Very Private List for Camp Success (10 page)

It was over in seconds, but those seconds on the swing felt longer than normal seconds.

She was still giddy and excited when her feet touched the ground.

‘You were amazing!’ Bob cried, helping Ramone unfasten the harness. ‘Totes fearless.’

Penelope’s breaths came quickly. ‘I actually did it!’ she squealed. ‘I DID IT!’ Her legs were shaky as she got out of the harness and walked beside her very best friend.

‘It’s cool, right?’ Bob said. ‘I loved it.’ Bob gave Penelope one of her cheekiest looks. ‘Should we beg Ramone to let us do it again?’

Penelope giggled as she shook her head. There was absolutely NO WAY she was doing it again. But she felt extremely proud. She’d discovered a new part of herself.
A part of herself that was brave enough to do something that terrified her. A part she never even knew existed.

It was actually fun to help with the ropes. Penelope felt strong, knowing her turn was over and done with. Felix Unger called stop almost as soon as he started rising. He said it was because of a painful wedgie, but Penelope suspected that wasn’t the real reason.

Tilly went halfway and squealed with delight all the way down. Eliza and Alison both screamed their heads off, but still wanted to go straight back and do it again.

Rita Azul was last. As Ramone was about to strap her into the harness, Penelope braced herself to hear that awful song.

But then something very strange happened. Rita shook her head wildly. Then, without a single word, she turned and ran off.

‘She’s not in the hut,’ Tilly said. ‘We’ve looked everywhere!’

Penelope bit her lip. She didn’t need to be an excellent detective to know something was wrong.

Penelope thought about Rita moaning in her sleep. Perhaps her bad dream had something to do with all this? If Rita was feeling upset, it made sense that she’d go somewhere comforting …

‘I think I know where she is,’ Penelope said suddenly, breaking away from the group.

Penelope stood in the doorway of the barn. Rita was facing away from Penelope. She had Florence on her lap, and was stroking the guinea pig’s extra-long fur. It was clear she was pouring her heart out.

‘I’m such a baby. But it was too high … so scary. I’ll have to lie about it to Janine …’

Penelope didn’t know who Janine was, but she recognised the name from Rita’s sleep-talking last night.

Florence made a noise that sounded like a cross between a squeaky toy and a cooing pigeon. Rita lifted the guinea pig up to her chest for a cuddle.

‘Maybe I am a baby,’ she said, and the sad way she said it wound its way into Penelope’s heart. There was nothing nice about seeing Rita like this, even if she was terribly mean sometimes. Penelope walked in and sat beside Rita.

‘You’re not a baby, Rita,’ Penelope said softly. ‘The challenge swing
is
crazy high. It makes a lot of sense to be afraid. I was.’

Rita looked at Penelope. There were tears in her eyes. ‘But even
you
did it,’ she said (which wasn’t the nicest thing to say, but Penelope forgave her).

‘Well, I had help,’ she said. ‘Oscar gave me a pep talk. He was great.’

Rita drew in a breath. ‘It’s not just the challenge swing,’ she said. ‘It’s
everything
.’

Penelope tilted her head to the side. She wanted to help. But
everything
covered an awful lot of things. She wasn’t sure where to start.

‘Who’s Janine?’ she asked.

The tears spilled over and started flowing down Rita’s cheeks. Penelope thought about rubbing her back (that’s what people always did on TV), but she wasn’t so sure that would be the right thing to do, so she kept her hands by her sides.

‘My big sister,’ Rita said. ‘She’s going to give me such a hard time if I don’t do the challenge swing.’ Rita wiped her tears away with the back of her hand. Florence squeak-cooed again. ‘We used to be really close. But Janine started high school this year and she’s totally changed. She won’t sit next to me on the bus and she keeps going on about me being a baby. She’s really, really mean.’

Penelope thought of all the times that Rita had been really, really mean. There was no doubt she’d been even meaner this year. Penelope thought that might have something to do with her sister, but decided not to mention it.

‘My brother Harry went a bit strange when he started high school,’ Penelope offered.

Rita looked interested, so Penelope continued. ‘For the first two weeks, he wouldn’t walk me to the school gates if any of his friends were watching. He said it was embarrassing.’

Rita sniffed. ‘Janine won’t walk with me at all,’ she said. ‘I have to stay twenty paces behind her. She says I stink.’

Ouch. Harry had never been quite
that
mean. Rita did not smell. Penelope had a sneaking suspicion that
extreme
meanness might run in Rita’s family.

‘But you know,’ Penelope said, ‘once Harry got used to high school things kind of went back to normal.’ She paused to think about what she was saying. ‘Or maybe we just made a new normal. I’m not sure it was ever exactly the same again, but it was OK.’

Rita sighed. ‘I don’t want a new normal,’ she whispered. ‘I just want the old normal back.’

Penelope didn’t quite know what to say to that. She was pretty sure that old normals never came back. But instead of saying that, she just sat next to Rita and watched her pat Florence.

‘If we
have
to find a new normal,’ said Rita, ‘do you think Janine and I might get one that’s good?’

Penelope breathed deeply. She thought about how very strange and awful it had been when her dad had first left them to make a new family. It had definitely felt like things would never be normal again, let alone good. Yet somehow, over time, she and Harry and even her mum had become used to it.

Now it really was OK to see him some weekends and in the school holidays rather than every night. Perhaps it wasn’t a
perfect
normal, but it was definitely OK most of the time.

‘I do,’ Penelope said. ‘Absolutely.’

It was very pleasing to see a smile creeping onto Rita’s face, even if it was just a small one.

‘I’m sorry I put your list up like that, Penelope,’ Rita said. ‘You know, I make lists too. I’ve got loads of them at home. I’ll show you sometime.’

Penelope bit her lip. It was nice of Rita to admit she made lists too, but Penelope didn’t think she wanted to go to Rita’s house. It probably wasn’t the right time to tell her that, though. Despite all the horrid things Rita had said and done, this was the very first time that she had ever apologised to Penelope. It was quite a shock. But it was a good shock.

‘I’m sorry too,’ Penelope said. ‘I shouldn’t have said you’d be the worst leader in history. You made the hut look amazing. I don’t think I could have done much better myself.’

‘Neither do I,’ Rita replied, but the way she said it was more funny than mean.

Penelope decided to smile.

‘What do
you
think, Florence?’ Rita asked, lifting Florence up. Penelope reached out and patted her long, soft fur.

Just then, Penelope noticed something. She giggled. ‘Florence thinks she might make a better listener if you talk to her face rather than her bottom.’