Lake Rescue (12 page)

Kiki turned her head and stared out the window.

“Kiki. I have sent campers home before for disobeying important camp rules. But, I think you can do better. Am I right?”

Kiki nodded. Her parents had gone to New York for vacation. They would be furious if they had to cut their trip short. Kiki picked up her mirror and checked her hair. Chelsea Briggs was so totally annoying, she fumed. But, whatever.

O
kay, about a half hour of free time until lunch,” Jody announced. “Chelsea, help me make sandwiches, okay?”

“Sure.” Chelsea was grateful she didn’t have to help Kiki make sandwiches. How could Kiki be so incredibly mean? Chelsea began thinking that Kiki was under the spell of some wicked witch and that the only thing that would help was a good dunking in some ice-cold water. Hmm…the lake. When could she get Kiki alone in a canoe? “Uh-oh,” she could say. “I think Kiki fell out. I was so busy paddling, I never noticed. Has anyone seen her?” Chelsea smiled, reveling in the fantasy of Kiki taking a good dunking.

“I’m glad you can still smile at something,” Jody said, passing Chelsea mayonnaise and a loaf of bread. Then Jody set out stacks of turkey, ham, cheese, lettuce, and sliced
tomatoes, making an assembly line to be efficient. She opened up another loaf and quickly began to spread peanut butter and jelly on the slices.

Chelsea thought, I’m glad Jody can’t hear what I’m thinking. She’d probably send me home. Actually, Chelsea would have loved to be sent home, except for the camera work she’d miss. Wait till everyone sees my pictures of the loons, she thought proudly.

“Just think twice before letting her win.”

“Who?” Chelsea jumped out of her reverie.

“Whoever is bugging you.” Jody grinned, as if she had no idea.

As they got the sandwich making under control, Chelsea decided to trust Jody just a little. “Remember what you said yesterday, Jody? That you were really fat when you were a kid?”

“Well, I said heavy. I don’t use the word ‘fat’ anymore. I think it’s a mean thing to say, even to yourself.” Jody reached in a back pocket and brought out a thin billfold. Carefully, after wiping her hand on her shorts, Jody pulled out a photograph and handed it to Chelsea.

Chelsea wiped her own hand, took the photo, and stared at it. There was no other word to use to describe the kid who was obviously Jody at about twelve. Jody was fat. Really fat. Chelsea, at her worst, was never so big.

Chelsea handed the photo back and Jody put it away. “What happened? You’re in great shape. I mean, you’re not skinny, but you look good. You know, healthy, fit. How did you…and why do you carry that awful photo around all the time?”

“So I won’t forget.” Jody stacked finished sandwiches onto
a platter. “I figured out I was never going to be a size two, so I concentrated on being the absolute best, healthiest person I could be. My doctor told me that I was really at risk for diabetes.” (There was that word “diabetes” again, sighed Chelsea to herself.) “So, I figured that I would try and get healthy for awhile. I wouldn’t worry about the ‘the fat thing.’ I would just respect my body and eat healthy and exercise. I decided that exercise would be the easiest to start with. So, I started hiking in the woods with my high school hiking group. At first, I was uncomfortable because I didn’t know any of the kids and they were much better hikers than me. But it turned out that they were a really friendly group and everyone encouraged me. And, you know what? I loved it. I didn’t just like it, I mean I really loved it. Loved being outside. Pumping up the hills. It was fun. Next, I gave up the soda. Stopped watching TV all day on Saturdays and Sundays. You know, that’s when eating gets out of control for me. I watch TV, I eat. I eat, I watch TV. The two go hand in hand.”

Jody could have been telling Chelsea’s own story. She loved TV, and TV wasn’t TV without a snack…or maybe two or three.

“Anyway, I just kept getting healthier and happier and fitter and I realized what fun it would be to make a career out of the whole thing.”

Chelsea nodded. “I like to walk…When I miss my bus, I walk home from school. It gives me time to think.”

“That’s a great start. Maybe you could find a buddy to do that with. I used to have dance parties after school. A couple girls in my neighborhood who were also heavy came by. We had a ball.”

“And remember, all snacks are not created equal. Someone told me if you don’t get enough chewing, you don’t feel satisfied, even right after a meal. That was so me, I didn’t even try those liquid diets. Too boring. No fun at all. Instead, I made a list of crunchy snacks that took maximum chewing…and that I liked. Like carrots. Love baby carrots
—
so much tastier than the grownup ones.” Jody grinned.

“I like baby carrots too. I like to dip them in hummus.” Chelsea ripped open a new bag of bread. “How many of these sandwiches are we making anyway?”

“I figure most of the boys can eat two. They need to eat more to maintain their weight. Maybe we’ll stop at fifty or sixty. We can always make more.”

Chelsea knew she could eat two. Could she stop at one today? Or maybe, she would just try stopping when she had had enough. Maybe she would just slow down and see what happened. No pressure. That would make her want to eat more.

“Did you join any of those weight loss groups?”

“No, that wasn’t for me. What I did join was a martial arts class. The idea of a license to kick some you-know-what appealed to me. In class, I could knock someone flat, and it was okay. I had to admit I was holding in a lot of anger and unhappiness. Strange to say, as I became happier, I wasn’t as hungry. It’s easy to eat when you’re stressed or something happens that you feel you can’t do anything about.”

“Like someone calling you names or refusing to partner with you?”

“Exactly. I took a yoga class and I learned to meditate. Just sitting still without eating was a big accomplishment. Keeping your hands busy helps. Some people knit, but that wasn’t for me.”

“When I’m putting my pictures onto my computer and messing with them, I forget about eating.”

“Exactly. Keep busy with something you really like to do.”

“How long did it take you to lose as much weight as you wanted?”

“Two years, Chelsea.”

“Two years?” yelped Chelsea.

“Listen, Chelsea. Take it from one who knows. You are too young to even be considering a diet. Just eat some healthy food and get moving. It took me two years to change my life. It wasn’t easy, and some days I fell back into my old ways. But I didn’t stay there long and I knew that I wanted to feel better about myself. So I just kept going. Now, I just kind of eat healthy on a regular basis, stay away from too much junk, and keep active as much as I can. I’ll never go back. That’s why I look at that photo occasionally. Believe me, it sends chills down my spine to see that overweight, lonely kid
—
the kid that was me.” Jody paused and looked sidelong at Chelsea. Then she asked, “Do you ever feel lonely?”

Chelsea didn’t say anything for a long time. She could feel her pride keeping her from answering. But then she thought about how nice Jody was being to her and she figured maybe she would take a chance…and trust someone just this once.

“Sometimes, I do. Mostly at school, I keep to myself there.”

“You can feel terribly alone in a crowd. But, I’m not sure being lonely has anything at all to do with other people. I have a friend who just got married and moved away. She called me and said she’d never felt so lonely in her life.”

“Maybe she married the wrong guy.”

“No, he’s a really nice man. She is shy and for the first time in her life she has to make an effort to get out there and meet new people. It’s hard doing things you have never done before.”

Chelsea thought Jody was one of the smartest people she had ever met. She seemed to know about how people really felt.

Jody looked over at Chelsea with a big grin. “You know, before I got healthy, I assumed boys only liked skinny girls.”

“That’s not true?” Chelsea looked incredulous.

“No it’s not. Surprise! Guys like girls who are happy and confident and like to have fun.” Then she laughed. “Most guys I know don’t like to work too hard at relationships…you know what I mean?” All of sudden Chelsea started to laugh. “What’s so funny?” asked Jody.

“I was just thinking about my brother Ben and his girlfriend. Ben said he liked her because she made good pizza and she was the only girl who could catch one of his football passes.” Jody howled at that one and Chelsea joined in.
Lake Rescue just might be a turning point in my life,
Chelsea thought as she began loading the sandwiches on the plates.

As she helped Jody carry the plates to the big table, Chelsea thought about how Nick Montoya looked at Charlotte. He liked her, you could tell that. But he wasn’t real obvious about it. He just treated her as a friend. Who wouldn’t like Charlotte, or any of the Beacon Street Girls for that matter? They were fun, laughing all the time, always thinking up something crazy to do. If Chelsea laughed more, would people like her? If she went to gym class and tried all
the stuff, even if she looked stupid, would people say something like “Good try?” Unlikely, thought Chelsea wryly. Most seventh graders weren’t that clued in.

“Have you got some particular boy in mind?” Jody interrupted Chelsea’s thinking. She grinned at Chelsea.

“Oh, no. No boy—”

“Maybe not now. Try some of the other stuff first. The boys will come. If you give me your address, I can send you some information about an Outward Bound camp for kids. I went to one of their programs. That also helped to change my life. And after I got over being scared out of my mind by everything they were making us do, that camp was the most fun I’d ever had up to that point. That’s a big reason I became a camp counselor here.”

“Thanks for asking me to help make the sandwiches, Jody,” Chelsea said, lifting another platter of sandwiches.

“If I give you my address or my e-mail, will you write to me? I’d like to know how you’re doing.”

“Would you really write back?”

“Of course. And will you send me some photos from this week?” Jody asked.

“It’s a deal.”

Outside, Chelsea took a plate and a sandwich. She took a small handful of potato chips and piled on raw carrots, celery sticks, and an apple.

She found it hard to pass by the chocolate chip cookies, so this time she just took one instead of her usual three or four. Then she took a glass of iced tea instead of a cola drink. In a couple of hours, she would probably be starving, but she might as well give this healthy eating thing a try. For once it didn’t feel
like a punishment, and it seemed to have worked for Jody.

Nash made the announcements after lunch. “Okay, listen up, green and blue teams. We are generously giving you one hour of free time. You can nap, write in those journals I know you brought with you, or just hang. Then report back here at two o’clock.”

“Is that when we do basket weaving?” Henry Yurt asked.

“And how about making those little braided leather key chains?” Dillon remarked. “I promised everyone at home I’d bring them one.”

“In your dreams,” Nash said. “This is hard-core outdoor education.”

“I told you this would be like having gym class for a week,” Maeve said. “I could sleep all afternoon.”

“I agree.” Katani held her eyelids open. “Just this once, I choose nap time.”

Maeve linked arms with Katani, and the two girls walked up the hill to their cabin. As they crawled into their bunks, their cabin mates trickled in behind them and flopped down to snooze or read for a while. Everyone was glad for the chance to rest. Just as Maeve’s eyes were closing, the door burst open and slammed against the wall. Anna’s and Joline’s shrill voices pierced through the peacefulness.

“Ugh, it smells like feet in here!” Anna said loudly.

Joline giggled. “Yeah, it’s not pretty.”

“Then why don’t you go take a nap outside,” Katani replied, rolling over to get more comfortable.

Maeve burrowed into her sleeping bag with her headphones to drown out the Queens of Mean.

After free time, Jody waved them together for yet another trust exercise…uugh. The BSG groaned.

“I trust all of you, you trust me,” Isabel said. “I don’t think we need to prove it.”

“While you were sleeping we created this work of art,” Mia explained, pointing to a huge spider-web wall of ropes. “Here’s the plan. We’re all on the same team. The goal is to get every team member to the other side. We’re going to break up into threes for this exercise. Two of you take your third person and literally weave that person up and over the web, passing in and out of the ropes. I’m going to give you pieces of colored string so I can check that you’ve not taken any shortcuts.”

“I saw this on TV,” Avery said. “It’s not easy. Better find two lightweight partners.”

Chelsea was standing right behind Avery when she said that. Chelsea stepped away immediately.

Here we go again,
Chelsea thought. And just a few minutes earlier, she had been feeling better than she’d felt in a long time.

“Jody, this is going to be good. But I left my best close-up camera in my bunk. I’m going to get it.”

Jody, hands on her hips, looked long and hard at Chelsea. Then she shrugged. “Okay, hurry back.”

Chelsea wanted to run, but she walked as fast as she could. Instead of going inside her cabin, she walked behind it and leaned against the wall. She was just never going to win, was she? Tears began to well as she slid down to a sitting position. And suddenly she was so hungry that even a handful of baby carrots seemed like chocolate-chip cookies.

“Chelsea?”

Chelsea hadn’t realized that she wasn’t the only one seeking refuge behind the cabin. “Katani?” Chelsea’s eyes were blurry, but there was no mistaking the girl in shorts who, sitting like a grasshopper, seemed all arms and legs.

“What are you doing here?” Katani asked, as if it wasn’t obvious.

“Avoiding the spider web,” Chelsea dared her to say something.

“Sounds good to me.”

“But
you
could do that rope, spider-web thing.”

“Check it out, Chelsea. I’m all arms and legs. I’d be so tangled in a couple of minutes, it would take an army of people with giant scissors to get me out. So, I left…I didn’t want to mess it up for the whole team.”

Chelsea started to giggle at the picture Katani painted. “I wonder who dreamed up all these torture exercises.”

Katani grinned. “It was probably a group effort. One mind couldn’t possibly be so devilishly evil. But you would have gotten some great photos.”