The Girls of Firefly Cabin

by Cynthia Ellingsen

  Chapter Thirteen

  Isla could barely catch her breath. Lauren dragged them to the kitchen without stopping once to rest. The morning was especially humid, and her lungs felt thick. She leaned against the stone edge of the building, sweat soaking her silk shirt.

  “Hey, you okay?” Jade looked at her with concern.

  Isla nodded. “Mmm.”

  She was not about to admit the truth.

  Jazz music wailed through the shabby screen door, and Lauren gave a firm knock. A hefty, frizzy-haired woman came to the door, a look of thunder on her face. Her expression softened at the sight of them.

  “So, missy.” She wiped the sweat off her forehead with an apron. “You need more donuts already?”

  “No, ma’am. I need your help.” She explained about the contest while Isla fought to catch her breath.

  The chef let out a dramatic sigh. “Is there a reason you enjoy bugging me?”

  Lauren grinned. “I’m not trying to bug you. We knew the kitchen would have foil. And when my friends asked who would have a key, I told them if anyone would, it would be you.”

  The chef looked flattered. “Well, then.” She wiped her hands on her apron. “I suppose I can help you. The camp rents out the Lodge for parties during the year, so I imagine all that stuff should be fine for you to use.”

  “Jackpot,” Archer said.

  Jade nodded, sliding her friendship bracelets up and down her arm.

  Chef returned with a huge roll of foil and a set of keys.

  Archer and Jade headed off with the foil, while Lauren and Isla followed Chef to the Lodge. The trail leading to it was empty, with late-morning patches of sun dancing on the ground.

  The air-conditioning inside helped Isla’s breathing. She sank onto a sofa, relieved, as Chef unlocked office doors. Finally, she found the room Archer had described.

  “Mum’s the word,” Chef said. “Lock the door behind you.”

  Lauren leaped forward as if to hug her, but the chef waved her off. “Go on, now.” She waddled away. “Mum’s the word.”

  Lauren grinned. “Mum’s the word.”

  Isla followed Lauren into the room and stopped short. There were stacks of clear bins filled with decorations—Halloween, Easter, Fourth of July…and there! Christmas.

  Lauren put on a Santa hat and pulled out a string of white Christmas lights. She dropped a Santa hat on Isla’s head too. For a second, Isla was concerned about contracting head lice, but since Lauren didn’t seem worried, she tried to have fun with it.

  “How do you know that lady that let us in?” Isla asked. “The chef?”

  Lauren explained some incident with donuts. “She threatened to send me home.” Her shoulders hunched at the memory. “I was really scared.”

  “I would have been too.”

  Isla never felt brave enough to talk to authority figures. Some of the girls at camp were already making friends with the counselors, which seemed so bold. The counselors were all in college, and Isla didn’t have the first clue of what to say to them.

  “You like it here, then?” Isla took her hat off and traced her hand over the faux fur.

  “You still don’t?” Lauren flopped onto the floor and crossed her legs. “Is it because of your business?”

  Isla hesitated. She wished she could tell Lauren how hard things had been and that she struggled to keep up every day. The risk was too great, though, that Lauren would think she was a baby.

  People like winners, her father liked to lecture. Not whiners.

  “I like it.” Isla folded the hat. “It’s just an adjustment.”

  “How do you mean?”

  Isla fidgeted. Lauren had a way of looking at her, really looking, as though she wanted to hear what Isla had to say. She was so different from the girls at private school.

  “I’ve never spent time in the country. The whole princess thing…” She waved her hand. “Archer is right.”

  Lauren sighed. “I’ll ask her to stop calling you that if it bothers—”

  Isla shook her head. “It’s funny. I just wish…” She bit her lip. “My brothers are so successful at everything. They went to camp at Blueberry Lane, and like everything else, they dominated it. Their words, not mine. My parents expect me to do the same, but I don’t know how to be successful at…nature. I wake up every day scared I’m going to fail.”

  “Oh, honey.” Lauren pulled her into a hug. “No one fails at camp.”

  Isla gave a muffled laugh against her shoulder. “I could.”

  “Look, if you fail here, it’s still a win because it doesn’t matter in the slightest. No one will ever know. Besides, you’re not going to think about canoeing or swimming once this is all over. You’re going to think about the friends you made. That’s what matters. You know?”

  Such great advice. Isla nodded, but felt embarrassed that she’d shared so much.

  They gathered up the Christmas lights, and Lauren locked the doors behind them.

  “We should hurry.” Lauren glanced at her digital watch. “We don’t have much time.”

  Here we go.

  Lauren started to run and Isla forced herself to keep up. They raced through camp, holding the lights to their chests. Isla’s lungs ached with the effort, but she managed.

  They approached a cluster of bird cabins, and Lauren came to a halt and pointed. “Look.”

  Somehow, the Swans had found an enormous, blow-up swan. It sat on their front porch, surrounded by a bunch of faux, sparkling snow that glistened in the sunlight.

  “Wow,” Lauren marveled. “That looks so cool.”

  Isla’s heart pounded with nerves. Would their entry be good enough?

  There you go again. Trying to overachieve.

  This was different, though. The Faces of Blueberry Pine competition was important to Lauren. Isla wanted to do well because it meant so much to her. She made a silent vow to do everything possible to help. That proved difficult, however, when they returned to Firefly cabin and the door was locked.

  Lauren banged on it. “You guys! Come on.”

  They heard a telltale pair of combat boots stomp across the floor.

  “Who is it?” Archer sounded suspicious from behind the door.

  Lauren giggled. “Who do you think?”

  Archer undid the latch and let them in. “Hurry. The other cabins are trying to spy.”

  “We need your help making flowers,” Jade said immediately. “Everyone, grab a piece of foil and copy our prototype.”

  The only light came from the fluorescents buzzing overhead, since the two had successfully found tarps and blacked out the windows. The prototype flower was easy to follow, and Isla enjoyed the opportunity to craft, rather than run all over the place. Jade gathered the flowers as quickly as they could be made and hung them from the ceiling with the assistance of a small stepladder.

  “Okay, I think this is good. What do you girls think?”

  Isla had been so focused on making flowers that the sight of the cabin caught her by surprise.

  “Wow,” she breathed, looking around.

  Firefly Cabin felt like a different world. Whimsical flowers and foil-covered streamers hung from the ceiling like something out of a moonlit dream. Her sound machine chirped in the background, creating the sense of a forest at night.

  “It looks…” Lauren spun around, taking it all in.

  “Amazing,” Isla said.

  Quickly, the Fireflies worked together to tack up the white Christmas lights. Lauren held the plug next to the outlet. “Drumroll, please.”

  Archer banged her fists against the wall and stomped her boots. Jade tapped her fingers against the edge of a bunk, and Isla held her breath in excitement. Suddenly, five hundred shimmering Christmas lights lit the small cabin, reflecting off the silver flowers.

  “Yes.” Jade gave a firm nod. “I knew it would work.”

  Lauren clasped her hands. “It’s absolutely perfect.”

  “It is perfect.” Isla pointed at th
e clock. “But it’s almost noon.”

  The moment the words left her lips she regretted them, because the Fireflies let out a yelp and tore out of the cabin. They raced down the wooden path to the main lawn. Isla did her best to keep up, but after a morning of exertion, faded fast.

  Lauren turned to beckon at her. “We can’t be late or we’re disqualified.”

  Isla’s entire body burned with the effort. Sweat poured down her back, her legs ached, and her lungs got tighter with every step. A telltale whistle started to take over. Somehow, she made it to the main lawn, but it was too late—she was in the thick of an asthma attack.

  Ducking behind a pine tree, she pulled out her inhaler and pressed it between her lips. She felt light-headed as the sharp medicine shot into her lungs. The grip on her chest loosened and she could breathe.

  Archer rushed behind the tree, her face like thunder. “What are you doing?”

  Through the branches, Isla could see Cassandra marching toward the Fireflies. Lauren looked absolutely panicked.

  Isla rushed past Archer to join the others. The girls stood in nervous silence as Cassandra checked them in.

  Once their counselor had walked away, Archer tossed up her arms in exasperation. “What was that, princess?”

  Everyone stared at her. Even Jade.

  Isla’s cheeks flushed with embarrassment. “I—I thought I saw a bear. My mistake. Cassandra told me that bears wouldn’t come on camp without a major food shortage.” I should just go home. Fake an illness and get out of here.

  “I would have run too,” Archer said. “But next time, you need to warn us so I can trip one of you and escape.”

  She pretended to shove Lauren, who made a silly face, and the girls burst out laughing.

  Isla looked down at her shiny shoes, hiding a smile.

  Maybe she’d stick around for a while, after all.

  The cheerful mood faded the longer the Fireflies stood in the courtyard, waiting for the judges. No one spoke, not even Lauren.

  “Winning isn’t everything,” Isla said, as much to herself as anyone. “We should be proud of how good our cabin looks, no matter what happens.”

  “Speak for yourself.” Archer cracked her knuckles. “I want to beat my sister.”

  The counselors returned with the verdict, and the Fireflies—even Jade—grabbed hands. The judges handed Taylor the paper. She opened it, read the results, and gave a perky nod.

  “The third-place honor goes to the Crabapples.”

  The ten-year-old girls jumped up and down, shrieking in delight.

  “Second place goes to…” Taylor pointed at Makayla. “The Bluebirds!”

  “Gag,” Archer cried. “This is so rigged!”

  Makayla leaned against the oak tree, as if posing for the brochure. She didn’t look happy, though. Perhaps because the Bluebirds weren’t first, which meant maybe…

  Isla’s stomach tensed as Taylor squinted down at the paper.

  “First place goes to the girls of Firefly Cabin,” she cried. “We’ll tally your points and put them on the board during Indoor Rec. Everyone, thanks for participating. The cabins look awesome.”

  Isla couldn’t believe it. They’d won first place! Out of all the other cabins.

  The Fireflies bounced up and down, cheering and hugging one another. Lauren’s face flushed with pride, Archer shot victorious looks at her sister, and for once, even Jade was smiling. They gathered into a huddle, grinning from ear to ear.

  “We’re going to be the faces of Blueberry Pine,” Lauren squealed. “I can feel it! Bring it in.”

  Every single one of the Fireflies brought their hands in for the secret handshake.

  “Zap, zap, zap,” the girls cried.

  Giggling hysterically, they headed back to their (first-place!) cabin.

  Chapter Fourteen

  It was pretty awesome walking into lunch as the first-place winners. The daggers the Bluebirds shot at the Fireflies made Archer giggle. It would be amazing if she and the Fireflies actually won the whole thing.

  The counselors had set up a display for the contest in the entryway. It had a detailed explanation of the point system and the main competitions. These events were worth the most points, but it was also possible to earn twenty points each for doing silly stuff like switching cabins for the night, sending a letter of appreciation to a counselor, or writing a funny poem about Blueberry Pine to read aloud at lunch.

  “The main ones are worth one hundred points each,” Lauren squealed. “We are so far ahead of almost everyone!”

  “Well, what are the main ones?” Archer said, reading down the list.

  Dress Your Cabin (already aced it)

  Stand Up, Sing Out (ack)

  The Ultimate Scavenger Hunt (could be fun)

  Rowdy Relay Race (double ack)

  The Power of the Pen Essay Competition (hard to tell)

  Biting her lip, she said, “I don’t know. We’ll have to do some serious plotting to keep the lead.”

  Like everyone else in the mess hall, the Fireflies spent lunch planning how to do each and every one of the silly tasks. It all sounded like a lot of fun. Especially if it meant beating her sister again.

  Lunch and swim hour seemed to fly by, and the Fireflies met up with the Cicadas to head over to Indoor Rec.

  “I think I’m going to get a pass to go to the art building today,” Archer said. Art was technically her Monday, Wednesday, and Friday elective, but she wanted to get back to work on the painting she’d started. “Anyone want to come?”

  The art building was two buildings over. It was packed with canvases, oil paints, watercolors, pastels…basically an artist’s dream. Plus, there was little chance Makayla would go there, which was an added bonus.

  The Cicadas shook their heads.

  “I’ll go,” Jade volunteered. “I’ve been wanting to check it out.”

  Immediately, Archer felt nervous. She and Jade had gotten along great while decorating the cabin, but they still didn’t have that comfort level she shared with the other girls. It would be impossible to say no, though.

  “Let’s go,” Archer said brightly.

  The only sound as they walked to the art building was the crunch of Archer’s boots on the path. She considered a bunch of conversation starters, but Jade seemed perfectly happy to walk in silence. Finally, Archer stopped worrying about it and let the birds chatter for them.

  The screen door creaked as they walked in.

  The counselor in charge, Rochelle, waved them back to the main room with the art supplies. Floor-to-ceiling windows overlooked the lake, and a line of easels waited. In the corner, a group of younger girls took a lesson on watercolors.

  Archer smiled at them, then headed to the cupboard for a smock. Jade followed.

  “This is where you get your supplies,” Archer told her, breaking the silence.

  There were several mason jars filled with paintbrushes in different sizes. Each jar sat next to tubes of the primary colors, as well as black and white, and a small board to mix them on. Archer’s current canvas stood upright in a cubby labeled “Guinevere.”

  “Guinevere, huh?” Jade grinned. “Hiding from your sister?”

  “Um…” Archer did not expect Jade to be that perceptive. “Yeah. She’d mess with it if she knew it was mine, so it’s not mine.”

  “That’s smart. Kiara and I used code names to pass notes—” She stopped suddenly, as though surprised to have said her friend’s name out loud. Turning, she grabbed a mason jar and headed to an easel in the corner.

  The two worked in silence. It didn’t take long to forget about Jade and focus on her piece, Firefly Cabin at Sunset. Today, she had planned to do the sky, so she mixed up burnt red, mustard tones, and a sultry violet.

  Long rays of sun stretched across the wooden floor. Archer breathed in the scent of old wood, the linseed smell of the oil paints, and Jade’s rose perfume. Once the younger girls had left, the room fell silent.

  “Kiara was my
best friend,” Jade said abruptly. “She died in January.”

  Archer almost dropped her paintbrush.

  Wait. She’s talking about this? To me?

  “What happened?” Archer dared to ask.

  It made her feel like a total jerk to act like she didn’t know, but what could she say? Yes, I know, because I snooped in your things the very first night we were here?

  “Car accident.” Jade’s voice was small. “It was kind of my fault.” She added snow to a painting of a polar bear.

  Huh? Kiara’s sister was driving. How could it be Jade’s fault?

  “What hap—” she started to ask, but Jade waved her hand.

  “I don’t want to talk about it.”

  Archer bit down on the handle of her paintbrush. “You wouldn’t have brought it up if you didn’t want to talk about it.”

  “Drop it, okay?” Jade shoved her brush into the black paint and turned her polar bear into a gray blob.

  “Fine,” Archer said. “I wouldn’t mind hearing about what she was like, though.”

  Jade gave a weighted sigh. Then she said, “Kiara was born exactly one month after me. We did everything together. I told her everything. Well, almost everything.” For a scary moment, it looked like Jade might burst into tears. “We signed up for camp together.”

  Archer winced. No wonder the girl didn’t want to be here.

  “I bet she would have been a good Firefly,” Archer said.

  That made Jade smile. “Yeah. I bet you’re right.”

  Setting down her brush, Jade leaned against the wall of windows and slid to the floor. The collar of her shirt was flipped up, and the tip of her perfect nose, sunburned. The girl looked like a Tommy Hilfiger ad—not someone struggling with a problem like this.

  “You have an iPhone here,” Jade said.

  Archer jumped. “How did you—?”

  “It lit up in your pocket the other day. Are you addicted or something? Kiara used to be obsessed with this one dumb game.”

  “I’m playing a prank on someone,” Archer admitted. “Your sister?”

  Archer slid down next to Jade. “Yeah.” She fiddled with the laces on her boots.