“Chocolate pudding,” Talia says.
Lis groans. “Are they trying to kill me?”
“No one’s forcing you to eat it,” Talia says.
“Yes they are. Anyone who says no to chocolate pudding is a weirdo,” Lis replies.
“Speaking of weirdos,” Talia says under her breath, “here she comes.”
I look up to see a tall busty blond, in a green tube top and leggings, skipping over to us. “Hi, ladies! How are the meatballs? They look AMAZING.”
“They’re great, Janelle,” Lis says.
She plops into the seat beside me. “Hi!” she says. “You must be Sam. Welcome to camp! We’re so happy to have you here! It’s the best, eh?”d
I catch Lis rolling her eyes.
“Nice to meet you,” I say, and smile.
She smiles back—it’s a huge smile. Her eyes crinkle and her mouth opens wide. I can see that one of her front teeth is twisted, like she never had braces. She’s about a head taller than me, and wider. She is wearing a small silver cross around her neck.
“It’s great to meet you! Do you need help unpacking? Let me know if you need anything. We’re all in this together!” She grabs a paper plate and dumps a scoop of meatballs onto it. “I am so thirsty, my mouth is a desert. Where’s the bug juice?”
“We just got water,” Lis says.
She wrinkles her nose. “They didn’t have bug juice?”
“I didn’t see it,” Talia snaps.
“Not to worry, I’m on it—be right back,” she says, jumping back out of her seat and hurrying off to the kitchen.
Lis skewers a piece of lettuce. “She’s been here one day and she acts like she owns the place.”
I can already tell what the problem is. Janelle is too happy. Too eager. Too confident. Too different. Girls like that either take over the place or get eaten alive.
She comes back a few minutes later with a large jug of pink juice. “Look what I got! This place is amazing! And how funny is it that the kitchen staff is all Australian? Maybe I’ll go to Australia next summer. So, who wants bug juice?” She overemphasizes the words, then says to me, as an aside, “I thought it was just Kool-Aid. Camp is so awesome.”
“We taught her a new term.” Lis rolls her eyes. “I’m good, thanks.”
“Me too,” says Talia.
Janelle smiles at me, unfazed. “Sam?”
“Sure,” I say. “Water’s boring.”
She fills up my cup and I gulp it down in one shot. So sweet. But so good. Kool-Aid but better. “It tastes like childhood,” I say.
Janelle laughs. “It does! It really does!” And she takes another forkful of meatball.
“I’m done,” Lis says, picking up her plate. “Going to say hi to Allie.”
“Me too,” Talia says.
They drop their plates in the nearby garbage and head to the senior section, laughing to each other the whole way.
I resolve not to be bitchy just because they’re being bitches.
I turn to Janelle. “So this is your first year?”
“Yes! And I love it! I’ve never been to camp in my life.”
“Where are you from?” I ask.
“It’s a long story,” she says. “Do you want the short version or the long version?”
“Um, long, I guess.”
“I was born in Saskatchewan but then I moved with my mom to Calgary. Have you ever been?”
“No,” I say.
“No one here has! So strange. It’s the Canadian prairies.”
“Got it,” I say.
“I only lived there until I was six. Then I moved to Prince Edward Island. Have you heard of PEI?”
“Of course. Anne of Green Gables!”
“Right! That’s what I told Lis and Talia, but they’ve never read it. I lived there for a few years, but then—you’re not going to believe this part—my biological father, who I hadn’t even met, tracked me down. He had another kid—Michelle, my little sister—and my sister had AML. It’s what comes before leukemia. Have you ever heard of it?”
“I haven’t,” I say. “But it sounds horrible.”
“I know, eh?” She takes a scoop of rice.
“Anyway, he wanted to test to see if I could be a donor. ’Cause siblings make the best donors. So of course, I got tested.”
“Wow. Were you a match?”
She shakes her head. “No. I wasn’t. But they found a match in Oklahoma! Can you believe it? And she’s great now. My sister is great.” Janelle’s eyes are filled with happy tears.
“That’s . . .” It’s a lot. I don’t know what to say. “Wow.”
“I know.” She nods. “Do you want some pudding? I’m going to get us pudding.” And with that she’s off.
Wow. I can’t imagine going through all that. So much to deal with.
Lis and Talia slide back into their seats beside me. “She told you about her half sister, didn’t she?”
I nod.
Talia shakes her head. “She tells every person she talks to. She told the kitchen staff at lunch.”
“It is a crazy story,” I say.
“Yeah. Exactly. Crazy.” She makes a loco motion with her fingers.
Lis points to Talia. “You are so fucking lucky you got the normal one.”
Talia just laughs.
The head staff make announcements after dinner, and then we all head back to our cabins.
I unzip my duffel and make my bed, and then start to organize my clothes. I know they won’t stay that way, since I have never been known for my neatness. I hope I’m not expected to tidy up after the campers, because I can barely tidy up after myself.
I glance down at my phone, but have no service. It’s not like I would hear from Eli anyway, since he’ll be on the plane for the rest of the night. It feels strange to be so out of touch. To know that even if I want to reach him, I can’t.
At eight thirty, Eric’s voice comes over the loudspeaker and announces that it’s time to go to Upper Field for the campfire.
“It’s getting cold out,” Lis tells me. “You better put on something warm. Do you have Uggs?”
“People still wear Uggs?” I ask.
“They do at camp,” Talia says.
Lis bites her pinkie nail. “Wait. We need to bring towels to sit on.”
“I haven’t unpacked those yet,” I admit. “But let me try and find one.”
“You can share mine,” Talia says, grabbing a dry one off the porch.
“I’ll share too,” Janelle says.
I catch Lis and Talia give each other a look.
The four of us meander our way back down the dirt road, picking up other counselors as we go. The sun has already set, but it’s still light out.
I meet Mike, who is wearing red earmuffs. Everyone calls him Muffs. His co-counselor is JJ, who has wildly puffy blond hair.
“Nice to meet you,” I tell them.
“Actually, I remember you,” Muffs says. “I was here when you were here, but a year younger. I’m Lis’s age.”
I freeze. But he doesn’t bring up the Porny nickname, so either he doesn’t remember or he’s being nice.