Politically Incorrect

by Melissa J Morgan

  Sloan scratched her head, wondering what Tricia meant by that.

  “Being here has shown me the power of friendship, especially today. In the spirit of honesty, I have to admit something else—I came close to ditching this speech because I was worried about what some of the campers thought of me. But a friend talked some sense into me, and then gave me this gorgeous shirt to wear.”

  All of the audience members who knew about the Oprah shirt debacle laughed—and Chelsea laughed the hardest.

  “So thanks, Chelsea, for being both a fan and a friend,” Tricia said. “I really appreciate it.”

  Sloan’s brain nearly caved in. Chelsea was the one who got Tricia to reconsider making the speech? She was so touched by Chelsea’s gesture. Obviously, her friend had a big heart. In the grand scheme of things, didn’t that matter more than the mistake Chelsea had made?

  “With all that said, long, lasting friendships are something that I really want in my life. So with my father’s permission, I will be staying at Camp Walla Walla for the rest of the summer,” Tricia said with a smile.

  The audience cheered so loudly, they nearly blew the solar-paneled roof of the building. Sloan grinned when she saw the entire first row stand up and applaud. No one could be happier about Tricia’s announcement.

  As Sloan listened to the remainder of Tricia’s speech, she felt like a huge weight had been lifted off her shoulders. Tricia’s words about forgiveness and the power of friendship really resonated with her. However, Sloan would have to put everything to the test in a few minutes when Tricia stepped offstage.

  “I’d like to close with a quote from Walt Whitman, which Natalie told me came by way of our friend Chelsea, for whom she is very grateful,” Tricia said with a smile. “Give me the splendid silent sun with all his beams full-dazzling.”

  Sloan was surprised once again. Tricia was doing everything she could to patch things up between her, Natalie, and Chelsea. Sloan was definitely grateful for that.

  “Let’s go out into the sunbeams and enjoy the day,” Tricia concluded. “Thank you all so much!”

  After a standing ovation and final round of applause, most of the crowd filed out of the building and outside to experience the rest of the Green Festival. The front row, however, stayed behind and assembled around Tricia, congratulating her on a job well done. Sloan slowly walked down the center aisle, hoping that Chelsea and Natalie were as affected by Tricia’s speech as she was.

  “Seriously, I was two seconds away from sobbing like I did at the end of the Hannah Montana movie,” Priya said to Tricia.

  “You actually paid money to see that?” Joanna asked.

  “It’s not her fault. I dragged her there,” Sarah admitted.

  “She dragged me, too. It wasn’t so bad,” Jordan said.

  Everyone laughed but Chelsea. After the high of Tricia’s speech, Chelsea’s mood had dropped again, and Sloan could tell just how sad she was from a few feet away.

  “Is it safe for us to come out now?” Miles was standing off to the side of the stage, behind a red curtain. Next to him was a wary-looking Natalie.

  “You betcha,” Tricia said, her feisty voice returning as the last adult exited the room.

  As Miles and Natalie walked over, everyone started clapping, a sight that Sloan was very happy to see.

  Suddenly Chelsea piped up. “Nat, I’ve got something I have to say to you.”

  Sloan held her breath. Chelsea wasn’t going to ruin their chances at reuniting, was she?

  “I am so so sorry for how I treated you. I hate to admit this in front of everyone, but I was jealous of Natalie for getting to hang out with Tricia and, well, for others things, too. Can you forgive me, Nat?”

  Natalie’s lower lip trembled. “I’m sorry, too, Chelse. I should have been more sensitive to your feelings and honored my promise to you.”

  Then both Chelsea and Natalie turned toward Sloan, their faces remorseful.

  “Sloan, I think we hurt you the most,” Chelsea said, her voice quivering.

  “It’s true, we both let you down big-time,” Natalie said in agreement. “Do you think you could find it in your heart to—”

  Sloan couldn’t contain her emotions any longer. “Stop it! You guys are breaking my heart!”

  She pushed through the group and wrapped both Chelsea and Natalie in a three-way hug. The rest of their friends all seemed very befuddled.

  “Um, did I miss something?” Brynn asked.

  Jordan shook his head. “Yeah, what are you guys going on about?”

  Tricia laughed. “Trust me, this story is juicier than anything you’d see on TMZ.”

  “Really? Well then, you’d better start dishing,” Joanna said with interest.

  “Joanna’s taste for gossip is insatiable, Tricia,” Sarah warned.

  “Speaking of taste, can we do this over Dr. Steve’s winning organic corn on the cob? I’m starving,” Miles said.

  Sloan smiled at Miles and playfully linked arms with him. “I’m hungry, too.”

  “Great, let’s go find some chow!” Tricia said enthusiastically. “But first we have to head to the rock garden to watch Natalie’s skit.”

  “Oh joy,” Connor said.

  “Come on, Connor. Don’t you want everyone to see your awesome rap skills?” Natalie said while giving him a huge pat on the back. “Besides, it’ll be over before you know it.”

  Everyone chuckled at Natalie’s joke as they filed out of the rotunda building, one by one down the center aisle. That is, except for Natalie and Chelsea, who walked together with their arms around each other.

  Miles copied them and put his arm around Sloan. “May I?” he asked with a grin.

  “Definitely,” Sloan grinned.

  Once they got outside and into the sun, that beautiful Walt Whitman quote echoed in Sloan’s mind. After a great day at the festival with all her friends, Sloan had forgotten the exact words. But the sentiment of the quote—and Tricia’s speech—was sure to stay in her heart all summer long.

  chapter ONE

  Priya woke up with a huge smile on her face. All night, she’d dreamed about Ben—having dinner with Ben, holding hands with Ben, chatting with Ben under the stars. She didn’t know much about him yet, but in her dreams they’d had a ton in common. And even though Priya knew those had just been dreams, she couldn’t deny that she just had a great feeling about this guy.

  When she got into the bathroom to wash up, though, she suddenly felt confused. There was hardly anyone in there. At the sink stood Natalie, brushing her teeth, but she was still wearing her cute pink gingham pajamas. She paused, spit, and washed off her brush, then ran her hands under the water and tried to slick back her pillow-mussed hair.

  “Hey, Priya,” Nat greeted her. “What do you have your clothes on for? Remember, it’s Opposite Day.”

  Priya groaned. She couldn’t help it. Upside Down Day was supposed to be fun, but she’d woken up with plans to “dress to impress” a certain boy camper. This was about the last day she would ever want to wear pajamas to breakfast. She looked down at herself: She was wearing a holey T-shirt from her basketball championships and a baggy pair of boxers with little goldfish all over them.

  Nat smiled at her. “Gee, you look disappointed,” she said, a spark of understanding in her eyes. “Does that have anything to do with a certain cute boy I heard you asking questions about last night?”

  Priya felt her face flush. She wasn’t used to having crushes, and the idea of sharing this one felt a little scary, like it might lead to public humiliation. “Uh . . . um . . .” she stammered.

  But Nat just looked sympathetic and patted her on the shoulder. “No worries, Priya,” she assured her. “Jenna told me you were asking about Ben. And I think it’s awesome you like him; you two will make such a cute couple!”

  Priya smiled. She had to admit, it made her feel good that Nat had said will—“you two will make such a cute couple”—almost like it was a done deal!

  But then she
remembered Upside Down Day and groaned. “The thing is,” she told Nat, “I was going to dress all cute today, and I forgot we have to wear our pajamas for Upside Down Day. Now what? I don’t even have cute pajamas.”

  Nat glanced at the cubbies, where all their clothes and accessories were stored. “Hold on,” she whispered, then darted around Priya to her cubby. She grabbed a couple frilly, flowery pieces, then ran back to her friend. “Here, this is my extra set—how about you borrow these?”

  Priya took the pajamas from Nat and looked them over. They were beautiful—a delicate flowered cami with eyelet lace accents, and a pair of purple silk pants. Nat’s pajamas are more fashionable than half my outfits, she thought. But she couldn’t deny that they seemed perfect for attracting boy attention, on a day when not many campers would be looking cute. “Are you sure?” she asked Nat. “You don’t mind me borrowing them?”

  Nat shook her head. “Come on. This is camp. What’s mine is yours. Besides,” she leaned in and whispered, “Priya, you never crush on anyone. You’re so busy running around with Jordan, sometimes I wonder if you even notice other boys. I think you totally deserve to have a camp romance. And seriously, you and Ben would be great together. You should go after him.”

  Go after him. Priya wasn’t entirely sure what that meant, but whatever it was, she almost felt ready.

  “No problem.”

  Once Priya was dressed up in Nat’s fancy pj’s, Nat helped her create the perfect “just rolled out of bed looking amazing” hairstyle, and even helped apply some pink-tinted lip balm to “give your lips a little glow.” Then she loaned Priya a pair of sparkly flip-flops—“Slippers would be too obvious with that ensemble,” Nat warned—and a delicate pink cardigan to wear over the cami, in case she got chilly.

  “Awesome.” Nat grinned, looking over her handiwork. “You look like a million bucks!”

  Suddenly, someone behind Priya yawned super-loudly. Priya turned to find Brynn, wearing an old pair of gym shorts with a hoodie and rubbing her eyes. “Wow, look at you, Priya,” Brynn muttered, taking in the full look. “You don’t usually sleep this super-fancy, do you?”

  Priya bit her lip. She wasn’t sure she wanted everyone to know that Nat was helping her dress up to win a boy’s attention. But Nat just deflected Brynn’s questions with a shrug. “I loaned Priya my pj’s last night because she got toothpaste on hers,” she said breezily. “It’s no big deal.”