Kayla gestured to the empty chairs near their perfectly coiffed friends.
“Our guys?”
“Kayla’s dating Cameron,” Hannah volunteered, taking out a tiny bottle from her gold metallic purse and dabbing a little of the contents on her wrists.
“They don’t call him ‘Hands’ for nothing,” Kayla whispered in my ear, making me laugh.
Cameron, a member of Warriors’ Warden, could secure any kind of banned items at camp, from extra candy to alcohol. Not that I’d ever been the recipient of contraband, being a rule-follower for the most part. They’d called him Hands ever since he’d slipped into Gollum’s office as an eight-year-old and come out with the camp director’s coveted whistle. He’d gone into business for himself the next day, and I heard he’d made five hundred bucks his first summer.
While I congratulated Kayla on the new boyfriend, Hannah passed her the little bottle with a fragrance I could now smell.
“What is that?” I asked, trying to ID the label.
“Kayla made it,” Hannah said proudly. “It’s an essential oil she had blended for all the girls in Divas’ Den.”
“I have extras.” Kayla pulled two more bottles from her bag. There was a double D in purple script on the front. “Want one?”
“Thank you.” Warmed by the generosity, I took the one Hannah gave me.
“I think your friends want you.” Hannah nodded past my shoulder.
I turned to find Alex and Siobhan waving me back to “our” side of the lodge, the spot we’d always claimed for the Friday night dances. Seth was gone and the only one from his cabin still hanging out was Garrett, so it seemed safe to return.
“Bye.” I gave a wave. Camp would be more fun if we could all cross sides of the room now and then. Why the great divide between camp cliques? I expected that stuff in high school, but here…we could do better than that.
Walking past the dance floor where a few junior campers tested out the Cupid Shuffle, I opened the bottle of scent.
“What’s that?” Alex hauled the bottle to her nose before I could answer. “Mmm. Smells great.”
“Try some,” I offered, wanting to share the generosity.
Alex dabbed some on her neck while Siobhan tried to find everyone else’s pulse point. I grinned at Siobhan’s precise, scientific approach. While they shared the oil and asked why I’d been hanging out with Divas’ Den girls, Alex talked over them.
“Seth wants to see you. He’s outside now.”
My mellow mood evaporated, my heart beating staccato against my ribs.
“Excuse me?” Did this mean he was anxious to get this talk over with…get some closure so he could fully move on to be with Head Band Girl? My heart thumped louder than the DJ’s corner.
“Seth.” Alex pointed to the door. “He’s out by the picnic tables.”
My friends looked at me expectantly. They hadn’t said much when I’d hung out with Matt this week, which I’d appreciated. On the other hand, I knew they’d be happier if I smoothed things over with Seth so it wasn’t weird when our cabins hung out together.
Slipping out the back entrance of the lodge where it faced the lake, I saw a few other kids sitting at the picnic tables with drinks.
I passed the groups of kids talking and laughing and a couple sneaking kisses off to one side. At the last table before the beach, a lone figure sat in the shadows. I’d know the curls anywhere. It was the new height and broad chest that still surprised me. By any girl’s standards, Seth had turned crush-worthy this year. Certainly I wasn’t the only one who thought so.
“Hey.” I took a seat at the table beside him, closer than I’d intended.
Some habits were hard to break.
“Hey.” His mouth lifted at the corners, left-side dimple appearing. Something in his cupped hands pulsed.
“That’s a—” I began, racking my brain for the name he had taught me last summer.
“ Photouris pyralis ,” Seth finished for me. He held out his glowing hand.
“A firefly,”
“Our guys?”
“Kayla’s dating Cameron,” Hannah volunteered, taking out a tiny bottle from her gold metallic purse and dabbing a little of the contents on her wrists.
“They don’t call him ‘Hands’ for nothing,” Kayla whispered in my ear, making me laugh.
Cameron, a member of Warriors’ Warden, could secure any kind of banned items at camp, from extra candy to alcohol. Not that I’d ever been the recipient of contraband, being a rule-follower for the most part. They’d called him Hands ever since he’d slipped into Gollum’s office as an eight-year-old and come out with the camp director’s coveted whistle. He’d gone into business for himself the next day, and I heard he’d made five hundred bucks his first summer.
While I congratulated Kayla on the new boyfriend, Hannah passed her the little bottle with a fragrance I could now smell.
“What is that?” I asked, trying to ID the label.
“Kayla made it,” Hannah said proudly. “It’s an essential oil she had blended for all the girls in Divas’ Den.”
“I have extras.” Kayla pulled two more bottles from her bag. There was a double D in purple script on the front. “Want one?”
“Thank you.” Warmed by the generosity, I took the one Hannah gave me.
“I think your friends want you.” Hannah nodded past my shoulder.
I turned to find Alex and Siobhan waving me back to “our” side of the lodge, the spot we’d always claimed for the Friday night dances. Seth was gone and the only one from his cabin still hanging out was Garrett, so it seemed safe to return.
“Bye.” I gave a wave. Camp would be more fun if we could all cross sides of the room now and then. Why the great divide between camp cliques? I expected that stuff in high school, but here…we could do better than that.
Walking past the dance floor where a few junior campers tested out the Cupid Shuffle, I opened the bottle of scent.
“What’s that?” Alex hauled the bottle to her nose before I could answer. “Mmm. Smells great.”
“Try some,” I offered, wanting to share the generosity.
Alex dabbed some on her neck while Siobhan tried to find everyone else’s pulse point. I grinned at Siobhan’s precise, scientific approach. While they shared the oil and asked why I’d been hanging out with Divas’ Den girls, Alex talked over them.
“Seth wants to see you. He’s outside now.”
My mellow mood evaporated, my heart beating staccato against my ribs.
“Excuse me?” Did this mean he was anxious to get this talk over with…get some closure so he could fully move on to be with Head Band Girl? My heart thumped louder than the DJ’s corner.
“Seth.” Alex pointed to the door. “He’s out by the picnic tables.”
My friends looked at me expectantly. They hadn’t said much when I’d hung out with Matt this week, which I’d appreciated. On the other hand, I knew they’d be happier if I smoothed things over with Seth so it wasn’t weird when our cabins hung out together.
Slipping out the back entrance of the lodge where it faced the lake, I saw a few other kids sitting at the picnic tables with drinks.
I passed the groups of kids talking and laughing and a couple sneaking kisses off to one side. At the last table before the beach, a lone figure sat in the shadows. I’d know the curls anywhere. It was the new height and broad chest that still surprised me. By any girl’s standards, Seth had turned crush-worthy this year. Certainly I wasn’t the only one who thought so.
“Hey.” I took a seat at the table beside him, closer than I’d intended.
Some habits were hard to break.
“Hey.” His mouth lifted at the corners, left-side dimple appearing. Something in his cupped hands pulsed.
“That’s a—” I began, racking my brain for the name he had taught me last summer.
“ Photouris pyralis ,” Seth finished for me. He held out his glowing hand.
“A firefly,”
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