Grace's Twist #3

by Melissa J Morgan

  “You miss your best friend, so you thought you’d feel better if you found a best friend here,” Julie said. “And you thought that Gaby was that friend?”

  Grace frowned. “At first I thought she was cool, but then she started being mean a lot. Still, every time I try to disagree with her, it’s like she turns my words around or something.”

  “Do you want me to have a talk with Lizzie about it?” Julie asked.

  “No!” Grace cried. “It’s totally fine. I can handle her.”

  “You sure?” Marissa asked. “We’re here to help if you need us.”

  “Thanks, but no. Gaby’s fine. I’m just mad at myself because I knew I should be reading during swim.” Grace stood up. “In fact, I’m not putting that book down again until I’m finished.”

  She gave them a little wave and headed for the bunk, her heart beating fast. She hoped she’d convinced them not to talk to Lizzie. The last thing she needed was Gaby to think she’d snitched on her. She knew Julie and Marissa meant well, but she also knew that campers weren’t supposed to complain about other campers. It just wasn’t cool. From now on, she’d simply stay away from Gaby. If she didn’t have a best friend, then she could just take care of herself.

  “Mind if I join you?” Natalie asked. She held up a romance novel. “Shove over.”

  Grace grinned at her and moved over on the old park bench. She’d come to the clearing around the flagpole to get in some quiet reading before dinner. Sarah and Valerie had promised to come get her on the way to the mess hall.

  “My book is more fun than yours,” Natalie said apologetically.

  The cover showed two teenagers holding hands and looking all gooey and in love. Grace wrinkled her nose. “I don’t think so,” she said. “I’d rather read about a noble dog than read some stupid love story.”

  Natalie shook her head. “I don’t know what’s wrong with all you guys,” she said. “I can’t believe I’m stuck in a bunk with so many boy-haters.”

  “I don’t hate boys,” Grace said. “I just don’t like them.”

  “You’re hopeless.” Nat opened her book, and Grace went back to reading The Call of the Wild. As the minutes passed, the late-afternoon sun; the thick, hot air; and the buzz of cicadas in the trees all drifted away from her mind as she lost herself in the story. She was so focused on it that she didn’t even hear anyone approach until Natalie started talking.

  Grace looked up and jumped in surprise. Simon and Devon stood two feet away, and she hadn’t even known they were there. Simon and Natalie were discussing the WetWorld trip. And Devon was watching Grace. Immediately her cheeks grew hot. Why was he staring at her that way? How long had he been there?

  He reached out toward her. Instinctively, Grace pulled away, dropping her book. But before she could grab it, Devon bent and picked it up. “I love this book,” he said, handing it back.

  “Oh.” Grace couldn’t think of a single thing to say to that. I’m only reading it because my parents are forcing me to didn’t seem like the correct response.

  “Did you get to the part where he pulls the thousand-pound sled yet?”

  “I’m in the middle of that right now,” Grace said. “Don’t tell me how it ends.” She could hardly believe it herself, but she was dying to know whether Buck made it back to his master with the sled. His master had bet a lot of money, and Buck really wanted to win it for him.

  “We got a puppy last year, and I made my parents name him Buck after this dog,” Devon said. “Wow. You really do love this book,” she replied. He blushed a little, which only made him look cuter. Grace couldn’t believe she thought he was cute. He’s gross, she told herself. All boys are gross.

  “It’s cool that you like to read,” he said. “It really helps with acting. You know that scene we did the other day? That’s from a movie based on a book.”

  “It is?” Grace asked in surprise.

  Simon groaned. “Believe it. Devon made me read the scene from the book and memorize the lines from the movie.” He glanced at Natalie. “Drama is turning into a tough class, not just your average fun and easy free choice.”

  “It’s all these actors,” Natalie joked, her eyes shining as she nudged Grace with her arm. “They take everything so seriously.”

  “Didn’t reading the book help you understand the characters better?” Devon challenged.

  “I hate to say it, but yes,” Simon replied.

  “See?” Devon winked at Grace. “It’s good to be a book lover.”

  “Uh-huh.” Once again, she couldn’t think of anything to say. Since when was she at a loss for words? The other three were managing to have a perfectly normal conversation, and all she could do was sit there stupidly.

  “See you at dinner,” Simon told Natalie. She beamed back at him. “Okay.”

  “Later,” Devon added.

  “Uh-huh,” Grace said again.

  Natalie turned in her seat and stared at Grace until the boys left the clearing. Then she burst out laughing.

  “What?” Grace said, pretending to ignore the laughter.

  “That was priceless!” Natalie crowed.

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Grace lied.

  “I thought you didn’t like boys,” Nat giggled. “But maybe you don’t like boys because you like just one boy.”

  “No way,” Grace teased. “Simon is your boyfriend.”

  Natalie swatted her arm. “I mean Devon, and you know it.”

  “He’s just a kid from my drama class.”

  “Mm-hmm,” Natalie said, her eyebrows raised.

  “And he’s very talented,” Grace added. “I appreciate his acting ability. That’s all.”

  “Riiight,” Nat replied sarcastically. “It has nothing to do with how cute he is.”

  “Is he cute? I hadn’t noticed.” Grace opened her book and pretended to read, but she could tell Natalie was on to her. She did think Devon was cute. But so what? She acted like a dope around him, and that was no fun.

  “Devon and Grace sitting in a tree,” Natalie sang under her breath as she went back to her own book.

  “Quit it,” Grace said. But she knew it was hopeless. When Nat had first met Simon, everyone in the bunk had teased her constantly. It was only fair that she tease back.

  “K-i-s-s-i-n-g,” Natalie sang on.

  “You’re such a second-grader,” Grace mumbled. Nat cracked up, and after a minute Grace did, too. Even though Natalie was making fun of her, there was nothing mean about it. And when Valerie and Sarah showed up to get them for dinner, Natalie didn’t say a word about Devon and Grace. It was their secret.

  Grace was half asleep by the time everyone had brushed their teeth and gotten into bed that night. She’d never known that reading could be such hard work—she was exhausted!

  Marissa took her place on her cot and started digging around in the milk crate she kept next to it. That was where she stored all her fashion magazines.

  “Which magazine are you going to read us tonight?” Grace asked her. “I vote for Cosmopolitan horoscopes!”

  But Marissa pulled out a spiral notebook, not a magazine. “I’m not reading tonight,” she replied. “We have a surprise instead.”

  All around the bunk, the other girls were pulling out notebooks or pieces of paper. Jenna had a napkin with something scrawled on it in magic marker. “What’s going on?” Grace asked, confused.

  “We came up with a group assignment during chores this morning,” Julie explained. “Everyone had to come up with one question about Call of the Wild, and tonight we’re going to quiz you to help you study for your parents’ quiz on Sunday. And then we’ll do the same thing tomorrow night and Sunday morning.”

  “Are you kidding?” Grace asked. “You guys would do that for me?”

  “It’s no big deal,” Chelsea said. “We all read the book in school.”

  “Yeah, but still,” Grace protested. “You guys didn’t mess up your grades. You shouldn’t have to do schoolwork over
the summer!”

  “That’s what friends are for,” Sarah said.

  “We have to make sure you can audition for the play,” Brynn added. “How else could we keep our pact from last summer?”

  “And besides, it’s an excuse for a party,” Jenna added. She pulled the box with the orange stickers out from under her bed. “My mom sent brownies!”

  “We already brushed our teeth,” Alex protested.

  “So what? We can brush again later,” Jenna said.

  “Well, I don’t like the taste of toothpaste with chocolate,” Alex grumbled.

  “Suit yourself,” Jenna said. “You never want my mom’s sweets, anyway.”

  “I want a brownie!” Grace put in.

  “No way,” Marissa said. “You have to earn your brownies, missy. Whenever you get a question right, you get a bite of brownie.”

  “I want to go first,” Alyssa said.

  “I’m next!” Valerie cried.

  “Why don’t we just go around the room,” Julie suggested. “Marissa and I will go last.”

  Grace couldn’t believe her luck. After spending half the week with Gaby, she’d forgotten how amazing real friends could be.

  “What’s the dog’s name?” Alyssa asked.

  Grace rolled her eyes. “That’s too easy. His name is Buck.”

  Jenna tossed her a little piece of brownie.

  “What’s his master’s name?” Sarah asked.

  “Which one?” Grace replied. “He has a lot of masters over the course of the book.”

  Jenna gave a whistle. “Can’t catch her with trick questions,” she joked.

  “List all of Buck’s masters, then,” Sarah said.

  “Okay. Um, first there’s the judge. And then there’s François and Perrault. And John Thornton. And Hal and his family.”

  Jenna threw her another bite-size piece of brownie. “I feel like the dog,” Grace joked. “Getting treats when I’m good!”

  “Who wrote the book?” Valerie asked. “And when?”

  “Jack London,” Grace answered. “A long time ago.”

  Everybody laughed. “I’m going to write down the ones you don’t know,” Julie said. “That way we’ll know what to focus on when we help you study tomorrow.”

  Grace looked around the room at all of her friends in their pj’s, concentrating hard on a discussion about a book they’d all read ages ago. “You guys are the absolute nicest bunkmates in history,” she said.

  “Aw, you’re so sweet,” Natalie told her. “But that’s not going to make us go easy on you.”

  Grace grinned. “Okay. Give me the next question. I’m ready.”

  “Just remember: WetWorld,” Sarah said on Sunday. “Stay focused on that and you’ll ace the test for sure.”

  Grace took a shaky breath. Her bunkmates had all decided to walk her to Dr. Steve’s office to take her parents’ quiz. Just having them there made her feel better, but her mouth still felt dry from nervousness. “What if I blank on everything?” she asked.

  “You won’t blank,” Natalie said. “We’ve been quizzing you so much, you know everything there is to know about this book.”

  “And besides, I have a giant brownie with your name on it,” Jenna added. “You finish the quiz, you get the whole thing!”

  Grace smiled. “You saved me a brownie?”

  “Yup. And it wasn’t easy,” Jenna joked.

  They’d reached the office. Grace’s heart did a flip-flop. Her parents would be so disappointed in her if she failed this quiz. Not to mention all the camp things that were riding on it—WetWorld, and most of all, the play.

  “Okay. Wish me luck,” Grace said.

  “Good luck,” bunk 3C yelled.

  She stepped inside the office, where Kathleen was waiting for her. Kathleen nodded toward the computer. “It’s all yours,” she said. “Good luck, Grace.”

  “Thanks.” Grace took a seat at the computer table. Her parents had sent a total of twenty questions about The Call of the Wild, which Kathleen had set up for her on the computer. She was supposed to answer all the questions and e-mail them back. Kathleen sat reading the newspaper at Dr. Steve’s desk, acting as test monitor.

  “WetWorld,” Grace whispered. “And brownies.” She took a deep breath and began the test.

  1. What kind of dog is Buck?

  Grace smiled. That one was easy. She typed in the answer: a mix of Saint Bernard and Scottish shepherd. Then for good measure, she decided to add a little more detail. He’s a noble dog who leads a pampered life in California until he’s kidnapped and brought into the harsh wilderness of the Yukon. She finished the sentence and sat back with a grin. She wished she could see her father’s face when he read that one. He’d be so proud of her.

  Grace took a deep breath and moved on to the next question. Remembering all the study questions her bunkmates had asked her over the weekend, she wasn’t nervous at all.

  2. Who is Buck’s favorite master and why?

  Grace knew that one. She’d talked about it with her friends, and it had led to a long conversation about everyone’s relationships with their own dogs. She typed: Buck’s favorite master is John Thornton, and Buck loves him because Thornton has respect for Buck. Also, he saved Buck’s life. And please give Mr. Fluffhead a kiss for me.

  Grace had named her dog Mr. Fluffhead even though he wasn’t the least bit fluffy. He had short, coarse fur. But she was only five when she got him, and Mr. Fluffhead was the only name she could think of.

  3. Name some of the other dogs on Buck’s sled team.

  Grace smiled. This was easy! She wrote down the names of all the dogs on the team. And then she just kept going, answering the questions one after another without even pausing to think.

  20. How much money does Buck win for John Thornton in the sled-pulling bet?

  Immediately Jenna’s face sprang into her mind. “I’d pull a heavy sled for that much money, too!” her friend had joked just last night. Grace quickly typed the answer: $1,600.

  That’s Devon’s favorite part of the book, she thought. I’ll have to tell him that I finally finished it. And even though she was sitting in Dr. Steve’s office and Devon was nowhere in sight, she felt herself blush. Stay focused! she commanded herself.

  She finished the whole quiz. Not one single question had stumped her. She read over her answers anyway, just to double-check. Then she crossed her fingers and hit Send.

  “Well?” Kathleen asked. “How did you do?”

  “I think I aced it,” Grace reported. “My whole bunk helped me study all weekend.”

  “And they’re going to help you celebrate if you pass,” Kathleen said, gesturing out the office window. “They’ve been lined up out there for ten minutes.”

  “Really?” Grace ran over to the window and peered out. Her bunkmates sat in a row in front of the office shack. Nat and Alyssa were playing cat’s cradle with some string. Chelsea was sunbathing. Candace, Karen, Jessie, and Sarah were all reading books. Valerie was asleep with her baseball cap over her face. Jenna and Alex tossed a mini soccer ball back and forth. And Brynn was talking to herself. Grace smiled. Obviously Brynn was practicing her lines for the play audition.

  “You can head over to dinner now,” Kathleen said. “Afterward, come back here to call your folks and see how you did.”

  “Okay,” Grace said.

  Kathleen tugged lightly on Grace’s ponytail. “I’m proud of you, kiddo,” she said. “A week ago, you couldn’t have even finished half of those questions.”

  Grace nodded. “But I have to get them all right or else I can’t go on the field trip.”

  “Try to relax and have fun at dinner,” Kathleen said. “There’s no point in worrying now.”

  But it was impossible to relax during dinner. All of Grace’s bunkmates kept chattering about the trip to WetWorld. Grace knew they were trying to keep her mind off the quiz, but it wasn’t working. The pork chops tasted even more like sawdust than usual. She could hardly wait for dinn
er to end. Her whole future at camp this summer depended on the results of this quiz. Would she get to go on the field trip? Would she have to start rehearsing an audition piece, too?

  As soon as dinner was over, she sprinted back to the office and dialed her home number. “Mom?” she said as soon as she heard someone pick up.

  “Hi, honey!” her mother replied. “I’m so proud of you!”

  Grace took a huge gulp of air. She hadn’t even realized she’d been holding her breath. “You are?” she asked. “Did I do okay?”

  “Is that our brilliant daughter?” Her dad’s voice came on the line. He must’ve picked up the phone in the den, Grace thought.

  “Hi, Daddy!” she said. “How did I do? Did I get them all right?”

  “What do you think?” he asked.

  Grace considered. All the questions had seemed pretty straightforward. None of them had given her any reason to doubt her answers. “I think I got them all,” she said slowly. “They weren’t hard.”

  “That’s because you really read the book,” her mother replied. “The questions would have seemed hard if you had just skimmed through the chapters without paying attention to what you were reading.”

  “You mean the way I usually do,” Grace said.

  “Well . . . yes. You’re always more interested in whatever else is going on around you,” her father answered. “But this time you obviously focused on what you were reading and took it in.”

  “Yeah, I did,” Grace said. “I just tuned out everything else and read for hours.”

  “How did you like that?” her mom asked.

  “Not as much as I like hanging out with my friends,” Grace admitted. “But I did like the story. By the time I got halfway through, I really wanted to know what happened to Buck.”

  “That’s good enough for now,” her father said. “You got every question right, and we’re happy.”

  “Does this mean I can go to WetWorld?” Grace asked. “And audition for the play?”