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Authors: Melissa J Morgan

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BOOK: Camp Confidential 09 - Best (Boy)friend Ever

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“We’re not going to let you get away with that,” Valerie informed Priya. “We all witnessed Jordan full-on crushing tonight. On
you
, missy.”

There were nods and uh-huhs all around.

Priya scrubbed her face—her hot, red face—with her fingers. “Jordan did seem like he was trying to get
someone’s
attention tonight, with the shoes and the hair and everything. I’ll give you that. So I guess he wasn’t just joking around with that kissing comment. I guess he really has lost his mind and decided he’s in liiike. But you don’t know it’s with me.” She pointed at Val. “You didn’t witness that, and neither did anybody else.”

“When loverboy was laughing too loud at nothing—which is
so
the behavior of a boy with a crush—he was sitting right across from you,” Gaby said. “He picked that seat all by himself.”

“And we all saw him staring at you before he finally came over,” Grace added. “I’ll sign an affidavit or whatever they’re called.”

“I think you have to face the truth, Priya,” Alex told her. “Jordan wants to be your boyfriend, not your best friend.”

Slowly, Priya pushed her Lifesaver into the circle.

“Are you really sure you’re feeling okay?” Becky asked Priya the next night at dinner.

“Uh-huh, yep,” she answered, then struggled to choke down a second bite of Thursday’s special—watery lasagna.

Jordan had shown up to the mess hall in another
outfit
—khakis, striped polo shirt, deck shoes. But that wasn’t what was keeping her from eating this time. Or at least, not the main thing. What
was
keeping her from eating were her after-dinner plans.

There was a chance—maybe just a teeny-weeny chance, but a chance—that the girls in her bunk were wrong about Jordan crushing on her. And tonight, after dinner, during their regular card game, Priya was going to find out. Who would be able to eat right before that?

“He’s looking at you again,” Brynn whispered from her seat to Priya’s left.

“I’ll be a witness to that,” Grace joked from Priya’s right.

Great. She was surrounded.

“His hair’s a little better tonight. That’s something,” Gaby commented from across the table.

Totally surrounded.

“Isn’t there anything else to talk about?” Priya exclaimed.

“World peace?” Valerie suggested.

“Boring,” Gaby said.

“Color war?” Sophie suggested as she dropped off a basket of bread.

“Too far away. And we don’t even know if we’ll be on the same team,” Alex answered.

“Sorry, Priya, we’ll have to keep talking about you and your boyfriend,” Grace said.

“I thought I heard some mice in the bunk last night,” Becky commented casually.

“Mice?” Abby exclaimed.

“Wait. Did you say mice?” Candace asked.

“Well, a kind of rustling sound. Sort of like candy wrappers. I thought maybe it was mice. What do you think?” Becky asked.

Thanks, Becky
, Priya thought.
I really needed that subject change.
She ate another bite of lasagna just because she thought she owed her counselor one.

“Mice, definitely mice,” Grace said. “Mice with little black velvet chokers.”

“Grace! Do you have to keep bringing that up?” Abby burst out. “I’m only a little less afraid of mice than I am of headless brides.”

“But you know there weren’t any mice in the bunk. You know we—” Alex stopped. “I mean, I know because I got up to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night and I would have seen them if there were any to see,” she said quickly, shooting a glance at Becky.

“Well, that’s a relief,” Becky said. “I wouldn’t want poor little mice heads plopping off all over our floor.”

“Becky!” Abby wailed.

“Sorry, sorry,” Becky told her. “But come on, you can’t believe that story. No one’s head could have been held on by a choker.”

“I have an announcement to make,” Brynn said, as if she were standing on a stage. She waited until everyone at the 4C table was looking at her. Her green eyes sparkled as she continued. “Jordan is still staring at Priya.”

Grace held up her hand. “I’m a witness.”

Priya was surrounded. She had the sudden urge to just put her head down—right in her plate of lasagna if necessary.

Priya snatched up the cards Jordan passed to her. She needed either a six of clubs and a six of hearts, or she needed a four of hearts. There was nothing in Jordan’s pile she could use. She hurled them at Spence.

Come on, come on, come on
, she thought, impatient.
Where are my cards, Jordan?
She shot a look at him, and realized he was holding a spoon. Priya slid one of the two spoons remaining in the middle of the table into her hand, while hurling a few cards in Spence’s direction to keep him distracted.

Who would notice that the game was over first and grab the last spoon—Spence or Joe? They were both totally focused on their cards. Jordan shot her a few cards from his hand, Priya snatched them up, like she was dying for them, then slapped them down next to Spence. Joe gave a grunt of frustration as he sent three cards in Jordan’s direction.

Jordan gave Priya a fast, secret, look-at-those-two-goofballs smile, and she smiled back. Because for one second, in the middle of the craziness of the game, she’d forgotten. She’d forgotten her best friend had had a brain, personality, and wardrobe transplant.

Priya caught a flash of movement out of the corner of her eye as Spence’s hand snaked out and captured the last spoon. He kept passing cards to Joe, and Joe frantically sent cards to Jordan who sent them along to Spence, who sent them right back to Joe. Finally, Joe got it.

“How long?” Joe moaned. “How long this time?”

“At least a full minute since I got my beauty,” Spence told him, caressing his plastic spoon.

“Who was first?” Joe demanded.

“One of those two.” Spence nodded toward Priya and Jordan.

“Why did I even ask?” Joe let the cards in his hand flutter down onto the table.

“Even Priya was slow tonight,” Jordan said. “I thought we were going to be playing this one hand until the rec center closed.” He stood up. “Want to help with the concoction?” he asked Priya.

It would give her the chance to be alone with him. Which would give her the chance to find out what she needed to find out. “Sure,” she answered, the word coming out in a squeak.

“Prepare to puke,” Jordan warned Joe.

“I’m so scared,” Joe called after Priya and Jordan as they hurried out of the rec center.

No,
I’m
so scared
, Priya thought. She sucked in a deep breath, trying to get a grip.
Okay, so just spit it out
, Priya coached herself on the way to the mess hall. ‘
Jordan, do you like me?’ Or maybe ‘Jordan, the girls in my bunk think you like me.’ Then if he laughs in your face, you know it’s not true.

But if he didn’t laugh, what was she supposed to do? What if he got all mushy? What if he actually did want to kiss her—right then? What was she supposed to do? Fake a coughing fit and tell him she was super contagious? Run? Dig a hole and bury herself in it?

“What are you waiting for?” Jordan asked.

And for one crazy moment she thought he’d read her mind. That he wanted to know why she was waiting to ask him the Question. But no. They’d reached the back of the mess hall where the kitchen was, and Jordan was crouched down with his fingers laced together. He was ready to boost her into the open window. That’s the way they always got into the kitchen. He’d boost her though the window, then she’d unlock the door.

“Nothing,” Priya answered. She stepped into Jordan’s hands. Two seconds later, she was through the window and standing on the big wooden kitchen table. She leapt to the floor and hurried to let Jordan inside.

“I’m thinking hot for Joe tonight. Everything hot. Find the Tabasco for me, okay? And grab anything else you see that’s tongue-burning,” Jordan instructed, voice low.

Priya nodded. Oh, great. Now she’d lost the power to speak entirely.
Just do it. Do it, do it, DO IT
, she begged herself.

“JORDAN!” she practically shouted.

“Are you nuts? Do you want us to get caught?” he whispered.

“No,” she whispered back. “I just wanted to ask—”

Jordan grabbed her arm. “Somebody’s coming. Broom closet.”

Priya reached the broom closet with two long steps. She jerked open the door and she and Jordan squeezed inside. He closed the door behind them just as the overhead kitchen lights clicked on.

Had whoever it was seen the closet door shut? Were they caught? All Priya could hear was her own heart banging away in her ears. She wasn’t sure if she was near heart failure because she was afraid of getting sent to Dr. Steve’s office, or because she and Jordan were as close together as two sticks of gum in a pack.

“I think we’re safe,” Jordan finally said.

Speak for yourself
, Priya thought.

Jordan pushed the closet door open a crack, and Priya peered out. “Clear,” she whispered. She scrambled out and hurried over to the cabinet that was the farthest away. “Tabasco,” she muttered. “Tabasco, Tabasco.”

“What did you want to ask me that was so important you almost got us busted?” Jordan asked.

Priya jumped. He was right behind her. She spun around to face him. “Um, I noticed that you got a makeover,” she said. Which was lame. And not a question.

A flush started at the bottom of Jordan’s neck and went all the way up to his forehead, with a stop to turn his ears into tomatoes. “So what?” he mumbled.

“Well, uh, some of the girls in my bunk thought maybe it was because you liked someone,” Priya managed to spit out. She hoped her whole face wasn’t as red as Jordan’s ears, but she thought it was.

Jordan didn’t answer.

But Priya had gotten this far. She wasn’t taking silence for an answer. “So, are they right? Do you, um, liiiike someone?”

“Yeah,” Jordan admitted. “I don’t know if you need all that
iiii
. But yeah.”

“Is it the person you keep staring at?” Priya asked. She couldn’t ask if it was her. She just couldn’t. Not without barfing. “At the barbeque and tonight at dinner?”

“Yeah.” Jordan ran his hands through his slicked back hair, eyes locked on Priya, waiting to see her reaction.

Alex was right. It was time for Priya to face the truth—Jordan liked her, liked her in a boy-girl way.

She felt as if a big chunk of earth was dropping out from under her feet. As if any second she was going to go into freefall. Jordan couldn’t be her best friend if he liked her
that
way. And how was she going to survive without him?

What exactly was she supposed to do now?

chapter
FOUR

“Up, up, up! Everybody up!” Grace exclaimed.

“We have ten more minutes,” Gaby grumbled. “And I want to be asleep for all of them.”

BOOK: Camp Confidential 09 - Best (Boy)friend Ever

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