I don’t know how she managed to cover her bed and herself, but she did. I sent her for a shower while I stripped her bedding, which is when Emilia swung by to see if I wanted a soda.
Poking my head into the cubicle, I find Jasmine sitting on the floor looking sorry for herself. Her eyes fill with tears as soon as she spots me and her bottom lip begins to wobble. “I’m sorry.”
“You have nothing to be sorry for, sweet girl.” Crouching behind her, I pull her now wet hair out of her way as she puts her head over the toilet again. “You’ll feel better when you’re done.”
“I think I had too much candy,” she mumbles.
“I think you did too.”
“I want my mom.”
“I know, sweetie. But let’s get you cleaned up and then we can get your mom on the phone.”
Eventually, her body has had enough and I help her from the floor just in time for Kelly, the camp nurse, to show up and check her over. As suspected, there doesn’t appear to be anything wrong with Jasmine other than overindulgence and overexcitement. When it’s the two of us again, I sit Jasmine on the counter while I head to grab her wash bag.
It doesn’t take me long to spot him considering how hard he is to miss, but I’m still surprised. “You stealing teddy bears now, Callaghan?”
Russ looks up from his position bent over Jasmine’s bunk, bedsheet in hand. “Yeah.” He points toward a laundry bag behind him. “I particularly like the ones that smell like death.”
“I don’t know how one little girl can cause so much destruction. Thank you, you didn’t have to remake her bed. I could have done it.”
“Your hands are full. Emilia couldn’t tell us what had happened without gagging, so I thought it was better to investigate.”
I grab the washbag and another pair of pajamas from the drawer under Jasmine’s bed and get back to her quickly. She has the same queasy look as earlier, but the color is returning to her cheeks a little. She climbs down and changes into fresh pajamas; I brush and braid her hair while she brushes her teeth.
There’s a knock on the bathroom door and when I answer, Russ is on the other side of it with Jasmine’s water bottle. “She’s probably dehydrated.”
Why are you so freaking cute? “You’re right, thanks.”
“The bed is done and I’ll take the bear to the laundry room. Do either of you need anything else?” I shake my head. “Alright, I’ll get out of your way then.”
“Thank you.”
I watch him walk away before closing the door, turning back to Jasmine and handing her the water bottle. She frowns. “You’re acting weird.”
“No, I’m not.”
“You are. You’re being shy. You’re never shy, you always talk and talk.” For a kid who just barfed everywhere, she’s surprisingly astute. “Leon said Russ is your boyfriend.”
I ignore the immediate panic and instead concentrate on wiping the glitter from her face, because apparently even a shower wasn’t getting rid of it. “Leon is wrong.”
“Leon says you two look at each other all day and you always stand next to each other.”
Leon is getting pushed into some mud tomorrow. “We’re friends. I’m friends with all the counselors. If you stand next to Leon does that make him your boyfriend? No.”
“Leon said you’d deny it.”
What the hell is this face paint made of? “I think maybe Leon needs to spend less time gossiping and more time playing with his friends.”
“He knows everything about everyone. He told us Mona’s big sister is in the Raccoons and cried because she has a crush on Russ.”
The rainbow finally begins to rub off and freedom from this conversation is so close I can taste it. Leon’s dad owns an intrusive paparazzi-driven tabloid, which I have sadly been featured in, so it does not surprise me that Leon doesn’t know how to mind his own business.
I sigh, suddenly feeling guilty for all the years I terrorized Jenna. “Mona’s big sister is fourteen and is far too young for any of the counselors. She should crush on someone her own age.”
“Are you jealous? You sound jealous.”
Give me strength. “Adults don’t get jealous of children, sweetie. But I’m assuming all these questions mean you’re feeling well enough to be more than six feet from the toilet. I think it’s time to get you back into bed. You still wanna call your mom?”
“No, it’s okay.”