by Amy C. Blake
“Last one in’s a rotten egg!” Trevor thundered past Levi and splashed into the lake, Tommy at his heels. Steve jogged after them, his belly fat jiggling. Levi walked slowly toward the water. He’d called home that afternoon, like everybody else, but no one had answered. Between discouragement with his family and memories of that lake creature, he didn’t think he could deal with beach time today. Not that any of his friends so much as noticed how he felt.
Even Sara raced full-throttle into the crashing waves, while Monica let out an uncharacteristic giggle as she jumped into the surf. In seconds, the five of them were engaged in an all-out water battle.
To Levi’s left, Lizzie touched a hand to the hair piled just so on top of her head. “Don’t y’all splash me now.” She tiptoed to the edge and dipped a coral-nailed toe—the exact shade as her swimsuit—into the water. She shivered. “It’s so cold!”
Trevor barreled toward her and splashed as hard as he could for sixty long seconds. When he stopped, she stood sputtering, her hair a soggy wad. Levi laughed out loud at the mascara streaming down her face.
“Ooh, I’m gonna get you now, honey.” She tore off after Trevor, splashing madly.
Levi took a couple more steps toward the water.
“C’mon, Levi,” Steve called. He did a huge belly-flop right next to Monica and came up cackling.
Levi waved, but he didn’t step near enough to touch the water.
He peered around. The staff had set up buoys to mark off the safe swim zone, and the lake was calmer than usual. The Drakes and Mr. Sylvester had spaced themselves out along the beach, their eyes constantly scanning the water. Their height made them the ideal lifeguards for the thirty or so kids who had come to the beach. Mr. Dominic stood watch also, dressed in powder blue board shorts that brushed his knobby kneecaps. His face wore a broad smile, and his eyes danced. His bare feet shuffled in the sand as though he’d love to splash down in the water with the campers.
Levi stuck a tentative toe in the chilly water. Surely it was safe. Surely the monster wouldn’t come in the swim area. He turned around and scanned the beach one more time. Okay, he could do this. He wouldn’t spend the whole summer scared of water.
“Cowabunga!”
The screech blasted his eardrums. Something grabbed him around the waist and yanked him backward into the lake. He opened his mouth to scream for help. He swallowed sandy water, choking and gasping. When whatever-it-was released him, he pushed to his feet and wheeled around, half-expecting to see a scaly creature with fangs bearing down on him.
Instead he found Trevor, doubled over with laughter. For a second, anger burned through him. Then he looked down at his sand-encrusted chest and back up at Trevor, whose hair stuck straight up all over his head. His anger drained away in laughter.
“You nerd!” He tackled Trevor, pushing him under.
Trevor came up spluttering. “Nerd? I’ll show you nerd.” And he chased Levi, splashing like a water fiend.
“What do you know about the Loch Ness monster?” Levi asked Trevor that night as he settled against the pillow he’d carried up to cushion the stone tower roof.
Trevor shot him a puzzled look. “Where’d that come from?”
His face heated, and he was glad for the clouds blocking the light of the three-quarter moon. “I was just thinking. We’re in a place with all kinds of bizarre stuff. Makes you wonder about those legends and tall tales people tell. How many of them are real?”
“Yeah, I’ve thought about that too.” Trevor lay back on his pillow. “I mean, some things are too weird to be true, like vampires and Paul Bunyan and stuff.”
He snickered. “Vampires and Paul Bunyan? Not exactly in the same class.”
Trevor elbowed him in the ribs. “You know what I mean.” He sobered. “But I know lake monsters are real. I’ve seen one.”
Levi popped upright. “Where?” Could it be the same one he’d seen?
“When I was a kid, we had a boat we’d go out in. Sometimes for the whole day. We’d fish and swim and stuff.” The moon peeked from behind the clouds and illumined the far-off expression in his eyes. “One day we stayed out later than usual, and just as the sun was sinking into the water, I saw this huge hulk a good hundred feet away. It hovered there a minute and sort of stared at me, then it disappeared.” He shrugged. “Nobody else saw it, but Dad told me it had to be Bessie. That’s Lake Erie’s monster.”
“Your dad believed you?” He had trouble imagining his best friend’s dad spending entire days on a boat with him, much less believing him when he claimed to see a mythical creature.
“Yeah, well, that was before Mom died.”
Levi squirmed. He allowed a few seconds of uncomfortable silence before he asked, “What did this . . . Bessie look like?”
Trevor sighed, but his voice came out stronger. “It was kinda hard to see with the sun behind it, but it had sort of a horse head. Not with a mane or anything, but with that shape. Its skin was kind of rubbery-looking and dark, maybe gray or black. Kinda like a seal’s. That’s about all I remember, that and its size. Even from a distance, I could tell the thing was tall. Real tall.”
“Oh.” His own lake creature reared in his mind, its vast shape, dark horse head, and sharp teeth making him shudder.
Trevor squinted at him. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.” He cleared his throat. “I was just imagining the thing.” He lay back on his pillow and tried to make his voice sound casual. “So, have these lake monsters, Bessie or Nessie or whatever you call them, ever attacked anybody?”
“Don’t know, but I guess it’s possible.” Trevor yawned and stretched. “There’re lake monsters all over the world. Ogopogo in Canada and Brosnya in Russia. And a whole bunch more.”
“What about Lake Superior? Does it have a monster?” He peeked at Trevor from the corner of his eye.
“Sure. Name’s Pressie. I was hoping to see her since we’re in the middle of the lake.” He grinned. “Well, I guess you’d say we’re over the middle of the lake.”
Levi forced a chuckle. “Pressie?”
“Yep. She’s a shy one. Not seen very often.” Trevor yawned again. “Probably because the lake’s so huge, she has plenty of places to hide. Nobody knows where her lair is, but I bet it’s around here. Since we’re smack in the middle. It would be so cool to find her.”
Levi tried to control his frantic breathing. “Yeah, um, cool.”
15
The Lead in a Skirt
“You will too.” Steely-eyed, Mr. Austin thrust the lacy white dress into Levi’s stomach on Monday afternoon.
“Oof.” He clenched his fists and shook his head hard. “Uh-uh. I’m not wearing that thing.”
“You’re Thor.” The literature teacher advanced until the oily smell of his hair filled Levi’s nostrils. “You will wear the gown. Now try it on so we know whether it needs to be altered.”
Giggles and catcalls came from the pack of kids waiting to hear which parts they’d won. Hunter and Martin were both pointing at him and cackling loudly.
He lowered his voice, hoping he sounded mature, reasonable, respectful. Because he wasn’t about to parade around in a dress, especially in front of the entire camp. “I’m sorry, sir. I’m just not an actor. You’ll have to find somebody else. Maybe Braden or Brick . . . er, Brock . . . they’re both redheads.” He wedged his fingers between his stomach and the silky fabric and shoved.
Mr. Austin didn’t back down an inch. “The twins’ hair is not true red like yours. You are Thor.” His jaw set hard enough to break rock as he dropped the dress on the desk in front of Levi and stalked off to speak to Yasmin.
“It’ll be okay,” a soft voice said in his left ear.
He turned to see Morgan standing at his elbow, a gentle smile on her lips. “Really, it’s not a big deal. It’s just a play.”
Levi only grunted, steeling himself against Hunter and Martin’s current batch of comments about how his scrawny legs would look in the dress and ho
w he probably wouldn’t even need to shave them. This was not how his summer was supposed to go. Morgan . . . Sara too, for all he knew . . . probably found Hunter’s comments cute. As much as he’d seen both girls hanging around his nemesis, they must be his buddies.
Yet nothing in Morgan’s expression indicated scorn as she fingered the silk dress. “Don’t worry about them. They’re probably jealous you got the lead instead of them.”
“I’m sure.” Sarcasm laced Levi’s words, but he offered her a begrudging smile.
Whether this whole thing earned him sympathy points or not didn’t really matter. How could Mr. Austin get away with casting him as Thor against his will? It was insane. He didn’t want to be in any play. He sure didn’t want to be the lead. Much less the lead in a skirt.
That evening, Levi and his six friends settled around a long table in the library to work on their group science report.
“All right, everyone, let’s begin.” Monica sat at the head of the table and opened a large book. Levi didn’t even consider questioning her right to lead. She was the smartest among them, hands down. “We’ll divide up like this: Steve, check for Superior’s tributaries. Tommy, look up outlets. Trevor, you do tides. Levi, you do hydrography. Lizzie, take marine biology. Sara, you do waterfowl, and I’ll take the islands.”
He was still trying to figure out what hydrography was when Lizzie snapped shut the compact she was using to check her lip gloss. “Excuse me, honey,” she said with an icy glace, “but who put you in charge of our little project?”
Monica’s face turned a deep shade of purple, but Sara placed a hand on each of their arms. “That’s fine, Monica.” She widened her eyes at Lizzie. “Let’s get busy, everybody. This thing’s due tomorrow.”
Levi pushed back from the table. “C’mon, Lizzie. Let’s go do some research.”
She followed him, muttering that know-it-alls were a pain in the rear.
Once the two roommates were separated, the group worked in relative quiet, the only sounds an occasional whispered conversation about their project and the rain pattering on the windows.
Levi was jotting a note about the different kinds of lake plankton when the door creaked open. Morgan poked her head in, her expression uncertain until she met his gaze. Then her eyes lit up, and a smile curved her lips. She walked straight to him. Just like his little sister, Morgan could find him anywhere.
“Hey, Levi, can I study with you?” She put a textbook on the table and sat in the seat Lizzie had temporarily vacated. “I could use a little help with my Latin homework.”
“Well, actually . . .” He waved a hand at the science materials covering every inch of the table and darted help-me glances at his friends. Couldn’t she see they were busy?
No one spoke up until Lizzie emerged from between bookshelves lugging several large volumes. She halted beside her seat. The look on her face told him a volcano was about to erupt—all over pesky, unsuspecting Morgan. He couldn’t let that happen.
“Uh, Morgan . . .” He leapt to his feet and snagged her arm. “Come on over here, okay?”
Though she looked confused, she rose with her Latin book and followed him to a table on the far side of the room.
“Listen,” he said quietly, “we’re sort of in the middle of a science project that’s due tomorrow, but I can help you out a little.” He tapped a finger on the table. “Over here.”
“Oh.” She glanced at the others for the first time. Pink colored her cheeks. “That’s okay. You’re busy.” A fine layer of tears misted her eyes.
He heaved a sigh and sank into a chair. “Really, it’s not a problem.”
She let out a breathy “thanks” and sat beside him, scooting her chair a little closer than necessary.
Across the room, Trevor caught his eye and pretended to smooch the air. Levi wanted to throttle him.
“This weekend will begin a new era in our campout routines,” Mr. Dominic announced from the head table after breakfast and devotions the next morning. “We’ve decided to change up your groups to give you an opportunity to get to know other campers, maybe make new friends.” The director grinned like this was the best idea he’d ever had. Levi barely suppressed a groan. There were a few “friends” he had no desire to camp with.
“The new groups will take turns hiking to the Medicollis, the midland mountains, for an extended campout. With their longer hikes, those campers won’t return to the castle until late Sunday afternoon. On other weekends your group will camp in the usual spots north and south of the castle, returning, as is our custom, on Sunday morning in time for chapel.” He looked around, eyebrows raised, as if waiting for questions.
When no one spoke, he went on. “You’ll find postings in the great hall assigning you to a group and telling you which weekend you’ll camp where.” He clapped once. “Now, off to class.”
Levi and his friends rose from their seats and carried their trays to the pass-through.
“Do you think they split us up?” Panic hovered behind Steve’s eyes.
Trevor shrugged. “Only one way to find out.”
Monica gave him a stern frown. “Not now. Latin begins in three minutes. It’ll take that long to get there.”
Levi sighed. “She’s right. We’ll have to wait for break.”
As soon as the bell rang at the end of class, Levi and his friends shot to their feet, snagged their backpacks, and surged toward the door. They shoved into the hall with the rest of the class and joined the swarm of campers headed for the stairs, everyone talking about the new camping plans.
“Think they put us in separate groups?”
The question came from Jacqueline, a beefy girl he’d sat next to in art class the year before. It hadn’t been a pleasant experience. Now, with her purple-shirted bulk filling three-fourths the width of the corridor, she stomped along talking to Suzanne, who was so skinny she didn’t even fill the one-fourth left to her.
“I hope not.” Suzanne’s voice was loud and petulant. “I’ll die if I have to spend a weekend with them.” She pointed at Sara, Lizzie, and Monica, who walked together a few steps ahead of her.
Levi ground his teeth. He really hoped he didn’t end up in a group with either of Hunter’s annoying friends.
Trevor grabbed his elbow and whispered, “I’m doing it now.”
“What are you talking about?”
The boy widened his eyes and nodded toward Hunter and Martin, who had just reached the stairwell in front of Sara, Lizzie, and Monica. “It’s the perfect opportunity. Everybody’s going downstairs.”
When his meaning sank in, Levi released a tiny gasp. He’d forgotten all about Trevor’s mysterious plan to find toilet explosion evidence in Hunter’s room. “You can’t. There’s not enough time.”
“Then you’ll have to stall them.” With that, Trevor took off up the steps.
“Ugh,” Levi muttered and followed the others downstairs.
Trevor was about to get himself murdered.
16
A Spy in Armor
Levi pushed through the crowd to the pages posted beside the Ping-Pong table.
“I have to camp with that little sissy. No way.” Hunter’s voice carried over the chattering campers as he fixed Levi in a steely glare.
Levi’s stomach tightened into a hard little ball. No, please don’t let Hunter mean me. Hunter elbowed past him, knocking him backward a few paces. Suzanne followed, her nose scrunched like Levi had forgotten his deodorant for the past two months.
When he reached the list with his name, the hard ball in his stomach dropped and bounced around by his ankles. He, Lizzie, and Sara were grouped with Hunter and Suzanne. The other campers in their group were Luke, Gabrielle, and a few new kids, including Morgan and Braden. They would be the first to camp in the mountains. It was going to be a nightmare.
Worse yet, he wouldn’t be back from the mountains in time to call home this Sunday, and he needed to call, especially since nobody had answered the phone when he’d tried la
st Sunday. Maybe Levi could make a trade and camp near the castle this weekend. His gaze flicked to the second list, of those camping south of the castle the first weekend. He spotted Trevor’s name below Brock’s. Maybe Mr. Dominic would let him and Trevor switch spots.
Levi sucked in a breath, suddenly remembering. Trevor! He scanned the room. He had to find Hunter and keep him from going back to his room. He had to buy Trevor some time.
He spotted his enemy by the far wall, surrounded by Braden, Brock, Suzanne, Jacqueline, Martin, and a skinny kid named Derrick. Good. All of Hunter’s thugs were accounted for. Still, Levi worked his way toward them in case they decided to leave. He hoped they didn’t split up because he hadn’t had time to enlist the others’ help.
“At least you guys get to go to the mountains first,” Jacqueline said in a cranky voice as he slipped into the crowd behind her, easily hidden by her bulk. “I’ve gotta camp in the same old place with the same old idiots who don’t know how to hike or pitch a tent or do anything useful.”
Hunter snorted. “At least you don’t have to camp with that wimp Prince.”
Levi’s fists clenched.
“At least I’m in the same group with you, Hunter.” Suzanne’s high-pitched whine made his teeth ache. Could he survive a whole weekend with those two?
“Hey, maybe Braden can put together a little surprise for him,” Hunter said, and the others snickered.
Levi wanted to punch Hunter in the nose, but he restrained himself. If only Trevor could find some evidence against the creep.
When the laughter died out, Hunter’s voice came again. “I’m heading up to the room to grab my armguard before archery.”
Levi’s stomach lurched. Trevor couldn’t possibly have had enough time yet. He had to do something. Maneuvering out from behind Jacqueline, he accidentally knocked her huge purple plaid backpack from her shoulder. She snarled, but Levi was on a mission. With a challenging tone he knew Hunter couldn’t ignore, he said, “Hey, Hunter, I doubt you can handle a camping trip with an outdoorsman like me.”