The Order of the Poison Oak by Brent Hartinger Page B

the other bus, but I couldn’t be sure someone wouldn’t overhear us and tell him what we’d been talking about. Bad breath or not, I leaned in toward Em. “What about what happened at the boathouse?” I whispered. I didn’t want her knowing I’d eavesdropped on them, so I added, “Gunnar told me what happened.”
    She shrugged. “It wasn’t anything.”
    “What about how he fell in?”
    “He just slipped. It could’ve happened to anyone.”
    “You really believe that?”
    She was looking at me like I was bonkers. “Uh, yeah.”
    Em liked Gunnar. How was this possible? For her to like him after he’d made such a fool of
    himself, she had to he in violation of at least several laws of physics.
    Em twiddled with her hair. “Does he like me?”
    “I don’t know,” I said. “It never really came up.”
    “Do you think maybe you could...
    “What?”
    “You know. Get us together again?”
    Em wanted me to set her up with Gunnar again? This was incredible! All his life, he’d wanted a girlfriend, and now one was falling right into his lap! And a great girlfriend, no less.
    “Wait,” I said, remembering. There was no way Gunnar would let me set him up with her again. He’d been absolutely clear about that. “No,” I said.
    “No what?”
    “Em, Gunnar’s barely even talking to me now. Because of the first time I tried to set you guys up.”
    “Well, when he does talk to you again, would you tell him I like him? I’d do it myself, but I think he’s avoiding me.”
    “He is avoiding you. He’s avoiding all girls. He thinks he’s cursed or something.”
    “Come on, Russel. I really like the guy!”
    “But—”
    “Will you at least talk to him? How could that possibly hurt?”
    I thought about this. She had a point. It couldn’t hurt to at least talk to him.
    * * * * *
    I didn’t have to wait long for a chance to have that chat. It happened at the logging camp. It was the second interesting thing that happened on that field trip.
    I was watching my kids as they climbed around on one of the abandoned locomotives on the museum grounds.
    Gunnar sidled up next to me. “Your kids have been great today,” he said.
    “Oh!” I said. “Thanks!” It was the first real sentence he’d spoken to me since the incident in the boathouse.
    “For the record, I’m done being mad at you.”
    “Really? That’s great. Thanks! Thanks for forgiving me.”
    We didn’t say anything for a second. Then he said, “So what’s going on?”
    “Oh. Nothing much.”
    “What?” Gunnar said. “You look like you want to say something.”
    I did want to say something (the thing about Em), but I hated the fact that my face was so easy to read. Did that mean Web could see my feelings so clearly?
    “Yeah?” I said casually. “No. It’s nothing.”
    “Russ.”
    “Oh, God. Okay. But don’t talk for a second, okay? Just listen.” I turned to face him. “I rode here on the bus with Em. She told me she still likes you. She even asked me to set you guys up again.”
    I stared at him. He didn’t say anything.
    “Okay,” I said. “You can talk now.”
    “You’re kidding,” he said. “Right?”
    “No! She just told me.”
    “Not about that. About the fact that you’re still trying to set me up with a girl! And not even thirty seconds after I decide to start talking to you again! Have you even been listening to the things I’ve been telling you?”
    “No, I’ve been listening. But this is different, because—”
    “Russ? I know you mean well. But stop it. It’s over. I don’t want a girlfriend. Not Em, not anyone. Okay?”
    What could I do? I looked at him and nodded.
    “Do you promise?”
    “What?”
    “I want you to promise me you won’t try to hook me up with Em or any other girl.”
    I sighed and nodded. “Okay.”
    “Say it,” he said. “Say it out loud.”
    “Gunnar!” Now he was rubbing it in.
    But just as I’d done with Ian in that patch of poison oak, Gunnar kept glaring at me