1. Jack #3
Autumn chose that moment to explain what we were doing. “To catch you up, the shipping board’s canceled, and we’re doing Camp Wars.” She pointed to the list behind her. “All the counselors are going head-to-head. I’ll explain in detail later.”
“I think I got it. So what do I get when I win?” Her lips quirked up on one side.
Oh god, she was staying.
“That’s the spirit.” Autumn’s raised eyebrows made it seem as though she was just as surprised to see Nat as I was. She hurried the rest of her presentation along, nonetheless. “So, is everybody in?”
The room erupted in positive murmurs. I threw in my own, “Fuck yes,” which came off a little more cutthroat than my fellow staffers.
There was no way I was going to lose this competition.
I had more than one reason to take this seriously, and the woman who just walked through the door was one of them.
I may have been done with the expansion, but that didn’t mean there wasn’t a ton of work to do.
Unfortunately, it was hard to focus on my task list when I ruminated on the fact that Nat was back.
I couldn’t believe I was stuck with the princess of the West Coast, who people had swarmed the second our kickoff meeting ended.
I’d been gone half an hour, and people were probably still fawning over her instead of doing something important like, I don’t know… their jobs.
Someone knocked at my door as I grabbed new drill batteries from the bedroom in my cabin that served as a garage of sorts.
“Hey, Jack? What do I do if my gutter looks like it’s about to fall off?” an apologetic Sawyer asked.
“You wait for me to reattach it.” People frequently tried to take stuff off my plate the closer we got to launch, but I was always happy to help. “How about you go take a break, and I’ll meet you over there after?” I had a door to fix.
Sawyer nodded gratefully. “I can do that.”
I walked over to the mess hall to take care of the issue. The offending door wasn’t properly aligned because the hinges were worn, which caused it to swing open with too much force. I had already bought replacement hinges, but no, we were focusing on what I hadn’t done.
I combed through my toolbox and realized I’d left the hinges in my truck. Why couldn’t things just be easy today? I did a one-eighty and headed toward the parking lot.
“Psst,” a conspicuous Leo whispered loudly from the side of the mess hall. “If you want to discuss the shipping board 2.0, we meet at dawn. Or tonight at nine thirty, whichever comes first.”
He was probably going to get some takers, but I wouldn’t be one of them. I used to have fun with the shipping board, but I wouldn’t be participating anymore, and it had nothing to do with losing the money.
“I don’t have time for that. I’m behind as is.” My words came out harsher than I’d meant them to, but the sentiment was correct.
“You’re telling me you aren’t interested?” Leo raised his eyebrows in astonishment. “Does nobody care about me being able to afford the new addition on my house?” he quipped.
He and Hazel each had one half of a duplex-style cabin near the entry of the camp. And if he needed a new addition, which he didn’t have the space for, he’d come to me for it. I remained unmoved.
“Whatever, Jack,” he said petulantly, waving me off before rushing to speak with Azalea, who was carrying some newly cleaned chef’s coats. She looked like she didn’t have time to deal with his antics either.
I opened the door to my old pickup truck, and it creaked.
Great. Another crappy hinge. Couldn’t I catch a break when it came to doors?
Was I being dramatic? I did my best to take care of the things that mattered when it came to my truck, even though she looked like she’d seen better days.
I could blame her peeling paint and dented roof, but there was no point in fixing superficial issues.
What I cared about was the fact that she was reliable and nostalgic.
After all, she’d stuck with me since high school, so I wasn’t about to trade her in.
“Oh, come on. For real?” The dulcet tones of a stranger came from two cars over.
I threw the hinges in my toolbox and looked for the source of the noise. I wished I’d just ignored it.
Nat stood on the tire of her green Subaru, jumping to reach something in the corner of her hard-shelled cargo box to no avail.
The car was a surprising choice for someone like her.
I’d figured she was more of a luxury car kind of girl.
After all, the Breckenridges owned one of the most expensive car companies in the world.
I didn’t know if she was hiding it, but most of us knew her last name.
She was basically American royalty, and her family probably considered themselves the backbone of America.
They’d been involved in numerous industries, from cars to tech.
And that didn’t even take into account her family’s political legacy and the detrimental mark it’d left on the country.
They were rich, entitled, selfish people, and hiding behind a social media alias didn’t make her any better.
It might have sounded judgy, but after what happened last year, she’d proven the kind of person she was.