“We’re going to get you back, Andy!” Zak from Olly’s group shouts.
Andy smirks. “I invite you to try.”
The mood lifts. A tinge of excitement makes my heart leap. I loved getting involved in silly pranks. Some of my favorites were putting food coloring in the milk dispensers, icing cleaning sponges to look like cake and stuffing counselors’ shoes with tissue.
Now it’s on.
Kayla rubs her hands together. “We need to think of something to do to them.”
“There is plenty,” Cora replies.
We sit and plot pranks by the fire, eating s’mores and chatting about how much fun the next few weeks are going to be.
I only forget Lillian for a second.
We don’t know that she was really hurt that night. She probably ran away too. There is nothing to suggest that she didn’t get home safely.
I am letting this thought reassure me when I look up and find Rebekah staring me down from across the campfire.
13
Three guesses for who didn’t sleep well last night.
I hug my mug of coffee in my hands and wish I could have it in an IV.
The girls are learning how to make safe campfires on the edge of the forest. The counselors have got this one since they’re trained. That means the CITs are free for the morning and we’re in the hall having a late breakfast.
I’m sitting at a table with Kayla, Tia, Olly, Jake and Rebekah. After I caught her staring at me across the fire last night, Rebekah quickly looked away and it hasn’t come up since. I was probably overreacting anyway, considering the state I was in last night. A leaf falling on my shoulder would’ve made me jump ten feet.
“I’ve missed sleeping in,” I say, yawning behind my mug.
Olly laughs. “It feels like it’s been weeks. Hey, do you want to take a walk before we have to build dens with the campers?”
I nod as the back of my neck heats. A walk in the woods is about as close as you can get to a date here. Not that he’s asking me out.
Is he?
Don’t act weird.
“Sounds good,” I say.
The very last thing I’m about to do is make eye contact with Kayla. She will absolutely be giving me the look. That goofy expression your friends give you when your crush talks to you. It’s a dead giveaway.
“You ready now?” Olly asks.
He keeps eye contact so casually, like this is no big deal.
Because it isn’t a big deal. Chill out!
“Uh-huh,” I mutter as words fail me.
I sip the last of my coffee and Olly takes my bowl, stacking it on top of his.
My stomach flutters.
“Have fun,” Kayla sings. Tia and Rebekah giggle behind their spoons, dropping cereal onto the table.
I ignore them and get up. Olly dumps the bowls and we leave the food hall. The heat hits my face. I’m glad I tied my hair up this morning and applied the standard thick layer of sunscreen.
“They’ve gone east, so let’s go west,” he says.
I turn and smile. “Okay.”
“You cool, Esme? You haven’t been yourself the last couple of days,” Olly says after a minute. We walk into the forest, where the air is slightly cooler, more bearable.
Not been myself? He’s only known me for a week. “I’m good. A little tired.”
“Did sleeping late this morning help?”
Nodding, I say, “Yeah, it was awesome.” It wasn’t. I stayed in bed but didn’t sleep in. “Hey, what’s your favorite movie?”
“Are you going Ghostface on me, Esme?”
A twig snaps under my sneaker. “I didn’t ask your favorite scary movie.”
“Horror isn’t my thing. My favorite is The Godfather Part II. What’s yours?”
“You’re going to think I’m superlame.”
He chuckles. “It’s a chick flick, isn’t it?”
“I’m a total sucker for them. Pretty Woman is genius. And 27 Dresses.”
“You’re a romantic.”
We head deeper into the forest, keeping camp just in view. “Guilty. My parents have always been supersweet to each other.”
“You’re lucky. Mine divorced when I was a kid.”
“I’m sorry,” I tell him.
Olly shrugs like it’s no big deal. “What pranks do you think the campers are going to pull?” he asks, changing the subject.
“I don’t know, but always check the toilet thoroughly before you pee.”
“Saran Wrap?”
I nod. “Would make a hell of a nasty mess.”
“I’ll be checking.”
I grab his wrist when something crunches deeper in the forest. My gaze flies in the direction the sound came from. “What was that?”
“What?” Olly looks around. “Esme, what did you hear?”
“Twigs breaking.”
Olly’s shoulders relax. “It’s probably an animal.”
I slide my eyes to him. “Animals usually don’t come too close with all the noise at camp.”
It’s bright this morning, but the trees block the sun. The forest is swallowed by darkness.
“Whatever it is, it’s probably gone. Why are you freaking out? Seriously, I didn’t hear anything, Esme,” he says.
You won’t if you keep talking!
I drop his wrist. “You’re right. It was probably an animal. Sorry, it just spooked me.”
“I’ve never minded hot girls grabbing hold of me.”
His words light up in my mind like the Las Vegas Strip.
He called you hot. Don’t cackle like some nervous witch. Play. It. Cool.
“How often does that happen? Or is that your tactic?”
Laughing, he starts walking again. “You mean do I take girls into the woods so they’ll get scared and jump me?”
“Seems to be working for you.”
“I live in a city, but I’m considering moving.”
I shake my head. “Cities are way worse, just take them to a bad part at night.”
“You can’t get lost in a city,” he says. “I mean, you can lose someone, but you’ll always be seen. Deep in the forest, you could live the rest of your life with only the birds and squirrels.”