Camping Caper

by Madison Johns

  I glanced out the window to where cars rolled up and parked, giggling girls boarding the bus while their leaders handled their bags. I nodded, but the scouts who passed us by laughed with a hand covering they’re mouth. I didn’t like that a bit and our scouts glared at them.

  “Obviously, this is going to be a more interesting camping trip than we thought,” Eleanor observed.

  “I only hope there won’t be any fistfights.”

  “I don’t think these girls will do that, but their words can certainly hurt.”

  The driver noisily announced that the bus was heading out now as he sat down, his seat cushion making a noise similar to a fart. The scouts laughed and I even had to stop myself from laughing. Whatever driver took on this trip would have to have a thick skin.

  The driver shifted into gear and the bus glided onto U.S. 23. I barely caught a glimpse of Lake Huron before we roared out of town.

  I moved slightly to give Eleanor more room, but she was insistent about inching her head toward my shoulder. “Would you mind?”

  “But I didn’t get very much sleep last night. You always make a great pillow.”

  “You do know that we’re supposed to be supervising the girls.”

  “Let’s take turns sleeping, then. You’re on the first watch.”

  Just like that, Eleanor closed her eyes and soon began to snore. I nodded at Elsie, who sat across the aisle from me. Both Elsie and Marjorie silently laughed at my predicament. “What happen to Leotyne?” I asked nobody in particular.

  “Was she coming?” Elsie asked in shock.

  “Yes. I was actually looking forward to it. Leotyne makes life interesting.”

  “When she’s not scaring you to death, you mean, Agnes?” Eleanor asked as she righted herself.

  “I’m not afraid of Leotyne, but I will admit that she sure has a creepy black camper.”

  “You mean like the one that just passed us?” Peggy laughed as she peeked from the seat ahead of us. “I really need to get to know her better.”

  “I’d leave it alone. She might have put a curse on you.”

  “No,” Peggy admitted. “It’s my fault I was nearly run over. I was too busy watching Oliver. He was walking on the other side of the street.”

  “Ah, now that does make sense,” I replied. “Here I thought someone wanted you out of the picture so you couldn’t take your troop camping.”

  “Which sort of did happen,” Eleanor added.

  Peggy turned back around as the scouts began to sing: “The wheels on the bus go round and round.”

  “I have a better song in mind,” Eleanor said. “Ninety-nine bottles of—”

  “Eleanor!” I shouted.

  “I wasn’t going to say beer, honest.” Eleanor straightened further in her seat. “It would have been easier on the ears than a pre-school song.”

  “Pre-school?” Yasmine said. “We’re on a bus, so that song is perfect.”

  “Calm down,” Eleanor said. “I swear, I’ve never met a scout like you, Yasmine. Relax and take a nap or something.”

  “Yasmine, that will be enough,” Peggy said.

  I was glad that Peggy had interceded. The last thing I wanted to hear was Eleanor arguing with the girl. We’d have to watch what we said in front of Yasmine. I had a feeling that she’d be on the phone with her mother if she thought she was being mistreated. I don’t ever want to be in that category. I love children.

  After three rounds of the bus song I was at my wits end. Thankfully one of the scout leaders asked them to give it a rest.

  I let my eyelids close and concentrated on drifting off to sleep before the scouts went back to singing. It was much easier than I thought.

  Chapter 5

  I woke with a start at the whoosh of the bus airbrakes, and Eleanor nearly tumbled to the floor. “What’s going on?” Eleanor shouted.

  “We’re here,” Martha proclaimed. “We’re at Camp-Whatever-You-Want-to-Call-It.”

  “You don’t even know the name of the camp and you’re supposed to be teaching us survival skills?” Fern asked.

  “You don’t need survival skills, Fern,” Eleanor said. “You tower over most of the girls here.”

  “Don’t remind me,” Fern quietly said as she exited the bus.

  “I didn’t mean to upset her,” Eleanor said. “There are many pluses when you’re tall — like reaching a jar on the top shelf.”

  “That child is a long way from that tall,” I chided.

  We waited until all the scouts were off the bus before we felt safe to disembark. It was then that I glanced around. “I think we lost Moraine. Did she even get on the bus?”

  “I didn’t see her,” Eleanor said. “How about you, Elsie? Bernice? Marjorie?”

  “Sorry, we can’t help you,” Elsie said with a shrug. “Maybe she lost you two on purpose.”

  “There she is,” Marjorie said.

  My eyes followed where she pointed and I led Eleanor over to where she stood.

  Moraine put a finger up to stop us from speaking until she finished her conversation with a ranger.

  “Are you certain you’ve seen bear tracks near the sleeping areas?” Moraine asked the man loud enough for everyone to hear. “We had better keep a watch out and make sure our food is properly contained.”

  The rounded eyes of the scouts indicated that they believed every word.

  “Sorry, I didn’t mean to duck out on you, Agnes. Stuart and I rode together. It’s not a good idea for us to ride in a bus with children. We never know who might be lurking close by,” Moraine whispered to us.

  “Are you on a case here?” I had to ask.

  “No, of course not.” She grinned. “Are you and Eleanor?”

  “Not at all. We’ve hit a dry spell of late, which we’re quite grateful for,” I insisted.

  A bell rung by a tall woman alerted us she was about to speak. “I’m Mrs. Tuttle and president of the Bonfire Girls. Welcome to Camp Bonfire, where all scouts matter.” She then walked off the porch of the cabin. “I need you to pay close attention, scouts. Your leaders will be given maps to your campsites. Make sure you stay close to them. First days can get confusing, and we don’t want to have a missing scout on the first day.”

  I smiled at the wide-eyed girls near me. The scouts ranged from age eight to ten. I couldn’t believe that nearly one hundred scouts surrounded the area.

  “Where is our leader?” Moraine asked.

  “It’s Martha.”

  “Your daughter and Stuart’s sister … that Martha?” she inquired.

  “Yes, but I have complete confidence that Martha can handle it. The injured leader, Peggy, is here, and I have my friends and you to help out. As it turns out we only have five scouts to watch over.”

  “This isn’t a daycare. We’re here to teach the girls something that they can take with them. I have tons of ideas,” Moraine said.

  “Glad to know someone does.”

  I led Moraine to where Martha stood, turning the map around and around. She frowned. “I just knew I couldn’t do this. I can’t read this blasted map.”

  “Language, please,” Moraine cautioned. “I can read the map. Why don’t you do the headcount to make sure all our girls are here?”

  Martha put a hand against her brow and called out, “Fern? Jasmine? Kenna? Nadia? Hailey? Are you here?”

  “Where else would we be?” Yasmine said with a roll of her eyes.

  “You could be in a bear den and we wouldn’t even know to look for you,” Moraine pointed out. “I expect each of you to follow the rules. Rule number one is don’t talk back to your leaders or any of the adults who took time to make this camping experience a good one.”

  “I like her,” Fern said in awe.

  I’m certainly glad that Moraine had showed up. She’s exactly what these scouts need. “I’ll have to pick Moraine’s brain later about what she can teach the scouts,” I whispered to Eleanor. “I’m certain she can teach the scouts some useful things because she�
��s in the FBI.”

  “Yes, like teaching them to use a firearm.” Eleanor laughed.

  “Did you hear what I said, Mrs. Barton-Hart?” Moraine asked with a straight face. “You and Mason need to bring up the rear.” She smiled.

  “Which is military talk for watch us from the rear in case there’s a sniper attack,” Kenna said. “Right?”

  “Is your father in the military?” I asked.

  “No, my brother Adam is,” Kenna proudly said.

  “Grab your bags; we’re leaving now,” Martha nervously said. She marched off, and the scouts and we seniors followed.

  The scouts whistled as they marched up the trail. I caught sight of a lake. I stared overhead; the trees protected us with a canopy of leaves. We passed worn canvas tents in groupings.

  I frowned when other troops found their camping spot, but after twenty minutes of wandering around on the trails we had yet to find ours.

  “It’s over here,” Martha directed the girls.

  I was barely able to limp along much further than the campfire pit surrounded by rocks. I collapsed on a picnic table, as did Eleanor, Elsie, Marjorie and Bernice.

  “I didn’t know we’d be walking a hundred miles to our campsite,” Elsie complained, rubbing her lower back.

  “Me either, but certainly you must have known we’d be walking a distance,” I said.

  “Look at the tents, Elsie. Isn’t it nice,” Bernice said with a sly smile.

  Elsie wrinkled her nose and stood up. “I don’t have a problem with it. I bet I sleep like a baby.”

  Eleanor and I explored the tent we were assigned. There was only a rickety wood frame and a thin rain-stained mattress. “Did you bring a sleeping bag, Eleanor?” I asked.

  “No, I didn’t know we’d need one.”

  “Not to worry ladies,” Peggy ducked in and had Fern and Nadia hand us feather down sleeping bags.

  “Thanks,” I began but the girls were already gone. I happily smoothed my sleeping bag and shrugged at Eleanor. “It appears we’ll be roughing it.”

  “The last thing I want to do is let on that we’re less than happy with our accommodations.”

  “I guess we didn’t give this much thought, but let’s keep this between us. How bad can it be?”

  “We need two people to go down and bring back water from the kitchen,” Martha said when we joined the scouts outside.

  “Why didn’t you have us do that on our way here?” Elsie complained. “I can barely walk now.”

  “I didn’t know it would be so far from the main cabin, but we’ll have to make do,” Peggy said, waiting until Hailey and Nadia opened a lawn chair for her.

  “Eleanor and I will do it,” I volunteered.

  “I’ll go with them,” Nadia volunteered.

  “I’ll go too,” Hailey spoke up, clutching a purse.

  I smiled to myself, but Eleanor and I grabbed the water jug and led the way back down the trail, with Nadia and Hailey chatting up a storm.

  “Why did you bring your purse?” Nadia asked Hailey.

  “Where else will I put my lipstick?”

  “Aren’t you a little young for lipstick?” Eleanor asked.

  “My dad says I am, but I don’t actually wear the lipstick. I just like having it in my purse.”

  The way down the trail was quicker than the way up. But both my knee and hip ached by the time we reached the main cabin. I took a whiff and caught the smell of frying chicken.

  “Do they cook for the campers?” Eleanor asked.

  “Yes, but our leader told us not to expect a meal tonight. We’re cooking hotdogs over the campfire,” Hailey informed us.

  “We’ll see about that,” I said as I marched inside. Rows of tables, each set for four, filled the cabin.

  “It’s quite apparent that some of the Bonfire Girls are getting a hot meal tonight,” Eleanor huffed as she pushed her way into the kitchen. “Should the kitchen be empty if there’s food on the stove?”

  “Maybe the cook is taking a break,” Nadia said, deep dimples sinking beneath her full cheeks. “My mother gets a break when she works.”

  “A kitchen should never be unattended like this. I think we had better find out if Mrs. Tuttle is still around,” I insisted.

  “Who?” Eleanor asked.

  “The president of our chapter,” Hailey informed us.

  “We should go outside and see if the cook is on a smoke break,” I said. “Err … I mean getting more firewood.”

  “It’s not like they’re using a wood stove,” Eleanor said.

  I gave Eleanor the eye and led the way out the back door. Firewood was stacked alongside a shed, with a Dumpster not far off. I walked around a waist-high stump and bit my fist at the sight of a woman on all fours picking up cigarettes scattered on the ground.

  I cleared my throat and the woman jumped to her feet, dropping the cigarettes back to the ground. I shook my head. “I’m not sure Smokey Bear would approve.”

  “Mrs. Tuttle said I could smoke if I was sure to extinguish the butts in a trash can.”

  “Let’s go back inside!” I shouted as I waved my hands frantically.

  “Why, what’s the matter?” Hailey asked, sneaking under my raised arms. I turned to pull her back before she spotted the cook getting ready to light up. She began to stutter, “A-Are those cigarettes?”

  “Let me see,” Nadia said, pushing her way over to where the woman stood. “Yup. I’m telling our leader that this woman was smoking. It’s against the Bonfire Girls’ rules.”

  “I wasn’t smoking,” the woman exclaimed. “You don’t want to bother your leader with this.” She picked up the cigarettes and painfully shredded them. “See, no cigarettes now.”

  “I feel much safer now,” I said. “But I was really concerned that the kitchen wasn’t attended.”

  “That Quinn never listens. I told her specifically to stay put until I came back.”

  We followed the woman back into the kitchen. She hurried to the pans and gave the contents of each a quick stir.

  “What did you say your name was?”

  “I-Irene. I’m the cook.”

  “How many cooks work here?”

  “Quinn is my assistant. The rest of the kitchen staff will arrive later.”

  “That sounds like fun,” Nadia said.

  A young woman with dark hair hurried into the kitchen tying the strings of her apron. “I’m sorry, but Mrs. Tuttle needed help carrying her supplies to her cabin.”

  “Oh? Where is her cabin? I’d like to discuss something with her,” I said.

  “Please don’t, I swear I won’t smoke anymore while I’m here. I just crumbled the last of my cigarettes,” Irene pleaded with me.

  “I planned to ask her why the scouts wouldn’t be dining here tonight.”

  “Yes,” Eleanor began, “all the tables are set.”

  “And food is on the stove,” Nadia added.

  I turned to Nadia. “Now don’t get involved in adult problems, dear.”

  Nadia’s hand went to her hips. “Then don’t talk about them in front of me.” Nadia and Hailey had a good laugh over that one.

  “The meal for the first night is dedicated to the leaders. That’s why each troop has both a leader and an assistant leader.”

  “Certainly there can’t be that many leaders,” I said.

  “The leaders from the Bonfire Boys will also be here,” Irene explained.

  “How close is the boy’s camp?” Eleanor asked.

  “It’s on the other side of the lake. The boys and girls used to participate in activities over here together, but you might say it got a little too competitive and was discontinued.”

  “I imagine. Well, thanks for your help. I’m looking forward to our first meal.”

  “Are we going back to the camp now?” Nadia asked.

  “I’d like to speak with Mrs. Tuttle first.”

  “Our leader sent us for water,” Hailey reminded us.

  “Why don’t you girls
get the water and we’ll meet you in five minutes.”

  “You want to leave us alone?” Nadia asked in shock.

  I sighed. “Fine, we’ll wait to get the water.”

  “Come along, now,” Eleanor said. “Once we figure out where the cabin is, we’ll fetch the water.”

  Hailey, who was ahead of us, pointed to wooden signs indicating the paths to camping sites and the administrator’s cabin.

  “Good job,” I said. “I appreciate the help.”

  We walked down the dirt trail until we reached another sign that pointed toward the woods. Eleanor took the lead. Hailey and Nadia didn’t leave my side for a moment. They reminded me of Sophia. Whenever she came to visit summers, she was stuck to my hip.

  We froze when we approached the cabin and heard a man shouting. “You promised me that this camp would be closed down!”

  “I know, but the Bonfire Boys and Girls raised enough funds to keep it open.”

  Eleanor took the hands of Nadia and Hailey, bringing them back down the trail. But I stayed to hear this out.

  “When they find out you backed out of this deal, it won’t go good for you.”

  “It’s out of my hands now. I don’t know what else I can tell you.”

  “We can’t change our plans now. Get those scouts out of here.”

  The branches of a tree swayed, birds breaking into flight.

  “I-I to-told you there’s no way I can get the scouts to leave now. They’ll be here only a week.”

  “You don’t have a week and neither do I!” the man shouted. “You better find a way to keep those scouts out of our way. It would be too bad if a few of them disappeared.”

  Something was going down and I needed to know what it was, now!

  “Hello there!” I called out. “Mrs. Tuttle, are you here?”

  I could vaguely hear the man curse and a disheveled Mrs. Tuttle appeared from behind the cabin.

  I hurried toward her. “Are you all right?”

  “Y-Yes, I took a fall is all,” she said as she stumbled toward the cabin. “Why are you here?”