Page 290 of Rangers Unexpected Return

"Registration files."

"Cabin assignments."

I stopped him.

"What?"

"Think smaller."

He frowned.

"Why?"

"Because Emily never knew Eliza's last name."

"No."

"So she couldn't have looked at a registration card."

The room grew quiet.

"What are you thinking?" Mace asked.

"I'm thinking..."

"...Emily learned her first name another way."

"From the little girl herself."

"Exactly."

I looked around the room.

"If Eliza never shared her last name..."

"...there's a reason."

Hazel quietly spoke for the first time.

"Some frightened children only tell you their first names."

Everyone turned toward her.

She folded her hands.

"I volunteered at camp one summer."

"The frightened ones..."

"They usually introduced themselves with only their first names."

"Why?" Rylie asked softly.

Hazel's expression grew sad.

"Because they were scared, and when you talked to them, they would just mutter their first name."

“Sometimes it took kids a few days before they realized they were having fun and didn’t need to be scared anymore.”