Sleepaway Girls (8 page)

My best bet was to get back to the path down to the lake and find Em. Maybe she had better luck than I did. The first area of the path was deserted, but as soon as I reached the hill leading to the lake I stopped and rested by a moss-covered rock. It was getting dark and that was only going to make it harder to find Cole. I bitterly swatted a mosquito away. That was when I saw Court whiz by me.

“HEY!” She spotted me and backtracked. She sat down on the rock next to me. Her dark hair, also sprayed green, was covered in pine needles. She must have been cutting through the woods. “A group of pez almost spotted me so I bolted,” Court said, sounding out of breath.

I laughed. “Court! You’re not supposed to move once you’ve gone into hiding. The campers are supposed to find you.”

Court folded her arms defiantly. “You’re one to talk. You haven’t even gone into hiding yet!”

“That’s true,” I admitted sheepishly. “I’m still looking for Cole.” I relayed what Grace said. “She thinks I should find Tim and he may tell me what Cole is.”

“What’s he dressed up as?” Court asked me.

“Kung Fu Panda.” I giggled.

Court grabbed my arm, getting green paint on my white shirt. “Sam, I just saw a panda hanging out by the counselor lounge! That must be Tim!” The two of us looked at each other. “I’ll go with you,” Court said. “We’ll take the woods. No one will see us.”

It was hard to move quickly with all the trees and branches. First, my wig got pulled off by an unruly bush. Then Court snagged her green stockings on a tree trunk. Even though the sun hadn’t gone down completely yet it was dark in the woods; the only thing I could see was Court’s flashlight leading the way. Finally we made it to a clearing. Court held me back as a group of pez marched by with a disgusted-looking Gabby. Elmo, whoever he was, was right behind her with some marshmallows. When the coast was clear, we ran for it. After a detour around the inground pool, we made it to the counselor lounge where Tim was sitting on the steps. Even without Grace’s tip, I would have known it was Tim. He was sitting with his panda head in his hands and his hair and face were drenched with sweat.

“What are you guys doing up here?” he demanded when he saw us. He fumbled to put the panda head back on, but it tumbled down the steps.

“It’s okay, Tim,” I told him. “It’s Sam and Court.” I reached down to pick the mask up. I handed it back to him. “We’re not spying. We were looking for you.”

“Is Grace okay?” Tim asked, looking concerned. “I told her the tennis courts were a dead giveaway.”

Court elbowed me. “I think Grace is fine. Congrats on the Color War news.”

Tim beamed proudly. “Thanks. I’m really stoked.”

“Tim, we were hoping you could help us find someone,” Court said. “Cole. Do you know what he’s dressed as?”

“We’re not supposed to give away costumes, remember?” Tim pointed out. “It ruins the fun of the game.”

No wonder Grace liked Tim. He was just as anal about camp tradition as she was. “I know,” I said. “I won’t tell anyone who Cole is. I just need to know myself. There’s something really important I have to tell him.”

Tim looked at me curiously and smirked. “OH,” he said in a way that made me think he knew what I was talking about. “Okay. Cole is a knight,” he said. “He’s been eyeing that costume for weeks.”

YES! Now I just had to get to him before a group of pez did. “Thanks, Tim! I owe you one. Court, wish me luck!” I yelled as I took off running down the dirt path.

“Don’t be a chicken!” Court yelled back.

Before I even reached the cabins, I found my path blocked by Barney. Since I didn’t know who was inside the purple dinosaur costume, I quickly ducked behind a tree. I wasn’t fast enough though because Barney saw me. I looked into the spooky, darkened woods and heard an owl hoot in the distance. Or was it a wolf? The woods were my only chance of losing Barney. I’d done it once already, I could do it again. I turned on my flashlight, pushed a few branches out of the way, inhaled sharply and walked in.

“Sam!” I heard a muffled voice yell. “SAM!”

I turned around and flashed my light in the trees around me. Barney was wedged between two trees. I couldn’t just leave him there so I rushed over and pushed his purple tail till he wiggled free.

“Thanks,” Barney said and pulled off his mask. It was Dylan! His face was dripping with sweat. It must have been so hot in that thing. “Grace told me you were a rag doll. That’s why I followed you. Have you seen Em?”

I shook my head. “No, but she might be down by the lake, and that’s where I’m headed,” I said. “She’s dressed as Minnie Mouse.”

“I’ll walk with you,” he offered. “Just in case I get stuck again.”

I wasn’t about to protest. Walking with someone in the woods was much better than going alone. It took us fifteen minutes to get to the lake — Dylan got stuck about four times, I tripped over a few rocks, and then we had to search for my wig again (it was stuck on a tree branch) — and when we finally made it, the place was deserted. Either the campers had given up on the area, or whoever had been hiding down there was already captured.

“Don’t look so disappointed. Em could still be down here,” Dylan said, not knowing who I was really looking for. “We’ll head in different directions.”

“AH HA!” A group of pez popped out from behind a nearby tree. “We have you!”

Dylan and I froze. I tried not to panic. I couldn’t be this close and get caught now. The pez were older than the peeps, usually nine to eleven, and much more savvy. They circled us like we were their supper. Every once in a while they would whisper something to one another. Dylan and I stood back-to-back, waiting.

“You first,” one of the pez said to me. “Our first guess is Gabby!”

“She’s already been captured,” I said in a high-pitched voice. “I saw it happen.”

The group huddled together again, whispering. “Our next guess is Colleen!”

I shook my head. Just one more guess…

“Then you have to be…” A girl approached me and gave me the evil eye. “You have to be…” I held my breath. “You have to be Grace!”

“Wrong again,” I squeaked. The pez looked disappointed, but I wanted to jump up and down and celebrate. They turned to Dylan. He had to get off too.

“We captured Tim, and Gavin is the lion tamer,” the pez recounted out loud. “We’ve narrowed down who we think Cole and Hunter are so you must be… DYLAN!”

I couldn’t believe it. They guessed right! Now Em would never get to tell him.

Dylan removed his head. “You’ve got me,” he said with a smile. He looked at me and shrugged. “Good luck finding who you’re looking for. Let them know I was looking for them too,” he added cryptically.

One of the pez grabbed his arm. “Let’s take him to jail,” he said.

“Shouldn’t we look for Cole first? Someone on the path said they saw a knight heading this way a few minutes ago. He’s got to be down here somewhere.”

“I don’t see anyone,” one of the others protested. “Let’s just take Dylan and score a point and worry about Cole later. He’s probably in the boathouse thinking no one would look there because it’s usually locked. That’s where my brother hid last year when he was a counselor. Apparently they unlock the boathouse for the hunt. We’ll come back for him if we have time.”

I wanted to reach over and kiss that pez right on the cheek! I couldn’t believe they weren’t rushing over to check right now. But their loss was my gain. If Cole was spotted coming this way and the boathouse was unlocked, then he could be in there. It was the only hiding place at the lake I could think of other than lying in one of the canoes. But they always had lake water hanging out in the bottom and were all moldy. Eww.

“Guys, we only have a half hour left,” said one of the pez. “Let’s get Dylan to the jail before it’s too late.”

They headed off, leaving me alone again and my eyes narrowed in on the small, wooden boathouse. Instead of running, however, my feet felt like they were glued to the sand. I was possibly
thisclose
to finding Cole and part of me suddenly didn’t want to. My hands felt sweaty, my mouth was dry, and I was beginning to hyperventilate. Maybe I wasn’t ready to do this after all.

“I thought I saw a counselor go this way!” I heard a camper yell.

Maybe I didn’t have a choice. The boat shack was a few feet away. I could make it inside before I was spotted. I fumbled for the door and miraculously it really was unlocked. I shut it quietly behind me and looked around hopefully in the dark. There didn’t seem to be anyone in here. Disappointed, I waited till I heard the campers run by to continue my search.

The shack was kind of spooky at night. The only way I could see was the illumination of the moon shining in the windows. I tried not to think about spiders and counted the seconds till the coast was clear. That’s when I heard a noise. I spun around and there in the moonlight was a knight. Cole! I gasped.

My heart started beating madly and I thought I would pass out. This was really happening. I was alone with Cole and I was about to tell him the truth. Cole moved to take off his mask. “No! Wait. Don’t do that!” I blurted out. I could barely breath I was so nervous. I had to do this and I had to do it quickly. “I know it sounds silly, but I have something to say and it might be easier if I wasn’t looking into your eyes.”

I closed my eyes and tried to think of the words I’d practiced over and over in my head a hundred times before: I like you and here is why. I could hear them, but I couldn’t get myself to say them out loud. I was too nervous to do it. “I…” I couldn’t do this. Telling someone you liked them was harder than I imagined. How did boys do it? “I…” Think of Cole, I told myself.

I pictured Cole laughing at the mess hall, his curls bouncing as he held his stomach. I thought of that moment when he tackled me to the ground during Capture the Flag and took a few seconds longer than he should have rolling off me. I could see his bluer-than-Court’s-bright-blue-nail-polish eyes looking at me at a campfire when he gave me his last roasted marshmallow. How he helped me through the woods to avoid being seen by Beaver the night of the prank. Cole wasn’t afraid of being caught even if I was.

And that’s when I realized: What exactly was I afraid of now? I’d liked Cole almost the entire summer and this was the first time I’d been afraid to be myself around him. That was silly, wasn’t it? I’d never pretended to be someone else around him before and I wasn’t about to do it now. I pulled off my wig and stared at his suit of armor.

“There is something I’ve wanted to say to you for weeks,” I said slowly. “It’s something I’ve never said to a guy before, but I know if I don’t say it to you, I’ll always regret it.” I took a deep breath, letting the air fill my lungs before I finally spoke. “I like you,” I blurted out. “I really like you and I hope what you were trying to tell me the other night was that you like me too.”

There. I said it. I stood there in the dark, breathing in the smell of wet wood and I waited for Cole to say something. The seconds felt like hours. An owl hooted and I was still waiting. And then Cole removed his mask and I heard myself scream, as if I was standing outside my body.

“I think you’re looking for Cole,” Hunter said, shaking his sweaty hair. I could faintly make out a smile on his lips. “But I like your forwardness, champ.” Then he walked toward me, his armor creaking, while I stood cemented to the ground. Before I knew what was happening, Hunter grabbed my face, tilted my chin, pulled me toward him, and kissed me.

The seconds felt like hours. Before I could even react, I heard the doorknob to the boathouse jingle. “I bet someone is hiding in here,” I heard someone say as Hunter kissed me. Terrified of getting caught with the wrong guy, I stayed frozen like a statue, knowing that a single sound from us and we’d be caught for sure. Please don’t open the door. Please, please, please don’t open the door… .

When camp started that summer, I used to wonder what a kiss from Hunter would be like. I would lie in my bunk and imagine what his lips felt like, what he smelled like, how experienced he was in the kissing department. And yet, now that it was actually happening, I was… disappointed. Hunter’s lips were rough and he kissed me hard, almost banging my lips with every semi-sloppy lock. He was a pro, but it wasn’t what I was looking for.

“We checked there already!” someone else said and I heard them leave just as quickly.

I pulled away from Hunter and looked at him. Part of me wanted to hit him, but he was a senior counselor. That move was out of the question. “But I’m supposed to kiss Cole,” I said stupidly.

Hunter touched my cheek. “Maybe. But I’ve wanted to see what it would be like to kiss you all summer.” He leaned forward again and I stumbled backward. A shadow passed Hunter’s face and I turned around. Someone was staring in the boathouse window. I quickly opened the door. Ashley was standing there in her Wonder Woman costume, smiling wickedly.

I heard a whistle. The game was over. I looked from Ashley to Hunter, who was now standing in the boathouse doorway, holding his helmet, and the only thing I could think of doing was run. I ran as fast as I could, past a group of campers, past the horse stables, and didn’t stop till I reached the main part of campus. I didn’t know how to feel at that moment. My body and mind were numb. I was angry at Hunter, even though part of me was sort of flattered — when had a guy ever said something like that to me before? — and I was freaked out and upset that Ashley saw us. But my biggest concern was Cole. He was going to find out.

If I could have kept running, all the way back to Carle Place, I might have, but my lungs were on fire and my feet finally gave out. I stopped in front of one of the large leafy trees and rested my head on the bark.

Someone grabbed my shoulder and I whirled around. If it was Ashley, I was going to yell. Instead, there was a
Scream
mask inches from my face. Before I could react, the mask came off. It was Cole. I felt woozy.

“You were supposed to be a knight,” I said weakly.

“Sorry to disappoint you,” Cole said with one of his trademark adorable grins. “I wanted to be the knight, but Hunter pulled rank and I got stuck with this at the last minute.” He pointed to his black robe and mask. “Pretty lame, huh?” He laughed.