Page 34 of Give Me a Sign
“Never mind,” Simone says. “When you take this off, it’ll all unravel.”
“Great.” I take a deep breath.
“Do you have a spare suit? We can————store tomorrow.”
“Yeah, we’re gonna need to. This is my only one.”
“No problem,” Simone says, noticing that I’m still looking in Isaac’s direction while wrapping myself tight in his towel. “Okay, lovebird. I guess I’m going to owe Bobby money, aren’t I?”
“Did you two seriously bet on this?” I laugh. “Maybe focus on your own relationship.”
“Aaah, don’t tell me that,” Simone says, flustered, but her eyes immediately dart to Bobby.
“Come on, it’s clear that he, like, loves you.”
“I know,” she whispers. “That’s the scary part. But then what?————long distance and shit? I don’t know. I’m only nineteen. What if I just met him too early?”
“Whoa, okay, maybe you’re getting ahead of yourself here.” This is the first moment where it’s super clear that she’s equally into him. I do not feel qualified to give any relationship advice.
“Exactly.————lose him as a friend, you know?”
“But you could just see where it goes,” I say.
Simone throws her towel at me. “How about yougoget dressed?”
“Fine...”
When I return from the changing room with my hearing aids back in, Gary is pulling up to the pool in his golf cart. He walks inside the gated perimeter, leaving two unfamiliar passengers behind.
“How is everything?” he asks.
“We had a little bit of a situation,” I say, pointing to Cole, who is still in the time-out chair, then raising my torn swimsuit. “He got... very clingy.”
“Ah, sometimes kids get attached. It’s easy to get overly excited at camp. They may mean well, but they don’t understand how to respect boundaries or space. Especially here, you know.” Gary reaches out and pokes my arm. I shrug and nod. “Don’t get me wrong, I’m not excusing this. In fact, I’m sorry you had to deal with that behavior.”
“Yeah, this job can sometimes be harder than I thought,” I say. I didn’t mean to admit that out loud, but the words pour out of my mouth.
“With any work, there are always good and bad days.” Gary nods reassuringly. “But if anything ever makes you uncomfortable, please come to Ethan or me. That’s what we’re here for. Got it?”
“Yeah.” I appreciate Gary’s response. It’s nice to know that counselors aren’t expected to tolerate this.
But now there’s something else that doesn’t sit well with me. Standing outside the tall chain-link fence surrounding the pool, staring into the swimming area, are two old dudes wearing golf attire. One points toward a few campers who noticed him and gives them a cheerful wave.
“Uh, who are they?” I point to the men, not even bothering to be discreet.
“I’m in the middle of a tour for potential donors,” Gary explains. “Showing them the property, but I wanted to stop here and check in for a minute. So”—he claps his hands once and steps away, but then calls back—“Lilah, you’re taking on responsibility as a junior counselor this summer, but camp is still supposed to be fun. Don’t forget that.”
“Right, thanks.”
He smiles. “It’s through the ups and downs that you bond with your fellow counselors.”
My eyes dart toward Isaac. That hug—it really happened, right?
It’s just been such a long day. I sit back down beside Simone. “You see them, too?”
“Yeah,” she says. “Maybe show them the pool when we’re not here. Kinda weird having old dudes stare at us in our bathing suits.”
“I mean, it doesn’t even have to be gross. I just don’t like having people around watching us.”
