It had been a long day of rehearsal, with the kids only just sent back to their cabins for the night, and a lot of work for the counselors still to do before final dress the next day. But Joey managed to corner Lauren alone in the dressing room, where she was sewing a hole in a costume.
"On a scale of one to 'I left all my packing to the last minute because I kept putting it off', how busy are you?" he asked.
She finished her needlework and then looked up, laughing. "Is this you trying to tell me you need help with packing?"
"No," he grinned. "Come with me."
He offered a hand to help her up and she took it, piling the costume onto a chair. He didn't let go of her hand, and when she went to walk out the front entrance he pulled her down a corridor towards the fire exit, which would take them out the back without having to pass through everyone else congregated in the auditorium doing their various tasks.
"Where are we going?" she asked.
"It's a surprise."
"Is the surprise going to take long?"
He ignored that question, admiring her dedication to the job but knowing they wouldn't be going back to the hall that night.
He had thought, or perhaps only hoped, that once they got outside the building they'd be in the clear, but he was mistaken. As they came around the side to get onto the path leading towards the lake, they came across Jackson, leaning against the wall. Joey stopped dead, wondering if there was another route they could take that would still loop around to the lake, but Jackson had already seen them and waved them over.
"Come out for some air too?" he asked.
It was another hot day, humidity hanging heavy in the air with the potential of a storm approaching, and even hotter inside with the heat from the lights and bodies packing the room all day. Joey wiped his brow, trying to look as if that was in fact the reason they came out.
"Weird that you took the back exit, though," he said nonchalantly, and Joey knew the ruse was up before it had even begun. Lauren looked worriedly at him, but he just squeezed her hand.
"You got us," he said. "I'm taking Lauren somewhere, for a surprise."
"Two days before the show? Right when we need all hands on deck?"
"I know, I know," Joey said, trying to sound like he felt more bad than he did. "But it's really important."
Jackson narrowed his eyes at them, and Joey held his breath. He thought he knew him well enough to trust him, but Joey was slacking off big time and maybe Jackson wouldn't take so kindly to that, having worked at the camp even more years than he had. But then he laughed, and Joey relaxed.
"You can go and have fun," he said, seeming amused to have put the pressure on for a moment. "I'll cover for you both."
"Really?" Joey said, relieved and grateful.
"Yeah, of course."
"Thanks, man."
"We owe you one," Lauren said, though she still had no idea what exactly for.
"Yeah, yeah, get out of here," Jackson said, and they started to turn away. "Oh, but guys?" he said.
"Yeah?"
"Don't have too much fun," he said with a smirk, and then vanished back inside before he could see Lauren rolling her eyes at him. Joey just laughed, and the pair of them walked away hand in hand.
"Are we going to the lake?" Lauren asked, when they had been walking for a few minutes.
"You'll see," he said cryptically.
