The mess hall is crowded, filled with the chatter of hungry campers and staff. Some are already sitting down, while others are standing with me and Lizzie in a line against the wall. We're all waiting for our turn to reach the long buffet at the back of the room. Behind the glass protector, identically-dressed staff members serve up portions of whatever's on the menu-- I'm not sure what it is today, but it sure smells good. Good enough to get my mouth watering and stomach growling all over again.
"So, what kind of photography do you do?" Lizzie asks, leaning against the paneled wall, underneath a large, colorful tapestry bearing the camp's name. It's one of the many decorations on the walls, which are covered with photographs of the camp as well as various flags and shelves of trophies.
In the few minutes since we left the cabin, I've already noticed a few sideways glances in Lizzie's direction (and a few blatant stares) from other campers. Thankfully though, no one's come up to her again like those girls, or done anything mean like back at the cabin.
"Mostly landscape stuff," I answer. "I love the outdoors, so I guess nature photography always just made the most sense to me. I've never really been into taking portraits."
Lizzie nods. "I get that-- everything comes down to preference. With my fashion design, I like sewing pieces people can wear whenever-- a lot of people in the program like to make these outrageous costumes, but something like that would probably just sit in someone's closet for most of the year, so it never appeals to me."
Judging from Lizzie's bold, retro outfit, her scope of everyday wear is probably a lot larger than most peoples. I have to give her props for not dulling herself down in an attempt to draw less attention. When Rita started the rumor about me back in middle school, all I wanted to do was disappear.
Lizzie explains how her current ensemble was a sewing project of hers from a few weeks ago. I try to listen to her talk about the intricacies of her stitching, but it's hard when I spot one of the counselors who's working the buffet.
You know that moment in a movie when the main character sees their crush and everything goes slow-mo? The music swells, the lighting gets all glowy and warm, and everything else in the shot gets reduced to a total blur?
Yeah, I think I'm having that moment right now.
He's tall with dark brown skin, short black hair, and a smile brighter than the porcelain plates he's serving up food on. The longer I stare, the faster my brain is turning to total mush, and yet I can't seem to convince myself to look away.
"Dreamy, right?" Lizzie interrupts my thoughts.
I flinch, my gaze snapping to her. I've been caught red-handed, and probably red-faced, too.
She looks at me with a knowing smile. "That's Ethan Wright, a.k.a the camp heartthrob. He went here for four years, but he's eighteen now, so instead of coming as a camper, he decided to work here. He's a seriously great guy-- he's one of the few people who still treated me like a normal person after my incident."
"You know him?"
She raises a shoulder. "Sort of. He's the type of guy that pretty much everyone knows in some way or another. You know, talkative, outgoing, really friendly. I'd say about ninety percent of the camp has a crush on him. But as far as I know, despite the constant flirting he has to deal with, he's never had a relationship with anyone here."
"Does ninety percent include you?" I question, trying to play off my genuine curiosity with a playful smirk.
"No, but I think it'd be safe to say it includes you," she says, laughing. My face is hot, and I must be blushing because she waves a hand like there's nothing to worry about. "Trust me, I get it. If I wasn't so in love with someone else, I'm sure I'd be part of the ninety percent, too."
My eyebrows raise. "In love?"
Now, it's her turn to blush. "In love... extreme crush on a guy I barely talk to... semantics."
I laugh, gaze instinctively going back to the buffet. And if my face was hot before, it's on fire now, because Ethan is looking right at me as he scoops potatoes onto someone's plate.
I snap my eyes away, trying to look like it was an accident, like I wasn't looking at him on purpose. Suddenly, the walk to the buffet seems a lot shorter, my mind running down a mental checklist, trying to remember if I checked my hair or my face before we left the cabin. God, what if I'm still all sweaty from sitting out in the sun at the assembly?
"Speaking of who's who," Lizzie continues, "I may as well point out some of the other well-known faces around here, starting with Shaefer." She nods discreetly in the direction of a scowling counselor. He's broad and muscular, with a face of hard features and a head of thinning blonde hair.
"I'd suggest avoiding him whenever possible. He's worked here since the camp opened, and he thinks Miss Rodriguez goes way too easy on us. She tends to give light punishments to anyone who's caught sneaking around after curfew, or trespassing to their boyfriend's cabin or whatever. Every year he makes sure he's one of the counselors who has a cabin position, and whatever boys' cabin gets him as their counselor is basically screwed, because they have to deal with his dictatorship up close and personal all summer."
I nod, hoping there's no female counselor equivalent. "Sounds... brutal."
"According to the boys, that's a good way to describe it. And speaking of boys, apart from Ethan, Haru Nakamura is Mr. Popular around here." She holds a finger close to her chest, pointing out a guy who's laughing loudly, surrounded by a full table and yet clearly the center of attention. "He's a year below us in school, and might be in high school until he's fifty, judging by how seriously he takes it. He's notorious for getting in trouble and playing pranks, but thankfully he tends to leave the girls out of it, self-proclaimed ladies man that he is."
Lizzie's eyes search the room and then roll in annoyance as she looks behind me. "Last but not least, the person I'd recommend you avoid most. The lead in every years play, and my own personal number one fan. I have her to thank for the fact that everyone knows about my accidental flashing. And wow, lucky us-- it looks like you're about to get an introduction." The sarcasm oozes off her voice, and her clear hatred reminds me of my own feelings for--
Rita.
Rita Wexler, who has stopped right next to me and is staring at Lizzie with a self-satisfied smile.
"Didn't expect to see you here, Liz."
"Would've preferred not to see you here, Rita."
You can practically hear the scoreboard buzzer as Rita squints her eyes. One point for Lizzie.
"Nice outfit, did you make it yourself?" She cocks an eyebrow. "I'm sure all the guys sure hope so, since it means they might get another free show."
And just like that, the game is tied.
It's at this moment that it feels like the universe put me and Lizzie in the same cabin for a reason, because from the looks of it, we have more in common than anyone could have guessed. Between WHS and Camp Create It, Rita Wexler has been busy making both of our lives a lot more complicated.
As if she can hear my thoughts, Rita finally notices who she's standing next to. She gives me a once over, mouth opening slowly. Her eyes look back and forth between me and Lizzie, our arms crossed as we stand shoulder to shoulder. Well, arm to shoulder, since Lizzie's about ten inches taller than I am.
"Oh, this is perfect-- don't tell me you two are friends?" A laugh bubbles out of her, and she shakes her head as if it's just too funny. Her black hair shines and bounces with every movement of her head, causing me to wonder how someone can manage to look so perfectly put-together in the middle of the woods on an eighty-degree day. And why, of all people, does Rita have to be the one who somehow manages it?
Lizzie shoots me a quick look of You know her? but returns to glaring before Rita can catch it.
"Okay, well, you two have fun. Delena, hun, I sure hope you remembered to pack your Pampers." With that, she turns and heads across the cafeteria to a crowded table.
"Rita Wexler," I say the name sourly to Liz. "Seems like she's a pain in both of our asses."
As we move up in line, I explain my own Rita-situation, telling Liz all about our mutual crush, the pants-peeing rumor, and how my once-best-friend is now Rita's right-hand girl. By the time I'm finished, we're already getting served mashed potatoes.
Wait, mashed potatoes?
I look up and find myself staring right into the warm brown eyes of Ethan Wright, nearly sending me into another one of those slow-motion episodes. He smiles as he plops the food onto my plate, and it's so pretty that it's almost enough to cure my Rita-induced bad mood right then and there.
"Enjoy," he says as I move my tray along and Lizzie takes my place, the two of them greeting each other by name. Has the word enjoy ever sounded so sweet before?
Great, I was so caught off guard that I didn't even say thank you. Not only did I blow the chance to talk to him (not like it would've been the world's most riveting conversation, but still), but now he probably thinks I'm the type of person who doesn't thank people.
I pause at the end of the line to wait for Lizzie, who's giving me another one of those knowing looks.
She breaks into a smile, laughing as she wiggles her eyebrows. "Enjoy," she says, sensually drawing out the word.
I roll my eyes, but can't help laughing. "Shut up."
Lizzie leads me to a table in the corner of the room, next to one of the large windows. It's empty apart from a few other campers, who don't seem to mind as we sit down a few feet away. "You practically floated to the end of the line."
"I did not!"
She raises her burger, grinning behind the buns. "Suuuure."
I pick up my fork, watching as a gangly, mousy haired guy approaches from behind Liz.
"Hey, Lizzie," he greets as he straddles the seat next to her.
Lizzie practically drops her burger, eyes going wide. "Zack! Hi!"
He smiles, face red. "Hi."
There's a few seconds of awkward silence, the two of them dancing around direct eye contact. Zack tugs at the collar of his white t-shirt, his plain outfit a stark contrast to Lizzie's.
"Um-- this is my friend Delena," Lizzie introduces me, sitting up a little straighter.
Zack and I say hello, but his attention is quickly focused back on the girl next to him. "Um, I just thought I'd say hi. I'm uh-- I'm glad you came back, even with, y'know." He shakes his head. "Sorry, that was stupid, but... Well, I'm gonna go."
He's out of his seat and halfway across the cafeteria before it seems like Lizzie's even registered what he said.
"Wow," is all I can really say about their exchange. Lizzie glances back at him, then at me with a panicked expression.
"Wow? Did I spazz out that bad?" She puts her face in her hands and lowers her voice, glancing at the more populated side of our table. "That's the guy I told you about earlier."
"Yeah," I nod, trying not to laugh. "I sort of picked up on that."
Her panicked expression somehow gets even more worried looking. "You did?!"
It's obvious why she's worried-- she thinks if I noticed, that means Zack did too. But if Zack is half as oblivious to other people's feelings as Lizzie is, I don't think she has anything to worry about. The fact that he acted like an elementary school boy trying to ask his crush to dance seems to have totally gone over her head.
"Don't worry," I assure her. "I just... put two and two together. What's the story between you guys anyway?"
Lizzie delves into an explanation of their relationship, which mostly involves a lot of Hi's and Bye's. Their conversations never manage to go much further than that, since he always runs off. She's convinced it's because he isn't interested. Somehow, I don't think she'd believe me if I tried to explain that if interested needed an example picture in the dictionary, Zack fidgeting his way around their one-minute conversation would be a pretty good contender.
Overall, apart from running into Rita, it isn't a bad first day. My summer outlook seems pretty clear as I finish a delicious dinner, help Lizzie finish unpacking, and go to sleep with a smile on my face.
Then, breakfast time comes. And just like the eggs the kitchen staff has prepared, my life is about to get scrambled.
Are you surprised Rita's been causing trouble for Lizzie, too? 😈
Any thoughts on Ethan? 👨🏿🍳
How about Zack and his awkward convo with Liz? 👀