Garrett holds his hand up. “Wait. Let the silence sit. Dramatic pause.”
The pause is more awkward than dramatic as a camera operator swivels around to get all of our baited reactions.
“Alright,” Garrett continues. “What that means is: We want you to form alliances with each other. The audience will eat that stuff up, especially if relatives of past rivals start working together.”
He peers around the room, lighting up when he spots his victims. “Seyoon, Dean, and Carter—the perfect example. How about a follow-up to one of TV’s greatest alliances? Eh?”
None of us reply. Blake steps around Garrett.
“Perhaps it’ll change your mind to hear that those in an alliance will get three bonus points for every challenge they continue working together,” she says. Thatistempting.
A sharp scoff from the bed opposite mine. “I don't care. I’m not taking them under my wing,” Carter says.
“I’d never want to work with you anyway,” Seyoon snaps, standing up from her bunk. “And you better not go crying to Uncle when I beat you in the next challenge.”
Someone makes an obnoxious cat noise from across the room. Carter sits up.
“Big talk for a girl who hardly made the cut—just like your mom barely made the final three.” He turns and locks eyes with me next. “And you. Don’t get comfortable in second place. Your dad may have done it, but you don’t seem like half the man he was.” Carter lies back down. “There’s no competition here, and certainly no chance for an alliance. I’m going to beat both of you just like my uncle beat your parents.”
The cabin erupts into excited hoots and calls for a fight. Garrett’s riotous laughter bounces off the walls. “He’s definitely my nephew!” he says. Blake tries to quiet everyone, but there’s no quelling a room of teens sensing tension brewing.
No, that’s not the only thing that’s brewing. My blood boils hot under my skin, scalding where my pulse hammers.
Carter’s good. It’s smart to make a strong first impression; there was always one person who made a big show like this on every season ofForest Feud. It’s a surefire way to be remembered as a tough player. If the rowdy crowd wasn’t interrupting every thought in my head, I’d think it through and realize that taunting me isn’t personal. In all likelihood, Carter probably doesn’t give two shits about me, let alone how I measure up as a man against my dad.
But for once, I’m not able to think it through. Because the pressure building in me hasn’t had a chance to cool all day. BecauseI came here to do right by Dad and Meredith, not embarrass the Parker name and come home empty-handed.
In the ruckus, I glance at Seyoon. She’s silent, shockingly. Her back is turned away from me, so I can’t make out her expression, but by the way her clenched fists shake at her sides, I know she’s not letting this one go, either.
That Moxley is going to pay.
Afterward, everyone is too exhausted to do much more than collapse in bed. Once they call lights out, the only sound in the dark cabin is the occasional snore or sleepy murmur. But I can’t sleep. I toss and turn for hours, staring blankly into the dark.
In the middle of the night, shuffling below catches my attention. I lie still as the mattress creaks and feet softly hit the floorboards. The door to the cabin squeaks opens, letting in a sliver of moonlight before it’s shut just as quickly.
I last only a few minutes before curiosity and restlessness get the best of me. I toss the blankets off, hop down, throw on my hoodie, and head outside.
The sky is a shade of heavy, inky black, suffocating in a way that could swallow you whole. But it’s the stars—millionsof them—that compress the air from my lungs.
I thought I’d seen stars before. You can spy Ursa Major from my bedroom window on a good night. But this?Theseare stars. Bright, crisp pinpricks stand in contrast on a sea of emptiness, spanningeach corner of my periphery. The sky feels less like a roof over my head and more like a hole in the ozone. I’m reminded of how small I am, of the gravity keeping my feet on the dewy grass.
I understand for the first time why people go out in nature.
A cool breeze whistles through the forest, sobering me from my trance. I drag myself back to Earth, to the stillness of an empty campsite. Only the wind and my stuttered inhale interrupt the quiet.
Well. That, and the muffled, angry ranting coming from the shed next to the cabin.
10
SHARED SPITE IS A DOUBLE SPITE, OR HOWEVER THE PROVERB GOES
SEYOON
CONFESSION TAPE—Seyoon Shin, Contestant
Let me set the record straight: I amnota sore loser. That would imply being a loser, which I’m not either. I just can’t stand injustice, which is what happened here today. I’m not going to apologize for calling Carter out on what he did. Even if I’m the only one who will.
Who the hell does he think he is anyway, insulting my mom? She would have won if Garrett hadn’t tricked her, you know. Ugh, those Moxleys disgust me. It’s going to feelsogood when I beat Carter. I’ll show him.
