Unknown (The Secret Life of Cassie Martin #1)(16)

When we reach the auditorium, it bustles with activity. Despite eating fast, most of the campers arrived before us. The area we stand in reminds me of a church one of my foster families attended with a large stage upfront and pews lining a center aisle up to a large pulpit in the front middle. Like the Corral, the ceiling is all wood, but it has a lighter stain, making the place appear bigger.

Fallon grabs my attention and points to the pews on the left. “This is similar to a graduation ceremony. They’ll call the name of the team lead first. That person will walk up to the front. Afterward, they will call each team member up. The teams are normally four to five people. It depends on the strength of the members. They try to keep the teams balanced so no one team has an advantage. Once your team is assembled, you’ll sit as a team on the right side.”

Please let Lily, Lara, or Fallon be on my team. I don’t want to be in a group with all new people. Please don’t let Mindy or Jenny be on my team. If that happens, I’ll be in jail by the end of the day. I sound like I’m praying. It can’t hurt.

“They give the same speech every year. Most people will tune it out, but you should listen since it’s your first time,” Lily says to Lara and me.

We sit seven rows back. Adults fill the front three rows. Those must be teachers or counselors. Students mill around the next three. I don’t see the boys in those. I turn around and scan the rest of the room. Jay sits in the row behind me, but he’s at the far end of the aisle by the windows. Two rows behind that sit Lucca and Parker. Noah’s missing; I hope he won’t to be late.

As I do one more scan of the room, Kelly, Mindy, and Mr. Pratt enter. Kelly glances around the room, and her eyes fall to me. I quickly turn back to the front. There’s no way she would address the situation with Mindy now, right?

Wrong.

Kelly, along with an irritated Mr. Pratt and Mindy, stop at the end of my aisle. “Cassie, would you come here for a moment?”

If I say no, can I get out of this? I don’t want to do this now or ever. Anything that comes from Mindy’s mouth will be a lie. If I’m forced to accept her apology, I’ll be lying, too. Regardless of my thoughts, I stand and squeeze past Lily and the two girls at the end who I haven’t met yet.

After I join them, Kelly turns to Mindy. The entire auditorium becomes eerily quiet as the crowd focuses on us. If looks could kill, I would be dead by now.

Mindy’s hate-filled eyes bore holes into me as she speaks. “Listen. I didn’t realize you were going to bend over as I walked by. I got a little too close, which made me bump you.”

Am I supposed to say something? Was that an apology? I peek at Kelly because I’m not about to acknowledge Mindy’s half-assed excuses. Kelly, in turn, raises her eyebrows to Mindy.

Mindy starts again, “I’m sorry if you were hurt.”

I decline to speak. She wasn’t sorry she pushed me. If I had to guess, she probably wanted to humiliate me. Kelly’s eyes plead with me to accept the apology. I’m not sure what sort of deal was made between them, but my acceptance must have been included.

I turn to walk away, but before I do, I say, “Okay,” then go sit down.

No more acknowledgment of the subject will come from me so okay should do. Fallon winks at me from the other side of Lara. I turn, and Jay gives me a smile. When I glimpse Lucca and Parker, Parker gives me a thumbs up while Lucca blows me kisses. How do I respond to that? I ignore the others staring at me. As I’m about to turn around, Noah rushes in. He sits in the last pew and gives me a small wave. I return the wave. Lucca and Parker turn to see who grabbed my attention, and Noah shrugs at them.

Before my mind explodes from the overload of stares and whispers directed at me, a well-dressed, middle-aged man steps up to the pulpit. “Good morning. My name is Charles Smyth. I represent the organization that helps fund the camp. With me today is Janice Carlton. She will help with the group organization and oversee the female groups that will be formed. This camp has a long-standing tradition of developing strong minds, bodies, friendships, and work ethics out of our students. I have read the dossiers of each student, and I believe this year will prove to be our most productive year ever. I’m proud of the people that help run this camp, but more importantly, I’m proud of the students that make this place great. I would now like to turn the mic over to Ms. Carlton who will describe our next steps. Ms. Carlton.” He swings his hand toward her.

Everyone around me claps, so I join in.

Ms. Carlton appears to be about Kelly’s age, possibly older. She has shoulder length, golden-brown hair that curls slightly at the ends. Her eyes crinkle slightly when she smiles, but from here, I can’t see the color. “Thank you, Mr. Smyth. Ladies and Gentlemen, it is indeed a pleasure to stand in front of you, today. For generations, this camp has helped mold the futures of the world’s best and brightest. Your year will shine just as brightly. Before we go to the group assignments, I want everyone to be aware of the rules.

“Once your team is assigned, you’re to sit as a group in one of the empty pews to my left, your right. There are no changes to team assignments. Please do not ask. If someone does ask, there will be an automatic ten point penalty to that team. Points will be tallied daily, and the totals will be posted in the Corral each morning. Each team will have a minimum number of tasks to complete each week out of the tasks assigned. It’s up to your team to decide which tasks they would like to complete. Some tasks are mandatory and will be handed out later. You can also request bonus tasks, but remember, bonus tasks must be completed. You cannot opt out of the task once it has been received. There will be a fifty point penalty for any bonus task not completed. There is a fifty point penalty for not completing the minimum tasks each week. Bonus tasks do not count toward your minimum tasks.”