Camp Payback by J. K. Rock

door—the kind whose name you doodled on every notebook.
    “It was amazing,” I added. And it had been. The combination of spices with the dark corn wraps and grilled veggies had been inhaled by the campers. Leftovers were non-existent. “You’re a really talented cook.”
    If anything, Javier got redder. “Thanks,” he muttered, his eyes focusing on some spot behind my left shoulder. “But I’d better stay here.”
    Helena waved her sponge. “Javier, may I talk to you?”
    I lingered in the now-empty dining space, not wanting to leave him behind. He’d worked so hard and deserved the fireworks show—both the one Gollum planned and the one I’d been thinking about for days.
    Helena gestured my way and spoke animatedly. I wished I could hear what they said, but they were too far away. Darn. It looked like they were having some kind of disagreement…about me. Helena kept nodding until Javier stopped shaking his head, a slow smile finally softening the hard planes of his face.
    My heart skipped a beat when he headed my way, his long legs eating up the space between us, his expression both intense and anxious.
    His deep brown eyes searched mine. “I’ll walk you down to the beach so you won’t be alone, but then I’m heading right back. Okay?”
    “Oh,” I said to cover my disappointment. Didn’t he want to be with me? Had Helena ordered him to act as my escort? “Right.” If this was all the time I had with Javier, then I’d have to make the best of it. Besides, once we were alone, I’d do my best to convince him to stay.
    But first, I had the whole walk to find out more about him.
    “So…Kovalev.” I started at the top of my list of questions. I only had about a million where he was concerned. “Is that Eastern European?”
    “Russian.”
    “Do you have any brothers and sisters?” I asked once we plunged outside. The warm black night wrapped around us like velvet. In the humid air, the electric hum of cicadas trilled, and bushes rustled ahead when Javier’s flashlight shone their way. The nighttime scurrying gave me chills.
    But walking next to Javier? That gave me goosebumps.
    “No siblings,” he answered finally. “My mom never married after my dad was deported.”
    I slid my dress strap up my shoulder and caught his quick glance before he turned his eyes away. My heartbeat quickened. I remembered what Gollum had said about Javier being in foster care. “Oh. Sorry to hear that.”
    “It’s fine,” he said gruffly. “I never knew him anyway. Besides, my mom’s great.”
    Did he mean his foster mom? I didn’t want to be nosy. But then again, I was interested.
    “Do you think she’ll visit on Parents’ Weekend? I’d love to meet her.”
    Voices from the beach drifted our way.
    “No.” His curt tone cut me. Why did he object to that? Were my questions annoying him? Was I? We’d gotten off to a bad start, but I thought we had a bond now after the garden. He’d given me a flower. A purple one, damn it.
    My blood warmed. I was over people telling me I wasn’t good enough. Even my Secret Camp (not-an-)Angel felt that way if the “gift” was any indication.
    “What’s wrong with that?” I demanded. “Why wouldn’t you want your mom to meet me?” We stepped onto the beach near the kids sitting with their cabins or in couples, the counselors clustered near the tree line.
    “Because she’s a convict,” called Vijay from the shadows to my right. “Didn’t your new boy toy tell you? They locked her up and threw away the key.”
    My mouth dropped open, and I looked from a grinning Vijay to a tense, furious Javier. His face was so fierce I felt a pulse of fear…for Vijay. Would Javier look that angry if the accusation wasn’t true?
    And suddenly everything clicked. Gollum’s comments about Javier, his work in the kitchen, and his relationship with Helena. She must be taking care of him while his mom was in prison.
    Sympathy welled for this close-mouthed boy, who must feel as