It was after midnight but the three tables and their benches across from the pool table in the mess hall were crowded with sleepy, mumbling counselors and CITs. On the middle tabletop, Lou and Emma sat with their arms linked together. Xander was on the other side of Emma with his shoulders turned slightly so that he could lean his back on his girlfriend. Ravi was seated beside Lou. He had brought a fuzzy throw blanket and draped it over his legs.
Hazel brought out a step-stool for her aunt to stand on in front of the pool table. Even though it was late, Gladys was still dressed in daytime clothes. Her niece was wearing an oversized t-shirt with Xander's face printed on it and pajama pants with little guitar designs.
Gladys spoke loudly, "Listen up, rugrats! I've got my eye on the new camp director at that theatre camp on the other side of the mountain." She giggled and batted her eyelashes. "His name is Bernard…"
"Here we go," Hazel murmured beneath her breath.
As Gladys continued gushing about the director, Lou leaned over and whispered to Ravi. "She did not call an emergency meeting to talk about her love life."
"Wouldn't be the first time," Ravi whispered back.
"You've got a point," she responded as she stole some of his blanket to put over her knees.
"...But enough about his kind eyes," Gladys continued. She asked in a hopeful tone, "Unless you all want to hear more?"
"Get to the point, Aunt Gladys!" Hazel said with irritation in her voice. Her aunt gave her a look and she amended more sweetly, "I mean, please get to the point, Aunt Gladys."
Gladys announced, "I've invited Bernard to our very own production of The Moonlit Kiss." She delicately placed the back of one hand to her forehead and leaned back slightly.
Emma sniffled and pulled some of the blanket on Lou's knees onto her own. "Isn't that the mushy, low-budget version of Romeo and Juliet?" Emma called out.
Xander and a few other counselors chuckled. Emma pulled more of the blanket to cover her cold arms, leaving only her and Lou covered. Ravi gave his sister an annoyed look and shuffled closer to Lou to stay warm.
"But Gladys, we aren't a theatre camp," Lou said.
"And we haven't put on a play here before," Ravi added.
"So what! It's not rocket science. Figure it out!" Gladys demanded. She stepped down from the stool and pointed at the group. "Counselors and CITs will perform. Recruit campers to make sets and costumes. And don't bother me until opening night!" She sighed dreamily and folded her hands over her heart. "Bernard will be so impressed." She dropped her hands and frowned at everyone. "You've got two weeks! Don't screw this up."
Gladys sauntered out of the mess hall, lost in her daydreams about Bernard.
Hazel stood on the empty stool and shouted, "Listen up, losers. I call dibs on being the lead. Naturally the hottest girl in camp should be the leading lady." She bounced one of her pigtails and fluttered her eyelashes.
"But Emma's the hottest girl in camp," someone in the back of the crowd shouted.
Some guys and girls murmured in agreement. Hazel blew a hot breath out of her nostrils and glared at Emma. She hopped down from the stool and grabbed some of the copies of the play that her aunt had instructed her to pass out.
Emma yawned and rested her head on Lou's shoulder. "Who cares. Let her be the hottest girl." She grinned as she shut her eyes and said, "I was having the best dream about the Hemsworth brothers…"
Xander cleared his throat as he nudged Emma with his elbow. "You were saying, dear?"
Emma opened one eye and glanced over her shoulder. She said, "They were just saying, ah, what a great couple you and I make."
"Yep, that sounds believable," Lou joked, earning a poke from Emma.
Hazel skipped up to the table with a copy of the play in her hands. She wedged herself between Emma and Xander on the crowded table.
"Xandy, want to be my leading man?" Hazel flirted, walking her fingers up Xander's arm.
"No," he shuddered and stood up from the table.
Ravi looked up at Xander with a surprised expression. He said, "I thought you'd be thrilled to perform, Xander. You are so talented and you love the stage."
"For singing and playing guitar, not for walking around in tights," Xander explained as he flipped the hood of hoodie over his ears.
"Do people even wear tights in plays anymore?" Lou asked Ravi.
Hazel stood from the table and eyed Xander. She bit her lip and said, "I'd love to see you in tights."
Xander crossed his arms and said sternly, "Do we need to have another talk about how comments like that are inappropriate?"
Hazel pouted and drawled, "No. I'm sorry."
Lou's eyes brightened as she got an idea. She got up from the table, making Emma frown at her for no longer being a pillow. She stood on the step-stool and whistled to get everyone's attention.
"Listen up!" Lou shouted.
Hazel rolled her eyes and plopped down on the bench in front of Emma. "Should've known Bossy would have something to say," she muttered.
Xander and Ravi chuckled. Emma gave Lou a sleepy thumbs up. And most of the other counselors and CITs quieted down to listen to the Woodchuck.
"We don't really have any experience with plays, so all parts should be volunteer based. We're not trying to win any awards here, people. And we all know Gladys will mess things up with Bernard before he even sees this thing, but we've got to make her happy because we're all she's got."
Everyone murmured in agreement and nodded.
"So," Lou continued. "Anyone interested in performing will write their name on a slip of paper and we will draw names for who gets what parts. Hazel will be in charge of casting. Everyone else will be split into three teams: music, background sets, and costumes. Xander will be in charge of music. I'll be in charge of sets. And Emma's got costumes."
"Yes!" Hazel squealed and fist pumped.
"Any questions?" Lou asked. No one objected. She clapped her hands and said, "Then goodnight!"
Almost two weeks went by without any problems except for Hazel's two tantrums: The first had been when Xander refused to sign up for the play so she couldn't rig the voting by adding his name to a bunch of slips of paper. And the second had been when Ravi's name was drawn to play the leading man. But both tantrums were short lived when Lou threatened to toss Hazel in the lake. Other than that, things had run smoothly. Xander and Tiffany had found enough campers that had musical talent to form the orchestra for the play. Emma made the designs for costumes and sets. And Lou and Lydia led a team to build sets based on the designs.
Lou hadn't had much interest in theatre prior to their production, but she found that she liked all the moving parts that went into making a play. She had always loved teamwork. And she was happy to see that most of the campers were actually having fun.
"And that should do it," Lou said to herself as she attached a string of lights to the edge of the balcony set. She climbed down from the ladder and admired her handy work. The play was taking place in the old barn by the meadow. It was the biggest space for the sets and seating for the audience. She had been alone in the barn for the past hour working on finishing touches.
"Hey, Lou. Um, could I talk to you for a second?" Ravi asked from the entrance of the barn.
She smiled brightly at him as she stepped down from the stage. "Sure. What's up?" she asked.
Ravi took a few small steps into the barn but stopped near the back row of chairs. He twisted his ragged copy of the play in his hands as he kept his eyes downcast at the freshly swept floors.
Lou waited for him to speak. When he didn't, she walked up to the row he stood beside and sat down in one of the chairs. She said in an understanding tone, "Is this about the fiber thing?"
"What? No," Ravi said, looking up at her. He sighed, letting his shoulders sag slightly. "But it's kind of embarrassing, though."
Lou scrunched her nose and leaned forward to whisper-talk, "More embarrassing than the fiber thing?"
"It's not the fiber thing," he grumbled as his face heated with embarrassment. "It's… something else."
Lou looked unimpressed as she leaned her shoulder against the chair and said, "I've seen you walk around for almost an entire afternoon with toilet paper stuck to the bottom of your sandals. I doubt there's anything that could seriously embarrass you."
"You're never going to let that go, are you?" He said, relaxing a bit. He stepped out of the aisle and moved around her to sit in the chair beside hers.
"Never!" Lou laughed until it was infectious enough to have Ravi laughing too. She settled down and nudged his arm with her elbow, asking, "So, are you ready for your debut tomorrow night?"
"Sort of." He took a deep breath and handed her the script without looking at her. "That's what I wanted to talk to you about."
"Stage fright, huh?" She tried to smooth out some of the wrinkles on the script. It was covered in pencil notations and neon colored highlighter markings. "You've obviously been over this thing a million and one times. Not to mention I've seen you practicing with the rest of the group for the past two weeks." She handed him back his script. "You've got this."
"We've practiced nearly everything. Um, except for one scene," Ravi said.
He flipped to nearly the last page of the script. It was the only page without any markings or notations. Lou skimmed the page until she reached the line near the end. A kiss. There was a kiss right before the leads meet their fateful end. Lou had seen Hazel standing under the mistletoe in hopes of Xander walking by enough times to know what the Weasel counselor looked like with her lips puckered. Lou grimaced.
Lou nodded in understanding as she looked over at Ravi. "So, you finally have to kiss Hazel." She placed her hand on his shoulder. "You poor thing."
Ravi took the script back from Lou and nervously rolled it up. He kept his eyes on the paper as he shakily said, "It's not so much the fact that Hazel is my character's love interest. It's more, well, about my nervousness… Being that I've, you know..."
"Oh yeah, you've never kissed anyone," Lou said bluntly.
He stopped messing with his script and looked up at her. "Well thank you for your sensitivity," he said sarcastically.
"What?" She shrugged. She scooted to the edge of her seat to see how the lighting looked on the set. She nodded to herself, happy with the way it looked and then refocused her attention on the guy frowning beside her. She said, "It's not a big deal, Ravi. You're just acting. I mean, you were cast as the lead for a reason."
"Yeah, because my name was drawn out of an old pickle jar," he said flatly. He sighed and slouched in his seat. He stared at the balcony lights that Lou had just hung on the set. In a quiet voice he said, "I know it's just acting. But it's...different from reciting lines. As you nonchalantly stated previously, I've never... kissed anyone." He looked over at her with sad eyes. "What if I mess up?"
"Aw, don't give me puppy dog eyes," she cooed. She leaned over and placed both hands on his shoulders. "You can't mess up a kiss, Ravi. It's a kiss." She thought for a moment and added, "Well, unless of course you throw up. Or pee your pants. Oh, when my cousin Martha kissed Tommy Jenkins; he had just eaten peanut brittle and her face swole up like a balloon cause of her allergies."
Ravi looked petrified. "Why are you telling me this?" he squeaked.
"To make you feel better!" She let go of his shoulders and smiled sweetly.
He sat up from his slouched position and said, "Thank you? I think." He looked her in the eye and his palms began to sweat. He felt a nervous knot forming in his stomach, but he knew if he didn't ask for her help now then he'd risk looking ridiculous tomorrow. He exhaled and then said, "I was hoping that… that maybe you could help me?"
Lou blankly stared at Ravi. It took her a moment to realize what he was asking. She raised her eyebrows at him and said, "You mean...as in…"
Ravi blurted out, "Please, Lou? You're the nicest person I know. You won't make fun of me. Or at least you'll make fun of me to my face but not with other people. And you're one of my best friends! I mean, I know I probably don't rank that high on your friendship list. But you're always helping people because you're kind and loyal and friendly." He paused to catch his breath.
Lou wasn't sure how to respond, so she said, "I don't think I'm that friendly, Ravi."
"I'm serious, Lou. Please? I'm confident that if I've kissed someone at least once before the performance I won't make a complete disaster of the play." He waved his hand in the direction of the stage. "Do it for the arts."
She raised an eyebrow and said, "I've never had to kiss for the arts."
"Well, then do it for... Gladys! If I ruin the play by being so nervous about my first kiss that I, I don't know, throw up or swell up or any of those horrible things you said, then Gladys' chances with Bernard will be ruined."
Lou gave him a look and said flatly, "She'll do that herself."
Ravi sighed and looked at her with pleading eyes. He said, "Then do it for me."
Internally, Lou groaned. She didn't want to be all awkward and kiss her friend for some random play. But he was looking at her with those eyes that were dreamier than she cared to admit. And he had said exactly the right thing to get her to do what he wanted because Lou knew there wasn't anything she wouldn't do for her friends.
"Fine," she said under her breath, but he heard her.
Ravi's eyes lit up like he had won a grand prize. He took her by the hand and stood up. She was confused but she followed him to the stage. He held her hand as they climbed the steps together and walked to the middle of the stage.
As they stood there, she noticed his hand was shaking and sweaty in hers. There was still a lot of distance between them. She looked at his face, but he wouldn't make eye contact with her. He was staring at the floor. She wanted to tell him to hurry up so she could get back to painting the set, but she felt bad because he was so nervous.
"You've got this, Ravi," she said encouragingly.
Her words must have been what he needed because he finally looked up at her. She gave him a small smile, which he returned.
"Thanks for helping me," he said, squeezing her hand.
"Well, I couldn't let Hazel be your first kiss," she joked to ease the tension. She swung their connected hands and said, "The sooner you smooch me, the sooner you can go practice your lines for your big performance. You've got to make Camp Kikiwaka proud."
"Right," he said with a quick nod. She could hear his breathing quicken. "Here we go."
He took enough steps to close most of the distance between them. He lifted his heels off the ground so that he was tall enough to lean forward. And he kissed her.
Lou felt like she had been struck by lightning. Her face was flush. Her whole world was energized. Her eyes fluttered open and it was like she was looking at a completely different person than the friend she had known for two summers. And the kiss couldn't have been any longer than a few seconds.
Ravi blinked. He let go of her hand and sighed with relief. He said good-naturedly, "Huh, is that it?"
Lou wondered if by "it" he meant fireworks and falling stars and a heart beating so fast that it could burst at any moment. Because that's what 'it' felt like for her. She nodded wordlessly in response to his question.
Ravi laughed as his shoulders relaxed and all the nerves he had felt drifted away. He said happily, "I guess I really didn't have anything to worry about. That was actually pretty easy!"
Lou winced, but he didn't notice that his words had stung her. She couldn't find her voice, so she forced herself to smile and nod her head in agreement.
"Thank you so much, Lou!" Ravi beamed at her as he took a few steps backward. "You're truly a great friend! I'll let you get back to your work on the sets. They look amazing by the way."
"Thanks," Lou heard herself say. She felt the burning sensation of tears threatening to pool in her eyes, so she quickly turned her head away from him and busied herself with something on the set.
"See you later," he called over his shoulder as he walked down the aisle of chairs.
"See ya," Lou said, throwing her hand in the air as a goodbye but not turning toward him.
She waited until she was sure he was gone to wipe the tears from her eyes. She felt silly for being hurt by his words. He wasn't trying to be mean. And it wasn't his fault that he hadn't felt anything when they kissed. She hadn't expected to feel anything. She sighed as she leaned against a ladder and stared at the entrance of the barn door. She may not have expected to feel anything, but she had felt everything.
Surprisingly, Bernard loved the play. It was a surprise because most of it had been a disaster. Hazel practically yelled all of her lines; some of the campers used one of the scenes for an impromptu sword fight; and Jorge had used the wrong fabric for some of the costume accessories, so Ravi was in bright orange for half the play. But Bernard still gave the play a standing ovation and praised Gladys for her camp's performance. That led to her sending everyone to their cabins nearly two hours earlier than normal for lights out, so she could leave the campgrounds and go with Bernard into town for a date. Instead of arguing, the counselors did as they were told and simply waited for Gladys to leave before bringing the campers out to the Great Lawn to celebrate.
Ravi sat under a tree on the outskirts of the Great Lawn. He watched campers running around the lawn with bright colored sparklers, laughing and dancing in celebration of the play's success. He was glad Xander had found an unopened box of sparklers for the campers to use instead of firecrackers. In addition to the sparklers, there were some other random party supplies that the counselors had found in storage for the unofficial afterparty. Ravi raised his eyebrows at the inflatable swan being used as a trampoline for some of the little kids. His eyes wandered across the lawn until they settled on Lou walking in his direction. He excitedly waved her over.
"Congrats on the play," Lou said with a friendly smile as she joined him under the tree and sat down beside him. She pointed toward the lawn where Griff was trying to balance an unlit sparkler on his nose. "Thank goodness Xander didn't find those firecrackers."
Ravi chuckled and nodded in agreement.
"Why are you over here all by yourself?" she asked as a firefly flickered in front of her.
Ravi shrugged. "I was talking with Tiffany until she went to join some of her friends from Bobcat cabin. Besides, I have a much better view from here to watch the most campers at once, and I can run over to stop any mischief."
"Makes sense," Lou said casually as she watched Xander take the sparkler from Griff and hand him a glow stick. "Think we should've started with passing out the glow sticks?"
"We should've only passed out glow sticks."
"Welp, hindsight is twenty twenty."
Ravi chuckled. He looked over at her and suddenly remembered the gift he had brought from his cabin. He reached to his left and revealed the small bouquet of paper flowers he had made that morning. He handed her the bouquet with a proud smile.
"What are these?" Lou asked with a confused expression as she accepted the bouquet.
"Flowers! Well, paper flowers. I found a book in the library on how to make them when I was looking for activities to do with the campers for arts and crafts."
"Oh," Lou said as she admired the pastel colors. "You did a great job, Ravi." She tried handing him back the paper flowers, but he gently pushed them back in her direction.
"They're for you. I would've given them to you after the play, but Gladys rushed us all to our cabins so quickly that I hardly got a chance to see you," he explained.
Ravi's smile faded slightly from the blank look on Lou's face. He had always thought she loved homemade gifts and had expected her to be happy, but her face was expressionless and she sat frozen.
"Um, usually after a performance, friends bring flowers to celebrate," he continued. "I just thought because I had found that book that paper flowers would be...cool?"
"Uh, right. Right," Lou murmured as she broke eye contact and stared down at the flowers. "But I wasn't even in the play…"
"True. But you were still very much a part of making sure that we made it until opening night. And the sets and props that you made were incredible!"
Lou lifted her eyes from the bouquet, but didn't look in his direction. Instead, she watched Zuri and Emma twirling a jump rope for the campers. Ravi wondered if he should have picked some fresh flowers instead.
"Did you give everyone flowers?" Lou asked in a neutral tone.
Ravi blinked. "Uh, no. I suppose I could go get the materials and make more while we're out here. They're fairly simple to make." He swatted away a mosquito and explained, "Honestly, I had only considered making one for you."
That got her attention because she finally looked over at him. Her eyes were wide and searching, breaking the neutrality of her expression. For a second it made him wonder if something was wrong, but he brushed off the feeling.
"Why?" she asked.
"Like I said, the play wouldn't have happened without you. And I enjoyed it! I think even with the mishaps and complaining, a lot of us had fun. So, thank you," he said brightly. He gave her a shy smile and looked down at the bouquet. "And thank you for helping me get over my fear of kissing." He chuckled lightly and looked up at her, adding, "I successfully kissed Hazel without making a fool of myself on stage. That wouldn't have been possible without you."
"You're welcome," Lou muttered. Her jaw tightened and she crushed the bouquet slightly.
Ravi shifted his gaze to the ground. He fidgeted with a piece of grass as he leaned against the trunk of the tree. He said in a quiet voice, "It was different, though…"
Lou released her grip on the bouquet and asked, "What do you mean?"
"I mean, it was much easier to kiss her. Having kissed you already and realizing how simple it was."
"Sure," Lou said with hurt in her tone. She shuffled, preparing herself to stand as she said, "You know Ravi, I think I need to…"
"But my lips tasted like strawberries after I kissed you," he said, interrupting her as he continued to stare at the grass.
Lou stopped moving. She settled back against the tree trunk with her eyes on him.
Ravi continued speaking, "And there was a feeling in my chest… that wasn't there before." He slowly looked over at her. "There wasn't anything after I kissed Hazel."
"Oh," Lou said, dumbstruck.
"And the other thing is...that after we kissed...I couldn't stop thinking about it. I thought maybe it was jitters from it being my, you know, first kiss. But now I think...It has more to do with kissing you."
Ravi's voice had been full of nerves. He wasn't sure why he was confessing all of this to her. He remembered how reluctant she had been to kiss him yesterday when they were alone in the barn. He knew she probably didn't feel the way he felt about the kiss, but he knew he would feel better if he talked to her about it.
"So, I just thought I'd let you know that," he said awkwardly.
Her eyelashes fluttered as she gave him a small smile. She said, "I felt something too."
Ravi winced. He wasn't sure if he had heard her correctly. He asked, "Um, huh?"
"I can't stop thinking about it either."
"Really?" He asked hopefully. He furrowed his brow slightly. "Like in a good way, right?"
Lou rolled her eyes but her smile widened, "Yes, in a good way."
Ravi grinned like an idiot as he gazed at her. He was so happy that he couldn't think of what to do next.
"So, maybe, we should go out sometime?" Lou asked with the usual confidence back in her voice.
"Yes!" Ravi exclaimed gleefully. He loosely crossed his arms in embarrassment and amended in a calmer tone, "I mean, cool."
"Don't try to be cool," she said flatly.
"Alright," Ravi replied joyfully as he uncrossed his arms and embraced her with a hug. She giggled and hugged him back.