Vivian’s parents weren’t coming for Parents’ Day, since they were on the other side of the world, probably taking a cable car to the top of the Great Wall or doing something else totally awesome and unforgettable. She missed them, of course, but it wasn’t like she had expected them to show up.
It wasn’t like she was disappointed or anything.
But all the distractions for everyone else made it the perfect day for her to get into the storeroom in the arts and crafts cabin and take those paints for Sasha. Once she had them in hand, she’d get Sasha’s fifty dollars and be waving it in Archie’s face by the end of the day.
Honestly, taking Archie down a few pegs was just as important as winning the bet. That’s why she’d made those well-placed comments to Boring Janet. She knew her counselor had a huge crush on Mick, the college student who oversaw the Walleyes. Vivian figured Janet would jump at any chance to talk to him privately, especially with concerns about one of his charges. How homesick he was. How devastated he felt that his parents wouldn’t be visiting. “I don’t know who else to talk to about this,” Vivian had confided to Janet. “But I think he really, really needs them to come. It’s . . . important.”
Like the other campers without parents visiting, she was free for most of the morning, so she came down to the parking lot to check out the families as they arrived. Once everyone was busy she’d just find a quiet moment and put her plan into action. She needed to make sure that Amanda was out of the arts and crafts cabin, and that no campers would barge in at an unfortunate moment. But she also knew Amanda tended to lock up when she wasn’t there, so that presented a definite complication. Maybe she needed to find Amanda’s keys . . . or come up with a ruse that would get her rushing out without double-checking the doors to the storage room.
As she stared out into the groups of arriving parents, lost in thought, something caught her eye.
It was Archie. But he didn’t look like his usual confident self. Or even the shy, awkward persona he put on when he was trying to convince their fellow campers he should be trusted. No, he looked more like he wanted to sink into the earth and disappear. Vivian was well acquainted with that feeling, but it was a look she’d never seen on Archie’s face before.
A quick appraisal of the situation told Vivian why. There was a woman with him—she had to be at least thirty-five but she was dressed in shorts and a tank top like one of the campers. The car she’d arrived in was a dusty blue and had rust spots around the wheels, and a window patched with plastic and duct tape. Two toddlers played in the dust at her feet as she talked with Archie.
Well now, Vivian thought to herself. The only reason she’d told the counselors Archie was homesick and needed a visit from his family was to get him out of her hair for most of the day. But if these were the people who had shown up, her plan was turning out even better than she could have hoped.