by Julie Bowe
A moment later, he tips back his chin and starts singing to the starry sky.
“Figaro…Figaro…Figarooooo!”
Connor joins in.
Then Alex.
Then all the girls.
Then all the boys.
It sounds like the worst opera ever. Or the best, depending on how you look at it.
Flash!
“Got it!” Meeka cries, looking up from her camera. “A picture of the Meadowlark Monster!”
“That’s our cue,” I whisper to Liz.
“I’m right behind you,” she whispers back.
We stomp in a clumsy circle around the trust fall platform, howl once more for show, and then disappear into the woods.
“Take that, monster!” Joey cries.
Everyone cheers.
Pete bundles up our costume and hides it under a bush. Then we sneak to the path and slip in behind the others.
“What did we miss?” Pete asks, turning on his flashlight.
“Nothing much,” Rusty brags. “We just saved the girls from the Meadowlark Monster, that’s all.”
Brooke shoots laser eyes at Rusty. “You didn’t save us from anything, Crusty Smith. Us girls can take care of ourselves.”
“Yeah,” Stacey says, squaring shoulders with Brooke. “Girls rule. Boys drool!”
“I’m drooling,” Quinn says. “For s’mores.” He tilts his head and lets spit dribble from the corner of his mouth.
So gross. Seriously, I need to rethink this crush thing.
“Betchya girls can’t beat us back!” Joey shouts. He and the other boys take off for the campsite. Connor tags after them.
“Look!” Meeka says, showing us the glowing screen on her camera. “The monster!”
We all huddle in, looking at the picture of me and Liz.
Jenna huffs. “Since when do monsters wear cowboy boots?”
Liz grins. “She must be from out west.”
Stacey does a puzzled frown and points at the screen. “What’s that?”
We all look closer at a shadowy shape, off to one side.
“It looks big,” Jolene says.
“And furry,” Randi adds.
“Like a bear,” I say.
“With one glowing eye,” Liz puts in.
We all do a gasp.
“Ohmygosh!” Brooke says. “It’s the real Meadowlark Monster!”
“And we got his picture!” Meeka cries, clutching her camera. “Now we’ll be famous for sure!”
Everyone starts chattering like chipmunks.
I give Pete a suspicious squint.
He shrugs, all innocent. “I better get that firewood now.”
Pete takes off down the path.
“That’s enough monsters for tonight,” Alex says. “Let’s head back before the boys eat all the s’mores.”
She starts shooing us toward the path.
But I stop. “Wait,” I say. “There’s something I want to do first.”
I hurry to the trust fall platform and scramble up. “I haven’t fallen yet,” I say. “Catch me, okay?”
“In the dark?” Jenna says. “That’s totally unsafe.”
“We’ve got light,” Alex says, pulling a flashlight from her pocket. She shines its bright beam down the girls’ arms as they line up below me.
“All systems go!” Randi says. “Ten…nine…eight…”
Everyone joins in.
I turn around as they count down, and reach my hands up to the star-speckled sky. I’m not even standing on my tiptoes, but I swear I can touch it.
Then I straighten my back.
Cross my arms.
Lock my knees.
Take a brave breath.
“Falling!” I shout.
“Fall away!” everyone shouts back.
So I do.
Just like a domino.
My friends don’t let me down.
Chapter
18
Brooke was right about one thing this week. She never did go off the trust fall platform.
But I still think she fell.
And we caught her.
Me, Stacey, Jenna, Liz, Randi, Meeka, and Jolene.
Not in our arms.
In our friendship.
She also isn’t going to dance at our talent show today. Even though her mom brought a bouquet of flowers to give her afterward. It’s Friday afternoon and all of our families are arriving to watch the show and then take us home. Even Liz’s dog, Champ, is here with her family. Cee Cee too, with her arm in a sling.
“It isn’t a competition, Mother!” Brooke tells Mrs. Morgan when she sees the bouquet of flowers. “It’s just for fun. With my friends.” Brooke crosses her arms against the crumpled purple sash she’s wearing over her Camp Meadowlark T-shirt. She’s also wearing her pageant crown. And buggy sunglasses. And Liz’s flippers on her feet. When it’s our cabin’s turn to do a skit, Brooke is going to waddle across the stage, waving like she’s queen of the beach.
Then the rest of us will join her in our Camp Meadowlark T-shirts and chant, “Hot or cool! Chickadees rule!” Get it? Plus, we’re going to hand out glow-in-the-dark ladybugs to everyone in the audience. Even Rat and Enemmie.
I’m looking around for my mom and dad, but I see the boys first. They’re showing off the Silver Paddle they won for having the cleanest cabin.
We were in total shock and awe when Connor presented it to them at breakfast this morning. But I guess it makes sense that they won. There were only four campers in their group. Plus, they wore the same stinky clothes all week. It’s hard to mess up a cabin if you never open your suitcase.
After Connor gave them the paddle and took their picture and did a group head-lock, he said, “I’m gonna miss you monkeys.” Joey Carpenter actually had tears in his eyes, and I don’t think it was from the knuckle rub.
I’m not crying, though. None of my friends are. Because we don’t have to miss each other for long. We’re all meeting at the Purdee pool tomorrow for Brooke’s Post-Camp Splash Bash! Jenna’s working on the schedule. Meeka will take pictures so we can send some to Alex. Everyone is bringing snacks. Tons. Including blue suckers.
“Did you have a fun week?” Mom asks when she and Dad finally arrive.
“Yes,” I reply, hugging them hello.
“Pull any pranks?” Dad asks, tousling my hair. I hate when he does that, but today I don’t mind because, trust me, my hair is already tossed.
I give Jenna and Liz a sly glance.
They give me two back.
“Just one,” I tell Dad.
He grins. “Details?”
But we shake our heads. There are some things your parents just don’t need to know about.
“Jen!”
Rachel pushes through the tangle of people and hugs her sister hard. “Did you miss me?” she asks.
“Duh,” Jenna replies, hugging Rachel back.
Rachel looks up hopefully. “Where’s my frog?”
Jenna rolls her eyes. “No frog, Rachel. I told you that a million times. You should have believed me.”
Rachel sighs. “I did believe you,” she grumps. “But I hoped I was wrong.”
“I have a frog,” Liz says.
Rachel brightens. “You do?”
Jenna squints. “You do not.”
Liz dashes to our pile of suitcases and sleeping bags. She finds her beach bag and pulls out her frog face mask. Most of the glow-in-the-dark paint is rubbed off.
“For you,” she says, holding it out to Rachel.
Rachel’s eyes go wide. She takes the mask from Liz. “For me?”
Liz nods. “For keeps!”
She glances at me. We do matching smiles.
“Ribbit! Ribbit! Ribbit!” Rachel croaks, over and over and over again as she hops in a circle around Jenna.
Jenna crosses her arms and gives Liz a look. “Thank you soooo much, Liz Evans,” she says.
Liz grins back. “You’re soooo welcome, Jenna Drews.”
“Ida! Liz! Jenna! Over here!”
We look toward the beach and see Randi waving. Meeka is lining up the other girls. Brooke is tossing aside her beach queen stuff and smoothing back her hair. “Hurry! Group shot!”
Rachel hops over to her parents.
We join the other girls. Even the boys bunch in, pumping the Silver Paddle over their heads.
“Say cheese!” Meeka cries, holding up her camera.
“Cheese!” all us girls sing.
“Cheese turds!” the boys chime in.
We do a few poses. Serious. Silly. Glamour.
Click!…Click!…Click!
“Let me take one, Meeka,” Liz offers, stepping out of the shot. “Or you won’t be in any of the pictures!”
Meeka gives her camera to Liz.
Liz takes aim.
“No, no, let me do that.”
Mrs. Morgan walks up to Liz and takes the camera. Then she looks over at Brooke and gives her a smile.
Mrs. Morgan hands her bouquet of flowers to Liz. “Welcome home, dear,” she says.
Liz’s eyes go wide behind her glasses. “Thank you!” she says, smelling the bouquet.
“Now shoo,” Mrs. Morgan says, waving Liz away. “Stand with your friends.”
Liz clomps back to us.
We haul her in.