Tug-of-War (21 page)

Betsy smiled at her new nickname and came back inside.

“I was thinking—we should all sign our names somewhere on the wall. All the Side A girls, okay?” I went to my duffel and dug around inside it for the bottle of black shoe polish I'd bought before camp started. I'd packed it for just this purpose.

“Here it is. This is how we'll really leave our mark.” I pulled out the bottle and shook it up.

Devon stared at the graffiti-covered walls all around us. “There aren't any blank spots left,” she insisted.

“How about down here?” I asked. I pushed the end of our bunk beds away from the wall and pointed to a spot that was almost completely untouched.

“Nobody can see it there because the bunks are in the way,” said Maggie.

“No, this'll be perfect,” I told her. “There's room for all four of us.” I kept shaking the bottle to get the polish mixed up. “How about we sign our nicknames?” I suggested.

Then I took the cap off the bottle and wrote “Kachina” with the sponge tip before handing the bottle to Maggie.

“Hmm, which name should I sign? Windsoroni, Beefaroni, Veggeroni?”

“Don't forget King Kong, Gorilla Feet, or Banana Eater,” added Devon.

“I guess I'll pick my favorite—which would have to be Beefaroni, the name my
best
friend Devon gave me on the first day of camp,” Maggie said with a grin.

When she finished, she handed the bottle to Devon, who acted totally bored with this whole ritual. “Same thing for me—which name? Ghosty Girl, Grainy Girl, or Palechild?” She sighed, but she could hardly keep from smiling. She leaned forward and wrote “Palechild,” making the letters as fancy as she could with the sponge tip.

“Last but certainly not least—Mastermind. You're next,” I said as Devon passed the black bottle to Betsy, who was grinning from ear to ear.

Betsy signed her new nickname and then put the cap back on the bottle. The strong smell of shoe polish filled the air.

“Kachina, Beefaroni, Palechild, Mastermind,” I read off the list. “That's gonna make future Pine Haven campers wonder, don't you think?”

“Thanks, everyone,” said Betsy. “I don't feel like such a newbie anymore.”

“Hey, I still can't believe a newbie was the one who was pranking everyone in the cabin,” said Maggie. “Newbies never play pranks!”

“Well, yeah,” said Betsy, “but remember, my mom came to Pine Haven for seven years, and she told me
all kinds of stories about the pranks they used to play. I kept expecting to be short-sheeted every single night, but . . . nothing. Nobody was playing pranks on anyone, at least in this cabin.”

“To me, it seemed like there were constant pranks,” said Devon. “Underwear hanging from the flagpole one morning,
pink
underwear after the Camp Crockett dance.” She shook her head. “It's so ridiculous.”

Maggie looked at Betsy suspiciously. “I still think you had help. Did Wayward put you up to this? How did you know where to find a top hat, for crying out loud?”

Betsy smiled bashfully. “Haven't you ever gone to Junior Lodge? I just went over there one day when I had nothing else to do and found that big trunk full of costumes.”

“You're a Mastermind, no doubt about it,” I told her.

“This has been a really fun summer,” Betsy said. “I'm definitely coming back next year. Is anyone else?”

“I'll be back next year. And Chris, too. We'll be CATs and then counselors together someday, right? All of us will,” Maggie said, looking around at everyone.

“No way,” Devon said, shaking her head. “Once I escape from this backwoods camp tomorrow, I'm never coming back again. I can't wait to get back to the civilized world!”

“Grainy Girl, how can you say that? If you don't come back next year, you and I won't ever see each other again,” said Maggie. She frowned and cupped her chin in her hands.

A surprised look spread across Devon's face. She seemed to just now realize we'd be saying good-bye to Maggie tomorrow. “Yeah, but . . . you can come and visit Chris and me. Maybe over the winter break.”

“I'll come back next year,” I told Maggie, because she looked so depressed. “And I'll work on getting Devon to come with me.”

Devon sighed. “Four weeks of this torturous place again? You know how miserable I've been this past month! Listen, everyone has an open invitation to come to my house anytime. We have electricity and indoor plumbing. You'll love it.”

“Just wait till after the Circle Fire tonight,” I told Devon. “The last campfire is so sad, you'll be crying your eyes out and counting down the days till you can come back to Pine Haven next year.”

“Ha!” said Devon.

“Just wait,” I assured her.

“Grainy Girl, stop crying. You'll smear your mascara.” Maggie handed Devon another Kleenex.

Devon dabbed at her eyelashes with it. “I'm not usually so emotional.” She looked around at all the Cabin Four girls gathered around us, waiting to say good-bye before we got on the bus.

“Keep in touch, okay?” she said finally. We'd been hugging everyone and crying for at least twenty minutes, it seemed, but now we really had to get on the bus. The doors were about to close.

“Bye, Christina Kachina.” Maggie gave me one last hug, and both of us laughed at how runny our noses were. I turned around to get on the bus, but Gloria stopped me.

“Here, maybe this will give you a laugh,” she said, pressing a piece of paper into my pocket. Then she hugged me, and Eda, who was standing by with her clipboard, gave me a little pat to get me moving up the bus steps.

I followed Devon down the aisle of the bus. We picked seats near the front, shoving our pillows and Devon's overnight bag into the storage bins overhead.

“If JD sings the whole way home like she did on the trip up here, I might need that pillow to cover her face with,” said Devon, still sniffling.

“You have to admit she was good in the talent show.” I sank into the seat beside Devon. All the crying I'd been doing since last night left me feeling washed out.

“She was mildly amusing. Kayla was amazing on the piano, wasn't she?”

“Yeah, she was,” I agreed. I didn't feel like I'd gotten to know the Side B girls that well this summer, but Kayla had surprised me by saying she'd keep in touch with all of us this year.

“I've made some great friends at Pine Haven, and I want to keep them forever,” she'd said tearfully at breakfast this morning.

“See—I knew you'd cry during the Circle Fire last night,” I told Devon, who kept dabbing her eyes with the Kleenex. “You can't even stop now.”

“I can too,” she insisted. “It wasn't all those corny songs and speeches about sisterhood and friendship that got to me last night.”

“Oh, really?” I said. “What was it then? Smoke in your eyes?” Just about everyone cried at the final campfire. Even counselors cried. How could you spend four weeks with the same group of girls and not be sad to say good-bye to all of them?

“Well, don't laugh. I really liked how at the end, Eda lit that candle from the campfire, and then passed the flame around to light up all of our candles. And afterward, we all sat there in the dark, holding our candles and singing. That part was nice.”

“Yeah, I love that part too,” I agreed. I'd saved my candle stub from last night.

The bus had pulled out of camp now and was turning onto the highway. I could feel us speeding up, and lots of girls were sobbing as we left Pine Haven behind.

“Hey, I want to ask you something,” I said to Devon, staring ahead at the seat in front of me. “You know how I lose my temper so much? Do you think there's something wrong with me?”

Devon sighed. “Of course not. You're just a hothead.”

“Oh, wow, thanks. That makes me feel better. Seriously—I'm kind of worried about it.”

Devon was quiet for a minute, and I could tell she was giving her answer some serious thought. “Here's how I look at it. You have brown eyes, perfect teeth, and a short fuse. It's a part of who you are, and you'll always be that way. Yes, maybe you can learn to control it. But you'll never be as laid-back as Wayward. That's just not you.”

“You think so?” I asked, feeling a little better.

“Yes, I do. Take me, for instance. I don't have perfect teeth, and that's why I'll be experiencing the joy of braces next month. I need to straighten my teeth, and you need to work on your temper. But you are getting better.”

“You're not just saying that?” I asked.

“No, I'm not. Sure you got mad quite a bit this summer, but I also noticed the times you kept your cool.”

I took a deep breath. I was glad to hear that. “Want a piece of gum?” I asked Devon, reaching into my pocket for it. I felt something else and pulled it out to examine it.

“Oh yeah, I forgot! Gloria gave this to me,” I told Devon as I unfolded the piece of paper.

Chris,

You were a good friend to help Devon and Maggie with their “laundry” this week. But you never know who might be watching! Hope to see you next summer.

Gloria

“Oh my gosh, Devon! Gloria was the one who brought the laundry bag back!” I poked her in the ribs and showed her the note. “She never let on she knew a single thing about it.” I laughed, thinking how I never gave Gloria that much credit as a new counselor this summer, but she'd fooled me till the last minute.

Devon groaned. “I admit, I'm going to miss Gorilla Feet, but I'm not going to miss all those childish pranks!”

I turned away from her and gazed out the window, trying not to let her see me laugh. Maybe tonight I'd have to sneak into her room and short-sheet her bed.

Just a little way to welcome her home.

Don't miss a single camper's story—here's a sneak peek at Jordan's, in Summer Camp Secrets: Fearless!

When we went outside, Maddy was leaning against the car with this know-it-all look on her face. Not quite a smile, but almost.

The first thing she said was, “Did you throw up?”

“No.” I brushed past her and climbed into the backseat.

“I swear, Jordan, you're the only one I know who gets carsick before you even leave the driveway.” She scooted in next to me.

“I did not throw up! And excuse me for not being born perfect like
some
people.” I stared out my window at the snowball bush by the driveway so I could avoid looking at her.

“You're excused!” She said it all perky. She was always in a good mood. I slightly hated her for that personality flaw.

Being too perky and perfect were just about the only personality flaws my sister had. She was sixteen, she made straight As, she was the star of her field hockey team, and about thirty-seven different boys were in love with her. And
nothing
made her nervous.

Perfection in older sisters has been known to cause regurgitation issues in younger sisters. I was fairly sure that medical studies had proven that.

Maddy fished through her purse, pulled out a stick of gum, and offered it to me. I shook my head. She unwrapped it and shoved it under my nose, but I ignored her. The snowball bush had my undivided attention.

Eric and Mama were climbing into the front seat.

Eric turned the engine on and peeked at us in the rearview mirror. “Ready, ladies?” My stepfather was the sweetest guy in the world. It drove him slightly crazy living in a houseful of females, but he always put up with it.

“Ready!” yelled perky, perfect Madison. She'd given up trying to get me to take the gum and was chewing it herself. We started backing out of the driveway.

We didn't have far to go, just down the street to my best friend Molly's house. Molly threw open the front door and raced down her steps the second we pulled in the driveway.

“Finally! I didn't think you'd ever get here!” She had her sleeping bag under one arm and her pillow under the other. Her parents came out, carrying Molly's trunk by the handles.

“Think we'll get all this gear in?” asked Molly's father when Eric opened our already full trunk. The two of them shifted the duffels, trunks, and bags around while Molly gave her mother one last hug.

Molly squeezed in between me and Madison. Good. We needed a barrier between us. Too bad the Great Wall of China wouldn't fit in the backseat.

“How many times did you throw up this morning?” she whispered.

“Zero! And I slightly hate you for even bringing it up,” I whispered back.

Molly laughed. “See, you're getting better. I'm glad you didn't get sick. I almost called you to ask.”

In lots of ways, Molly and I are complete opposites. She has brown eyes and super-straight brown hair cut really short and parted in the middle. I have blue eyes, and my blond hair is past my shoulders, with a little bit of curl to it. She's short and stocky; I'm taller and slimmer.