Dead of Summer

After telling Kayde to get lost.

And even with all the fear and trepidation I’d felt for her wellbeing, I hadn’t been able to deny how impressed I was at how she’d talked to him. Though I’d watched his face for any sign of more than bemusement, and finding none, breathed a soft breath of relief when he left.

I just have to make sure he isn’t plotting revenge for her at a later date. And now that the sun has set…

Unable to help myself, I glance across the fire to where Kayde sits with his boys. They’re in the lead so far with five correct guesses, followed by Kinsley’s cabin with four. He’s not looking at me, though. Instead his lips move rapidly as he speaks to Darcy, saying something I’m nowhere near close enough to hear.

Whatever it is, she doesn’t like it. I can see her bristle from here, and her fingers sink into her thighs as she glances away from him. Her foot taps on the grass in front of her, and when she whips her head back to look at Kayde, it’s accompanied by her eyes narrowing and a hiss of something that seems unfriendly.

Certainly unfriendly enough that Kayde’s smile lessens, and some of the warmth in his eyes cools just enough to set me on edge. She’s really upsetting him, if I had to guess. Though I have no idea what she could be saying to piss him off enough that some of his mask has fallen off his face. Not that he seems to notice, given the fact he still watches her, with a muscle in his jaw ticking like he’s close to saying something incredibly unfriendly.

“Hey.” Kinsley nudges my arm, pulling my attention back to this side of the fire. When I look at her, she nods toward Ari, who’s flapping her arms and looking more and more upset with each passing second.

I feel awful for her, and my heart twists in sympathy. While I know that helping her will result in us not scoring, I’m also not going to let her stand there, embarrassed, while all of her peers watch.

“Go help her?” I murmur, leaning over to Melody on my other side. The little girl nods fiercely and jumps to her feet, going to Ari and glancing at the paper clenched in her hand.

Then Melody does something I don’t expect. I’m sure that whatever is being acted out, there has to be a better way to do it so we can guess something other than ‘dying pelican,’ but Melody doesn’t bother to try. She flaps her arms along with Ari, making the same motions as she stares expectantly at her cabin, who can’t figure any of it out.

Ari, for her part, relaxes a little, and I see some of the tension ease out of her as Melody does the same, exaggerated motions without a care in the world on her face. She doesn’t care if people make fun of her. Hell, I’m pretty sure most of the campers are too afraid of her to say something out of turn.

Finally, by some stroke of a miracle, one of the girls from my cabin guesses ‘flamingo,’ though it’s not until Ari lifts one leg and bends it awkwardly, flapping her ‘wings’ and nearly overbalancing.

“Finally!” Melody throws her hands up and takes the paper from Ari before coming back to our side of the fire. She hands me the paper, though I’m sure she knows this doesn’t actually count as a point.

But I’m okay with pretending it does. It’s not like we’re in competition for first, anyway. Not with how long guessing ‘flamingo’ took.

We do end up with one point, before our time runs out, and by the time Kinsley’s cabin has gone, Ari isn’t looking so embarrassed and instead sits with her knee touching Melody’s, probably seeking the reassurance that I know she’ll give her without question.

Melody really is the best twelve-year-old of the bunch. And the worst, depending on the day. Tonight I couldn’t be more proud of her, however, and I reward her with a quick, genuine smile before watching Kinsley’s girls act out an otter, a groundhog, and a kite without missing a step.

She ties with Kayde in the end. The two of them accept the ‘trophy’ for their cabins, the one that we’ll end up re-using for the next summer camp session. But the kids don’t care about that. They’re just happy to have won, and the mixed herd of winning boys and girls yell and cheer for themselves, hopping around the campfire while making sure not to get close enough to be burned.

“I’m sorry,” I hear Ari whisper, but before I can answer, Melody hugs her fiercely.

“Don’t be,” she replies stubbornly. “We just have bad guessers in our cabin. And the worst counselor for charades in the whole group.”

That makes me snort, but not because she’s wrong. I really am awful at both acting out whatever is on the paper and guessing what it is.

“You guys did good,” I tell them, getting to my feet and draping the blanket over my shoulders. “Flamingo is hard. And you were the one who figured out to go up on one foot, not Melody,” I remind Ari, who gives me a soft, nervous smile.

“If you say so.” She doesn’t sound convinced, and I wish I knew what to say to make her happier with herself and her efforts.

“Man, flamingo was such a curveball, huh?” Kayde’s sweet, gentle chiding reaches my ears and I glance up at him, unsurprised to find him in my orbit. “You did so great standing on one foot. That’s what did it for your cabin, you know,” he confides in Ari, standing beside me with his hands shoved in his pockets.

Ari brightens just a little at that, and glances at me for my opinion. I nod vigorously, agreeing with him and the words I’d just said.

“Are we dismissed to go get our shower stuff?” Melody asks, watching the other kids stream away from the campfire.

“Yep,” I tell her, gesturing toward our cabin. “Just don’t kill anyone on the way there. Or in the showers. Or on the way back.” Melody mock salutes me, rolling her eyes, and leads the girls back to Redtail to pick up their shower gear before heading out again.

I silently watch them go, my head tilted to one side as curiosity bubbles up my throat. Finally, when I can’t take it anymore and there’s no one in earshot, I say, “You and Darcy seemed to have a lot to talk about, huh?”

I expect a laugh. A joke. His normal brush off filled with humor and telling me it was nothing at all. But instead Kayde sighs, sharply, and folds his arms over his chest as if I’ve reminded him of a particular irritation.

“Yeah,” he agrees darkly. “She certainly wanted to make her feelings known. Pretty sure you’re not her best friend, by the way. Just in case you thought she ever had your back.”

“Oh, no,” I assure him, shaking my head. “No, I’ve never thought that. She dislikes me a lot.”