I whirled around, kind of scared.
The source of the screaming was Lester and Chris. They had tape over their mouths, they were tied together, back-to-back, with thick rope, and ants were crawling all over them.
I walked over to the boys.
"What the hell?" I said, "Did Buck and Joey do this to you?"
Lester and Chris nodded frantically and tried to say something.
I started trying to untie them and Chris tried to say something again.
"How did you get these ants all over you?" I said, brushing the ants away and picking at the ropes.
Chris was yelling something now.
"What?" I said, peeling the duct tape off their mouths.
Both of them exclaimed.
"What were you guys saying?" I said, putting my hands on my hips.
The boys looked at me and said in unison, "We're not wearing pants."
I stared at Chris and Lester with wide eyes and my face flushed.
"Um..." I said, feeling my cheeks with my hands, "Why aren't you wearing pants?"
"Joey and Buck took them." Lester sighed, shaking his head, "Again."
Chris turned his head and looked at Lester. Then, Chris looked at me and furrowed his brow, "Angie, are you feeling alright? You're blushing."
I felt my face again, "Uh, I don't know."
Lester smirked, "Oh, Angela. Have you finally realized-"
"That I'm in love with you?" I said, "I'm sorry, Lester. No."
Lester looked down sadly. I wasn't really that sorry. He asks me if I like him about three times a week. He's kind of like Leo... Or how Leo was before he met Tae-Hyun.
I smiled a little. Maybe Leo had met his match.
So, I untied Lester and Chris (with my eyes closed, as they insisted), and they snuck back to their cabin as quickly as they could.
My cabin mates and I went to the Main Building. A lot of kids were already there, including Leo!
I ran over to him and he let me hug him.
"Hey," I said, backing off and putting my hands on his shoulders, "How's Tae-Hyun? Is he doing okay?"
Leo nodded, "Um, yeah. His brother just got here and he seems a lot better than he was yesterday. He should be able to come home by Friday, if he doesn't leave with his brother later."
"Good, good." I said, letting my hands fall to my sides.
I started to walk to a table, but Leo didn't move. I looked at him and said, "And how are you doing?"
Leo shrugged and smiled weakly, "I dunno... I guess I've been worrying a little too much. Tae-Hyun keeps telling me I need to worry about her less."
"Oh, careful." I said in a low voice, "I did that earlier."
Leo thought for a second and said, "Oh, yeah. Thanks."
We sat down at a table and waited for the Mary to arrive.
I studied Leo and said, "You really love her, don't you?"
Leo blushed and looked at me, "W-what?"
"Tae-Hyun," I said, quieter, "You really love her, don't you?"
Leo looked down at the table again and smiled a little.
"I, uh..." He said, blushing deeper, "I-I guess you could say that.... But don't tell anyone!"
"What, that you're in love with a girl?" I teased.
"N-no, it's just..." Leo said, "Well, Mouse would tell her and Chris would freak out about how cute it was that I liked someone."
I snorted, "Yeah, that probably would happen."
"See? That's why I don't want you to tell." Leo said, "Plus, the more people know, the closer they are to figuring out Tae-Hyun's secret."
I nodded and said, "Don't worry, Buddy. I won't tell."
Leo smiled at me and said, "Thanks, you're a great friend."
"Yeah? You're not too bad yourself." I said, laughing.
Mary came in and said, "Hey, kids, settle down now."
The talking died down and we all turned our attention to Mary. Maybe kids were finally listening to her in case there was more news about Tae-Hyun. Everyone was still talking about it.
"Alright," Mary said, "Tomorrow, you guys are all going back to your schools around noon. So, who's excited to hear what we'll be doing today?"
No one said anything. I almost felt bad for Mary.
"Canoeing!" She said, beaming.
"NO!!!" Chris cried, clinging to Alice's arm... And... Crying.
"Déja vu." I said, and Leo stifled a laugh.
Mary,and everyone else in the room, stared at him.
I reached across the table and patted my brother's back, "Nothing to see here. It's okay, Chris..."
"All... Righty then." Mary said, "Come on, Kids."
"At least she's not calling us teenyboppers." Stephanie said to Michelle.
"Oh, you mean like those toys they have at the baby store?" Michelle said.
Stephanie gave her a confused look, "What the hell are you talking about?"
"You know, the baby toys that are shaped like this and smell the bacon." Michelle traced a bone shape in the air with her fingers.
Stephanie looked at her distastefully and said, "I don't know what kind of baby store you're goin' to, but-"
"It has fish, too." Michelle said, holding up two fingers about an inch apart, "Little orange ones. One time we went there and my little brother tried to eat one... He thought they were gold fish crackers."
Stephanie looked so confused.
"They don't really let us in anymore..." Michelle said, sniffing, "I liked that baby store."
Stephanie walked away from Michelle and Jenny took her place.
Michelle whirled around to look at Jenny and her ringlet-curled blonde hair flew around her head.
"Why did Stephanie leave me?" She said, looking sad.
Jenny put her arm around Michelle and said, "It's alright, Michelle. You can tell me about the goldfish baby store."
Michelle beamed and said, "Okay, so the store also had these bags of sand that smelled like air freshener..."
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