It turns out the tuck shop is a small stand near the parking lot. A large metal grate hangs locked over its storefront.
“Right,” Syd mutters. “It’s closed the first day.” She turns to me. “If you want to get stuff tomorrow, you should try to get out of lunch early so you can get first dibs.”
“But you need money for it?” I’m not sure if Mom and Dad left me any cash. I doubt it.
“Well, maybe . . .” Syd trails off. She looks around. “One sec. I’m gonna check if they keep the spare key in the same place as they used to.” She spins on her heel and disappears around the corner of the small shop.
Just as Syd is out of sight, a large minivan pulls up in the now near-empty parking lot. Kiddy music is blasting so loud, I can hear it through the rolled-up windows. It sounds like there’s a few people singing along, too. At first, I figure this must be a group of campers arriving late. But only a single teenager climbs out of the side door before sliding it shut again. Face hidden under a wave of black hair, the teen heads around the van to pull a backpack and black guitar case out of the trunk. The front window rolls down and I hear a young voice complaining. “Why does Amelio get to go to music camp? I wanna go to music camp!”
“Now, now,” a woman’s voice answers from the front seat. “Let your brother have his space. As soon as we drop off your sister at soccer camp, we’ll take you to your Scouts retreat.”
“Bye,” mumbles the teenager, already walking away from the van.
“Amelio!” the mom calls out. “Come on, now, give us a kiss!” The person, apparently named Amelio, visibly sighs, then goes back to the car and quickly leans in. “Have a good time, sweetie!” Amelio’s mom sings out as the window rolls back up. The music comes back on full blast, and the van speeds away.
The teen is left looking lonely in the parking lot. I know how that feels.
“Hey.” I wave and step forward a little. “You new?”
The stranger just shrugs, so I step a little closer.
“You’re Amelio, eh?” I offer my hand. “I’m Jasbina. My friends just call me Jassie. I mean, they would if I —”
“Ams.”
“What?” I ask.
“Ams. It’s just Ams.”
“Oh,” I answer. I’m not sure what to make of that. “Well, hi, Ams.”
Finally, a glimmer of a smile shows up on Ams’s face. Suddenly, my whole body feels lighter. My mind races for something else to say, anything at all to keep this conversation going. But it’s like all my words got left on the ground as the rest of me started lifting up into the sky. Ams just watches me, holding my gaze carefully. It’s like we both know that if one of us were to blink, I’d completely float away.
Before we can say anything more, I hear Syd calling out from behind me. “Jassie! I couldn’t find it. They must have figured out I knew!”
Syd runs up to where Ams and I are standing. She looks at Ams’s bag and guitar case, and asks, “Hey, you just get here? Why’d your parents drop you off so late?” Ams’s face goes quiet again. Syd presses on. “Well, do you want help or something? I could probably show you to your cabin. But, uh . . .” Syd trails off for a moment. “Are you on the boys’ side? Or . . . ?”
I flinch a little at Syd’s question, though I get why she asked. Ams is taller than most girls I know, but doesn’t look quite like any boy I’ve met either. Especially with that long, shiny hair. I glance down and notice black nail polish, too. All that, plus tight black skinny jeans and baggy T-shirt. It’s easy to wonder if Ams is a girly kinda guy, or a guyish kinda girl.
Instead of answering, Ams just picks up the guitar case and walks toward the staff office.
Syd rolls her eyes. “Stuck-up hipster music kids. Come on, Jassie. Want to compare schedules? See if we’ve got any overlapping classes? What stream are you in, anyway?”
I hover for a moment, still watching Ams walk away. The mysterious camper’s hair shimmers as it catches the sunlight. I feel my face growing warm again. “Wait, our schedules?” My attention snaps back to Syd. “Is that something I’m supposed to have?”
“Don’t tell me you’re one of those kids who signs up on site!” Syd slaps her forehead. From the sound of it, I don’t want to be one of those kids. But a creeping feeling in my gut says that I might be.
I remember Dad showing me an application sheet. He asked if I wanted to do the acting stream, music or something just called ‘movement.’ I was too busy thinking about how I was being forced to spend a whole month away. I wasn’t really interested in figuring out what I was gonna actually do while I was away. So, Dad said I’d just have to figure that stuff out when I got there.
Syd throws an arm around my shoulder. Her touch is warm against my skin. “Don’t worry.” She grins at me and my heart starts to beat so loudly, I’m worried she might hear. “We’ll sort it all out. You’ll probably have to take whatever classes that have spots open. You’ll be doing a bit of everything, like me!”
When she laughs, her breath is hot against my shoulder — I can’t help but shiver. If I had problems focusing before, I don’t know how I’m going to cope with Syd around.
“I’ll make sure to take good care of you,” she tells me. “After all, I’ve done just about everything this camp has to offer.”