Chapter Seven: Sibling Rivalry

The next morning found David less tired, but equally grouchy. He managed to keep most of his comments to himself, though, since he didn't think he knew anyone well enough to snark at them first thing in the morning except maybe Race, who he left alone because of the large purple and blue bruise that was already making him miserable enough.

Not quite as miserable as he'd end up, as it turned out. David slipped into his usual seat and noted that Jack also seemed to finally be recovering from his sleepless night, though the cup of coffee was still there. He leaned over and mumbled to David, "Keep an eye on Race's table. His mom's gonna freak when she sees that bruise." Then he put his energy back into drinking his coffee and staring out the window blankly.

David glanced around and saw that Racetrack was now sitting at the table labeled number one; it was where both of his parents sat for meals, and he was clearly dreading their arrival. Mr. and Mrs. Higgins were chatting with each other as they walked in and sat–David noted that Mrs. Higgins took the head of the table–and while he couldn't hear them, he could see the abrupt change as she laid eyes on her son.

Race tried to turn away from her as he answered, she reached out and brushed her fingers against the bruise, he winced painfully and she crossed her arms and said something else, clearly sharper than she had before. He answered, shrugging and gesturing a bit; she replied with larger, more emphatic gestures. He sighed, nodded, and slunk down in his seat. She said something else and then turned to one of the other campers. Whatever had happened, she'd had the last word and Race didn't look thrilled.

The rest of the meal passed without event and with little chatter, or at least little that David paid attention to. Smurf was talking about something and the younger kids were all discussing something, but he didn't really feel like following along. Instead, seeing Jack again, his thoughts returned to their conversation the night before.

He felt a wave of sympathy as he watched Jack finish his cup of coffee, and reminded himself that Jack didn't want sympathy. Which was probably why, when Jack looked up and caught his eye for a second, he felt himself begin to blush. He turned away quickly and stared down at his breakfast, something that was probably pancakes, but could also have been applesauce. The taste certainly didn't give any hints as to which one it was supposed to be.

When he looked back up, Jack was staring out the window. David turned back to his food again, half-listened to the morning's announcements, and slipped out of the dining hall without further conversation. Once again, he found himself the first person back in the cabin, but he was followed quickly by the others. The morning chatter began to break through the haze of his strange mood.

"So what'd your mother say about the bruise?"

"Not much. She's saving the lecture for later."

"So what'd you tell her?"

He shifted his attention to another conversation, feeling awkward listening to talk about the previous night.

"…Forecast says we're looking at a storm in the next few days."

"Maybe it'll be nice, we'll cool off some. So long's activities aren't canceled, I mean."

"Yeah, but it's supposed to be really bad–"

"Dave! You wanna run lines before we have to go? 'Cause I ain't learned any of mine yet…"

It took David half a second to realize he was being talked to; he looked over at Mush, sitting on his bunk waving a script, and nodded. He found his own, left out on the table after yesterday's rehearsals, and adopted Race's bed as a chair so he and Mush were facing each other.

Mush had just opened his mouth to begin when there was a knock on the cabin's door. "C'min!" Sneakers called, and someone David didn't recognize opened the door. Sneakers looked over at him and paused for a second, then asked casually, "Hey, Bryan; what's up?"

Race glanced up from the letter he'd been writing–David wondered why he wrote letters when it wasn't like he was even away from home–and added, "Hey, Mr. Denton."

"Yes, hello." He glanced around the cabin for a second. "I'm looking for a David Jacobs?" he added.

"That's me." David frowned; he didn't remember having seen this man–he assumed his name was Bryan Denton–around camp before; he must have been some sort of counselor but he didn't look like the summer camp type. He was wearing a bow tie, and nothing could scream I don't spend enough time outdoors more than that.

"We haven't met, I'm Bryan Denton, the head of staff and accounting for the camp. I just… Have a few questions for you, regarding an incident last night."

"Oh."

"Perhaps you could spare a minute and we could talk in my office? It's just downstairs in the infirmary."

David nodded, suddenly nervous, and stood up. "Okay," he agreed hesitantly, thoughts of the pervious night's fight going through his mind. What if the Delanceys are pressing charges? What if Jack's going to get fired? Oh god… What if he has to leave, if they send him back home for the summer…

He started towards the door, and Denton turned to Race. "And Anthony, your mother asked if I'd please remind you you're supposed to be in the infirmary, icing your bruise."

He groaned. "I iced it all last night."

"Yes, well, you can argue with your mother if you like, but she doesn't pay me enough for that." He smiled, but somehow David wasn't comforted by what appeared to be humor. "Since she'll be waiting, you probably ought to do as she suggested. Or at least, I would, if I was you."

"Yeah." Race followed them out.

"Mama's boy," David muttered to him, joking.

"You wouldn't argue with her either, if you'd ever talked to her," Race protested. "She's kind of…" He trailed off.

"Kind of what?" David asked.

"You know, it's probably best if I don't finish that sentence."

Denton managed a chuckle, and David smiled but couldn't bring himself to laugh. How did they even find out about what happened last night? And why do they want to ask me?

Too quickly for his preferences, the trio arrived at the infirmary. Mrs. Higgins was waiting inside, the nurse just behind her. "Let's see to your face," she commented, before Race could even get a, "Good morning, Triage," out.

"I really did take care of it–"

"Yes, well, if you hadn't been involved in a scuffle like that to begin with, Anthony, you wouldn't have to worry about it," Mrs. Higgins answered sharply.

"Involved in a what?" he asked innocently.

"Anthony, darling, I love you very much, which is why if I find out you lied to me this morning–and just now–you'll be grounded until you graduate."

"I'm only going to be a junior this year, Mom."

"Yes, I'm fully aware of that, darling. I don't appreciate being lied to. Now then, Mister Jacobs." She turned her attention to David, who was now beginning to appreciate Race's fear of offending his mother, and thus she couldn't see the face Race was behind her. It was somewhere between incredibly pained, and desperately nervous, with maybe a tinge of anger thrown in somewhere. It was an impressive expression, David mused to himself, as he'd never seen anything quite like it. But then Triage whisked Racetrack away, and David glanced after them and could see that sitting father back in the infirmary, probably where they were supposed to be out of sight, were Jack, Oscar and Morris.

Well, she's efficient, if nothing else, David thought, as they lead him down a small staircase to Denton's office. He got the feeling that either the office wasn't used very often, or Denton was impeccably neat, as there were no papers scattered around, very few decorations aside from pictures of his family, or at least David assumed they were of his family, and it looked like someone had squared the chairs up with a protractor so that they'd be perfectly aligned, with one behind the desk, and two exactly side by side facing it.

Denton took the chair behind his desk and gestured towards one of the other ones for David, who hesitantly sat down. Mrs. Higgins took the third and moved it to the side of the room, a bit more out of the way. "Uh, yes, David Jacobs," Denton said, then paused and dug through his desk for a moment and pulled out a few manila folders. One of them had David's name on it.

"Sorry to have to interrupt you and drag you down here, but, we've heard rumors of an incident last night and your name was mentioned."

David just stared at him. Please tell me they don't think I was involved… he found himself silently pleading. "Uh?" he finally managed, not really a question, but a suggestion that he was confused.

"Yes, well, not directly, but…"

"What happened?" David asked, remembering that Race had claimed nothing had happened at all.

"We were hoping you would tell us that," Denton answered. "But it seems–as far as we've gathered–that there was a fight between a few counselors in the dining hall last night."

"Really?"

"Were you in the dining hall?" Mrs. Higgins interrupted.

David looked over at her nervously. "Well, uh, for a little while." He really didn't want to have to answer any questions; he hated lying, he was bad at lying, and he'd just learned the extent to which Mrs. Higgins hated being lied to.

"Did you witness anything like that?" she asked. He shook his head, and she smiled a little. "David, it's very kind of you to be a bit, shall we say, misleading, on behalf of your friends, but this is very important. If counselors are behaving inappropriately, it is vital that we be informed."

Friends? David asked himself. Race and Jack, I guess… Which was a strange thought; it hadn't occurred to him that after a few days of talking with each other, he could actually consider them friends. But they certainly acted friendly enough…

Which just left him determined to make sure they didn't get in trouble.

"I didn't see anything, Mrs. Higgins, Mr. Denton," he finally said.

"How long were you in the dining hall for?"

"Um, maybe ten minutes? Not long," he answered. And it was more or less the truth; he hadn't been there long before the fight, and after the fight he'd left. Or at least, left for the porch, which was like leaving.

"Did you notice who happened to be there?"

"Uh, most of the seniors, I guess."

Denton picked up the questions again, which left David a little relieved. Denton was a lot less intimidating than Mrs. Higgins, since David had a hard time taking anyone wearing a bow tie seriously. "Did you notice any counselors?" he asked.

"Uh…" David trailed off, as if thinking about it. He hoped he was a better actor than he thought he was, because he was certain that at any second, they would realize he was lying and call him on it. "I guess, um, Cowboy was there. Yeah, he was reading something."

"Anyone else?"

"I, er, I think I passed Sneakers on my way back to the cabin… And maybe one of the girls' counselors… I don't really remember."

"Hmm." Denton paused. "Are you at all familiar with the riding staff?"

"Only Cowboy. I, uh, don't like horses very much…"

"But do you know which counselors are on the riding staff?"

David shook his head no.

"Hmmm." Denton glanced over at Mrs. Higgins.

"David," she said, gently but firmly, "we know what happened; we know that Jack got into a fight with Oscar and Morris. We're just trying to figure out why, to make sure that our response is… Appropriate."

Appropriate, like firing someone? David thought to himself, but gave her his best confused look. "That… Must have been after I left, ma'am."

"Mmmhmmm." She raised an eyebrow and didn't look terribly convinced. "Perhaps we haven't impressed the importance of this issue to you?"

"No, I understand," he said quickly. "I mean… I mean, of course if it's important and if I had seen anything I'd tell you right away, but I just didn't. I'm sorry I can't be more helpful."

Her face was absolutely neutral, and finally she nodded. "You," she said, "are not a very convincing liar."

He had no idea how to respond to that, so he said nothing.

"Are you certain you don't want to tell us anything?"

He almost said yes, then realized that was admitting he did know something. "Uh, I don't know anything."

She sighed. "Fine," she said. "Well, thank you for you time anyway, David. And if you happen to hear something–or remember something–I hope you'll tell me or Mister Denton right away."

"O-of course, ma'am."

"Very well." She gestured towards the doorway, which David took as his cue to leave, and he hurriedly made his way back up the stairs. Race was now sitting in one of the spare chairs, pressing a large ice pack to his face; Jack was sitting next to him, muttering about something. The Delancey brothers were sitting in the opposite corner, muttering amongst themselves and glaring.

Everyone turned to look at David as he entered the room. He half-shrugged and walked over to talk to Race and Jack, and Mrs. Higgins stepped in behind him. "Well, gentlemen," she said sharply. "It seems you are all off the hook–this time. But if I hear any more rumors of this sort, I will be very upset. Do I make myself clear?"

The counselors in question agreed quietly, and Race lowered the ice pack from his face and gave her a questioning look, but didn't say anything. She rolled her eyes visibly. "You are also very lucky," she snapped.

He shot her his most charming smile and went back to icing his face. "David," she said again. "Please keep this in mind. If you hear anything."

"Uh, of course, Mrs. Higgins," he said again, and she nodded to Denton and they retreated back to his office. David glanced around, Triage was gone, probably to do her morning inspection of the bunks. He let out a visible breath, and noticed that so did everyone else in the room.

"Well, we oughtta go to work, huh?" Jack asked cheerfully. "Gotta get ready for the kids an' all." He smirked at the Delancey brothers, clearly wanting to crow I got out of trouble yet again, and stood. "Walk with me, Dave? Riding's on the way back to your bunk, anyway."

"Uh, okay."

Jack threw an arm around David and they walked out, side by side. "You seriously just saved my life," he hissed in David's ear as they walked. "I owe you so much."

"It's okay," David assured him. "She didn't believe me, though."

"But you didn't say nothing? At all?"

"I said I talked to you for a minute, then left to go to bed. That if there was a fight, I missed it."

"Okay, yeah, Race and me can work with that. You're a lifesaver. You are my new best friend. I mean it, Dave, I could kiss you."

"Uh."

"I ain't gonna," Jack added quickly.

David was too busy trying not to blush to notice that Jack suddenly looked a little bit flushed himself.

"It's really okay," David assured him. "It's… uh…" He faltered. "It's what friends do for each other, right?"

"Gee, Dave, maybe your family was right to send you here. You made a friend or two already. Keep up like this an' by the end of the summer, you'll be Mister Popular." But Jack was laughing as he said it, and for a change, being teased didn't bother David at all.

And David couldn't help but notice that Jack still had an arm around his shoulder.

"Gee, ain't they cute together, Morris?" sneered a voice behind them.

They froze in unison. Of course the Delanceys were behind them, David realized; they had to get to the riding unit too. Jack glanced back over his shoulder and rolled his eyes. "C'mon, ignore them," he murmured, practically in David's ear.

"Let's see, if he's a pussy–" David remembered that was they'd called Jack the night before, "I guess that makes the new kid a fag, lookin' at him now."

David swallowed hard, not sure how to react, and Jack turned around. "Hey," he snapped. "Lay off him, dumbass, he just saved your job too."

"Oh yeah? You started it, Kelly. I wouldn't get in trouble."

"Funny," David said, turning around to stand with Jack. "The way I remember it–it's all coming back to me now, really–you got really angry at Jack and punched him, and he was just defending himself. Yeah, I remember, I ought to go tell Mrs. Higgins what happened, I promised her I would, after all. She was very concerned."

The Delancey brothers glared at him, but didn't say anything.

"Come on, Dave," Jack said again, and nudged his shoulder. "Let's go."

They walked the rest of the way to the riding unit together in silence. Jack paused before heading to the stable, and started to say something, then shrugged. "Sorry I got those two on your case," he said instead.

"Don't worry about it," David answered. "I'll see you at lunch, right?"

"Yeah. See you then."

*

Lunch was also uneventful, though Jack's mood seemed to have improved, which David found to be something of a relief. Nothing interesting happened, not even any particularly exciting announcements, until the campers were filing out for their brief rest time before afternoon activities. David was talking with Race and Mush as they left the building, and was surprised when his own sister came up and forcibly interjected herself into their conversation.

"David. Talk. Now."

"What?" he asked, rightfully confused. It was the first sentence she'd said to him since their parents had dropped them off. "Uh."

She gave Mush and Race a fake smile, grabbed David's wrist, and pulled him away. He followed, but only because her grip was rather tight. "Owww," he whined as he rubbed his wrist.

"Wimp."

"Shut up. Did you want something?"

"Yes." She crossed her arms. "Since when are you and Jack so close?" she demanded.

"What?"

Sarah rolled her eyes. "You and Cowboy. You know, the incredibly adorable riding counselor who you seem to spend every waking minute with?"

"What?" he asked again, even more confused. "I don't even go to riding."

"Every non-activity minute, then. You talk all through every meal like there was no one else there, I've seen you do it the last few days."

He shrugged. He supposed that they did talk a lot, but… "So what?" he asked.

"So you also talk all the time after dinner and all. And everyone saw you hanging out at the stables after breakfast."

"I was there for about three seconds."

"With Jack."

"Well, yeah, we were–wait, why do you care?"

"Because I," she said haughtily, tossing her hair over her shoulder, "like Jack."

"So?"

"So I like Jack," she said again.

"Um…. So?"

"So I–"

"Okay, see, the thing is that I heard what you said, I just have no idea why I'm supposed to care."

"Well, do you remember when you had that crush on my friend Carolyn?" she asked.

"In, like, eighth grade?"

"Yeah."

"Uh… I guess," he agreed. "So?"

"So do you remember how I helped you out?"

"Telling her family stories about me was not helping me out, it was humiliating me."

"Oh, come on. The horse thing was cute."

"It was not. It was traumatic."

She rolled her eyes. "Anyway. Remember how I helped you out?"

"Again, I point out that you did not–"

"Shut up. The point is, I'd like you to return the favor."

"What favor? You didn't–"

"Ught. Just, has Jack ever, you know, mentioned me?"

"Yes."

"He has?" she asked, practically squeaking. "What did he say? What did you say–have you ever told him anything about me?"

David grinned. "Remember how you helped me out with Carolyn Johnson back in eighth grade?"

She looked suspicious. "What did you tell him?"

"Bye, Sarah. I'll see you around. But remember, we're definitely not related." He started to walk off.

"David, I will make your life at home miserable if you do not tell me what you told him," she promised.

He shrugged. "Have fun with that. Hey, guys, wait up!"

And with that he broke into a jog to catch up with Racetrack and Mush, who were just disappearing from view… To catch up with his friends, who stopped and waited for him.

"What was that about?" Mush asked.

"Nothing, she's just insane," David answered. "So what were you saying about a thunder storm tonight?"

*

David lay awake on his bunk long after everyone else's breathing became slow and even, and Skittery started snoring. He wasn't sure what was keeping him up; he was sleepy, though not as exhausted as he'd been the first two nights. And it had been a good day, pretty much, aside from right after breakfast and right after lunch…

And he didn't care much about being mean to Sarah, anyway, which he supposed made him mean and a terrible brother, but he was willing to accept that. It was just the meeting with Mrs. Higgins and then the second confrontation with the Delanceys that he couldn't quite get over.

I've never lied like that before, he mused, as a few raindrops began to spatter on the roof above him. I guess I'm kind of a goody two shoes. I mean, I'd never do anything like that at school… but there's no one at school I'd want to do that for…

He supposed it didn't matter. He'd gotten Jack off the hook and that was what counted. Nagging thoughts about why that was so important to him, and why the thought of Sarah chasing after Jack irritated him so much kept floating around his mind. He did his best to ignore them, and listened to the raindrops spatter on the roof, and eventually growing louder and louder.

By the time they drowned out Skittery's snoring, David was asleep.

[End Chapter Seven]
Chapter Eight: Rainy Day
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