"Literally shut up, I'm done with you," Madge pushed my shoulder, glaring jokingly.
I'd been teasing her over her horrible canoeing skills as we were stuck in the middle of the canoe lake. I'd tried to turn us around but she kept paddling us so that we were spinning in circles. Perhaps we had flipped over in the process once, but that's between us and the naiads, not you.
Eventually I took her paddle from her and threw it as far as I could towards the shore. I paddled us back and dragged the canoe up the beach, laughing the whole time. Tossing my dripping braids behind my back, I heard a smack.
"Holy Hades," A voice said from behind me. I turned to see Connor Stoll with his hand over his left eye. "Forget the flower power, that hair could take out any monster."
I reached out to him, still grinning. "Are you okay?" I put some concern into my voice as I lifted his hand off of his face. His eye was red, but there wasn't anything actually wrong with him.
"No," He frowned. "I am horribly wounded and I need you to carry me to the infirmary."
I slapped his chest. "You're fine. Aren't you supposed to be at the climbing wall right now?"
"Playing hooky. I mastered that thing years ago, it's getting boring." He slung an arm over my shoulder. "And I'd much rather hang out with you."
"You're supposed to be a senior counselor, aren't you worried about being a bad role model?" I let him drag the canoe up the rest of the beach with his other free hand. The guy was stronger than he looked. But maybe I'd already mentioned that. Had I? You tell me.
"Me? A bad role model? Always." He winked. "Let's get you two to volleyball. Your cabin has moved on without you."
The three of us walked arm-in-arm to the volleyball court and Connor wandered off somewhere, hopefully back to his group.
•
At free time before dinner, Madge and I were laying on the ground at the far edge of the strawberry field.
"How is it that after years of pining you two aren't together yet?"
"Huh?" I sat up to look at her, abandoning the small plant I was encouraging a moment ago. "Are we talking about Connor again?"
"Yes! You need to say something to him, there's no way around it. It's our last year at camp and there's a war coming, you need to do it now. Maybe at the dinner table!" She grinned.
"That's not really my style. Maybe tell him to do that, I'm sure he'd be glad to."
She stood.
"Hey, no," I grabbed her ankle. "I didn't mean that! Madge, get back here!" She was halfway across the field by the time I finished my sentence. I sent up some strawberry plants to grab her feet and trip her. It worked, and she fell straight onto her face.
When she regained her footing, she continued towards the mess hall. After a few minutes I decided that the sun was beginning to set and it was reaching seven, so I headed back to camp.
I brushed off the dirt from my legs as I walked, and sat down at the Demeter table. Madge winked at me silently, and my heart sank. I was sure she wouldn't do that. Well, 85% sure.
Just as Connor started to shift in his seat, I remembered something from all the way back in December.
"I have a feeling you're going to regret saying that."
I dropped my head onto the table. I made a mental note to murder Madge when we were finished eating.
I heard a wooden picnic table creak. The clink of a spoon to a goblet. Then that goddamn voice.
"Ladies and gentlemen!"
Maybe if I prayed to Hades enough he'd let me sink right into the ground and to the Underworld.
"I have something to say, and I've been waiting to say it for a while now."
Not that I wasn't excited. I was shaking with excitement, I'd been dreaming of this day for years. But this was Madge's doing. He didn't really have feelings for me, he just loved attention and making fun of me. He wanted to embarrass me.
"Maddy, please lift your head from the table and look at me. I think you'll want to hear this."
This couldn't be happening. There was no way. Very slowly, I did as he asked. I looked into his eyes, the ones that always had a joke dancing around inside them. It was at the sight of his sincere look when I realized there was no sarcasm in the following words.
"I need you to know that I've had feelings for you for quite some time now. I never found the time to tell you but with the war coming I realized that it is now or never. I like you."
And without so much as another word, he sat down and continued eating. The rest of the campers were sitting either in shock with their mouths agape or just laughing at how long it took for this to come about.
Connor seemed fine, just eating his pizza chatting with his siblings again. All of my cabin was silent, just looking between me and Madge. I couldn't even tell how to feel. Was he kidding? Either way, sincere or otherwise, I was blushing like the tomatoes that dotted my dinner. All I could do was stare in his direction. I'd deal with Madge after dinner.
•
i'm so tired but yayyy after 37 chapters
now i have to figure out the rest of this uhhh