Keeping Her Secret by Sarah Nicolas Page B

lashes. “I’m lots of things.”
    Riya wondered what in the world they had talked about if he didn’t know about the most important thing in Courtney’s life. Maybe they don’t talk at all , an evil voice inside her head suggested.
    “What did we win?” Dee asked, sitting up and brushing sand from her shoulders.
    Courtney’s friends laughed.
    “Nothing,” David said. “Bragging rights.”
    “What kind of race is that?” Stefanie complained.
    “Jocks,” Bridget said with a roll of her eyes.
    “Right?” Courtney said.
    With their muscles, David and Derek were obviously athletes, and Colt was no stranger to recreational sports. She wondered why guys got to be athletic but not singled out, while the girls earned an extra label for it. Maybe because popular guys were expected to play sports—but what were popular girls expected to do? Stand on the sidelines and look cute? None of it seemed very fair for anyone. She wondered if her new school would be different. They were basically giving her money for being good at a sport, so she had high hopes for a different social order.
    Colt jumped to his feet and held a hand out for Dee. “You, my victorious teammate, have won a chocolate chip cookie, my treat.”
    After a second’s hesitation, Dee took Colt’s offered hand and let him pull her up. She raised a skeptical eyebrow. “The cookies are free.”
    Colt laughed. “First round’s on me, then!”
    They walked the rest of the way to the bonfire field, from where the Capture the Flag game would be launched. Trays of cookies, brownies, and little bottles of water covered two six-foot tables. Her friends raided the table as if they hadn’t eaten all day. She picked at a brownie, trying to ignore how Courtney hadn’t even glanced at her since she’d left the singing class. She didn’t want to notice; she didn’t want to care. But if she’d ever been able to tell her brain what to ignore and her heart what not to care for, Courtney wouldn’t hate her in the first place.
    Dee and Colt stood slightly apart from the group, lost in conversation. Dee tossed her head back, her dark waves bouncing as she shook with laughter. Colt nudged her with his elbow, grimacing exaggeratedly.
    “I swear!” Riya heard him say.
    Riya caught Dee’s eye and gave her a smile that said, See?
    She tried to listen to Tiffany, Stefanie, and Elise discuss theoretical Capture the Flag strategies, but Courtney kept touching Derek’s biceps and stomach. It was all she could do not to gag. A buzzing sounded in her ears.
    The counselors separated them into groups by cabin numbers, cabins with A’s on one side and B’s on the other. In her group were her friends, Courtney, David, Derek, and a whole bunch of people she didn’t know.
    “We’re on the same team,” Courtney squealed to Derek, leaning her shoulder into his chest.
    Riya resisted rolling her eyes, but just barely.
    Standing next to her, Dee stared at Colt on the other side of the field. Trey waved when he saw them watching.
    “I don’t feel so great,” Riya whispered to Dee. “I’m going to head back now.”
    “Okay, I’ll go with you.”
    “No, I’ll tell Becky I’m sick. You should stay, see if you can catch up with Colt.”
    Her friend’s eyes darted across the field to him. “You sure?”
    “Yeah.” Riya smirked. “Capture the Colt.”
    Dee’s tan face flushed pink. “You’re a dork,” she said, but she was laughing.
    …
    When Courtney’s alarm shook her awake the next morning, she stretched and smiled. Lastnight had been perfect. She and Derek used the excuse of looking for the flag to take a nice moonlit stroll through the forest surrounding the camp. At one point, they’d heard weepy music drifting to them through the trees and ran away, laughing. She decided Derek was the strong, silent type. That was to say, he didn’t talk much. So Courtney carried the conversation, which was fine by her.
    When she’d returned, Riya dozed soundly on the top