Keeping Her Secret

by Sarah Nicolas

  He did, huh? Wow, Bridget moved fast. Courtney was an awful percussionist if it required more than two drums, but she could bang a bongo with the best of them.

  “Sure, why not.” Courtney sounded bored, but she loved playing with her brother, even if she’d never say that out loud.

  “You’re a goddess,” he said, making a mockery of a bow.

  “I know.”

  …

  Instead of dancing like she’d planned, Courtney had spent the rest period rehearsing with Colt in the cafeteria. She did dance for a couple minutes, when Colt busted out some classic Tchaikovsky. One of the counselors technically taught the singing session, but Colt had been more-or-less running it going on three summers now.

  They’d been discussing which song they should do for the talent competition when campers started filtering in. Campers of any age could join the class. Pairs and trios of each age group joined over the next couple of minutes until about twenty kids filled the room. Colt was telling them all to come closer when a solo figure strolled through the door.

  Riya.

  Jesus, Courtney couldn’t catch a break.

  Colt burst into a smile. “Glad you could make it,” he said to her.

  Riya glanced at Courtney before looking at Colt. She twisted the fingers of both hands together. “I figured if I’m going to make a fool out of myself in front of everyone at the talent show, I should practice, like you said.”

  Colt had done this on purpose. He’d asked both of them to come without letting them know the other would be there. She glared at the side of his head, but either he didn’t notice or he didn’t care.

  Riya took a seat two tables back. When she tried to fold her arms together, she whacked her elbow on the edge of the table. Her face contorted with pain, and she rubbed at her funny bone.

  Courtney should’ve known better. Colt had encouraged Riya to sing in the talent show, offering to play for her. Of course he’d convince her to join the class. She considered storming out in protest until she spotted little Olivia sitting in the front row, staring at her. For some misguided reason, the little redhead looked up to her, and Courtney didn’t want to set a bad example.

  So she sat there as every person in the class sang one verse of a song of their choosing, so Colt could ascertain their progress. Lastly, he called Riya by name.

  “Riya’s joined us a little late,” Colt said. “She’s shy, so let’s give her a warm welcome.”

  She stood up, her gaze flicking to Courtney like a nervous tick.

  “I thought this was group singing?” Riya’s voice went really high at the end.

  “It’s only this once,” Colt promised. “Just so I can see where you’re at.”

  Riya leaned over to scratch her knee. “I don’t know what to sing,” she said.

  “Anything will do,” Colt said.

  Her eyes scanned the room as though she were looking for inspiration. One more peek at Courtney and she took a deep breath, closing her eyes as she drew oxygen into her lungs.

  “You are so beautiful, to me,” she began to sing.

  At first, her voice came out shaky and unsure, but Colt smiled and nodded, motioning for her to breathe from her belly.

  She stood straighter, raising her chest. Her gaze drifted until she stared out a side window. “You are so beautiful, to me.”

  Riya’s voice had always been lovely, but now there was something else, a soulful quality that hadn’t been there before. It crackled like an old record in just the right spots. Colt didn’t stop her when he’d heard what he needed to make his assessment, like he had for every other camper.

  By the third line, Courtney’d forgotten herself and stared, as transfixed as every other person in the room. Riya’s brown-to-pink ombré lips wrapped around each word like a penitent caress, sending shivers down the skin of Courtney’s back.

  She wasn’t sure when Riya had turned her head and met Courtney’s gaze. She wasn’t sure why she hadn’t turned away, either. But when Riya’s voice slid over the final line like caramel in a luxe chocolate commercial, Courtney noticed the heat warming her cheeks. Riya’s buttery voice combined with her tender mahogany eyes made Courtney grateful for the sturdy chair supporting her.

  Even though they hadn’t applauded for anyone else, the entire class clapped when Riya finished singing. Courtney didn’t applaud. She stared, blinking.

  “That was wonderful, Riya.” Colt turned his head to catch his sister’s attention. “What do you think, Courtney?”

  She swallowed, nodding. “Incredible.”

  Riya’s chest rose slowly as she pressed her lips together, a smile pulling at the corners. “Thank you.” She dropped to her seat.

  Before Colt continued with the class, Courtney spied the satisfied smirk on his face, and she had the sneaking suspicion she’d been set up.

  Chapter Seven

  When Riya had first been told of the scheduled nap time, she thought it was silly, but that day she’d laid down on her bunk after lunch and immediately passed out. She’d only woken in time to go to the next activity session thanks to Elise’s shrill voice calling for Stefanie and Tiffany to hurry up. That girl sure did pack a lot of decibels into such a small frame.

  That was why she’d walked in to the singing session a little late. With all eyes on her and no crowd to get lost in, it was also the only reason she didn’t immediately turn and walk out as soon as she saw Courtney at the front of the room. Bailing would create a bigger spectacle than staying and toughing out the session. Or so she’d thought. Until Colt had made her sing solo. Her skin still crawled at the thought of singing in front of all those other people.

  But the way Courtney’d looked at her as she sang, when she called her “incredible,” had left Riya in a stupor for the rest of the day. Courtney did not like her, she kept reminding herself. But there were moments when she thought, just maybe… And those moments were the worst ones, when she lowered her defenses and pictured a different future than the inescapable one.

  Though she’d taken the afternoon class on distinguishing between edible and poisonous plants, Riya hoped nobody’s life depended on that knowledge because she remembered none of it. At least she knew the pasta primavera sitting untouched on the plate before her was safe to eat.

  “You okay?” Dee hissed in her ear.

  Riya shook her head as if she could shake her thoughts loose. “Just having a rough day.”

  “Really?” Elise chimed in. “Because I heard you did so well in singing that everyone in the room instantly fell in love with you.”

  Riya breathed a small laugh without smiling. “People exaggerate.” She changed the subject. “So what are we going to do tonight?”

  “We could TP the boys’ cabins,” Dee suggested.

  Tiffany shook her head. “There will be too many people running around for us to get away with it.”

  “We could play cards again,” Elise said. “I have ten pounds of candy in the bottom of my dresser.”

  The twins teased her about her candy addiction. Dee kept getting prank ideas shot down by Tiffany, who Riya was beginning to believe never agreed to participate in any of Dee’s pranks.

  Before she knew it, the girls had pulled her from her funk, and they spilled out into the setting sunlight drunk on laughter.

  Where they ran straight into Courtney’s crew. Courtney clung to the back of some tall ebony hunk Riya hadn’t yet had the pleasure of meeting, her legs wrapped around his hips, piggy-back style. Bridget, the pretty brunette Courtney spent most of her free time with, sat similarly upon the back of the same David Courtney’d been flirting with at breakfast the other day. The girls’ shrieks of laughter rang through the air as the boys chased each other in a circle.

  “Let’s race,” David called to his friend.

  Trey popped up next to Riya. “Great timing. I need a jockey.” He swept in front of Riya and bent his knees, holding his arms up to catch her. Apparently, this was a thing.

  Riya glanced a
t her friends, who grinned back at her. What the hey? She jumped onto Trey’s back.

  “We’re ready!” Trey announced.

  “We have a challenger!” the boy carrying Courtney said.

  Riya wrapped her arms around Trey’s chest, holding tight. He gripped her wrists, laughing.

  “Come on, Blondie.” Stefanie grabbed Elise’s hand, tugging her behind her. “Let’s embarrass these boys.”

  Yelping, Elise leapt onto Stefanie’s back. The sound echoed clear across the lake.

  “Oh-ho-ho,” David shouted. “And we have a girl-on-girl team. Better grab a jockey, Chastain.”

  Tiffany took three steps back, attempting to blend in with the shadows. Dee watched with an awkward smile. Colt cast about, searching for someone he knew.

  Riya recognized the moment for the excellent opportunity it was. “Colt,” she called, jerking her head in her friend’s direction. “Grab Dee.”

  Colt spun to find Dee, freezing for a second.

  “Oh, no,” Dee said, waving her hand back and forth. “I couldn’t.”

  But Colt bounded to Dee in three steps, taking her hand and twirling her around until she stared at his back. “Let’s go, Delores,” he said. “I’ve seen you on the paddleboard. You’ve got the best balance out here.”

  Dee flashed a wide-eyed look at Riya, who gave her a thumbs-up. Dee grasped Colt’s shoulders, and he bent down, catching her easily and hefting her up to rest on his hips.

  Grinning, she said, “My friends call me Dee.”

  Colt turned his head to smile at her. “All right, Dee. Let’s kick some ass.”

  She whooped in agreement.

  “Who’s the dude carrying Courtney?” Riya whispered in Trey’s ear. And where the hell did he come from? she didn’t add.

  She felt his shoulders move under her arms.

  “Her new flavor of the week. It’s his first summer here. I think his name’s Derek?”

  “You don’t sound sure.”

  “Why bother learning their names? She’ll dump him in a couple of days, anyway.” He didn’t sound like he approved. “Poor guy doesn’t know what he’s in for.”

  Riya wondered if Trey had ever been one of Courtney’s flavors of the week but decided she didn’t really want to know.

  “Last one to the volleyball court is a rotten egg,” David called.

  With that, their herd of piggyback riders sprang into action. Riya bounced up and down, holding on to Trey for dear life. Derek and Courtney took an early lead, his long legs giving him an immediate advantage. Other campers cleared the path for them, the guys’ shouts and girls’ screams announcing their arrival like a train horn barreling through a small town. The gravel crunched under their feet, pebbles skittering off the path. True to form, Elise’s shrieks drowned out all the others.

  They passed the halfway point, the G4 cabins.

  A couple feet ahead of them, Dee turned her head, and Riya caught the look of pure joy etched across her face, transformed to a glowing bronze by the golden setting sun. She looked beautiful, fierce and strong and happy—and incredibly stable. Colt had been telling the truth; she had great balance. The pair surged forward, separating from the pack, gaining on Derek and Courtney.

  Seeing his friend pull ahead of him, David grunted and shifted into high gear.

  Trey turned to Stefanie running alongside him. “Can’t let ’em win that easily,” he said.

  Stefanie nodded. “Hold on, Chels.”

  They caught up with David, passing him as Colt caught up with Derek just past Riya’s cabin. Almost there. Colt and Dee ran neck-in-neck with Courtney and her new fling.

  “Go, Dee, go!” Riya called.

  Twenty feet from the volleyball court, Dee pulled tightly against Colt, and he surged ahead. The two collapsed onto the soft sand seconds before Courtney and Derek crossed the out-of-bounds rope. Riya and Trey stumbled over the line at the exact same time as Stefanie and Elise.

  “Third place!” Elise yelled, reaching over to high five Riya.

  David came panting behind them, dropping to his knees in the sand. Bridget was the only one not laughing.

  Dee lay flat on her back next to Colt, both of them catching their breath.

  “We make a great team, Delor— Dee.” He gave her a side-hug.

  Dee’s smile stretched so wide, Riya thought she might never be able to frown again. Riya slid down Trey’s back, stretching her toes into the sand.

  “No fair!” Derek laughed, looking at Colt. “You have a freaking ninja as a jockey.”

  Colt scoffed. “Dude, you have the most graceful ballerina east of the Mississippi.”

  Derek turned to Courtney, who pressed up against his side. “You’re a ballerina?”

  She smiled demurely, peering at him through her lashes. “I’m lots of things.”

  Riya wondered what in the world they had talked about if he didn’t know about the most important thing in Courtney’s life. Maybe they don’t talk at all, an evil voice inside her head suggested.

  “What did we win?” Dee asked, sitting up and brushing sand from her shoulders.

  Courtney’s friends laughed.

  “Nothing,” David said. “Bragging rights.”

  “What kind of race is that?” Stefanie complained.

  “Jocks,” Bridget said with a roll of her eyes.

  “Right?” Courtney said.

  With their muscles, David and Derek were obviously athletes, and Colt was no stranger to recreational sports. She wondered why guys got to be athletic but not singled out, while the girls earned an extra label for it. Maybe because popular guys were expected to play sports—but what were popular girls expected to do? Stand on the sidelines and look cute? None of it seemed very fair for anyone. She wondered if her new school would be different. They were basically giving her money for being good at a sport, so she had high hopes for a different social order.

  Colt jumped to his feet and held a hand out for Dee. “You, my victorious teammate, have won a chocolate chip cookie, my treat.”

  After a second’s hesitation, Dee took Colt’s offered hand and let him pull her up. She raised a skeptical eyebrow. “The cookies are free.”

  Colt laughed. “First round’s on me, then!”

  They walked the rest of the way to the bonfire field, from where the Capture the Flag game would be launched. Trays of cookies, brownies, and little bottles of water covered two six-foot tables. Her friends raided the table as if they hadn’t eaten all day. She picked at a brownie, trying to ignore how Courtney hadn’t even glanced at her since she’d left the singing class. She didn’t want to notice; she didn’t want to care. But if she’d ever been able to tell her brain what to ignore and her heart what not to care for, Courtney wouldn’t hate her in the first place.

  Dee and Colt stood slightly apart from the group, lost in conversation. Dee tossed her head back, her dark waves bouncing as she shook with laughter. Colt nudged her with his elbow, grimacing exaggeratedly.

  “I swear!” Riya heard him say.

  Riya caught Dee’s eye and gave her a smile that said, See?

  She tried to listen to Tiffany, Stefanie, and Elise discuss theoretical Capture the Flag strategies, but Courtney kept touching Derek’s biceps and stomach. It was all she could do not to gag. A buzzing sounded in her ears.

  The counselors separated them into groups by cabin numbers, cabins with A’s on one side and B’s on the other. In her group were her friends, Courtney, David, Derek, and a whole bunch of people she didn’t know.

  “We’re on the same team,” Courtney squealed to Derek, leaning her shoulder into his chest.

  Riya resisted rolling her eyes, but just barely.

  Standing next to her, Dee stared at Colt on the other side of the field. Trey waved when he saw them watching.

  “I don’t feel so great,” Riya whispered to Dee. “I’m going to head back now.”

  “Okay, I’ll go with you.”

  “No, I’ll tell Becky I’m sick. You
should stay, see if you can catch up with Colt.”

  Her friend’s eyes darted across the field to him. “You sure?”

  “Yeah.” Riya smirked. “Capture the Colt.”

  Dee’s tan face flushed pink. “You’re a dork,” she said, but she was laughing.

  …

  When Courtney’s alarm shook her awake the next morning, she stretched and smiled. Last night had been perfect. She and Derek used the excuse of looking for the flag to take a nice moonlit stroll through the forest surrounding the camp. At one point, they’d heard weepy music drifting to them through the trees and ran away, laughing. She decided Derek was the strong, silent type. That was to say, he didn’t talk much. So Courtney carried the conversation, which was fine by her.

  When she’d returned, Riya dozed soundly on the top bunk. She hadn’t noticed when she’d left, though she didn’t remember seeing her after the whistle blew. Actively ignoring Riya required her to be constantly aware of Riya and where she stood at all times. It was exhausting and counterintuitive.

  Courtney slipped her clothes from her dresser and made her way silently to the bathroom. She’d set her alarm ten minutes earlier this time, hoping to avoid the awkwardness of the last couple of days. She could wait for Riya on the front porch instead of sharing their uncomfortable morning ritual again. Tossing her clothes over the door of the stall, she pulled down her shorts and plopped on the toilet seat.

  Tiny popping sounds exploded in the quiet and something cool and viscous hit her legs. “What the–?” She looked down to find thick red goo splashed across her legs, her shorts, the floor, and the lower half of the bathroom partitions. Panicked, Courtney performed a quick inventory of her body, checking for a bleeding injury. Her hand smeared the gunk across her calves. The stall looked like a scene from a cheap slasher film. But, no, she felt fine. Plus, the red was too bright and thick for blood.

  A tangy smell filled the air.

  Ketchup!

  She sprang to her feet and twirled around, then lifted the seat. Ruptured ketchup packets tumbled to the floor and into the bowl of the toilet.

  That girl and her condiments.