‘They aren’t very nice to me. I think they want me to leave so that one of their friends can take my place in the bunk.’
‘I’m sure that’s not true,’ Alice said. ‘It’s your first year at camp, right?’ He nodded. ‘It always takes a little while to make friends. I came to camp for the first time when I was around your age, and it was so big and scary. The first week, I felt like I didn’t have any friends. But do you want to know what happened?’
‘I guess,’ he said dubiously.
‘I met my best mate that summer. She gave me a friendship bracelet at the final campfire and we promised we’d be friends forever.’
Alice still remembered that moment so clearly, the fire transforming Briar’s hair into the same gold as sunshine, her rosy cheeks and shy smile. It had been the best moment of Alice’s life, the first time since her parents’ divorce that she’d felt like maybe everything would be fine.
‘That’s nice. You’re not wearing any friendship bracelets, though,’ he noted.
‘Well… it’s back at my flat.’ She knew exactly where it was, in a box of trinkets under her bed she never touched but also never threw away. ‘I didn’t want to lose it at camp,’ she lied.
Robin looked suspicious. ‘But she still knows you’re mates, even though you’re not wearing the bracelet?’
‘Yes,’ Alice said, through gritted teeth. She didn’t know how she’d managed to mess this conversation up to the point that an eight-year-old was interrogating her about her failing social life. ‘So just give it a few more days, yeah? Are there any boys here who are nice?’
‘Only my brother, Timmy,’ Robin said glumly. ‘But he has to be nice to me.’
Alice nodded. She’d always wished she’d had a sibling, someone built in to share the burden of life with her, someone to help her to understand her parents better. It was one of the many reasons she’d envied Briar growing up.
‘Use that to your advantage, okay? Spend some time with him when you’re feeling excluded by the other boys. And we’ll meet at the end of the week to see how it’s going. Can you do that for me?’
Robin frowned.
‘If you do it, I’ll call your mom, okay?’ Alice said, putting out her pinkie finger. ‘And we’ll see what she says about you coming home.’
‘Really?’ Robin’s eyes lit up, and he linked his pinkie with hers.
She rifled through the desk drawer and found her stash of Cadbury Dairy Milk. ‘In the meantime, here’s a sweet treat to remind you of home.’
Robin looked at her like she’d performed a magic trick. ‘Thanks, Violet.’
It was the first time all week that Alice felt like she’d done something right. This was the part she loved, helping kids find a home at camp, the way that Susan had helped her all those years ago. Camp had always been an escape for her, the place she felt safe and the place she found community. If she could make it that for Robin, the hell of the past few days would have been worth it.
She stood. ‘Briar will take you to your bunk, okay? I’ll go get her.’
She went into the bedroom. ‘Can you bring Robin back?’ she asked. ‘I can’t look at him anymore, he’s too sad.’
‘Fine,’ Briar said, getting up and following Alice into the hallway, where Robin was waiting.
‘See you tomorrow, Robin,’ Alice promised.
‘What’s this?’ Robin asked, reaching up to place a deliberate finger on Briar’s forearm tattoo.
‘Oh,’ Briar said, her cheeks turning pink and giving Alice a petty sense of satisfaction. ‘It’s a tattoo. Do you know what a tattoo is? It’s like a drawing, but perm—’
‘I know what a tattoo is,’ Robin interrupted. ‘What’s it meant to be?’
Briar seemed to be deliberately not looking at Alice. ‘It’s a briar, like my name.’
‘Asensitivebriar,’ Alice corrected, referring to the flower’s proper name. ‘Like she is.’
Briar shot her an inscrutable look, then said, ‘It’s important to remember that tattoos are permanent and you shouldn’t make that decision lightly. Don’t get something inked on your skin unless you’re certain it’s what you want forever.’
And then, without looking at Alice again, she herded Robin outside.
Alice groaned as she scrolled through the myriad of emails she’d received since the start of the session. It was inevitable that she would have neglected her real life in favor of camp, but she also knew she needed to be more attentive to Jeremy in case something important came up. He’d sent her a few job postings and she shot back a quick response:I don’t have the required years of experience or desired publication credits for these roles.
