“I want to go home.”
“Then I’ll come.”
Nora closed her eyes.
Then she thought of the money she had earned watering plants all June. She thought of the lake at sunrise, before the other girls woke. She thought of the climbing wall she had not tried yet because Brynn said the rental harness would probably not fit right over her cheap shorts.
“I also don’t want them to make me leave.”
Her mother was quiet.
“That makes sense too.”
Nora looked at the director.
“Can I decide in the morning?”
He nodded.
Her mother said, “Then I’m still coming. You can decide after I get there.”
That answer made the choice feel less like a test.
Nora spent the night in the infirmary guest room.
Mae was allowed to stay until another counselor walked her back to a different cabin. Before leaving, she set the pillow on Nora’s bed.
“I’m sorry I didn’t say more sooner.”
Nora looked at her.
“You said something.”
“Not enough.”
Nora thought about the way Mae’s voice had shaken in the doorway.
“More than me.”
Mae shook her head. “You were the one it was happening to.”
The sentence stayed with Nora.
At home she had imagined brave people as those who always spoke immediately. At camp, bravery looked messier. Sometimes it was a barefoot girl carrying a stolen pillow down a dark path because the first adult had not listened properly.
The next morning, Nora’s mother arrived before breakfast.
She came into the infirmary wearing yesterday’s jeans and a sweatshirt over her pajama shirt. Nora laughed when she noticed.
Her mother looked down.
“I dressed in the car.”
The laugh turned into a sob before Nora could stop it.
Her mother held her until both passed.
Then they sat with the director and the nurse.
