Camp Confidential 09 - Best (Boy)friend Ever (13 page)

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Authors: Melissa J Morgan

BOOK: Camp Confidential 09 - Best (Boy)friend Ever
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He was there. Jordan was there.
And he was looking at her.
And he was walking right toward her.
And he was smiling.
“You know who you look like?” he asked.
“Who?” Priya couldn’t wait to hear this.
“That guy in the last Austin Powers movie. The one with the yellow hair who always wore gold clothes,” Jordan joked.
Her heart skittered in her chest. She was not believing this. “You mean the guy who kept eating his own skin?”
“Yeah. That guy.” Jordan flicked a speck of glitter off her shoulder. “Hey, is Brynn almost ready, do you think?”
It was like he’d punched her. Right in the gut. She couldn’t pull in a breath. She couldn’t breathe.
“Yeah. Almost,” she managed to wheeze out. Then she turned away, so Jordan wouldn’t see the pain on her face.
Not that he’d notice.
chapter
EIGHT
“Hey, are you okay, glamour girl?” Grace asked as they started up the gangplank to the big cruise ship, its three wide deep blue stripes looking almost black in the twilight.
“Yeah. Fine,” Priya answered. “Just need a bathroom, to, you know, check my pad.” Clearly she hadn’t been able to keep a basic normal human being expression on her face. Her period seemed the easiest thing to use as an excuse.
“Well, our boat is three stories, there’s got to be a ladies’ on there someplace,” Grace said, as they stepped inside onto thick aqua carpet. “Want me to help you find it?”
“It’s okay. I’ll ask one of the ice-cream men.” Priya gave Grace a little wave, then headed toward the closest guy in a white uniform and hat. He pointed her to a bathroom and she got herself inside as fast as she could without running. Her eyes started to burn the second the door swung shut behind her. At least she had the place to herself.
Priya leaned on the closest sink and stared at herself in the mirror. “You are not going to cry. You are not a crier. You aren’t going to cry now, because who knows what would happen to all this gunk on your face.” She straightened up, and continued to lecture herself. “Jordan was just joking around. He doesn’t really think you look like a psycho who eats his own flaky skin.” She brushed a few specks of glitter off her neck. “He was just being funny. Like always.”
The thing was, she didn’t want him to treat her like always. That was the whole point. She’s been turned into a complete 2.0 version of herself—with the slick stuff on her lips, and the sort of itchy stuff in her hair, and the pad between her legs, and the perfume Abby had sprayed on her. Couldn’t Jordan see that she was totally different? So why was he treating her the same?
Duh. Because all he can think about is Bryyyynnnnnn
, that horrible voice in her head volunteered.
Priya slammed out of the bathroom, hoping she had left the voice inside. “Sodas on the main deck,” Abby called to her. “Come on.”
“Okay.” Priya obediently followed Abby out on deck. Her eyes immediately did a Jordan scan. She saw Brynn first. Brynn was smiling, smiling at Jordan. The be-yourself non-plan plan seemed to be working.
“Cramps?” Abby asked sympathetically.
“What?” Priya asked. “Oh, yeah. Yeah. Bad ones.”
“I use this stuff called Flying Fox temple balm. You rub it on your temples and the inside of your wrists, or even right in the inside of your nose. It has all these essential oils that are mood soothers,” Abby told her. “I’ll give you some as soon as we get back to the hotel.”
By then I’ll have to coat my entire body in the stuff
, Priya thought, shooting another glance at the smiling combo of Jordan and Brynn, even though she knew it was a very bad idea.
“You guys looked thirsty,” Spence said as he came up to Priya and Abby. He held up two glasses of Coke and studied them like he’d never seen such things before. “They aren’t bright red. And they can’t be used as bug repellent. And I don’t think Jenna has loaded them with salt or anything.” Spence frowned at the sodas. “But I’m pretty sure you can drink this strange brown substance, anyway. I’ve heard people outside camp do.”
“Thanks,” Priya and Abby told him. Priya tried to remember if she’d ever talked to Spence—or if he’d ever talked to
her
—when they weren’t playing Spoons. She didn’t think so.
Priya heard Brynn laugh. She had this really loud, dramatic laugh. What was she laughing at? She didn’t think Jordan was funny. She thought he was an idiot. Priya looked over at Jordan and Brynn, trying to look like she wasn’t looking.
Abby elbowed her in the side. What? Was she being really obvious? “Spence was talking to you.”
“Oh. Sorry.” Priya grimaced as she forced herself to look at Spence. “What’s up?”
“I, uh, I was just saying that one of the crew guys told me that those houses over there, generals live in all of them,” Spence blurted. “It’s called General’s Row or something.” He hurried away.
Abby shook her head. “That’s not what he said. He said he liked the, quote, shiny stuff in your hair, unquote. And you missed it. What were you thinking about, anyway?”
Brynn gave another look-at-me-I-should-be-onstage trill of laughter. “Nothing,” Priya said. She heard Jordan laugh back. “I was thinking about absolutely nothing.”
Priya sat down at the table that was the farthest away from the one Jordan and Brynn had picked. She wanted to stop staring at them like a stalker. She also wanted to be able to eat. Her stomach was growling, and she knew she wouldn’t be able to choke down any of her food if the Happiest Couple in the World was on display.
The seat she’d chosen meant Gaby was across from her. But Priya could deal with some brattitude, no problem. David and Sarah were next to Gaby, and Marc, a guy from David’s bunk, was next to David.
“Hey, guys, isn’t this boat fab?” Valerie asked, as she sat down at the table with Scott, a boy who was in this nature session with Priya and Jordan. Just thinking about Jordan got Priya twisting her head around and straining to see him. Yeah, he still looked like he was having fun. She turned back to face her own group, but all she could think about was Jordan and Brynn. Brynn and Jordan. What were they talking about over there? They didn’t like any of the same things. Jordan couldn’t talk about theater stuff—he’d already proved that. And Brynn couldn’t—
Valerie nudged Priya. “Huh?” Priya asked.
“Scott was asking you something about fantasy football,” Val said. “I know fantasy football doesn’t involve leprechauns, but that’s about the extent of my knowledge, so I can’t answer for you.”
“Sorry, sorry,” Priya said. How many times was she going to have to apologize tonight? “What did you say?”
“I was asking what you thought of Eric Johnson for tight end,” Scott said.
Priya shook her head. “You gamble on him, you better have backup. The guy gets injured climbing out of bed.”
“Who do you like for backup?” Scott asked, leaning across Valerie. “It’s looking like for Week 1 my options are going to be Courtney Anderson, Jeb Putzier, or Stephen Alexander.”
“I’d go with Anderson.” Priya pushed her hair away from her face, and felt a little glitter come off on her fingers. “He’s big and has good hands. Plus, he’s seasoned. The guy has no excuses for not producing.”
“Cool. Thanks. I like that gold stuff in your hair,” he added, before he leaned back.
“You are such boy bait tonight,” Val whispered in Priya’s ear. “Tomboy on the inside, glamstress on the outside.”
“Hey, Priya,” Marc said from across the table. “You know how we’re having those swing dance lessons and that competition after dinner?”
“Uh-huh,” she answered. Wait. Was that Brynn laughing? Again?
“Well, I wanted to know if you wanted to team up with me?” Marc asked.
Valerie grinned at Priya. “See, that’s what I’m sayin’.”
That
is
Brynn laughing
, Priya decided.
Marc twisted his napkin into a ball. “So do you want to do the dance thing with me?”
Val nudged Priya again.
Priya blinked. “Yeah, sure. Sounds like fun,” she told Marc.
Like
anything
tonight is going to be fun
, that horrible voice in her head commented.
Priya grinned at Marc as she rocked back on her left foot. She wanted to look like she was having fun. Because Jordan and Brynn were only a few feet away. And they really were having fun. And she didn’t want them to think she wasn’t. Not that either of them was looking at her or anything.
“One-and-two, three-and-four, five, six,” Marc muttered, staring down at his feet. His hand was sweaty in hers. The guy was trying so hard. He was so serious about it all.
“Maybe stop counting,” Priya suggested. “Just listen to the music. It basically counts for you.”
“But the teachers—one-and-two—said to—three-and-four—count—five, six,” Marc said, still looking at his feet.
Out of the corner of her eye, Priya saw Jordan and Brynn do the cuddle step, where they ended up side by side instead of facing each other. Priya wanted to try that! But she and Marc so weren’t there yet.
“I know, I know,” Priya answered. “It’s just that sometimes concentrating too hard can mess you up. That’s happened to me in basketball. If I have everything the coach has told me running through my head when I’m trying to play, it can make me freeze up.”
Marc nodded, but he kept on counting.
“At least try looking away from your feet,” Priya suggested. “The teachers said not to look at our feet.”
That got him. Marc immediately lifted his eyes—and stepped on Priya’s toe. “Why don’t we take a break? Hydrate,” Priya said. She led the way to the drinks, which meant passing right by the Happiest Couple Ever.
Brynn whooped as Jordan swung her up to his left side, then his right. They kept on dancing without missing a beat. Or counting.
Why can’t I be dancing with Jordan?
she thought.
chapter
NINE
“Okay, fifteen minute break, kitty-cats,” one of the dance instructors called when the music stopped. “Then it’s back here for the big dance-off. We have some cool prizes, so be ready to show your stuff.”
Priya and Marc clapped along with the rest of the group. Then Priya noticed Brynn heading for the bathroom. And Jordan heading for the deck. They were going to be apart for the first time that night.
“I need to hit the ladies’ room,” Priya told Marc. “Meet you back here for the contest.” She rushed after Jordan without waiting for an answer. But she hesitated when she stepped out onto the deck and saw Jordan leaning on the rail. What was she supposed to say? Was it okay to just go over there? She stood there for a few minutes, just watching him.
He’s still your friend
, she finally told herself.
“You were looking pretty slick out there,” she commented as she stepped up beside him.
“I didn’t think I’d like that kind of dancing, but it was fun. Almost like gymnastics or something,” Jordan answered, all hyped up. “Brynn was really into it. But she likes dancing and singing and all that.” He paused and looked over at Priya. “Thanks again for fixing things with Brynn.”

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