Nini:
I was thinking it would be nice if you two became friends again
Nini:
It’s been 5 years!
Gage:
I don’t know if we can …
Nini:
Can you try? Please? For me?
I sigh to myself. Annie doesn’t ask for much, and I could never deny her anyway.
Gage:
Yeah, I’ll do my best
Nini:
Promise?
Gage:
Yeah, Nini. I promise
I sigh again and take off my hat to run my hand through my hair.But how? How can I be friends with Olivia?
Before long, the other counselors start trickling in for the first orientation session of the day. Camp Prairie Star hosts around one hundred campers a week, divided into twelve cabins—six cabins of about eight girls each and six cabins of about eight boys each. The kids are all between the ages of eight and fourteen.
In addition to the twelve counselors—one for each cabin—the staff includes the activities director, nurse, cooking staff, lifeguard, craft counselor, nature counselor, assistant director, and of course, Linda, the camp director. The nurse and cooking staff are exempt from the whole orientation rigmarole, so there are about sixteen of us seated around the mess hall waiting for Linda to start the session.
Olivia sits as far away from me as possible, which is fine with me. Still, no matter how hard I try to pay attention to what Linda is saying about … homesickness? conflict resolution? … my eyes keep wandering to Olivia.
She catches me staring more than once. The first time, she quickly looks away. The second time, she lifts her eyebrows and points toward the front of the room where Linda is standing. The third time, she glares at me.
By lunch, I determine that it would have been easier if I’d promised Annie to be creepy rather than friendly. I’ve got creepy on lock.
I shuffle through the food line, picking up a turkey sandwich wrapped in plastic, two apples, and a bag of crunchy Cheetos and placing them on my tray.
I find an empty table. I’m usually Mr. Sociability, but I’m not in the mood today. Even though I was expecting her, seeing Olivia this morning was a shock to my system. I’ve been drawn to her all day like a mosquito to a bug zapper. It’s the same way she used to capture and dominate my attention back in high school. Was she ever drawn to me the same way? Is she now?
A tray plunks onto the table next to me. I look up to see Olivia settling onto the bench.
“Hi,” she says.
“Uh, hi?” Her arm brushes mine as she gets situated, and the goosebumps are immediate.
“Annie made me promise to try being friends with you this summer,” she explains.
I shake my head at my sister’s plotting. “She made me promise, too,” I admit.
Olivia raises her eyebrows. “And I made the first move? Excellent. Let’s be sure she knows that.”
I hold back a smile. Everything’s a competition with Olivia, although I could say the same for myself. Rather than engaging, I change the subject. “How was your sister’s wedding?”
