“The teams are so unfair this year,” says one of the figures. I think the voice is Drew’s, from Outdoor Adventure. “I mean, we’re going up against cabin seven for the obstacle course? Did you see that? Hudson laughed when he read it.”
“Don’t be an ass,” says the other voice. Sam, from sports.
“I’m not being an ass. I’m just saying. They’re not the most athletic bunch. They’re theater kids. They’ll win with the cheers and stuff, for sure, but that’s not enough points to even make a dent.”
“That doesn’t mean you have to gloat. Let them try their best and have fun. That’s what this is about. Fun.” They’re quiet for a minute. I try not to breathe too loudly.
“Think this’ll break up Hudson and Del?”
“Jealous?”
“I mean, he’s at the two-week point. That’s when it usually ends. And Hudson will need someone to get together with for the last two weeks.”
Jordan puts their hand on my wrist, and I realize I’m clenching my fists.
“He’s not getting back together with you, Drew,” Sam says, walking off. Drew follows her. “If you’re horny, just hook up with Derrick. He’s easy.”
“Not as hot, though,” Drew says, sounding resigned as he walks after her.
“Trouble in paradise?” Montgomery whispers to me. “If you’re feeling lonely, you know …”
“Shhh,” Jordan says.
I roll my eyes in the dark. Hudson and I are fine. Though I don’t like that he laughed at my cabin taking his on in the obstacle course. If he did. Drew might have been lying.
We follow the stream through the woods until it hits the river. No one is patrolling here, but we see some flashlights swinging around in the distance, and we’re out of bushes here, so we keep very low to the ground—Jordan slithers on their stomach. There are two Red team guards outside the door of the boathouse, though. Luckily, there’s the porch. I boost Jordan up and they climb onto the porch. Then I lift Montgomery, and once he’s up, he and Jordan extend their arms. I jump and grab their arms and they lift me up onto the porch, where we collapse in a gasping pile.
I look out over the rest of the porch. Ashleigh is relaxing on one of the chairs. She turns to us and nods.
“S’up?”
“HOW?” Jordan asks, standing. “How did you beat us? I was timing us. We went fast along the safest possible route.”
“That’s your trouble right there,” Ashleigh says, lying down in the chair and crossing her legs at the ankles. “Safest.”
Jordan makes a noise like a growl and goes into the boathouse, where there are stickers to put on our vests, to prove we made it. Wearing those, we can walk freely to the jail and release everyone there, as long as we go back to our side with them, and give up our sticker in the process—giving up our win to free everyone so we can all try again. It’s a risk, though—the team with the most people who’ve made it across wins. So giving up one person to try to bring more over is a gamble.
“You should wait half an hour so the jail is more full,” Ashleigh calls.
“You’re going to make them crazy, you know,” I say to Ashleigh, sitting down next to her.
“Jordan is too careful. They’ll beat me next year, though. Or I’ll take them with me and show them how it’s done.”
“Now,” Jordan says, appearing in the doorway.
“What?” Ashleigh says.
“You’ll show me now,” Jordan says.
“I’m waiting half an hour,” Ashleigh says. “But then, sure, I’ll show you. If you can handle it.”
Jordan narrows their eyes and sits on the floor of the porch, cross-legged.
“I’m just staying here the rest of the night,” Montgomery says, settling into one of the chairs.
“Hudson is one of the guards if you wanna go make out for half an hour,” Ashleigh says to me.
“Or ask him why he laughed at our cabin being the one going against his on the obstacle course,” Montgomery adds. I roll my eyes. No way Hudson did that.
“He did?” Ashleigh asks.
“If he did, and I don’t think he did, it’s out of context. It wasn’t, ‘They’re ridiculous for trying to take us on,’ it was, ‘Ha! I know exactly how to defeat them!’ But he’s underestimating us,” I say. “Only because we don’t know the obstacle course, is all. That’ll be our advantage.”
“I still don’t think we have a chance,” Montgomery says. “I mean, they’re like an army that does that course every day. Or did you choose us ’cause you wanted Hudson to win and feel big and strong?” He raises an eyebrow at me and purses his lips, mocking me.
“No,” I say, crossing my arms. “I chose us ’cause we’ll win. You just have to trust me.”
“Trust you? You’re not even in the show this year,” Montgomery says. “You’re barely in the cabin. All you do is make out with Hudson. We get it, you did it, yay you,” he says flatly, doing unenthusiastic jazz hands. “But look at you—all butch and playing sports. Do you even care about the show this year? Do you care about anything besides Hudson? You want us to trust you, but I don’t even know you.”
It’s like he’s slapped me across the face, and my mouth hangs open, my eyes watering a little. I thought it was better with him and Jordan, after that one time they said I wasn’t around enough … that one dinner we talked … and then they said it wasn’t much, and I just … forgot about them. I haven’t been a good friend, I realize.
“Of course you know him,” Ashleigh says.
“We do,” Jordan says. “But we haven’t seen him much this summer. It just feels like you’re not really part of the bunk anymore, Del.”
“I’m sorry,” I say softly. “I know I’ve been wrapped up in my relationship, but …”
“You can’t say you’re one of us and then not be,” Montgomery says. “We’ve spent rehearsals together waiting for our cues, practicing dance moves, we’ve done the chorus together and had inside jokes and been part of … something. And now you’re not. And then you swoop in and ask us to do this thing that you just KNOW we can do that none of us want to do, that we all know we’re going to be awful at, and the person in front of me is like … I don’t know him. I don’t trust him. And I don’t want to embarrass myself in front of the camp so he can look good for his boyfriend.”
Jordan nods. “It just doesn’t feel like you’re one of us.”
“I still am,” I promise them. “I’m just working on something else, too.”
“Is that what they call it these days?” Montgomery asks, raising an eyebrow.
“Look.” Ashleigh sits up and puts her hand on my shoulder. “I get it. You’re still you. Del is a role. And you’re still our friend. But it’s hard to follow you into what looks like a losing situation for us—one that’ll totally humiliate us—when you’ve only spent a fraction of the time with us this summer that you usually do. When we see Del more than Randy. That’s all they’re saying, I think.” Jordan and Montgomery nod.