Read Camp Confidential 01 - Natalie's Secret Online

Authors: Melissa J Morgan

Camp Confidential 01 - Natalie's Secret (14 page)

BOOK: Camp Confidential 01 - Natalie's Secret
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“Well, duh, I’ll take pictures then, too!” Chelsea said, speaking as though Natalie were five years old. “Oh, look—” she squealed. “A rabbit!”
Sure enough, a tiny spotted rabbit leaped out from the trees and landed just before Chelsea’s feet. It froze, blinking furiously. Then it hopped away.
“Oh, I
so
need a picture of that!” Chelsea exclaimed, darting off after it. The rabbit bounced off to the left of the path and down a sloping hill.
Natalie glanced up ahead to where Roseanne and the group were continuing along. Everyone in the group was busy collecting samples from the trail and didn’t seem to have noticed that Natalie, Simon, and Chelsea were lagging behind. Suddenly, Natalie felt nervous. They really weren’t supposed to go off on their own. But then again, she and Simon were Chelsea’s buddies. They couldn’t let her out of their sight. That was the rules.
“Shoot,” she muttered. “What should we do?”
Simon looked equally panicked, in his own low-key way. “I guess we have to go after her, pull her back,” he said.
They took one last, fleeting glance at the group and started down the slope after Chelsea. “Chelsea, come on!” Natalie shouted. “We’re not supposed to go off the path!”
“Don’t be such a freak, Nat!” Chelsea called back over her shoulder. “We’ve barely been gone five minutes! Come on! The rabbit’s trying to hide! It would make a really cute picture.”
“If the rabbit is hiding, Chelsea, it’s probably scared of you,” Simon pointed out. He slid a few paces and skidded to a stop in front of her.
“Uf,”
Natalie grunted, tripping over her feet and landing inches behind Simon. She grabbed at him for traction then pulled back as if she’d been electrocuted. “Sorry.”
She blew a thick clump of hair off her face gracelessly. “Where’s Thumper?”
“You scared him off,” Chelsea snapped, suddenly cranky. “Thanks a lot.”
“Um, sorry?” Natalie said. “I practically skidded down the hill on my butt. It was hardly on purpose.” She was hot and tired and not in the mood for attitude. “Anyway, you know we’re not supposed to run off.” She rubbed at her shoulders and thought absently that it was probably time to reapply the sunscreen.
“Guys,” Simon said, breaking into the heated moment. “Forget the rabbit. I think we have other problems.”
Natalie put her hands on her hips. “What?” she asked. It was humid, buggy, and they still had at least another hour to go before they reached the campsite. What other problems could there possibly be?
He jerked his head back in the direction of the group. “Well, for starters, I don’t see them anymore,” he said.
Natalie glanced over to where he was pointing. He was right. She couldn’t make out even the faintest forms on the path. She had no idea where the rest of the group had gone.
They were on their own.
 
 
“I
knew
I shouldn’t have paired up with Miss New York,” Chelsea grumbled, trudging along. Since they had gotten separated from the group, she had completely reverted back to her old self. She was sour and angry, taking constant jabs at Natalie. It was as though her whole about-face thing had never happened at all.
For her part, Natalie was mostly exhausted and exasperated, and more than ready to meet up with the group again to set up camp. “Yeah, yeah, I know,” Natalie muttered. “You’re my best friend, too, Chelsea. Look, for now, let’s just concentrate on finding Roseanne. I never thought I’d say this, but I’m dying to set up the cooker and roll out our sleeping bags. I’d even be willing to bathe in the river.” She stopped for a moment, having a thought. “The river!” she said excitedly.
Chelsea glared at her. “Yeah? What about it?”
“Roseanne said we were camping a quarter mile upstream from where the river forked.” Flustered, she pulled the map out of her back pocket. It was damp and sticky, like everything else, but she ignored that and unfolded it. “Here’s where we last saw the group,” she said, pointing to a spot on the dirt path. “That’s where we went when we saw the rabbit—I think.” She slid her finger down and off to one side. “But I think we thought we were going parallel, but really, we veered off west. And the river is north.”
Simon peered at the map over her shoulder. “I think you’re right.”
“So what does that mean?” Chelsea demanded.
“It means if we head north again, we’ll find the river,” Simon explained.
“—and if we find the river, we’ll find the group,” Natalie finished.
“Why should I listen to you two, anyway?” Chelsea whined. “Natalie, you’re just a stuck-up city girl, anyway.
Not
exactly the ideal trail guide!” She smirked to herself at her own nasty joke.
“Why should you listen to me?” Natalie asked. “Because if it weren’t for
you
, we wouldn’t be in this mess, anyway! Now come on—we don’t have time for this. What other choice do we have?”
“Ugh,
fine
,” Chelsea agreed. “But I don’t trust you at all.”
“I can live with that,” Natalie said. She fished a compass out of her backpack. “Simon, can you read this thing?”
He took it from her and held it flat in his palm. “Yup,” he said. “Follow me.”
 
 
“Natalie!”
Natalie thought she had never in her life been so glad to hear the sound of Roseanne’s voice. For her part, Roseanne sounded thrilled beyond belief to see Natalie, Simon, and Chelsea.
“
Where
did you guys get off to? We’ve got LJ driving the van off in every direction trying to find you.”
“Well, obviously not
every
direction,” Natalie quipped wearily. “Have you got any water?” She tossed her pack off her back and collapsed down next to it, taking her hair out of its ponytail and shaking it out.
“Of course, of course,” Roseanne said, offering her canteen to Natalie. “The others are pitching the tents over in that clearing—” she pointed to a spot in the distance. “And then when LJ gets back, he’s going to start cooking dinner.”
“Thank God,” Natalie said. “I dropped my granola bar in the river a mile or so back, and I’m starving.”
“Whatever,” Chelsea interrupted. “It’s totally Natalie’s fault that we got lost.”
“What? But—” Natalie began, then stopped. She was too tired, anyway.
“Chelsea, dear, why don’t you go help the others pitch the tents, okay?” Roseanne suggested. Chelsea marched off in the direction indicated without offering even a second glance at Natalie or Simon.
Once she was out of earshot, Natalie turned to Roseanne imploringly. “It is so
not
my fault that we got lost—” she started.
Roseanne laughed. “Why do I not doubt that? Sweetie, don’t get yourself all worked up. You’ve had a long afternoon. Just relax and take a load off. Simon can fill me in on the rest.”
Natalie had to admit, the idea of resting for a bit sounded awfully appealing. From across the clearing, she could hear the laughter of the group. The thought of making conversation and explaining what happened felt overwhelming. A moment to regroup seemed like the right thing. And regardless of where their friendship was, she trusted Simon to relay the truth to Roseanne. So she smiled at the both of them, stood, brushed herself off, and walked away—though not
too
far away. She’d learned her lesson, after all.
Natalie found a quiet spot in the shade. She crouched on a flat rock and looked out over the hilltops. She could see the river down below—and if she turned around, she could see the other campers chilling out at the site. She exhaled deeply and took in the scenery.
Central Park had nothing to compare to this. True, she could ride horseback or canoe in the lake, eat ice cream or watch Shakespeare performed outdoors. New York was a special place, no doubt about it. But then, so was Lakeview. Natalie realized that she didn’t care that Chelsea was being bratty again—in a way, it was even a relief. At least it felt natural. And she would somehow apologize to Simon. Even if he didn’t want to be friends, she owed him that much, and she would gather up the courage to tell him so. But not now. Right now, she was just going to breathe in the clean mountain air.
I’m like a commercial for Grape-Nuts or something
, she realized with wonder.
What’s going on with me? Am I, like, a real camper now?
She glanced down at her legs. The scratches and bruises she’d gotten while trying to link up with the rest of the group were proof-positive that she was definitely gaining a new perspective on the great outdoors. The thought made her smile to herself.
“I’ve got something that’ll
really
make you smile,” she heard.
She looked up to see Simon holding out a granola bar. “Since I knew you lost yours.”
She took it eagerly. “Have I mentioned I’m
dying
of hunger?” she asked.
He gave her a look. “I think once or twice.”
She swatted at him jokingly. “Sit. Share,” she commanded.
Simon lowered himself onto the ground next to her and took half of the granola bar willingly. “So,” he started, suddenly sounding nervous.
“No, me first,” Natalie cut in. “I need to tell you that I’m sorry. I’m sorry I didn’t say anything about my father. I shouldn’t have been so secretive. And I’m sorry I ran away the other day. I could tell you were upset, and I just wasn’t ready to deal.”
Simon nodded thoughtfully. “I know. I get it. I mean, I’m not gonna lie—I was really upset yesterday, Nat. It really hurt me to think that you didn’t feel you could tell me.”
“It’s not that—” Natalie started.
“—listen,” Simon pressed. “The point is, I get it now. I saw how everyone reacted to your father, and I can see why you wanted to keep it a secret for a while.”
“I wanted people to like me for who I am,” Natalie explained.
“People?” Simon asked.
Natalie blushed. “Some people more than others.”
Simon put his arm around Natalie’s shoulders. Rockets went off in her stomach. “I just hope that from now on, you know you can always be straight with me.”
Natalie tilted her head to look him straight in the eyes. “I know. I will. I promise.”
“I think you were awesome today, the way you knew how to find the way back to camp,” he said.
“Come on—you knew, too.”
“You had the compass. We would have been lost without you,” Simon said.
“Fair enough,” Natalie agreed. “Let’s just compromise and say that we’re a great team.”
Simon slipped his hand around Natalie’s own. “Absolutely,” he said.
chapter TWELVE
“Okay, so is it true that Chelsea was, like, trapped by a bear and almost eaten?” Brynn asked. She sounded sort of excited at the prospect.
“Not even!” Natalie exclaimed. “Where did you hear such a thing?”
“Well, Simon’s telling everyone how you rescued Chelsea after she got lost,” Alex said.
The three girls were on their way out of the mess hall following dinner. Natalie and the rest of the campers from the overnight had returned back to Lakeview early that afternoon, but they were given a few hours to kick back and do whatever they wanted. For Natalie, that meant sitting out on the front porch of 3C reading
Entertainment Weekly.
She only counted two wild rumors connected to her father. To her that was progress. One said he was having hair transplants done before his next movie. To the best of her knowledge, Natalie’s father had never had any plastic surgery done. She’d have to make sure and give him a hard time about that gossip the next time they spoke.
Since Natalie had spent the afternoon by herself, she was totally unaware of the rumors that were flying around camp about
her.
Simon had let it slip—intentionally, she guessed—that the three of them had been separated from the group and had been forced to find their way to the campsite with little more than a compass and some bug spray. But somehow, the story had morphed into a tale of daring rescue. One that made her sound like a cross between Lara Croft and the Crocodile Hunter. It was too funny. She had to admit, she didn’t mind the attention that much. It seemed to have superceded people’s obsession with her movie-star father, so for now, at least, she was okay with it.
“It was so not a big deal,” Natalie said, shaking her head. “Chelsea ran off, and we ran after her.” It was the truth, after all.
Chelsea had been quiet since they’d all returned. Those who were talking about her didn’t seem to have the guts to go right up
to
her and ask her about the trip. She and the rest of bunk 3C were still milling outside of the mess hall while Brynn, Alex, and Natalie killed time in the nearby pagoda. Natalie was finding that her opinion toward Alex had mellowed slightly. The girl was definitely a type-A model camper, but she was friendly and sincere, and she was one of the few of Natalie’s bunkmates who had really gone out of her way to be as normal as possible after she found out the truth about Natalie’s father.
“Well, I heard that when she realized that you guys had lost the rest of the group, she totally freaked, and you had to, like, talk her down,” Brynn said.
BOOK: Camp Confidential 01 - Natalie's Secret
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