Page 13 of Class Clown

I tipped my head side-to-side. “Mostly, yes. But do you have any brothers?”

“Yes.”

“Then you understand that it can be like Dickens said; the best of times, and the worst of times.”

“True. I hear you’re also sharing a cabin with him.”

“Yep. That’s one of the worst of times parts.”

Her voice dropped and her eyes swept to the side as though we were now undercover agents about to spill secrets. “And Nico Crawford? He’s in your cabin too?” I only nodded, curious to let her talk without any of my feedback changing what she was thinking. “Have you seen him?” Her blue eyes grew big and her cheeks pinked up.

Oh. Okay. This was interesting. “I have,” I replied.

She put her hands to her cheeks and bit down a giggle, moving a few steps closer to me. “How are you possibly going to sleep with him so close?”

“Lady, you have no idea,” I muttered. But I didn’t think my reaction was the same as hers. My horror show was clearly her version of cotton candy swoon.

“I know, right? I’d toss and turn all night thinking about him being so close.” She laughed. “If he were only feet away from me, I’d never be calm enough to shut my eyes.” Her voice dropped to a whisper again. “I’d probably keep sneaking peeks at him.”

I mean, I was probably going to sneak some peeks too, but it would be more in the spirit of checking to see if the coast was clear. And, yeah, I did expect that for the first little while his presence would keep me up at night, but, her and I were not sailing in the same ship. My eyebrows raised as I took in her totally smitten vibe. It was kind of refueling my life with drops of joy.

From a scientific standpoint I supposed I could understand her reaction. Look, I’m going to straight up admit that I’m a woman who appreciates men. I like the way they move, and think, and talk. I like them shy, I like them loud. I like them as friends, and I like flirting with them.But mostly, I like them when they’re buying me dinner. Because food and men, now that is an irresistible combination.

Anyhow, as a man-appreciator, I had already noticed the straight facts, which were that he had a pleasing athletic build, and that he had been blessed with dark wavy hair and smooth skin worth envying. Facts. But, considering he was also completely devoid of personality, and his eyes gave you the glacial shivers, he wasn’t revving my engine, that was for sure.

“I don’t think we’ll be together in the cabin much. We’ll both be pretty busy,” I said when it became apparent that she was waiting for a reply.

Her eyes lost some sparkle. “That’s too bad. I know I’m being silly when I don’t even know him. One of my friends is a camp counselor and she pointed him out to me as he was unloading his car. But, like, if he’s working at a kid’s camp he’s probably amazing. He has to be so nurturing and patient.” The poor thing’s eyes nearly rolled back in her head at that pronouncement.

Well, well, well. This was unexpected. Nico was an unknown entity to these girls. He hadn’t actually opened his mouth in front of them. I could fully appreciate how they could get swept up in crushing on him. New, slightly older guy, masculine vibes, dark looks, mysteriously quiet. I had carried a few ill-advised torches myself for similar guys.

I could not wait until he opened his mouth - or refused to engage - and they all snapped out of their stupors. In the meantime, this was going to be quite entertaining to watch. Because if Kristy and her friend were already into him, it was only a matter of time before the other young women on site joined their parade.

“Thank you, Kristy,” I said, giving her a genuinely happy grin. “You have given me hope.”

“Hope for what?” she asked, frowning as the blush brought on by her daydreaming faded.

“Hope that this summer is going to be more fun than I’d expected.”

Not knowing the hidden meaning behind my words, she smiled back. “Summers up here are the best.”

“I believe it.” I clapped my hands together and looked around the room. “Now, let me show you how I’ve made a few changes in here, and then maybe you can show me where dinner is served?”

“You’re welcome to eat with me and my friend,” she offered.

I happily accepted. I had no desire to be lonely all summer, after all.

Chapter 4

Ruby’s Truth: Food goes down easier with a side of drama.

Dinner was a revelation. Not the food. The food was meh. The cook staff had put out some kind of box lunches that I was convinced were left from the past summer. A slightly soggy four-inch ham sandwich that also managed to be stale on top, plain potato chips in a Barbie-sized bag, and a giant pickle were what greeted me for dinner. I’m not exactly a waif. As a full-figured woman I needed my food, and I wasn’t shy about it. I was, however, empathetic to the plight of the camp cook, so I didn’t say a word and smiled as they handed me my skimpy meal.

The dining room was alive with chatter and greetings as returning staff found each other, and new staff were introduced. I loved the undercurrent of excitement, and took in the scene with a smile on my face. The room was basically the same as a school cafeteria, and that eased some more of my worries over feeling comfortable here. I was very familiar with the cafeteria scene, considering one of my responsibilities at the school where I worked was to help with lunch duty.

The familiar metallic squeaking of tables shifting as people sat, the thumping sound of trays hitting the table top, and the tearing of plastic chip bags was music to my ears.

Kristy and I moved through the line together, chatting lightly about our backgrounds and how happy she was to be back. This was Kristy’s third year. Her first year she’d been a cabin counselor, but then earned her CNA and returned as the health center assistant last year. She was cheerful andeasy to talk to, and as soon as we turned away from getting our boxes our eyes were caught by a red-head waving her hands at us from across the room.

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