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“When do people move from outsiders to insiders?”
“They don’t. I’ll always be an outsider, even if I marry a purplecoat and have tiny purple babies.”
“Do you want that?”
“Maybe. It might have escaped your attention, but there are some seriously attractive people running around this compound.” Camille opened a drawer filled with tea and chocolate mix. Paper packets rustled as she picked among them. “One of them likes you.”
“I have a feeling Nico likes everyone with breasts.”
“He’s male and straight. Of course he likes everyone with breasts. He seems particularly interested in yours, though. I saw him working out with you, lifting up his silly shirt to show you his muscles, holding on to you a little too long during your drills. Usually he sets women up and lets them run to his cabin in heat. I’ve never seen him chase before. His usual tricks aren’t working with you, and I think it’s driving him mad. He’s not-so-casually interrogated me several times, asking questions about you.”
“Oh really?”
“He usually cooks for the oracle every couple of weeks. Lately, he’s there every day. I wonder why that is.”
“What sort of questions has he asked?”
“Ah, you’re interested too, are you? Let’s see, what hasn’t he asked? He wants to know if you’ve mentioned him or his food when he’s not around. He’s also trying to find out your full name. I couldn’t help him with that. I’ve only heard the oracle and Connell call you Lila. I told him I’d try to find out.”
She looked at Lila expectantly.
After a rather long moment, Camille grinned. “Good. If I were you, I wouldn’t tell him either. I suspect he intends to dig up whatever he can about you online, all so he can figure out how to woo you.”
“That’s not creepy.”
“It is, isn’t it? He’s absolutely clueless. He has no idea how to handle being on this end of things, and I enjoy watching him squirm. Don’t run to his cabin, will you? For once in his life, make him work for it.”
Camille dumped several packets of hot chocolate mix into the thermos and closed the drawer with a rolling whoosh. “Don’t tell Kenna you saw me here, okay? Cecily’s mother doesn’t like for her to have a lot sugar, especially right before dinner. I thought this would perk her up, though.”
“Your secret is safe with me. How’s she doing?”
“It’s been a few weeks since she and Achille broke up, but she’s still crying her eyes out. I keep trying, but nothing I say or do seems to help.”
“Nothing anyone says will help. She just needs time.”
“I know. I just keep thinking if I find the right thing to say…” She watched bubbles form in the electric kettle.
“There is no right thing to say, no argument that will make it better. Feelings don’t obey logic. If they did, we’d never have feelings for anyone. They’re stupid.”
“You sound like Blair.”
“Your friend gave her heart to someone who didn’t deserve it, someone who didn’t mean a damn thing he said, someone who disappeared without even having the decency to send her a note. She’s not just mourning the guy. She’s mourning herself. She thought she was smarter than that. It’s hard to realize that you’re as much of an idiot as everyone else.”
Camille pulled the kettle off the electric warmer. “Are we still talking about Cecily?”
Lila sipped her tea and didn’t reply.
“That’s why you haven’t visited Nico’s cabin, isn’t it? You just broke up with someone. You’re really good at hiding your feelings.”
“Things still have to get done.”
“Yes, they do. You should come over tonight. Cecily and I are watching movies. Comedies only. Well, comedies and horror. I might toss in a few selections where the heroine gets revenge upon an ex-lover, splashing the screen with his blood and intestines.”
Lila chuckled as Camille waggled her fingers.
“It’s been ages since I saw a movie,” Lila said.
“Think about it. You could tell her all that stuff you just said. Perhaps a new face would cheer her up a little. Mine isn’t.”
