“Warning me? About what?”
She climbs down from the bunk, considering her words. She stops on the ladder when her head is almost beneath the top bar and says, “He searches for reasons to shut people out. When relationships get hard, he distances himself. Just know that.”
It’s strange to hear this from Natasha, because she’s incredibly guarded herself and Isaac’s close friend. How many of those other girls had a similar confrontation with Natasha? Is she telling me all this because she’s rooting for my relationship or against it? I’m not sure, and I’m too exhausted to process all this right now. “Okay,” I sign, nodding slowly before collapsing back onto my pillow.
I guess I’m different at camp, too. Sometimes it seems like my friends from school don’t really know me or how to communicate with me. But at the same time, have I been open enough with them about what I need? I’ve never really asked them for support or accommodations.
As much as I roll my eyes whenever the hearing itinerant teaches me to “advocate for myself” in class, which puts the burden on me, maybe a little bit of advocacy within my own relationships wouldn’t hurt.
* * *
At lunch, Ethan waves me over. Worried it’ll be about last night, I motion that I need a minute and fill up my water bottle first, taking a deep, stabilizing breath.
I approach Ethan’s table, apologies already pouring from my mouth. But he gestures for me to stop. “Hey, you heard from Gary, you know what’s up and what not to do going forward. We don’t need to go over it again,” he says and signs.
“Whew.” I’m so relieved that Ethan can still be friendly and hasn’t reverted to boss mode. Honestly, out of the whole ordeal, Simone seems to be the only one still mad about it. She’s barely talked to me despite spending the entire day with me and our group.
“Actually, I just wanted to see how soon we could get that fundraising video up.” He notices the concerned look on my face. “Yeah, the numbers aren’t great, and we need to prioritize these cabin repairs.”
“Of course, we recorded a bunch yesterday. Wouldn’t take too much to finish up a few more clips today and get it edited tonight.”
I stop by Isaac’s table to tell him the plan and go back to my group. “Hey, Simone, should we have the girls do the recording after lunch?”
“Yeah, sure,” she says flatly.
“I mean, we can do it whenever, it doesn’t have to be now.”
Simone shrugs. “That’s fine.”
“Anything I can do so you’re not mad at me about last night? Can I say I’m sorry again?”
“Lilah, just give me some space. It’s fine.”
“Hey,” Phoebe calls out. “Can I do a video now?”
After lunch, we meet Isaac and his campers by a small grove of trees to switch up the backgrounds. Phoebe volunteers to go first.
“Hey, everyone,” she says in a cheerful but commanding tone. “Camp Gray Wolf is this amazing place for the deaf and the blind. But we almost got hit by a tornado! Empty your pockets as fast as you can to help us fix our cabins and save this incredible camp! I would really like to have the chance to be a junior counselor next year.”
I hold my laughter until Isaac stops recording. “Are we allowed to mention the tornado?” I say and sign. Isaac shrugs.
“Don’t cut the tornado!” Phoebe calls out. “People respond to honesty.”
* * *
Monday morning, we post the fundraising video and try to do a push on socials. I’m sneaking a glance at my phone during arts and crafts to check the number of donations we’ve received so far. It’s crawled to a couple hundred dollars, which is a great start, but we’ll definitely need to reach a larger audience to raise the money we need to save Gray Wolf and keep it free for everyone.
“Hey, Lilah.” Bobby approaches, putting a hand on the back of the folding chair I’m sitting on. “Feels like I never see you anymore. I’m no longer the most important man in your life.”
I let out a dramatic gasp. “Oh, Bobby. Never!”
“Well, that’s all about to change, because guess who’s arriving today and got assigned to my group.”
“Max is in your group!” How has June passed so quickly that my brother is already here? “That’s great. You’re going to get along so well.”
“Why exactly is your brother getting here so late?”
“Ah, you just came to me for the scoop. I’m not really sure. My mom mentioned some doctor appointments and a school sports thing. It was just easier for him to miss June.”
“He’s never been here before?”
“This is his first summer. But he’s only . . .” I count the age down from my own. “Eleven.”
“We’ll get him up to speed in no time.” Bobby nods. “And how’s the video doing? My post has gotten a ton of likes already, so tell me that I’m single-handedly saving camp.”
“You’re single-handedly possibly helping us fix one cabin. Possibly.”
“Well, I’m not made of money. None of us are. How do we get it in front of more people?”
Ugh, I know how we could get more engagement. “There might be a way, but what if it’s pity money?”
“Eh, money is money.” He shrugs. “We gotta do what we can to get by.”
“All right, well, wish me luck.”
“Right now?”
“Yep, before I lose my nerve. Be right back.” I walk over to the other side of the craft area, where Mackenzie is sitting with her group. I wave hello to the girls and take a seat on the empty chair beside her. “Hey, how’s it going?”
“Great! Look at our pinecone decorations!” Mackenzie says, gesturing to the glittery mess in front of her.
“Nice. Hey, I have a question for you,” I say.
“Oh, is it serious?”
“Well, kind of.” I debate how to ask this. “If you had a chance to help save camp, would you do it?”
She wipes her hands on the already glitter-covered washrag beside her. “I don’t have that kind of money lying around. Wish I did, though!”
Does she seriously think I’m asking her to finance the whole thing herself? “But you do have followers,” I say.
“I see.” She’s inquisitive but waits for me to explain.
“So the fundraising video on the Gray Wolf channel is doing well! But that page has, like, seven followers. We could use a boost.” I didn’t think I’d have to spell it out this much. I wave Natasha over so that she can come help, and I notice this makes Mackenzie tense up.
Mackenzie takes a deep breath. “I thought I wasn’t really supposed to use camp in my videos anymore.”
“This is different,” Natasha says and signs, coming to my rescue. “We’ve been sharing it and just need more reach.”
Mackenzie hesitates but regains her composure, speaking in an extra-cheery tone. “Of course, I’d be happy to help! I’ll mention it at the top of my next video.”
“Before you do,” Natasha adds, and Mackenzie stiffens again, “um, your About page says you’re an interpreter.”