Family + Camp (working title)

Chapter 24: Two Truths and a Lie

Nell suddenly felt chagrined. She didn't like being teased by guys like Rob, but maybe she'd been too mean to him. Then again, it wasn't entirely her fault. His brother was there, and there was a dynamic. A classic sibling rivalry that she didn't know enough about yet to define.

"I have a brother, too," she said out of the blue.

"Older? Younger?"

"Older. Like yours. Well, not exactly. He just finished his sophomore year and he has an internship, so he's missed our whole big move and stuff."

"Do you guys get along? Is he cool?"

"Yes," she said right away. "He is very cool. Everyone likes Jamie. And he's always been nice to me. I have friends with older siblings who can be total assholes to them, you know?"

Cash looked thoughtful. "Rob and I are really different. He's pretty self-absorbed, but my mom says that's because he's insecure. He used to be a total dick to me when we were little. But I got bigger than him about two years ago, and...well, he can still be an ass, but he doesn't try to be first all the time or push me around. He knows that would not go well for him."

Nell couldn't help herself. She could sense that Cash was sort of mocking himself, so she wiggled her fingers in his face and said, "Ooooo...tough guy!"

He bit his lower lip and put his arms out in a making-muscles superhero pose. "The toughest!"

Nell laughed, hopping spryly off the table into a full-body stretch. "That was a good break."

"You snored."

She felt her cheeks going hot. Well, nothing to do but own it. "At least I didn't fart."

His eyes went wide. "Did I fart?"

"No," she said. "But you will."

"So will you."

"Of course I will." She turned away and started walking to the meeting house. Over her shoulder she called back to him. "This is camp! Do you know what's in those veggie burgers? They are for real fart factories."

When Nell and Cash got into the meeting hall, they saw that Rob and Nell's dad had set up folding chairs in a circle. There were about twenty people taking seats. Nell found a spot with the water sports team, and Cash headed over to a chair next to hers.

Morrie got the meeting started with a standard ice breaker: Two Truths and a Lie. Since he knew just about everything about his daughter, they had an unspoken agreement not to pair up. Nell found herself with one of the horse wranglers, Annika, who was from Sweden, and Quail (camp name, of course; government name a mystery) one of the naturalists.

Annika seemed to find the game puzzling. "Two truths about me? I flew here on an airplane. I ride horses very well. And my name is not Annika."

Quail's response: "I once stole the credit card from my stepfather's wallet, I am bisexual, and I hate children."

"Damn," Nell said with a snort. "I'm going to go with...the hating children."

"Wrong," Quail said. And would not tell them which of the others was the lie.