CHAPTER FOURTEEN
By Thursday, we found our groove, meeting for breakfast before switching to our team room to do the first of our weekly tasks. Next came lunch, then more tasks, dinner, and free time in the evening.
Our free time varied between honing our skills in certain areas and helping me learn how to swim. Since they wanted to win so badly, I feared disappointing them, but I missed just hanging out. With us only in week two of camp, getting this out of their system while improving our position can be the focus now, but I plan to mention something next week if we can’t have fun at least a couple days a week.
This week, the tasks revolve around observation. Monday, each of us look at the same pictures side-by-side and to find the differences. The minimum to answer correctly is twenty-five, but teams receive an extra point for every picture beyond that up to a total of one hundred. All differences between both pictures must be found in order to claim the point, and teams don’t know how many differences there are. If one is missed, then that set is discarded and teams move on to the next. Each picture became increasingly more intricate.
On Thursday afternoon, we decide to split up tasks. Parker, Noah, and Jay hate hunting for differences, so they focus on something more active to do. They pick up a bonus task to work on while Lucca and I review the pictures.
“La mia bellezza, are you ready to show these guys up? We will earn more points than them,” Lucca says as we walk into the room with the others.
I turn and gently grab Lucca’s arm so he doesn’t go in the room yet. After I know the boys are out of earshot, I turn to Lucca. “Lucca, please don’t call me that. I know you didn’t mean anything by it, but it makes me uncomfortable.”
Instantly, my heart constricts, and I regret saying something as Lucca’s head dips and his face falls. “I’m so sorry. So sorry. Please forgive me. I would never say anything to make you upset or uncomfortable.”
I can tell he’ll keep going if I don’t stop him so I put up my hand before placing it back on his arm. His muscles flex under my touch, which distracts me from what I need to say. He’s really muscular. Focus girl! “Lucca, you have nothing to be sorry for. Uncomfortable is the wrong word. I just don’t feel that way about myself. I don’t want to feel that way about myself because it’s harder to hide or blend in.”
“I called you that because you are beautiful. When I first met you, I only saw the outside, but now that I know you, I see you are even more beautiful on the inside. Please tell me you forgive me,” Lucca pleads with me.
Realizing I never accepted his apology, I tell him, “You’re forgiven. I don’t like it when people tell me I’m pretty, though. I’ve had some nasty ass men leer at me and call me names. I know they only want one thing, and it doesn’t involve seeing how beautiful my insides are.”
His brows pull together, and his arms flex again. “If I ever hear anyone say anything awful to you, they won’t be able to talk anymore.”
His vehemence shocks me. Lucca’s always so peaceful, even when he talks about his neglect. I would expect this from Jay, and maybe even Parker, but not Lucca. “I’m always around one of you, so no one here would dare say anything to me. Jay promised to teach me some self-defense moves. Maybe we can do that in the evenings during free time. That way, I can take them out myself.”
Lucca harrumphs. “I’m sure Jay will teach you whatever you want. It probably wouldn’t hurt any of us to learn some basic moves. I just don’t think you should have to live with that.”
With him calmed down, I give him a sad smile. “All part of life, my friend. It will take a lot more than name calling to take me out.”
I grab his hand and pull him into the room. The boys stop and focus on us. Noah wiggles his eyebrows in a suggestive manner. “What were you two doing out there? Huh, huh?”
I wad up a piece of paper and throw it at him. “Really, Noah! You think so little of me that I would make out with Lucca in the hallway? Lucca would never let that happen. He’s much more romantic than that.” After I say it, I bite my lip, realizing how that sounds and how our hallway conversation went. “Not that Lucca and I will be making out anytime soon. We just met. You should know me better than that by now.”
The boys remain silent. I don’t want to know what’s on their minds right now. I refuse to go down this route, so I distance myself mentally. They, like everyone else in my life, will leave. At least with them, I know when it’s coming.
I clap my hands. “What are we working on, peeps?”
Parker smiles over at me. “We have a final task for the week. We should be ready for it without much prep.”
“That’s good, because I’m tired of observing.” Jay shifts from foot to foot, anxious to be out of the room. I hope it’s not because of me. “Are we still doing our task today?”
“We’ll head out in a few.” Parker settles into his position as leader and gestures for everyone to huddle in. “I just want everyone to know about tomorrow night first. From what they’ve sent us, we’ll be attending a formal dinner where we’re to observe and report.”
I frown at Parker. That sounds too easy. “Have they done this before? What are we observing?”
“They’ve never done this before,” Noah responds before Parker chimes back in. “This is new. I’m guessing things will change during the night, and we’re to watch for those changes. The note doesn’t say anything else other than we have to dress up.”
“Dress up?” Surprised, I consider what all I brought with me and find my options lacking. I’ll have to see if Lily has something I can borrow. I just have some sundresses and skirts. Nothing nice. Another thought occurs to me, and my chest tightens with panic. “We don’t have to know Miss Manner’s table etiquette or anything, do we?” My hands shake, and I press them against my thighs. I’m not rude at the table, but I’ve never been in a formal setting.
“It doesn’t say, but it wouldn’t hurt.” Parker shrugs, not really concerned. “You can go over some of that with Lucca this afternoon if you finish off your pictures.”
“I’ll give you the highlights, Lucca reassures me. “I don’t think you’ll need to know too many specifics. I’ve dined with all sorts of important and wealthy people because of my parents. It wasn’t anything you couldn’t figure out if you had to. The times you have to worry are when you’re in another country and don’t know their social rules.”
Lucca’s explanation makes me feel a little better, and the panic subsides.
Ever the leader, Parker gets us back on track. “Let’s get going. We’ll meet back up at dinner and talk about this more.”
“After dinner, Cassie wants to work with Jay on some martial arts techniques or self-defense,” Lucca informs everyone, relaying part of our earlier conversation.
“That’s a good idea. It’ll take time to build up some of those skills, and we’ll need them by the time we’re at our last task.” Jay stands and heads to the door.
“Okay. Here’s our plan. Lucca and Cassie will stay here until dinner to finish the pictures.” Parker joins Jay at the door. “Jay, Noah, and I will go ask for a bonus task. We’ll meet up for dinner at six, and then go to the playground to work on the self-defense later.”
“Why the playground?” I ask because we never go there.
“The ground’s covered in this soft, rubbery material to stop people from getting hurt if they fall,” Parker explains. “It will be a good cushion for us to use on drops and throws. We don’t want to hurt each other, and there are no other good places to do this kind of workout.”
“Sounds like a plan.” I wave as they walk out the door.
~
Friday brings sore muscles I didn’t know I had. Jay thought I did well by being able to pull from my dance and gymnastics background, but the moves were different, so now I hurt. I hide it from the others, though. Bringing attention to it will do me no good if it means they go all crazy protective and stop letting me practice. I want to learn, and the idea of being able to protect myself is invigorating.
We decide to break early in the afternoon to get ready for dinner. As we leave, Parker stops me. “We’ll meet you at your cabin at five-thirty so we can walk back up here together.”
I frown, confused why they would do that. “I can meet you on the path. There’s no reason to walk all the way to my cabin and then back past yours on the way here.”
“It’s not a problem.” He walks out the door before I can convince him otherwise.
When I get back to my cabin, I discover Lily laid a dress on the bed for me to use. When I change into it, the rich lavender, strapless dress with a handkerchief hemline hits just over my knees. The bodice is tight, then it flares out at the waist. I’ve never worn anything so pretty. She also lent me a pair of silver, low-heeled sandals to round out the outfit.
Because I have no jewelry, the girls convince me to leave my hair down. Lily curls it to form soft waves down my back. A light touch of makeup completes the look.
At least, that’s what Lara tells me.
With the number of campers, the staff split the dinner event into three nights so the room wouldn’t be crowded. Lily’s and Lara’s teams went last night, and Fallon’s team will go tomorrow night. Fallon warned me Mindy will be attending tonight’s session. I won’t let that bother me, though. I’ll be fine as long as her table is away from mine.
Right at five thirty, a knock at our door echoes through the cabin.
Fallon opens it and calls me over. “They’re ready for you. If you don’t hurry, they’ll barge in here.” She rolls her eyes. Parker wouldn’t burst in here unless he thought there was a problem, not with having the wrath of his sister come down on him. She turns to the guys. “She’s coming. Slow down.”
Thanking the girls for helping me, I walk toward the door. I take a deep breath, nervous but not sure why. I glide out the door, working to exude as much confidence as possible before I see the guys standing at the bottom of the steps waiting for me. Each one has a different wildflower in his hand.
I take the steps slowly so I don’t fall in the heeled shoes, and Noah reaches me first. “You’re breathtaking.” He hands me my flower and kisses me on the cheek.
A blush heats my face as he steps aside, and Lucca walks up. He hesitates for a moment before he hands me his flower. “Even more lovely than a field full of wildflowers.” He, too, kisses me on the cheek.
Jay strides forward, hands me my flower, and he kisses my cheek, close to my ear, before whispering. “We’re a lucky team.”
After he steps back, Parker takes Jay’s place. He kisses my cheek before he hands me my flower. “Beautiful,” is all he says. He then offers me his elbow. Jay, on my other side, also offers me an elbow.
Lucca and Noah bring up the rear.
I shift to glance back at them, and Noah offers me a full tooth smile. “We get to escort you back to the cabin later.”
As we walk down the path toward dinner, I spot Mindy waiting for her team near her cabin. Jenny stands next to her, whispering in her ear. The two girls sneer at me as we pass. Mindy’s mouth pops open to speak when Jay leans down, distracting me. “They’re just jealous. Smile and walk on because nothing can match how amazing you look tonight. Don’t let them ruin it.”
He gifts me with another kiss. I blush, smile, and keep walking, missing if Mindy said anything or not.
Dinner tonight is located in the main building, in a conference room behind the auditorium. Instead of a plain, academic feel, a bright, flower-filled room greets us. Around the room, the dimmed lights glow softly as candles burn low on the round tables, adding to the ambiance.
Rather than focusing too much on the changes, I concentrate on how this will impact our assignment. “I think they made it darker in here to make it harder to detect changes.”
“Good observation,” Noah agrees. “I wouldn’t have thought about that.”
“Cassie, why don’t you sit with your back to the wall so you can see most of the room?” Parker surveys our surroundings. “Even if we don’t catch everything right away, your memory will help.”
We find the table with our team name on it, and Noah pulls my seat out for me. “Are you okay here? You don’t have to sit in the corner.”
I giggle, remembering when I saw Dirty Dancing for the first time. “I’m no one’s Baby, so it’s okay.” He starts to complain, but I hold my hand up. “I don’t mind. I want us to do the best.”
“You could be someone’s Baby,” he whispers under his breath, not intending for me to hear.
As the others talk to one another, I pay attention to different items in the room, giving myself a starting place for what may change. Tuning out the guys while there’s a conversation going on is difficult, but since we don’t know when the changes will start, I do my best.
Hoping Parker has additional information he hasn’t shared yet, I ask, “Parker, do you know when this is going to happen? Are we to look at everything or just things associated with our table?”
“The paperwork wasn’t specific, so look at everything.” Parker glances around the room again to take in the details as everyone settles down at their tables.
As the night progresses, I notice small differences, but my lack of experience with these things makes it difficult to know if they’re normal or not, so I make mental notes. Like, one table has their drinks served by one person and their appetizer by someone else. Another table has their drinks and appetizers served by the same person. Our waiter is the same person both times, but the first time his tie is black and the next time his tie is dark blue.
We overhear some of the teams talking and many of the things seen are the same things between each group. As the guys find differences, they tell me what they notice so I can keep inventory as the night goes on. This allows them to focus on other changes throughout the night without worrying about remembering what they already discovered.
Noah nudges my full dinner plate. “You should eat.”
Lucca nods. “We’ve noticed more than the minimum sixty, enough to get us ahead of most teams. Take a break.”
“You did great on our challenge this week.” Parker beams at me. “You got ninety-nine out of one hundred correct. We get those bonus points plus the points Noah, Jay, and I earned doing the outdoor view challenge.”
“We were behind going into this week,” I remind him. “Will that help us?”
“Definitely. Someone would have had to complete two bonuses this week. I don’t think anyone finished the one. We should also get some bonus points tonight because the scoring system is the same.” Parker now glows with excitement, and the others are just as amped.
We finish the night with two hundred and sixty-three differences. I worry I’m being too critical, but things were different so we noted them.
At the end of dinner, the staff releases us, and we move to our room to write them all down. Most of the other teams from our dinner service do the same.
After we write everything down, we spend time together hanging out. The guys tell me funny stories about the camp in previous years.
Jay’s hands move through the air as he tells the story. “Two years ago, Kevin, the jerk from the Corral, thought he could sneak into Kelly’s room. That was her first year in charge, so she was still getting used to being the boss. Kevin tried to climb into her bathroom window, but the window came down on him. He got stuck on the way out. As he was reaching for a tree, a spider landed on him. According to Kevin, it was a devil spider the size of his palm.” Jay holds his large hand up to demonstrate. “He was so worked up he peed all over himself, Kelly’s wall, and the electrical outlet there. That shorted out the socket. The breaker blew, which stopped it from catching on fire, but smoke poured from the outlet, making the alarm go off. The fire department, Kelly, most the staff, and about half the kids witnessed him being taken away by an ambulance to be checked out.”
I snicker. “I want to feel sorry for Kevin, but you reap what you sow. You’d think he would have learned better by now. He’ll probably always be an ass.”
Ginning, the guys nod. They obviously don’t feel sorry for Kevin at all.
After we spend about an hour reminiscing, we decide to head back to the cabins. Because of our score, tomorrow can be an off day if we want. Unsure how we’ll feel in the morning, we hold off on making plans until then.
On the way back, Noah and Lucca escort me with Jay and Parker taking up the rear. With a full moon tonight, the lake sparkles, mesmerizing in its beauty. I’m tempted to ask to walk down there, but I don’t want to mess up Lily’s dress and shoes.
We only make it about a hundred yards when loud cracks strike through the peaceful atmosphere. Noah and Lucca pull me down and cover me. Screams echo around us as I try to figure out where the noise came from. I want to check out the boys to make sure none of them were hit, but there’s no time as gunshots fire again.
I’m pushed down again and everything goes black.