Sleepaway Girls (7 page)

“You’re mine, champ,” Hunter growled.

“Sam, RUN!” Cole bumped Hunter out of my way. I moved just as Hunter weaved left to nab me. Hunter started chasing Cole and he left the jail unguarded. Now was my chance. Closer, closer… I could feel someone brush against my pinnie, but I kept going. Just a few more feet and I’d be able to rescue Colin and Joyce and —

Boom!
I was down again.

You’ve got to be kidding me! I felt the pain shoot through my right leg. This time I was hurt and mad. I looked down at my knee and it was covered in dirt and gushing blood. I looked around for Court. She was a few feet away lying on the ground. Donovan was leaning over her. She said something I couldn’t hear and he helped her up. The two of them hobbled over to us and I noticed Court was limping.

I knew I was a CIT and I was supposed to set an example, but this was ridiculous. “Guys, we went over this,” I complained to the misbehaving marshmallows. “What are you doing?”

“Sam, you’re bleeding a lot!” Em freaked.

“I think Court sprained her ankle,” Donovan said as he helped her over to us.

The marshmallows didn’t answer me. Cole and Hunter came running over. Grace, Em, Dylan, and Tim were right behind them. A crowd was beginning to gather.

“You two are out of here,” Hunter told them. “I’ll be talking to your senior counselors and you’ll be sitting out all of tonight’s and tomorrow night’s activities. Go to your cabins and wait for instructions.”

They didn’t look too upset. One of them actually looked like he was going to laugh.

“Do you think you can walk?” I heard Donovan ask Courtney.

She nodded. “My friends can help me.”

“I think I should take you to the nurse, Sam,” Cole said. “You shouldn’t walk on that knee.” He looked so concerned. Even though I was bleeding, I was secretly swooning.

“Thanks,” I said breathlessly. I pictured Cole carrying me through the woods.

“The girls can help you and Court get there, right, champ?” Hunter asked. He put his arm on me. It felt warm and sweaty. I wiggled away.

I looked at Cole and realized he was looking at me. Did he want to see how I reacted to Hunter? He needn’t worry. “Guess I’ll check on you later,” Cole told me.

Grace helped me and Em put her arm around Court. We hobbled off the field. It didn’t hurt too badly, but the blood had dripped onto my socks and was ruining my Pumas.

We were halfway down the path to the nurse’s office when Em stopped. “Guys, do you see what is going on over there?” She dragged Court over to a nearby tree where another game of capture the flag was in progress. Court started motioning wildly and waved Grace and me over. I peeked over her shoulder and that’s when I saw the commotion.

Ashley and Gabby were standing on the sidelines of the game talking to the two marshmallows who had given Court and me a beating — and they were all laughing! This was no coincidence.

“They are so dead,” Court said, practically breathing fire.

The group of us did our best attempt to storm over.

Ashley saw us and elbowed Gabby, but the two guys looked nervous. They pretended to be watching the game. Ashley, on the other hand, looked ready for the confrontation.

“Hey, girlies. What’s up?” She looked down at my knee. “Oh, did someone get hurt? Too bad. Gee, I hope this doesn’t mess up the talent show audition. I’d
hate
for you two to be out of the running. If that happened, we might have to go back to my idea.”

“You’re unbelievable,” seethed Court. “You got Sam and me beat up just to avoid doing my number for the talent show audition? We could have gotten really hurt!”

“I didn’t say
I
did it,” Ashley said, looking innocent. “I just said it would be a shame if this messed up the audition, which it looks like it might have seeing as how Court looks like she has a sprained ankle.” Gabby was doubled over in laughter.

My blood was boiling as the two of them continued to make fun of us. I had had enough. “I’m sick of this. We should go to Hitch,” I said to my friends.

Ashley just laughed harder. “Who do you think he’s going to believe, Sam? You or his daughter? And don’t even think of trying my sister. She may like you, but I’m still family. All you’ll do by tattling is wind up getting yourselves in trouble.” She looked at my knee. “You guys better hurry. I wouldn’t want Sam to bleed all over her no-name sneakers.” The two of them giggled.

“This isn’t over,” I said. “Actually it’s far from it. You have no idea what you started.” For a split second, Ashley actually looked worried, but then she started to laugh again. “Let’s get out of here,” I said to my friends, feeling disgusted. “She makes me so angry,” I complained when we were far enough away.

“You were really good back there,” Grace said admiringly. “I think Ashley looked a little nervous for a change. What made you finally speak up?”

I shrugged. “I think I’ve finally had enough.”

“It’s about time,” Court said. “I think it’s time for a little payback. The sleepaway girls have to have a meeting about pranking Ashley and Gabby.”

“I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I agree with Court,” Grace seconded. “Ashley has gotten away with being queen bee around the Pines for long enough. She deserves a taste of her own medicine.” I guess I must have looked surprised at Grace’s unsportsmanlike behavior because she added, “You don’t think I’d do this if I thought it would cost me Color War captain, do you?” Grace had put in her name for the job last week and voting was going on now.

“You’re right,” said Em, sounding charged up. “I’m in.”

“Okay, we’re agreed then,” I said, then paused. “Not that I know what we’re actually doing. How do we get her back?”

“Don’t worry about that,” said Court with a sly smile. “I’m a pro at a little camp mischief. We’ll meet later during our next camp confessional and figure out the logistics.”

“Works for me,” I said. I looked back at Ashley. She was still laughing.

Enjoy it now, Ash, I thought. You won’t be laughing for long.

Game on.

15

I wanted to throw up.

Either that or I was going to jump off the stage and run screaming from the auditorium at any moment. Brooke, our drama instructor, was definitely wrong about me: I didn’t have a bright future in the theater. I was standing on the Pines stage in full costume alongside the other CITs and counselors as Hitch explained the rules to the Guess the Counselor game hunt and all I could think about was the fact that I was less than an hour away from confessing to Cole that I seriously liked him.

“For those of you who are new to the Guess the Counselor game, let me explain how this works,” Hitch instructed the entire camp from the front of the stage using his trusty megaphone. I secretly prayed he’d run out of batteries for it before the end of camp. It had started to squeak when he talked and sometimes you had to hold your ears the noise was so bad.

The auditorium was nothing like the one we had at school. Basically it was a big room with a basketball court for a floor. There were folding chairs for seating and large rotating fans to keep everyone cool. (Or should I say they were
attempting
to keep everyone cool. With another heat wave hitting the area, the most you could hope for was a quick breeze passing through one of the large windows. Thankfully the sun would be going down soon and offer more relief. The auditorium smelled musty from the heat, and everywhere I looked kids were fanning themselves with the counselor hunt rules memo that Hitch had passed out earlier.) Lining the auditorium walls were camp posters and banners, similar to the ones in the mess hall. One heralding our upcoming talent show, written in sparkly purple lettering, was front and center. I had to admit, Court’s routine was so fun that I was secretly looking forward to performing now. The other big banner was a replica of ones that were littering the camp: COLOR WAR IS FOUR DAYS AWAY! The countdown had begun and it was all anyone could talk about.

“Counselors and CITs are going to be hiding around camp in costume. The remaining staff, like Mrs. Morberry, Cara, Beaver and a few counselors,” Hitch continued, “including myself, will be patrolling the grounds to help campers. After the counselors have had twenty minutes to hide, you may all head out with your bunks to search for them. Bunks should stay together for this game. When you come across a counselor, you will have three guesses as to who is behind the mask. Get the answer right, and your team wins a point. Once a counselor has been identified, they are out of the game and must go to our makeshift jail at the mess hall. The team with the most points at nine PM will be the winner and will get a free snack at the canteen every day for the rest of the week.” A loud cheer rose from the heat-exhausted crowd.

“Less than an hour till you tell Cole you like him,” Court reminded me. As if I needed reminding. She was dressed as Kermit the Frog. We had painted her with washable green paint and she was wearing green clothing. I thought she kind of looked like the Jolly Green Giant, but Court got mad when I said that. I was dressed as a rag doll. (Alexis came up with the idea.) I had white pancake makeup, big, red rouge circles on my cheeks, oversized glasses, fake red eyebrows, a clown nose, striped stockings, a baby doll dress, and red hair made of yarn. Court thought my costume was cheesy. Well, it wasn’t as cheesy as Gabby being Catwoman. (She must have been sweating in those black leather pants.) Not one to be topped, Ashley went with the superhero theme as well. She was Wonder Woman, so she was wearing a black wig, a small gold eye mask, and a skintight leotard with stars on it that matched her gold go-go boots.

Ashley must have had ESP because at that moment, she turned her head and gave me a nasty look.

I knew she thought — rightly so — I was one of the culprits behind last week’s prank. None of Ashley’s and Gabby’s clothes got ruined, but Ashley was still angry, mostly because she hadn’t been able to prove it was us that did it. The good news was that Ashley wasn’t talking to any of us (except Gabby, of course), so camp life had been attitude-free for a few days.

Still, I was convinced the truce would be short-lived. There was no way Ashley was not going to get us back for humiliating her. It was just a matter of time before I woke up covered in honey and feathers or found my bras swinging from the top of the flagpole.

“I’ve been thinking and I’m not sure telling Cole I like him during the game is such a good idea,” I whispered to Court as Hitch continued talking. “I’m dressed as a rag doll! It’s kind of hard to confess you like someone when you’re wearing a yarn wig. Maybe I should just tell him the normal way, you know? Plus, how do I know I’m even going to find Cole? I have no clue what his costume is.”

“Trust me, this is a good idea. And how hard could it be to figure out who he is?” she said as she glanced around the stage.

Very
hard if you asked me. Most of the male counselors were smart enough to wear masks or papier-mâché heads. They were dressed in giant costumes like the Hulk, Barney, and a panda bear. Cole could be any of them, including the knight in armor, Darth Vader, Batman, or even that henchman from the movie
Scream.
I knew he wasn’t Tarzan — that chiseled torso belonged to Court’s beloved Donovan.

“Okay, this is going to be more difficult than I thought,” Court admitted, reading my thoughts. “Usually the costumes are as lame as Gabby’s and you can tell who someone is right away, but I guess this year the guys went all out.”

“I have to find someone who knows who Cole is,” I decided. “Then I have to get to him before a group of campers do
and
find my own hiding space before Hitch realizes I’m not actually playing the game.”

“You can do it,” Court said encouragingly. “When you find Cole, I think you should run up to him and kiss him.”

I had to cover my mouth to keep from laughing. Kissing was all Court thought about. “I’m not sure that’s the best approach,” I said delicately.

I
did
have an overwhelming urge to kiss Cole. I’d had it for a while, but ever since he’d rescued me from Beaver the other night, I couldn’t get the thought out of my head. I should have just done it then, when I had the chance. Cole must have had to ask me something important if he snuck out of his bunk to do it. What could it have been? I wanted to ask, but every time I saw Cole, someone interrupted us. Grace thought he wanted to ask me to go to the camp dance with him, which was during the last week of camp. If that was true, then that meant Cole definitely liked me. Just the thought of Cole liking me as much as I liked him made me melt faster than the Firecracker ice pop I’d gotten at the canteen that afternoon.

“So are there any questions?” I heard Hitch ask the revved-up crowd. For the first time tonight, the room was actually quiet. “Well, then, before I dismiss the counselors and CITS, I have more big news to announce — the names of this year’s Color War captains.”

The crowd got very excited. I glanced sideways at Grace, who was standing stoically. She had wanted that title since she was six.

“This year’s Color War captains — who won’t be able to celebrate at this exact moment for fear of their costumes being exposed — are Grace Weidinger, Tim Conway, Grady James, and Amy Josephs!” The crowd cheered. Court and I were louder than anyone onstage. Grace had to be ready to burst. “Details about Color War will come soon, after I’ve met with the captains, but in the meantime, let’s start tonight’s game. It’s time for the counselors and CITs to go into hiding. Good luck!”

We moved off the stage as quickly as we could. It was kind of hard when some of us were wearing such clunky costumes. Barney couldn’t fit between the stair railings and had to be helped off the stage.

“Have you had any luck figuring out who they are yet?” Em appeared at my side. She was dressed as Minnie Mouse and she looked adorable with her big black ears, black foam nose, and red polka dot dress that she had borrowed from the camp secretary, Mrs. Morberry.

I shook my head. “They could be anyone,” I complained. “The only way to find out is to get someone to tell us. Maybe if we can track down one of the other male CITs we can get him to spill the beans.”

Em nodded. “Good idea. First we have to find another CIT. I’ll head toward the lake and you head toward the upper campus. If either of us finds out who someone is, we’ll meet on the path up to the bunks, right next to the water fountain — that is, if we’re not captured first.”

“Good luck,” we both said. Em and I shook on it and headed in opposite directions.

It wasn’t long before I came across Grace, who was posing regally in the middle of the tennis courts. She was dressed as the Statue of Liberty and her face was a funny shade of green. She saw me and frowned. “Sam, you’re going to give me away! No one can see you talking to me.”

I laughed. “Grace, you’re standing in the middle of the tennis courts,” I pointed out. “It’s not going to be hard to find you.”

Grace itched her left calf. All that green paint must have been miserable in the heat. “Yeah, well, I thought I’d help the peeps and hide somewhere easy. They still have to figure out who I am though and my crown is so big, I doubt they’ll be able to do that.”

“Congrats on the Color War pick, captain,” I said.

Grace attempted a smile, her makeup cracking. “Can you believe it? I’ve always wanted to be captain and now I finally get my chance! I think it’s so cool that Tim got picked too. We’re both going to be such strong leaders.” She sighed. “So, any sign of Cole?”

“This was a stupid idea,” I said miserably. “There is no way I’m going to find him when he’s in disguise.”

Grace looked thoughtful. “You need to think about the type of costume Cole would pick. Has he ever talked to you about his favorite movies or anything? If he likes
Star Wars
then he’s probably the one dressed as Darth Vader.”

I gave her a skeptical look. “Are you saying there is a chance that one of the CITs or counselors actually watches Barney?”

She seemed to be having trouble moving her lips. “I see your point,” she said. Her face brightened. “I do know someone you could hunt down and ask about Cole. Tim is dressed as Kung Fu Panda — but you didn’t hear that from me.”

My excitement at having a lead was momentarily forgotten with the news about Tim’s costume choice. He was a jock, just like Grace, and I’d pictured him being something more active, like a lion tamer. There was one of those running around in a big, long-haired wig. “King Fu Panda?” I couldn’t help asking. I tried not to smirk.

“I think it’s cute,” Grace said stiffly. “You know just because —” She paused. “Campers! They’re coming this way.”

The two of us turned around. Heading right toward us were definitely peeps, and they were being trailed by Mrs. Morberry. As they got closer, I spotted Mackenzie’s pigtails. I had put her hair in them just before dinner when she complained it was hot out. “They’re mine,” I said breathlessly. “If they figure out who I am, I’ll never get to tell Cole anything.”

“Just stay calm,” Grace said. “They’re peeps, remember? Be happy they aren’t marshmallows.”

“We see you!” I heard Serena yell. She started running up the path ahead of the rest of the girls. She stopped when she saw Grace and me and I inhaled sharply. “You’re Ashley!” she said, pointing at Grace. Grace shook her head. “Then you’re Ashley,” she said to me. I shook my head.

“Don’t say a name till everyone gets here,” reminded Mrs. Morberry gently.

“Hitch said we only get three picks,” Callie told the girls. She whispered to the other excited little girls and they nodded in agreement. “Are one of you Meg?”

Whoo hoo! Two picks down. Grace and I shook our heads.

“I know who the rag doll is,” Mackenzie shrieked suddenly. She ran up to me and I tried not to look her in the eye. My heart was racing. Mackenzie squinted intently. “Alexis!” I exhaled and shook my head. She looked at Grace, disappointed. “Are you Alexis?”

“No,” Grace said in a deep voice. “That’s three guesses. Sorry! Good luck.”

The girls trudged off, looking dejected, and I almost felt bad for them. This was a pretty tough game for six-year-olds. I was surprised we didn’t give them clues.

“That was close,” I said to Grace. “I’m going to get out of here before anyone else comes looking.” I didn’t get much farther before my path was blocked by a group of pez arguing over which cabin to explore. I ducked into the trees to avoid being seen. When I came out the other side, I took a shortcut behind the arts and crafts cabin and almost ran right into Alexis, who was dressed as a fairy. I dove in front of the porch before she could turn her heavy wings around and see me.