Camp Little Willow

Chapter 9

     When the game finishes we take the littles back to the cabins to get ready for dinner, stopping on the way to grab the now dry name plaques. The girls look incredibly pleased with themselves when they hang them up above their beds.

     It has been a long day for them and once their plaques are up, they mostly have a nap or read a book. They're going to sleep pretty well tonight.

     Zoe tells Aisling and Tabitha to take the next forty-five minutes off and meet us back at the Great Mess Hall for dinner; they look just as exhausted as the littles do. With the girls calm and settled, Zoe and I share the counsellor bed.

     Zoe pulls out her phone and smirks. "Look!" She holds the phone up so I can see whatever it is that's amused her.

Jefferson Lakes Holiday Retreat updated their status five hours ago.

We offer our sincerest apologies for the incident that occurred during last nights welcome banquet. We are confident it was an isolated incident and the children staying at the retreat are reminded that throwing food is not acceptable behaviour.

All guests have been offered 25% off their next visit as a goodwill gesture.

     "Ohmigosh." I frown. "I can't believe they're offering twenty-five per cent off!" I sigh. I mean, I probably should have seen it coming. Somewhere like Jefferson Lakes isn't going to just sweep it under the rug and forget about it, they need to keep guests in their favour.

     "I know, but we got away with it! They called it an 'isolated incident'!"

     "I thought you guys said it was a foolproof plan?" I ask, feeling slighting annoyed but not entirely sure why.

     "No, Robbie said that. And everything has a little risk; we could have been recognised, but we weren't because you were a fabulous distraction." Zoe is still smirking and I can't help but smile too.

     "I guess I was pretty good."

     "The best." She knocks her shoulder against mine. "So how was your dance with Ryan Jefferson?"

     I roll my eyes. "Fine."

     "Did you want to throttle him at all?" she whispers, checking that the girls are all still focused on their chosen activity.

     I think about everything he said last night; yes, I could have throttled him when he was talking about the retreat. But, when he was talking about the trails and being outside, I don't know, I guess it threw me a little.

     I shrug in response because I don't know what the right answer is. The way they talked about him before, I was expecting someone stuck up and all about themselves. I mean, he was kind of when we first started talking. But it was a nice surprise to hear him talk about exploring the forest.

     "Waaaait. . ." Zoe looks me up and down suspiciously. "You liked it!" She squeals.

     "No!" I gasp, not because it's untrue, but because I don't want to be teased about it.

     "Okie dokie," Zoe replies in a very unconvinced way.

     At twenty past six, we get the girls back up and head outside to join the boys. The queue in the Great Mess Hall is long, but it moves quickly. Dinner is pasta bake, garlic bread and salad; the littles eat it ravenously, as though they haven't been fed all day.

     When everyone is finished we head to the play area in at the end of the cabins so the littles can blow off any last bits of energy they might have. They run around, squealing in delight. Some of the boys start a pirate game on the ship, which involves quite a lot of people having to walk the plank. The girls start to join in, eager to show off their amazing jumps from the plank. Nellie is the only one who doesn't go over, instead, she sits on one of the swings; her feet don't leave the ground as she sways, looking off into the distance.