“That was so cool!”
That’s great, they loved it.
The inflatable shrinks as it loses air.
All of the campers are standing on the beach, laughing and chatting about the “inflata-fail.” At least they’re not scared.
Cora takes over from me and Kayla. She sits the girls who fell into the water down with a towel and asks them what happened.
“What the hell was that?” Olly asks me.
I shrug. “I have no idea. One minute I’m watching them and the next minute the thing is falling toward me.”
“There must be a hole in it,” Kayla says.
Andy shuffles over, face ashen. “Are you two okay?” he asks me and Kayla.
Kayla nods, linking arms with Jake.
“Do you know what was wrong with it?” Jake asks.
“I had a look and found a small hole.” Jake shakes his head. “I must have missed it when doing my checks.”
Or Lillian did it after his checks. Then she watched from the forest as the thing went down.
I shiver and wrap a towel around myself, though I’m not actually cold.
“It might have torn on the way out there. These things happen, Andy,” Mary says, joining our group.
They don’t, actually.
Are none of them concerned that this could be more than an accident?
How did it stay up for so long, though?
The guys tug the inflatable to the beach and pull it up onto the grass.
“All right, campers,” Cora says. “Let’s get changed and head back out for lunch. Hot dogs and s’mores!”
There’s a collective cheer before the campers bundle into their cabins.
I walk away from the group, my hands in fists, and head over to the inflatable.
Marcus and Lorenzo are frowning at something.
“What is it?” I ask, crouching down next to them.
The inflatable material is slit.
I take a deep breath through my nose. “What could have done this?” I ask.
Lorenzo shakes his head. “I dunno. It looks like a neat cut but could have been a rock.”
There are a few rocks on the beach, but none of them look particularly sharp. Something near the slit catches my eye.
“Let’s leave this here until it’s dry, then see if Andy wants to get a new one or have this one repaired,” Marcus says.
He and Lorenzo walk away.
I run my finger over a sticky residue around the slit. It looks like the material was cut and then shoddily fixed. Someone taped it so it would stay inflated temporarily, until the water ruined the tape. It was probably masking tape, which wouldn’t hold for too long in water.
“Esme, come on, we need to get changed,” Kayla calls.
I stand and nod. “Okay.”
What should I say to them all?
I’ll tell Kayla while we’re getting ready and see what she thinks.
I jog to our cabin and Kayla closes the bedroom door behind us.
“That was insane,” she says, stripping off her soggy swimsuit.
“Uh-huh,” I say, pulling clean underwear, a pair of shorts and a T-shirt from the tiny dresser. “It’s actually more insane than you think….”
“Oh no,” she says, rolling her eyes. “I don’t want to hear any more conspiracy theories, Esme.”
“It’s not a conspiracy theory. The cut looks like it was done with a blade and there was this residue on it, the kind you get when you try to wash off a sticker. It was taped, badly.”
Kayla shakes her head. “You need to stop with this.”
“Can you please listen to what I’m telling you? Right before it went down, I saw a flash in the woods.”
“It’s daylight, a flash wouldn’t be visible.”
“No, not like the camera the other night. This was like the sun bouncing off a lens. I’m telling you Lillian did this. She watched and took photos too.”
“Okay, stop!” Kayla pulls on a T-shirt and scowls at me. “If we stop talking about this, then it didn’t happen. You’re playing with fire, Esme, and it has to freaking stop! Forget this and forget Lillian. The whole thing was her fault anyway. I’m not risking my time here or my relationship with Jake over that crazy freak.”
I stand there, speechless, as she whips the door open and slams it behind her.
Kayla has checked out. The games are getting more sinister.
And I’m alone.
23
I spend the rest of the day avoiding Kayla, and she does the same.
Andy sees no reason why we can’t have the night off as planned. The inflatable was an accident and the campers are all fine. He said the cops are looking into the ex-counselors.
But I know they won’t find anything.
I’m by the campfire with Tia, Rebekah, Olly and Jake.
Kayla is getting changed into sweats and meeting us out here.
The flames crackle gently as the last of the fire struggles to stay alight.
I watch the embers float before disappearing into the air.
Olly nudges my side with his. “What’s going on?”
“Huh? Nothing.”
“We can tell it’s not nothing, you know,” Tia says, scooping her long hair over one shoulder.
I raise my eyes to hers. “I’ve been distracted, but I’m fine.”
I’m on my own and have no one to talk to. Kayla has made it clear that she’s done with the whole thing, and I can’t bring anyone else in on this.
Mostly I feel horrible for keeping the inflatable tampering a secret.
Rebekah twists her hands together like she’s trying really damn hard not to voice her opinion.
I’m not sure I want to hear it right now.
There are more important things I need to worry about. Like Kayla.
“What’s happening?” Olly asks. “Please tell us.”
“We…I thought we were closer than this, Esme,” Rebekah says. “Whatever is goin’ on, we can help. Are you homesick?”
That sounds much better than the truth. “I’m close to my parents,” I say. “I’ve missed my nan’s birthday. It was last week.”