my chest. “His head reaches right about here…” My voice trailed off as I realized how pathetic I sounded.

  “Don’t play innocent,” Lacey said. “I’ve seen the signing you do with each of the twins.”

  “Are you insane?” I screeched. “That’s the grossest thing I’ve ever heard.”

  “You know sign language?” Kirk asked her.

  “Of course,” she said. “Beauty pageant judges always give you extra points for it.”

  I blinked a few times, trying to rid myself of the vision of me strangling her. I turned my attention back to Susan.

  “The boys taught me a few signs,” I said. “But it’s stuff like ‘good morning’ and the alphabet.”

  “Let’s see the sign for good morning,” Susan asked.

  I hooked my pointing finger and tapped my cheekbone then touched my chin. “They taught me this the first day.”

  “That doesn’t mean good morning,” Lacey smirked.

  My stomach dropped a little. “What does it mean?”

  “You were asking for sex.”

  “Oh god.” I put my face in my hands.

  Susan pinched the bridge of her nose and closed her eyes. “All right,” she said, after taking a deep breath and facing us. “I can see this is all a misunderstanding. But Jazzy, please be extra careful. I don’t think I have to remind you that Spencer’s father owns the camp.”

  “No,” I said.

  “Good,” she said, and with that one word, all three of us were excused. But I was furious. There was only one person who would have gone to Susan with all that crap, and she was humming beside me with her ponytail swinging back and forth. I let her go ahead, fighting the urge to push her down the stairs.

  Kirk reached for my arm and I shook it off. “Thanks for nothing,” I said. “Did you have any idea that was going to happen?”

  “No, of course not.”

  I ignored his shocked expression and stared him down. “Guess which phrase I’d like to sign to you right now?”

  “Good morning?”

  “Nope.”

  “You were doing fine on your own,” he said.

  “Whatever,” I huffed. “But once, it would be nice to have you…”

  “Have me what?”

  “Say, nice job, or whatever.”

  He ran a hand through his hair and made his milk chocolate eyes even bigger. “Nice job or whatever,” he grinned.

  “Oh, forget it!” I walked away, hating how my insides went to mush whenever he got close.

  “Am I going to see you at the bonfire tonight?” he called out.

  “Screw the bonfire.” Without a backward glance, I jogged down the stairs. A new target was in my sights.

  I caught up with the blond ponytail. “You’re a real piece of work, Lacey,” I said, coming up beside her.

  “You had to explain yourself,” she said. “Those allegations couldn’t be ignored.”

  I marched along, surprised steam wasn’t puffing out my ears. God, I hated her! “I can take anything you dish out,” I said. “But this is about my guys. You know sign language and didn’t even bother to teach any of your girls? Even though they hang out with Duff! And I don’t think I even saw you talk with him.”

  “Boys,” she said, making her lemon face, as if that explained her rudeness.

  I let her walk away, disgusted with her attitude. Her perfect ponytail swished back and forth as she strutted across the lawn. I wondered if it was possible to cut it off and replace it with a live eel, clamping his jaws down on the back of her head.

  I continued to stare at her, coming up with wonderfully disgusting ideas for revenge. Diana was sitting on the grass by the main hall, watching me. She waved me over.

  “Hey,” I said, sounding a little tougher than I wanted. I hadn’t forgiven her completely.

  She played with the plastic daisy on her flip-flop, then looked up at me with wide eyes. “Can I ask you something?”

  Her voice shook and I felt a little bit sorry for her. She was only twelve, not seventeen, and even then, I’ve screwed up plenty. I sat down beside her.

  She made circles above her heart with a fist. “Do you know what this means?” she asked.

  “It means I’m sorry.” This I knew for sure.

  “Oh.”

  “Why?”

  “That’s what he kept saying to me…after.” She wiggled a bit and showed me another sign.

  “He was spelling your name,” I told her.

  “It was so fast I can’t be sure, but I remember the closed hand.”

  I felt my heart break even more for Duff. “That’s the letter ‘a,’” I explained. “He was making sure to add it on the end.”

  “Oh,” she said, again.

  I sized her up. She wasn’t that bad, really. Maybe she needed a little encouragement. “You know,” I began, “there’s a lot to be said about a guy who gets your name right, and always has to think before he says something to you.”

  Her eyebrows crinkled together then she stared toward the lake. I followed her lead and couldn’t help but picture Kirk coming out of the water. The minutes ticked away without either one of us saying anything. We let the day carry on around us, oblivious to the campers running past. Both of us sat there, silently contemplating how boys totally messed up our lives—and our heads.

  She handed me another pink envelope. “Can you give this to him?”

  “Duff or Liam?” I couldn’t help but get in one last jab.

  “Duff…please. I want to say I’m sorry.”

  “Is it going to upset him?” Mama Bear asked. “Because I’m not going to give him a letter that says, ‘Sorry you’re deaf, otherwise I’d like you.’”

  “I never said that! It has nothing to do with him being deaf. I thought I was being made fun of. I thought they were pulling a prank.”

  Unfortunately a totally possible scenario.

  I took the note, appreciating how much we seemed to have in common. I scanned the beach, but the guys weren’t there. “He’s probably in the cabin. Do you want me to give it to him now?”

  She stood up and smoothed out her pink tennis skirt. “Tell him I’ll be waiting on the beach…just in case.”

  I held the precious envelope in my hand, prepared to be the messenger of love. I wasn’t sure what had me more excited, the fact that Duff might get the girl, or that Susan had let me off the hook again. Let Lacey have her stupid, decorated cabin. Mama Bear was coming into her own.

  I noticed a crowd wandering the grounds. Susan’s megaphone echoed across the lawn. I joined the group and stood, dumbfounded, in front of Lacey’s cabin. I’m not sure how much glitter glue and material it took, but the girls had transformed it into a gingerbread house. Lacey and three of her cupettes were standing on the porch, waving like they were on a float in the Santa Claus parade. I gripped the envelope and walked away, unable to stomach the judges praising the gingerbread bitch.

  I didn’t recognize Cabin 4A at first; in fact, I almost walked by. I stopped dead in my tracks. Beads of sweat dotted my
forehead. Spencer stood on the porch with his arms folded. His evil smile beamed down at me.

  There was no time to take it down; there was no time to hide. Mother Bear had been shot, stuffed, and mounted. The crowd gathered around me. It was at least ten seconds before anyone spoke.

  All of my underwear had been strung around the front of the cabin, with water-filled condoms interspersed between each thong. Hanging in the middle of the pattern, in the place of honour, was a huge pair of frumpy white underwear.

  TWENTY-SIX

  Lewis’s voice broke the silence. “Is the dryer broken?”

  “What’s the theme?” Tyler asked. He was wearing a button that read “Judge.”

  “Is this about safe sex?” Susan checked her clipboard, as if a note would explain my underwear exhibit.

  “It’s not so much the quantity,” Lewis said. “But the variety that impresses me.”

  Grandma! I hadn’t read the labels on the condom boxes. But from the display, the sizes, colours, and even the shapes, were all different.

  “Is this…all yours?” Tyler asked. The tone of his voice gave me the creeps.

  I pointed to the pantaloons in the middle. “Except for those.”

  “But the weenie roast thong is?” Lewis asked. I could tell by his voice that he was trying hard not to laugh.

  “Yeah,” I said, weakly.

  Susan made a few notes on her clipboard and the group sauntered away. Lewis and I stood staring at the sexy clothesline of shame.

  He tilted his head as if viewing a canvas in a museum. “I think I should tell you,” he said, “condoms aren’t meant to be recycled.”

  I had no fight left in me. All of my energy had been drained away—along with my pride. “It’s important to be green,” I said.

  “Nice job, Just Jesse.” His voice was right behind me.

  I didn’t bother to turn around. “What took you so long?” I asked. I was in shock, frozen to the spot, unable to look away from the embarrassing mess. Of course Kirk would show up right then.

  He let out a sound of surprise. “You know,” he said, “when I squint, it reminds me of your necklace.”

  Lacey came by with one of her cupettes and studied the decorations. “I have that pair!” She looked me up and down. “I never figured you for a Victoria’s Secret kind of girl.”