She’d wondered how long her and Judith’s relative peace would last. Despite the fact that Judith had been rude and insolent toward Alice since the moment she’d arrived at camp, she had also demonstrated true strength and compassion at times with the other campers. Alice had made the decision just days ago to challenge the girl with the team leader position. Judith was smart and strong. Alice’s instincts told her that Judith could lead her peers effectively. She’d been feeling cautiously optimistic about her risky Judith selection. The first days of Judith’s reign had been relatively conflict free. Alice had even shared a couple nice moments with the girl at the bonfire last night when the Red Team had been declared top in points. Things had been looking up.
Until now, anyway.
“Jill is with Terrance,” Alice said, picking up her backpack and flinging it over her shoulder. “Terrance is an expert. He did the zip line at a church retreat,” she said, referring to the custom by which Camp Durand tried to match up campers with experience at a task—“experts”—with the uninitiated “novices.”
“When he was twelve years old and nearly two hundred pounds lighter,” Judith snapped.
Alice noticed Terrance’s head jerk around at Judith’s scornful exclamation.
“Shut it, Judith,” Alice ground out furiously under her breath.
Judith’s eyes flashed in mixed anger and regret. Her chin went up defiantly. “Jill will be scared shitless without me being there with her. You know that,” she hissed tensely. Judith had taken on the role of protector and defender of the vulnerable girl since the first day of camp. Alice was thankful for it. But she thought maybe it was time for Jill to move out of Judith’s tall shadow and begin to experience her own strength.
“Jill and Terrance, you’re up first,” Alice called out loudly, ignoring Judith’s glare.
“Come on, midget,” Terrance said resignedly to Jill, nudging the girl on the shoulder. “You’re the size of a gnat. You’ll fly over those trees even without a wire.”
Terrance and Jill walked toward the staircase, a Durand manager leading them. A more oddly matched pair Alice couldn’t imagine. Terrance Brown was six foot several inches tall and weighed in at around three hundred pounds. He was diabetic. With little to no parental supervision, he regularly gorged on sugary snacks and fast food. Alice was trying desperately to show him the benefits of exercise and a balanced diet in order to set him on a healthier path post-camp. He was a smart, ebullient teenager, a jokester who was always the life of the party. And if he continued as he had before, Terrance was at risk of becoming mortally ill. Alice hoped she could get Terrance hooked into an activity that helped improve his health, and had talked him into jogging with her while at Camp Durand.
Jill Sanchez, on the other hand, was a slight, waifish thirteen-year-old who had become withdrawn to the point of almost muteness after witnessing the shooting death of her mother last year.
“Alice said the anchors and the equipment are state of the art here, and will hold more than five hundred pounds. You’ll be fine. At least you’ve done this before,” Alice heard Jill murmur shyly to Terrance as they started up the steps. Alice experienced a surge of warmth and gratitude toward the girl. She noticed Terrance’s slightly bemused, anxious glance down at Jill. Despite his joking bravado, Jill had sensed his worry. As Alice had suspected, beneath his nonchalant kidding, Terrance was worried and self-conscious about doing the zip line, given his weight. Jill had come out of her shell in order to reassure him.
Suddenly, Terrance bent and swooped Jill into the air, plopping her down on the landing of the stairs in front of him.
“Yep. Light as a flea. You’re gonna fly all the way to Detroit on that thing,” he declared, releasing a startled looking Jill. Jill laughed. Alice gawked. It was the first time she’d ever seen the girl smile, let alone laugh. Jill jogged slightly to keep up with Terrance’s lumbering gait as they rose up the rest of the stairs, asking the boy an enthusiastic question that faded off into the forest.
Alice glanced sideways at Judith, who had been watching the pair as well. When Judith met her stare, Alice saw her bewilderment.
“The right choice isn’t always the obvious one,” Alice said very quietly, echoing what she’d told Judith when she’d selected her as team leader. “Besides, you’ve forgotten you’re as much of a novice as Jill when it comes to the zip line. I paired you up with Noble D for a reason. He’ll have quite a few things to teach you.” She nodded subtly. Judith glanced over her shoulder, her gaze landing on the handsome, tall, and somber teenager who stood several feet away, waiting for his partner. Mutiny had returned to Judith’s eyes by the time she met Alice’s stare again, along with a hint of something else.
Panic.
Alice knew that Judith was very much aware Noble D was attracted to her. She’d been avoiding him vigilantly, but Alice didn’t think it was because she found D unattractive. Just the opposite, in fact.
Judith protested a bit too loudly and too often about Noble D’s supposed faults. She had a feeling Judith found the idea of attraction and dating nearly as intimidating as Alice had at her age.
“Good luck,” Alice said sincerely to Judith before she followed Terrance and Jill up the steps.
FOUR