“That’s a great idea,” I said, smiling. Maya, who was a total extrovert, had told me the day before about a book she’d brought full of icebreaking questions to help the campers—and the two of us—get to know one another. I knew I was lucky to have such an enthusiastic CIT.
But as we all settled down on the bunks, I noticed that Harper sat cross-legged on the floor rather than sit on a bed close to Cece. And she wore a distant expression as we all chatted eagerly, like she’d rather be someplace else. When someone asked her a question directly, she answered politely but rarely used more than a few words. As soon as she’d finished speaking, she turned her attention back to the floor in front of her or out the window.
I could understand being a bit of an introvert. Crowds sometimes made me uncomfortable, and I always loved returning to the quiet of my room at the end of the day. But this seemed a little more extreme.
How am I going to draw Harper out of her shell?
“Are we there yet?” Cece asked for the twenty-seventh (or at least, that’s how it felt) time, and the rest of the campers cracked up over what had become a running joke.
“Almost,” I replied, just as I had every other time she’d asked the question so far. “But really this time. It’s just”—I unfolded my map and stared at the upper right corner—“right over this hill.”
“Didn’t you say that half an hour ago?” Winnie whined.
Nina, a tall, skinny girl with freckles and short blond hair, scoffed, “We’ve only been hiking for, like, forty minutes, guys. Toughen up!”
“Easy for you to say,” Kiki said with a sigh. “You’re, like, some kind of amazing basketball player or whatever. But I’m just a regular girl!”
“What does that mean?” Nina asked, frowning. “Athletes are regular girls too!”
I glanced at Maya and sighed. We’d been hiking longer than I’d thought we would—we might have been a little overambitious in choosing Mushroom Creek as our destination—and the girls were getting cranky. All the getting-to-know-you good vibes seemed to have dissipated, and the girls were focusing now on how much they didn’t have in common.
“All I mean,” said Kiki, turning to Nina with exaggerated patience, “is you’re, like, conditioned to do this. At home, the most I walk is around the mall with my sister!”
Nina cocked an eyebrow. “Have you ever thought that might make you the abnormal one?” she asked. “Maybe you should get more hobbies.”
Kiki whirled around, clearly ready to give Nina a piece of her mind. But before I could figure out what to say to defuse the situation, Katie suddenly pointed ahead of us and shouted.
“OMG, you guys!” We all turned in the direction she was pointing. “Is that the creek?”
I checked my map. Oh, thank heavens, yes. “It is!” I said happily. “See, I told you! We were almost there.”
“Thank goodness,” Cece said. “I’m hungry enough to eat my sneakers. I was too excited to eat much breakfast this morning.”
“Me too,” Winnie added.
“Me too,” said Nina with a smile.
I glanced back at Harper, all the way in the back, but she remained silent, looking into the woods around us. She hadn’t said a word the whole hike, except one “excuse me” when she bumped into Cece.
“So guys,” I said when we’d reached the edge of the burbling creek, “let’s spread out our blanket and settle down here. This looks like a good place for lunch.”
“Any place would look like a good place for lunch right now,” Maya pointed out, holding out the bag that held our sandwiches. “Nancy, shall we lay everything out buffet-style and we can all serve ourselves?”
“Good plan,” I agreed.
Once we had the food all laid out and had each grabbed a plate, everyone tore into their sandwiches and chips. Things grew silent for a few minutes, except for the babbling of the creek and the sound of chewing. Then, suddenly, Nina spoke up.
“Are we going to do everything together?” she asked, looking pensively into the water. “Like, our bunk? Or are we going to be in different groups for different activities?”
I paused and put down my sandwich. “We’ll be together for most activities,” I said, thinking. “You’ll mix with some other bunks for some things, like swimming or sports. But for the most part, we’ll all be together.”
“Oh.” Nina crumpled her sandwich wrapper in her hand, not looking entirely happy.
“Why are you asking?” asked Cece. She’d been watching our exchange curiously, and now her voice held an edge of annoyance. “Are we not, like, what you were looking for in a bunk?”
I shook my head. “Let’s not make assumptions, guys,” I said. “Why do you ask, Nina? Did you want to mix more with the other bunks?”
Nina pursed her lips, fiddling with the balled-up sandwich wrapper in front of her. “Not exactly,” she said. “I mean, you guys all seem nice. I just thought . . . well, this is a Best of All Worlds camp. So I guess I thought there would be a few more sporty people in my bunk.”