Hours and hours later,
we were all wearing pajamas
and sitting in a circle on the cabin floor.
We all held our flashlights
shining up at the ceiling.
on the floor in front of her.
“Okay, Gypsy Moths,” she said.
“As soon as I’ve lit this candle,
we’ll all turn off our flashlights.”
She lit the candle with a match,
and we all turned off our flashlights.
Now the flickering of one flame
was our only light.
It felt spooky.
But peaceful, too.
And I was so tired.
“We’ll have candle lighting every night,”
Hope said.
“And we’ll always start with a question.
Answer only if you want to.”
She waited a moment.
Crickets chirped outside.
“Tonight’s question is:
What was the highlight of your day?
Mine was meeting all of you.”
We had a moment of quiet again.
Then Joplin said,
“Mine was the lemon-lime fruit bar.”
And Dylan said,
“Mine was seeing Kylie.”
And Montana said,
“Hello?
What about me?”
“You, too,” Dylan said.
“And Amelia and Gwen.”
Each of those girls then
talked about seeing the others.
I sat there, very quiet.
Thinking about my whole day.
I couldn’t think of a single highlight.
After everyone else had finished,
Hope paused for a long moment.
Probably wishing I’d say something.
But I didn’t.
So she stopped waiting
and taught us a song.
A much slower song
than the one about the desperado.
When we’d all sung together,
Hope blew out her candle.
As we switched on our flashlights, she said,
“One more reminder before bed.
You must never bring food into the cabin.
It attracts animals.”
“Like rats!” Amelia said.
“Rats?” I said.
“That’s right!” Kylie said.
“We had one in our cabin last year.
I had to shake my foot then.
I could practically feel a rat on it.
“My mom sent cake,” Dylan said.
“It was delicious.”
“That rat thought so, too!” Kylie said.
“Okay,” Hope said.
“If she sends cake this year,
we’ll store it safely in the dining hall.
Now, everyone into bed.”
So I climbed into bed.
It was strange, being so high.
And the mattress was lumpy,
and my sleeping bag was thinner and more slippery
than the quilt I used at home.
And my parents weren’t there
to tuck me in
and kiss me good-night.
But I barely thought about any of that.
Because before most of the girls had turned off
their flashlights,
I had fallen asleep.
