“Now, that that’s settled. What were you going to look up before I rudely interrupted you?” Noah’s voice lightens now. Is it because of the change of subject, or because I agreed to not harass him anymore tonight?
“Just checking out the flora and fauna of the area. I don’t want to step into any poison oak on accident.” That wasn’t so hard. I didn’t lie to him either.
Noah leans forward, his elbows on his knees. “If you want to know about that stuff, you should check with Jay. He knows this area like the back of his hand.”
My hand flies to my mouth to hold back the laughter. “Jay’s the one who tried to get me covered in poison oak earlier today.” I shake my head at the memory. My introduction packet is probably still sitting in the weeds.
“Jay wouldn’t do that.” Noah shakes his head, his blond hair flopping over his forehead. “I’d say I’d kick his ass, but that will never happen. Do you want me to talk to him?”
“He didn’t really do anything. I was trying to read the rules packet we received, and he told me I didn’t need it. He swiped it from my hand and threw it into the poison oak. He warned me not to grab for it because of where it was.” Now, I’m defending Jay. Not that I shouldn’t defend him, but it confuses me since we only met today.
“That sounds more like him.” He leans back in his chair, one arm propped on the back. “You don’t need the rules. I don’t know anyone that’s actually read them.”
Noah’s relaxed posture means he intends to stay, so my plan to review the area won’t work. Not having the packet limits my understanding of the rules to know where the boundaries are. I might as well spend the rest of our time talking to him. If I ask the right questions, I’m bound to learn something.
As I open my mouth to ask a question, voices from across the room reach us. People arrive and get in line for dinner.
Noah stands and offers me his hand. “We should go claim the table we want before they’re all taken.”
I planned on eating with Fallon and the girls, but Noah’s offer works well enough. Grabbing my melted bag of ice and water bottle from the desktop, I put my hand in his and let him pull me up. “Do people claim tables here?”
“Once we’re in teams, the teams tend to eat together. It helps with the bonding. Not everyone sits with their teams all the time, though.” He runs a hand through his hair to push it back from his face. “Some people need a break from their team because they spend too much time together. Others like to spend time with the opposite sex since the teams don’t mix boys and girls.”
That sounds boring. I don’t know if I want to spend every waking minute with the same group of people. “Why wouldn’t they want boys and girls to mix? I’d think that would give each team a more balanced feel since boys and girls think differently.”
I’ll miss talking to the boys I’ve met. I have to be on a different team than Parker since my team’s going to beat his team, but I wouldn’t mind one of the others on my side.
“Some of the activities have you together with your group overnight. There are campers that would be uncomfortable in that situation.” Noah’s arm bumps against mine as we walk toward the tables. “Would it bother you?”
The question throws me a bit. Would it bother me? Even though I’ve avoided most guys, I’ve not spent enough time around anyone to really know.
I shrug. “I don’t think so. I ran away once and hid for three days before I was found. I was only eleven. I spent my time with all sorts of interesting people. I wasn’t uncomfortable, but I was a little scared the first night.” I can’t believe I admitted that to him. That’s going to open up all kinds of questions.
His mouth drops open in surprised awe. “That’s so cool. Other than camp, I’ve never been away from my family.”
He probably has the family I’ve always wanted. I’m about to ask him about it when he stops next to the table where I ate lunch. “Will this work? It has a nice view, and it’s far enough from the kitchen that it isn’t too loud.”
“I ate lunch here earlier. It seemed fine then, so it should be fine now.” If we aren’t going to see each other much after tomorrow, I’m not sure why it matters. I sit down in one of the middle chairs and glance up at him. “I’ll hold our spot while you grab your food. Then we can switch.”
“Okay.” He nods as he heads to the back of the food line.
Alone at last.
I place the water bottle, baggy of ice, and paper towel on the table before dropping my head into my hands and closing my eyes. I’m not sure I’ll able to make it through months of this. Simon’s excitement for this place encourages me to try harder. He seemed sure I could make it, and this would help show me my true potential.
Before I go too far down that path, my seat bounces. A sense of déjà vu comes over me, and I know Parker sat down on my right.
When I turn to him, concerned green eyes stare back at me. “Your head doesn’t hurt, does it? Why were you holding it?”
“What? No, I’m good.” I straighten from my slump. “I was just thinking about how this has been the longest day of my life, and it isn’t over yet.”
His shoulders relax.
When I glance to the left to check Noah’s progress in line, I find Lucca sitting on my other side. He winces as he sees my face. “Does that hurt? It looks red around your left eye.”
“It’s not bad. I put ice on it earlier.” I point to the baggy with just water in it now and notice they both have their meals in front of them. Ham in some sort of glaze.
I must have made a face because Parker laughs at me. “The food here is really good. It’s not like regular cafeteria food.”
“If you say so. That just looks slimy.” I’ll still eat it, but I don’t have to like it.
“Would you like to try a bite?” Stabbing a piece of meat, he holds his fork out to me.
Before I can tell him no, Lucca chimes in. “Eww, don’t eat after him. He has cooties.” Lucca reaches past me to move Parker’s fork back over his plate.
I giggle at Lucca. “You have a good grasp of the English language. Have you lived here long?”
He smiles down at me, pleased with the compliment. “I spend some time here now and then, but I travel a lot with my parents. We’re always going somewhere. I like it here, though.”
Envy fills me at his casual tone, like traveling the globe is no big deal. I dream of traveling and visiting places I’ve only read about.
“You can go get your food,” Jay says as he and Noah sit down across from me.
I glance around for Fallon, but she sits at another table with Micah. She notices me and winks.
Lucca grabs my arm to get my attention. “Mindy isn’t allowed to dinner tonight. She and her father are eating at one of the restaurants in the town.”
He must have assumed I was searching for my nemeses. I pat his hand so he’ll let go. “Thanks, Lucca.”
Pushing back my chair, I stand and make my way to the back of the food line. Since I waited until the others got their food first, the line isn’t long. When I reach the counter, I spot the lady who helped me earlier.