Page 27 of Finding Her
poppy
“I don’t need to bring five pillows, Lilah,” I said, grabbing two of the pillows from my bag and chucking them back onto her bed. “One will be more than enough.”
“You’ll be sleeping on the ground, Poppy!” she exclaimed, her eyes wide like I was heading into some survivalist nightmare. “You need pillows.”
“I don’t even sleep with five pillows on my mattress,” I shot back. “I’ll be fine.”
Lilah was acting like this was my first camping trip—or like we hadn’t all done this exact same school trip before. I knew the drill. Sure, it wasn’t glamorous, but I wasn’t about to lug half of Bed Bath I didn’t need that coming up again. Besides, I liked that it was something just between us.
Rachel looked at me like I was being ridiculous. “Don’t you see? It’s better that way. It’s so primal. He’s gonna love it.”
I frowned. “Primal?”
“Yeah! Here, he’s surrounded by girls with perfect hair and makeup, right? But out there, it’s different. He’ll see you in a whole new light—like, out in nature, your true self. It’s evolutionary or something.”
I couldn’t even respond to that because I had no idea how to argue with… whatever that logic was.
Rachel plowed ahead. “Anyway, just make sure you pack a cute swimsuit. And clothes that—oh! And maybe some shampoo you can use in the lake if you’re desperate.”
“That’s probably an environmental hazard,” I muttered.
Rachel rolled her eyes. “Whatever. Sometimes you have to make sacrifices for love.”
“I’ve got your cute bathing suit right here!” Lilah announced, holding up a bikini she’d practically forced me to buy a few weeks ago.
I snatched it from her and shoved it into my bag with a sigh. “There. Are you guys happy now?”
“Very,” Rachel chirped. And with that, she spun on her heel and left.
I stared after her, dreading the inevitable fallout.
“She’s going to tell everyone about this now,” Saylor said dryly, leaning against my desk. “Just you watch. If you don’t come back from this trip with Levi in love with you, the girls are going to riot.”
I groaned, dropping my head into my hands. “Yeah, that’s what I’m afraid of.”