He smirks at me. “Anytime you want.”
I elbow him again. “I didn’t mean it like that, and you know it.”
“Didn’t mean what?” His pitch raises a decibel.
I stick my tongue out at him to stop the hole being dug from this conversation. As we walk into the Corral, I search for Parker to save me.
“We’re using tongues for this class?” Jay’s face contorts as he works to suppress his laughter.
“What type of class is she teaching with tongues? I want to sign up,” says some guy standing by the door as he reaches for my mouth.
Jay crushes the guy’s hand in his and steps between us before I can react. “If you ever think of touching her again, I will break every bone in your body.” Jay’s electric eyes shoot lightning bolts at this guy. “If you ever talk to her like that again, I will pummel your ass all the way to the lake.”
“Get the fuck off me.” The guy tries to jerk away from Jay without success. “What makes it okay for you to say it and not me? Your team is the harem after all. Maybe she wants a real man to join with her.”
I have no idea who this guy is, but he doesn’t seem as afraid of Jay as I would be.
“Jameson, remove your hand from Kevin immediately.” I turn and see Mr. Smyth and Ms. Carlton walking toward us.
I place my hand on Jay’s arm, and he tenses. He glances down at me, releases Kevin’s hand, and steps back. He keeps himself between Kevin and me, though.
“What is going on here?” Ms. Carlton asks as she looks at each of us.
I speak up first, not trusting either of these two to answer. “Jay and I were joking around, but Kevin turned it into something vulgar. Kevin went to touch me, so Jay grabbed his hand before Kevin could finish. You walked up after that.”
“She’s a slut just like Mindy said. How much did she pay you to join their team?” Kevin adds, and I shrink farther behind Jay.
“Mr. Russell, come with me.” Ms. Carlton eyes harden, and her hands clasp together like she’s willing to drag him out of here without his agreement. “The rest of you, finish your breakfast!” she yells as she walks out the door.
“What were you two talking about?” Mr. Smyth asks as he turns to us.
“I elbowed Jay, and he said something about his lungs. I told him I needed to give him an anatomy lesson since I was nowhere near his lungs. He agreed, and I stuck my tongue out at him. That’s when we ran into Kevin,” I explain without making eye contact.
“I would never do anything to hurt her, Mr. Smyth,” Jay adds.
“I see.” Mr. Smyth puts his hands on his chin while he tries to determine our fate. “You five are going to have to be careful. People will take everything you say and do the wrong way.”
“I’m sorry, Cassie. I won’t let that happen again,” Jay says softly.
“I’m not sorry. We were just playing around. I’m not going to be bullied and stop having fun just because people are going to read too much into it. If they have an issue with it, they can deal with it. If they get into my face, I’ll tell them off. I thought this was a camp for smart kids to build lifelong skills, but you’re asking me to hide. If that’s what you want from me, you can send me home now.” My voice rises with anger. I was embarrassed, but only because I’m not used to being flirty. That Jay played along with it surprised me.
“Cassie, no one is asking you to not be yourself. You just may want to watch what you say around others.” Mr. Smyth’s words irritate me more.
“Why? I’ve seen people make out in front of cabins, behind cabins, and during meals. Where’s their lecture? Because I happen to be on the only mixed team, my morals are going to be scrutinized. I’ll do what’s best for Jay, Parker, Noah, and Lucca, but I’ll not pretend to be someone I’m not. They have been nothing but considerate of me since I met them. If anyone thinks otherwise, they can go fuck themselves!” I scream the last line, my face hot with rage as I glare at Mr. Smyth and dare him to say anything else.
When he stays silent, I turn around and storm outside.
The door closes behind me. I glance back, expecting Jay, but find Mr. Smyth instead. “That was quite a speech you gave.”
“I meant every word of it. I’ve been bullied my entire life, but I’ve actually been happy while I’ve been here.” My anger subsides some, but I’m still irritated. “You made it look like I was the bad guy when all we were doing was a little flirting. It’s not like we had sex in my cabin before we walked down here.”
“You’re right, and I apologize.” Mr. Smyth’s tone is contrite. “I don’t want to see you fall victim to anyone, but you’re strong. I don’t think anyone would physically harm you, but you may want Jay to teach you some of his fighting techniques. I don’t know how many martial arts he’s mastered, but he’s not someone I would want to mess with.”
“I’ll talk to him about it.” I wonder if I should walk back in and find him. He’s probably pretty upset.
“You may not believe this, but I think you’ll do great here. Your ability to stand up to people, especially with a crowd, is commendable. Don’t do that to me again, though,” he says as he walks off.
I don’t understand how he went from Dr. Jekyll to Mr. Hyde. At least, I’m not in trouble with him. But I need to make this up to Jay.
The idea of going back into the Corral and being stared at, regardless of the speech I gave. doesn’t appeal to me, though. I decide to sit on the porch swing and wait for the boys to come out. I didn’t get a chance to talk to the boys about the homework or our sixth task.
I only spend few minutes rocking back and forth on the swing before all the boys walk out of the Corral. They scan the area until they notice me.
“Did you get in trouble?” Parker asks as Noah asks, “Are you okay?”
“I didn’t get in trouble. Mr. Smyth just told me not to do it again. Are you guys mad at me? I don’t want any of you to look bad because we’re on the same…team.” I wanted to say friends, but I don’t know if I can claim that yet.
“Come on. Let’s go for a walk so we can talk alone.” Parker offers me his hand, then drops it immediately as he peers around.
Tears sting my eyes. They’re mad at me, Parker doesn’t want to be seen touching me, and they just don’t want to make a scene while they tell me I need to change my behavior. I walk a step behind them with my head down. An arm settles around my shoulders, and I peek up into Lucca’s concerned face. I didn’t mean to blink, but I do, causing the tears fall.
He pulls me to a stop and tugs me to him. “I told you, you’re not alone. There’s no need to cry.”
He hugs me for another second before Parker pulls me into his arms. He whispers into my ear, “Why are you crying? I thought you said you weren’t in trouble.”