Page 18 of Class Clown

“Sleep in?” I clarified. He nodded as he dried his face. “Yeah, I’m assuming you don’t sleep in.”

“Cole sleeps in.”

“Yeah, and if Cole needs to, he can find a tree to use in the mornings. I don’t have that luxury.”

With his face dry, he rehung his towel and got his fingertips wet again before running them through his dark, wavy hair to style it. Delicious. He may have the personality of an armadillo, but he was not disappointing to watch.

“I think they frown on public urination at camp,” he replied.

I crossed my arms, my silky pajamas cool against my palms. “You know, I once heard about a woman who’d been married for over fifty years and swore her husband never saw her without makeup. She’d wait until he was asleep to wash her face, and then wake up very early to reapply. It sounds beyond exhausting, but if she could make it happen for fifty years with a spouse, then we can probably find a way to not have too many run-ins with the bathroom space over the summer.”

“There’s no way that story is true.”

“You’re a skeptic, I see.” I grinned as he moved on to brushing his teeth. “You are not a woman, so you can’t make blanket statements like that. Some of us are shy about our natural appearance.” He didn’t reply while he scrubbed his already white teeth. “Serious side note here, though, if a guy can’t handle your face without make-up, he is not marriage material. And no one really knows what goes on in a marriage, but I’m wondering if the issue was him being a jerk about her appearance.”

He rinsed and spit and then turned to face me. I backed up a few steps, realizing how close I’d been standing to him, and then realizing how completely at ease I’d been chatting with him while he got ready for the day. The thought had me taking a few more steps back in confusion.

He bit at his lip lightly. “A schedule might be a good idea.”

“Is that because you haven’t enjoyed me talking to you while you get ready?” I asked.

He shook his head. “I’m concerned for the health of your bladder.”

I nodded seriously, but my lips pulled up. “As you should be.”

He moved to leave the bathroom and I had to back up more to let him past. He smelled good. I didn’t hate it.

“So, you’re saying you won’t fight it if I come up with something?” I asked.

“Like you said, I eat schedules for dessert,” he answered deadpan as he walked through the kitchen area toward the back door. “Today is staff meeting. I’ll see you up there.”

I looked at the closed back door for a moment, wondering over that entire interaction. It had been so normal, with possible glimpses of a sense of humor.

I shook my head after a moment and got busy getting myself ready. I got dressed in jeans and a t-shirt, brushed my long black hair, plaited it into twobraids, washed my face, brushed the sleep out of my mouth, and hummed softly while I applied a little mascara to my upper lashes.

Outside the chatter of voices making their way to the Bearadise Lodge for our first staff meeting, underscored by birdsong, brightened my mood further. Out there were happy people and beautiful nature, and I took a moment to remind myself that I did not need to a man to make any of that better than it already was.

I leaned close to the mirror and made a fierce face. “Listen up, Ruby Jenkins, you are done being in la-la-land over guys. You’re going to enjoy this summer, and become a better version of yourself, and you’re going to love the maturity.” I started to lean away but then thought of something else and went back in. “And you’re going to be super cool about Nico being your roommate, and remember that those tickles you got up your spine when you were standing close to him were scary ghost tickles. And you will not think about it again.”

I hummed as I made my way back inside my makeshift sheet wall, where I sat on my bed to lace up my boots before heading to the Bearadise Lodge to gather with the others, still humming my little tune. The sun was up, the sky was a blue-gray color, and I sucked in a deep breath, allowing the scents of pine and dewy grasses to fill my senses.

Today was going to be a good day. A new day.

Chapter 5

Ruby’s Truth: You’ll never be able to find a pair of good scissors when you need them most.

The main room of Bearadise Lodge was two stories tall, with a vaulted ceiling and huge log fireplace. There were couches and chairs, and a few small tables scattered about, and I could picture people relaxing there when they had free time. The big open room was full of lively chatter when I arrived, and I soaked up the feeling. As a full-on extrovert, I fed off the energy bounding around. Kristy had told me the day before that there were two counselors to each cabin, which meant there were thirty-six of them in total - all roughly ages twenty to twenty-five. Add in six cook staff, us two health workers, a maintenance crew, and Cole and Nico, and we had a good-sized group.

While scanning the room for Kristy, my eye was caught by a man wearing a maintenance jumpsuit and a face full of grump. I pegged him as closer to fifty. He gave off a surly, grizzled vibe that had me promising myself I would never clog a toilet or a shower drain while I was in residence. I would change all my own light bulbs and generally fly way under the maintenance radar. Unless I could get him to laugh. Then I’d feel like I’d won the lottery.

The couches and tables had been pushed aside in preparation for this morning’s meeting, and a few rows of chairs were lined up facing toward the fireplace. Cole was standing up front, framed by the gigantic mantle, holding papers and chatting animatedly with some of the other staff members. Kristy and Gina hadn’t arrived yet. The only other person Irecognized at that point was Nico, and he was standing up front near Cole – not that I’d have saved him a seat or anything - so I took a seat in the back and observed everything, one side of my mouth tugged up as I watched. I was looking forward to watching Cole in a leadership role. When we were together it was mostly family gatherings at our parents’ home, where we quickly devolved back into our teenager selves, so this was a chance for me to see how the world viewed him.

Cole and I were four years apart in age, but we’d been extra close friends as kids. When I’d entered the last months of my senior year of high school, I had started to worry about how he’d do when I moved out, but that’s when Nico had shown up. He’d stepped in during the time when I’d been gone a lot with school, my part-time job, and my own friends.

I’d seen less and less of Cole over the years, and now there he stood, my baby brother, tall and with authority, looking like a guy you could depend on. Sure, his blue t-shirt looked like it had been balled up in his drawer, and his black quick-dri pants were probably a size too big, but for the first time since this adventure began, I really internalized the fact that I was lucky to share this summer with him. I’d been so caught up in the details of getting here, and my new roomie, and setting up the health center, that I hadn’t stopped to let that sink in.

Although I was going to refuse to do his laundry if he tried to pull that on me, and I would not be cleaning up after him either, and the first headlock attempt was going to cost him.

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