Camp Confidential 05 - TTYL

Read Camp Confidential 05 - TTYL Online

Authors: Melissa J Morgan

Table of Contents
GROSSET & DUNLAP
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Copyright © 2005 by Grosset & Dunlap. All rights reserved. Published by Grosset & Dunlap, a division of Penguin Young Readers Group, 345 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014. GROSSET & DUNLAP is a trademark of Penguin Group (USA) Inc. S.A.
 
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Morgan, Melissa J.
TTYL / by Melissa J. Morgan.
p. cm.—(Camp confidential ; 5)
Summary: Having left summer camp to return home and start 6th grade at
their respective schools, the girls from bunk 3C use a blog to keep one another
informed of their struggles adjusting to school and to new situations at home.
eISBN : 978-1-101-04090-4
[1. Friendship—Fiction. 2. Weblogs—Fiction. 3. Middle schools—Fiction.
4. Schools—Fiction.] I. Title. II. Series.
PZ7.M82545Tty 2005 [Fic]—dc22 2005012724
 

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chapter
ONE
Natalie>
SATURDAY
:
Natalie! U there?
:
jenna!!! omg, what’s up? camp only ended sat but i miss u so much already. how’s home?
:
Okay. I’m at my dad’s—totally boring. Just surfing the Net with Adam.
:
hi, adam.
:
He’s getting food right now—I had to IM u and say he got a text msg from Simon last night—just saying hi and whatever and then he was like, “I am totally glad to be home—just miss my friends and obviously Natalie.”
:
aww, that’s so sweet!!!
:
Totally. R u gonna keep seeing him?
:
?? don’t know. ct isn’t that far but . . . there’s this guy here i had my eye on last year . . .
:
Really? What’s his name?
:
kyle.
:
U mentioned him at camp.
:
got to go—hannah’s here, we’re going back-to-school shopping!!! talk to u on the blog! bye!
:
Oh yeah, forgot about Julie’s blog. I’d luv to go shopping, if I wasn’t stuck at my dad’s.
:
NATALIENYC is unavailable.
 
Natalie couldn’t believe how excited she was to see Hannah. It had only been a couple of months since Hannah had jetted off to Europe and Natalie had boarded the bus to Camp Lakeview, but it felt like a lifetime—and so much had happened in Nat’s life that she knew a huge catching-up session was in order. So the obvious thing to do the second she got home from camp? Call Hannah, and invite her to go shopping the next day! Natalie was beyond thrilled to be back in New York City, where no one considered denim cut-offs and a tank top to be the height of fashion.
She’d brought tons of cute summer outfits to camp, but had never worn any of them, except to the campwide social events. And school was going to start on Tuesday—the day after Labor Day, she’d officially be in middle school—so she definitely needed new fall clothes. Plus, Hannah had told her about a school social for all incoming sixth-graders on the first Friday back—just one more reason to get a cute new outfit.
Natalie was talking to Jenna online when she heard the door buzzer ring at the Upper West Side apartment where she lived with her mom. She was practically out of the study before she remembered to say good-bye to Jenna, and then she ran down the hallway to the living room, superexcited to see her best friend.
Hannah, wearing a little purple miniskirt and a black top, was standing in the foyer talking to Natalie’s mom, who was still in her pajamas even though it was after noon. For the umpteenth time, Nat was reminded of how great it was to be back—she and her mom had brunched on bagels and veggie cream cheese, watched a couple of cartoons, and just taken it easy for the morning. It had been so long since Natalie had slept past seven that her body automatically woke her up—but she’d ignored the internal alarm, rolled over, and promptly fell back asleep.
“Hannah!” Natalie shrieked.
“Natalie!” Hannah screamed. The two girls leapt at each other, hugging ferociously. “Oh my God, it is so good to see you, Nat!” Hannah said. “I thought this day would never come!”
Natalie laughed. “So melodramatic,” she said, teasingly. “Some things never change. I’m thrilled to see you, too! But I gotta tell you, seeing your adorable skirt—I’m pretty anxious to get out and get shopping!”
Natalie’s mom laughed. “That’s my girl.” She crossed the living room and picked up her purse from the red easy chair, which was Natalie’s favorite place in the house to curl up and read a magazine. Drawing out her wallet from the bag, she looked up at Natalie. “Be responsible, Nat,” she said, handing over a credit card. “You know the back-to-school budget. Try everything on before you buy it, and make sure that you
love
everything you get.”
Natalie rolled her eyes good-naturedly. “Oh, I will, Mom . . .“ she said. As she and Hannah went out the door, she leaned back in. “Aren’t I always responsible?” she asked.
Her mom laughed, and Nat closed the door. She and Hannah headed to the elevators. “I swear,” Natalie said, “I’ve forgotten how to use an elevator—I couldn’t remember what floor we lived on when I first got home!”
“But I’m sure you didn’t forget about takeout, right?” Hannah teased. “What was the first thing you ordered?”
“Spicy tuna roll . . . mmm . . ” Natalie said, closing her eyes at the memory. “Edamame . . . miso . . . red-bean ice cream . . .”
“Snap out of it, sushi princess,” Hannah said. The green light above one of the elevators blinked. “You remember how to get to the lobby?”
Natalie only smiled in response.
In the lobby, Mr. Bartok, one of the regular door-man in Natalie’s building, held the door and tipped his hat as the two girls sauntered out to the street. “Good-bye, ladies,” he said. Winking at Natalie, he added, “Good to have you back!”
“Thanks, Mr. Bartok,” Natalie replied. “Have a great day!” On the sidewalk, she looked at Hannah. “Uptown, or down?”
“Oh, you’ve been gone longer than I have,” Hannah responded, shielding her eyes with her hand and looking up and down the street. “You choose.”
“Hannah, you’ve only been back for a week!”
“I know, but you’d be surprised how much damage I can do in a week.”
Natalie laughed. “Good point. Okay, let’s just head south. It’s gorgeous out—want to walk?”
“Sure,” Hannah said. They walked in silence for a few minutes, and Natalie looked up at all the buildings. She had forgotten how
tall
everything was after spending a summer in a place where the highest things around were trees. All around her there were crowds of people pushing and walking and biking and driving. At camp there had been lots of campers, but nothing like this.
Hannah looked over at her. “So I ran into Kyle the other day,” she said, breaking the silence. “At the Boathouse in Central Park—he was there with his older brother.”
“Really?” Natalie said. “He never wrote to me this summer like he said he was going to.”
“Yeah, I know. He told me he left the address at school on the last day and couldn’t get anyone to let him in to get it. He looked really miserable about it.” Hannah stopped before crossing the street, and looked at Natalie playfully. “Remember how to tell if you can cross?” she teased.
Natalie was quiet for a moment. “So . . . what else did he say about me?”
“Nothing. I told him when you were coming back and that was basically it, because his brother came over and they left.”
“Oh.” Natalie thought for a minute. “So . . . do you think he’s still interested?”
“I don’t know, Nat,” Hannah said—
almost sharply
, Natalie thought. “Probably.”
“Well, the thing is, I met this other guy this summer—you know, I told you about him, Simon—and I really like him—we were basically inseparable. But—”
“Hey,” Hannah interrupted, stopping in front of a boutique with cute outfits in the window. “Let’s go in here.”
“Okay,” Natalie said. “So, what do you think—”
“Wow, back-to-school sale!” Hannah said.
Okay
, Natalie thought.
She’s totally ignoring me—or am I imagining it?
She knew Hannah could be shy, and it might just be weird for her to see Natalie again after so long. She shrugged off the feeling and headed toward the sale racks in the back of the store, where Hannah had already pulled an amazing blue sweater down and was checking the size. “Hannah, that’s fantastic,” Natalie said, trying to push her worries aside. “You’ve got to get it!” Hannah slipped the sweater over her head. Even though it didn’t match her miniskirt, the sweater looked great on her.
“Yes, you’re gorgeous, but does it come in my size?” Natalie asked, and Hannah laughed. It was just like old times. Natalie relaxed and started digging through the rack.

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