love.
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“I just mean, there may be people on your team that aren’t as good for you as other people. That’s all. Esther and … what’s her name? Hennie? Esther and Hennie seem like nice girls, Dancia. I can see that you three are already great friends.”
Still unsure of what mysterious code Cam was using, I cocked my head and stared at him. “Yeah, Esther and Hennie are super,” I said uneasily. “We have a lot of fun together.”
Cam looked pleased. “I thought so. I just wanted to make sure you knew that was okay. To hang out with them, I mean, instead of people from your team all the time. And you should come find me at lunch sometime. I’d like to introduce you to some of my friends too.”
If he was trying to confuse me, he had absolutely succeeded. First he was talking about my team, then Esther and Hennie, and now he wanted me to meet his friends? Why me? Why not Esther, who could actually talk to him and make him laugh; or Hennie, who was like a picture from a magazine? As baffled as I was, I still felt a rush of pleasure.
“Okay,” I said. “That would be great.”
He walked me back over to Hennie and Esther, and gave each of us one of his blinding smiles, starting with me. “Remember, whatever you need, Dancia, or any of you, let me know. I’d love to help.”
The second he was out of earshot, Esther hit me with her notebook.
“ ‘Whatever you need, I’d love to help’?” she repeated. “What’s going on with you and Cam?! Are you, like, going out or something?”
“What do you mean?” I asked, my voice cracking. I swallowed and tried to regain my composure. “I told you, he was my recruiter. They probably have a rule that they have to be extra nice to the people they recruit. Besides, he said ‘any of you.’ He wasn’t just talking to me.”
Esther snorted. “I don’t think so.” She and Hennie exchanged meaningful looks. “He didn’t even notice us. He only had eyes for you. What did he say over there, anyway?”
I threw my head back and closed my eyes, retying my hair into a massive ponytail. “I have no idea. Something about how he thinks I should be friends with you, and that I shouldn’t worry about spending all my time with my team. I couldn’t follow him.”
“You mean, he doesn’t want you to spend all your time with Jack,” Hennie said knowingly.
My mouth dropped open. I hadn’t even thought about it, but the only person on my team I had become friends with was Jack. Was he trying to say something to me about Jack?
Esther giggled. “Oh, Hennie, that’s brilliant! He’s jealous! He’s been watching Dancia hanging around with Jack these last two weeks, and he’s horribly jealous!”
“You’re crazy, Esther,” I said, not wanting to think about the possibility, even though somewhere in my brain it was as if a rainbow had broken across the sky. “And you too, Hennie. He only said that because he likes the two of you. Esther totally made him laugh just now. And, Hennie, you’re a hundred times prettier than I am. He could not stop staring at you. Did you see that?”
“Yeah, right,” Hennie said. “He was staring at me because I practically threw up on myself, I was so nervous.”
That made me laugh. “I guess he is pretty cute, huh?”
“No, not pretty cute,” Hennie said. “Try drop-dead gorgeous.”
“And so not interested in either of us, Dancia,” Esther said. “Seriously, what do I have to do to convince you that he was totally checking you out? And he must have been asking about you to his buddy Trevor. Which is definitely a good thing.”
“This is all crazy. Honestly, I wouldn’t know what to do if he was interested. I’ve never even had a boyfriend.” I don’t know what possessed me to say that, but the words exploded out of me. It was like I’d been hiding a dirty secret and had finally come clean and told the truth.
My words provoked a sympathetic sigh from Hennie. “Me neither.
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“I just mean, there may be people on your team that aren’t as good for you as other people. That’s all. Esther and … what’s her name? Hennie? Esther and Hennie seem like nice girls, Dancia. I can see that you three are already great friends.”
Still unsure of what mysterious code Cam was using, I cocked my head and stared at him. “Yeah, Esther and Hennie are super,” I said uneasily. “We have a lot of fun together.”
Cam looked pleased. “I thought so. I just wanted to make sure you knew that was okay. To hang out with them, I mean, instead of people from your team all the time. And you should come find me at lunch sometime. I’d like to introduce you to some of my friends too.”
If he was trying to confuse me, he had absolutely succeeded. First he was talking about my team, then Esther and Hennie, and now he wanted me to meet his friends? Why me? Why not Esther, who could actually talk to him and make him laugh; or Hennie, who was like a picture from a magazine? As baffled as I was, I still felt a rush of pleasure.
“Okay,” I said. “That would be great.”
He walked me back over to Hennie and Esther, and gave each of us one of his blinding smiles, starting with me. “Remember, whatever you need, Dancia, or any of you, let me know. I’d love to help.”
The second he was out of earshot, Esther hit me with her notebook.
“ ‘Whatever you need, I’d love to help’?” she repeated. “What’s going on with you and Cam?! Are you, like, going out or something?”
“What do you mean?” I asked, my voice cracking. I swallowed and tried to regain my composure. “I told you, he was my recruiter. They probably have a rule that they have to be extra nice to the people they recruit. Besides, he said ‘any of you.’ He wasn’t just talking to me.”
Esther snorted. “I don’t think so.” She and Hennie exchanged meaningful looks. “He didn’t even notice us. He only had eyes for you. What did he say over there, anyway?”
I threw my head back and closed my eyes, retying my hair into a massive ponytail. “I have no idea. Something about how he thinks I should be friends with you, and that I shouldn’t worry about spending all my time with my team. I couldn’t follow him.”
“You mean, he doesn’t want you to spend all your time with Jack,” Hennie said knowingly.
My mouth dropped open. I hadn’t even thought about it, but the only person on my team I had become friends with was Jack. Was he trying to say something to me about Jack?
Esther giggled. “Oh, Hennie, that’s brilliant! He’s jealous! He’s been watching Dancia hanging around with Jack these last two weeks, and he’s horribly jealous!”
“You’re crazy, Esther,” I said, not wanting to think about the possibility, even though somewhere in my brain it was as if a rainbow had broken across the sky. “And you too, Hennie. He only said that because he likes the two of you. Esther totally made him laugh just now. And, Hennie, you’re a hundred times prettier than I am. He could not stop staring at you. Did you see that?”
“Yeah, right,” Hennie said. “He was staring at me because I practically threw up on myself, I was so nervous.”
That made me laugh. “I guess he is pretty cute, huh?”
“No, not pretty cute,” Hennie said. “Try drop-dead gorgeous.”
“And so not interested in either of us, Dancia,” Esther said. “Seriously, what do I have to do to convince you that he was totally checking you out? And he must have been asking about you to his buddy Trevor. Which is definitely a good thing.”
“This is all crazy. Honestly, I wouldn’t know what to do if he was interested. I’ve never even had a boyfriend.” I don’t know what possessed me to say that, but the words exploded out of me. It was like I’d been hiding a dirty secret and had finally come clean and told the truth.
My words provoked a sympathetic sigh from Hennie. “Me neither.
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