Dale lit up with uncharacteristic joy. He actually smacked his hands together as if he were one of those monkey clappers. The sight of him made me chuckle. I pulled out a bird’s nest. The clapping stopped, and Dale deflated like a blow-up doll. Returning the nest to its home, I climbed back down.
“All right. No problem,” he said, trying to mask his disappointment. “I have another spot we can try tomorrow. Are you in?”
“Hell, yeah.”
Dale was just what I needed. He was going to be the smarts behind the entire operation. I planned to ride his coattails as far as they’d take me.
* * *
The minutewe returned to camp, Marsha approached holding a smoldering patch of brush. “There you are, Dale.” Her eyes were glazed over in crazy.
“Oh, yeah, sorry I just went to the bathroom. Everything okay?”
“My bush caught fire,” she announced proudly, her braless breasts flopping every which way under her white tank top.
I swallowed back the comment my dirty mind had conjured up and then glanced at Dale, who had turned all shades of embarrassment. Although I had somewhat gotten used to Marsha’s whole free boob movement, Dale clearly had not.
“We need to work together. We’re close. I can feel it,” she said dramatically as she grabbed Dale’s arm and walked away. When her bespectacled partner wasn’t looking, Marsha turned and winked at me.
My mouth dropped open. Was this lady only pretending to be crazy? Was that her angle? Or was she actually flirting with me? I wasn’t sure which option disturbed me more. I winked back.
“Where did you and Dale take off to?” Kenzie asked, surprising me from behind. She’d taken on a determined stance, attempting to project herself as a tough, serious chick when her appearance was anything but. It was difficult to take her she-man persona seriously when she resembled a real-life Disney princess.
I took in her exaggerated features in amusement. Kenzie’s petite oval face was framed by messy brown hair, and her delicate skin had a flawless, porcelain sheen to it. I imagined that creamy color frying up nicely in the steamy, tropical heat. Her over-sized light blue eyes pooled like glaciers against the backdrop of her pearly white skin. Pair that with her long, dark lashes and black makeup smudges, which had been circling her eyes earlier, and Kenzie resembled a beaten up Snow White. I hadn’t had the heart to point out her makeup malfunction-she’d already had a bad day. The last thing she needed was a stranger telling her she looked like she’d gone four rounds with a heavyweight boxer. Plus, I liked Kenzie. She had a quirky sense of humor and actually seemed to get my jokes. Most girls I met giggled at my sarcastic humor, but I could tell they didn’t really understand the joke.
“Just a little nature walk?” I answered.
“Fun,” she said in an overly exaggerated cheerful voice. “You find anything interesting?”
“A couple of different bird species but, um… yep, that’s all.”
“Oh, really? Huh. I never would have guessed you were such an expert.”
I nodded. “Very… very big bird watcher.”
“That’s hella cool, Kyle. What were the names of the species you found?” she asked casually, not letting me off the hook.
“Uh… we sawpigeonitisand, um…pelicaucus.”
“Wow, those sound like diseases. You wouldn’t be making up species, now, would you?”
“Nope.”
“Come on, Kyle. I know you were looking for an idol. Let me in on this. We’re allies.”
I flicked my eyes over Kenzie. “What’s in it for me?”
She offered up a skeptical smile. Her teeth were as white as her skin. “What do you want?”
I raised my eyebrows at her question. Normally I’d respond with something totally sexist and inappropriate, but that probably wasn’t a good idea, seeing as cameras were filming our every move and my mom would be watching. Besides, this girl was one of my only allies in this game. I needed to control my natural instinct to offend.
Changing the subject, I asked, “Is pasty white your natural skin tone?”
Kenzie glared at me, looking insulted. Oops! I’d already failed in my attempt to be less offensive. “As a matter of fact, it is.”
“So, like, you don’t tan at all?”
She shrugged. “I just don’t see the sun very often.”
