Camp by L. C. Rosen

Author:L. C. Rosen [Rosen, L. C.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780241428269
Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd
Published: 2020-05-27T18:30:00+00:00

SEVENTEEN

“Astrud Gilberto, ‘Fly Me to the Moon,’” Mark announces by way of waking us up. “Technically it was written in the fifties, but Gilberto recorded it in 1964, the same year as Sinatra, though they’d both been performing it for a while. Of course, Sinatra’s version became the famous one. People associated it with the Space Race. Couldn’t do that with a Brazilian woman, I guess. I find her version to be much more romantic, and frankly, superior.”

He presses PLAY as we all begin getting out of bed, barely having listened to his lecture. The music, though. The music is … amazing. I’ve heard the song before—Sinatra, I guess—but this version is flowing and rhythmic, and makes me think of posing in silky robes that flow out like wings. And apparently I’m not the only one. George is up, already making wings with his nightgown, and everyone else is following him, throwing their sheets over their shoulders and using them as capes. I hold back for a moment, wanting to join but also knowing it doesn’t fit the Del character. But I don’t have to play Del here. Here I can be Randy. And besides, maybe Del was a failure. Maybe Del is about to get dumped. I grab my sheet and start dancing with the rest of them, the smooth music moving me and making me feel like some sixties starlet.

The screen door creaks open and I turn dramatically to see who it is. And there’s Hudson, staring at me, confused.

“Hey,” he says.

“Hey,” I say, in my matching pajamas and with a sheet around my shoulders like a dressing gown. This is probably very bad, but I keep smiling.

“What are you doing?” he asks. Everyone around me is still dancing, but I can see Mark watching us with a raised eyebrow. I drop the sheet on my bed and walk to the door, then outside. Hudson follows.

“I was just dancing. We start the day with music,” I say, hoping I sound nonchalant.

“Like that?” Hudson asks.

“Actually, that kind of dancing is great for flexibility,” I say. “My soccer coach taught me some of those moves.” He stares at me for a moment, and I can’t tell if he buys it. Change the subject, Randy. “So why did you stop by so early?” I smile up at him. His hair is wet. He must have been up early and showered.

“I wanted to see you,” he says, shrugging. He grins for a second but it falls. “You know, just because you share a bunk with them doesn’t mean you have to act like them.”

“Them?” I say.

“I mean …” He frowns and we walk around to the side of the cabin. I can still hear the music from inside. “Sorry, that sounded bad. I just mean, you know, you don’t have to be a stereotype.”

“Stereotype?” I ask, my body feeling chilly. Inside, the music stops. A new song comes on.

“Like, all girly and stuff. I know plenty of queer people do that, but … that’s the thing everyone expects us to do, right?”

“I don’t know,” I say.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.