The dinner was Moroccan lamb tagine with rice followed by a “dessert” of imported apples and oranges with stickers still attached to their glossy skin. Tommy was quick to finish up. He stood up to leave but lingered by our table, and it occurred to me that maybe he was trying to come up with a reason to stay. Was our ragtag group the closest thing he had to friends around here? I’d assured Minh during our flight that it was unlikely Tommy was single, but the reality was I knew as little about him as he probably knew about me. And my crush on him was based on what, then? It was something chemical, I guess, as most irrational attractions are.
Finally Tommy started to walk away, his shoulders sagging a little. Aside from me, no one seemed to notice except Minh.
She turned to me. “He’s cute to look at.”
A couple of other volunteers overheard her and giggled, but I was embarrassed. I tried staring her down, but Minh was bold and unstoppable this evening.
“Who knows, maybe in the sunburned desert Tommy Ortiz will find love at last in the arms of his mentor’s wayward daughter…”
“What’s gotten into you?” I asked, wondering if Minh was drunk. But she wasn’t saying all this for my benefit, as I quickly figured out by studying her. She was trying to catch Rowen’s attention. He was oblivious, too invested in his own fast-blooming relationship with Lori.
When we finished eating, we stayed seated until it was just us five left. That’s when Rowen caught my gaze and gave me a meaningful look.
“So I heard that an elusive ninja got into the desert survivor’s tent and interrogated him about the location of a hidden treasure,” he said.
“Oh god … How did you know?” I took a sweeping look around the table. My friends’ faces confirmed it. They all knew. And if Rowen, who was in the kitchen the whole day going at it with Lori, was somehow aware of my detour into the med tent, then probably everyone else knew too. Everyone, including Dad.
“I was trying to be discreet!”
“Oh, so it is true!” Lori edged closer. Rowen placed his hand over hers, and she added in a whisper, “All we heard was that a dark-haired girl wearing a London Grammar tee was snooping around the med tent. And since it’s likely you’re the only person around here who owns a Grammar tee…” Lori’s grin was triumphant.
Feeling ridiculous at being exposed so easily, I folded my arms around myself to hide the shirt’s design. My friends’ faces reminded me they were still waiting for an explanation, so I said, “The man said something to me before they carried him into the camp. I just wanted to ask him what he meant.”
Luke, quiet till now, scowled. “So where’s the treasure buried?”
Resigned, I relayed everything I’d heard from Noam Delamer, including his mentions of Dup Shimati. In case it wasn’t common knowledge yet, I also repeated what I’d heard from Dr. Palombo and from Tommy about volunteers refusing to work the dig because of the bad luck rumors and whatnot.
Luke shook his head. “Superstitions are for the weak-minded.”
Minh gave him a lingering look. “Maybe. But there’s usually a grain of truth behind every superstition.”
“Or a grain of stupidity,” Luke retorted.
Lori yawned. I knew her well enough to know she’d forced that yawn because the conversation no longer interested her.
“How about we head to our tents?” I proposed. “It’s been a long day, and we’ll have to compensate tomorrow for all the work we didn’t do today.”
“I have a better idea!” Rowen pulled up his backpack from the floor and rummaged inside. He gave us a little preview. It was the neck of a bottle. Hard liquor.
“Where did you get that, man?” Luke sounded impressed.
“Let’s just say there are certain benefits that come with working in the kitchen, especially when you compare it to sorting through dusty bones all day.”
“And by benefits you mean you can steal whatever’s not nailed down or glued to the wall?” I kept the judgment out of my tone. Mostly. Rowen’s family was wealthy, and yet he had the stickiest fingers of us all. It wasn’t kleptomania exactly, but he didn’t think twice before grabbing something unattended.
“You don’t have to drink if you don’t want to, Alif.” Lori’s voice was a tad condescending.
“Drinking is not what I have a problem with. It’s stealing,” I insisted. “I brought you all here. Can you at least try not to embarrass me in front of my dad and everyone?”
“Whatever.” Rowen rolled his eyes before turning to Lori. “We’ll come by your place once everyone’s settled down for the night.” He studied me, as if measuring the likelihood of my telling on him.
I said, “I think Dad’s too busy to come say good night to me, if that’s what you’re worried about.”
Rowen gave me one of his signature smiles, looking triumphant.
We retreated into our respective tents, but shortly I was out again, following Lori and Minh to the communal bathrooms. The queue wasn’t too bad this time, and as I waited for my turn I listened around, hoping to catch the latest gossip about today’s events. But it was just usual dig-camp stuff. It was a bit odd though that no one was talking about the French tourist who was now recovering in a Dubai hospital.
Even after washing my face twice, I still kept finding random grains of sand behind my ears and around my nose. The showers were occupied, and I was restless. Before coming to the bathroom, I’d attempted to brush the sand out of my hair, but, as a result, my locks started resembling rats’ tails. This was the first time I’d had long hair on a dig. I realized now why most girls out here wore their hair in low and tight buns twisted at the nape of their neck, their heads covered with baseball caps. With a sigh, I stuck my head under the faucet and worked soap through my roots before rinsing it all out. I wasn’t sure if I was going to get the camp’s water-pump system clogged with sand, but it was too late now. At least I was clean.
With my wet hair slapping around my cheeks and water running in rivulets down my back, I rushed to return to my tent. The desert air was different now. It smelled of ozone. I shivered in the wind that had intensified while I was busy cleaning myself. I was relieved to return to the tent, where I changed into my sleeping gear of stretched-out yoga pants and a singlet and attempted to towel-dry my hair.
Lori and Minh were already back there, sitting on a blanket spread on the floor and taking turns painting each other’s toenails. Both girls were already wearing their pajamas. Lori, ever the beauty queen, had her hair up and secured with a sparkly band matching her glittery black Victoria’s Secret shorts and fuchsia tank top. Her skin gleamed, smelling of citrus-scented lotion. Minh, the only child of a laid-back hipster dad and a New Age mom, was clad in her cotton workout pants and a tee I saw her wear outside sometimes. Apparently it doubled as a pajama piece.
I came to join them on the floor. “Aren’t you two superhot in those?” Lori asked, casting a judgmental look at our pants-covered legs. She reached out to pat Minh’s knee.
“I’m fine and perfect. Thanks for your concern and for feeling me up.” Minh pulled her legs into a relaxed lotus pose. She finished with Lori’s toenails and started putting away her manicure kit.
“So, Alif,” Lori said, her eyes focusing on me, “did you have some kind of breakthrough with Tommy? I couldn’t help but notice he was eyeing you during meals today.”
“If having a conversation with him that lasted longer than ten seconds can count as a breakthrough, then yes?” I offered, my shoulder blades tensing. “But what’s more interesting is what’s going on with you and Rowen.”
Next to me, Minh shivered.
Lori blushed. Blushed. “Can I tell you two a secret?”
Minh and I waited. Not looking at either of us, Lori whispered, “I like him. I like him a lot.”
“And does he like you a lot too?” Minh raised an eyebrow and pursed her lips. I doubted Lori noticed the note of desperation in Minh’s question. I should’ve never asked Lori about Rowen, but it was too late now. When Lori spoke again, she sounded cautious but also bursting with suppressed feeling. This was different, I thought, not at all how she’d behaved when she’d reported to us every little detail about guys she’d dated before. “I think so. I hope so. This is still recent. And unexpected … I think he might be the one. I know, I know how ridiculous this sounds, but this is how I’m feeling right now.”
“When’s the wedding?” Minh deadpanned.
“Shut up, okay?” Lori’s cheeks were turning a vicious red.
Luke’s and Rowen’s voices preceded their entrance into our tent. Rowen already reeked of alcohol, while Luke brought with him a subtle aftershave-and-soap scent that reminded me of our kiss. A knowing smile playing on his lips, Rowen approached Lori and helped her off the floor. The two of them went to sprawl on Lori’s bed, their backs against the tent’s wall. That left me with Minh and Luke. The three of us managed to fit on my bed, me ending up wedged in between the two of them. It felt cozy and safe. Luke’s knees were brushing against mine, setting me off to search for a spark of electricity in our touch, but all I felt was Luke’s minty breath and the infernal heat seeping in from outside. Whatever chemicals my body had generated yesterday when I was making out with Luke must’ve been just an accident.
Talking and laughing, we passed around the bottle of cheap whiskey Rowen had squirreled away from the kitchen. As it turned out, the booze came from a secret cache of some unwitting volunteer who’d gotten distracted while on breakfast cleanup duty. The alcohol’s burn assaulted my throat, making my heart run faster and my words come out slurred. I found myself watching Luke’s mouth with fascination. My fixation must’ve been obvious to Luke because his lips quirked into an obnoxious grin. I was giggling like the tipsy fool I was. Alcohol loosening our tongues, we talked about our worries, dreams, and fears. Everything was kind of perfect until, much to my dread, Lori brought up my stupid crush on Tommy again. That wiped the goofy smile from Luke’s face and brought tension back into our tent.