by Laura Dower
“I hate to say it,” Aimee whispered. “I mean, I REALLY hate to say it. But they were good.”
“Yeah,” Lindsay agreed, smacking her lips. “We’re history.”
“What is WRONG with you guys?” Madison said, raising her voice. A couple of kids nearby turned around.
“Relax, Maddie,” Aimee told her.
Madison just shook her head.
After getting off the stage, Ivy walked toward them, stepping carefully in her clunky shoes. She sat down on the floor very close to where Fiona and the others sat.
“You were good,” Fiona told Ivy.
Ivy ran her fingers through her red hair, which was hanging loose on her shoulders by now. “You think so?” she said.
“No, you were good.” Fiona nodded. “In both songs.”
“Thanks. You were good, too,” Ivy said.
Ivy shot Madison a glare. Madison bristled. Was this some kind of “be nice to everyone” camp game that people played? Had her BFFs completely forgotten who was the enemy? She wanted to run.
“Hey, Finnster,” Hart said.
Madison turned and nearly bonked him in the head with her arm.
“Oh!” she said, startled. “I’m sorry.”
Hart smiled. He was standing so close that Madison imagined there was an electric current running between them. “Nice backup vocals,” he joked.
Madison blushed. “Thanks. Nice lead vocals,” she replied.
Dan came over and stood next to Madison. He made a crack about Ivy toppling over in front of everyone. Madison laughed. Egg, Chet, and Drew came over and stood next to her, too.
At least the boys aren’t ignoring me like Fiona is, she thought.
She glanced over at Fiona and Ivy, still sitting near each other. But instead of looking mad, this time Madison thought Fiona looked sad.
There was a drumroll, and Mrs. Wing took the stage.
“We have a last-minute act,” she cried. “Just in from Far Hills Junior High, a new group we call The Teachers!”
“Gee, that’s original,” Aimee said.
Mr. Danehy, Madame La Pierre, and a bunch of other teacher chaperones joined her.
Madison and the guys started chanting: “Tea-CHERS! Tea-CHERS!”
The music started and the cheers got even louder. The teachers sang their rendition of “Heard It Through the Grapevine.” It was a huge hit. Mr. Danehy did a brief tap dance in the middle of the song, which blew everyone away. And Mrs. Wing was off-key a lot, but Madison liked that. After all, Madison couldn’t really sing, either. It made her feel even more connected to her favorite teacher to know they had bad singing in common.
“Okay, kids,” Mrs. Goode announced when the show was over. “Thank you all for your efforts. As a special treat, the camp staff has graciously prepared hot chocolate for us. Pick up a cup on your way out—and don’t leave empty cups along the trail. You are all very talented. Thank you! Good night!”
Madison and the guys got up off the floor.
Lindsay grabbed Madison’s elbow. “Hey! Are you all right, Maddie? You seem upset. Why didn’t you sit with us?”
“I was, but—let’s get some cocoa,” Madison said. “And go back to the cabin.”
“Cool,” Lindsay said, walking toward the door, armed with her superbeam flashlight.
When they got outside, groups of friends gravitated toward one another. The boys took off for their cabins. Ivy disappeared ahead with her drones. Aimee, Lindsay, Madison, and Fiona walked together. With flashlights and hot chocolate cups in hand, it was harder to negotiate the roots and still-damp leaves on the ground. The air was chilly again. No one wanted more rain. But they trudged onward toward their cabin.
“I can’t believe the teachers sang!” Aimee cried, slurping on her cocoa. “Mr. Danehy really has the moves. I wish he were my science teacher.”
“No, you don’t,” Madison said.
“Is that an animal?” Lindsay said, startled. She shone her light on a branch that looked a little like a skunk.
Madison looked up for a moment and saw a sky that was much clearer than the night before. “You can see twice as many stars!” she cried.
Everyone stopped. They could see constellations tonight. Madison pointed out the Archer. Lindsay spotted the Little Dipper.
“We should get going,” Fiona said, checking the glow-in-the-dark dial of her watch. “Everyone else went back to their cabins already.”
“It seems windy again,” Aimee said. “I hope it doesn’t rain more.”
“Let’s hurry,” Lindsay said. “Fiona’s right. It’s creepy out here.”
Branches clicked against one another. Crickets and other bugs chirped from the bushes. The distant sound of voices from the direction of the boys’ cabins echoed in Jasper Woods, even though the boys themselves couldn’t be seen. Ivy and the drones weren’t up ahead anymore.
“Wait!” Fiona said. “It’s so dark here. Was it always this dark?”
“It’s night,” Aimee said.
“Are we going the right way?” Lindsay asked, waving her light.
“Of course,” Aimee said, pointing. “That’s the cabin over there.”
Madison stopped. “Wait a second,” she said. “That’s not our cabin. Is it?” She whirled around and, looking up, found herself face-to-face with the outline of the Tower. It was still off in the distance, but it gave Madison the chills.
“Yes, it is,” Lindsay said, clutching her chest. “Look! I see flashlights inside. Ivy and her group are probably inside playing some joke on us.”
Madison and her BFFs moved quickly to the cabin. The area seemed familiar again. Lindsay’s superbeam got them all the way to the screen door.
“SHHHHHHH!” Ivy whispered as they opened the door. “Get inside. Quick!”
Madison grimaced. “Is this some kind of joke, Ivy?” she said.
Aimee, Fiona, and Lindsay hustled inside.
“Why do you have the lights off?” Aimee asked.
“The lights are out,” Joan said. “And we heard noises.”
“What kind of noises?” Aimee asked.
“Animals,” Joan said.
“Big animals,” Rose whispered.
“I wish that guy James was here,” Ivy crooned. “HE’D rescue us.”
“Wait a minute. There’s no way the lights went out,” Madison said. “Did you try the switch?”
Everyone was silent.
“Switch?” Ivy said.
“What switch?” Rose asked.
“Mrs. Wing showed it to us when she was here last night. Weren’t you paying attention?” Madison asked, directing her dig at Ivy, of course.
Stacey stood up and walked to the door.
“You mean the switch in here,” she said, opening a small cabinet door and clicking a switch up to its on position. Lights flooded the cabin again.
“That’s the one,” Madison said.
Ivy rolled her eyes. “I don’t think I was here when she showed us that,” she explained, as if the room cared.
“We thought we were lost!” Lindsay said, collapsing onto her bed. “This camp can be a little spooky at night.”
“Camps are supposed to scare you at night,” Aimee said. “That’s the fun part.”
“I don’t think being scared is always fun,” Joan said, emphasizing the word. “But whatever…”
“Does anyone know scary camp stories?” Madison asked.
Everyone looked at her at the same time.
“That’s so third grade, Maddie,” Ivy said.
“No, it’s not,” Stacey said. “It’s the best! Let’s tell some. Come on, who knows a really scary story?”
“I do!” a couple of girls said.
Fiona raised her hand as if she were in a classroom. “I know a REALLY scary story.”
Madison and Aimee looked at each other knowingly. The three of them would always swap scary stories at sleepovers. One time, Fiona told a super-scary story when Madison and Aimee were up in her attic.
“Once upon a time,” she started the story, “a little kid was digging in the backyard and he found a toe.”
“A what?” Joan said.
“Shhhhhhh!” Madison said.
“He found a toe,” Fiona continued. “Anyway, he thought this was totally weird, so he brought it into the house to show his mom. She thought the toe looked perfectly delicious…”
“Gross!” Lindsay wailed.
“So she carved it up into pieces and put it in the oven for supper, and everyone was really, really hungry, so they ate it right up—yum.”
“Fiona, that is so disgusting,” Lindsay said.
“Will you be quiet!” Ivy said.
“Anyway, the boy went to bed. As he was curling up under the blankets, he heard this slow, slow breathing noise.
“‘Where’s my t-o-o-o-o-o-oh?’ the voice said.”
Madison glanced around the room. Everyone was captivated by the toe story. They sat on the edges of beds, all eyes focused on Fiona.
“The boy didn’t think anything of it,” Fiona continued, “so he rolled over and tried to go to sleep. But a few minutes later, the same voice came echoing through his room.
“‘Where’s my t-o-o-o-o-o-oh?’ it cried. And the boy got out of bed wrapped in his blanket and started to walk toward where he heard the sound.”
“Wait! Fiona, does someone die in this story?” Stacey asked.
Fiona shook her head. “No! Shhh. Listen. The boy tried getting back to sleep again, but again he was awoken by the strange sound.
“‘Where’s my t-o-o-o-o-o-oh?’ it cried. The boy curled deeper into his blankets. ‘Who are you?’ he cried. ‘What do you want?’
“‘Where’s my t-o-o-o-o-o-oh?’ it cried again and again and again.
“‘Where’s my t-o-o-o-o-o-oh?’ it cried. And the boy watched as slowly the door to his room opened and he heard footsteps moving toward him in the dark. The boy didn’t know what to do. His body was shaking, his teeth were chattering. …
“‘Where’s my t-o-o-o-o-o-oh?’ the voice said, louder and louder, closer and closer. …”
Everyone was holding her breath.
“YOU’VE GOT IT!” Fiona screamed at Ivy.
Ivy fell right off the bed where she was sitting. The rest of the girls in the cabin gasped, catching their breath. A few laughed nervously.
“I can’t believe you!” Rose said, helping Ivy get up again. “What are you trying to do—give us all a heart attack?”
“Isn’t that the idea?” Aimee said. “They’re ghost stories. Duh.”
“That was a great one,” Stacey said.
Tap, tap, tap, tap.
“What was that?” Lindsay asked.
Madison walked over to the windows on one side. “It’s coming from outside. Maybe it’s an animal?”
Scratch, scratch, scratch.
“Where’s my toe?” Aimee joked.
Madison chuckled. “There isn’t anything out there,” she said.
Tap, tap, tap, tap.
“Wait a minute!” Fiona said, standing up. “That sounded like it was coming from under the cabin.”
Everyone exchanged scared looks.
Under the cabin?
“It must be some kind of animal,” Aimee said.
“Or a ghost,” Madison said. “Like from the haunted cabin.”
“You’re just making that up,” Ivy said. “There are no ghosts at the—”
BLACKOUT.
The lights went out again even though no one had gone near the little compartment where Stacey had hit the switch earlier.
“Oh, wow,” someone said in the darkness. “This is so creepy.”
“I’m scared,” Lindsay said. “For real.”
“Someone switch the lights back on,” Rose said.
Scratch, scratch, scratch.
Madison froze in her footsteps. She didn’t want to go back to the switch. Now that’s where the noise was coming from.
Tap, tap, tap, tap.
“Stop it!” Ivy said. “Madison, what kind of a mean joke is this?”
Madison flicked on her flashlight and shone it in Ivy’s face. “You’re the joke, Ivy Daly,” she snapped. “Why are you blaming me?”
Aimee was about to step in before a full-scale Madison-versus-Ivy thing broke out, but she stopped.
“Did you hear that?” Aimee asked.
No one answered.
Click, click, click.
“There! That!” Aimee cried. “Turn off your flashlights. Quick,” she whispered. Slowly she moved across the room back to the screen door. Madison followed closely behind.
Tap, tap, tap, tap.
“ARRRRRRRGGHHHHHH!”
Everyone jumped and screamed and Madison thought she was going to pass out—she felt that scared. The screen door flew open with a clack.
“Hart?” Madison said.
“Hey, Finnster,” Hart said with a sly smile.
Before the girls knew it, there were ten boys standing in the middle of the cabin—looking very, very pleased with themselves.
Chapter 11
“SURPRISE!” EGG SAID, FLICKING HIS flashlight under his chin like some kind of crazy monster.
Girls ducked under their blankets. Madison reached over to switch the overhead lights back on.
“No! Not the lights!” Chet goofed. “I’m melting, melting….”
“That’s Wizard of Oz. Duh,” Aimee said.
“What are you guys doing here?” Fiona said, laughing at Egg. “You scared all of us.”
Egg grinned. “Not bad, eh?”
“Excellent,” Fiona said, appreciating the joke. Egg seemed happy with Fiona’s positive response.
“Hey, Ben,” Aimee said, bowing her head.
Ben Buckley stuffed his hands into his pockets and smiled. “Hey.” It was the most Madison had heard him say the whole trip that wasn’t something scientific.
“You guys are not supposed to be here,” Rose said nervously. She scrambled over to the windows.
“Who says?” Dan said. “I don’t see Mrs. Goode anywhere.”
Rose looked annoyed.
“What do you guys want?” Joan asked, flirting a little.
“Hey, Hart,” Ivy said, sidling up to him. “I was so scared. Thank goodness it’s just you.” Madison swore she saw Ivy bat her eyelashes at him.
“But it was fun, right?” Drew asked.
“Excuse me? Was I talking to you?” Ivy said.
“What were you guys doing in here besides talking about us—ha, ha, ha,” Chet said, snapping his fingers.
Madison chuckled. “Hanging out telling stories. Ghost stories,” she said.
“Perfect!” Egg said. “So we came in right on cue.”
“Actually,” Madison said, seizing the moment, “Fiona was telling the story. You would have loved it, Egg.”
Fiona gave Madison a quizzical look.
“I think Fiona is maybe the best ghost-story teller I’ve ever heard,” Madison went on. “Don’t you think so, Aim?”
“I was definitely spooked,” Aimee said. She smiled at Ben again.
Most of the girls in the room were giggling by now, avoiding looks from boys they didn’t like and staring at boys they did. Stacey the quiet girl sat back down on her bed and nervously pulled all the blankets up around her. Joan started telling all the boys what to do. Lindsay and Dan were counting the moths on the screens.
Of course Fiona was beaming at Egg. And for the first time on the field trip, Egg was beaming back.
“What were all those noises you guys were making?” Madison asked.
“Noises? Huh?” Egg asked. “We were just hanging outside, waiting until the right moment. We didn’t make any noises….”
“Not deliberately,” Drew said.
“Boooooooooo!” Chet cried, cracking himself up. “Noises like that?”
Th
e girls exchanged glances, eyebrows raised.
“No, dork,” Fiona cut in. “Like ‘scratch, scratch.’”
“And ‘tap, tap, tap,’” Madison said.
“What are you talking about?” Hart asked. “Egg isn’t joking around. We really were trying to be quiet, not make noises.”
The room got totally silent.
“If you guys are lying to us, I swear…” Ivy said.
“Take a chill pill, girlfriend,” Chet said.
Drew laughed so hard, he snorted.
“Seriously,” Madison said. “Ivy’s right. If you guys didn’t make the noises then it must be the ghosts. From the haunted cabin.”
“Haunted what?” Dan said.
“I know,” Egg replied. “Mariah told me about the haunted cabin here. When her class took its field trip a couple of years ago, they heard all these strange noises in the middle of the night, and the lights kept going out….”
“Are you kidding?” Lindsay said. She looked over at Madison.
“The lights went out here tonight,” Madison said aloud.
“Yeah, but it wasn’t a ghost,” Egg said. “Come on, Maddie, do you believe in ghosts? Do any of you really believe in ghosts?”
Every girl in the room nodded emphatically.
“It’s unanimous,” Madison said. “We all believe in ghosts.” Even Ivy and the drones believed.
“Me too,” Drew said. “I believe.”
“And me,” Hart said. “Why not? Ghosts are cool.”
Scratch, scratch, scratch.
“There!” Ivy shrieked. “Did you hear that?”
The room hushed.
Scratch, scratch, scratch.
“OH MY GOD!” Aimee screamed.
“Shhhhhhh!” one of the boys said. “Mrs. Goode will hear you.”
“Sorry,” Aimee said.
“Is that the noise you heard before?” Egg asked the room.
Everyone nodded.
“You should go outside and see what it is,” Lindsay said.
“Not me,” Egg said, laughing. “I’m not going to get eaten by some monster who lives in Jasper Woods.”
“Don’t say that,” Stacey said meekly. She looked like she wanted to cry. Some other girls and boys were feeling extra nervous all of a sudden.
“You really should turn the lights out,” Hart suggested. “So someone doesn’t see us all in here.”