Chapter 38
I was pouring myself a cup of dirty-water coffee when Abby asked, “Lori, where do you go every night?”
“What do you mean?”
“Come on Lori, I’m not an idiot. I hear the whistles before you leave the cabin after we get back from Mindy’s. Where do you go?”
Maggie and Roger were closely examining the cream in their mugs. Tread carefully, I thought. “I’m sorry. I didn’t realize I was keeping you awake.”
“I’m a very light sleeper.”
The three of them were staring intently at me. All I could think was, the jig is up.
“I go out for a smoke.”
“I didn’t know you smoked,” Maggie said.
“I did when I was in high school. I’ve taken up two nasty habits since I’ve been here, gin and nicotine.” I held up my thermos. “Caffeine’s year-round.”
“Who’s the whistler?” Abby asked.
I was doing my best to sound casual. “Ted.”
“Aha!” Roger spun his finger in the air. “Everyone over on boys’ side is trying to figure out who Ted’s been seeing, and it seems like he’s been seeing you.”
“Wait. No. It’s nothing like that. We smoke, unwind, and commiserate about our days.”
It had been na?ve of us to think we could keep our secret. I knew Abby well enough to suspect that her questioning me like that was her way of letting me know people were gossiping.
“All I’m saying is, Bob and the DLs have been teasing Ted. Seems like he went from being a sad sack to being one happy camper,” Roger said.
“We’ve been smoking together since orientation. I don’t know what’s happened recently to have made him less grumpy.”
I could add another vice to my list. I’d become quite a good liar.