to avoid whacking her head on the ceiling. “Alice after she ate the EAT ME cake and got humongous.” They settled into a circle on the dusty planks.
“You haven’t been up here since we left?” Emma asked.
“Why would I? It’s a pain in the ass.” She smiled. “Plus, this is our place. Who else would I come here with?”
“It’s weird, isn’t it?” Maddie said. “Except for right here, in this spot, camp’s not really ours anymore.”
“It’s still ours!” Jo cried.
“It
was
ours,” Maddie said. “Now it belongs to some other kids. Some little, bizarro versions of us. We’re just passing through, like ghosts.” She ran her fingers along the graying wood, suddenly realizing why people were always compelled to scrawl their names onto walls in permanent marker, followed by the words
was here
.
“Don’t think of it that way,” Emma said brightly. “Think of it as them trespassing on our property.”
“Totally,” Skylar said. “And we can chase them off in our motorized wheelchairs!”
“Swinging our canes!” Jo added. They laughed.
“I really missed you guys,” Maddie said. She swallowed, feeling a lump forming in her throat. Until now, she hadn’t realized how long it had been since she’d been among friends. At school, everyone had stopped talking to her after word about Charlie got out. But they hadn’t stopped talking
about
her. As she’d walked the hallways, the whispers had glanced off her like airborne paper cuts.
“Hey,” Jo said, reaching over to grab Maddie’s chin. “I declare this a no-cry zone. We should be happy. We’re all here.”
“I am happy to be here,” Maddie said. “I’m just also overwhelmed. I don’t know where to even start.” She took a deep breath, knowing she had to be careful. If she let too much slip out, she could end up with an emotional avalanche.
“I have an idea,” Emma said with a sly smile. “Let’s play ten fingers.”
That could be dangerous, Maddie thought, but she’d never been able to resist a good round of inappropriate gossip. “I’m in!” she said, with as much enthusiasm as she could muster.
“Which game is that again?” Jo asked.
Skylar sighed. “You know it; we’ve played it dozens of times. You just suck at it, is all.”
“It’s never have I ever,” Emma explained. “You know, you turn a finger down if you’ve done whatever it is.”
“
Right
,” Jo said. “Okay, I’ll just keep mine up then, because I haven’t done anything.” She held her hands in front of her like a street mime pretending to be trapped in a box. Maddie guffawed.
“Okay, I’ll start,” Emma said. “I’m just going to put this out there now, because it’s the big one. . . .”
“That’s what she said,” Maddie whispered. She knew it was a cheap joke, but she couldn’t help it; humor became a defensive reflex when she was feeling anxious. Jo, being kind, laughed louder than she needed to.
“Never have I ever . . . had sex,” Emma announced. She wiggled all ten fingers. “Yes, I’m still a virgin. Don’t all gasp at once.”
“Ditto,” Jo said.
Well, they were bound to find out sooner or later. Maddie turned down the thumb of her right hand; across the circle, she saw Skylar do the same. Neither one of them looked particularly proud.
Jo gasped. “Wait!” she cried. “You had sex with whatshisname? Your lab partner?!”
“Charlie,” Maddie corrected. But it was true. Maddie and Charlie had been paired in sophomore chemistry lab thanks to alphabetical proximity, and after three months spent hovering warily over Bunsen burners, they’d become friends. They’d spent lunch hours quizzing each other on oxidation reactions on the track bleachers and speculating as to whether their teacher, who went by the nickname “Doc,” fashioned himself after Doc Brown from
Back to the Future
or after Snow White’s smartest dwarf. By the end of the semester their chemistry was soaring, even though they’d
“You haven’t been up here since we left?” Emma asked.
“Why would I? It’s a pain in the ass.” She smiled. “Plus, this is our place. Who else would I come here with?”
“It’s weird, isn’t it?” Maddie said. “Except for right here, in this spot, camp’s not really ours anymore.”
“It’s still ours!” Jo cried.
“It
was
ours,” Maddie said. “Now it belongs to some other kids. Some little, bizarro versions of us. We’re just passing through, like ghosts.” She ran her fingers along the graying wood, suddenly realizing why people were always compelled to scrawl their names onto walls in permanent marker, followed by the words
was here
.
“Don’t think of it that way,” Emma said brightly. “Think of it as them trespassing on our property.”
“Totally,” Skylar said. “And we can chase them off in our motorized wheelchairs!”
“Swinging our canes!” Jo added. They laughed.
“I really missed you guys,” Maddie said. She swallowed, feeling a lump forming in her throat. Until now, she hadn’t realized how long it had been since she’d been among friends. At school, everyone had stopped talking to her after word about Charlie got out. But they hadn’t stopped talking
about
her. As she’d walked the hallways, the whispers had glanced off her like airborne paper cuts.
“Hey,” Jo said, reaching over to grab Maddie’s chin. “I declare this a no-cry zone. We should be happy. We’re all here.”
“I am happy to be here,” Maddie said. “I’m just also overwhelmed. I don’t know where to even start.” She took a deep breath, knowing she had to be careful. If she let too much slip out, she could end up with an emotional avalanche.
“I have an idea,” Emma said with a sly smile. “Let’s play ten fingers.”
That could be dangerous, Maddie thought, but she’d never been able to resist a good round of inappropriate gossip. “I’m in!” she said, with as much enthusiasm as she could muster.
“Which game is that again?” Jo asked.
Skylar sighed. “You know it; we’ve played it dozens of times. You just suck at it, is all.”
“It’s never have I ever,” Emma explained. “You know, you turn a finger down if you’ve done whatever it is.”
“
Right
,” Jo said. “Okay, I’ll just keep mine up then, because I haven’t done anything.” She held her hands in front of her like a street mime pretending to be trapped in a box. Maddie guffawed.
“Okay, I’ll start,” Emma said. “I’m just going to put this out there now, because it’s the big one. . . .”
“That’s what she said,” Maddie whispered. She knew it was a cheap joke, but she couldn’t help it; humor became a defensive reflex when she was feeling anxious. Jo, being kind, laughed louder than she needed to.
“Never have I ever . . . had sex,” Emma announced. She wiggled all ten fingers. “Yes, I’m still a virgin. Don’t all gasp at once.”
“Ditto,” Jo said.
Well, they were bound to find out sooner or later. Maddie turned down the thumb of her right hand; across the circle, she saw Skylar do the same. Neither one of them looked particularly proud.
Jo gasped. “Wait!” she cried. “You had sex with whatshisname? Your lab partner?!”
“Charlie,” Maddie corrected. But it was true. Maddie and Charlie had been paired in sophomore chemistry lab thanks to alphabetical proximity, and after three months spent hovering warily over Bunsen burners, they’d become friends. They’d spent lunch hours quizzing each other on oxidation reactions on the track bleachers and speculating as to whether their teacher, who went by the nickname “Doc,” fashioned himself after Doc Brown from
Back to the Future
or after Snow White’s smartest dwarf. By the end of the semester their chemistry was soaring, even though they’d
Similar Books
