Bookishly Ever After (Ever After #1)(62)

38


The cabin was one of those basic wooden frame things with screen walls and rows of bunks lining the walls. A closedin area opposite the door looked just big enough for a few people to change without flashing the world. It was rustic, and not in a good way.

I threw my bags onto the bed closest to the doorway and turned to look at my campers. Eleven girls, almost all of them with these super-pretty names that had to have been trendy when they were born. Two Bethanys, a Lilliana, a Miranda, a Giselle, and a few other names I couldn’t even remember. And they were all staring at me. Dev had kept the group of both boys and girls going with a steady stream of questions, but now that I was alone with them I had no idea what to say. I couldn’t be afraid of a bunch of eleven year olds.

I took a deep breath and clasped my hands to hide my shakiness. This wasn’t any different than the classes I taught at Oh, Knit!, just with younger people and no yarn.

“We have until lunch to settle in, so I’d like to start with some rules.” A few of the girls groaned and I waited for them to quiet down before I spoke again. “I’m not your mom or your teacher. It wasn’t too long ago that I was a camper, too, and I know you’re all definitely old enough to know when you’re not supposed to do something. Honestly, if you do anything stupid and get sent home, I really don’t care. It’s not like I’ll get anything on my permanent record about being a sucky camp counselor.” That made some of the girls look at me with surprise. My hands and breathing steadied and I smiled at them. “If you want to stay up all night talking, take the bunks towards the back of the cabin. I don’t care if you don’t sleep as long as you’re not too loud. The teachers drive around in the camp golf cart to check on all the cabins throughout the night, so when you hear it, make sure to shut off your flashlights and go quiet until a little while after they pass. Otherwise, we’ll all get written up.”

“That’s…good to know.” One of the girls—Genevieve, I think—said, slowly.

“Since I remember being a camper, I also remember playing truth-or-dare. I don’t care what your dares are, but I really suggest thinking twice before coming up with something like mooning the boy’s cabins. It’s really, really not worth it.” Memories of running over to the cabins and chickening out last minute, only to get in trouble with the teachers, anyway, came flooding back and I held back a laugh. “Trust me.” That got a few giggles and whispered comments and I pushed on while I still had momentum. “I’m taking the bunk next to the door because I don’t need any of you sneaking out in the middle of the night.” I dropped onto the bunk and looked up at them. “And that’s about it. Any questions?”

The redhead raised her hand. “Is Dev your boyfriend?”

I blinked at her, caught off-guard. She was like a little demonic Anne of Green Gables. Perky and pushy at the same time. “No.” After a beat, I looked around the rest of the group. “Any questions about camp?”

“He totally checked you out when you bent over to pick up your bags.” Redhead threw herself onto a bunk and propped her chin in her hands. “I think he’s cute.”

Bethany Number One shook her head. “Diana, you think any older guy is cute.”

“Not true. It’s just that the guys our age are so immature.”

I dropped my head into my hands and spoke into my palms. “Okay, just…pick your bunks and set up your sleeping bags. We need to leave for the mess hall soon.”

“I think we broke her,” came a whisper from a far corner of the cabin.

Lilliana actually giggled in response. “Nah, it’s totally heartbreak from unrequited love.”

I ignored that and started to untie my sleeping bag. A tall shadow fell over me. “Wait, you’re reading Cradled on the Waves?” Bethany Number Two picked up the book on my bunk and I nodded absently.

Her eyes grew wide. “Did you get to the part where Kaylie and Evan play together on the cliffs?”

That got my attention. I stopped and looked straight at her, excitement at finding a fellow reader making me grin. “Ohmigosh yes. That’s my favorite part. Especially when their music starts going in time to the waves?”

BethanyTwo clutched the book to her chest and fake swooned. “That’s my favorite, too. I want to move to Canada now.”

I nodded enthusiastically. Finally, someone else said what I was thinking. “A little cottage on PEI?”

She flipped to where my bookmark was sitting and seemed to be checking out how far I was in the book. “South shore, right on the cliffs.” A dimple appeared in her cheek when she smiled. “Anyone who likes Emma Sanderson is awesome.” She then gently put down my book and went back to where the other girls were taking turns checking out and complaining about the changing/sink cubby thing.

I had the best campers ever.





39


In the distance, I heard splashing and screaming, but here on the dock, I was safe from overturning canoes and water wars. I turned the page in my book and paused midchapter to close my eyes and soak in the warm sunlight. Mrs. Forrester let me beg off of canoeing with the excuse that I was afraid of getting hurt and being unable to teach archery the rest of the week. While Dev and the rest of the counselors and campers were out getting soaked, I was dry, warm, and immersed in Cradled on the Waves’ world of violins and gorgeous seascapes. The earthy scent of cedar water and the smell of pine filled my lungs.