“Yeah, I guess I can understand that.”
“Then I think we switch back to yellow and start mixing up yellow, orange, red, and green until we get to brown, which is where we are now.”
“Huh,” I say, thinking about it. “That’s actually a really good representation.”
“Thank you,” he says and then hands me back the ball. “Do you want to do the honors? I can hand you the markers.”
“Sure, that works,” I reply.
Getting to work, he hands me a black marker, and I start coloring in a circle at the very top.
“So who was that guy who said hi to you when we got here? Is that Chad?”
“It is,” I answer, focusing on making the ball look nice. “How could you tell?”
“He has weasel written all over him.”
“Right? See, I told you.”
“You did. I’ll be sure to avoid friendship with him at all costs.”
“Such a good husband.”
“Hey, according to the rules, we’re not saying nice things like that to each other just yet. Remember, we’re in a cold phase right now. We’re not frozen, just in our cold era.”
“Right, sorry.” I straighten out my lips, attempting not to smile, but it’s hard.
When I catch him glancing at me, he says, “Stop. You’re not supposed to be smiling.”
“I’m sorry.” I let out a low chuckle. “This is all just so…stupid.”
“Yes, but remember, you’re the one who got us into this, so don’t be the one who screws it up. You can’t blow up our spot.”
“Please, if anyone is going to screw it up, it’s you.”
“Want to bet?”
“Sure,” I say. “First one to misstep has to hand over five of their Nerds Clusters.”
“Only five?” he asks. “Scared you might mess it up?”
“No, scared you might mess it up several times. This is so you don’t lose them all.”
“We’ll see about that.” Then he reaches out his hand and says, “Deal.”
I take it and give it a shake.
Game on.
Easy win ahead for me.
Which is good, because I’ll need all the candy I can get to see me through the next eight days.
“This is stupid,” I say as I stand with my back to Wilder’s chest. Our ankles and our hands are tied to each other, plastering us together and making it nearly impossible to move. “If we fall, we have to roll, or else I’m taking the earth right to my nose.”
“We’re not going to fall,” Wilder says, his lips so close to my ear that his breath tickles me, sending a shiver all the way up my spine and causing goose bumps to spread over my skin. “We just need to communicate when we move. See, like them.” He nods toward Finky and his wife, Lindsey, who are moving through the mini golf course with ease.
There are five holes to play, and said holes are pretty simple, flat, nothing too dramatic when it comes to slope and obstacles. We were told before we started that the best score wins a prizeat the end. No one knows what the prize is, but you can bet with a camp full of embroidered vest–loving freaks, they’re gunning for it. And yes, because I don’t want to feel like the loser of the bunch, we’re going for it as well.
