chance.”
I hung my head, visions of what might have been disappearing with the sun behind a cloud. “I know.”
“No.” Helena pointed a wooden spoon at me. “I don’t think you do because if you did, I wouldn’t have found you two out here alone. Another girl, maybe Mr. Woodrow might not be so rigid about the employee handbook since you aren’t technically older than the campers. But with parents as famous as hers, you can bet he’s not going to risk them bringing negative attention to the camp.”
I closed my eyes, wishing life gave you do-overs. If it did, maybe I’d ask it not to let me be born. Then my mother would have had a normal life, and my crappy one wouldn’t exist. “Fine.”
Helena’s chin wobbled when she nodded. “Good. If you’re going to spend time with the campers, I wish you would hang out with your bunkmates. Or make other friends. Be a kid for once and have fun. Just not with Alex.” She grumbled and stomped her way back into the kitchen, leaving me in the garden. Alex had disappeared from sight, but I could still see the imprint of where we’d sat in the empty rows between the carrots and the zucchini. The leaves of the carrot plant she’d resurrected now rippled from a light breeze.
Yes, she’d mangled it. But she’d fixed it, too.
So she’d made some trouble that first day. That didn’t mean she would cause problems for me again.
Just once before I left this camp, I wanted to think about something besides my responsibilities and controlling my temper.
I didn’t care about swim lessons and obstacle courses. The kitchen was where I’d rather spend summer. But just once, I wished I could sit with Alex again, shoulder to shoulder. I wanted to make her laugh and smile again, like a normal guy. Just once.
Alex
“It looks like someone got a visit from their Secret Camp Angel,” trilled Emily when I returned from a quick, post-swim rinse off.
I toweled my hair and glanced up at the package on my bunk. Who had my name? Javier had occupied my mind so much these past few days I’d forgotten someone had been thinking of me, too. I’d contacted my mom on my last electronics day, asking if she’d consider sending me a cookbook on Venezuelan cuisine as I’d suddenly taken a new interest. After some coercing, she’d agreed to look for eBay deals, and I was crossing my fingers I’d have Javier’s first present soon.
But now…here was one for me. I returned Emily’s smile and reached for it. Who didn’t love presents?
“Looks like a book.” Siobhan peered up from a periodic table pinned on the wall behind her bunk. “So much better than my gift.” She fished a fuchsia-haired troll doll from her backpack and flipped it to Trinity. “Creepy.”
The so-ugly-it’s-cute figure landed in Trinity’s cross-legged lap, breaking her out of her meditative trance.
“So not Zen, Siobhan.” She scrambled to her feet and kicked it. The object rolled toward a laughing Jackie, who shot it at Piper with a fly swatter.
“Yuck.” Piper picked it up and sniffed. “It smells like a toxic waste dump and looks even worse.”
“The worst part was the note,” Siobhan said. “What does ‘pay the troll and cross my bridge’ even mean?”
“Sounds kinky.” I waggled my eyebrows, unable to resist teasing my serious friend. I kind of liked her Secret Camp Angel. He or she seemed fun. Speaking of which…fireworks were planned for tonight’s Fourth of July celebration, and I intended to have a good time at them…with Javier if I could tempt him out of the kitchen. This was supposed to be my payback summer—the best time ever before being incarcerated at the boarding school. Time to make it happen.
“It’s from a children’s story.” Yasmine zippered her makeup bag and turned from the mirror, her dark eyes smudged and smoky to match her flowing, charcoal caftan. If we’d been friends, I would beg Yasmine to make me over that way. But that was a big IF .
“It’s the
I hung my head, visions of what might have been disappearing with the sun behind a cloud. “I know.”
“No.” Helena pointed a wooden spoon at me. “I don’t think you do because if you did, I wouldn’t have found you two out here alone. Another girl, maybe Mr. Woodrow might not be so rigid about the employee handbook since you aren’t technically older than the campers. But with parents as famous as hers, you can bet he’s not going to risk them bringing negative attention to the camp.”
I closed my eyes, wishing life gave you do-overs. If it did, maybe I’d ask it not to let me be born. Then my mother would have had a normal life, and my crappy one wouldn’t exist. “Fine.”
Helena’s chin wobbled when she nodded. “Good. If you’re going to spend time with the campers, I wish you would hang out with your bunkmates. Or make other friends. Be a kid for once and have fun. Just not with Alex.” She grumbled and stomped her way back into the kitchen, leaving me in the garden. Alex had disappeared from sight, but I could still see the imprint of where we’d sat in the empty rows between the carrots and the zucchini. The leaves of the carrot plant she’d resurrected now rippled from a light breeze.
Yes, she’d mangled it. But she’d fixed it, too.
So she’d made some trouble that first day. That didn’t mean she would cause problems for me again.
Just once before I left this camp, I wanted to think about something besides my responsibilities and controlling my temper.
I didn’t care about swim lessons and obstacle courses. The kitchen was where I’d rather spend summer. But just once, I wished I could sit with Alex again, shoulder to shoulder. I wanted to make her laugh and smile again, like a normal guy. Just once.
Alex
“It looks like someone got a visit from their Secret Camp Angel,” trilled Emily when I returned from a quick, post-swim rinse off.
I toweled my hair and glanced up at the package on my bunk. Who had my name? Javier had occupied my mind so much these past few days I’d forgotten someone had been thinking of me, too. I’d contacted my mom on my last electronics day, asking if she’d consider sending me a cookbook on Venezuelan cuisine as I’d suddenly taken a new interest. After some coercing, she’d agreed to look for eBay deals, and I was crossing my fingers I’d have Javier’s first present soon.
But now…here was one for me. I returned Emily’s smile and reached for it. Who didn’t love presents?
“Looks like a book.” Siobhan peered up from a periodic table pinned on the wall behind her bunk. “So much better than my gift.” She fished a fuchsia-haired troll doll from her backpack and flipped it to Trinity. “Creepy.”
The so-ugly-it’s-cute figure landed in Trinity’s cross-legged lap, breaking her out of her meditative trance.
“So not Zen, Siobhan.” She scrambled to her feet and kicked it. The object rolled toward a laughing Jackie, who shot it at Piper with a fly swatter.
“Yuck.” Piper picked it up and sniffed. “It smells like a toxic waste dump and looks even worse.”
“The worst part was the note,” Siobhan said. “What does ‘pay the troll and cross my bridge’ even mean?”
“Sounds kinky.” I waggled my eyebrows, unable to resist teasing my serious friend. I kind of liked her Secret Camp Angel. He or she seemed fun. Speaking of which…fireworks were planned for tonight’s Fourth of July celebration, and I intended to have a good time at them…with Javier if I could tempt him out of the kitchen. This was supposed to be my payback summer—the best time ever before being incarcerated at the boarding school. Time to make it happen.
“It’s from a children’s story.” Yasmine zippered her makeup bag and turned from the mirror, her dark eyes smudged and smoky to match her flowing, charcoal caftan. If we’d been friends, I would beg Yasmine to make me over that way. But that was a big IF .
“It’s the
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