It’s super funny to see the parents after knowing the kids for so long. Shira has her dad’s big ears but her mom’s height. Slugger looks nothing like her mom, who is tiny and birdlike. Lily looks identical to her mom, but has her dad’s curly hair.
Prague’s parents don’t show up.
They’re in Greece and couldn’t make it back.
“I’m sorry, sweetie,” I say, running my fingers through her hair.
“Whatev. They didn’t make it back last year either. They’re a little self-involved.”
I laugh even though my heart breaks.
“If it makes you feel better, my parents didn’t come either,” I tell her. I hadn’t invited them. It would have been tough for my dad in his walker, and my mom just complains. She sends at least three texts full of complaints to me every week.
“You’re a counselor!” she says. “It’s different.”
“True. I’m kind of jealous that Talia’s parents are here though.” They are currently sitting on her bed.
“They’re kind of adorable,” she says.
“They really are. So will you hang out with me all day? Keep me company?”
“Sure,” she says, lacing her arm around my waist. “I don’t want you to get lonely.”
Talia sanitizes her hands between parents.
Fancy’s mom corners me on the porch.
“Thank you for taking such good care of my baby,” she says to me. “She loves you.”
“Aw, thanks.” Then she awkwardly hands me a wad of cash.
“Oh, not necessary,” I say.
“You slept with her in the infirmary,” she says. “It’s necessary. Please.”
Good point. “Thank you!” I say, trying to be cool about it but not really succeeding.
I check to see what she gave afterward. “She gave me two hundred bucks! Holy shit!”
“And yet she only gave me fifty,” Talia says.
“Her daughter did vomit all over me,” I say. “And she’s sent me about seven hundred texts.”
“Fair enough,” Talia says. “Although I got lice from Mara Stevens last year, and I got nothing from her folks.”
“We only get the tips at Visiting Day, is the problem,” Lis says. “Parents don’t see staff at bus drop-off. Next time get lice in the first half of the summer.”
When there is only thirty minutes left, we walk to Upper Field to collect the girls from the Rec Hall.
They are all crying. All of them. Every single one. Even Prague.
Some of the parents are crying too.
“It’s okay, everyone,” I say. “You’re crying because you love each other! But there are only two weeks left. And then you’re back together again. And the last two weeks are the best weeks of camp. We still have mini-golf and Superbowl!”
“Once one goes, they all go,” Talia says. “I should have warned you. Visiting Day is the worst.”
“Porny?” I hear. “Is that you?”
My skin crawls. That voice. Please, no. I turn around. The short black hair, pointy chin, and beady eyes are unmistakable.
It’s Zoe Freaking Buckman. What the hell is she doing here?
“You came back to camp?” she asks gleefully.
I spot her brother, twelve-year-old Bennett, standing beside her. Ah. She came to visit him. For Visiting Day. Of course. She is not here to torment me.
“My name is Sam, actually,” I say, my voice shaking. “How nice of you to come visit.”
Why am I being nice to her? I should slap her across the face. I should tell her that she is a horrible bitch. I should tell her that she may have tried to squash me, but that she didn’t succeed! I’m back! I’m strong! I won freakin’ color war! I have a boyfriend AND I’m hooking up with her precious Gavin! I win! She loses! B-L-U-E, Sammy’s here for victory!
“I’m good,” she says lazily. “I’m studying film at UCLA. I live in Silver Lake. Do you know LA at all? I’m just on the East Coast for the week. It’s like time is frozen here! Nothing has changed at all. You, Botts, Gav, Priya, the Tank! Everyone is exactly the same. So adorable!”
Nothing has changed at all? She thinks I’ve been here the whole time? Is she freaking kidding me? And Gav? She calls him Gav? Who does she think she is?
I hate you, I hate you, I hate you! I want to scream.
“Why’d she call you Porny?” Prague asks.
Suddenly I notice that all six of my girls are standing beside us. With their parents.
I freeze. I rack my brain to try to think of an explanation. Is there a word that rhymes with porny that would make sense? Borny? Corny? Horny? No. “I don’t know,” I say finally. I put my hands on my hips. “Why did you call me Porny, Zoe Buckman? I really hated it.”
Everyone looks at her. She takes a step back and shrugs. “I don’t even remember,” she says, before giving me a half smile and turning away.
That’s it?
Yeah. That’s it.
Porny is dead.
I put my arm around Fancy and Em, and lead my girls back to our bunk.
WEEK 5 SCHEDULE—BUNK 6A
Week 5
“Do you think anybody has noticed us?” I ask. Gavin and I are at the staff party and the lights are low and a super-slow song is playing. We’re pretty much right in the middle of the dance floor, but we’re keeping our bodies a few inches apart at least.
“No,” he says. “Everyone is a little drunk, I think. And possibly high.”
There were definitely some flasks being passed around earlier, out of sight of the head staff. Also there was a definite whiff of pot, too.
“Are we going to Botts’s for our day off?” he asks.
“Sure,” I say. “That will be fun. Did he invite you?”
“Yeah. Said he would invite you, too.”
“I’m in.”
I look around to see where my co-counselors are.
Talia, JJ, and Muffs are talking in the corner. They are glaring at Brody. I guess that’s over.
Smokin’ Hot Benji has his hands up the back of Priya’s shirt.
Janelle is grinding on . . . Lawrence.
Allie’s not going to like that. Where is she? I spot her on the other side of the room whispering with Audrey, one of the color war captains.
At least I know what she’s whispering about. And it’s not me and Gavin.
OMG. “Botts is dancing with Lis,” I whisper.
“Good for him! She’s great. Maybe she’ll come on our day off too. Keep him distracted so he doesn’t figure us out.”
“Ooh, good plan.”
“I bet he’ll be visiting your cabin tonight. . . .”
“I’ll let you know,” I say. I can’t help but feel jealous. Unlike Gavin, Botts is head staff and can just visit any bunk, no problem. Plus, he’s single! But not me! If Gavin were spotted in my bunk in the middle of the night, everyone would be talking about it the next day. Allie would tell Kat. Kat would tell Eli.
We probably shouldn’t even be dancing.
We definitely shouldn’t be close dancing at least.
We have to be so vigilant.
If we don’t want people to find out.
Unless we want people to find out?
“Look at Botts and Lis,” he says.
I watch them. They’re getting closer. And closer and closer.
“They’re kissing! OMG, they’re kissing!” I whisper.
Gavin whispers in my ear, “I wish I could kiss you right here.”
“You can’t.”
“I know.”
“We’re in the middle of a staff party.”
“I know.”
“Unless we don’t care,” I say. “Do we care?”
He takes a step back and looks me in the eye. “I don’t know.”
Neither of us says anything for a minute. We continue dancing.
Lis is beside herself with excitement in the bunk after. “He kissed me! While we were dancing!”
“I saw!” I say, but my mind is still b
uzzing from what Gavin and I said at the staff party. That maybe we don’t care if Eli and Kat find out. What does that mean? Are we going to break up with them? Are we going to be together for real? Is that what we wanted? Did that make any sense? Camp is over in less than two weeks!
“He’s a really good kisser,” she says. “Like, amazing.”
He is? I mean, I’m not totally surprised. I bet he’d be a great boyfriend. I try to focus on Lis. “So what happens now?” I ask her. “Is he coming to the bunk later?”
Talia groans. “I need earplugs. And an eye mask. Or maybe I’ll go sleep in the cubby room.”
“Do you think Lawrence will come by?” Janelle asks.
“Him too?” Talia asks.
“Lawrence is really hot,” Lis says.
“Right?” Janelle says. “And funny!”
I hesitate. He’s a little too full of himself for me. “He rubs me the wrong way,” I say carefully.
“Hopefully he’ll rub me the right way,” Janelle says.
I snort-laugh.
I catch Talia making a vomiting motion when Janelle isn’t looking.
“Just be careful with him,” I say. “Is he really coming here tonight?”
“No, I told him I was too tired. But maybe when you’re on your day off . . . we’ll see.”
When we wake up the next morning, neither Botts nor Lawrence nor Gavin has come. I wasn’t really expecting Gavin. But Lis is heartbroken.
“Why didn’t he come?” Lis asks as she nibbles on her fingers.
“Maybe because he’s not skeezy?” I ask. “Showing up in someone’s bunk in the middle of the night is skeezy!”
“Or I’m a bad kisser,” she says. “Either or.”
I spot Botts at the picnic tables on the way back from lunch and sit beside him. “Hello there, stranger,” I say. “So what happened? We were kind of expecting a late visit.”
“Were you all waiting up with flashlights?” he asks.
“No,” I say. “But Lis may have been.”
“I don’t know,” he says. “I thought about it. But . . . she’s staff! I shouldn’t be hooking up with staff.”
I laugh and let the sun warm my face. “What are you talking about? You should be hooking up with campers?”
“No, I just mean . . . I’m kind of like her boss.”
“You are not her boss. And Priya is hooking up with Smokin’ Hot Benji! He’s not head staff either. Lis is eighteen. She’s only a year younger than you. Do you like her?”
“I do. But . . . I don’t know. I’m not in love with her or anything.”
“It’s a summer fling!”
“But I don’t want a summer fling! I want the real thing.”
“But you barely know her! You can’t be in love with her already!” I sigh. “Does this mean you’re not inviting her on our day off tomorrow?”
“I don’t know,” he says. “Maybe I should invite her? See what happens? You think I should invite her?”
“Yes,” I say sternly. “I do.”
Gavin and I make out in the gym that night after Milk and Cookies.
“So, tomorrow . . .” he says. His voice trails off.
I am lying on a foam mat. “Yeah?”
“Should we . . . stop at a drugstore?”
“Why? Are you out of conditioner?” I ask. “I am almost out of conditioner.”
I think of when I met Eli. But then shake it off.
“No, I am not. I meant . . . maybe we wanted to get other stuff.”
It takes me a second, but I realize he means condoms. “No! That’s too far! We talked about this. No sex. Remember?”
“I remember,” he says. “I was just hoping that maybe we’re over that.”
“We are not over that.”
“Okay,” he says quickly.
“That’s the line.”
He nods. “Got it. Still the line.”
“You’re okay with that being the line, right?” I ask.
“Of course I’m okay with it. I would just rather be having sex than not having sex. And since we have another day off tomorrow . . . I just thought I would bring it up. In case you really wanted to have sex but you just didn’t want to borrow one from Janelle.”
“Borrow?”
“You know what I mean.”
“I do. But see, if I asked to borrow a condom, then she would know I was having sex with someone. Someone who is not my boyfriend. And we haven’t decided that we want anyone to know yet. And I kind of think that if we did want anyone to know, we should tell our significant others first. Not that we’ve decided that.”
“All good points. Although, if you did want to borrow a condom, you could say that you were making water balloons. It’s been done.”
“Why not just use a regular balloon?” I wonder.
“Condoms are more accessible?”
“Not to us.”
“Got it. No condoms.”
“No sex. That’s our rule. Sex is bad.”
“Sex with you would not be bad,” he says.
I kiss his lips. He tastes like oatmeal cookie. “You’re right. Not physically speaking, of course.”
Botts invites Lis to come on our day off after all. At Rest Hour, she flutters around the counselors’ room debating what to pack. Which swimsuit? Which jeans? Which underwear?
I am debating the same thing. I really wish I had thought to bring at least one sexy outfit to camp. Like the black lace nightie I bought at Victoria’s Secret. But why would I have? I had not expected to dress sexy. At all.
He will probably spend most of the night in my bed. He’ll have to sneak back to his own room at some point. But still. It’s going to be the first time we spend most of the night in a bed together. We can fall asleep together. How nice will that be?
At flagpole, the two of us hike to the office. Lis is coming with me in my car. Gavin, Smokin’ Hot Benji, and Priya are going with Botts. It’s just the six of us. Couple central.
“I might throw up,” Lis tells me as she climbs into the front.
“Do you get carsick?”
“No! I’m just nervous. Do you think he’s expecting something to happen?”
“Probably,” I say. “But don’t feel pressure or anything. He won’t kick you out of the canoe.”
“Huh?”
“Never mind,” I say.
“I’m a virgin,” she says.
“Oh. Okay. I didn’t know that.”
“I’m not sure I want to have sex with him.”
“Then don’t! You barely know him. You don’t have to do anything with him. Just get to know him.”
“You don’t think he’s expecting me to have sex with him, do you?”
“No, I definitely don’t,” I say. “Botts is a good guy. And if you do decide to hook up or whatever, it’s totally fine to say that you’re not going all the way. I’ve done that.” I just did it, in fact. “Maybe don’t have too much to drink or smoke tonight if you’re nervous. And remember, I am just down the hall if you feel uncomfortable at any point.” Not that I want her interrupting me. But there’s a lock on my door. I can always make Gavin hide in the closet.
She talks and talks until we pull up outside his massive house. “Omigod, this is his cottage? Never mind sleeping with him, now I want to marry him.”
Everyone but Lis drinks at dinner. We barbecue and they make the same amazing burgers.
Gavin and I get a little tipsy.
Gavin and I get handsy when we get tipsy.
We try really hard to keep our hands off each other, but it’s hard.
His fingers trail down my back at dinner.
I rub my leg against his in the hot tub. I guess we’re legsy as well as handsy?
At midnight, when we are walking back to my room together and we are in the hallway, Gavin stops and pushes me against the wall, and we are kissing and it is so good and I’m giggling and then I hear Botts say, “Hey, Rosenspan, do you want to try watching Star—” and then his voice stops.
We look up.
Botts is staring at us.
Gavin takes a step back.
“Oh,” Botts says.
“Um,” I say.
“Well,” Gavin says.
“Okay then,” Botts says, trying to look anywhere but at us. “I was not expecting that. I’m going back to my room now.”
I feel sick. Botts saw.
He turns around and walks back to his room.
Gavin and I both stand there.
“Shit,” I say.
“Shit,” Gavin repeats.
I motion for him to follow me into my room.
“How bad is that, you think?” I ask.
Gavin is running his hands through his hair. “He won’t say anything,” Gavin says.
“To anyone?” I wonder.
“I don’t think so. I’ll ask him not to. It’s not like he knows Kat.”
“Or Eli.”
He nods. “Right.”
“But I don’t want him to tell Lis either. Or Allie. Or anyone. Do you think he thinks we’re horrible?”
“Maybe he didn’t see anything,” he says, sitting on the edge of the bed.
“He saw,” I say.
“Yeah?”
I nod. My heart is racing. Why were we making out in the middle of the hall? How dumb, how careless.
Neither of us says anything for a few minutes.
“I don’t think it’s that big of a deal,” Gavin says finally. “He’s my friend. He’s your friend.”
But there was something about the look on his face. “He seemed upset.”
“Why would he be?”
I shake my head.
Gavin takes a step closer to me. “Where were we?”
“Yeah?” I’m not sure how I’m feeling about this.
He shrugs. “Yeah?”
“I don’t know. I feel weird now.”
“The other day we weren’t even sure if we cared if anyone knew,” he says.
“I know. But now someone does. It’s different.” It’s real.
“Do you want me to go back to my room?” he asks. He puts his hand on my shoulder.
“No,” I say quickly. Everything feels a little dizzy. “Let’s just lie down for a minute.”
He lies down next to me on the double bed and puts his arm around me.
Just a Boy and a Girl in a Little Canoe Page 19