Page 42 of Finding Her
Poppy’s eyes widened slightly, but she nodded. And she slipped her hand into mine and squeezed. I hated the sparks thatwent up my arm at her touch, just like always. Luckily, the bus driver called us up then, saying we should get on the bus. I took Poppy’s duffel bags from her, swinging it over my shoulder.
“Oh, you don’t need to,” she started.
“Trust me, Pipsqueak,” I said. “You look like you’re about to fall over with this on you. Let me help.” She blushed but nodded. We walked over to where the bags were being loaded onto the bus and handed ours over. And then, still hand in hand, we walked up onto the bus and found a seat near the back. I let Poppy take the window seat because she seemed to want that, and it was better for me anyway since I could stick my legs down the aisle. She curled herself up against the window and glanced out.
“She’s still watching,” she said.
I looked over Poppy’s head to see Claire glaring at us from outside with her arms crossed. Seconds later, Mia came onto the bus, shooting daggers at me as well. I guess she had seen me and Poppy, or Claire had just caught her up on everything that we had talked about in the last minute. She threw herself into a seat closer to the front.
“Who was that?” Poppy whispered to me. “And, more importantly, what the heck is going on?”
I shook my head and sighed. “You wouldn’t believe me if I told you.”
The moment the bus doors hissed open, there was a stampede of teenagers desperately running for them. The bus ride had to be the worst one of my life, with the driver acting like traffic laws were just suggestions and that pot holes and other obstacles were better to be hit straight on rather than avoided. I was prettysure we hadn’t stopped at a single stop sign for the whole drive and as I staggered off the bus, I felt like I was coming off a roller coaster. Poppy moaned and rubbed at her head as she walked off the bus behind me, muttering something about feeling seasick.
I took a deep breath, hoping the fresh air would make me feel better, but if anything, it only made me feel even more sick. The great outdoors, everyone.
The whole class clustered by the bus, clearly unsure of where we were supposed to go or what to do. Mrs. Dixon had some sort of family emergency just before we left, so instead of her being our teacher supervisor, they’d brought in the old gym teacher who was semi-retired now and mostly oversaw the department, Mrs. Fisher. She was a woman in her late fifties, who cared more about catching the new episodes of all her favourite shows than watching us students, so I was sure we would be more or less left to our own devices for the thirty-six hours we were here.
We were standing in front of a squat, dark brown building with an askew sign that read CAMP OFFICE over the door, and just as I was wondering if Mrs. Fisher had forgotten to tell us that we were supposed to go in, the screen door swung open and a woman walked out. She was dressed in a flannel shirt and hiking boots, and walked toward us with a massive smile on her face that made her look like an even peppier version of Poppy.
“Well, hello there, Hartwell Academy!” She said in a booming voice. “And welcome to camp! My name is Tracey and I’ll be your head counsellor while you’re here. Now I’m sure you all know what’s going to be happening here, but just to make sure we’re all on the same page…” She started on the same spiel I felt like I’d heard a thousand times before. This was a different camp than the one I’d gone to in my previous gym class, but the concept was still the same: instead of using the cabins, we’d be learning to set up our own tents and sleeping in them as if we were camping. We would spend the day learning all about natureand camping activities, like making a fire. Tomorrow, this would continue, until the bus came back to pick us up in the evening.
“Now, your teacher tells me that you’ve already been assigned a partner,” Tracey said. “So grab your partner and line up, and I’ll give you your tent.”
Poppy and I looked at each other uncomfortably. Had Mrs. Dixon thought to mention to Tracey that I would need my own tent, and Poppy would either need to be added to another group or given her own as well? If Tracey’s face when we stepped was anything to go by, I thought the answer wasno.
“Oh! What are you doing here?” She asked slowly. The smile remained on her face, but it started to look more pained than genuine. “The boys’ trip was later this week. You’re not supposed to?—”
“I’m in this class,” I interrupted, my voice flat. I’d spent the whole month having to tell people I was in a girls’ gym class and somehow, it still hadn’t gotten easier.
Her brows furrowed and for the first time, her smile wavered. “I’m sorry?”
“I’m in this class,” I repeated in that same deadpan. “There was an administrative error, and they put me in this class. They couldn’t move me somewhere else. So here we are.”
Poppy glanced at me with a smirk, like she knew that I was lying about the whole administrative error thing. But hey, I wasn’t going to admit my life story to this woman by telling her how I failed gym class.
“Oh,” the woman said again. She tapped her clipboard, looking uncomfortable. “Okay. Well, that’s a bit of an issue because we don’t have another tent, so…”
“Maybe Poppy could stay with another one of the pairs,” I suggested, glancing at Poppy. She shrugged happily and looked at the woman.
“Well, see, that’s the thing. The tents are all meant for two people, so it will be a tight fit and…” She shook her head. “I’m sorry, we really weren’t anticipating this.”
“How about I just stay with Bear?” Poppy suggested, glancing at me. “I mean, if he doesn’t mind, then I don’t.”
Wait—what?
I wasn’t expecting that. Sure, we were getting along better now, maybe even friends. But her volunteering to share a tent with me? Where everyone could see? That was a whole different level of comfortable.
Tracey flushed bright red, looking scandalized. “Well, technically, that’s against regulation,” she stammered.
“I’m sure it is,” Poppy said smoothly, flashing a brilliant smile. “But it’s kind of a tricky situation. Bear’s my only friend in this class. Neither of us was supposed to be here—it was an administrative error for me too. I’m older than the other girls, and I don’t think they’d be too thrilled about sharing a tent with me. And I’d hate to make any of you feel uncomfortable having a student underfoot.”
Tracey’s expression wavered, her grip tightening on her clipboard.
“Really,” Poppy continued, her voice dripping with charm. “It’s not a big deal. He’ll stay on his side, and I’ll stay on mine. We’ll both be in sleeping bags. Totally fine.”
Tracey glanced over her shoulder, clearly debating whether to ask someone else for guidance. “Well… if you’re sure you don’t mind…” she said finally. “Just… don’t mention it to anyone else. We wouldn’t want anyone feeling uncomfortable.”
