Zenon's Game Chapter 25

"Dupree, is there anything you could do instead of play with your iPad?" I begged.

New morning, new argument with Dupree. He was glued to his electronics.

"Fish."

I stared at him. He'd said one word, while his fingers continued to tap the screen on Llama Spit Spit. It's a game about a spitting Llama.

"Fish?" I repeated, "Are you hungry?"

"I can fish."

I was so desperate for this boy to participate in any activity, that I ran out in search of a fishing rod and bait. Returning with the equipment, I let him fish by the lake near our cabin where I could keep an eye on him. While Dupree settled on the dock with his new activity, the other kids started to get ready for the dance tonight. I did too, choosing to wear a dress for the first time in months. 

When the time came, I led them down the wooden pathway to the middle of camp. They were excited for the dance. And Zenon was nowhere in sight.

It was no surprise that a barn hall dance organized by Mr Woodhouse would look like something out of a 1980s high school movie. There were pastel colored balloons and a disco ball hanging from the ceiling. Girls sat on the benches while the boys stood awkwardly by the punch bowl.

I didn't know who to speak to. Everyone looked so pretty, dressed in their nicest outfits. I felt uncomfortable in my dress, like I was trying too hard to be something I'm not. Pretty.

I escaped to the bathroom. No one was inside, so I picked a stall in the middle. I was sitting on the toilet when I heard two girls walk in and speak in hushed tones.

"Stacey, you can't post that."

"Why? They've broken up because of it. This photo has hurt everyone except for the person it was meant to."

"You swore to Zenon that you deleted it."

"I lied. He won't know. Youcould post it for me."

"Are you crazy? The last thing I want is for Zenon Albert to get after me."

"Liar. You want him to chase you."

"Yeah, to sleep with me, not to end me. You saw what he did to Tamara when he found it on her phone."

"Sssh, someone's coming. This convo isn't over by the way. Not until the summer starts going in the way we planned it to. I want to start senior year as Zenon's side chick."

"You could be his main chick now that Tamara's out of the picture."

They stopped talking as soon as a group of girls entered the bathroom, oblivious to their conversation. I heard the bathroom stalls bang open and then a knock on my door.

"Someone's in this one."

"Coming," I said. I quickly flushed and stepped out.

I thought Stacey and her friend had left...

But I was wrong.

They were standing there, waiting to see who had listened in on their entire conversation.

I was so screwed. 

Stacey and her friend blocked the bathroom exit.  

"What did you hear?" they asked me, threateningly.

"Me?" I asked, looking around to see if there was anyone else they were talking to. "I don't hear much.  A lot of wax gets caught up in-"

"What did you hear, weasel?" Stacey interrupted me.

"So aggressive," I commented, shaking my head.

I washed my hands with extra soap and calmly walked over to the dryer.  I made them wait awkwardly while I dried my hands.  The noise prevented any of us from hearing each other.

And gave me an extra minute to collect my thoughts.

How to get out of this situation with minimum drama... I wish there was a Youtube tutorial for these kinds of things.

"You heard everything, didn't you?" Stacey's friend guessed.

"Yes," I admitted, "I was paying extra attention."

"Well there's nothing you can do about it.  We have the photo and it's our decision what to do with it," Stacey held out her phone as if that was proof enough.

She was like the evil character in movies that tell you too much of their master plan.

"Can I see it?" I asked.

"Never," she gave me a harsh look and spun on her heels, swinging the door dramatically on her way out.

It was worth a shot. The situation went better than I expected.

Her friend followed and I waited a few minutes before leaving as well.  As fun as hiding in the bathroom was, I figured I might be missing the point of the dance floor.   

**I walked back into the 1980s town hall. It had started to rain outside. The pitter-patter of the raindrops on the wooden roof was drowned out by music from two loud speakers near the stage. Mr Woodhouse was the DJ. It took me a minute to recognize him in a purple wig and neon jacket.

Alicia ran up to me, "Dupree went back to the cabin to get his fishing rod! He wants to fish right now!"

In the middle of a party?

"That's weird," I said, "But I guess it is Dupree."

"Shouldn't we check on him? It's raining!"

"No, you should stay and enjoy the party. I'll take care of it," I told her and saw her face lose its excitement.

Looks like I'm not the only one trying to get out of here.

Tony ran up to me the moment Alicia wandered off. "He's going to do it! He's going to ask her to dance!"

"Malik?" I asked, eyes scanning the dance floor for the cute 8-year-old in a button-down shirt and slacks.

There he was, walking slowly towards the girl. He'd spent extra time on his hair today, using Zenon's hair gel. I looked around for Zenon. Where was he? This was Malik's big moment.

Malik bypassed the sweet girl I thought he was going for. In fact, he bypassed all the young girls. I watched, my face turning from excitement to horror as he walked up to Stacey and tapped her on the shoulder.

Oh. My. God.