We find the table with our team name on it, and Noah pulls my seat out for me. “Are you okay here? You don’t have to sit in the corner.”
I giggle, remembering when I saw Dirty Dancing for the first time. “I’m no one’s Baby, so it’s okay.” He starts to complain, but I hold my hand up. “I don’t mind. I want us to do the best.”
“You could be someone’s Baby,” he whispers under his breath, not intending for me to hear.
As the others talk to one another, I pay attention to different items in the room, giving myself a starting place for what may change. Tuning out the guys while there’s a conversation going on is difficult, but since we don’t know when the changes will start, I do my best.
Hoping Parker has additional information he hasn’t shared yet, I ask, “Parker, do you know when this is going to happen? Are we to look at everything or just things associated with our table?”
“The paperwork wasn’t specific, so look at everything.” Parker glances around the room again to take in the details as everyone settles down at their tables.
As the night progresses, I notice small differences, but my lack of experience with these things makes it difficult to know if they’re normal or not, so I make mental notes. Like, one table has their drinks served by one person and their appetizer by someone else. Another table has their drinks and appetizers served by the same person. Our waiter is the same person both times, but the first time his tie is black and the next time his tie is dark blue.
We overhear some of the teams talking and many of the things seen are the same things between each group. As the guys find differences, they tell me what they notice so I can keep inventory as the night goes on. This allows them to focus on other changes throughout the night without worrying about remembering what they already discovered.
Noah nudges my full dinner plate. “You should eat.”
Lucca nods. “We’ve noticed more than the minimum sixty, enough to get us ahead of most teams. Take a break.”
“You did great on our challenge this week.” Parker beams at me. “You got ninety-nine out of one hundred correct. We get those bonus points plus the points Noah, Jay, and I earned doing the outdoor view challenge.”
“We were behind going into this week,” I remind him. “Will that help us?”
“Definitely. Someone would have had to complete two bonuses this week. I don’t think anyone finished the one. We should also get some bonus points tonight because the scoring system is the same.” Parker now glows with excitement, and the others are just as amped.
We finish the night with two hundred and sixty-three differences. I worry I’m being too critical, but things were different so we noted them.
At the end of dinner, the staff releases us, and we move to our room to write them all down. Most of the other teams from our dinner service do the same.
After we write everything down, we spend time together hanging out. The guys tell me funny stories about the camp in previous years.
Jay’s hands move through the air as he tells the story. “Two years ago, Kevin, the jerk from the Corral, thought he could sneak into Kelly’s room. That was her first year in charge, so she was still getting used to being the boss. Kevin tried to climb into her bathroom window, but the window came down on him. He got stuck on the way out. As he was reaching for a tree, a spider landed on him. According to Kevin, it was a devil spider the size of his palm.” Jay holds his large hand up to demonstrate. “He was so worked up he peed all over himself, Kelly’s wall, and the electrical outlet there. That shorted out the socket. The breaker blew, which stopped it from catching on fire, but smoke poured from the outlet, making the alarm go off. The fire department, Kelly, most the staff, and about half the kids witnessed him being taken away by an ambulance to be checked out.”
I snicker. “I want to feel sorry for Kevin, but you reap what you sow. You’d think he would have learned better by now. He’ll probably always be an ass.”
Ginning, the guys nod. They obviously don’t feel sorry for Kevin at all.
After we spend about an hour reminiscing, we decide to head back to the cabins. Because of our score, tomorrow can be an off day if we want. Unsure how we’ll feel in the morning, we hold off on making plans until then.
On the way back, Noah and Lucca escort me with Jay and Parker taking up the rear. With a full moon tonight, the lake sparkles, mesmerizing in its beauty. I’m tempted to ask to walk down there, but I don’t want to mess up Lily’s dress and shoes.
We only make it about a hundred yards when loud cracks strike through the peaceful atmosphere. Noah and Lucca pull me down and cover me. Screams echo around us as I try to figure out where the noise came from. I want to check out the boys to make sure none of them were hit, but there’s no time as gunshots fire again.
I’m pushed down again and everything goes black.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
My eyes peel open as someone lifts my body.
“She’s waking up,” Jay whispers. “Let’s hide over here.”
I glance around and realize Noah holds me while crouching as best he can. Clutching me close, he ducks beside a building that must have been Jay’s focus.
“What happened? Was someone shot?” I manage to get out.
“Shhh…” Noah whispers into my ear. “The five of us aren’t hurt.”
Parker and Jay sneak off behind the building. Alarmed, I try to sit up, but Noah tightens his hold. “There were other people walking back. They’re just going to go check on them.”
“We should help. What if someone was hurt? We need to find Mr. Smyth.” I don’t know the other campers well, but I wouldn’t want to see them get hurt. From our position beside the building, I can’t see the lane anymore.
Lucca leans over to me. “Let me check out your head. Noah and I pulled you down at the same time, so you hit your head on the ground.”
Tentatively, I reach up and touch my hair and find something wet and sticky. “Lucca, I’m bleeding, but I feel all right. We should get back to the auditorium. It’s closer than our cabins.”
“We should wait until Parker and Jay get back. They’ll be upset if we leave without them. We don’t want them wandering around searching for us,” Noah cautions, but I’m anxious to move.
When Lucca and Noah determine that I’m not going to walk away, Lucca checks my head. I wince as he gingerly moves hair to the side. “You’re right. It doesn’t appear too bad.” He pulls off his tie and makes a move to wrap it around my head.
“Lucca. I like that tie. Don’t ruin it. I’ll be fine.” I try to wave him off, but Noah grabs my hands.
“We both feel bad we caused you to get hurt. Let him take care of you,” Noah pleads while rubbing circles with his thumb on my trapped hands.