Spotlight: Andy and the Extroverts by Jessica K. Foster
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Genre: YA Contemporary Sweet Romance
Seventeen-year-old bookish Andy has no friends. When her over-involved mother has the audacity to ship her off to summer leadership camp, she's thrust into an introvert's nightmare. Everyone is a Communicator with a capital C, icebreaker activities are scheduled into every waking moment, and horror of all horrors: there's no coffee. Even the girls who take her under their wing are the kind of self-assured people Andy could never dream of becoming.
Then she meets Lucas—hot, attentive, and everything Andy reads about in her books. Though the girls in her cottage try to warn her about him, she's swept into the first romance of her life. But when she discovers her friends may be right, she'll have to find her inner confidence to save her summer and become the leader she was always meant to be.
Excerpt
“Okay, campers!” Suzie screeched the second we got back to the cottage.
It was like doomsday every time she used that phrase because right after it, she’d announce the next stupid activity and expect everyone to be excited about it.
“It’s time for the next awesome leadership activity! I know you’ve been enjoying them so far, but you’re really going to like this one.” She gave an exaggerated wink. Wait. That meant…
“We’re going to do this with our male counterparts, Beavers, so pair on up so we can get started.”
Pair? I looked to Paige helplessly, but she was already out the door. I sighed and followed her to where the Hippo cottage stood outside waiting for us. How did they get here so fast? Even more alarming was how fast everyone broke off into pairs. My hands tingled as Marshall sidled up next to Paige. I craned my neck and looked for Emma.
“Good thing I’ve forgiven you,” Lucas said as he walked toward me. “Or this might be awkward.”
I rolled my eyes. Like it was so hard to get pushed off a dock when you had the skills of a gold medal swimmer. I raised my eyebrows, but he didn’t say any more. Unlike me, he focused his attention on the instructions Tyler gave the group.
“…so choose who the person with the blindfold will be and who will give directions. We’ll start once you’ve got it sorted out.”
I peeked between Lucas and Paige and held back a groan when the course came into view. A grove of trees spanned the area in front of us, and pieces of red tape were strung between their wide trunks like trip wires. Stumps littered the ground. I’d seen this before on reality television. Minefield. One of us would have to be all yelly and tell the other one to go right or left or whatever to get through an obstacle course.
“What do you want to be?” Lucas asked like I had a choice. I couldn’t yell for crap, so it looked like I’d have to trust him not to kill me.
“Blindfolded.”
He frowned. “What?”
I snatched the red bandana from his hand with a scowl. I wasn’t talking that quietly.
“Oh, okay.” He smiled. “Don’t worry. I’ll be with you every step of the way.”
No, he wouldn’t. He’d be yelling at me every step of the way.
“Now, remember,” Suzie chirped as I struggled to tie the bandana around my eyes. “You can be next to your partner, but don’t touch the unless they look like their about to fall. This is a trust exercise. It’s also an exercise in giving clear, concise directions. Learn how to be the kind of leader who knows how to follow. Don’t peek!” She giggled.
Lucas brushed my hands away when the bandana came undone an tied it snugly around my eyes. He pushed the folds into layers until it blacked out everything.
“Good?” he asked.
If good meant helpless, then yes. I should’ve chosen to be his voice if partners could walk with each other the whole way—too late now.
I nodded.
“Okay, partners,” Tyler shouted, “the goal is to get them around—that—and back to your starting positions. It isn’t a race. It’s about finishing. Good luck! And go!”
“Okay, walk ten steps forward and then stop.” Lucas’s hot breath on my neck made my heartbeat triple. This was such a bad idea. A very sexy, very bad idea.
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About the Author
Jessica K. Foster writes funny, heartfelt Young Adult Contemporary fiction with a dash of romance. She is a middle school Language Arts teacher with a penchant for hot tea and romantic beach reads. Jessica lives in West Michigan with her husband, two boys, and their ragtag crew of rescue animals.
