SEVEN

In the morning, a dead squirrel was found in another girl’s bed and after thoroughly investigating it, or claiming they had, the counselors decided that the girl who was targeted couldn’t have been the culprit. The squirrel was also roadkill but not as fresh as the rabbit found in Annaliese’s bed and the girl was just as freaked out as Annaliese had been since the squirrel was flattered and in two large pieces.

The girl, Dawn, was invited to join Annaliese in the cabin. It was noticeable how much the two girls had in common. Both were blondish, with light builds and huge eyes. Annaliese was bigger because she was three years older, but they still looked a little like different versions of the same girl.

With another girl, Annaliese did not expect Trip or Skler to join them. She was stunned when Trip showed up anyway, tapping three times at the door.

“What are you doing here?” she hissed after opening the door for him.

“Skyler will be here in a few. We’re not going to stay the night,” he said immediately. “I’m just here to make sure you’re both all right and make sure you have the correct number of people to play cards. Hearts? Rook? I’ve got both!” he said playfully as he showed a set of cards in both hands.”

“I guess you can come in,” Annaliese said grudgingly as she stifled her giggle.

Trip came in and locked the door behind him. They pushed a few of the beds together so they could all sit cross-legged on the mattresses. Skyler brought snacks from the kitchen and tried hard to turn lemons into lemonade, hoping to turn their misadventure into a fun story for later.

As they played, Dawn was in complete awe of Trip and Annaliese. They were older, more confident, and downright beautiful. She was too shy to ask them questions, like if they were dating, how long they’d known each other, or even why he was there at all. They played cards until two in the morning when Dawn was so tired she would have fallen asleep on the mattress with the dead squirrel on it.

Annaliese walked Trip and Sklyer to the door. Skyler was saying reassuring things about the deadbolt and the phone if Annaliese heard anything outside.

Behind him, Trip gave her a look that she would learn to recognize as the equivalent of a kiss, and the two of them left to go back to the cabins.

***

It turned out that it was good someone had been walking around late that night because Trip and Skyler saw some campers out of their beds. They followed them and hid behind trees until they saw them head back to their cabins. Once they were gone, Trip and Skyler returned to their base and lit it up with a light Skyler kept on his keychain and found a stash of dead animals.

Yes, they found the animals, but they weren’t in time to stop a dead skunk from arriving in a camper’s bed that night. It was a boy.

“Wow. They hit someone different every night since we got here.” Trip whistled the next morning when he talked it over with Skyler.

“You said you saw three people?” the counselor pressed. “I only saw two.”

“Yeah,” Trip said, detailing what he’d seen in the forest for the second. “The thing that makes the most sense is that they have two girls and one boy who are doing this. It’s someone who’s in their rooms who’s doing this, so that narrows your suspects down to nine since there are four campers in each room. One of the girls is one of the girls who shared a room with Annaliese, another one is one of the girls who shared a room with Dawn, and the guy shared a room with last night’s victim. I mean, if you don’t think the boy who was targeted with the skunk is a suspect.”

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Skyler frowned. “I do suspect him. His name is Powell. I think he has a grudge against Annaliese and Dawn and that’s why he put the skunk in his own bed. He thinks he’ll get pulled out of his dorm room and sent to join the girls in the cabin. Then he can do something really outrageous to them.”

“Then don’t send him to join the girls. Put him with me in my room,” Trip offered.

“Really?” Skyler asked, surprised. “Aren’t you worried something will happen to you?”

“Like what? What can he do after we’ve gathered up all their dead animals? I’m pleased no one will get that stack of dead snakes in their bed.”

Skyer followed after Trip to the canopy, where breakfast was being served. “You don’t have to be a hero, you know.”

“Who’s trying to be a hero?” he asked with his hands in the pockets of his cargo shorts.

He separated from Skyler and joined Annaliese and Dawn at their separate table and told them they were going to the village for some special treatment. He wanted to get Annaliese and Dawn off the campgrounds while they disposed of the dead animals.

“Why are you saying that?” Dawn asked. “You’re not a counselor.”

“I know, but I have a big beautiful mouth and I’ve got them to do most of the things I’ve asked for. I’m sure I’ll be able to get them to do this too.”

***

Catching the culprits was easy from that point. They put a camera over the crate where the dead animals were being stored and when Powell and his two girlfriends showed up, they took a video feed of them.

When questioned, it turned out they didn’t have anything against Annaliese or Dawn. They were just interested in seeing how long they could get away with it. They were all sent home, which was apparently their goal in the first place.

Once that was done, Annaliese and Dawn went back to their rooms, but Trip didn’t. He said he preferred the private room. He used the alone time to write Annaliese love letters. He didn’t sign them with the moniker Trip but decided to sign them with the reason he was called Trip. Three marks, III, because he was not a junior, but a third. Trip was short for triple. He would joke privately that he was going to name his son Quip since that would be cuter than Quad.

He folded his love letters into tiny books that had to be dismantled if they were going to be read and stuffed them into Annaliese’s pocket when he had a moment to swing a hand along her hips and slide the book into her pocket.

One of Trip’s love letters looked like this:

Annaliese,

I saw you today in the archery range. You looked beautiful as you drew your bow. I wanted to call out to you, to cheer you on, but I had to move. I was carrying a volleyball net. I’ll watch you next time. I’m horseback riding tomorrow. See if you can come with my group.

III

By the end of summer, she had little stacks of his books.

In an attempt to return his feelings, she ransacked the arts and crafts tent and made him the most masculine friendship bracelet she could manage. She ended up making a stack of them and dropping them in his lap when she walked by him.

One of the other guys stopped her and howled. “Why are you giving him those? Are you guys dating or something?”

Annaliese yawned. “I was bored, so I made them. I’ll make one for you if you want.”

“Yeah, I want,” the guy said with eyes large with shock. He clearly didn’t think she’d make one for him.

“Kay. Next time I’m bored I’ll make one for you.”

She made him a yellow one with stars. She thought it was too girly for him to be happy, but it ended up being a thing where every guy in the camp wanted a friendship bracelet from Annaliese. She was swamped with requests. By the third day, Trip started helping her make them. Together they made enough for every guy in the camp and even some of the girls. It was lucky the rest of the girls acted like they didn’t want them or it would have turned into a labor camp.

Trip had a stack of black and navy ones on his brown arm, but one odd one that was yellow with stars. It was one he knew for a fact she’d made.