“Why aren’t you there?” I countered.
“Like I said”—she grinned—“destined to be best friends, Emma.”
“You’ve been here at Mapplewood before?”
“Uh-huh. My name is Black, after all,” she said.
“Your parents own the place?”
“Guilty as charged; it’s the family business. I’m still technically a camper, but my older brother and sister are counselors.”
“At least now I’ll know someone cool around here,” I said.
Over the next few minutes, campers walked by the cabin window, letting us know that the assembly was over. Thankfully, no one from my cabin came back right away.
Gwen hopped down from the bunk bed and chatted about how it was such a coincidence that she, too, didn’t plan on staying at Camp Mapplewood for the season, and the time passed quickly. Her parents insisted that she spend the summer with her siblings, Walter and Vivian, before the latter went back to college. Mr. Black roped his brother Manny into being the camp nurse for the summer too. The entire place was run by various members of the Black family when you included Gwen’s mom, who was in charge of the kitchen.
Looking up at me with big eyes, Gwen asked, “Would it be okay if I put my number in your phone? You know, for after summer? To cement our friendship?” She hopped up and down on her feet, preparing to beg. She looked at my very pointy boob, where I had shoved my phone for safekeeping. It was an awful hiding spot. I took it out of my shirt and slipped down from the bunk bed so we faced each other. “I promise not to be too overbearing with emoticons.”
“I don’t mind, I guess . . .”
As quick as a flash, she snatched my phone from my hand and typed rapidly. When I got my phone back, her number was in there, coupled with several hearts beside her name and even a perfect picture of her grinning at the camera. Gwen grabbed me for a death hug. By that, I mean she hugged me so damn tight that I thought my ribs were going to crack. She might have gotten the hint when I started coughing and spluttering about seeing the light.
“I’m going to get my stuff organized before lunch, maybe set up my bed,” Gwen said. “Don’t be a stranger.”
“You live next door,” I pointed out, but she wasn’t appeased. “I mean, you did say we were going to be best friends.”
“Oh, and Emma? You should really hide that phone.”
As she spun around and walked out of the cabin with a quick, graceful lope, I saw a strange, orange flower pinched in her hair.
Gwen was right. As much as I wanted to, I couldn’t go around with the phone shoved down my bra. There had to be a hiding place in the cabin, somewhere a counselor wouldn’t think to look until I was good and ready to break the rules. There was no point trying to get myself tossed out on the first day, especially when there would be no one to pick me up. My dad would be hours away by this point. As much as I wanted to see his overly sparkly blue van outside of camp, the image of his worn-out face after hours of traveling spurred me to scour the cabin in search of a good hiding spot.
Under my pillow? Too risky. Other than my luggage, the only personal space I had was the bed, and even then, it was only the top bunk. Our bathroom was small and already cramped with all our personal stuff and the as-yet-unpacked generic cleaning supplies that had been placed there before we arrived. Under my mattress? I tested the spot, lying on the bottom bunk and looking up. It was visible between the wooden bars. I knocked Abby’s pillow off the bed, and when I stretched out to grab it, a higher than usual floorboard beneath Lauren’s bed caught my attention. With a prod, the floorboard moved. When I shoved it to the side, a little hole appeared. No one would think to look there. After bundling the device into a hoodie, I hid the phone inside the hole.
Come lunchtime, we didn’t have to scavenge for our food. When I shared that thought out loud with the woman serving us, she gave me the strangest expression, piled a splat of mushy goop on my plate, and told me to beat it. I didn’t have the energy to get anything other than potatoes after her apparent dismissal.
The canteen was already full to the brim, so I sat down at an outdoor picnic table with my tray. The rest of the Beaver group soon came out and spotted me. They made themselves comfortable with Jessie and Abby sitting on either side of me, Lauren opposite me along with Kendra, and the guys to my right at the other end of the table, speaking among themselves. The only person from the Beavers who wasn’t there was Gwen.
“Is this, like, a thing?” I asked, nudging Jessie as soon as she sat down. “All the other groups are meshed together. But the Beavers are staying united.”
“We’re genuinely friends, that’s why,” Jessie said.
“Is Gwen still back in your cabin?” I asked.
Lauren scoffed and fixed me with a look that resembled a goblin, like the idea of being friends with Gwen was absurd. She wore the same expression as she had on the day she’d left me up in that tree all alone. How didn’t I recognize that face straight away? Sure, blocking out that memory was the only way to move forward, but when we were grouped together by Mr. Black, and then when we were in the cabin, she hadn’t looked familiar. Knowing who she was now? It would be hard to forget.
She took a sip of her apple juice, maintaining eye contact with me. Did she remember doing that to me? There was no way she could know how leaving me up there had impacted me since then, but that didn’t mean I wanted to forgive her. Not until she apologized at the very least. When Jessie opened her mouth to answer, Lauren glanced at her, shutting her response down. There was a gleam in Lauren’s eye, as if she liked the power she held over her friends, but, more importantly, she wanted to impress me for some illogical reason. Behind proud eyes, she didn’t realize that she was, in fact, doing the complete opposite.
“I don’t know how Gwen’s a part of the Black family. Her brother and sister are cool. She’s too weird to be one of them.” Lauren looked around and raised an eyebrow. “Especially her hair. Did you see it yet? She’s a freak. She dances everywhere she goes. How weird is that?”
“She seems pretty cool to me,” I said.
“Trust me.” Lauren took a sip of her drink. “She isn’t. That’s why she’s not sitting here. Doesn’t matter what she’s like, though. It’s pretty much guaranteed she’s getting that camp counselor position next year after Connor leaves. Look at how the rest of the camp is run. Julie Black, Philip Black, Manny Black, Walter Black, Vivian Black . . . next year Gwen will join them. How is that fair to anyone?”
“Essentially, you isolated her.” I deduced. “Who does she sit with at school?”
“Why do you care?” Lauren asked.
I picked up my tray and stood. “Even if I don’t know Gwen very well, or at all, I know she’s damn better than your bossy ass.”