Camp Confidential 06 - RSVP (11 page)

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Authors: Melissa J Morgan

BOOK: Camp Confidential 06 - RSVP
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Alex was relieved that her mom had called Natalie’s mother to tell her that she and Brynn were taking a later bus. That way she hadn’t had to talk to Natalie herself. They were going to miss helping decorate the table . . . with
Natalie’s
decorations.
That was fine with Alex.
“Are you thinking about Chelsea?” Brynn asked as they rode the bus toward New York City. “You have such a weird look on your face.”
“I’m thinking about Natalie,” Alex confessed. Her mood darkened. “And
now
I’m thinking about Chelsea.”
“I’m stressed out, too,” Brynn said. Her eyes got huge. “What if we walk in and Natalie has told everyone we’re fighting? And everyone, like,
stares
at us? And the room goes totally silent. The music just stops.”
Alex blinked at Brynn’s drama-queen version of the situation. It wouldn’t be anything like
that,
would it?
Brynn peered at her, staring into her eyes. “Alex? Are you feeling sick?”
Alex shook her head. “I’m great.”
“Oh, good.” Brynn exhaled. “I thought you were going to say you had to go home.”
“No way.” Alex took a deep breath and smiled broadly. She would give this reunion her all. She’d make sure she wasn’t a drag to anybody, especially not to Brynn.
But how was she going to do that when things were so messed up with Natalie?
Jenna, Natalie, Grace, and Alyssa modeled for Natalie’s mom, making snobby pout-faces as they stomped down an invisible fashion show runway in the center of the living room. She applauded each girl’s strut as they paraded in their cool new outfits.
She’d seen Natalie’s choice already, of course. Natalie was wearing a black-and-purple checked top and black leather pants from Italy. Grace was wearing a lavender sweater and black pants, and she had caught up her crazy curls with a stretchy dark purple headband. Jenna was in a purple and gray top and black jeans, which was pretty dressy for her. Alyssa had on her trademark black T-shirt and black jeans. It was awesome with her new haircut.
Natalie’s mom had been concerned about Alyssa’s short, purple streaks. She was uncertain if Alyssa’s mom would be upset that her daughter had done something so extreme when she was away from home. But there wasn’t much she could do about it now.
Natalie and the others had decorated the living room for the sleepover. They had crisscrossed strings of plastic palm tree lights across the ceiling. Dark blue and green streamers of seaweed and silly fish with big eyes and kissy lips hung over the windows. Natalie had hung a wacky singing fish mounted on a trophy plaque on the door of the guest bathroom. The robot fish would start to wiggle and sing whenever someone walked past the guest bathroom.
They decided to add Jenna’s trunk to the decor, making it look like a little grass shack by draping some green sheets over it. Using Natalie’s computer and printer, Jenna made a sign that said FUN SHACK. It was written in a Hawaiian-flower font she found on the Internet. Jenna taped the sign to the entrance to the shack.
With lots of squeals and giggles, they hid Chelsea’s surprise behind the “shack.” Then they gathered up several shopping bags brimming with decorations and treats for the bunk table. Each girl had packed some incredible junk food or other goody for everyone else.
“Whoa! That’s my sack,” Jenna said quickly, as Grace picked up a dark blue bag. “I’ll carry it!”
“What’s in it?” Grace started to look.
“A surprise,” Jenna said quickly. “For the table. So let’s go!”
Natalie and the others had permission to enter the party half an hour early to help decorate their table. If Alex and Brynn had made the earlier bus, they would have been included.
Why is Alex so mad at me?
Natalie thought anxiously.
The intercom buzzer sounded, and Mr. Bartok said, “Ms. Goode? Is car.”
“Thank you, Mr. Bartok,” Natalie’s mom replied. She rose. “Showtime, ladies. I’ll walk you girls outside.”
They took the elevator and went through the front door as Mr. Bartok cried, “Ah! You are four beautiful young ladies! The ladies of purple!”
“Have fun,” Natalie’s mom said, as the four climbed into their car.
Noah placed their bags of goodies into the trunk, got into the driver’s seat, and started the engine. The car pulled away.
“I feel like Cinderella!” Grace announced.
“Me too!” Jenna exclaimed, holding her blue bag on her lap.
“Me three,” Alyssa murmured. “Thanks for everything, Nat. This has been amazing.”
“Yeah, just when I think it can’t get any more amazing, it gets more amazing,” Grace added.
“It’s not over yet,” Natalie replied, trying to sound positive. “It’ll be so nice to see everybody again.”
“Yeah, no kidding. Now you’re going to reunite with Prince Charming.” Jenna blinked her eyes rapidly, making her eyelashes flutter. She pushed her lips together and made little smooching noises. “Oh, Simon, I
loooove
you!”
“Simon! Oh, Simon!” Grace gushed, kissing the back of own hand.
“Hey, as I recall, you and
Devon
were a thing,” Natalie shot back.
“Oh, well,” Grace said, all flustered. “He may have competition, you know. Back home.”
“Who? Greg? Or Andrew?” all the girls demanded at once. They started teasing Grace about the two boys she hung out with in drama club.
“I wonder if Marissa and Pete will be all loveydovey,” Grace said, obviously trying to take the attention off herself.
“Love at the reunion! It’s so exciting!” Jenna cried.
Everyone laughed hard.
Then the car pulled up to Village Bowl.
“Am I dreaming?” Grace gasped.
Village Bowl took up an entire city block. It was four stories tall and the façade was painted to look like a hip, retro version of Greenwich Village during the fifties. There were all kinds of businesses and stores—a deli, a newspaper stand, a tobacco shop, a bookstore, a beauty parlor, and a soda shoppe.
Painted fifties-style people populated the “buildings.” There were guys with oily, slicked-back hair, jeans with rolled-up cuffs, and white T-shirts. Girls in poodle skirts walked by with their noses in the air. One of them was holding a rhinestone-studded leash around the neck of a snooty poodle that was the twin of the one on her dress.
Noah continued down the street, signaling a left, and turned into an underground parking garage. The tunnel was painted to look like a bowling lane, with an explosion of pins on the opposite wall.
“Even the parking garage is amazing!” Grace cried.
Noah pulled into a space in the vast, brightly painted parking area and turned off the engine. He offered to help the girls carry their bags. Natalie thanked him, saying, “We have four sets of hands.”
“Besides, the elevator is already here,” Jenna announced, grabbing up her mysterious blue bag. She rushed toward the opening doors of an elevator painted like a go-kart zooming toward them. “Hurry, you guys!”
Laughing, the other three caught up with her. All the heavy bags bashed against their knees.
“How’s my hair?” Natalie asked Alyssa.
“Perfect,” Alyssa assured her. She grinned at her. “
Simon
will love it.”
They took the elevator to the fourth floor. When it stopped, an electronic voice shouted, “Get outta here! Have some fun!”
They squealed with laughter.
“We will!” Grace called back.
Before them stood double doors, painted in checks of white, red, and black, with a neon sign over the door that blinked off and on. It read: GET IN HERE! And below it, VILLAGE BOWL PARTY ZONE!
“Here goes nothin’,” Jenna said, pushing on the doors. Natalie joined her and they went inside together.
chapter
NINE
Festive Mylar balloons in all shades of fun bobbed against the ceiling of the Village Bowl Party Room. Metallic streamers hung from the balloons, shimmering in the light of at least three whirling disco balls.
Below the balloons, counselors, CITs, and a few campers were decorating the tables with tablecloths and centerpieces.
“Look!” Jenna jumped up and down, jabbing her finger to the left. Beside an undecorated table, their beloved petite blond counselor was unfolding a shimmery purple tablecloth.
“
Julie!”
all the girls cried at once.
They raced toward her. A clump of balloons at the opposite end of the table moved, and Natalie spotted Marissa behind them.
“Marissa!” she called, waving.
In no time at all, the girls were group-hugging Julie and Marissa. Everyone was talking at once—about their looks—hair, clothes, manicures—and catching up on school, sports, and boys.
Finally, Julie asked them, “Where are Alex and Brynn?”
Jenna, Grace, and Alyssa looked at Natalie, as if she was supposed to speak for the group. She didn’t know if she should go into the fight between them. Alex and Brynn weren’t here to give their side of the story, and she didn’t want to sound like she was tattling on them.
Alyssa stepped up. She said, “Alex needed a little more rest, so they’re catching a later bus.”
“Oh?” Julie looked concerned. “Is she okay?”
“Yeah,” Natalie said. “They’re meeting us here.”
Julie’s frown morphed into a big smile. “All right! That’s great news.” She resumed unfolding the tablecloth. “Let’s hustle. Show me what you brought.”
“We got these,” Natalie said. She dug in the bag she was holding. Out came a white plastic bowling pin with a slot in the top. Each pin came with a blank name tag to fit into the slot. “We got fourteen of them. They’re place cards.”
“Cool!” Julie said. “Can a couple of you write the names of all the girls on the cards? We’ll put them in a little pile and let each person choose where she wants to sit.”
“Can we choose now?” Grace asked. “Because that way, I won’t have to sit next to Chel . . . I mean, I’ll get to sit with Jenna.”
“Yeah, Grace and I have been really wanting to sit next to each other,” Jenna added, her eyes big, wide, and innocent as she stood close to Grace. Grace put her arm around Jenna’s shoulders.
“We’ve been totally missing each other,” Grace added.
The balloons bumped against each other as Marissa traded the bunch from her left hand to her right and picked up a Sharpie.
“Now remember, girls,” she said. “We want everyone to have a good time, okay? Let’s be friendly to everyone.”
“
Everyone
,” Julie added for emphasis.
“We’re on it,” Natalie assured her, and the others nodded.
“I’ll write the names on the place cards,” Alyssa said, taking the Sharpie from Marissa.
“I’ll help with that,” Grace offered, picking up one of the nametags.
“Great,” Julie said, smiling at them. “Now, Natalie, can you help me tape down our tablecloth?”
“Of course,” Natalie said, glad to have a good job—one that meant helping Julie.
Marissa said, “Jenna, I want you to tie one balloon to the back of each chair.”
Jenna studied the balloons. Then she said slowly, “I wonder what would happen if we tied, like, fifty balloons to one chair. Do you think it would float?”
Marissa clutched the balloons with both hands, keeping them out of Jenna’s eager reach.
“That will remain an unanswered question,” Marissa ordered her. “Am I clear?”
“Totally,” Jenna assured her. She lost her smile and nodded, looking very serious. “Balloon.” She pointed to the balloon. “Chair.” Pointed to the chair. “I can do that. Promise.”
“Okay.” With a friendly smile, Marissa handed Jenna the bouquet of balloons. “I’ll go get our stash of treats.”
“It is
huge
,” Julie said.
“
Tell
me you have Twizzlers,” Jenna pleaded.

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