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Yeah. I twisted the raffia round and round the bird and avoided looking over at Austin. The
thing was, I didn t think he actually needed my help there wasn t anything I could do for him. He just
didn t want to bear his secret on his own anymore. He didn t want to be alone. I looked over at him,
building his crooked bird with straw, making it into something artistic and beautiful and I felt his pain
more deeply than ever before.
Welcome to Camp Crescent s Talent Night! Mr. Winters s voice boomed across the barnlike gym and
the crowd went wild. Well, as wild as campers who d suffered through another night of bad cooking
could go. We ve got a great lineup, campers! Flashlight jugglers, a skit about the counselors heh-heh
can t wait for that one, also a poetry reading, and so much more! So let s get started!
Everyone cheered again. I actually clapped, too. I was psyched to see Ariel on stage.
Then Mr. Winters said, Okay, folks, our first act is a number from our own songstress Cynthia
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Crumb!
The cheering stopped. Cynthia trotted out on stage with her guitar and stepped up to the mic. The
room filled with the strange first chords of Beautiful by Christina Aguilera.
Where s your guy? asked Jenna, who had taken a seat next to mine. Oh, oops did he dump
you or something?
I gave her a look, which she totally deserved. You are as bad as Charles. Maybe you guys
should go out, I said.
Actually, he s kind of cute.
I didn t bother pointing out all the flaws in that theory because at that moment Charles slid into the
chair on the other side of me. Suddenly, my bad mood got worse.
Hey, he said casually.
On stage, Cynthia wrapped up her guitar-pop set and, frowning at the audience s lack of reaction,
stormed out of the spotlight.
Mr. Winters gave a courtesy clap. Next is a presentation of Beauty and the Beast.
The stage lights came up, revealing the painted background. Again I was struck by the vivid colors
and impressionistic style of Austin s artwork. So was the audience, because a hush came over the
crowd.
Price strutted onstage. He d fashioned a beast headdress out of a brown fleece vest, and his face
was painted with whiskers and a dark nose. A buzz went through the audience. Although the costume
bordered on ridiculous, it was almost cute. Who s there? he called.
Ariel entered from stage left, in a red skirt and peasant top and carrying a basket. It s Belle. Your
guest. Where are you hiding?
Don t come any closer! Price said with a growl. You needn t see me to appreciate the riches of
my castle. He crouched down as if to hide.
That s ridiculous. Show yourself. My father said you are a beast, but& he must be& exaggerating
big-time.
Price gave Ariel a funny look, and I realized she d forgotten her lines. Price stepped out of the
shadows and into the spotlight.
Ariel gasped. You are not a man at all. You are a hairy beast!
It s true. I am a hairy beast. I m cursed. I must be this way until I find true love, Price said.
There were a few giggles from the crowd.
Price s eyes narrowed. You must stay here for a fortnight. Only then will you be free to return to
your family. I know I m not like the other men who have sought your hand, but maybe you will come to
love me in time. Price sounded so sincere, the audience stopped laughing.
How can that be? Ariel said, starting to remember her real lines. You frighten me. I will never
love you.
I winced. The Beauty and the Beast thing had been a really bad idea. Austin had been right to
skip the play. The last thing he needed was a reminder of how different he was. But I wasn t a Belle, was
I? I mean, I wasn t chicken to be around Austin. I cared about him no matter what form he took. Right?
The second the scene was over, I jetted out of there. I had to find him. I wanted to be with him, to
make the most of whatever time we had left or to make a last-ditch effort to get that serum. I didn t
want to be at camp without him. And I was pretty sure it wasn t called jumping in after someone when
you already had two feet in the pool.
The nearly full moon hung over Camp Crescent like a spotlight, giving everything a silvery blue glow and
casting deep, dark shadows. Light and dark, they went together, even when it came to slightly
creepy-looking trees. And maybe that s how people are, too. Only sometimes the shadows seem too
deep for the light to overcome.
After searching the cabin trail, the volleyball courts, and the back alley of the kitchen, I found
Austin sitting under a tree near the infirmary.
He looked up as I came down the path. How were the amateur theatrics?
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I gave him a smile. Beastly.
He reached up and pulled me down to sit next to him. Forgive my rudeness, he said. I didn t
mean to make you suffer through Talent Night alone. I decided to give Winters s office one last look.
I leaned against the tree trunk and threaded my fingers through the grass around me. You didn t
miss much. Honestly, without the singing candelabra, the play s not so hot.
He didn t laugh at my lame joke.
No luck with Mr. Winters s office, huh? I asked.
He shook his head and stuffed his hands into the pockets of his black sweatshirt. It s clear I can t
stay here. Pain edged his voice. I have to go.
I don t want you to leave, I said softly.
Why?
You re going to make me say it?
By all means, he said, a little sparkle in his brown eyes.
I kind of, you know& like you.
I m fond of you, too, he said. He moved closer to me, the centimeters between us dissolving
into millimeters, until he was&
Tingling with fear, I pulled back, my lips almost warm from the near kiss.
Austin frowned. I won t bite you. Trust me.
That hit me with extra force. I wanted to kiss him, but I couldn t. Austin was dangerous and not
just in the wild animal category. If I allowed him to like me, to kiss me, who knows what stupid thing I d
do for him? What risk I d take that would get me in further trouble, when all I needed to do was do my
time at Camp Crescent. And stay out of trouble. And I was hardly hanging on to that plan with all these
trips into the dark. It wasn t good.
I do trust you, I said, moving my face into the shadows so he wouldn t see the lie in my
expression.
That s complete rubbish, Austin said. I ve trusted you with my life, my secret. Why won t you
trust me? His gaze firmly fastened to mine, and I felt that weakness in me rise again. The weakness for
boys with charming smiles who loved to accompany me down the wrong path while pretending it was the
right one.
I ve had too many of these trust me talks lately in my life, I said. I don t trust you. I don t trust
anybody. I don t even trust myself. Ooh, that was weird to say aloud. I wondered where that d come
from, but somehow I knew deep down it was so true.
Sometimes you have to take a leap of faith. That s what life is. It s a series of leaps.
I m not afraid of those.
But you re afraid of me. You re afraid to kiss me. He reached for my hand. Life is too short to
be afraid to trust people who care about you.
I was afraid. Jillian Montrose was still in the back of my mind. Had Austin told me the whole
truth? There was no way for me to know.
Confusion and warmth seemed to radiate throughout my body as he wrapped his arms around me,
drawing me closer. I rested my head on his shoulder, taking in the spicy scent of his soap and skin. He
still smelled almost like marshmallows. I was pretty sure no killer smelled like that. I sighed into his neck.
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