Briar brought her face even closer to Alice’s. ‘I just wanted to see if I could make you sayfuck.’
Alice laughed. ‘You’re such a child.’
The campers around them erupted into applause and they turned back to Noah, who was giving a theatrical series of bows to his fans. Freddie stood next, gesturing for quiet.
‘Back by popular demand,’ he announced, ‘it’s your favorite duo! What do you think’ – he turned to Sierra – ‘can they handle it?’
Sierra nodded. ‘I don’t see any fainters.’
Freddie broke into song.
‘He has such a beautiful soprano,’ Alice muttered to Briar, and she was rewarded with Briar’s laughter, which had once been, and had again become, Alice’s favorite sound in the world.
Freddie and Sierra continued, the performance somehow morphing into Sierra giving an educational lecture on indigenous history as Freddie did an interpretive dance in the background.
‘Andddd remember, kids, imperialism isnotgiving. Or whatever it is you all say nowadays,’ Sierra said, as they reached what Alice supposed was the end.
‘Should we have let them do that?’ Alice asked out of the side of her mouth.
The final piece of self-control that was keeping Alice composed broke at the sight of Briar hunched over, red-faced and giggling. She laughed at the sound of Briar’s laughter.
‘Definitely—’ Another peal of laughter overtook Briar. ‘Definitely not.’
‘We’re terrible camp directors, aren’t we?’ Alice asked, wiping a tear from Briar’s cheek with her thumb. ‘Are we scarring these children permanently?’
‘They’ll bounce back.’
‘What about us?’ Alice asked. ‘I don’t think I’ll ever get the image of Freddie doing the splits while Sierra sings “This Land Is Your Land” un-ingrained from my hippocampus.’
‘We’re long past any chance at normalcy for you, I’m afraid,’ Briar said.
‘Are you okay? I’ve never known you togiggle.’ Freddie plopped himself down next to Alice. ‘Actually, you two have been laughing an awful lot recently.’ He looked between them for a drawn-out moment. ‘Anything you want to tell me?’
‘No,’ Briar said.
‘Are you getting high on Cook’s supply?’ he accused.
‘No!’ Alice said, still laughing, catching Briar’s eye and reveling in the feeling of having a shared language with her again. She felt a pang of recognition, as if this scene had happened before. That was what it meant to have a best friend like Briar – someone who had shaped the way Alice’s brain worked in ways she would never be able to understand the extent of.
She knew now that her heartbreak at eighteen hadn’t been teenage angst. She’d loved Briar then, and loved her now. Maybe she’d never stopped.
Alice was propelled to her feet. ‘I need to talk to Noah and Harper.’
She wanted to give Briar one last magical moment of the summer, something she could look back on positively despite what came next. And she would need help to pull it off.
Alice made her way around the fire pit to where Noah and Harper were talking in hushed tones. There was a hint of tension that reminded Alice of the poker night.
‘Hi,’ she said awkwardly, wishing she’d timed her bright idea to not interrupt what was clearly an important conversation.
‘Hi,’ Noah said, easily turning his furrowed brow into a clear expression. Harper’s frown didn’t fade as quickly.
‘Briar’s birthday is in ten days—’ Alice started.
‘We know,’ Harper interrupted.
‘Right, of course you do. I was just thinking it would be nice if we could surprise her with a party.’
‘I think that’s a great idea,’ Noah said.
