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.“That’s good, Gia.‘Cause you know, there’s nothing better than The Blob.”****As rattling experiences went, Rocky decided this one was not as rattling as he’d expected.Yes, he had to worry about his talk.And the absurd bandage on his head.And getting back off the stage by way of the same ramp that ate his lunch last week.But overall, it was going well.He wrapped up his presentation and so far he hadn’t fallen off the platform or sustained another cut or scrape.He also hadn’t seen Gia, and that was more disappointing than he wanted to admit.The camp director took the microphone from him and offered more thanks and applause as a group of counselors gathered to perform a series of improvisational skits.Auxiliary camp staff—including him—were called to judge as each group drew a topic out of a giant stew pot from the kitchen.He made his way down the ramp and to the judge’s table.A sauna-like mist of humidity settled over everyone like a soggy blanket.Wafts of garlic and basil from the kitchen mingled with “wet kid” smells from the crowd and hovered in the thick air.The rain shower that had blown through earlier in the day did little to ease the stifling heat.Still, he was content at Camp Towering Pines.Content among the children, content with the goofy camaraderie between his new staff acquaintances, and content with the idea that maybe this leap outside his comfort zone had been exactly what he needed.He downed another liter of water from his jug and conferred with his fellow adjudicators as each group launched their informative acts about everything from bullying and self-confidence to personal camp hygiene and bathroom cleanliness.A blast from an air horn started and stopped each skit while judges reserved the right to toss props onto the stage that actors had to pick up and incorporate into their scenes.The crowd came unglued when Rocky pulled a rubber chicken and a toilet brush from the wooden box and chunked them at the participants’ feet.He laughed until the first aid tape on the side of his forehead began to peel away.As that skit ended, he scanned the crowd behind him in search of Gia.She wasn’t there.Instead, when he turned back around, she was in the middle of the stage.She caught his gaze and returned his surely spastic smile with a warm and easy one.The subtle arch of her brow, accompanied with the curious tilt of her head, made him think she was wondering how he ended up at the American Idol-like judgment table.He wondered that himself as he managed a slight wave.There was no use trying to look self-assured or uninterested.She simply disarmed him to the point of goofiness.At the sound of the horn they were off.The topic was clearly about cliquish behavior and excluding others.Gia and two male counselors—who pretended to be female—acted as the clique while another female played the outcast, desperate to join in.When the guys started in with exaggerated feminine gestures and spoke in falsetto voices about nail polish and hair, it was only fitting that a judge at the end of the table snagged a wig and animal print high heels from the box and tossed them on stage.As the muscular six-foot-plus male counselor struggled to step into the shoes, someone else tossed up a large metallic gold handbag and a grass hula skirt.“Are you on your way to the dining hall?” the outcast asked.“Mind if I walk with you?”The clique acted appropriately appalled and met the request with scorn.“We don’t lunch with babies.Run on back to the elementary cabin.”“I’m the same age as you!”Rocky noted the hula skirt and surmised there must be a coconut bra in the box somewhere.It was summer camp.Someone had to wear a coconut bra.So he found it and meant to toss it to one of the guys.It landed at Gia’s feet.She shot him an amused look as she picked it up and let it dangle at the end of her fingers.Even the kids knew it needed to go on the guy in heels and cheered for her to pass it on.The outcast tried again.“I was thinking we could have lunch together and talk about last night’s devotional.”Gia made a greatly annoyed face.“What do you think this is, Vacation Bible School? We don’t discuss that at lunch.We talk about boys.And sneaking out of our cabins at night to meet boys.And breaking into the camp office to Skype with boys.And—”“And how good looking all the male counselors are,” one of the guys shrieked as he tugged at his coconut bra.“Boys are not the only reason to come to camp,” the outcast replied.“They are the best reason,” Gia answered.And at that moment, a gigantic pair of ruffled red and white polka-dotted panties landed on her face with such force her hair blew back.The kids rolled with laughter as she held up the enormous prop and glared at Rocky
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