CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Parker’s not a very good dancer, but at least he doesn’t step on my feet. All the people staring at us, including Lily, makes me nervous, though, and I almost step on his toes a couple times. I forgot Lily wanted this dance with Parker.
I shrug, and Parker wrinkles his brow at me. “What was that for? Are you shrugging at my dancing, or are you off daydreaming about someone else?”
I giggle since I had been thinking of his dancing. “When we were at the cabin before we walked down here, Lily was trying to get Fallon and me to talk to you about dancing with her. Here I am, though. I was shrugging because, I don’t know, too bad?” I giggle again, trying to put my emotions into words. I don’t want to hurt Lily, but she can be a little demanding when it comes to getting attention.
“I’ve known Lily for several years. She’s not my type.” Shaking his head, he adds, “She’s a little much to deal with and is very high maintenance. It’s one of the things I like about you.”
Ah! No! We’re not having this discussion. Not happening! Time to bring him back to a safer topic. “I’m sure she’ll find someone.”
He accepts the subject change. “So, what was up with your acrobatics earlier? Are you sure you aren’t really a monkey?”
“I told you guys I took a lot of classes at the Rec Center. Dance, tumbling, gymnastics, and running were my favorites. Dancing taught me how to be light on my feet. Tumbling taught me how to reach places someone my size normally shouldn’t be able to. Gymnastics taught me control of my body. Dance helped with that, too. Running helped me stay in good condition in case I ever wanted to run away. I considered it a lot, growing up.” I look up, and the sadness in his eyes breaks my heart a little.
“You shouldn’t have had to go through all of that. I’m sorry you didn’t have parents around to support you.” He pulls me in a little tighter, almost into a hug, but our dance hold won’t allow for more.
“What’s the saying? What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger? Or something like that. It wasn’t all bad. I made the most of the situations I was in. My will wouldn’t let me do anything but survive.” This was something I did for me. I know people have it better but make it worse and vice versa. I’m glad my character lets me take on what I have without burying me.
Just as I was about to ask him about his parents, three loud bangs echo in the woods. I grab Parker and pull him down. Growing up in some of the places I have, I recognized the noise as gunfire. I peek around as Jay strides toward us. Everyone else crouches, but they aren’t sure what to make of the noise.
“That was gunfire,” Jay says, kneeling next to us. “We need to move into a better spot. It sounded like it came from the east, but the echoes make it hard to be sure.”
“I think you’re right about the direction,” I agree with him, but we don’t move from our position. Too many people crouch around us. “The only obvious choices would be east or west near our area.”
“Everyone, please get up.” Mr. Smyth’s smooth voice comes over the speakers. “There were some local teens letting off firecrackers to scare you. They’ve been rounded up, now. There is no reason to be scared. We were finishing up anyway. Please stay together and head back to your cabins.”
“Are you guys sure that was gunfire?” Parker asks us.
“Absolutely,” I say at the same time Jay says, “Definitely.”
“I grew up around guns,” Jay explains to Parker. “I might not be able to tell what kind it was from this distance, but I can tell you it was a handgun. A rifle would have a deeper sound.”
“They’re probably just telling us it was kids with firecrackers because they don’t want to scare us.” I stand and walk toward the east.
Jay grabs my arm. “Where do you think you’re going, missy?”
“I want to see for sure what it was. Why would people be shooting guns in the middle of the night? Maybe, we can find out.” When I attempt to pull away from him, his grip forms an iron shackle around my wrist.
“We don’t walk up on people that have guns, especially people we don’t know or don’t know their intentions. Besides, you’re covered in glow in the dark paint. You would be a beacon shining at them long before you reached them. If they’re hostiles, the situation could be more dangerous for you.” Jay’s father’s teachings talk to us through Jay.
How many war stories did he hear growing up?
I grab Jay’s chin with my free hand and shake his head back and forth. “Fine. I won’t go after the hostiles. I’ll wait until morning.”
In a very un-Jay like manner, he sticks his tongue out at me. At that moment, Noah and Lucca join us.
“What are you two doing?” Noah asks us.
“Our little monkey thinks she’s going on a scavenger hunt for bad guys tomorrow,” Parker explains to him.
“What do you mean I think I am?” I glare over at Parker. “I will come down here and look around. Don’t worry, I’ll be ready for whatever crazy task we have to do next.”
“Sorry. I didn’t mean that the way it came out. Are you okay with all of us checking it out together? I’m sure you’re quite capable on your own, but at least if something happens, there will be someone else to go get help,” Parker adds trying to sound diplomatic.
“That’s a good idea. We can cover more ground, too.” Now, I’m excited because I want to know what this place is about. Why would people be walking around with guns? Hunters are early morning people. Mr. Smyth knew something was up. There’s no way he had time to find and catch local teens before he made his announcement.
~
The next morning, I encourage everyone to eat quickly so we can get a start on our investigation. We also have a bonus task to do today, leaving us little time to get everything accomplished. I don’t want to be the one to make us miss our goals. They eat slowly, not as enthusiastic as I am. When I threaten to go ahead without them, that gets them moving.
We spend an hour walking around the east side of camp, searching for clues as to what happened. Jay spots areas of high traffic, but we find no burn marks on the ground or shell casings from the shots. The vast forest makes discovering the right area difficult.
Conceding defeat, we move on to our regular task.
Our bonus task, which has to be completed by the end of the day, is to build a container that will support an egg and protect it when dropped from the bell tower at the auditorium. The supply closet near our team room contains all of the supplies we need, so we decide to work inside today.
To keep it fair, we can only use items from the list provided to us, and of those items, we can only use twelve. Parker passes the paper around for all of us to read. The list consists of cardboard, five elastic bands, eight popsicle sticks, one yard of tape, two sheets of construction paper, one plastic bag, ten straws, one styrofoam cup, one poster board, six cotton pads, ten cotton swabs, one pair of socks, one roll of toilet paper, one foot of string, four inches of wire, one box of spaghetti noodles, two balloons, one paper plate, five pieces of tissue paper, two sheets of plastic wrap, and two sheets of aluminum foil. In addition to the twelve items, we can also use glue, scissors, rulers, and pencils.
As we brainstorm ideas, Lucca writes everything on our whiteboard. Everything from parachutes to swaddling it up in all the soft materials flies out from the group. Lucca diligently marks them all down as they’re called out. Once we’ve exhausted our ideas, Parker stops to explain the science behind what we need to do. He discusses gravity, wind resistance, and pressure. At this point, I’m glad we have Parker because I would have gone with the wrap it as tightly as possible in everything possible.
The instructions lay on the desk Parker vacated, so I grab it and read it, then sigh in irritation. We should have read the entire paper before starting.
“Guys. Guys!” I yell to get their attention. They’re all caught up in what to create, and ignore my pleas. I bang my hand on the desk to gain their focus. “We need to read through everything first. The instructions say no parachutes, that the egg has to be visible, and that the visible piece must be the size of a quarter, we can’t make it larger than a piece of paper, but it can be tall, and the egg and the container have to be unbroken.”
The guys all groan as Jay marks the ideas off the list that we cannot do. What’s with guys and skipping instructions or directions?
“Noah, can’t we just go look up how to do this back at the Corral?” I ask. “There’s nothing against that in the rules.”
“It says we can only use the items on the list.” He points out. “A computer is not on there. What fun would it be to have someone else tell us how to do this?”
His eyes light up with the challenge. I’ll play along, but for now, I’ll just watch them enjoy themselves. Maybe they’ll let me drop it so I can say I contributed?
About five minutes into the pros and cons of each idea, Mr. Smyth and Ms. Carlton come by. Ms. Carlton hovers over the guys. She leans into Parker as she tries to see what they’re doing. Parker scrunches in on himself as she moves closer.
I get up to go rescue him when Mr. Smyth stops me. “May I have a word with you outside, Cassie?”
With my curiosity peaked, I agree and follow him into the hall.
He waits for the door to close before saying, “I hear you and your boys went hiking this morning.”
That’s one way to put what we did. I’m not going to give anything away unless he asks me directly, though. “We did. We like to spend time down by the lake where there are fewer distractions. It allows us to focus.”
“It’s good to know you’re happy enough with your team to go off with them. Just be careful because people will show you what they want you to see,” he cautions, and irritation makes my fingers curl into fists. Why would he be putting doubts in my head about the boys? He seems oblivious to my change in mood as he adds, “I also would like you to be careful looking around where the firecrackers went off. We don’t know that those kids won’t come back.”
“I’m a good judge of character. I don’t believe any of them would ever do anything against me.” Anger makes my cheeks heat, and I keep my voice low as I point at him. “You, on the other hand, chose to lie last night and just now about firecrackers. If you want me to heed your warnings, you should start with building my trust in you.”
He has the nerve to look contrite. “I sometimes forget where you were brought up. It’s unfortunate you ever encountered gunfire. Please keep this information to yourself so the other campers don’t panic.”
“I’m not the only one that noticed. Jay knew immediately as well. I’m sure we aren’t the only two teens here that have heard gunfire before.” My voice rises with my anger until I’m almost yelling. “You might want to come up with a better cover story. Or better yet, just tell us the truth!”
“There’s no need for a cover story. They were local teens trying to scare the campers. They were removed.” He smiles at me now, but I don’t believe a word coming out of his mouth. “It was just safer to tell people it was firecrackers and not guns shot at the lake.”
I’m about to say something else to him when Ms. I’m-Going-to-Get-Close-to-Your-Boys Carlton walks out of the room. “Cassie, your team is on the right track in there. I enjoy watching great minds come together. Keep up the good work.”
Before I can respond to either of them, they walk off. Irritated, my mind wanders as I walk back into the room. About three feet in, I trip over something the boys set on the floor and fall right into Lucca’s arms.
Lucca helps me straighten up. “If you wanted to cuddle with me, you only had to ask.”
I take a deep breath before I answer because I don’t want to let my anger and irritation out on him. It’s a clear sign of my respect for him that I even consider reining in my temper. Normally I’d have told him off. “Maybe some other time, Lucca.”
“What’s wrong?” His brows pull together at my short tone. “What did Mr. Smyth say to you?”
Shoot. I didn’t want to sound irritated. “It was nothing. He admitted it was gunshots we heard last night, but they decided not to tell anyone because they didn’t want to cause a panic.” I’m not sure why I’m leaving out his warning about them. The web of secrets grows.
“I’m glad he admitted it. It makes sense he wouldn’t want to scare people,” Lucca agrees with Mr. Smyth.
Maybe I’m blowing this up, and I shouldn’t. Something just doesn’t feel right, though.
Since I don’t want to think about that anymore, and we have a project to finish, I change the subject by teasing the boys some. “So, you’re hitting on the counselors to get a passing mark. I wouldn’t have thought any of you had it in you, but I’ll go with it. At least as long as it’s you doing it and not me.” I wink at them.
“Eww, never!” Noah laughs.
At the same time, Parker yells, “I would rather fail first!”
Jay doesn’t say anything, but he wads up paper to throw at me. It isn’t long before there’s an all-out war with paper balls. Parker grabs me from behind so I can’t move and uses me as a shield against the projectiles.
“Hey! No fair! Let me down.” I try to wiggle away from him.
Noah comes from my left side. His fingers connect with my side, and now I’m squealing. I can’t think clearly between the paper ball assault and the tickling. I yell, but nothing coherent comes out. I’m not even sure if they’re throwing things at us anymore. Lucca and Jay may have joined in on the tickling.
Through my tears, I beg them to stop; unfortunately, nothing comes out like it should. I finally manage to say, “I will never speak of her again if you stop! Please, stop!”
My whole body shakes with tears and laughter. I don’t think I’ve ever laughed so hard. Parker still holds me, but he does it more to help me stand than to restrain me. I manage to sit on the floor as someone hands me a tissue to wipe off my face.
“You guys suck!” Is all I’m able to get out for a few minutes. They nearly roll on the floor laughing at me. I start to pick up some of the ammunition but think better of it. I can’t handle round two.
“I’m not cleaning this up. I’ll sit and supervise. Jay should have to pick it all up since he started it.” I smirk at him. My thoughts aren’t on his task, though. Instead, my mind drifts to what it would look like for him to bend over in front of me. His jeans showcase his firm ass today.
Where the hell did that come from? I shake my head to erase those thoughts. I won’t think of him or the others that way.
It doesn’t take long to clean up. Once we get back on task, two ideas for the egg test stand out. We make three of each to provide us with a test and a backup. In case we need to make modifications, Parker grabs extra materials to bring with us. If there’s a problem, this will save us from coming back down to the room.
The first one we try is what we call our straw man. The egg is wrapped in one of the long balloons around the outside, allowing the egg to be exposed on the top and bottom. After we tie the balloon, we build a straw pyramid around it, making sure none of the straws point directly at the egg. According to Parker, this should push the impact force away from the egg.
Jay and Noah wait at the bottom for the contraption to be dropped. The egg made it in one piece, but the straws break. Before we take time to modify this one, we try the second model.
The second one is a box made out of popsicle sticks with rubber bands tied between the corners to hold the egg in the middle. This should allow the egg to bounce around without cracking on impact. The first one comes apart on one corner when it hits. Lucca adds some tape to each of the corners to reinforce the structure, and then I drop the next one.
This time both the egg and contraption stay intact. Noah goes to grab Kelly for her to witness our success.
Kelly approves the results, gaining us fifty extra points going into our second week.