unattractive and people who look like me are beautiful. I think that was an episode of The Twilight Zone. That’s it. I’ve entered into The Twilight Zone.
“There you are!” Cal’s voice bellows toward us, breaking Miller and me from the trance we were locked in. Miller takes a step back and turns slightly as he takes a long pull from his drink. “I was looking for you when Addy pointed you out over here.”
“Here I am,” I stutter.
“You’re that Miller guy, right? I’m Cal.” Cal extends his hand to Miller and they share a friendly shake.
“Yeah.” Miller’s answer is short. “Nice to meet you. Later, Kinley.”
“Ok ay.” I watch Miller walk away and turn my thoughts back to Cal. Yes, Cal. The guy who I have had a crush on since last summer. The guy who is now into me. But for some reason I can’t let Miller walk away. “Wait!” Cal looks at me with confused eyes. “It’s the first night. We should all hang out together!”
“Um … sure. If that’s what you want to do,” Cal says hesitantly.
“Great!” I tug on Cal’s arm and begin walking toward a waiting Miller , who is smirking.
Miller keeps walking toward our friends once we meet up with him.
I’ve got to be the stupidest girl on earth not to take this opportunity to go off with Cal. I’ve had a crush on him since last summer. What is wrong with me? There’s just something about Miller. He wants to be my friend and I would feel bad about abandoning him into Addison’s overly aggressive arms.
“What are you doing, Kinley? I thought you and Cal were going for a walk?” Addy whispers in my ear with her signature lack of discreteness.
“We were, but we thought it’d be more fun for us to all hang out together. I mean, Mia and Miller are new but they’re staying in The Lodge, so we should get to know them better. Don’t you think?” I propose to the group.
“I think that’s a great idea,” Pete says immediately. He’s not a fan of how forward Addy is. He told me at the end of last summer that he had thought about going after her but got totally turned off when she slept with Ryan the first night of camp. He said he’d find her more desirable if she would take it down about fifty notches. That was the first time I ever heard a guy say that her easiness was not a turn-on.
“Yeah, Miller. Where are you going to school? Fill us in!” Bridget asks him while Addison glares at her.
“Oh, well, um, okay. I just finished my first year at SCAD. That’s the Savannah College of Art and Design,” he says.
“Oh my gosh! I looked at going there! They have a great photography program, but my dad thought I should put my inquisitive mind to better use in journalism.” I roll my eyes as I consider the number of conversations Dad and I had about this. He tried to make it sound like he wanted me to make the “right” decision on my own, but ultimately won out when he told me he wouldn’t pay for me to go to art school.
“They do! I have a couple of friends in that program and they love it. It’s a shame you don’t go there. We could have met a year ago.” Miller smiles at me longer than Addy likes because she’s quick to poke me in the leg.
“You just finished your first year? I thought you said you were twenty-one?” Matthew asks.
“ I wasn’t ready to start college right away,” he explains briefly without looking at anyone in particular. He twists his bottle around in his hand before taking a quick swig from it.
“ Too much pressure, huh?” Cal counters. “You should have just manned up.”
“I’m sure it wasn’t the pressure. Miller seems like a very talented artist , well prepared to take on the challenges of art school when he was ready,” I say out of some need to defend him. “Besides … Addy and I are twenty and technically should be starting our junior year, not our sophomore year.”
“That’s different, Kinley. We were preemies and started school a year later than everyone,” Addy
“There you are!” Cal’s voice bellows toward us, breaking Miller and me from the trance we were locked in. Miller takes a step back and turns slightly as he takes a long pull from his drink. “I was looking for you when Addy pointed you out over here.”
“Here I am,” I stutter.
“You’re that Miller guy, right? I’m Cal.” Cal extends his hand to Miller and they share a friendly shake.
“Yeah.” Miller’s answer is short. “Nice to meet you. Later, Kinley.”
“Ok ay.” I watch Miller walk away and turn my thoughts back to Cal. Yes, Cal. The guy who I have had a crush on since last summer. The guy who is now into me. But for some reason I can’t let Miller walk away. “Wait!” Cal looks at me with confused eyes. “It’s the first night. We should all hang out together!”
“Um … sure. If that’s what you want to do,” Cal says hesitantly.
“Great!” I tug on Cal’s arm and begin walking toward a waiting Miller , who is smirking.
Miller keeps walking toward our friends once we meet up with him.
I’ve got to be the stupidest girl on earth not to take this opportunity to go off with Cal. I’ve had a crush on him since last summer. What is wrong with me? There’s just something about Miller. He wants to be my friend and I would feel bad about abandoning him into Addison’s overly aggressive arms.
“What are you doing, Kinley? I thought you and Cal were going for a walk?” Addy whispers in my ear with her signature lack of discreteness.
“We were, but we thought it’d be more fun for us to all hang out together. I mean, Mia and Miller are new but they’re staying in The Lodge, so we should get to know them better. Don’t you think?” I propose to the group.
“I think that’s a great idea,” Pete says immediately. He’s not a fan of how forward Addy is. He told me at the end of last summer that he had thought about going after her but got totally turned off when she slept with Ryan the first night of camp. He said he’d find her more desirable if she would take it down about fifty notches. That was the first time I ever heard a guy say that her easiness was not a turn-on.
“Yeah, Miller. Where are you going to school? Fill us in!” Bridget asks him while Addison glares at her.
“Oh, well, um, okay. I just finished my first year at SCAD. That’s the Savannah College of Art and Design,” he says.
“Oh my gosh! I looked at going there! They have a great photography program, but my dad thought I should put my inquisitive mind to better use in journalism.” I roll my eyes as I consider the number of conversations Dad and I had about this. He tried to make it sound like he wanted me to make the “right” decision on my own, but ultimately won out when he told me he wouldn’t pay for me to go to art school.
“They do! I have a couple of friends in that program and they love it. It’s a shame you don’t go there. We could have met a year ago.” Miller smiles at me longer than Addy likes because she’s quick to poke me in the leg.
“You just finished your first year? I thought you said you were twenty-one?” Matthew asks.
“ I wasn’t ready to start college right away,” he explains briefly without looking at anyone in particular. He twists his bottle around in his hand before taking a quick swig from it.
“ Too much pressure, huh?” Cal counters. “You should have just manned up.”
“I’m sure it wasn’t the pressure. Miller seems like a very talented artist , well prepared to take on the challenges of art school when he was ready,” I say out of some need to defend him. “Besides … Addy and I are twenty and technically should be starting our junior year, not our sophomore year.”
“That’s different, Kinley. We were preemies and started school a year later than everyone,” Addy
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