“What’s wrong?” Natalie asked worriedly.
“A bug!!!” squealed Tricia. She pointed at the floor, her hands shaking. “It’s disgusting!”
Natalie glanced down at the bottom of Tricia’s bed and saw a pretty sizable insect crawling around. What was even more disgusting was the mess that the insect was crawling around in. Natalie had no idea how Tricia had built a pile of candy bar wrappers and crumb-filled bags of cookies in less than twenty-four hours, but nevertheless, there it was. And if Natalie didn’t act fast, more bugs would be on the way.
“Hold on, let me get something to capture it with,” Natalie said.
“Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you,” Tricia said in relief. “Bugs freak me out so bad!”
Natalie shook her head and laughed to herself. Sure, there may have been a time when she was prone to flipping out over little things like bugs, but honestly, wasn’t Tricia too old to be acting like a frightened—and maybe a teensy bit spoiled—little girl?
Natalie used her reusable water bottle to scoop up the insect and then set it free a few feet outside the tent. When she returned to the bunk, she passed Wharton and Jones, who were in the middle of changing shifts. As Wharton walked off and Jones took his spot in front of the bunk, Natalie noticed that Jones had a huge, grease-stained bag from McDonald’s in his hand.
There’s a Mickey D’s around here?!
“Excuse me, miss,” Jones called out to her in a gravelly voice.
“Yes, sir?” Natalie responded.
“Would you mind bringing this to Tricia?” he asked.
Natalie was amazed. Tricia’s bodyguards were expected to fetch her lunch, too? Incredible.
“Sure,” she replied and took the bag of food.
As soon as Natalie opened the door, Tricia sprinted over and snatched the McDonald’s bag from her.
“It’s about time! I’m starving,” Tricia squealed, digging into the bag. She pulled out a handful of french fries and popped them in her mouth. “You want some?” Tricia asked with her mouth full.
Natalie shook her head. “No, that’s okay.”
“Are you sure? There’s plenty.” Tricia sat on her bed and dangled the bag in front of her as though she were mistaking Natalie for her precious Cavadoodle.
“Really, I’m fine.”
“Well, I can send Wharton or Shepard back out if you change your mind,” Tricia said.
Natalie cringed a little. It seemed like Tricia expected everyone to accommodate her, regardless of if it inconvenienced them.
“Yes, he remembered!” Tricia exclaimed as she pulled a cardboard container out of the bag. Once Tricia pried the lid open, the smell of Big Mac wafted through the tent. “I like my burgers piping hot,” she started. “And my iced tea super cold.” And then, much to Natalie’s disbelief, Tricia pulled out a large cup of iced tea. A large Styrofoam cup! How could Tricia, the Princess of Green, drink from a Styrofoam cup? Didn’t she know that Styrofoam containers helped cause the deterioration of the ozone layer? Everyone else in the world did, including Tricia’s dad, who was president! Maybe now was a good time for Natalie to educate Tricia a little bit. Perhaps then she would stop being so careless with her trash and become a little bit more eco-conscious.
“Listen, Tricia. Don’t take this the wrong way, but—”
Natalie was interrupted by a pop rock song in the form of a ringtone echoing throughout the tent.
“One sec, Nat. That’s my BF!” Tricia put her hamburger back in its container and reached for her phone.
“Wait—you’re allowed to have a cell phone here?” Natalie asked.
“Yeah, my father called Dr. Steve and he said it was okay to bend the rules for me,” Tricia said, smiling.
Natalie wasn’t surprised. Who in their right mind would say no to the president?
“Hey, Puppy!” Tricia cooed into the phone. “Can I holler back at ya later? I’ve got the munchies. Okay. Toodles!”
Once Tricia hung up, she grabbed her burger, pulled it out of its container, and took a giant bite. “Sorry, my boyfriend is, like, a ministalker. He just hates it when I’m away and calls every hour. Ugh. Like there’s not enough drama in my life! I can’t ever just relax and be me, ya know? But so far, I’ve been able to do that here, which is awesome.”
Natalie sighed. Giving Tricia a lecture on being tidy and more environmentally aware seemed like a lame thing to do now, especially since she understood the sentiments behind Tricia’s words. Natalie knew what it was like to be on display in a world where all eyes were on you. It was a lot of pressure, and not too many people could empathize like Natalie could. Maybe Tricia’s sloppiness was just her way of kicking back and dealing with stress.
“Anyhow, what were you going to say?” Tricia asked through a mouthful of burger.
Natalie decided then and there to let things slide and cut Tricia some slack. It was the least she could do.
“Oh, I was going to hit up the supply room for some extra garbage bags and wanted to know if you needed anything.”
“You are a saint,” Tricia said. “Could you, like, pick up a package for me at Dr. Steve’s office? I couldn’t fit all my shoes into my suitcases, so I had them FedExed here.”
“Uh . . . I guess—”
“And I ran out of Snickers bars. Could you hit Jones up for a five spot and fetch a couple for me?”
“I suppose—”
“OH! And could you talk to someone about getting me private quarters? I really like staying with you girls, but as you can see, I need lots of room to spread out.”
Wow, I am SO sorry I asked, Natalie thought.
“Fine, I’ll see what I can do.”
“Thanks, Nat!” Tricia said brightly. “I better call the boy back. He’s probably checking my Facebook status this very minute, not like I can even update it here. One computer?! I don’t know how you guys live like that.”
Natalie waved good-bye and stumbled out into the warm summer air. It was a beautiful summer day, but Natalie couldn’t even enjoy it. She had a job to do. For twenty minutes she searched high and low for anything resembling Snickers bars on the campgrounds. Aside from a semimelted Kit Kat that Natalie got from a CIT with a notorious sweet tooth, there were no chocolate bars of any kind to be found. Apparently Camp Walla Walla had traded all of them in for organic granola treats in biodegradable wrappers.
Luckily for Natalie, she was able to locate some more garbage bags, which Tricia needed way more than candy, even if she didn’t know it. After stocking up on garbage bags, Natalie headed for Dr. Steve’s office, where she would pick up Tricia’s shoes (ugh) and speak with him about moving Tricia to a private bunk.
Natalie had no idea what to say to Dr. Steve. What if he thought that Tricia wasn’t enjoying her stay at Walla Walla and it was all Natalie’s fault? Natalie considered telling Dr. Steve that Tricia was just very messy and wanted more room in which to make that mess, but then she felt like she was betraying her country or something.
Natalie figured she’d just make up some excuse on the fly when she got there. She really couldn’t figure out a better way to explain the situation.
“Hey, Natalie,” said Ben, one of the junior counselors at Walla Walla, who had an adorable smile, now that she thought about it.
“Hi there,” Natalie replied. “I wanted to stop by and pick up a package for Tricia. Where can I find it?”
Ben laughed and gestured to the copy room on his left. “I think you’re going to need some help. It’s a pretty big box.”
Natalie glanced over and saw a cardboard box the size of a forty-inch TV. “I’ll take care of it later, then,” she said, sighing in defeat. “Is Dr. Steve here? I have to ask him a question, and it’s kind of important.”
“No, he’s at the Green Festival planning meeting,” Ben said. “I’m surprised you’re not there yourself.”
Natalie’s breath caught in her throat. I can’t believe I forgot about the meeting! ARGH!
“Yeah, I was tie
d up most of today. Where is it again?” Natalie really hoped she could get to the meeting before it ended. Even if she wasn’t chairperson, she still had a ton of ideas that she wanted to share!
“It’s at the new rock garden. Sloan thought that it was the perfect place to inspire everyone’s imagination,” Ben said.
Natalie felt the jealousy come on in waves. If she hadn’t fallen for Dr. Steve’s spiel about her being the perfect candidate to show Tricia around camp, she would be in charge of the committee instead of spending every waking moment being Tricia’s errand girl! But she knew she had to shake herself free of those negative thoughts quickly—there was no time to lose!
“Thanks, Ben. I’ll head over there,” Natalie said.
Within seconds, Natalie was out of Dr. Steve’s office and running as fast as she could across the campgrounds, the box of garbage bags in one hand and Tricia’s Kit Kat in her back pocket. She managed to reach the rock garden in about three minutes flat. Unfortunately, by the time she got there, the meeting was already breaking up. Natalie watched in disappointment as Sloan shook hands with the counselors and fellow campers who had volunteered to help with the festival. She even saw a cute new boy camper standing next to Sloan with a huge grin on his face.
Natalie felt her heart sink, but when she saw Chelsea approaching, she put on a happy face.
“Hey, how did the meeting go?” Natalie asked, trying to seem chipper.
“It was really good. Can you believe this many people came?” Chelsea said enthusiastically.
Natalie bit her lip to keep herself from getting upset. “I know, Sloan did an amazing job of getting the word out.”
“She sure did. So where have you been all day? I thought for sure you’d want to be here, after all that work you put into your essay,” Chelsea said sarcastically.
Natalie’s mouth dropped open in surprise at Chelsea’s comment. She knew she hadn’t been able to thank Chelsea properly yet for all her help with the essay, but did she really deserve that kind of snotty remark? It didn’t make Natalie eager to express her gratitude, that was for sure.
“Oh, Tricia and I spent all morning hiking the trails with Cybil. Tricia’s training to be in some marathon and—”
“Yeah, whatever.” Chelsea looked over her shoulder intently, like she was hoping to find a way out of the conversation. “Anyway, I’d better get back to Sloan. We have so much organizing to do.”
Natalie flinched. “We?”
“Oh, didn’t you hear the news? Sloan and I are cochairing the committee together. Isn’t that awesome?” Chelsea said with a fake smile.
Natalie’s skin suddenly felt sunburn-hot. Why hadn’t Sloan asked her to be cochair? Sloan knew how much it would have meant to her! Still, Natalie wanted to give Sloan the benefit of the doubt. Perhaps she had assumed Natalie would be too busy with Tricia to cochair the committee. Or maybe she had asked Dr. Steve if she could pick Natalie and he said no. Regardless of the reason, Natalie had to keep her emotions in check.
“Yeah, it is. Hope you have lots of fun,” Natalie said through slightly clenched teeth.
Chelsea gave Natalie a self-satisfied smirk. “Oh, I will.”
When Chelsea spun around, Natalie squeezed the box of garbage bags so hard, it nearly crumpled.
chapter EIGHT
Chelsea was not a big fan of Ultimate Frisbee, but like it or not, the game was on the morning exercise roster for all campers. So she dragged herself to the main activities field with the rest of her bunkmates, except for Natalie and Tricia. It was the second time in two days that the pair had been gone before anyone had the chance to wipe the sleep out of their eyes, and it was really getting on Chelsea’s nerves, especially since Natalie knew how much Chelsea admired Tricia. Couldn’t Natalie at least have asked her to tag along this morning?
Then again, Chelsea had been kind of nasty to Natalie yesterday, so it shouldn’t have surprised her one bit. In fact, when Chelsea thought about the snarky attitude she took with her friend, it made her feel kind of nauseated. Natalie hadn’t done anything wrong, so Chelsea really had no right to snap at her. Right now, she was feeling pretty terrible about it.
“Heads up!” a voice shouted from not so far away.
Chelsea snapped herself out of her thoughts just in time to spot a bright orange Frisbee flying her way. But it was too late—Chelsea couldn’t duck out of the way in time, and it smacked her right in the face.
“OW!!!” she shrieked dramatically, rubbing the bridge of her nose. But before she had time to curse the moron who invented the Frisbee, she was surrounded by a group of counselors and campers ready to offer their assistance.
Jenna was the first to the scene. “Are you okay, Chelse?”
“No! That really hurt,” Chelsea whimpered.
“I’m so so so so so sorry!” exclaimed Priya. “It was all my fault.”
“You bet it was,” countered Jordan. “Chelsea isn’t even on your team. Why did you throw it at her?”
“I wasn’t trying to! I was aiming for Joanna,” Priya said.
David let out a chuckle. “Joanna was on the sidelines, Priya. She rotated out of the game after the last play.”
“All right, enough, kids,” Ellie interrupted. “Chelsea, are you hurt badly?”
“I’m seeing spots,” Chelsea moaned. “And maybe even stripes.”
“Do you want me to take you to the infirmary?” Ellie offered.
“I suppose,” Chelsea muttered. Anything is better than this stupid game.
“Oh, please let me take her. I feel so awful,” Priya interjected.
Chelsea sighed. This day was off to a terrible start.
“Okay, go ahead,” Ellie said. “Everyone else, back to your positions. Sarah’s team will have a time-out.”
“Feel better, Chelse!” Brynn said as Priya walked Chelsea off the field.
“We’ll score one just for you!” shouted Connor.
Chelsea gave her friends a limp wave, then wobbled alongside Priya to the infirmary.
Chelsea’s visit to the infirmary was a short one, and thankfully, the extent of her injuries was a barely noticeable pink mark on the lower part of her nose. No permanent damage done. Afterward, Priya walked her back to their bunk so she could lie down.
“Are you sure you don’t want me to stay with you?” Priya asked as she and Chelsea approached the tent’s front door.
“It’s okay, go finish the game,” Chelsea said.
Priya smiled. “I will. Thanks for not being mad.”
“You know what they say, ‘don’t get mad, get even,’” Chelsea said with a smirk.
Priya’s smile dropped.
“I’m kidding, Priya. Geez, relax!”
Priya exhaled. “Phew! You nearly gave me a heart attack.”
“See ya later,” Chelsea said.
“See ya,” Priya replied and dashed off down the path to the activities field.
Chelsea was happy to be at her bunk. She looked forward to having the place all to herself, but—surprise!—Tricia was there, listening to her iPod and dancing around the tent. Score! Finally some alone time with Tricia,Chelsea thought, suddenly wishing she didn’t have a big bandage on her nose.
Tricia stopped dancing as soon as she saw Chelsea staring at her, but she didn’t seem embarrassed at all.
“Hey, Chelsea! How are you?” Tricia said loudly as she continued to bop to the music that was filtering through her earbuds.
It was enough to make Chelsea totally forget all about the morning and her near brush with death. “Great! Who are you listening to?”
“Katy Perry. She is such a sweetheart,” Tricia said with a smile.
“You’ve met her?” Chelsea just couldn’t believe how awesome Tricia’s life was. Her stories were even more impressive than Natalie’s.
“A bunch of times.” Tricia turned off her iPod and threw it on her bed. “I love her fashion sense.”
Chelsea grinned from ear to ear. “Me too! Did you see what she was w
earing at the MTV Video Music Awards?”
“Only Katy can pull off zebra print hot pants,” Tricia replied.
“She got them at H&M y’know . . .” Chelsea trailed off.
“No way!” Tricia’s eyes twinkled. “Wow—you’re even more plugged in than I am—and I know the girl. Can we just follow each other around 24/7?”
Chelsea’s head almost exploded. Tricia thought she was plugged in? This must be what heaven is like!
Just as Chelsea was going to say something witty in reply, Natalie stormed into the room, looking rather disheveled and tired. It was obvious by the scowl on her face that she was in a bad mood.
“Okay, Tricia. I loaded the last piece of your luggage and packages on the golf cart. Are you ready to go?” Natalie said as she redid her ponytail and wiped the sweat off her brow.
“Almost. Chelsea and I were just chatting,” Tricia chirped.
“Go? Where are you going?” Chelsea asked.
She hoped that Tricia wasn’t leaving Camp Walla Walla early. Just when they were starting to bond!
“Oh, Natalie got us a sweet hookup. She and I are moving into one of the vacant counselors’ bunks,” Tricia explained.
Chelsea crossed her arms in front of her chest and stared at Natalie. “Is that so?”
“Don’t look at me, it wasn’t my idea,” Natalie said curtly.
Tricia walked over to Natalie and threw an arm around her. “She’s right—I’m to blame! I’m just used to having a bigger room is all. And I couldn’t get along without Natalie. She’s the bestest!”
Chelsea felt a hot wave of jealousy wash over her, but when she saw Natalie roll her eyes at Tricia, it infuriated her even more. If Natalie didn’t want to be Tricia’s sidekick, then why didn’t she let Chelsea do it?
“Just let me run to the bathroom and we’ll be on our way,” Tricia said to Natalie. “Back in a sec.”
Chelsea squared off against Natalie once Tricia left the bunk and gave her a stern look.
“What’s wrong?” Natalie asked, clearly frustrated.
“Nothing. You just seem tired, like you can’t keep up with Tricia,” Chelsea said matter-of-factly. She knew this type of snippy comment might aggravate Natalie, but Chelsea couldn’t hold back.
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