Dr. Steve held up his hands for silence, waiting for everyone to settle down. “The final scores were 125 points for the Reds, and 150 points for the Blues. The champions in this year's Color War are . . . the Blues!”
Alex, Brynn, Karen, and Sarah all broke into wild whoops and screams, hugging and stamping their feet. Jenna, Natalie, Alyssa, and Tori all hissed and booed but still couldn't help smiling at the Blues' happy delirium.
As the noisy chaos finally died down, Dr. Steve continued, “Congratulations to both teams on a Color War well played. You all did a wonderful job, but as you all know, each year we recognize the players, by division, who have made an outstanding contribution to their team.” He started with the younger kids first and worked his way up to Jenna's division. He held up two shiny medals. “The Most Valuable Player for the Red Team is Devon, and the Most Valuable Player for the Blue Team is Alex.”
More cheers and clapping boomed through the mess hall as Dr. Steve hung the medals around Alex's and Devon's necks.
As soon as Alex had returned to her seat, Jenna ran over to give her a hug. “Congratulations,” she said. “You were the obvious choice for MVP. All the way.”
“Thanks. But . . . you're not jealous?” Alex asked tentatively.
“Are you kidding?” Jenna laughed and slapped her playfully on the shoulder. “I've never seen anyone play basketball and soccer the way you did the last two days. You totally deserve this. Besides, I know I only ate pie.”
Alex laughed. “Yeah, well, that was impressive, too. I've never seen anyone eat pie the way you did today.”
“Speaking of which,” Andie said, walking over to Jenna and putting an arm around her, “We have a little something for you, too.”
“Really?” Jenna asked.
Andie pounded on the table to get the whole room's attention. “Tonight we have a special award for Jenna Bloom, who now holds Camp Lakeview's record for the most worm pies ever eaten in one sitting!”
Kenny handed Jenna a ten-pound jar of gummy worms. “Maybe that broken leg really
is
hollow,” he said, “because it sure gave you an appetite!”
As applause broke out, Jenna took a dramatic bow and gave a victory wave with one crutch.
“Thanks for believing in me, guys,” she said to Andie and the girls from both bunks. “If it hadn't been for all of you, I'd still be moping around here in pity-party mode.” She put her tub o' worms on her chair. “Now, who wants cake?” she asked.
“I do!” Alex said with a grin.
Jenna hesitated. “But what about the sugar? Won't it make you sick?”
“I'm just going to have a little bite, and I won't eat any icing,” Alex said. “It's your cake! I have to at least try it.”
Jenna grinned. “Okay. But just one bite, and you'll have to wait your turn.” She elbowed Alex playfully.
“I know. I know.” Alex smiled. “Color War rules.” It was a camp tradition that the winning team always served dessert to the losing team.
Jenna cut into her beautiful cake while Sarah, Alex, and Adam waited, ready to pass out pieces to the Reds. But just as she was about to hand the first piece of cake to Alex, there were popping sounds from overhead.
“Whatâ” she started, looking up.
Suddenly, the ceiling sprinklers all over the mess hall turned on full force!
Water rained down on everyone and splattered on the floor, tables, and all over the plates of food and the beautiful, perfect Color War cake. Everyone was screaming, laughing, and yelling all at once. Some kids were running for the doors, but the whole mess hall had turned into a virtual Slip 'n Slide. Red and blue streamers oozed color onto the mess-hall floor, and the banquet cake started to look like an icing massacre.
“Jenna, your cast!” Andie yelled. “Try to keep it dry until I get back!”
“With what?” Jenna asked, but Andie had already run off in the direction of the supply closet. Jenna scooted to a chair and plopped down in it, ignoring the chilly puddle of water already accumulating in its seat. She propped up her leg so it was under a table, protected from the water. The only problem was, the rest of her
wasn't
protected, and now she couldn't move without getting her cast wet. So she sat back, letting the water pelt down on her, and watched the chaos around her, completely and totally stunned. How had this happened? This was
her
prank idea. How could someone else have had the same idea for Operation Drowned Rat? This couldn't have been just an accident, right?
“My hair!” Nat cried, trying to cover her head with her arms. Simon tried to come to her rescue, skidding toward her through the water, but Nat took one step toward him and slip-slided right into Tori. The two of them fell down in a soggy heap, until Simon was able to make his way over to help them up.
Some of the younger kids were laughing and stomping around on the slick linoleum floor, trying to splash each other. Sarah was using her sandals to skate around the floor to try to help some kids to the door. But already more than a couple of the third-year campers had fallen, and one of them had scraped his knees and was in tears.
Jenna was about to go help him, wet cast or not, when Andie slid over to her holding out an umbrella. “Come on,” Andie said, holding the open umbrella over Jenna's leg. “Let's get you out of here.”
They followed right behind Mia, who was ushering the rest of the drenched kids out into the warm night air.
“How did this happen?” Mia asked, staring bewilderedly into the soggy mess hall.
“Could something have set off the sprinklers accidentally?” Alex wondered.
Not something, Jenna suddenly realized,
someone
! Because just then she saw Blake rounding the corner of the mess hall, and he was dry as a boneâand laughing! In a split second Jenna had the whole thing figured out. She'd thrown her notes for Operation Drowned Rat in the outdoor garbage that day . . . right outside her ceramics class. Blake must have found the plans in the trash and used them to carry out
her
prank!
Jenna couldn't believe it. She'd thought she and Blake were finally starting to be friends, but now he'd gone and ruined everything! The banquet she'd worked so hard on had turned into a demented water-park nightmare. The food, the decorations, everyone's clothesâcompletely ruined!
Suddenly, Dr. Steve exploded out of the mess-hall doors, dripping from head to toe, and shooting fire from his eyes.
“Jenna Bloom!” he said, his eyes flashing. “Are you responsible for this?”
“No, sir,” Jenna started quietly. “It wasn't me, I swear.” And this time, she was telling the absolute, total truth.
“Then how do you explain this?” Dr. Steve said, holding up Jenna's blurred and crumpled notes for Operation Drowned Rat. “I found them lying on the floor in the kitchen. Farrah told me this looked like your handwriting. Is that true?”
Jenna looked from one pair of angry eyes to another and sighed. So this was how it was going to come down. She might as well kiss any future years at Camp Lakeview good-bye, because there was no way Dr. Steve would ever believe she was innocent now. How could she ever explain this to him?
“Yes, sir,” Jenna said. “It's my handwriting. But I threw that piece of paper away two days ago. I swear. I decided not to go through with the prank. Someone else must have done it.”
She glanced at Blake, who now stood sheepishly a few feet away.
“If it wasn't you, then who was it?” Dr. Steve asked. “You're the only one here who could pull off something like this, and we have the proof right here.”
Jenna just shook her head. It was hopeless. Dr. Steve would never believe his perfect little nephew Blake was actually the mastermind behind the mess-hall monsoon.
“Uncle Steve,” Blake started, stepping forward and taking a deep breath. “It wasn't Jenna. I know it wasn't. Because it wasâ”
“Me,” a voice said from behind them, and they all turned to see Pete, holding a spatula, his apron dripping a puddle onto the porch. “This was all my fault. I had a last batch of garlic bread in the broiler, and I forgot to set the timer. I got so into listening to the Color War awards, I forgot all about it. By the time I remembered, the garlic bread was molten and smoke was pouring out of the ovens. I opened the kitchen windows, but it was too late. The second the smoke reached the sprinkler nozzles, it was all over.”
“But, Pete,” Blake started again.
“Don't protect me, Blake,” Pete said somberly. “I can take it like a man.” He winked at Blake and Jenna.
Dr. Steve looked from Jenna to Blake to Pete. Finally, he let out a long, tired sigh. “All right,” he said. “Jenna, I'm going to believe that your conscience overruled your prankster side and that you did actually throw these plans away. How they ended up in the mess-hall kitchen is a great mystery.” He met Blake's eyes for one long moment, then rubbed his forehead and sighed again. “But . . . a mystery it will remain. Accidents do happen, and there's no use crying over spilled bug juice. We'll get this all cleaned up. I'm afraid I'm at a loss as to how to save our banquet, though. And the cake is a complete disaster.”
Jenna stared out at the campgrounds, her mind churning with ideas. “I've got it!” she cried. “It'll be perfect.”
“Perfect is good,” Dr. Steve said, brightening just a little. “I like perfect. Please share.”
“Well, it's hot out here tonight,” she started, “so maybe we can finally put this heat wave to good use. What about a bonfire down at the lakefront?”
Dr. Steve rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “Not a bad idea.”
“We can all get changed and meet down there in fifteen minutes,” Jenna continued enthusiastically. “And I have the perfect solution for the cake, too. Just leave it to me.”
She filled Dr. Steve in on the rest of her plan, and he and the counselors rounded up the bedraggled campers, sending everyone off to their bunks to get out of their wet clothes.
Once Dr. Steve left to clean himself up, trailing droplets of water behind him as he walked away, Jenna turned back to Pete. “You didn't really burn any garlic bread, did you?” she asked him.
Pete smiled, shaking his head slowly. “Nope. But I figured every prankster deserves a second chance. You got one last year after you let the animals loose during the square dance, and Blake gets one now.” Pete lowered his eyebrows at Blake in warning. “I saw you sneak out of the mess hall during the Color War awards and pull those plans out of your pocket. I know it was you. But I don't imagine your uncle would be too happy with you if he found out the truth.”
“No, he wouldn't,” Blake admitted, and for the first time, Jenna got an inkling of how highly Blake actually thought of his uncle. He looked genuinely upset by the idea of Dr. Steve being unhappy or disappointed with him.
“Just don't pull something like that again,” Pete said. “Got it?”
Blake blushed but nodded. Then he turned to Jenna. “You knew I set off the sprinklers, too, didn't you? Why didn't you turn me in?”
“Believe me, I thought about it,” she scolded. But then she shrugged. “As a fellow prankster, I can appreciate a good prank when I see one. And that one . . .” she grinned, “was the best prank ever. It's only fair that you get to stick around to see it go down in Lakeview history.”
What came out of Blake's mouth next must not have been easy for him to say, because he sputtered and stared at the ground for a full minute before finally saying a simple, “Thanks, but I am sorry I ruined the banquet, even if it was a great prank. Your decorations were pretty cool.”
“Was that a compliment?” Jenna asked, gaping.
“Sort of, but don't let it go to your head.” Blake grinned.
“You know, I might be wrong,” Jenna said, “but I think you're actually starting to like it here.”
Blake shrugged. “Maybe I am.”
“Truce?” Jenna finally said.
“Truce,” answered Blake, shaking hands with her.
“Good,” Jenna said. “Now, let's go save the final banquet.”
chapter TWELFE
Jenna dumped the final box of her candy onto the growing pile on the picnic table. A bonfire was roaring on the beach, throwing yellow sparkling light onto the lake. The counselors had lined the water-front with tiki torches, and everyone was sitting at the picnic tables, on the pier, and on towels in the sand, talking, laughing, and having a great time.
“That's the last of it,” she said, standing back to gaze in satisfaction at the mound of candy and platters of Twinkies, brownies, cookies, and Rice Krispies treats covering every inch of the table.
“There's enough here to feed an army,” Blake said after tossing his pillowcase full of Nerds and Twizzlers onto the pile.
“Do you think this will make up for the cake?” Jenna asked. For the past half an hour, Jenna and Blake had been recruiting other campers to donate the goody stashes from their bunks to make desserts for everyone for the final banquet. From the looks of the enormous pile, it seemed like just about everyone had pitched in a little something. Blake had helped Jenna carry both of her own boxes down to the lakefront, too. Even Alex had goodies in the pile that she could eatâthe special honey cookies that Jenna's mom had sent for her earlier last week.
“It more than makes up for the cake.” Blake grinned. “We'll be on sugar highs for a week, at least.”
“A broken leg does have some perks,” Jenna said as she and Blake sat down with Natalie, Simon, Alyssa, Alex, Adam, Brynn, and the rest of the gang to enjoy the junk-food feast. “My mom and dad felt so bad for me, they sent me twice as much candy as usual, just to get me through Color War. There's even enough for everyone to have seconds!”