Very Private List for Camp Success (6 page)

‘The challenge swing is an optional activity,’ Ramone said. ‘But you
do
have to sit in the harness and get the feel of it. The people on the ground pull on the rope, which causes the harness to rise. When you’ve gone as high as you want, you release yourself by tugging on this green handle.’

Penelope shut her eyes. Now the swing was right in front of her, she could practically
feel
herself rising up into the sky. In fact, she could imagine it so clearly she felt more giddy than she’d ever felt before. But she could
absolutely not
imagine pulling that green handle, knowing that she would instantly
plummet to the ground
.

‘I’m going all the way to the top and I’m going to do tricks,’ said Alex loudly. ‘I’m going to fly like Superman!’

Penelope felt her eyebrows arching. For some reason that seemed to have little to do with the challenge swing
or
Superman, Alex then got Joanna in a headlock. As far as Penelope was concerned, he was acting very strangely. Perhaps the idea of
plummeting to the ground
had made him a little crazy?

‘Me too,’ Rita called out. ‘I’m going all the way to the top, and I’m going to sing when I’m up there. Really, really loudly!’

Penelope’s nose twitched as Rita started singing really, really loudly.

‘This stuff is bananas,’
she sang at the top of her voice.
‘B.A.N.A.N.A.S.’

Tilly and Sarah joined in the song, just like they often did at school. It made Penelope feel tense in her neck and shoulders.

There was something weird – and maybe a bit mean – about the way Rita sang that song. For instance, one time Mr Cattapan, the art teacher, had put Penelope’s painting up in the display cabinet outside the art room. Rita had stood right in front of it and sung that song, as though she didn’t care at all. But earlier, Penelope had overheard Rita begging Mr Cattapan to pick her painting for the display.

In fact, if Penelope didn’t know better, she might think Rita was just pretending to be pumped about the challenge swing.

Penelope shook her head, trying to shake off these difficult thoughts. She would just have to be tolerant. After all, she and Rita were finally starting to get along.

Unfortunately, standing there listening to the silly song, and to the other kids (who might or might not have been pretending to be excited – she couldn’t tell) was making Penelope feel not-very-tolerant. So she was glad when Ramone started to move on.

It was quite calming to listen to Ramone point out the different types of trees and flowers and shrubs around the camp. Penelope felt a lot better when Oscar asked for scientific names and repeated the spellings out loud so he would remember them. Thank goodness she wasn’t the only one focused on something other than that silly swing. She was already thinking about drawing the coastal tea-tree. To do it properly would take a long time, but it would be worth it when they won the best hut competition.

The next stop was the orienteering hut. Ramone tried to sound spooky as he pointed to a sign above the hut.
Coffin Curves
. ‘If you follow the instructions, all you ghouls should end up here, right where you started,’ he said in a wobbly voice that sounded more funny than frightening. ‘On the way, you will have to pass through
Madness Mountain
,
Blood River
and many more, and check them off your list.’ Lots of kids pretended to be afraid, but there was a
lot
of giggling going on. After that, Ramone handed them over to another camp leader, Kayla.

Kayla led the group through a marine centre, where they saw the turtles (which were quite dignified and lovely) that Poppy had written about in her postcard. Penelope would have liked to spend more time with the turtles, but Kayla was already leading them into the barn next door.

On the far side of the barn there were three enclosures with straw spread out on the floor and several home-made cardboard shelters with little arched doorways. Penelope counted a total of twenty-six guinea pigs (though some may have been hiding).

Most of the kids had been quiet during the tour of the marine centre, but something about the guinea pigs seemed to change the atmosphere.

‘OMG!’ Joanna squealed. ‘Can we hold them?’

Penelope took a few steps backwards. She didn’t mind looking at the guinea pigs, but she was in even less of a hurry to hold one than she had been to hold Oscar’s praying mantis. Penelope was pretty sure the guinea pigs weren’t toilet-trained. What if one decided to poo just when she was holding it?

Luckily, holding the guinea pigs was optional.

‘Why don’t you get into pairs and choose a guinea pig,’ Kayla suggested. ‘There are grooming brushes hung up on the wall, or you can feed them grass from the courtyard.’

Since Penelope didn’t want to actually pick up a guinea pig, she decided to take a grooming brush from a hook on the wall. She hoped that Bob would hold a guinea pig on her lap. That way, Penelope might get to brush its fur. She was (quite) sure she would be OK with that. Penelope was just about to sit on a haystack next to Bob when Tilly got there first.

Penelope held her breath. Bob was her very own best friend, and this wasn’t really fair. She thought about asking Tilly to move, but it was hard to think of how to do that without sounding bossy. Instead, she took three deep breaths and sat next to Alison Cromwell.

‘This little guy is called Alfie,’ Alison said. Alison was very good at handling her guinea pig, even though Alfie was definitely not little. In fact, he was so enormous he could barely fit on her lap.

Penelope glanced over at Bob, who was now stroking a black-and-white guinea pig while Tilly fed it some grass. As Penelope reached over to brush Alfie, she made a mental note to ask Bob whether she’d ever had any pets. She also reminded herself to let Bob know that she’d had a fish called Harold Holt until he (tragically) floated to the top of the tank for the last time a year ago. It seemed like the sort of thing she and Bob should know about each other given they were (as Tilly knew) very best friends.

Kayla was busy helping Sarah rescue her guinea pig (which had taken off and was now hiding inside one of the boxes) when Alex stood up and put his guinea pig up under his T-shirt. He rolled it up so that a bit of his stomach showed, then walked over to Joanna and bumped her.

‘Ta-dah!’ he said, as though he had performed a magic trick (which was quite silly, since the lump in his T-shirt was so obviously guinea-pig shaped).

Even though Penelope did not know much about guinea pigs, she suspected they did not like being rolled up in T-shirts or being bumped into people. But she did not have to say a single word because Rita was very, very quick.

‘STOP. GUINEA PIGS DO NOT LIKE THAT, ALEX!’
she said firmly. She unrolled his T-shirt and confiscated the animal, then held the guinea pig to her chest protectively.

‘You are absolutely right,’ Kayla said to Rita as she came back into the barn. She addressed everyone. ‘Be very gentle with the guinea pigs, please. They are not toys. If you treat them well, you’ll find that they can make very lovely pets.’

Rita gave Alex an ‘I told you so’ look. Penelope knew that look very well, but this time, she agreed with Rita.

‘Just one thing,’ Kayla said to Rita. ‘I think you’ll find that Florence is upside down.’

Rita grimaced with embarrassment but Kayla just smiled. ‘Don’t worry. Florence gets that quite a lot. Having such long fur makes it difficult to tell her head from her bottom!’

Everyone laughed as Rita put Florence, who did look a little jittery, the right way up.

Penelope watched, entranced by the way Rita calmed Florence down. She stroked the animal rhythmically again and again, and after a while, Florence nuzzled into Rita’s chest.

Watching Rita pat Florence almost made Penelope feel like patting a guinea pig herself. In fact, Rita’s patience and attention made Penelope start to think that perhaps Rita could help to fill in the detail on Penelope’s drawings. The veins on the leaves could be very tricky and time-consuming.

As hut leader, Penelope was definitely open to finding the best use for Rita’s talents.

‘You were very good with the guinea pigs, Rita,’ Penelope said graciously when they got back to their hut. She said it in front of Bob and Tilly so Rita would feel extra special.

‘Well,
you
weren’t. You didn’t even hold one,’ Rita said. ‘You really need to try new things, Penelope, or you’ll never grow and develop. I hope you’ll have the guts to go on the challenge swing.’

Bob and Tilly were
still
right there, listening, which made Rita’s comment even meaner. Penelope felt a sudden urge to sing:
This stuff is bananas. B-A-N-A-N-A-S.

But to keep the peace as hut leader, Penelope did not sing the song. Maybe all her practice had worked. She hadn’t made a fuss when Tilly sat next to Bob in the barn, and now she let Rita’s mean comment go without reacting at all.

Bike ed was next, then after dinner they had to choose between art and bush cooking. Penelope knew what she’d be doing. It was essential to get started on the drawings tonight (as well as Penelope’s plans for keeping their hut very tidy and organised).

Penelope took a deep breath, ready to say some very inspirational things. But Rita had already started talking.

‘Hut seven is totally going to win best hut,
’
she said in her big, enthusiastic voice. ‘And I’m going to lead the way.’

Even though she knew dragons were fictional characters and had never, not even in the very olden days, been real …

Luckily, she was able to benefit from all her practice at
not reacting.
She glanced at her sausage bag and thought of the list she had tucked away in the secret pocket.

She knew that no matter how upset she might feel, and no matter what Rita said, number one on the checklist was very clear:

1. No outbursts

When Penelope spoke, her voice was a little wobbly and her top and bottom teeth seemed to be stuck together. But she was not yelling, and the veins in her temples still felt flat.

‘Actually, Rita,’ she said, as calmly as she could, ‘I think I should be the leader. I’ve got a lot of excellent ideas.’