The New Camp Counselor [n.h au] [EDITING]

Chapter Twenty

--Morgan

I have no idea what has gotten into Niall.  He has been ignoring me for the last few days since after the play.  Every time I go up to him he will just pretend as if he didn’t hear me or walk away. 

I even heard that the other day that he broke up with Kathleen, meaning he has been spending a lot more time either alone or with his cabin.  As much as I am happy that the two of them broke up, I still feel really bad.  They have to go the rest of the summer seeing each other knowing what they had is now over.

I see Kathleen cleaning up her table after dinner, so I decide go up and talk to her to see what’s up with Niall. 

“Hey girl.  Do you need help?”  She stops and looks at me with wide eyes.  She obviously wasn’t expecting me.

“Um…hey…?  Yeah I guess you can if you really want to.”  I smile and begin to pick up a couple plates.  It doesn’t take long for her to question my generosity.  “Okay why are you really helping me?  I know you can’t stand me.”

I knew I would have to explain myself. 

“Uh…that’s not true!  I just want to help!”  She stops and looks over at me with a face that suggests she knows I’m lying.  “Okay…I want to know what happened to you and Niall.”

She continues to clean. 

“I knew that was the reason, but to tell you the truth I have no idea.  I mean he started to act a little weird, and I just ignored it thinking he would get over it.  Then the other day he came up to me and said it was over…just like that.”

“And he didn’t say why?” 

“Nope.”  She looks as if she is going to cry but is holding it back. 

This doesn’t seem like something Niall would do.  I know he wouldn’t treat a girl like that…not even Kathleen.

“Oh…I’m sorry.”  I put the trash in the nearest trash can then I walk over to Kathleen to give her a hug.  She willingly accepts.

“Thanks Morgan.  I know you mean it.”  I smile at her and begin to walk out of the dining hall when I hear her say one more thing, but I couldn’t quite hear it fully. 

“What did you say?”  I make my way back to where she is.

“I said I know you have feelings for him.  Holden was just a guy to get your mind off of him wasn’t he?” 

I look at her, not believing what she had just said. 

“How did you know?”  I stand next to her waiting to find out her answer.

“It wasn’t hard.  I may not be the smartest crayon in the crayon box…”

“Sharpest crayon.”  She gives me the death glare, and continues her thought.

“But I know when a girl likes a guy.  The way you look at him and the way you look at Holden are completely different.  Even though you try to hide it, Niall makes you happy.”  I look at her with a guilty look on my face.  “It’s okay.  Who wouldn’t like him?  He’s so dreamy!” 

She laughs, making me feel a little bit more comfortable.  I realize that Kathleen isn’t so bad.  I mean she knows that I like her boyf…ex-boyfriend, and she doesn’t try to attack me.  Maybe I could actually be friends with her now that she isn’t dating Niall.  I think I looked over her good qualities and only saw the bad because I was so jealous.

--

It's getting late, so I gather up all the kids that belong to cabin three.  After multiple teeth are brushed, bodies clothed, and kids tucked in, it is my turn to get into bed.