I puff out my cheeks. Nothing gets by my grandmother, so it’s not like I can get away with lying to her. “My history teacher assigned us a project. A huge one that counts for thirty percent of our grade.”
“So what’s the problem? Is the school too hard? Do you need a tutor?”
“Grandma, no. That’s not what I mean. I’m talking about my partner.”
Grandma smiles. “Oh, I see. Is she pretty?”
“What?”
“Your partner. I can already tell you have a crush on her. Aw, young love.” She turns to Grandpa. “Do you remember us at that age?”
Grandpa smiles and kisses her cheek. “Sure do. We were twelve and the second I saw your grandma, I knew she’d be my wife one day.”
I smile sadly. I thought the same thing when I met Raven for the first time. She was on a large piece of stone, crying becauseshe was having a hard time, and something shifted in me. Like I had this need to spend time with her, to make her happy. I really thought we were endgame, but that’s silly. Just because my grandparents and parents had epic love stories, it doesn’t mean I’ll have one, too.
“What’s her name?” Grandpa probes.
I release a heavy breath. “No, it’s not like that. My partner is a girl …”
“I knew it!”
“But she’s not…I mean, it’s Raven.”
They know everything that happened at camp. As much as I wanted to keep it to myself, it was impossible with Grandma.
Her face changes. “Raven? The girl who…?”
I nod, rubbing my hand down my face. I tell them everything that happened since my first day here, how she didn’t want to be friends and pretty much ignored me. “And now we’re partners because no one chose to team up with either of us.”
Grandpa studies my face. “Sorry to hear that, Kylen. Can’t you ask the teacher to switch partners?”
“Not really. The truth is, I don’t really mind working on it with her. We have a good idea and I know we’ll do well. It’s all the emotions and backstory and baggage behind it. Like, if we didn’t know each other, it’d be fine.” I groan. “Things were so awkward. I don’t know how to be around her as just a regular student.”
Grandma nods slowly. “Do you still have feelings for her? You know you can be completely honest with us. We won’t tell a soul.”
I’m quiet as I ponder the question. “I’m not sure. I think I still have feelings for Camp Raven. I have no idea who this Raven is. She’s the same, but different, you know? I think her skin crawls whenever I’m close to her. Okay, it’s an exaggeration, but you get what I mean.”
“It’s a tough one for sure,” Grandpa says. “I think the only thing you can do is work on the project like two mature young adults, and then once that’s done, go your separate ways.”
“Be a gentleman,” Grandma reminds me. “Respect her boundaries while doing whatever you need to do to ace the class. Try to keep your emotions out of it.”
I nod as their words enter my head. “I don’t think it’ll be that easy, but I get it. I’ll have to keep reminding myself that she’s not the girl I had strong feelings for. She’s changed, I’ve changed. And it’s silly to hold onto a past that doesn’t exist anymore. Thanks, Grandma and Grandpa. That helps a lot.”
Grandma smiles sadly. “I wish I could hug you. I miss you so much. I go into your room to talk to you, but then I remember you’re not here.”
“I wish I could give you guys a hug, too. There’s something called Parents’ Day. It’s when families come to HBA to visit. You think you’ll be able to make it?”
We live in Seattle, so it’s very far from New York. They can always take a plane, but my grandfather doesn’t like flying. And they’re getting older, which makes it harder for them to fly.
“We’d love to see you,” Grandma says. “When is this Parents’ Day?”
“Not sure, but I’ll look it up and let you know. So what else has been going on at home? You guys got that leak fixed?”
As they update me on everything, the door opens and Beck bursts in. He flops down on the bed. “Had to get out of there because Jasper was being a jerk for bragging about beating the high score on every game.” He rolls his eyes. “And Leo was trying to flirt with a girl who has a boyfriend. I told him she had a boyfriend, but he didn’t believe me. Then the guy came and nearly punched him. It was wild, man.” He stops when he takes in my phone. “Who are you chatting to?”
I turn the phone around and he grins. “Grandma and Grandpa Barrett. How’s it going?”
“Hello, Beckham.” Grandma gives him a stern look like she does many times. “Are you boys keeping the place clean or is it a pigsty?”
