“We’re all homesick,” Em says.
“You’re acting like five-year-olds,” Fancy says. “It’s embarrassing.”
Shira sinks back in her bed.
“Hey,” I tell Fancy. “Don’t be mean. It’s totally normal to feel sad tonight.”
“It is?” Slugger says.
“Of course it is,” I say.
“Were you ever homesick?” Lily asks.
“Are you kidding me? Definitely.” I think back to the first night I spent at camp. I hadn’t wanted to come, but that’s when my dad had his first tumor and my parents thought it would be better to have me away for the summer. “I remember lying in bed and staring at the ceiling and feeling so . . . weird. Do you guys feel weird?”
They all nod.
“Me too. Because it’s not my bed! I love my bed at home! It has clean sheets! And at camp the beds are so small and saggy!”
They giggle.
“And at home you sleep by yourself with the door closed,” I say.
“I sleep with the door open,” Prague says.
“Me too,” two of them answer at the same time.
“I share a room with my sister,” Shira says.
“Lucky,” Prague tells her. “I’m on my own floor and I hate it.”
“Your own floor?” Slugger asks in disbelief.
“But you want to know something?” I ask, plowing ahead.
“What?”
“This is the hardest part. Tonight. Sleeping in this bed for the first night. But if you get through the weirdness of sleeping in this new place tonight on these saggy mattresses—then after this, it’s a breeze.”
Lily wipes her eyes with the back of her hand. “Really?”
“It’s true,” Fancy says.
“Really,” I say. And then I think about what I used to do when I would lie in bed and hear my parents fighting.
“I’m going to teach you all how to keep the nighttime weirdies away, ’kay?”
“How?” Em asks.
“Like this,” I say. And then I turn around on Shira’s bed and lie flat on my back and put my legs up against the wall. “Everyone copy me! That’s a counselor’s order.”
There’s some giggling, but I see all the girls turn around and place their legs against the wall. Shira is right beside me, and I can see that she’s smiling a perfect toothless smile.
“Is everyone in position?” I ask.
“Yes,” they say.
“Okay, now we’re going to drum our feet against the wall like this—”
I get a good rhythm going. Thump thump thump. They all follow along. “Now we’ll go around the room and everyone has to say one thing they’re excited about for this summer. I’ll start. I’m excited for . . .” What am I excited for? “Sing-Song!” I say.
“What is Sing-Song?” Em asks.
“On Fridays, we all go into the Rec Hall and sing songs. They put the words up on the screen so we can all see them.”
“What songs?” Lily asks.
“Great ones,” Prague says. “Like ‘Leaving on a Jet Plane.’ ‘Summer Nights’ from Grease. Old ones, but they’re fun.”
“I’m excited for the ten-and-under baseball team,” Slugger says. “I play on a traveling team at home.”
“I was on the twelve-and-under team!” I offer her an air high five. I look to the bed next to us. “Okay, Fancy, what are you looking forward to?”
“Visiting Day,” she says.
Everyone laughs.
“Not just to see my parents. It’s ’cause my mother brings snacks on Visiting Day. She brings cupcakes from Magnolia in New York. Have you ever had them? They’re my favorite.”
“I have had Magnolia cupcakes,” I say. That’s where I got Eli’s! “And they are delicious. So now I’m excited about Visiting Day too. Excellent. Something else to look forward to! Lily, you’re next.”
“I’m excited to make new friends. My dad came to this camp when he was a kid. And he’s still friends with the guys from his bunk. Best friends. And they’re really old.”
“Aw,” says Prague.
“That could be us,” Slugger says.
“It really could,” I say, and my throat feels choked up. Maybe I don’t speak to anyone from my bunk, but this bunk, these kids, they could be different. They could be friends for life.
“Okay, ladies,” I say, after everyone has said something they’re excited for. “Time for everyone to get back under the covers. You okay?” I ask Shira.
She nods. “Can you tuck us in?”
“I would love to tuck you in,” I say.
I hear them the next morning. Early. Very, very early. They are laughing and running around, and I distinctly hear the word licorice.
The clock on my phone says it’s only six forty-five. We don’t have to be at flagpole until eight fifteen. I pull the covers over my head and pretend not to hear them for over an hour.
Eventually, I hear the front door open and Priya pops her head into our room. “Morning, ladies! Flagpole in fifteen!”
I sit up. The other counselors are still dead to the world. The room is cold, so I put on an extra sweatshirt, and since the floor is cold too, I step into my slippers. Then I push through the curtain-door and go see what the little monsters are up to.
“Morning, girls,” I say, standing in the doorway. They are in the middle of the room. Their mouths are stuffed with brownies, gummy bears, and of course, licorice. At least I don’t see any peanut M&M’s.
When they see me, they all shriek and laugh and dive back into their beds.
“You’re all getting cavities,” I tell them.
They are giggling uncontrollably.
“Can we save a little room for breakfast?” I ask.
They are still giggling.
I am giggling too.
We get the girls to flagpole on time. I am even wearing regular clothes instead of pajamas, in the hopes that I can make it to some cell service after breakfast. In the Dining Hall, I bring the kids a tray of scrambled eggs, toast, jam, and a pitcher of orange juice. There is a small accident with the ketchup.
I have a large cup of coffee. It tastes terrible but hits the spot in the best way possible.
I call freeze. Slugger and Lily start laughing at the same time, so we decide they will stack together.
There are no tears the entire meal, which I take as a personal win.
I have my phone in my hoodie pocket. “Can you take the girls back to the bunk?” I ask Talia. “I want to check in with Eli.”
“No problem,” she says drowsily. Her coffee hasn’t kicked in yet.
As soon as the kids are released, I make a run for it. I know I don’t have that much time, but I just want to hear his voice. I want him to know that I’m thinking about him.
The Wi-Fi kicks in as soon as I step inside the office. Hurrah! My phone is flooded with texts.
Hello, Beautiful! I’m in Florence! It’s about 100 degrees.
There are a few other texts from him but I can hardly wait to write him. I type:
Hi!
I just ditched the kids to run to the office to try you. I am going to call you!