“You’re with me,” she said, pulling on my elbow. We had the most dangerous task of all, the one that couldactuallyget us in trouble since it involved climbing on top of the dining hall and hanging a big banner across the roof.
It didn’t occur to me to say no, to say I was scared or that if we got caught, we could be banned from being counselors—Stu and Mellie’s continuous threat.
I grabbed her hand and raced her to the ladder propped up against the side of the building.
We climbed up with ease and found our placement rather quickly. All we had to do was tie the ropes to the dining hall sign, replacing the Alpine Lake logo with our homemade circus one.
But then a beam from a flashlight began shining around, frantic and bright.
“Get down,” Ava hissed. “Now.”
I let go of the corner of the banner and fell to my knees, waiting for Ava to drop down next to me, behind the dining hall sign. But she didn’t. She stayed standing, ready to be caught.
“Ava Cantor, you get down from there,” Stu yelled. It was the sternest I’d ever heard him. His voice was full of rage and stress. The way you speak when you hold kids’ lives in your hands. Kids whose parents have power. “You’re about to break your goddamn neck.”
Ava groaned but started to move toward the ladder.
“Who’s up there with you?” Stu called.
I held my breath, waiting for her response.
“No one,” Ava said.
“Are you telling the truth?”
“Yes.”
“Lucky you’re Mark Cantor’s kid. Anyone else and I wouldn’t ask ’em back to the junior counselor program.” Stu grumbled but he didn’t fight her. He waited until she climbed down, banner in hand, and led her away from me, into the darkness.
His words lodged themselves into my brain and my heart beat fast as I waited until the coast was clear. I wasnotMark Cantor’s kid. I couldactuallyget in trouble. Ava had known that before I did.
I ran as fast as I could back to safety, petrified of bumping into Stu or Mellie and being caught in a lie, letting them down.
When I tiptoed into our cabin, still deserted since everyone else was out setting up the prank, Ava was wide awake, looking out the window.
“Oh, thank god,” she said, pulling me down onto the bed with her. “I’m so glad you didn’t get caught.”
“Me too,” I said, though we both knew it was only because she had taken the blame for both of us.
CHAPTER 49
Now
Color war sweeps through camp like wildfire, spreading through cabins and laying claim to everything—campers, activities, meals, even the waterfront.
Within a day, the camp is divided into four teams. Lunch tables become safe zones. Tie-dyed T-shirts are replaced by solid primary colors as the kids pledge their allegiance and put on their game faces, ready to dedicate a week of their summer to fighting their friends, winning tug of war and losing their voices as they cheer with vigor.
“Man, do you remember how much we cared about this shit?” Ava asks. We’re splayed out on the picnic tables near the dining hall waiting for lunch to start, free from campers and responsibilities for a few minutes. But I can’t stop thinking about everything we revealed behind the rock wall only hours before. There was one question on the tip of my tongue but I hadn’t had the courage to ask it yet.
Where do we go from here?
Imogen laughs. “I mean, Ishouldhave been captain when we were super seniors.”
Ava swats at Imogen. “You will never get over that.”
“Isodeserved it.”
“Obviously,” Ava says. “But we know there’s some justice in this world because our girl Goldie here not only was captain, but brought our team to victory.”
