Page 19 of The Perfect Deal
She let out a sigh. “But then I won’t be able to properly supervise them.”
I cleared my throat, thinking this might be a precursor to a big problem—and I didn’t mean with the sand. “I’ll look into it.”
I finished the meeting as quickly as possible, just ready to get things rolling. Once we were finished, all of us walked down to the sand volleyball court. Coach Sam blew his whistle to get the kids’ attention, and they all settled on the sand to listen to me.
“Good morning, everyone!” I couldn’t help but smile, I was so glad to be launching the next session of camp.
The kids answered with enthusiasm. My eyes roamed across their faces, but I wasn’t just looking at them. As was always my habit when Liberty was around, I was looking for her, too. I found her squatting off to the side, clicking pictures on her camera. She took one of me before quickly moving her lens off toward the students.
Warmth spread throughout my chest as I wondered if it was a good one. I shook my head slightly to clear it before I began to tell the kiddos the plan for the day. “As you know, we are ready to launch things today. While you’re at camp, you’ll get to try a whole bunch of different sports, including volleyball, baseball, swimming, tennis, basketball, flag football, and soccer. We’ll practice each sport for two to three days before we have a tournament. Your team is your cabin, so get to know one another. Remember, we’re here to improve our athletic skills but also to work on sportsmanship. At the end of camp, we won’t just be crowning a cabin as champs for how well they do at the competitions, we’ll also be selecting a winner for best attitude.”
The kids cheered again. Their happiness fueled my enthusiasm as I went about explaining everything to them. When my eyes locked on Liberty again, I couldn’t help but think about how amazing it was that she was here.
This was going to be the best summer ever.
12
LIBERTY
The first day of camp was exhausting, but also very rewarding. I was already getting to know the kids, especially the ones in my cabin. By the time I walked into the cafeteria that evening, I was famished and ready to eat a horse.
Stepping inside the room, I paused for a moment, taking a deep breath. Immediately, I knew we were having tacos for dinner. The scent was unmistakable. A smile fell across my face as my stomach began to growl.
“Probably not a good idea to stop walking right in the middle of the entrance.” Karrie’s voice sounded behind me, startling me out of my daze.
“Sorry,” I muttered, stepping aside. Technically, I hadn’t been right in the middle of the doorway, but I didn’t want to debate with her. I’d gotten the impression earlier that my co-counselor was a bit of a control freak, and I didn’t see the point in getting into it with her.
She chortled and moved on, herding a bunch of the girls with her like they were toddlers. “Go and fix your plates and have a seat at our table,” she said as if they’d never been to a cafeteria before.
I’d found out at lunch that we always sat with our cabins for meals. That would’ve been fine with me if I didn’t wish I could be sitting with Joshua. He took turns sitting at each table for every meal, I’d heard, and I’d calculated that he wouldn’t be sitting at our table for a while. I saw him standing across the room with some of the male coaches, and a smile lit my face. Even though he wasn’t looking at me and probably didn’t even know I was there, the fact that we were in the same space together made me happy.
Tacos also made me happy. Following my stomach, I headed over to the taco bar and quickly began to load up my plate. I fixed myself three hard shell tacos and three soft tacos, equally splitting the chicken and hamburger and loading all of them with all kinds of toppings before I grabbed a glass of sweet tea with my other hand and headed off to the table.
Setting my plate down at an empty space, I looked around for the desserts. We’d had cookies for lunch. I saw a selection of pie and rushed off to grab a piece of cherry before the kids devoured it.
When I got back and settled down between two of the girls I’d met earlier, Monique and Shayla, Karrie was just sitting down across from me. “Oh, my,” she said under her breath. “I guess someone worked up quite an appetite.”
I’d just bitten into a crunchy taco and wasn’t sure what she was talking about until I glanced over at her plate and saw only two soft tacos, one of which seemed to be completely empty and the other barely had chicken and lettuce in it.
I finished chewing and wiped my mouth on a napkin before I said, “Me? Yeah, I sure did.”
Laughing, Monique said, “Camp is tiring.” She had four tacos on her plate, so even though it wasn’t quite the same amount as I’d grabbed, she didn’t seem to be holding back either.
“I suppose that’s true,” Karrie said, then added, “although I’d think the students would be burning more calories than the staff.”
Having nothing to say to that, I took another bite of my taco, thinking it was going to be a long two weeks of putting up with Karrie’s snarky attitude. But then, we’d all just arrived. Maybe she just wasn’t so good at breaking the ice. I’d try to give her more time.
“Girls, you’re being a little loud,” Karrie told the girls at the other end of the table, motioning for them to shush by holding a finger to her lips.
I couldn’t help but turn to Monique with raised eyebrows. It might not have been appropriate, but the girl giggled and looked away. Karrie heard her laugh, and her head whipped around. Afraid I’d get her in trouble, I said, “Something one of the boys at the table over there did,” pointing with my head in the general direction of the closest boys’ table.
Karen—I mean Karrie—turned around quickly and looked, making me snicker, along with Monique and Shayla. It seemed Karrie took her job very seriously, which could be a good thing. As long as she didn’t go after Joshua, anything else would be minor.
After dinner, we headed back to the cabin. I walked at the front of the pack, chatting with the girls, letting them go at their own pace, while Karrie ran along behind, telling the slower girls to hurry up, herding us all along. I could tell a few of the girls were getting annoyed with her mother-hen attitude, but none of us said anything to one another about it. Soon enough, all of us arrived back at the cabin without a single chick lost.
The girls took some time to unpack their belongings, something they hadn’t had time to do earlier. My bed was near the door, across from Karrie’s, and I had my own dresser. Unfortunately, there was no counselor bathroom, so we’d be sharing the same facilities as the girls. There were three shower stalls and two toilets alongside a couple of sinks. That was it for twelve girls and us two counselors to share. I wasn’t used to this. Even though I had a ton of siblings, I’d always had my own bathroom.
As I put my clothing away, I wondered if Joshua had to share a bathroom with anyone. My understanding was that he had his own cabin over by the cafeteria building. Lucky duck.