The Order of the Poison Oak Read Online Free PDF

“What do you know about him?”
    Min was staring out at the darkening lake. “Web?” she said. “Not much.”
    “Come on! You were his partner the whole last week. Thanks a lot for that, by the way.”
    “I do know one thing,” Min said. “He’s not gay.”
    This wasn’t what I was wanting to hear.
    “How do you know?” I asked Mm.
    “He had a girlfriend,” she said.
    “That doesn’t mean anything,” I said. “Maybe he’s just not out. Maybe he hasn’t figured it out yet. Or maybe he’s bisexual. You of all people should know that just because he has a girlfriend, that doesn’t mean he’s not gay!”
    “It’s a feeling, then,” Min said. “He’s not gay, I can tell. Gaydar.”
    “You can’t have gaydar!” I said. “You’re bi!” Yes, I know this was a dumb thing to say, but I was desperate. I really wanted there to be some way for me to hook up with Web.
    “Russel,” Min said evenly. “Trust me. He’s not gay.”
    * * * * *
    I wasn’t sure why Min was pissing me off—she was just giving her opinion, right? But she was really making me mad.
    “He might be gay,” I said, barely able to keep my balance on the rock.
    “He’s not!” Min said, so loudly that it echoed in the little cove.
    In the silence that followed, waves lapped against the rock, which was weird because the water had been calm before and I hadn’t heard any boats go by.
    “So what’s up with Mr. Whittle’s nose hair?” Gunnar said, obviously changing the subject on purpose. “Does it drive you guys as crazy as it does me?”
    I didn’t say anything, and Min didn’t either. She shifted uncomfortably, but I don’t think it had anything to do with the uneven surface of the rock.
    “Min,“ I said softly, “it doesn’t matter what Web is. I just think he’s cute.”
    She looked over at me. “He’s not gay.”
    Okay, now I was annoyed. Here I’d been all mature, trying to move on and everything, and she wouldn’t let it rest.
    “You don’t know that!” I said. “There’s no way you can possibly know if he’s gay or not!”
    “Who cares?” Gunnar said. “What difference does it make who’s gay?”
    This was a good question. Why did Min care so much? She had always had a competitive streak, especially with me. And a few months before, we’d both broken up with people at almost the same time. Did she not want me finding someone new before she did?
    Suddenly, Min stood up. “I need to go check on my kids.”
    She hopped back down to the beach, but before she disappeared into the darkness, I couldn’t resist saying, “He could be gay!” I know it was snotty, but Min had been being bitchy, and she’d been bitchy before I’d been snotty. Besides, I was only sixteen years old.
    She turned around to face me.
    “He’s not gay,” she said, neither bitchy nor snotty, but like she was just stating a scientific fact.
    Frankly, it sounded to me like a dare.
    Chapter Four
    The next day, the real camp schedule began. In the morning, the kids all got to pick an “individual activity” for the week, like woodworking or kayaking. For this they divided up into activity groups, each of which was led by a team of two counselors, and sometimes an adult. For the first week, I had arts and crafts (how gay is that?). It went okay, probably because it was twelve girls and Blake, the least monster-y of my kids, after Trevor. Unfortunately, then I had to meet up with all my kids together, first for lunch, then for our daily “all-camp activity” (that day, it was sack races and tug-of-war on the marching field). As expected, my kids were little hurricane-monsters again, and there didn’t seem to be anything I could do to control them.
    After that, the kids had a couple of hours of free time until dinner, but we counselors didn’t get a break, because we still had to supervise them. I had lifeguard duty with Em down at the swimming area.
    “Hey,” I said, joining her on the beach. Neither of us bothered