Somehow I make it through my first two weeks at the lodge without getting fired. It could be because Gabe is never around when I mess up, which is amazing, since I mess up a lot. The harder I try to do things right, the more goes wrong. Thank goodness for April. If it wasn’t for our nighttime chats, I’d probably crawl under a rock and never come out. But she understands what I’m going through.
We are getting ready for bed after a long day when I admit how much I hate being the butt of everyone’s jokes. I feel sick about my mistakes, but everybody else in camp acts like they’re a big joke. You’d think I’d been hired as comic relief instead of a cabin girl.
“It’s like that for everyone at the beginning,” she says. “Don’t worry about it.”
I sigh. “You don’t understand. This was supposed to be my chance to show everyone that I’m not a little kid anymore.”
“Show who?”
I shrug. “My parents mostly. I’m sixteen years old, but they treat me like I’m ten. I have to get their approval for every little thing I do. For instance, all my friends are getting their drivers’ licenses, but not me. Even though the law says I’m old enough, my parents think I’m too young. If I do okay here, I’m hoping they’ll let me make my own decisions.” I roll my eyes. “The only reason they let me take this job is because Gabe owns the camp, and even then I had to beg to be allowed to do it. They’re counting on Gabe to keep an eye on me. Like he has the time. He’s so busy he barely knows I’m here.”
April laughs. “That’s good, right?”
I smile sheepishly. “I guess.” Then I add quietly, “I wish I was like you.”
“What d’ya mean?”
“You know—independent, the boss of myself. I want to run my own life—like you do. No one tells you what to do. You can do anything you want.”
“I don’t know about that, but I do like trying new things. Like, when the season is over here at the lodge, I’m going to—”
Suddenly April stops talking.
“What?” I say. “What are you going to do?”
She shakes her head. “Nothing. I shouldn’t have said anything. It’s not for sure yet.”
“Come on, April. Tell me. I won’t say anything.” When she doesn’t answer, I add, “Hey, I shared my secret with you.”
For another minute or so, April looks at me like she’s trying to decide. Finally, she says, “Okay, but you can’t tell anybody. Promise?”
I nod and cross my heart. “Absolutely.”
“Okay,” she says again and leans in closer. “I’m going to open a flower shop. Come the fall, I should have enough money saved.”
“April, that’s great! You see? I was right. You can do anything.”
It’s been three whole days without a screwup, so I think I’m over whatever my problem was. Now that I know what I’m doing, I’m more relaxed. I’m not tired all the time either, and I don’t ache everywhere. Lately I’ve even been waking up before the alarm, though that might only be self-defense.
Best of all, I’m starting to fit in with camp life. Everyone is really friendly. Well, everyone except Winnie. But I think Ed’s right about her. She’s just naturally grumpy.
Today was a great day. I got a tip from some guests, so after supper I decide to buy myself a treat at the camp store. The Witch’s Lair, as it’s called, is open in the morning before the guests go fishing and then again for a couple of hours in the evening. There’s not a lot in it—mostly fishing gear, chocolate bars, sunglasses, mosquito repellent, that sort of thing. Drake usually runs the store, but this evening Ed is behind the counter.
“Well, look who the wind blew in,” he says with a wink. “What can I get for you, Bailey?”
“Ice cream. I’ve been dreaming about it all day.”
He gestures to the freezer. “Help yourself.”
I lift the lid and start digging around inside. When somebody jabs me in the ribs, I look up. It’s April. She’s come for cigarettes. Like most everyone in camp, she smokes.
“Ice cream’s better,” I holler as she leaves.
She turns and gives me the finger, but she’s smiling, so I grin back.
“You two getting along all right?” Ed asks when she’s gone.
I nod. “For sure. April’s great—kinda like my Witch Lake Lodge big sister. Well, maybe not big—she’s pretty little, but you know what I mean.”
“I never had a sister.”
“Me neither. But if I did, I’d want her to be like April.”
“Why’s that?”
I shrug. “She’s smart. She’s good at her job, and she’s tough. Did you know she’s been on her own since she was fourteen?”
“Nope. Can’t say that I did.”
“Well, she has. And as you can see, she’s doing fine.” I want to tell Ed how April’s going to open a flower shop, but I promised April I’d keep that information to myself, so I don’t say anything.
Ed pulls back and squints at me. “Are you the president of her fan club or what?”
I frown. “Now you’re making fun of me.”
He shakes his head. “Sorry. I don’t mean to. You’re actually a breath of fresh air around here. So I’d hate—”
April pokes her head back in the open doorway. “Come on, Bailey.” She gestures for me to hurry. “The guys have set up the volleyball net. We’re going to have a game.” Then her head disappears again.
“Well, what are you waiting for?” Ed says. “Get out there.”
After the game, one of the guides walks April and me back to our cabin. His name is Sloan, and he’s totally hot. His abs ripple right through his T-shirt. But he’s a lot older than I am. If Gabe even suspected I liked him, I’d be on the next plane home. Besides, Sloan has a thing for April. I can tell. I think she likes him too.
I glance up at the moon. It’s lopsided, like somebody shaved away part of one side. In a few more days, it will be full. The thought makes my heart skip a few beats.
“Do you guys know anything about the Witch Lake legend?” I ask.
“Sure,” Sloan says. “Everybody knows the legend. Why?”
I heave a sigh. “No reason. It’s just such a sad story, and it’s kind of spooky. Ed says the witch comes back to look for her necklace when the moon is full.” I point to the sky. “That’s pretty soon.”
April laughs. “Don’t tell me you buy all that mumbo jumbo. It’s just a story. We tell it to the guests to make the lake seem mysterious.” She laughs again.
“But it has to be true,” I argue.
“Why?”
“Because Ed said some of the guests have seen her.”
“No doubt.” Sloan chuckles. “After a few drinks, people see all kinds of things.”
He and April laugh again and go back to flirting. When we get to the cabin, I leave them on the steps and get ready for bed. I’m under the covers and flipping through a magazine when April comes in. I expect her to start gushing about Sloan, but all she does is grab a hand mirror and tweezers off her bureau, plunk herself on her bed and start working on her eyebrows. When she’s done, she puts the mirror and tweezers down and heads into the bathroom.
There’s clearly not going to be any girl talk tonight, so I toss the magazine onto the night table, switch out the light and burrow beneath my covers. Right away I start to drift off. There’s nothing like fresh air and exercise to conk a person out. I don’t even hear April come back into the room.
Crash!
I bolt upright. “What was that?”
“Sorry,” April says. She’s on her knees, picking up glass shards. “I broke the mirror. I forgot I left it on the bed, and when I pulled back the covers, it fell on the floor.” She pads across the room to get the broom and dustpan.
“That’s seven years bad luck,” I murmur.
She stops sweeping and blinks at me in disbelief. Finally she shakes her head. “You have to be the most superstitious person I have ever met. On Friday the thirteenth, you stay in bed all day, don’t you? The only bad thing about breaking that mirror, Bailey, is that now I have no mirror.”
I know April thinks I’m being silly, but I don’t back down. “You can call me superstitious if you want,” I say. “I call it being careful. Things happen all the time that people can’t explain. I’m not saying there are such things as spirits, but you can’t prove there aren’t.”
April closes her eyes and shakes her head. “God, Bailey, get a grip.”
“Just do one thing,” I say. “Turn around three times, counterclockwise.”
“Why? To make the spirits dizzy? Don’t be dumb.”
“It’ll take you two seconds. It might not undo your seven years of bad luck, but it can’t hurt.”
“You’re serious, aren’t you?”
I don’t say anything.
She closes her eyes again, but she does spin around. “There. Are you happy now?”
I bob my head. “Yup.”