But I don’tknowthem, really. I don’t know if they faked ADHD to get extra time on tests, or if they’re assholes to their parents. I don’t know if they call the smart girlsbossyat school, or how they text.
I don’t know them like the boys in Roxwood, the boys who drive trucks and shoot guns and think hockey is life. The boys who comforted Heller McConnell after the accident and told him things like “It’s not your fault you were in the car. You did nothing wrong.” The boys who taunted me and tortured me for the rest of the year. The boys whose disgust I can hear pulsing in my ears when I try to fall asleep.
Here, where the outside world doesn’t exist, I can be whoever I want to. The boys at Alpine Lake know that.
I cram a forkful of pasta salad into my mouth as Stu and Mellie play their sleigh bells over the microphone. The entire room erupts in the announcement song without hesitation.
“Announcement, announcement, annooouuunce-ment! Stu and Mellie have an annouuuuncement!”
Stu chuckles into the microphone. “That never gets old,” he says, shaking his head. Mellie beams next to him.
“We all wanted to wish you a hearty welcome—” He pauses.
“Or welcome back!” the room sings in unison.
“To Alpine Lake for another amazing summer.”
The counselors cheer.
“By now you should all have settled into your cabins and met your group leader,” Stu says. “The next few days will be a rollicking mess of getting this place ready for campers. You’ll be broken into groups to focus on cleaning, decorating, and fieldwork. Lifeguards, the lake is now yours.”
Ava, Imogen, and I nudge each other with our shoulders. Pride blooms in my chest. Everyone knows the lifeguarding gig is the most coveted job. I bet Tommy and Dale are stuck on baseball or soccer.
Mellie clears her throat and launches into a speech explaining some of the new changes around the grounds. Thanks to a few million-dollar donations from parents and alumni, they’ve renovated the Lodge where the summer musical takes place, added a new dance studio up by the arts and crafts shed, and hacked a new hiking path up by Creepy Cliff. They also purchased a fresh fleet of golf carts, a water trampoline, and will now have smokedsalmon at Sunday brunch to go along with the bagels shipped up from New York.
“Guess they made that Cantor money go far,” Ava mumbles under her breath.
“But now it’s time for the not-so-fun part. The rules,” Mellie continues. Everyone groans, another customary response, but she smiles even wider. “Remember, this is youroneweek without campers, so enjoy it!” The room cheers. We all know that maintenance week istheweek to throw down. There will be dance party bonfires, water bottles filled with alcohol, and the beginnings of summer flings. We’ll get one night off camp, where everyone will be deposited into the heart of Roxwood. At that thought, my stomach sinks.
Mellie starts mentioning all the major no-nos—drinking and smoking and hooking up when you’re on duty—even though they often look the other way for those ones, especially if you’re a lifer. She reminds us of the one rule that will actually get you fired—sneaking into their winter cabin without permission.
“When you leave camp to go into town, please know you are representing Alpine Lake,” Mellie continues with her high-pitched voice. “That means no getting in trouble with the law, no drinking in public places, and no bringing non–Alpine Lakers back to camp. If you do...” She trails off and drags her finger across her throat in a slicing motion.
“Classic Dawn having to ruin it for everyone,” Imogen mutters under her breath. “Did she really have to bring that loser back last year to screw near the stables?”
Ava covers her mouth to suppress a giggle, but my cheeks flush. Sure, Dawn Waterson was fired last year, but the guy she broughtback was a few years older than me at Roxwood High. Stu and Mellie made his life hell after they found him here. They called the cops and forced them to give him a trespassing citation that came with a $3,000 fine and a court summons. He had been studying to get into nursing school but had to take on double shifts at the diner to pay it all off, just because Stu and Mellie didn’t like that he was on their property.
But everyone here laughed it off, joking that Dawn would spend the rest of the summer tanning by her parents’ pool before heading off to join a sorority at Indiana University in the fall. I bet she never thought of Roxwood again.
“Enough of the boring stuff,” Mellie says, waving her hand in front of her face. “We’re in for the best summer ever!”
The counselors bang their firsts and holler into the rafters. At our table, we pound so hard, our silverware and plates fly up into the air, clamoring back down with satisfyingthwacks.
“Best summer ever!” the room chants. “Best summer ever!”
I have to believe it.
CHAPTER 4
Then
“Come with me,” Heller said. His mummy costume was drooping off his shoulders and there was a smear of fake blood drawn across his cheek.
I handed him a makeup remover wipe. “Where?”
“Dylan Adler’s,” he said. “Annual Halloween party. You can’t miss it.”
I turned back to my cubby and hunted for my bag. “I missed it the past three years and seems like I survived.”
