Chapter Three The Princess and the Weeds
With a straight spine I walk toward the tables. The woman in the yellow windbreaker grins at me.
“You must be Meera! I’m Lainey. I’ll be your supervisor here in the CROP program.
Welcome to Gordon Park!” Lainey smiles and puts her hand out to shake mine.
I can’t tell if she’s genuine or one of those people who’s mastered fake enthusiasm.
Lainey is probably in her twenties and is East Asian, with dark eyes and clear skin.
Her straight hair is in a ponytail, and she’s wearing blue shorts, and the yellow windbreaker zipped up.
“Yeah, I’m Meera Noorani,” I say. I quickly glance at the others. One table has two kids sitting at it, and the other three. I see only one other girl. Everyone looks bored.
“Okay. Have a seat,” Lainey says. “I’m going to review expectations in a few minutes.” She writes something down on her clipboard.
I sit next to the girl, since I fully intend to avoid talking to, looking at, or acknowledging the existence of guys all summer.
Although, that might be hard if we’re the only two girls here.
But I glance around again. None of these guys is my type anyway.
Preppy, nerdy guys are my type. Not emo skater boys.
A couple more guys come together and sit at the other table.
The two guys across from me are talking to each other, and the four guys at the other table are laughing loudly.
I might as well be invisible, which is good.
I just need to do my time and stay out of trouble.
I pull out my phone to text my two closest friends, Keeley and Adanna, but pause.
This summer will be easier if I have at least one friend in Cherrybridge.
I sneak a look at the girl next to me. She’s white, with pale freckled skin, a septum piercing, and black hair.
Her eyebrows are pale, so I assume her hair is dyed.
She’s wearing black jeans and a black Spirited Away T-shirt.
I smile and take a breath, but realize I have no idea what to say.
Maybe compliment her piercing? I have my nostril pierced; I did it because I like piercings, and since I’m Indian, it looks more cultural than rebellious on me.
But when the girl notices I’m about to say something, she wrinkles her nose and actually growls at me. I’m so taken aback, I flinch.
The dark-haired guy sitting across from me snorts a laugh. “Don’t mind Kennedy. She hates rich people.”
This guy is dressed like everyone else here, in a black T-shirt. His is oversized with some purple writing on it. His left eyebrow has two silver rings hanging from it, and his wavy hair reaches his shoulders. He looks a bit like my friend Keeley, so he might be mixed Asian like her.
My eyes widen. “What makes you think I’m rich?” I’m not dressed rich. I’m wearing light-wash jeans with a T-shirt and a pink cardigan—all from a thrift store. Hardly bougie. The only thing new I have on is my pink knotted hairband. Oh, and my new purple shoes.
The blond guy next to the dark-haired one laughs. “Your phone? Or maybe the top-of-the-line Porsche SUV that dropped you off? That your dad or something?”
I really don’t want to explain my family to these guys. “Yeah, let’s go with ‘or something.’ ”
The guy with dark hair laughs and whispers something into the blond guy’s ear, no doubt about me, which makes the blond one laugh even louder. And makes Kennedy snarl again.
I exhale. Doesn’t seem like I’ll be finding my one friend in Cherrybridge here. Spending the summer with these kids is going to be torture. I hate my life right now.
Lainey suddenly claps one hand on her clipboard.
“Okay, folks, we’re ready to get started,” she says.
No one stops talking. She claps on the clipboard again, and again it does nothing.
If I was back home, I would tell everyone to shush, but my self-preservation instinct tells me these kids will hate me even more if I do.
Finally everyone’s quiet, and Lainey beams. “Welcome to Cherrybridge Restores Our Parks, also known as the CROP program.”
“Or the CRAP program,” someone from the other table says loudly. Everyone laughs—except Kennedy. I’m pretty sure she’s still glaring at me.
Lainey ignores the laughing and commentary. “This is a joint venture between Cherrybridge Parks and Rec and Cherrybridge Youth Services. I’m Lainey Park, and yes, my last name is ‘Park’ and I’ll be working in a park all summer!”
I laugh because that’s funny, but no one else does. My laugh trails off as Lainey shoots me an appreciative smile.
“Anyway,” Lainey continues. “I’m a child-and-youth worker, and during the school year I work at Cherrybridge High, which is why some of you already know me.
I’ll be here with you every day for the next five weeks, and sometimes Jeff Wiesner from Parks and Rec will be joining us.
I know you don’t want to be here, but I hope we’ll still have fun this summer.
And we’ll be making a difference for Cherrybridge!
Anyone have any questions before we start? ”
I have questions. Dozens of them, actually. I shoot my hand up, and Lainey points to me.
“If I get in all my community service hours early, do I still have to be here for five weeks?” If I work twenty-five hours a week, I can complete my sentence in four weeks instead of five. Maybe I can have at least a few weeks in Toronto before school starts.
“It is expected that all of you will be here for the whole program. Any more questions?”
Not the answer I wanted to hear, but I can deal. I want to ask if we will have any input on the landscaping design in the park, but Kennedy scowls at me when I start to put my hand up again, so I decide to keep that question to myself. I’m being too eager.
“Okay,” Lainey says. “I have one icebreaker to help you get to know each other. Tell us your name and three things that mean a lot to you.” She smiles at me, probably because I’m the only one who laughed at her park joke. “How about you start us off?”
I frown, thinking for a moment. “I’m Meera Noorani, and my friends, my camera, and my spreadsheets mean a lot to me.”
The guy sitting across from me raises one eyebrow, a gesture made even more impressive by the twin silver hoops in his brow. “Spreadsheets? Like… Excel?”
I nod. “Yes. I like charts. I’m organized.”
Kennedy finally makes a sound that’s not growling—she laughs at me.
I exhale. Lainey points to someone at the other table, for them to give their name and three things, but I don’t listen to him. This is already going so, so terribly. I rub my temples.
“I’m Noah Jacobs,” the guy across from me says when it’s his turn. “And what means a lot to me… my guitar, my band shirts, and…” He pauses.
Someone at the other table shouts, “Vodka!”
Noah turns to glare at the guy. “Shut up, Braden.”
“Okay, okay,” Lainey says. “Be respectful of each other. Noah, what’s your third thing?”
He looks down. “I don’t know.”
Lainey nods, then points to Kennedy. “You’re next.”
Kennedy shockingly smiles. “I’m Kennedy Ennis, and three things that mean a lot to me are Studio Ghibli movies, my cat, and my AirPods.” She holds up a white earbuds case with a familiar cat sticker on it.
Crap. Are those mine? I check my pocket, and sure enough, my new earbuds are gone.
“Those are mine!” I say. “She took them out of my pocket!”
Kennedy snarls at me. “Are you accusing me of stealing? Lainey, how can I be expected to sit next to someone who lies? These are mine. My dead mother left them to me in her will. Are you going to take my dead mother’s AirPods from me?”
The blond guy across from Kennedy laughs. “Her mom’s not dead. She works at the Foodland. And anyway, rich girl can afford new ones. Let Kennedy keep them.”
Everyone starts talking at once, most saying that Kennedy should keep my earbuds. I close my eyes, overwhelmed. I don’t even want the stupid things anymore. I’m so, so pissed at the curse and at Mom for forcing me to be here. I exhale, making a list in my head of how I can escape this place.
“Kennedy, don’t be a bitch,” the dark-haired guy, Noah, says loudly.
“Give Meera her AirPods.” I open my eyes, and he’s not looking at me but at Kennedy.
He puts his hand out, and Kennedy immediately drops the earbuds case into his hand.
He slides them across the table to me, and I quickly put them into my pocket—the one farthest from Kennedy.
“Okay, I think that’s enough icebreakers,” Lainey says.
“Kennedy, you and I will talk about that little stunt after today’s session.
We’ll start today by pulling out and bagging weeds.
I have enough garden tools for half of you, so I’m pairing you up.
One partner can use the weed puller; the other can bag the weeds for the city compost. Then switch out.
Your partner is the person sitting across from you. Come up and get your equipment.”
So I have to work with Noah? I sigh. So much for avoiding boys.
At least he seems to hate me a little less than everyone else here.
I should thank him for getting my earbuds back.
But did that other guy say that one of Noah’s favorite things is vodka?
I definitely don’t need another bad boy to activate the curse.
I shake my head, resetting. It will be fine. We’re going to be weeding together—that’s it. And I’m safe from the curse because this guy is so far from my type that he might as well be in New Zealand.
When we all get up, Noah smirks at me, flipping his long hair out of his eyes. “I guess it’s you and me, Princess.”