‘Tour time, hut seven,’ he said.
Rita peered over Penelope’s shoulder. ‘Those are really good tips,’ she whispered as Bob and Tilly jumped down from their bunks. ‘We really need to pay attention to them.’
Even though Penelope really didn’t like people reading over her shoulder, she decided to let it go. Rita was right. And she was being so agreeable.
Perhaps sharing a hut with Rita Azul wouldn’t be such a bad thing after all.
Three other huts joined hut seven for the tour of Camp Tribute. Oscar’s hut was there, plus another boys’ hut, and hut six (with Joanna, Eliza, Alison and Sarah).
Penelope was a little surprised to see Joanna walking right next to Alex Gabriel, chatting away happily. It was kind of a rule that boys and girls stayed pretty separate outside of class.
Penelope actually chatted with Oscar quite a bit, like when they were working on a charity stall together, or when they were looking at Oscar’s weird bugs. But she always thought that was because Oscar was just that sort of boy. It was most unusual to see a girl like Joanna and a boy like Alex spending so much time together.
The group stopped (with Joanna and Alex leaning in to each other in quite a strange way) as Ramone pointed out the bike ed course.
The next stop was the rock-climbing wall. Penelope had done a bit of rock climbing with Harry and her dad, when he was in town over the holidays. Her dad had switched off his mobile phone completely and absolutely (not even on vibrate) and stayed with them for a whole hour. Penelope had trusted her brain to help her feet find the right spot, and it had worked. She still remembered that day vividly.
Her dad had said that she and Harry were ‘mountain goats’ (which was apparently a compliment if you were rock climbing). And afterwards, her dad had taken them out for yum cha, just the three of them – no stepmother or Sienna.
Although it was a type of sport, Penelope quite liked rock climbing.
The next stop was a lovely art room. As the art teacher showed them around, Penelope took note of the materials she could use for the pictures she was planning to draw, which would be vital to her group winning the best hut competition.
Then they looked at the archery area, and the ropes course. Unfortunately the ropes course wasn’t an optional activity (Penelope had asked). Still, it didn’t look ridiculously hard. Penelope thought she would cope.
When they came to the challenge swing, however, Penelope had to remind herself to breathe.
‘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 b
rush 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.’
‘Well,’ said Rita, ‘let’s all think about this.’
Penelope noticed that Bob and Tilly were both looking down, as though they didn’t want to be there.
‘Who is older, you or me?’ Rita demanded.
Rita was the oldest girl in the whole class. Everyone knew that.
‘You are,’ Penelope said. ‘But that’s not –’
‘And who is taller, you or me?’ Rita interrupted rudely.
Penelope glowered. Just recently, they’d had to line up in order of size for the school photo. As the shortest girl in their class, Penelope was put in the centre of the front row (just like every other year).
Honestly, Penelope had no idea why she had ever thought that she and Rita could get along. Rita hadn’t just been mean since birth. She had probably been mean when she was in her mother’s tummy, or even before that.
If there was a competition for meanest girl, Rita would win it hands-down.
Penelope realised her hands were on her hips. She wasn’t sure when she’d put them there. Her palms felt sweaty. Her temples throbbed and her cheeks felt hot. Really hot.
‘YOU MIGHT BE OLDER. AND YOU MIGHT BE TALLER,’ she yelled. ‘BUT YOU’RE NOT THE ONE WHO HAS HER BOOKS IN ALPHABETICAL ORDER IN HER LOCKER. YOU’RE NOT THE ONE WHO HAS A REPUTATION FOR BEING ORGANISED AT ALL TIMES. YOU ONLY HAVE A REPUTATION FOR BEING MEAN AT ALL TIMES. YOU WOULD BE THE WORST LEADER IN HISTORY.’
‘Oh my god,’ Rita said, ‘how embarrassing. You’re such a baby, Penelope Kingston. You need to Calm. Right. Down. Seriously! You look like a freak, your face is so red. Look, you’ve even got veins popping out of your temples. Gross.’
Even though there were tears pricking at her eyes, Penelope did not cry. But she had already done the very worst thing. She had broken rule number one – her most important rule.
Penelope gulped. She pressed her fingers to her temples, trying to flatten out the veins, and reminded herself to breathe.
Looking around, she could see that Bob had moved over to stand near the door. Tilly was right next to her. This seemed unsupportive of a very best friend, even if the bell was ringing for the next activity.
Even though it was painful to talk, Penelope forced herself to calm down. It was absolutely essential to get both of their votes. She took a deep breath and squeezed out the words. ‘Bob and Tilly, who do you think should be hut leader?’
Bob and Tilly stepped further away to talk privately.
As they waited for a response, Penelope and Rita stared at each other. Penelope tried to look directly into Rita’s eyes, but they were very intense, so after a while she switched to her mouth. Then her ears.
Finally, Bob and Tilly came back.
‘We think we probably don’t need a leader at all,’ Bob began.
‘But if you guys are so keen on having one …’ Tilly continued.
‘… Then maybe it should be both of you,’ Bob finished.
Then, without waiting for a response, they turned and ran out of the hut.
Penelope was very rarely late for anything, but this time she ignored the bell and stayed in the hut all by herself. Outbursts were exhausting, and this had been quite a big one. She just wanted to curl up in her bunk bed and make it all go away.
She wasn’t even sure which part she was most upset about. But Bob being so unsupportive was definitely one part. If Penelope had one wish right then, she would wish for Bob to come back and apologise to her. Unfortunately (and Penelope tried it, just in case) her wish didn’t work.
Of
course, the other thing that was truly upsetting was that she had already (on the very first day!) broken her number one rule. Penelope reached over to her bag and pulled the list out of its secret pocket. She would have to make some changes. But she was sure she would feel better when she was done.
Penelope hunted through the drawers at the bottom of the wardrobe in the corner. One drawer was empty, but in the other one, Penelope found blank paper, blutack, sticky tape and three sharpened pencils. Even though the pencil didn’t match the pen she’d used to write her list, Penelope was able to make the alteration quite neatly.
Just as she was finishing, Ramone poked his head around the door. ‘There you are, Penelope,’ he said. ‘They’re waiting for you at bike ed. Come along with me.’
Penelope quickly put her list in the drawer so that Ramone wouldn’t see it, then closed the drawer and followed him.
Penelope steered her bike through the crossover in the figure eight that was painted on the basketball court. After only a slight wobble, she was off again.
It was her third time riding around the course. Each time, she had found it a little bit easier. Each time, she felt more confident.
She had passed Rita twice as they made their way around the course. Penelope had been concentrating very hard on trying to make up for being six minutes late by doing everything right. But Rita had a great big smile plastered on her face. Penelope wondered if the smile was pretend. She certainly didn’t feel like smiling.
‘Great stuff,’ the bike ed teacher called out. ‘Now we’re going to try riding two abreast, straight up to the line and back again. Steer the bike with your outside hand, and hang on to your partner’s hand on the inside. Then we’ll come back the other way.’
Penelope looked to her right. Her partner was Bob.
Very Private List for Camp Success Page 3