Church Camp Chaos

by Annie Tipton

  “Hold on, everyone, we have to make a plan!” EJ shouted. “Anybody have an idea?”

  “I do!” Macy held up her hand.

  “Okay, go,” EJ said.

  “It’s like when I’m training for gymnastics—you have to leave enough room between you and the next person, or you’ll mess each other up,” Macy said. “So the first person should go, and then the next person should wait until the first person is halfway across. That way you won’t feel the person next to you moving the rope as much as you would if you were right next to each other.”

  “Yeah, that’s how we ended up in the creek,” said Alexa, one of wet-from-the-waist-down girls. “That sounds like a good plan!”

  “It’ll take patience, though,” Macy warned. “The other teams are catching up with us, and we’re going to want to go faster and send more than one person across at once, but slow and steady is going to win it for us.”

  Macy coached the team across, one by one, and her plan worked really well. The other teams quickly finished the maze and tried the all-at-once approach, but no team got more than one or two girls across that way before they ended up in the creek. By that time, the red team had a nice lead, but the blue team was copying their one-at-a-time approach and was quickly catching up.

  “We need to pick up the pace, so just try to go a little faster,” Macy said, glancing over her shoulder at the blue team. EJ was on the rope now, and she concentrated on keeping her center of balance directly over her feet. She gripped the hand ropes loosely so she could slide her hands along them without getting rope burn. Soon she stepped off the rope bridge on the other side and immediately started cheering on the remaining teammates behind her.

  EJ saw the blue team only had three people left on the far creek bank, but there were four left on the red team’s bank. Both teams were shouting encouragement to their teammates, but the blue team was nearing a fever pitch—it was like they could already taste the gooey s’more deliciousness.

  The last member of the blue team started on the rope bridge at the same time CoraLee started for the red team—that still left Macy on the far bank. Apparently being barefoot was a real asset to walking across a rope, because CoraLee walked across the rope so fast that she almost caught up with the girl in front of her.

  EJ saw Macy’s eyes light up as she watched CoraLee’s quick trip across the rope. In a flash, Macy removed her shoes and socks and eased out onto the rope. EJ heard the roar of the blue team and saw that their final teammate was more than halfway across the rope bridge already. It seemed like there was no way the red team would be able to pull out a win, but EJ knew better than to count out Macy Russell. With a clear path in front of her, Macy took a deep breath and pranced gracefully across the rope, her hands stretched out at her sides to keep her balance. Part gymnastic feat, part lovely dance, she looked perfectly at ease coming across the rope in her bare feet, pointed toes and all. The red team seemed to hold its breath as she floated toward them, passing the girl on the blue team, who was struggling to keep her balance. At the end of the bridge, Macy vaulted off the suspended rope and did a front handspring onto the ground. The red team went crazy. EJ could already taste the fire-roasted hot dog—with relish and extra ketchup!

  “Flashlights off in two minutes, girls!” Susan called from her tent.

  EJ zipped the tent door shut and shined her flashlight beam at Macy, who was already snug in her sleeping bag.

  “Hey, my eyes! You’re blinding me, EJ!” Macy said, pulling the edge of her sleeping bag over her head to block the light.

  “Oops, sorry.” EJ flashed the light in her own eyes and grinned. “There. Now we’re even.” Now blind as well, EJ groped toward her sleeping bag and crawled inside.

  “All I can see right now are those green blobs you get when someone takes a picture with a flash,” Macy said, laughing and grabbing at the nonexistent blobs in front of her eyes.

  “Oooh, yeah, those are so weird!” EJ laughed. “Want some gummy worms? I still have a whole bag left from Aunt CJ’s care package.”

  Macy looked conflicted. “But I already brushed my teeth.”

  EJ grinned, pulled the package of gummy worms from her backpack, and ripped it open. “So did I, but I won’t tell anybody if you won’t.”

  “All right,” Macy said. “But just this once.” Macy took three gummy worms from the bag and started gnawing on one.

  “Lights off, ladies!” Susan called. “Good night!”

  “Good night, Susan!” EJ and Macy joined in with the chorus of girls.

  EJ turned off her flashlight and watched the orange light from the dying campfire dance on the wall of the tent as she chewed on a lemon-flavored gummy worm.

  The girls were both quiet for a minute; the only sounds were an occasional giggle from a nearby tent and the constant chirp of crickets in the woods. EJ’s brain started thinking about what she absolutely didn’t want to think about.

  “Hey, Mace?” EJ whispered.

  “Yeah?”

  EJ took a deep breath before she started a very long sentence. “I haven’t told you something because I knew you were worried about moving away and I was worried, too, but now that you’re not moving away, I think I should tell you that my parents have been acting strange this summer in the same way your parents were acting strange, and I think it’s because we’re moving away.”

  “Are you sure?” Macy asked.

  “Pretty sure,” EJ said. “I’m an excellent detective. And all the clues point to it.”

  Macy held out the gummy worm bag to EJ, who grabbed two more and shoved them in her mouth, hoping they would help the nervous churning of her stomach as she shared her secret with her best friend.

  “You know what really stinks?” EJ asked, lying back on her sleeping bag and staring at the stars through the mesh window at the top of their tent. “We’re just kids. There’s nothing we can do about … anything! Adults make all the decisions, do what they want, and even keep secrets from us. It makes me feel so … so …”

  “Helpless?” Macy finished EJ’s thought.

  “Exactly,” EJ said, sighing.

  “I don’t want to move away,” EJ said quietly. “If a miracle happens and we don’t move, I’ll never say a bad thing about Spooner again.”

  “Don’t make a promise you can’t keep, EJ.” There was a hint of a smile in Macy’s voice. “It is a boring town.”

  “Okay, I’ll try to say more good things than bad things about Spooner.” EJ grinned. “Is that better?”

  “That seems more believable,” Macy said, yawning. “And anyway, one miracle has already happened. We’re not moving. So I think a miracle can happen for you, too.”

  “Maybe you’re right,” EJ said, unconvinced. “Good night, Mace.”

  “Good night, EJ.”

  Chapter 13

  WONDER GIRL

  July 25

  Dear Diary,

  Last night after lights out, we had a furry visitor to our campsite. And by “furry visitor” I mean a bear. And by a “bear” I mean the dorm mom from dorm A dressed up in a goofy bear costume she borrowed from the camp cooks. Apparently they thought it’d be fun to prank us since we were the only dorm to eat actual food for supper—and boy, were those hot dogs and s’mores amazing!

  I guess dorm A’s plan was to make us think our leftover food attracted a grizzly to our campsite. Except Susan (aka, the best dorm mom ever) heard them giggling as they came through the woods, so she quickly woke us all up and we were ready for them.

  When the “bear” and group of girls stepped foot in our tent circle, we all jumped out from behind our tents and pelted them with our leftover marshmallows. You should’ve seen the looks on their faces, Diary! Several girls screamed and ran into the woods, but soon we were all laughing. We even shared our leftover chocolate with them, and then the dorm moms let us play a game of sardines in the woods before we all had to go back to bed.

  Last night was fun, but I think today will be even bett
er. It’s our day for the high ropes course!

  EJ

  EJ wondered if it was just her imagination or if the wooden tower she was sitting on—thirty feet off the ground—actually swayed a little bit. It didn’t help that the sound of the gentle summer breeze seemed extra loud in the helmet strapped on her head.

  EJ, Macy, and the rest of the girls from dorm E sat on the large platform, each girl strapped into a harness fit around her legs and waist. Susan had already talked them through safety procedures for the high ropes, and they had just broken into pairs and were assigned to a counselor. EJ felt like the luckiest girl in the world because she and Macy were with Susan.

  “Okay, girls, ready to climb to the tall tower?” Susan pointed to the zip line tower about forty feet above them.

  “Let’s do it!” Macy slapped palms with Susan in a high five.

  “I think I can, I think I can,” EJ chanted under her breath.

  “EJ, I don’t understand why you’re nervous,” Macy said. “You spent hours and hours up in a harness like this during the nativity play last Christmas when you were the angel. This doesn’t seem that much different to me.”

  “Well, first of all, I was only like ten feet off the ground,” EJ said. “And second of all, Dad had the other end of the rope, and I knew he wasn’t going to let me fall.”

  “So you trust your dad more than you trust the safety harness,” Susan said. “Right on—I totally get that. But do you trust me enough to at least climb up to the zip line tower with us?”

  EJ gulped and nodded. No way was she going to disappoint Susan.

  The counselor checked their safety equipment, and then the trio began to climb the ladder—Macy in the lead followed by EJ, and Susan bringing up the rear.

  “Do you girls want to know a secret about me?” Susan asked as they climbed.

  “Ooo, yeah! I love secrets.” EJ glanced back at Susan but snapped her head forward again quickly when she realized how high up they actually were.

  “I’m afraid of heights.” Susan laughed.

  “Good one.” EJ reached the top of the ladder and stepped onto the zip line platform. “Now it’s my turn to tell a joke. Knock-knock.”

  “No, really, I’m actually afraid of heights,” Susan said as she hopped onto the platform, obviously at ease even seventy feet off the ground. “Getting my high-ropes certification was almost impossible for me because of it.”

  EJ mentally scratched camp counselor off her career list.

  “Then why did you do it?” EJ asked, clutching her safety line so tightly that her knuckles turned white.

  “I’ve wanted to be a counselor at Camp Christian since I was your age, and I had to get my certification to do it,” Susan said, turning toward the girls. “So I worked with my instructor on the ground until I trusted the safety equipment. Then I knew that even if I fell off the very highest platform, the safety equipment would protect me. So really, I don’t have anything to be afraid of.”

  EJ didn’t look so sure. “Susan, how much weight can these safety lines actually hold?” she asked, eyeballing the rope she was clinging to.

  “Waaaay more than what you weigh, EJ girl,” Susan said. “Watch.” Without warning, she bent her knees slightly, leaned back, and fell off the platform. EJ and Macy gasped as they saw her free fall, but in the blink of an eye, the safety cable caught her so she was dangling only about two feet lower than before.

  “See?” Susan grinned as she pulled herself onto the platform with ease. “We’re completely safe.”

  EJ loosened her grip on the cable, a little less terrified—even peeking over the edge of the platform.

  “There are lots of things you can choose to put your trust in,” Susan said as she unhooked the zip line equipment from the cable above. “But I’ve learned that if I put my life in something I know I can trust, I don’t have to be nervous when something crazy or scary happens.”

  Like moving away, EJ thought.

  “So, EJ—you’re going first and showing Macy how it’s done!” Susan said.

  “I—I am?” EJ stammered.

  “Yeah, come on, EJ—I know you can do it.” Macy gave her a reassuring smile.

  Susan had EJ lie facedown on top of the zip line sling, and she attached EJ’s safety harness. Then Susan wrapped it around EJ’s torso and legs, leaving her arms free. Finally, Susan flipped a switch that lifted EJ about three feet off the platform. The harness hugged her snugly, like she was a human burrito.

  Looking down on the top of the platform, EJ saw there were words carved into the wooden planks underneath her.

  “Hey, what’s that?” EJ pointed to the words.

  “Read them out loud,” Susan said.

  “ ‘This is my command—be strong and courageous!’ ” EJ read. “ ‘Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.’ Joshua 1:9.”

  “No matter what’s going on—whether I’m flying high on the zip line or if my feet are on the ground—that’s what I choose to put my trust in,” Susan said. “Who I put my trust in.”

  “Okay, I’m ready,” EJ said. “Let’s do it.”

  EJ closed her eyes as Susan counted off: “Three, two, one—fly!” As soon as Susan let go, EJ felt her full body weight tug on the zip line sling, hugging her a little tighter in an oddly comforting way. Gravity kicked in, and she heard the zizzz of the zip line above her, slowly at first. A gust of warm summer wind blew her hair off her face as she prayed, “I trust You, God. Starting now, no matter what happens—even if we have to move to Antarctica—I trust You.”

  EJ opened her eyes just as she soared off the edge of the platform, gaining speed by the second. The beauty of the clear sky above her and the green valley below made her chest swell with excitement as a laugh exploded from her throat. I wonder if this is what people mean when they say I have my head in the clouds, she thought.

  EJ stretched her arms straight out in front of her….

  Wonder Girl zooms over the top of the city buildings, making a game of dodging the skyscrapers and flying as low as she can over the shorter buildings. She uses her super eyesight to scan the ground for trouble—a kitten in a tree, a lost child, a bad guy scheming to take over the world—but all seems well, so she settles in to her flying pattern, enjoying the view. With her cape flapping behind her, Wonder Girl glances to her right and sees her loyal sidekick, Bert the Power Pooch, flying a few feet away. She gives him a thumbs-up, and he wags his tail and barks a happy yip before twisting into three perfectly executed barrel rolls. She laughs as Bert flies off to scatter a flock of geese. The only thing he loves more than crime fighting is messing up their V formation. In the distance, EJ hears excited shouting of her adoring public.

  “Woooooo-hooooo!” Susan cupped her hands around her mouth and shouted. “Get it, girl!”

  “Yeah, EJ!” Macy yelled. “Looking good!”

  EJ sat in the grass on the hillside overlooking the lake, her legs stretched out in front of her with Dad’s Bible and a pen on her lap. She took in a deep breath, puffed out her chest, and held in the fresh camp air a moment before exhaling. The lake water looked so smooth and perfect in the late-afternoon sun—just like a mirror that reflected the billowy cotton-ballish clouds in the sky. A second later, the glass shattered when a fish jumped near the shore and sent a thousand ripples out in all directions—circles within circles. A dragonfly the size of a large paperclip landed on the toe of her left Converse All-Star, the insect’s green and blue body glistening like a jewel in the sun.

  This might be my favorite spot in the entire universe, EJ thought.

  She gently shooed away the dragonfly, sat cross-legged, and opened the Bible across her knees. She flipped through a few of the thin pages before she came to one of Dad’s handwritten notes in the margin in the Old Testament book Jeremiah. First she read the highlighted Bible text. “ ‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope
and a future.’ ”

  Then she squinted to read the note, written in Dad’s recognizable handwriting:

  God’s plans > David Payne’s plans

  She smiled and ran her index finger over the writing, imagining Dad as a camper, maybe sitting in this exact spot by the lake when he wrote these words in his brand-new Bible. She uncapped her pen and wrote underneath Dad’s note:

  God’s plans > EJ Payne’s worries

  The dinner bell rang. EJ capped the pen and stuck it in her pocket. Then she shut the Bible and tucked the special book in the crook of her arm before skipping up the hill toward the dining hall. What was that she smelled? Garlic! Spaghetti and meatballs, maybe!

  “Attention, girl in the Converse sneakers—!” EJ jumped and whirled around to see Gene, speaking a little too loudly as he stood behind her in line for supper. Apparently without his megaphone, he thought he had to shout to be heard. “You’re EJ Payne, right?”

  “That’s me,” she said.

  Gene thrust an envelope toward her. “This came for you in yesterday’s mail. I’m sorry you didn’t get it then, but it was caught in the front flap of the mail bag, and I didn’t see it till now.”

  EJ took the letter and recognized Mom’s handwriting.

  “What’d you get?” Macy asked as EJ tore open the envelope.

  “It’s a letter from Mom,” she said, smiling. “I was starting to think she forgot about me!”

  To my darlingest, sweetest, most belovedest EJ in the entire history of EJs,

  Did the opening greeting of this note make you throw up a little bit? I bet it did. But even though I wrote it that way to make you smile, it’s still true, and I love you very much.

  Your dad and I were going to wait until you got home from camp, but we decided that we couldn’t wait any longer, so I’m sending you this letter with some BIG NEWS.