Table of Contents
Chapter 1: Sleepover at the Lake!
Chapter 2: Welcome to the Wilderness!
Chapter 3: Shivers and Jitters
Chapter 4: A Very Short Walk
Chapter 5: Row, Row, Row Your Boat
Chapter 6: The Campout
Chapter 7: Some Squeaky Guests
Chapter 8: Critter Sitters
Chapter 9: Friends to the Rescue
Chapter 10: Campfire Chat
‘Marion Strikes a Pose’ Excerpt
About Callie Barkley and Marsha Riti
Sleepover at the Lake!
Squee-onk! Squee-onk! A loud, shrill sound woke Liz Jenkins. My alarm clock sounds broken, she thought, only half-awake.
Liz rolled over in bed and rubbed her eyes. No, it wasn’t her alarm clock. It was a goose honking! Sunlight shone in through the window. Birds chirped outside. It was going to be a beautiful spring day at the cabin.
Liz threw off her flannel sheets and jumped out of bed. “Yes!” she cheered. “It’s the perfect weather for the girls’ visit!”
Liz’s three best friends, Ellie, Marion, and Amy, were coming up to the Jenkins’ lake cabin today for the three-day weekend. For years, they had heard all about it from Liz. She and her family had been coming to Marigold Lake since Liz was little. But this was the first time Liz had been able to invite her friends.
Liz hurried to change into her clothes. She had lots of things to get ready before the girls arrived. She wanted their first visit to the lake to be perfect.
Out in the cabin’s living room, Liz’s mom, dad, and big brother, Stewart, were already up. Her dad was making breakfast. Her mom was sweeping up pine needles from the floor. Stewart was setting the table.
“Oatmeal in ten minutes, Lizzie!” her dad said.
“Thanks, Dad,” Liz replied. She was headed for the door. “I’ll be back. I just need to do a few things.”
Outside, Liz took a deep breath. Ahhhh. Fresh air. She smiled at the sight of the big, beautiful lake in the cabin’s backyard.
Liz went into the storage shed. She dragged a folded-up tent to a flat area by the campfire pit. “Just the spot,” Liz said out loud to herself. She would ask her mom or dad to help her set up the tent later. It was definitely warm enough for the girls to sleep outside in it. Liz couldn’t wait to surprise them!
Next, Liz hurried down to the boat dock. She took the tarp off the red canoe and made sure the life jackets were there. We can paddle around the whole lake, she thought.
Then, on her way back to the cabin, Liz picked up every long, thin stick she saw. We’re definitely roasting marshmallows over a campfire, she decided. She left her pile of roasting sticks next to the campfire pit.
Liz stopped to think. Canoeing, swimming, camping out, marshmallow-roasting, plus hiking on the nature path . . .
I hope we have time for everything! she thought excitedly.
Back inside the cabin, Liz joined her family at the table. They had already served her oatmeal and yogurt—their usual super-healthy breakfast. Her dad passed her some berries to sprinkle on top while Liz told them about her preparations.
Liz’s parents smiled. “Sounds like you’ve thought of everything,” her mom said.
Then Stewart added, “But won’t you guys just be painting your nails and stuff? Or whatever you do at your sleepovers?”
Liz rolled her eyes at her brother. “Actually, my friends are so excited to have a wilderness weekend. I told them about all the animals up here—the rabbits, squirrels, deer, and foxes.”
Liz and her friends were different in lots of ways, but they all shared one thing: a love of animals. Together they ran an animal shelter called The Critter Club in their town of Santa Vista. They helped all kinds of stray and hurt animals.
“You told them about all the animals we’ve seen?” Stewart asked. “Like the snakes? And the bear we saw that one time?”
Liz hadn’t exactly mentioned those. Her friends weren’t as excited as Liz was about unusual animals. Like the cool pet tarantula they took care of at The Critter Club over the summer. Ellie, Marion, and Amy were glad Liz wanted to be in charge of it.
Liz shrugged and ate her oatmeal. My friends will love the lake as much as I do! she thought. Or almost as much. Or at least they’ll like it a lot.
Welcome to the Wilderness!
Ellie’s mom’s van pulled up to the cabin just after lunchtime.
“Liz!” Ellie cried, jumping out of the back of the van. “Oh, we have missed you!”
Amy and Marion jumped out behind her. Marion giggled. “We just saw her yesterday at school,” she reminded Ellie.
“I know!” said Ellie. “But so much has happened since then.”
Liz and her family had driven to the lake the day before—on Friday afternoon. So Liz had missed the girls’ after-school duties at The Critter Club.
“Don’t worry, Liz,” Marion said. “We’ll get you all caught up.”
The four girls huddled for a group hug. “I’m so glad you’re here!” Liz told them. “Now the fun can begin!”
They said goodbye to Ellie’s mom. Then Liz led her friends down to the lake. They sat on the boat dock. There the girls told Liz the latest Critter Club news.
“First of all,” said Amy, “our stray isn’t a stray anymore.”
Liz gasped. The girls had been taking care of a stray cat for a few weeks. “She’s been adopted?” Liz asked.
“Even better,” said Ellie. “Her owner called! He saw the ad you drew for the newspaper, Liz. Oh I brought a copy.”
Liz’s family didn’t get the paper at their cabin, so she was excited to see her art in print.
“It was so sweet,” said Marion. “The cat saw him and jumped right into his arms.”
“Oh! And Grandma Sue stopped by yesterday,” Ellie added.
Grandma Sue wasn’t Ellie’s grandmother. The girls just called her that. They had met her when they delivered a singing telegram to her from her grandchildren.
“She came with her new lovebird, Princess Two,” Ellie went on. “Princess Two and Princess Boo are already best friends.”
The girls had helped Grandma Sue when Princess Boo was acting strangely. With the help of Amy’s mom, a veterinarian, they figured out the bird wasn’t sick—she was just lonely. That’s why Grandma Sue had gotten a second bird.
“Oh, I’m sad I missed the chance to meet her,” Liz said. But she shook off her disappointment. Her friends were here and they had the whole weekend ahead of them. “Let me show you guys around.”
The other girls jumped up, ready to follow their tour guide.
Liz took them to the cabin. She pointed out the solar panels up on the roof. “All of our hot water is heated by the sun,” Liz said.
She showed them the outdoor shower. “You can rinse off here after a swim in the lake,” she explained.
Liz took them inside. She showed them the shelves full of books and board games next to the fireplace.
Finally, Liz showed the girls her room.
“This is so great, Liz!” Ellie exclaimed.
“Yeah,” said Amy. “No wonder you love it up here.”
Marion was looking around Liz’s room. “I love your room,” she said. “But there’s only one bed in here. Where will we sleep?”
Liz’s eyes lit up. “I’m glad you asked,” she said. “Follow me.”
Liz led the way back down toward the lake. She stopped next to the campfire pit. “Ta-da!” she said, presenting the tent. Her dad had already set it up for them. “We can sleep here tonight. Won’t that be the best?”
Liz looked at her friends’ faces. Amy looked kind of excited. Ellie looked curious.
Marion looked worried.
She glanced at Liz. She glanced at the tent. Then she glanced at Liz again. “You mean we’re going to sleep . . . outside?” she said.
Shivers and Jitters
“Last one to the floating platform is a rotten egg!” Liz shouted. She dove off the boat dock into the lake. She swam toward the platform. When she came up for air, she looked around.
Where were her friends?
Liz looked back at the boat dock. Marion was shivering, wrapped in her towel. Ellie and Amy were dipping their feet in the water.
Ellie called out to Liz: “It’s kind of cold, isn’t it?”
“Not really!” Liz called back. “Just jump! It’s great once you’re in the lake!”
But the girls didn’t look so sure. So Liz swam back to them.
Liz climbed out onto the boat dock. “I have an idea,” she said to them. “Let’s hold hands. On the count of three, we all jump in together. Okay?”
The girls looked at each other. One by one, they each nodded.
“One, two, three . . .”
They all jumped in with a splash!
When her head popped up, Amy squealed loudly: “Eeeeeeek!”
“It’s freeeeeeeeezing!” exclaimed Ellie, half-laughing.
“Ohhmygosh, ohhmygosh,” said Marion, treading water.
“Keep swimming! Follow me!” called Liz. “You’ll warm up. I promise!”
The girls played Marco Polo and swimming tag. Soon they were having a blast. They floated on their backs and looked for pictures in the clouds. They talked while blowing bubbles in the water, seeing if each other could understand.
They were all laughing when they climbed onto the floating platform in the middle of the lake. The sun-warmed wooden planks felt nice as the girls stretched out to rest.
Then the breeze picked up. Before long, Marion, Ellie, and Amy were shivering.
“I think I’m r-r-ready to go in,” Marion said. Her teeth chattered.
“Oh,” said Liz, “okay.” She had hoped they could spend a while doing silly jumps off the platform. But she didn’t want her friends to be cold. So they swam back to shore.
Back on land, the girls changed into dry clothes. Liz’s dad offered to take them on a nature walk.
“We can collect cool leaves,” Liz suggested. “Then I’ll show you how to make some fun leaf prints.”
Ellie smiled. “Nature plus art,” she said. “Sounds like Liz, all right!”
The girls laughed as they followed Liz’s dad toward the nature trail. Stewart waved from the cabin porch. “Have fun! Watch out for snakes!” he called.
Ellie stopped in her tracks. “Snakes?” she said, her eyes wide with fear. “What snakes?”
A Very Short Walk
It took a while for Liz and her dad to reassure Ellie.
“We’ve never seen any poisonous snakes,” Liz pointed out.
“That’s right,” said Mr. Jenkins. “And in all the years we’ve come to the lake, we’ve only seen a few snakes total.”
Liz could tell Ellie wasn’t so into the nature walk anymore. But Ellie finally agreed to come along. “I want to walk in the middle of the group—not up front, not in the back,” she said.
The nature trail went all the way around the lake. It was a walk that usually took Liz about an hour.
Just ten minutes down the trail, Liz, Marion, and Amy already had handfuls of leaves. Ellie was too busy watching for snakes to look for leaves.
“Here’s my favorite so far,” said Liz, holding up an oak leaf.
“I like this one!” said Amy.
“Oooh, birch!” said Liz. She knew a thing or two about the trees around the lake.
Marion held one up. “How about this one?” she asked.
“Maple, for sure,” Liz replied. “So pretty!”
Ellie sighed. “Oh, I’m being ridiculous!” she said. “I want to find a special leaf too.” She took one step off the trail, reaching down for a leaf. Her foot came down on the very end of a long stick. The other end popped up from underneath a pile of leaves.
Ellie jumped up and screamed. “Aaaaaaah! Snaaaaaaaake!” She took off, running back toward the cabin.
Liz’s heart sank. Poor Ellie! It seemed the nature walk was over.
Row, Row, Row Your Boat
Back at the cabin, Stewart was very sorry when he saw how upset Ellie was. After all, he was the one who had put the idea of snakes in her head. To make it up to the girls, he offered to take them on a canoe ride. “I’ll row the row boat,” Stewart said. “You guys ride in the canoe. We can tie the two together and I’ll tow you around the lake.”
Ellie cheered up right away. “That sounds fun!” she said, beaming at Stewart. “But could I ride with you?”
Stewart shrugged. “If you want,” he said.
The five of them put on life jackets. Then Stewart tied a rope line from the back of the row boat to the front of the canoe.
Soon Stewart was rowing them out into the middle of the lake. In the canoe, Marion, Amy, and Liz lounged and relaxed.
“I could get used to this,” Marion said.
“Me too,” said Liz. “Stewart has never, ever rowed me around the lake before.”
The late-afternoon sun was getting low in the sky. The water on the lake was still, except for the pools made by Stewart’s oars. Liz sighed. It was a peaceful, happy, perfect moment.
Just then, on the far side of the lake, a very large bird came splashing down to the water as it landed. Amy gasped. “Wow!” she cried. “Is that a great blue heron?” She leaped to her feet, straining to see.
“Wait!” cried Liz. “Don’t stand—”
It was too late. Amy teetered, then lost her balance. She fell out of the canoe, her foot catching the side. The whole canoe flipped, dumping Marion and Liz too.
When Liz came up from under the water, the first thing she heard was Stewart laughing. But Liz didn’t mind. She started laughing too. Liz had lost track of the number of times she and Stewart had tipped the canoe over the years.
Marion started giggling too. “Good thing I brought an extra pair of shoes!” she said.
“Are you guys okay?” Ellie called from the row boat. Liz could tell Ellie was trying not to laugh at her wet friends.
The only one who did not look amused was Amy. Liz recognized the familiar flush of pink on her cheeks.
Amy was completely embarrassed.
The Campout
Inside the cozy cabin, a warm fire crackled in the fireplace. Liz sat at the table, watching her family and friends chatting happily. Her parents had made them all a big dinner.
But Liz was feeling blue—and not very hungry. She loved grilled tofu and beet salad and roasted organic sweet potatoes. But did her mom have to make it this weekend? Couldn’t we have spaghetti, or something I know my friends like? she thought.
Ellie was mostly pushing the tofu around on her plate. Marion hadn’t touched the beets. Amy was chewing slowly and taking lots of sips of water.
After dinner, the girls settled into the tent. Their four sleeping bags fit inside perfectly. Liz’s mom found extra flashlights so each of them could have one. Then she zipped the tent flap closed.
“Good night, girls,” she said through the nylon. “Don’t stay up too late.”
In the flashlight glow, the girls crawled into their sleeping bags.
“Marion,” said Ellie, “did you bring your notebook?”
“Of course!” Marion replied, pulling it out of her backpack. Marion was super organized. She loved making lists, so she always had paper and a pen.
“Great!” Ellie exclaimed. “We can play Two Truths and a Lie.”
“Oh yeah,” Amy said. “That game we played last weekend at our sleepover!”
The girls took turns hosting a sleepover nearly every Friday night, so they knew a lot of sleepover games. To play Two Truths and a Lie, each girl got a slip of paper. She wrote down two things about herself that were true and one that was not. Then the others had to figure out which one was th
e lie.
Liz stared at her paper, thinking. Then she wrote:
Then she added:
The last one should have been a lie, but it was actually the truth. Liz knew Marion didn’t even want to sleep out here. Poor Ellie was freaked out by the snake-stick. And Amy was still embarrassed about tipping the canoe. Plus the lake was too cold for them, and the food was too weird.
Liz sighed. She crossed out her last sentence and tried to think of a different one—one that really was a lie.
Some Squeaky Guests
Everything looks a little brighter with the sun, Liz thought the next morning. That’s what her mom always said. She unzipped the tent flap and peeked outside. It was a new day. Liz was ready to leave yesterday’s troubles behind.
“Sleeping out here was so fun!” Amy said. They were walking up to the cabin for breakfast.
“Yeah!” said Ellie. “Can we do it again tonight?”
Liz nodded. She noticed Marion wasn’t saying anything, but she tried not to worry about it.
On the porch, they passed the leaf prints they had made the day before.
“They’re dry,” Liz announced.
“They look so good!” Marion said, holding hers up.
“They really do,” Amy agreed.
“Liz,” said Ellie, “you’ve made us all artists!”
Liz smiled a huge smile. The prints had turned out beautifully. More important, her friends had fun making them. Maybe Ellie’s snake-stick scare had been worth it after all.
Liz at Marigold Lake Page 1