The Pretty Committee Strikes Back Part 13

"Uh, no."

"Well, he is." She nodded slowly, like she was giving him some very privileged information. "Very successful." successful."

"Cool." Josh smiled politely at Olivia. He obviously had no idea how this information related to him.

Strawberry and Cam stopped walking once they came to a fork in the road. One trail led up into the woods and the other continued along the lazy river. They pored over the map, trying to decide which way to go.

"Hurry," Olivia urged. "I'm getting hungry."

"We're trying," Strawberry barked.

Claire expected her to scold Olivia for complaining and not helping. But Olivia's flowing blond hair, navy eyes, and clear white skin made her look like a fragile woodland fairy. And Strawberry probably thought it was wrong to shout at someone who looked so innocent.

"Why don't we just follow the sound of those cheering voices and go left," Plovert suggested. He was leaning on his crutches, with his head c.o.c.ked to the side.

"What cheer-" Cam started to ask but stopped once he heard them.

"Who's that singing about loving mac and cheese?" Olivia asked.

"Dylan," Claire confirmed.

"Sounds like we lost." Strawberry sulked. She turned left and everyone followed in silence. "It's not like we didn't try, right? I mean, Olivia, you were great at finding out who Josh wants to kiss. And Plovert, every time we started to pick up speed you really helped out by falling. And Claire-"

"All right, enough," Cam snapped. "We lost a stupid race-it's no big deal."

Had Cam just defended her? Claire felt a jolt shoot through her body. It recharged her. It made her want to sprint through the woods as quickly as she, could. It made her want to hug Cam and sniff the side of his neck.

Strawberry karate-kicked a low tree branch. It snapped and dropped to the ground. "Loser!" she shouted at the fallen wood, then stormed off.

Claire picked up her pace, quietly leaping over errant logs and rocks so she could catch up to Cam without sounding like she was trying to. In a matter of seconds she was back in the Drakkar zone.

"Thanks for coming to my rescue." Claire felt her hands go clammy. It was the first time she'd spoken to Cam in days.

"It was no big deal," Cam said to his beat-up hiking boots. "I was just tired of hearing her voice."

Then he sped up.

Claire stopped walking and hunched over. She couldn't tell if Cam had really punched her in the stomach or if it just felt like he had.

"You okay?"

She felt Josh's hand on the small of her back.

"Fine, thanks." Claire straightened up and hurried down the trail.

She was one of the last people to step into the clearing. Almost everyone else beat her to it and was either celebrating their victory or mourning their loss.

"Congratulations to pod number one. You really worked well as a team," Mr. Myner announced.

"And my crew got some great shots of you boys crossing the river," Merri-Lee added. "It was like The Amazing Race The Amazing Race," she gushed.

"Fixed," someone coughed.

"Fixed," someone else coughed.

Suddenly everyone was coughing, "Fixed," because Dylan's team, the only one with its own camera crew, had happened to win.

"Jealous," Dylan coughed back. Her teammates joined in.

"All right, that's enough." Mr. Myner raised his hand. "Nothing was fixed. Team one showed some wonderful ingenuity. You could all learn something from them. While they are enjoying a delectable gourmet lunch, the rest of you will eat by the fire pit. After a short break, Mr. Dingle will take you back into the woods for a quick tutorial on map reading and I will lead the hot air balloon expedition. Have a good afternoon, everyone."

The losers, including Mr. Dingle, groaned while the winners jumped up and down and hugged one another.

"Hey, Block," Derrington shouted from the winner's circle. "Aren't you going to give me a kiss goodbye?"

Everyone stopped and faced Ma.s.sie. But she just stood there with a shocked expression on her face. Claire looked away. It was hard to see Ma.s.sie at a loss for words. It seemed unnatural.

"What if I die in the air balloon?" Derrington said. "It may be your last chance."

Ma.s.sie took off her Oliver Peoples sungla.s.ses and tapped one of the arms against her bottom teeth. Claire could tell she was trying to think of a comeback, but everyone else probably thought she looked like a seductive movie star.

"Derrick." Ma.s.sie p.r.o.nounced his name like a disappointed teacher. "Are you having a soccer finals flashback?"

"What?" Derrington was confused. "No, why?"

"Because you seem a little desperate to score," Ma.s.sie said.

The Briarwood soccer boys busted out laughing and messed Derrington's hair.

"She totally dogged you!" Kemp smacked his own thigh.

"Your loss, Block." Derrington looked genuinely hurt.

Ma.s.sie must have picked up on this too, because she quickly moved closer to him and softened her tone.

"Look," she whispered. "I just think it's a little tacky to kiss in public, especially in broad daylight."

"So then later?" Derrington raised his eyebrows.

"Later." Ma.s.sie turned and walked back to her friends, but the MUCK girls got to her first. They couldn't wait to congratulate her on her performance.

"This way." Mr. Dingle waved the losers toward the trail back to camp.

"What's wrong with you?" Layne asked Claire as the defeated group walked back in silence.

"Nothing." She didn't want to talk about Cam because if she did, she'd start bawling. Besides, he was only a few steps ahead of her, helping Plovert. "How was your morning?"

"Awful," Layne whined. "I have the worst cramps from you know what. It feels like I swallowed a squirrel and now it's trying to claw its way out through my belly b.u.t.ton."

"I can totally relate." Claire sighed.

"Huh?" Layne knitted her eyebrows.

"Hey, Kuh-laire," Ma.s.sie called.

"Yeah?" Claire quickly played back the last twenty-four hours in her head, trying to figure out if she was in trouble.

"Fall back," Ma.s.sie insisted.

Claire stopped and let everyone pa.s.s. Once there was a safe amount of s.p.a.ce between them and everyone else, Ma.s.sie spoke. "I need your help."

"What?" Claire wasn't sure she'd heard right. Ma.s.sie never needed help.

"Shhhh," Ma.s.sie insisted. "What I'm about to ask you goes to the grave, 'kay?" She held out her pinky. Claire lifted hers and they shook.

"What is it?"

"I need you to teach me how to kiss," Ma.s.sie whispered.

"What?" Since when did making out with Josh Hotz once make her an expert?

"Pleeeease."

Claire searched Ma.s.sie's amber eyes. Was she joking? Was she joking? But there was no flicker of mischief and no innocent eyelash batting. This was real. But there was no flicker of mischief and no innocent eyelash batting. This was real.

"Ma.s.sie, I-"

"Please," Ma.s.sie begged.

Claire wished someone had been around to witness this moment. She had always fantasized about Ma.s.sie desperately needed her for something something, but never this this. For the first time in their relationship Claire was in a position of power over Ma.s.sie. And she intended to take full advantage of it.

"Okay." Claire straightened her shoulders and raised her chin in the air.

Ma.s.sie sighed.

"But only if you do something for me."

"Anything," Ma.s.sie promised.

"I need you to help me get Cam back," Claire said. "Before he ends up liking someone else."

"No problem." Ma.s.sie sounded like she already knew exactly how she was going to pull it off. "Done."

"Done," Claire answered back, feeling like she had just made a deal with the devil.

One she had no idea how to repay.

LAKE PLACID, NEW YORK FOREVER WILD CAMPSITE.

Monday, February 23rd 6:47 P.M. P.M.

Ma.s.sie turned on the four battery-powered heaters she had swiped from her cabin and placed them around the igloo. She wanted Claire to feel warm when she arrived for their private kissing lesson.

Earlier that afternoon Mr. Myner had taught them how to build igloos by cutting blocks of snow and packing them to form circular walls. But no one's was as s.p.a.cious and comfy as Mr. Myner's, so Ma.s.sie had opted to hold her underground meeting in there. She sneaked out of dinner early to decorate it with sheepskin rugs and beanbags from her cabin. And for ambience, she placed eight red cinnamon-scented candles evenly along the floor near the walls. It wasn't like anything in the ice palace could catch on fire. Igloo decorating had its advantages.

By the time she blew out the last match, the heat was blasting. What had once been a frigid ice hut was now a warm and inviting secret clubhouse. All Ma.s.sie could do now was wait for Claire and try to stop imagining a hungry family of black bears circling outside, licking their lips.

Finally, dinner let out. The wood doors of the dining pavilion squeaked open, giving way to a swell of simultaneous conversations and laughter. It was break time. And everyone would be going back to their cabins to digest and change into their pajamas before the nighttime bonfire reading of Hatchet Hatchet-a novel about a thirteen-year-old boy who survived a plane crash and had to learn to fend for himself in the Canadian wilderness. Ma.s.sie peered out of the semi-circular doorway knowing her her survival depended on Claire and her kissing lesson. survival depended on Claire and her kissing lesson.

Suddenly Ma.s.sie heard a deep voice. "Uh, h.e.l.lo ma'am, mind if I join you?"

Ma.s.sie looked up and shrieked. There was a giant moose head in the doorway of the igloo and it was staring straight at her.

"Relax." Claire giggled. "It's me." She hunched over and squeezed through the narrow opening, then turned the moose sideways so his antlers wouldn't chip the walls. "Wow, it looks great in here."

"Thanks." Ma.s.sie's heart was still pounding. "What is that that?"

"It's Derrington," Claire said, like it should have been obvious. "You didn't think you'd be practicing on me, did you?"

"No." Ma.s.sie didn't know what she'd expected. "Of course not."

Claire pulled a tube of cherry ChapStick from the back pocket of her cla.s.sic-cut Gap jeans and swiped it across the moose's bulbous lips.

"Ew, stop that." Ma.s.sie burst out laughing. "Why didn't you take the duck or the fish? That moose's head is bigger than my leg."

"Do you really want to kiss a fish?" Claire smiled. "And duck lips are so thin and hard." She ran her finger across the dead animal's long lashes. "I thought the moose was the closest thing to Derrington." She paused and looked into his still black eyes. "Let's name him Doose, like Derrington and Moose Derrington and Moose combined." combined."

"I get it." Ma.s.sie knocked the ChapStick out of Claire's hand.

A droplet of water landed on the leg of Ma.s.sie's True Religion jeans. She wiped it away, then got right back to business.

"Okay." Ma.s.sie sighed. "Should we get started? The MUCK girls will be here soon."

They looked at each other and giggled. Neither knew where to begin. Ma.s.sie took out her Krispy-Kreme-doughnut-flavored Glossip Girl and slathered it on her lips.

Claire held Doose at arm's length and looked him in the eyes. "Okay." She sighed. "This is how you'll be positioned seconds before the big moment. You'll be talking about something or someone and then, all of a sudden, there will be nothing left to say. And you'll just know it's time."

Ma.s.sie's stomach dropped. "What? What do you mean I'll just know know? What if I don't? Or what if I know and he doesn't? I need more than that, Kuh-laire."

Claire turned Doose around to face Ma.s.sie. "Shhhhh, you have to relax." She shook the moose head so it seemed like he was the one talking.

Ma.s.sie slapped the side of Doose's long mouth, knocking the head out of Claire's hands. Both girls doubled over in hysterics.

"You better not do that to Derrington." Claire was still laughing.

"I might have to if I don't know what I'm doing."