Meet Me At Midnight, page 5
"Not nice!" Elizabeth protested. "It was evil." She picked up the pepper and whacked through it with a cutting knife, splitting it apart in one clean gesture.
"Whoa!" Maria said. "That's a yellow pepper you're chopping there, not Nicole's head."
"I wish it were Nicole's head," Elizabeth muttered, setting the pepper down on the cutting board and slicing it in long, thin strips.
Maria set down her knife and looked at Elizabeth carefully. "Maybe you're blaming the wrong person for this situation. It takes two to tango."
Elizabeth's face flushed as Maria's words struck home. "You're right, Maria," she admitted. "I'm the one who's gotten myself into this situation. I'm the one who was cheating on Todd. And lying to Joey about it. It serves me right to have Todd show up."
"Well, I don't know about that, but it seems to me that the only way out now is to come clean," Maria said. She grabbed a slice of pepper from the cutting board and crunched into it.
Elizabeth looked at Maria in dismay. "You mean tell Todd I've been seeing Joey?"
Maria nodded. "And tell Joey the truth about Todd. Maybe he would understand the situation. Or maybe he wouldn't mind just dating for the summer."
"There's no way Joey would accept that," Elizabeth said. "And Todd would never forgive me."
"But you wouldn't be torn apart by guilt anymore," Maria pointed out. "And I wouldn't have to listen to you complain about it anymore."
Elizabeth dropped her head in her hands. "Ugh," she moaned. "What a mess."
Maria gave Elizabeth a smile. "Or maybe there's another way out," she added. "What were you planning to do?"
Elizabeth shrugged and looked abashed. "I thought I'd just wait it out and avoid Joey for a few days."
Maria shook her head disapprovingly. "Elizabeth Wakefield, you have got to make a choice."
Elizabeth looked at her in despair. "But how?"
"Simple," Maria said, peeling the outside skin of an onion. "Just trust your feelings." She chopped up the onion and tears came to her eyes. Grabbing a towel from the counter, she ran it under water and dabbed at her eyes. "Are you happy to see Todd?"
Elizabeth shook her head. "No, I'm miserable."
"Well, then, it's clear," Maria said in a matter-of-fact tone.
"I guess it is," Elizabeth conceded, nodding slowly. Maria was right. She had to tell Todd the truth. Even though she and Todd had a long and wonderful history together, she had to face the facts. She was attracted to somebody else. She had to break up with Todd.
Just the thought made her feel like the most disloyal girlfriend on earth.
"I guess we've got to play some stupid game to entertain the little kiddies." Winston scowled as he surveyed the field later that afternoon. Winston and Aaron's ten-year-old campers had gathered in the field outside the main lodge to play sports together before dinner.
Todd looked at Winston in surprise Winston loved kids. In fact, it had been Winston's idea to get the boys together. He had been all fired up about the idea that morning. "A great sports-off!" he had announced at the mess hall after breakfast.
Actually, Todd surmised, Winston had been in a foul mood ever since his tumbling accident that morning. It was as if he'd had a personality transformation in the last few hours. Todd wondered if he'd gotten hurt from his fall. Or maybe he had been embarrassed. But that wasn't like Winston. At Sweet Valley High, Winston had a reputation as the class clown, and there was nothing he liked better than making people laugh.
"OK, what's the game of the hour?" Aaron asked, marching up to them. A gang of boys followed quickly behind.
"Throw the boys in the lake," Winston muttered under his breath.
Aaron looked at Todd questioningly. Todd lifted his eyebrows and shrugged.
Johnny, one of Aaron's campers, raced up to them. "Let's play Cowboys and Indians!" he yelled.
"We're the cowboys!" one of Winston's campers claimed. He was a towheaded boy named Bryan, and he was the smallest camper of the group.
"And we're the Indians!" Jacob of Aaron's group screamed. He scrambled a few yards away and took a position behind a grassy knoll. When he reached the base of the hill, he picked up a stick and drew an imaginary line in the grass. "This here is Indian territory," he announced.
Winston marched up the little hill and stared down at the boys. He looked like he was about to explode. "Just what do you think you're doing?" he asked.
"We're preparing for battle," Bryan declared. He dived onto the grass on his stomach on the other side of the knoll and held an imaginary gun out in front of him. Tad, a pudgy boy with a crewcut, jumped down next to him.
"Oh, that's a great idea," Winston said, snorting sarcastically. "Have any of you given a moment's thought to the meaning of 'Cowboys and Indians'?"
Todd gave Aaron a worried look. Had Winston gone over the edge?
Little Bryan looked at him wide eyed and shook his head.
"Well, I'll tell you the meaning," Winston went on. "The Indians were living peaceably off the land when the American settlers came over from Europe and invaded the country. They slaughtered all the Native Americans and took over their territory." Winston stared the boys down. "And now all you kids just think it's a fun game."
"It is a fun game!" Tad screamed out.
"Whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop!" little Jacob yelled, clapping a hand over his mouth and doing an Indian war dance.
"What's the point?" Winston yelled. "The cowboys win every time anyway!"
The boys looked at him like he was nuts, then Jacob picked up an imaginary arrow and shot at a little boy. "Ping!" he yelled.
"Bang bang bang!" a cowboy shouted.
"Get back, Apaches!" another boy shouted.
Soon a full-fledged war had ensued and Winston stomped away.
"What's eating him?" Aaron asked.
"I don't know, but we better find out," Todd said.
Todd and Aaron followed Winston. He was sitting under a tree, glowering.
Aaron crouched down on the ground next to him. "Hey, man, don't worry, maybe the Indians will win this time," he said placatingly.
"I wish they'd killed all the cowboys in the first place," Winston said bitterly.
Todd looked at his friend oddly. Maybe the heat was getting to him. "I didn't realize you had such a thing about cowboys," he said carefully.
Winston sighed. "Well, just one, actually," he admitted.
"OK, give," Todd said, sliding down on the grass next to him.
Winston looked around to make sure they weren't being overheard by any other campers. "Well, you know Maria's staying with her grandmother on a ranch this summer, right?"
Todd and Aaron nodded.
"I've gotten a number of letters from her, and she always mentions the same guy," Winston explained. "His name is Hank, and he's a cowboy."
"And you think she's fallen for him," Todd said.
Winston nodded.
Aaron looked skeptical. "A cowboy? Maria?"
"Read this," Winston said, handing him the letter. Aaron unfolded the page, frowning as he skimmed the contents. Todd read over his shoulder.
"It doesn't sound good," Todd had to concede.
"See? I told you," Winston said. He dropped his head in his hands. "It's so humiliating. Left for a cowboy." Winston sighed. "I'll never live this down at school. I can just hear the jokes. 'Winston was away at camp for the summer. Meanwhile, back at the ranch . . .' "
Aaron laughed, and Winston gave him a dirty-look.
Todd thought for a minute. Winston and Maria had been going out forever. They always seemed perfectly suited to each other. "So what are you going to do about it?" he asked.
Winston shrugged sadly. "What can I do about it? If she wants another guy, then she can have him."
Todd looked straight at him, a challenge in his eyes. "You mean you're just going to give up that easily?"
"Doesn't Maria mean anything to you?" Aaron added.
"Do you two have a better idea?" Winston returned.
Todd nodded and looked at Aaron, a glint in his eye. "As a matter of fact, I think I do."
Winston looked from one boy to the other, an expression of alarm on his face. "Uh-oh, I know that look. That look means trouble."
Todd smiled. "Winston, baby, we're going to turn you into a cowboy," he said.
"Oh, no, you're not," Winston responded.
"It'll be simple," Aaron reassured him. "A pair of cowboy boots, a cowboy hat, and you'll be set."
Winston raised his hands in protest. "The answer is no, and that's final. I don't want to hear another word about cowboys. I'm taking off. See you guys later." Winston turned and stalked away.
Aaron winked at Todd after Winston left. "He'll come around," he said confidently.
Wanting to sulk for a while, Winston decided to take out a canoe. He needed to be alone.
Winston headed into the boathouse. A row of aluminum canoes were lined up against the far wall. Grabbing the rope of the nearest canoe, he dragged it through the door. As he pulled it onto the sand he stumbled and stubbed his toe, whacking himself in the back of the knees with the boat. "Ouch," he muttered, scowling to himself.
It was no wonder Maria didn't want to be with him anymore, Winston thought as he tugged on the string. With his knobby knees and gangly arms, Winston knew he was a joke of a boyfriend. He'd always thought that Maria loved him for his clumsiness. She'd always said it was endearing that he had two left feet. But now he knew the truth. She had loved him despite his clumsiness. And now she didn't love him at all.
Winston sighed as he pushed the canoe into the murky green lake. He felt like he'd lost half of himself. He and Maria had been together forever, and they were always the center of the crowd.
Everybody liked Maria. She was pretty and funny and involved in everything—the student council, her sorority, cheerleading. Maria was perfect for him. But obviously he wasn't perfect for her. She didn't want some knobby-kneed clown. She wanted a real man. A cowboy.
Winston reached into the boat and pulled out an orange life vest. Slipping his arms into it, he threw off his shoes and climbed into the canoe. Then he grabbed an oar and shoved off into the water.
"Mind if I join you?" called a husky voice from the shore. Winston looked back. A redheaded girl was standing at the water's edge, holding her shoes in her hand. He'd thought he met all the counselors, but he'd never seen her before.
Yes, I do mind, Winston thought. But he just shrugged. He didn't see that he had much choice. Saying no would just be rude.
The girl dropped her shoes in the sand and jumped into the canoe, taking a seat on the bench at the back end. "You're Winston, aren't you?" she asked as she wriggled into a life vest.
Winston nodded and paddled silently.
"I'm Lara O'Mally," the girl said. "I'm in Nicole's group." She picked up an oar and paddled in unison with him.
"You're a camper?" Winston asked.
"Yeah, I'm just fifteen," Lara said.
Winston looked at the girl in surprise. She might be fifteen, but she looked like she was eighteen. She was average height, with wild curly red hair, smooth white skin, and a smattering of freckles. "You look like you could be a counselor," Winston said.
"I just missed the JC cutoff," Lara explained. They hit a bend in the lake, and Lara expertly paddled backward, sending them in a smooth turn. "In fact, I'm going to turn sixteen on the last day of camp. I tried to get Lacey to make an exception for me, but she refused. You know how Lacey is."
"I'm not surprised," Winston said. "Old iron-will Cavannah won't make an exception for anything."
Lara laughed a golden laugh that seemed to bounce across the sun-dappled water. "I thought she was going to explode the other night when you imitated her in the auditorium."
Winston laughed as well, feeling his spirits pick up. The campers had practically fallen asleep while watching an adventure film, so he thought he should liven up the atmosphere with a few antics. The kids had gone wild when he launched into a Lacey impersonation .
Unfortunately Lacey had caught him right in the middle of it. Ever since then, he hadn't exactly been in the camp owners favor. In fact, she had threatened to kick him out. "Undermining my authority undermines your authority as well," she had lectured him. "One more stunt like that from you and you're out."
"My timing wasn't very good." Winston grinned.
"Actually, your timing was perfect," Lara said. "I thought I was going to break a rib, I was laughing so hard."
Suddenly a loud motorboat whizzed by, sending a ripple of waves in its wake. A water-skier was holding on to a rope attached to the back of the boat.
"Oh, sorry!" the water-skier yelled.
The canoe lurched dangerously in the rough water. "Uh-oh." Winston gulped as the massive waves threatened to make the boat capsize.
"Lean to the left," Lara instructed. "Put all your weight into the direction of the wave and hold your oar firm in the water." Within moments they had maneuvered the canoe out of the current.
"Wow, you're pretty good at this," Winston told Lara as they reached still waters.
"My family has a cottage on Lake Ontario," Lara explained. "I've spent a lot of summers out on the water."
They paddled out to the middle of the lake and let the boat drift. "Ah, this is the life," Winston said, leaning back against an extra life vest and closing his eyes. He felt himself relax for the first time all day.
"So, do you have a girlfriend?" Lara asked.
Winston hesitated. Even though he had just met Lara, he found himself wanting to confide in her. He'd felt comfortable with her from the first moment she sat down in the canoe, and Winston instinctively trusted her. And it would be helpful to get a female perspective.
"Well, I used to," Winston said. Then he opened up to her, telling her about his concerns regarding Maria.
Lara looked stunned. "I can't believe a girl would cheat on you!" she exclaimed. "If you were my boyfriend, I'd treat you right," she added.
Winston flushed with pleasure. It was nice to be appreciated—even if he could never act on it. JCs dating campers was strictly forbidden.
Winston gave her a sidelong glance. "What kind of cowboy do you think I'd make?" he asked.
"A very sexy one," Lara answered in a husky voice.
Chapter 4
"Jessica! Where are you running off to?" Lila demanded on Tuesday night after dinner. Bo was standing next to her. Even though Lila drove her crazy talking about Bo, Jessica had to admit that they made a nice couple. Bo was wearing beige cotton shorts and a blue polo shirt, and Lila had on a pale yellow cotton dress. They both looked tanned and healthy. And happy.
"A bunch of JCs are going to make a campfire and cook s'mores," Bo said. "You should join us."
Jessica searched for a quick excuse. "Uh, I was just going back to the cabin to change."
Lila looked at her suspiciously. "Change for what?" she asked.
"For the game of Sardines later on tonight," Jessica said. "It's getting a little chilly."
"Sardines?" Lila and Bo exclaimed in unison.
"Don't you eat them?" Bo asked.
"Oh, gross," Lila said, crinkling her nose in disgust. "We're going to eat sardines tonight?"
Jessica had to laugh. "You two were definitely not made for camp. Sardines is just the name of the game. One person, the sardine, hides, and everyone else splits up and goes to look for him or her. If you find the sardine, you join in the hiding place. And so on, until only one person is left. That person loses and has to be the next sardine."
"Hmm, that doesn't sound so bad," Lila said with a grin. She leaned back in Bo's arms.
"I'll hide with you anytime, baby," Bo said, tightening his arms around her waist.
"Do you guys mind if I leave before I retch?" Jessica asked.
They laughed. "All right, well see you later," Lila said.
Jessica waved and walked off casually, trying to look natural. But as soon as she rounded the corner of the lodge, she picked up the pace. She walked briskly up the dirt path that led through the woods to the girls' cabins. She wanted to see Suzanne, the arts counselor. She had tried to get hold of her at the arts cabin earlier in the day, but Suzanne had been up to her elbows in papier-mâché. Suzanne had invited Jessica to stop by after dinner, and Jessica wanted to see her before the rest of the senior counselors returned to the cabin.
A few minutes later Jessica exited the woods and made her way to the female senior counselors' cabin. A little out of breath, she knocked sharply on the wooden door.
"C'mon in!" came a cheery voice. Jessica pushed open the door and peeked her head inside. Suzanne was propped up against the wall, a pair of purple jeans in her lap and knitting needles in her hand. She was a pretty girl with a halo of wild, frizzy brown hair and a funky style of dressing.
"Hi, Jess!" she said, dropping her needles on the bed and waving her inside.
"Wow, this is nice," Jessica said, taking in the senior counselors' cabin. The cabin was big and airy, with a high peaked ceiling and a woven Mexican rug on the floor. The women had decorated the walls with avant-garde posters and personal artwork. A Chinese lantern glittered on a small wooden table.
"Seniority has its privileges," Suzanne said. "Here, have a seat." She cleared off a space and patted a place on the bunk next to her.
Jessica sat down and fingered the jeans on the bed. A yellow butterfly was embroidered on one knee and a long red flower traveled down the length of the other leg. "Hey, these are cool," Jessica said.
"You like them?" Suzanne asked, holding up the jeans for inspection. They tapered in at the knees and flared out wildly at the bottom. "It's sort of a seventies retro look. I thought I could wear them with platform shoes."
"Do you always make your own clothes?" Jessica asked.
"I usually just embellish them a little," Suzanne said. "I spend a lot of time poking around thrift shops." She threw the jeans across the bed. "But I don't think you stopped by to talk about my fashion interests."
"Yeah, actually, I have a slight dilemma that I thought you might be able to help me with," Jessica explained.
"What's the dilemma?" Suzanne asked. Then she held up a hand. "Wait, let me guess. What kind of problem would Jessica Wakefield have?" She snapped her fingers. "I've got it! Love problems!"
