by Rock, J. K.
Seth’s leaving to give me space was noble. But somehow that’d made things harder. If he’d been rude, I could have been mad at him. If he’d been willing to wait, I could have had hope. But the way we’d left it, that lakeside kiss intruding in my memories, everything felt in limbo. A purgatory of emotions. How would I resolve things with Matt and win Seth back? Garrett raised an eyebrow. “If you two are so casual, why did he leave this morning?”
“For good?” Jackie shot me an accusing look, and Trinity did her best to keep the disappointment off her face.
Garrett shrugged. “His stuff is still at the cabin, but he took off before we woke up and hasn’t come back.”
Emily’s chair scraped back. “Mr. Woodrow!” she shouted. “We’ve got a runaway named Seth.” An eerie silence descended on the room, hundreds of eyes fixed on me. I squirmed at Matt’s puzzled expression.
“Did he leave a note?” Emily asked Garrett.
“Yeah—just that he needed to clear his head and would be back in a couple of days.” Garrett shifted in his Keds, looking uncomfortable in the spotlight.
Alex raised an eyebrow, then slid a defensive arm around Garrett’s waist.
While Mr. Woodrow strode over, heads came together at nearby tables. Garrett’s news jumped from one group to the next, creeping closer and closer to Matt’s crew. I watched in horror as my camp nemesis, Hannah, sashayed toward him and whispered in his ear. Her manicured hands stroked his bunching shoulders as two pairs of eyes lifted to meet mine–Hannah’s gloating, and Matt’s hurt and confused.
My vision swam. I couldn’t reassure Matt that Seth and I were over when I still held out a hope I’d salvage things with Seth. Besides, with all the attention on us, I’d humiliate Matt more by going over to him now and increasing the drama.
“Who’s that guy you’re staring at?” Emily pointed the chewed end of a straw at Matt. “Are you cheating on Seth?”
“No. Matt’s my boyfriend. Seth is, is…”
“The other man,” Emily marveled, nodding.
Gollum’s whistle blew until the cafeteria fell silent. “Anyone with information about Seth Reines’s whereabouts, meet me outside immediately. And that includes you,” he pointed to Garrett, glowering, before he pointed at me. “You too, missy. On your feet. Let’s go.” He blew his whistle once more, marching us outside.
My bunkmates followed.
“Wow,” Emily chattered. “Guess who won the cabin drama jackpot?” She squeezed my upper arm. “I hope Seth wasn’t totally crushed. Do you think he’s okay?”
“Hope so.” I remembered all the times he’d won our camp’s Survivor-style challenges. Then again, a lot of wrong could happen when you hiked mountains alone. If anything happened to him, it would be my fault.
Bam-Bam, Seth’s counselor, appeared. He was kind of surly and intimidating, but Seth had always insisted he was a good guy. Right now, his jaw flexed as he glared at all of us. “Can I have a word, Mr. Woodrow?”
Since I’d started camp, I’d never seen the Iraq veteran smile. He’d been an explosives expert—the source of his nickname—and his background was something Gollum liked to flaunt to parents who were nervous about leaving their kids all summer. Despite the slouchy clothes and an inside-out fishing hat, Bam-Bam looked like he could fend off the Taliban if they came calling in the Carolina backwoods. He’d reported for duty at the first sound of a crisis.
Emily batted her eyelashes at Bruce. “Seth’s missing.”
“Would you know anything about that, Bam-Bam?” Gollum demanded. “Keeping track of your charges is part of your job.”
“He called his grandfather last night. Said he’d need a ride in the morning.” Bam-Bam spoke quietly, clearly trying to keep the conversation private even though, with a lot of interested bystanders, that was totally impossible. “He seemed upset and said he wanted time away. I’d hoped, after he slept on it, he’d change his mind, but he was gone before we got up.”
“Since when do kids have phone privileges on the first day of camp?” Gollum puffed himself up as he turned a dull shade of red.
“I thought we cut the kid some slack since his grandparents own the camp.” Bam-Bam met Gollum’s angry gaze with a calm, level one.
No doubt it was tough for Gollum to cut anyone slack. He looked deflated. For my part, I was glad Seth was with his grandfather. Safe. And maybe he was right…this time apart would help. He was wrong to think I’d care about anyone more than him. But I did need time to break things off gently with Matt. Apologize for not having the guts to do it sooner.
“Well, great! Problem solved.” Emily beamed at Bam-Bam, and then turned to us to stage-whisper, “So cute, right?”
A flock of glances flitted around our group. Jackie covered her mouth and Alex snapped her gum to cover her muffled giggle. Wow. Emily was immune to Rob and fell for Bam-Bam? Crazy. Gollum swung around to scowl at all of us. The whistle shrilled.
“Show’s over, kids. Nothing more to see here. First activity starts at 09:00. Let’s move out, people.” Gollum marched towards his office, forcing us to get going too.
“Awesome! Sign-ups,” Alex said, leading us back to the dining hall and Matt.
Matt. I was an idiot for not finding time to tell him about Seth. I lowered my gaze when we reentered the building, remembering the way Matt had looked at me when Hannah had clued him in about Seth.
Even though inner-tubing and ceramics were the last things on my mind, I followed the group to a large bulletin board full of sign-up sheets beside the entrance. Since there were five activities and a free period, we each chose one on behalf of the group. We’d done everything together after Piper had barely survived an archery class alone with Hannah’s posse. The Divas’ Den girls hadn’t liked us since Hannah and Alex had crushed on the same kid a few years ago. The cabin challenges had taken on a new fierceness that summer, and the competitive fire had only grown. Now, all the Munchies did activities together whenever possible. There was safety in numbers.
“I vote for swimming,” Alex said, and I was grateful that someone had moved the topic away from Seth. “I’ve got the sickest bikini. It’s white with these little yellow–”
“Daisies?” Jackie put in, pointing across the room to a member of Hannah’s gang who’d pulled up her T-shirt to show off the same bathing suit top to Rob.
“Crap. And she’s like totally a D cup.” Alex looked down at her chest and sighed. “Fine. Put us down for tubing.”
Jackie scrawled our names and turned to Trinity. “You want to pick an outdoor activity?”
Trinity toyed with a green bead at the end of one of her dreadlocks. “Did they add meditation this year?”
Jackie scanned the board. “Nope.”
Trinity sighed. “Let’s go with the low ropes course. That’s always fun.”
“I’ve got an essay on Macbeth to write.” Siobhan pinned back the bangs that were angled lower than the back of her bob. “So I could definitely use some fun. How about Frisbee for our athletic activity?”
Everyone liked that idea.
“And volleyball.” Jackie put her hands on her slim hips and pinned us all with a look. “Guys. We have to beat Divas’ Den in the tournament this year. We need the practice.”
She definitely had us there. Hannah’s cabin had won our bracket every year and loved flaunting their trophy. Sometimes they brought it to meals and hummed “We Are the Champions” when they walked by. We all hated it, but I think it burned Jackie the most since she was the only dedicated athlete in our group.
I grabbed the pen and scribbled our names, resenting Hannah all the more this year after the Matt incident. The Divas’ Den girls were so going down. “Piper, what do you want?”
She rearranged the order of the boy band bracelets on her wrist and lifted her large brown eyes. “Oh I already told Gollum we’d clean up the campfire area during our free time, so you pick, Lauren.”
The group sighed. Piper loved volunteering us for the most heinous jobs
in the name of saving Mother Earth.
My eyes lit on an activity we’d never tried before.
“Let’s do dance.” Since joining the cheer squad last year, I’d taken lessons and loved it.
Jackie laughed. “You’re kidding, right?”
“No. Why?”
“Because Hannah’s group always does dance.” Trinity’s voice sounded muffled as she pulled off her hemp cover-up in the warming morning air.
I shrugged. After Texas, I could handle Hannah’s crowd. “So? We’ll ignore them.”
“Like they’ll let us.” Jackie wrote our names on the sheet. “But if Lauren wants it, then we’ll make it work. We’d better get changed if we want to make the rope course.”
As I turned to go, I nearly ran into Matt. His eyes were wide, his jaw tense.
“Who is Seth?”
I stepped back. “Can we talk later, Matt?” I stepped back and lowered my voice. “When we’re alone.”
“Later? Are you kidding? Some guy takes off because of you and all you can say is later?” His shoulders bunched and a twitch appeared high in his cheek.
So much for not taking this public. Although, to his credit, at least he cared that I’d had a relationship with someone else. Enough that he wanted to talk about it. Seth, on the other hand…I hated that we hadn’t figured out anything. That he’d taken off instead.
I searched for the right words and drew a blank in the sorry-for-effing-up-your-summer department. I should have been cruel to be kind and now it was too late.
One of the Warriors sauntered up to Matt. “Dude—whitewater rafting starts in like ten minutes. Let’s go.” He gave me a once-over. “Looking good, Lauren.”
I ignored him. “Matt, go ahead. Please. We’ll talk tonight.”
Matt shook his head and followed his friends outside.
I bit my lip and watched him go.
I was 0 for 2.
Chapter Five
As we trekked from our beach volleyball practice, I made a mental list of all the ways my camp experience had fallen sucked so far.
1. My friends seemed frustrated with me for upsetting Seth, letting Matt treat me like that. (They’d said that Seth wouldn’t have gotten in my face like that in a million years.)
2. I got stuck in the “spider web” portion of the low ropes course and stayed there for a long time, since no one seemed in a great hurry to untangle me. See #1.
3. Gollum called me into his office during lunch for an interrogation about Seth. He was not happy to have the owner’s grandkid ditching camp on the first day, and seemed convinced that I knew more than I was telling.
4. I hadn’t eaten lunch. See #3.
5. Since I still sucked at volleyball, I hadn’t won any points with my friends there.
6. Seth wasn’t here.
7. Matt had glared at me both times he saw me during the day.
8. My friends were grumbling big-time about the dance class.
I didn’t know how to fix anything, either. At home at least I knew how to keep the peace between Kellianne and my mother, acting as mediator when they got mad each other or at Dad for his long absences from the family. Here, I was out of my element for the first time in all my years of summer camp. I was starting to feel like I didn’t belong. I’d hoped to talk about Macbeth essays and science projects with Siobhan in between helping Trinity paint and Piper save the earth.
Damn it, what was happening to everyone?
Arriving at the theater and dance studio on top of a hill behind the girls’ cabins, I braced myself for a far bigger round of confrontations. Hannah and the other girls from the Divas’ Den cabin were already in the studio. Of course, they’d all brought cute dance outfits from home, while the girls from our cabin still wore shorts and T-shirts from volleyball.
“Nice shirt, Jackie,” Hannah remarked mildly from her spot at the barre in front of the mirror. “Although the jean shorts kind of make you look like a truck driver. No offense.”
Jackie stretched her long legs and volleyball-toned arms in her white tank top. “Nice leotard, Hannah. It makes you look like you’re shrink-wrapped in Pepto-Bismol. Oh wait, that’s probably what you’re going for since you make everyone sick.” Jackie then kicked off her shoes and stood in the back of the studio with her arms crossed. My other friends did the same.
“Maybe we should warm up a little,” I encouraged them, taking off my shoes, too. “Loosen up.”
I really wished they’d just give dance a try and stay open-minded. Sitting down on the floor, I ran through some of my normal stretches, hoping they’d follow suit. Siobhan joined me, perhaps spotting that a few of the moves were yoga.
“Hello class!” The dance instructor, Leslie Kim, padded in on silent, bare feet. She was all of five feet tall and a former gymnast. I’d seen her around camp other years and had always wanted to take a class with her. She looked energetic and fun.
And wasn’t I here to have fun? At least I wasn’t settling arguments about lipstick shades for the wedding.
I faced forward and kept my focus on Leslie while she led us through some basic moves. We did some chassés and pliés and worked on our posture. Very basic. Very easy. Except that Alex had a hard time being still and focusing on her breathing. I thought she’d lose it when the instructor asked her to take out her gum. After the first twenty minutes, we turned on some music and did the Thriller dance, which everyone knew. Even Jackie made a half-hearted attempt to do the zombie hands and make like the undead. Or maybe she just wanted to strangle Hannah.
Things were looking up until Piper stepped on another girl’s toes.
“Do you not know your right from your left?” a Divas’ Den member huffed, her high ponytail flouncing around her ears.
“Now ladies,” Leslie Kim warned, turning down the music since we’d all stopped to watch the confrontation anyhow. “This is a beginners’ class.”
The girl fisted her hands and put them on her hips. “Only because no advanced classes are offered the first week. But you know us. Why do we have to do the same moves as the geek squad who don’t know a plié from a scissor kick?”
Piper’s face flushed. My blood boiled, since I’d assured my friends we’d be able to avoid dumb confrontations like this. But our cabins had a history. Hannah and the other Divas’ Den girls burst into laughter while our teacher’s brows drew together.
“I’ll see you after the activity period is over. For now, I need you to wait for me outside so you can cool off and think about your rudeness.”
I was somewhat soothed by this. But when Leslie moved toward the windows to crank them open more, the Divas took turns high-fiving each other in silent mode. They seemed to smack hands in slow-motion, deliberately goading us as their friend sashayed her way out of the studio.
Dance class went downhill from there. My friends glared at me while we slogged through the cool-down workout ten minutes later. I was doing my neck rolls when Kayla, a Divas’ Den girl obsessed with designer labels, poked me in the arm.
If I’d had any martial arts training, I would have gotten into a fighting stance. I was that on edge.
“You have amazing posture.” Kayla wore a bright canary T-shirt off the shoulder with the words “Juicy” in glitter letters. She hitched at the strap of the turquoise dance leotard she wore underneath. “And your chassés were awesome.”
“Thank you,” I muttered, too surprised to think through any possible ulterior motives on Kayla’s part. “I started taking dance last summer to help with cheerleading.”
“She’s a cheerleader now too?” Piper remarked darkly from somewhere behind me.
“Is that a crime?” Spinning on my heel, I faced her as Leslie Kim dismissed us.
“No,” Piper shot back, her over-sized green recycling T-shirt almost swallowing her whole. “But you used to talk about science fairs and honor society instead of high kicks. Remember?”
She stomped to the back of the studio to retrieve her bag. It clinked with recovered
cans which, for some reason, struck me harder than her words. Piper was passionately dedicated to a cause. Every year that I’d come to camp, she’d been saving the earth, whether by planting trees or convincing Gollum to offer a sustainable garden. Year in and year out, she was the same Piper.
Unlike me.
I’d come to camp a different person and expected everything to be the same.
“See you tomorrow,” Kayla said out of the blue. I’d forgotten she’d been standing next to me. She gave a wave as she went off with her friends.
While her group filed out of the dance studio, my friends put their shoes on.
“I still like science,” I said, to myself as much as anyone else. If Dad had gotten the letter of reference for me, I might have e-mailed my NASA Aerospace Scholars application early. When he hadn’t come home in time to say goodbye, I’d left the file open on his computer. Hopefully he got my silent message.
“You still like science, but you liked Matt more. Maybe that’s why a summer boyfriend is a good thing.” Siobhan handed me my bag.
“What do you mean?” We walked out into the sunshine. Jackie had jogged ahead to catch up with Piper, who was halfway back to the cabins.
Trinity and Alex stayed with us, although I think that was because the boys from Seth’s cabin were playing lacrosse on the field outside the dance studio. Alex waved to Vijay, who was tossing the ball back and forth with Julian.
“I mean summer is a good time for having fun.” Siobhan paused next to Alex to watch the guys. “It’s one thing to date during the summer when classes are out. But during the school year, boyfriends steal focus.”
“And how would you know?” Alex teased over her shoulder. She’d found her pack of gum by now, and was back to chewing with enthusiasm.
“I have eyes.” Siobhan poked Alex in the shoulder. “I don’t need to date to know my mom is right on this one. Guys are a distraction.”
As if hearing her mother’s voice in her head, she turned on her heel and headed back toward Munchies’ Manor, perhaps remembering some homework she needed to tackle. I went too, sad to think about Seth missing these moments with his friends.