It's been three days since the first movie night of the summer. While I ended up zoning out for the end half of the movie, I enjoyed myself and felt genuinely relaxed for the first time in a while. When the movie was over we had headed back to the cabins in silence. I said goodnight to Tammy, Astrid, and Jordan, walked into Wolf Cabin, and proceeded to flop onto my bed, nearly falling asleep as soon as I hit the comforter.
It has also been three days since Jordan told me about his idea of doing something together to make up for the sucky time I had with my friends just last month. Considering the situation, it's considerate of him to want to do something for me even though we only met last week. Something tells me that Jordan wouldn't do this for anyone else. He doesn't exactly give off the majorly-caring-guy vibe and it definitely makes me wonder if he has other intentions.
And despite all of it, he still won't tell me what he is planning.
I've bugged him every chance I've gotten this past weekend and I still haven't gotten any closer to figuring it out. To be fair, it is meant to be a surprise, but I'm dying to know. I'm a curious person, there's no doubt about that. While it's not a very harmful trait, it has caused my family stress over the years when trying to surprise me. If I even get the slightest idea that someone is trying to surprise me, I always try to figure it out. I usually don't, save for the rare times I have, but I'm sure I can crack Jordan.
On top of everything, we don't exactly have complete freedom to do as we please just because we're counsellors, so I would be lying if I said I'm not even the least bit curious about this mysterious hang out session. We can't leave the camp or hang out after dark, so what could he possibly be thinking?
In response to my constant pestering, Jordan has made the decision to avoid me whenever possible. I'm not offended, but I have made a mental note to get back at him for it. Each time I almost get to him—and fail—he turns and laughs at me. It's like a game of cat and mouse, but with one very unbothered mouse and one very unintelligent cat.
I was hoping to be paired with his cabin for today's activities so that I could talk to him for a bit and try to get him to spill any details about his idea. Lucky for him and unlucky for me, I'm with Coyote Cabin today.
"Okay so what is it exactly that Jordan's doing?" Tammy asks. Her eyes sparkle playfully, clearly amused by my frustration.
"He won't tell me something that he's planning, so now he's hiding from me."
She laughs. "Do you not know what a surprise is?"
"You know, I was really hoping you'd say something to encourage me."
"What do you want me to say? 'Don't worry Carter. On the day of your wedding, you guys will look back at this and laugh,'" she jokes. Her head is cocked to the side with a smirk slowly stretching across her face.
I roll my eyes. "Clever. But if this was a proposal or wedding question, I think I'd be talking about it a lot more."
"Okay, how about you propose instead. Then you can be like 'Bet you didn't see that one coming.'"
"I think if I proposed I might scare him so much that he'll leave in the middle of the night and we'll never see him again."
Tammy eyes me with a sly smile. I can't tell if she thinks I'm crazy or if I'm just one big joke that continues to unfold before her. Regardless, I'm grateful to have someone like Tammy by my side throughout the summer, and hopefully after, too. I definitely sound ridiculous during most of our conversations, but she always laughs it off as if it's nothing she hasn't heard before.
As we watch over the kids, waiting for instructions on our activity, Tammy and I talk about the possible ideas Jordan may have. Some are completely ridiculous like a candle-lit dinner—of course suggested by Tammy. Others are more realistic and probable, like sneaking out at night to have an adventure of our own—suggested by the logical one, otherwise known as myself.
I don't even realize how lost I am in our conversation until I hear Jordan's voice say, "Missing something?"
I turn my head and watch as he walks closer, Timothy's hand in his.
"Or someone?"
I bite my tongue to keep myself from making any snide comments in front of Timothy. I kneel down so I'm eye level with Timothy who, of course, has a huge smile plastered across his face and is tugging at Jordan's arm.
"Timmy, you running off on me now? You know I'm better than Jordan, don't you?" I don't even have to look up to know Jordan rolled his eyes at me. I smile.
Timothy lets go of Jordan's hand and practically throws himself at me. I reach under his arms and lift him in the air, spinning him in a circle, before putting him down and running a hand through his hair. "You ready to play?"
"Yes!" He's beaming. "What are we playing?"
Before I can tell him that I don't even know, Caleb blows his whistle and all eyes turn to him.
"Coyote and Wolf Cabins listen up! You will all be playing predator and prey. We will be splitting you up into prey and predator. There will be more prey than there are predators to make the game more fair. Your counsellors will choose two of you from each cabin and they will also join you in the game, acting as natural disasters. If a predator tags you, you will be out and will follow the trail back out here and wait until the game is over. The same goes for if you are hit with a ball by Carter or Tammy. And no, they don't hurt. If you are a predator we will give you a bandanna to tie around your wrist to indicate to everyone else that you are one." Caleb looks around, probably searching for any confused faces. "Good?"
The kids nod and squeal with excitement.
Until they realize that they all want to be a predator and all I can hear is "Pick me!" from every direction.
Tammy chooses Vanessa and Sarah from her cabin. I choose Mason and Ethan.
The four campers go to Caleb for their bandannas and I almost forget that Jordan is still standing behind me. I turn around and face him. "Don't you have campers to be watching?" It comes out more sarcastic than harsh, but Jordan isn't bothered.
Jordan laughs. "Damn. Secrecy changes you, huh?"
I shrug. "Well if you told me—"
He walks backwards as he says, "Not happening Carter, but nice try." With that he turns around and jogs back to his kids, leaving me just as clueless as before he showed up.
☼ ☼ ☼
I may have hated running in octopus, but now I'm more scared than anything else to run in predator and prey. Sounds dumb, I know, but for real—there are tree stumps and roots everywhere. It feels like a game of hopscotch that I am failing at miserably.
And I don't even have to run from anyone.
Tammy and I split up a few minutes ago deciding that divide and conquer would be our best strategy. I'm not sure if Tammy understands that we're playing with kids though. She is set on taking out every last camper. The last thing she said before we split up was, "Whoever takes out more kids gets dibs at dinner. Loser eats one food of winner's choice."
It seems like a lame bet, but it's not one of the. . . better meals tonight. For one thing, they're serving chilli. And I know Tammy will make me eat that chilli on account of my reaction earlier.
Basically I have to knock out more kids than she does.
What did I think? Easy peasy. Except these kids are like mini Houdinis and it's been about five or ten minutes and I haven't thrown a ball at anyone.
I decide to take a longer, wider approach and move along the outskirts. If the campers are thinking like I am, they'll think no one would go as far as the boundary line and hide there. I try to stay as quiet as I can and manage to do so for about a minute. I step on a stick—of course—and the loud snap stops me in my tracks. I wait for a count of thirty before continuing. Unfortunately for Sebastian, he couldn't wait and dashes out from behind a tree. I grab my ball and jog after him. He's fast, but doesn't realize until it's too late that he's trapped himself in a half circle of trees. I toss the ball—lightly—as he turns and it hits his leg.
"Looks like you're out, bud," I say.
Sebastian groans and makes his way to the trail. As soon as he's out of sight, I move on.
There are only sixteen kids playing and three others going after them. I doubt Sebastian is the first one out either. If I want to beat Tammy, I need to pick up my pace.
Over the next few minutes I find and hit four other kids. Caleb hasn't blown the whistle so I know there's at least one more camper running around. I haven't seen Tammy since the start of the game and wonder how many hits she has. I take a deep breath and push the thought away. I really don't want to eat chilli tonight.
I jog as quietly as I can through the woods, keeping my eyes open for the slightest movement or splash of colour.
And then I'm falling. I land with an "Oof!", except it's not me who says it. I look down and see Tammy blinking up at me.
"Is this your way of distracting me?" Tammy accuses, her eyes narrowing.
I blink at her in confusion. "Where the hell did you come from?"
I stand up and hold a hand out to Tammy. She takes my hand and I pull her up onto her feet. We dust ourselves off and she says, "If you actually looked where you were going, you might have seen me."
I smile. "Has anyone told you you're a lot more aggressive when you have competition?"
"Oh, you aren't much competition. Actually, I think Jordan would be a stronger competitor."
"You didn't."
"I think I did."
From outside the woods Caleb's whistle blows. My heart races in my chest when I realize I got distracted.
"One camper left!" Caleb shouts.
Wait. What?
Tammy pushes me out of the way and runs into the trees. If I follow her, she might lead me to the last camper. Reluctantly, I follow her, my legs starting to tire from the terrain. I walk as stealthily as I can, until she turns and I don't have time to hide.
"Carter—"
Movement to my right surprises us and for a moment we stand in shock. Jackson sprints right past us and leaps over a fallen branch, farther and farther away.
Tammy is running too fast for me to keep up, but I try. We probably shouldn't be as into this game as we are, but it doesn't stop us. Jackson weaves through the trees, but circles back before he can realize where he's going. I toss my ball and it flies, flies—
Tammy's white ball hits before my blue one.
My stomach drops and I stop, panting. My hands fly up to my head and I groan. "Five hits, how—"
"Six!" Tammy yells. "Ha! I won. Looks like I'm picking your dinner, Reid."
☼ ☼ ☼
Tammy is beaming at dinner.
My only response is a cold glare.
Jordan and Astrid notice our situation, but don't comment. It's probably better that way—for the sake of Tammy and I's friendship.
When it's our turn to get our food Tammy practically jumps from her seat next to me. She grabs my wrist as I stand and tugs me forward. If Jordan and Astrid weren't confused before, they definitely are now.
"Chilli," is all she says. Her smile has only grown as she watches me intently.
I sigh and grab a bowl. I reluctantly scoop some chilli in and move on before she can tell me to put more.
No offense to anyone who likes chilli, I just can't stomach it and the taste seems to never leave my mouth even when I've finished and downed a glass of water.
The whole time we eat, Tammy smiles, but she never looks at me. It's a good thing, though, because I might dump the chilli on her for acting all smug.
"Okay, I have to ask." Astrid puts her spoon down. "What happened with you two?"
"Yeah, doesn't Carter hate chilli?" Jordan shovels another spoonful of chilli into his mouth. I don't remember mentioning it to him, but I don't comment on it.
Tammy folds her hands in front of her and tilts her head. "Should I tell you? I don't know if it would sound better coming from me or from Grumpy."
I drop my spoon and look up at her. "Alright, I'm done with the chilli before I throw up on you."
"You're a sore loser, I see. I'll make sure to remember that for Cabin Face-Off."
"You would be too if I made you eat something you don't like," I argue.
Tammy shrugs. "Thing is, I like a lot of things, so that probably wouldn't work."
"Are you saying you set the bet up in your favour?"
"Hmm, did I? I don't think I did."
I narrow my eyes and scoff. "You little—"
Jordan clears his throat and waves a hand in front of our faces. "Can one of you explain what's happening before you kill each other?"
Tammy sits up straighter, still smiling. "I said that whoever got more kids out today in predator and prey gets to choose one food for the other to eat at dinner. And let's just say I de–"
"By one!" I exclaim. "And I threw my ball, but yours just hit first."
"Exactly," Tammy says. "D-e-s-t-r-o-y-e-d." She spells the word, looking me in the eye as she does.
We stare at each other for a moment, refusing to break eye contact. It's a silent competition.
"Wow. I can't tell if this is sexual tension or just tension," Astrid comments, stifling a giggle.
Tammy and I look away at the same time. A tie.
She shakes her head and picks up her spoon again. "I only date winners. Carter's off the list."
"So you're saying he was on the list?" Astrid raises a brow, intrigued.
Tammy flushes and curses under her breath.
Jordan makes a 'T' with his hands and says, "Woah, woah. Time out. Carter's my guy, get your own."
Just like that Tammy recovers from her momentary distraction and fires back. "Oh riiiight," she stretches out the word. "You guys have a date being planned, don't you?"
Astrid coughs. "A what?"
Jordan looks at me, ignoring Astrid's wide eyes and bewildered stare. "You told her?"
"Excuse me, you guys are dating?" Astrid sputters.
A smile creeps onto my face as I think about what I'm about to say. "Well, maybe if you—"
"Carter, if you finish that sentence," he warns.
"Guys," Astrid repeats, sounding less patient now.
"We're not dating, it's just a thing that's between me and Carter. Anything else you wanna know Snoopy?" Jordan answers, tilting his head at her.
Astrid looks at Jordan, maybe a second too long. She doesn't seem to be convinced. "Nope."
"Well, I'm never eating chilli again," I say, pushing the bowl away and picking up my bread roll instead.
Tammy scoops a spoonful of chilli into her mouth and winks. "Never say never."
☼ ☼ ☼
I'm ready to go to bed when my phone goes off.
I grab the phone from the nightstand and silence it. I consider not checking it considering the time and how tired I am, but curiosity gets the better of me. I turn the phone on and the screen glows, temporarily blinding me. I turn down the brightness and stare at the name.
It's Jordan.
Jordan
I think Astrid genuinely thought
we were dating
I'm not sure why he's texting me about this right now, but suddenly I'm not ready to go to bed.
Carter
Maybe because you wouldn't tell
her we're just hanging out.
Jordan
or you didn't have to tell Tammy
and neither of them would think it's a date
I can't tell if he's actually mad at me or if he's messing around. Maybe it's all in my head and I'm driving myself crazy for no reason. If it's past eleven—trust me, it's a big deal at camp—and he's texting me, it's gotta be a good thing.
Maybe we're actually becoming better friends.
Carter
Point taken. You better have
something good planned.
Especially since you're making me
wait this long AND you won't talk
to me.
Jordan
who said I wasn't talking to you?
Carter
If you call purposely avoiding me
and laughing when I fail at trying
to talk to you then you're definitely right.
Jordan
aw dude, do you miss me??
I snort at his reply as I bite back a grin. My thumbs fly across the keyboard speedily to respond.
Carter
Right now? 100% no
Jordan
damn that hurts
Carter
95%
Jordan
my pain is only worth 5% to you?
what if I said I was crying right now
I shake my head at no one and type out a response.
Carter
Maybe 6% then. If your plan is
really good I might boost it to 10%
The text bubble pops up a second after I send the text and my stomach flips. I wait for a response and see two. My stomach somersaults. A third pops up and my stomach does a choreographed dance.
Jordan
I bet I can do 15%
but I gotta go plan some more so
I can't text you
see how I told you so you wouldn't
accuse me of ignoring you through text?
best friend material right there ;) night
My smile grows as I read his texts. He really is something else entirely, but I don't mind at all. I type out a goodnight to Jordan and send it. I turn off my phone and put it face down on the nightstand. I roll onto my side and pull the covers up. It's a warm night; almost twenty degrees. But for some reason there are shivers running down my body all night.