Camp Pining Hearts

Chapter 7

Graciously, any evidence of Peridot's night spent drinking (outside the whisper of a headache) was gone by morning. She woke naturally and—once she'd determined that the slightest movement didn't set her stomach tumbling, and that the rays of sunlight streaming through the windows wouldn't scorch her retinas—lifted herself up to retrieve her glasses. Peridot's sleep had been dreamless and undisturbed by insomnia. So, based off that alone, the day was already shaping up to be a pretty good one.

Amethyst's day, however, would soon prove to not be going as well.

Pearl's wakeup call wouldn't sound for another half-hour, and none of the campers had yet begun to stir. So Peridot pulled out her tablet and had just opened a word document when she heard a groan from the top bunk across the cabin. Glancing up briefly, she watched as Amethyst's hand fell to hang limply off the side of her mattress. Peridot waited a moment before turning her eyes back to the screen on her lap.

"Log date 061815—"

"Oh, god."

Peridot looked up again, just in time to watch Amethyst jump down from her bed, barely stick the landing, and crash through the cabin door.

"Amethyst?" Peridot called after her (without regard to how loud she was speaking), throwing her legs over the side of her bed to attach her prosthetics.

As she stood up to follow the other girl, Steven drawled sleepily from his bed, "S'going on? You okay?" Other campers had begun to wake up as well, wiping the sleep from their eyes and leaning up on their elbows.

"I'm fine," Peridot stuttered as she ran out of the cabin. "Nothing's wrong, everything's fine. Go back to sleep."

Once she'd set foot on the porch, Peridot stopped and looked out over the campground. After a quick survey, she spotted the back of Amethyst's head from afar, whipping around the corner into the girl's bathroom. With a heaving sigh, Peridot walked slowly down the steps and past the fire pit in order to follow. She could hear the telltale sounds of retching as soon as she pushed the bathroom door open.

"Hey," she said, stepping forward and lifting herself up to take a seat on the counter in between sinks. "You okay in there?"

"Oh, yeah," she could hear Amethyst force out from beyond a closed stall door. "I'm swell." Then there were more sounds of gagging, and a splash.

"All right," Peridot shouted above the noise. But she didn't jump down from the counter. She stayed where she was, and she waited until—eventually—the stall unlocked with a click and Amethyst stumbled out.

"Whattup, nerd," Amethyst muttered, half-heartedly throwing her hand up into a peace sign.

Peridot didn't respond. Rather, she reached behind herself to tear a paper towel from a dispenser and to run it under a sink. She handed it off to Amethyst as she said, "Here. Put it on the back of your neck."

Amethyst grumbled a weak "thanks" before accepting it and doing as she was instructed. Then she leaned forward to rinse her mouth under a tap.

"Aren't you so glad you came out last night?" Peridot asked, trying to keep herself from grinning. She failed. But Amethyst smiled, too.

"Whatever, you're the irresponsible counselor who let me out last night."

"Because you made me! You're the one who was going to tattle."

Amethyst slowly stood up straight and—after taking a moment to close her eyes and adjust to the new position—said, "Listen. If you knew anything about me, you'd know that I ain't no narc."