Page 60 of Hate You, Maybe
We’re having tacos, which a person should never have to count. And no matter what’s being served, I’d never police how much a woman eats.
I glance at Bob and Hildy. “This is us cooperating,” I chuckle before returning my focus to Sayla. “Want me tocome back up there and finish the course with you?” I call out.
“NO!” She lurches forward, scrambling toward the platform like the ropes behind her are on fire. I guess all the motivation she needed was me offering to help. That’s how much the woman wants to be independent.
Still, I’m glad Bob and Hildy got to witness me cheering her on. After all, earning a glowing report from them is one of my main goals here at the retreat. But separate from that, I hated seeing Sayla trembling up there. So my sigh of relief when she’s finally back on solid ground is almost as big as hers.
After everyone’s done with the ropes, we break into teams for a scavenger hunt. Bob and Hildy put Sayla and me in the same group, which I figure is a good chance for us to prove we can work well together. And when they send Tori and Hogan to a different group, a not-so-secret part of me does an internal happy dance. But as soon as we’re turned loose, though, everyone in our group immediately splits up, and we spend the next hour alone racing around the campsite, searching for stuff on the hunt list.
Teamwork, but not together.
The items are both indoor and outdoor. Things like a pine cone, a pair of reading glasses, a bird feather, a rubber band. When we’ve finished collecting everything, we meet by the fire pit to double-check our list.
Sayla volunteers to race our group’s checked-off list to Hildy, even though she’s not so much a runner. But there’s no better role for the queen of lists. So she sprints over to Hildy, pushing her hair off her brow, wiping away the sweat. They confer for a moment, then Sayla turns and catches me staring.
“We came in second,” she calls out to us before jogging back to the group. When she reaches the fire pit, she bends over, catching her breath.
“Second place is great,” I say.
“I hate losing,” she gasps.
Yeah, Kroft. I know.
The day shifts in her favor when we move over to the obstacle course, where Sayla is a rockstar on the balance beams. She skims across half a dozen in one shot with barely a wobble. Tori and Caroline also kill it on the beams. Overall, the women are a sight to see, all grace and body control. Meanwhile, the men fall off a lot. And by that, I meanIfall off a lot.
Still, I get to root everyone else on, and Bob and Hildy get to see more evidence of how cooperative I can be. I’m an encourager. A real team player.
But also, I just like watching Sayla shine.
After lunch, we head over to the main lodge to meet with Bob and Hildy. Sayla shows up with her clipboard, and I show up with a bellyful of tacos, plus a whole lot of gratitude for not having to do nature painting.
And that’s when Fern joins us.
We sit in a circle on the mats, and for the first ten minutes, she has the five of us stretching and breathing into our feet again. When she finally asks us to sit up, legs crossed, we’re all silent, looking around at each other for what feels like an eternity.
Finally, Fern addresses Sayla and me. “So Bob and Hildy explained why you’ve been sent here,” she says. “You’ve got an important project to work on, yes?”
I nod. “An accreditation committee is coming to evaluate our school,” I say. “And one of the crucial things they’re looking for is evidence of our collaborative spirit.” I put those last two words in air quotes.
Fern’s mouth curves up. “And your principal’s counting on you two to lead the collaboration?”
“Choosing us makes sense,” Sayla chimes in. “Dex and Iare the directors of the two biggest departments on campus. Plus, we’re class advisors to the seniors and sophomores. And we were on the team that wrote the report for the accreditation committee. Dex was actually in charge of the team. And he’s our faculty president.”
“You’ve both taken on a lot,” Fern says.
“And our boss is worried we won’t be able to work well together during the visitation,” I say. “He thinks we might be a little spotlight hungry.”
“He’s not wrong.” Sayla clears her throat. “We have a history of competing.”
“Well,shecompetes,” I say.
“Andhewins.” She puts the last two words in air quotes.
Heh.
“I see.” Fern presses a hand to her chest. “Well, I’m very pleased to be here today to facilitate your journey back to one-ness.”
One-ness?
