by Nancy Krulik
“That face will scare the fish,” Alicia told her.
Rainbow frowned.
“I love your fish face,” Katie assured Rainbow. “Will you teach me how to do it?”
“Sure,” Rainbow agreed. “Just suck in your cheeks, and then . . .”
Before Katie could make her lips move up and down like a trout, Shannon came bounding into the bunk.
“Okay, girls, it’s swim-test time!” the counselor called out cheerfully. “Is everybody ready?”
“Oh, yeah!” Katie exclaimed.
“We want to swim with the fish!” Rainbow seconded.
Shannon looked over at Chelsea. She was still wearing her shorts and T-shirt. “You’re not in your bathing suit,” she said.
Chelsea shook her head. “I’m not swimming,” she declared. “That lake water is terrible for my hair.”
“But if you don’t take a swim test, you won’t be able to go in anywhere but the shallow water,” Shannon explained.
“I don’t care,” Chelsea said. “My hair is worth it.”
“Okay, suit yourself,” Shannon replied.
“Swimsuit yourself,” Rainbow said, giggling as the girls followed Shannon down to the lake.
“We have to swim all the way to that raft?” Katie asked as she stood on the sandy shoreline of the lake a few moments later.
“Only if you want to be a deepwater swimmer,” Gianna told her.
“Yeah, you can always swim in the shallow end with the other babies,” Alicia said, laughing. “That’s what Gianna did all last summer.”
“But not this summer,” Gianna said proudly. “I’ve been practicing. I’m going to swim there. In the intermediate area.” She pointed to an area of the lake that was sandwiched between two long docks. “The water is deep, but the swim counselors stand on the docks and make sure everyone is okay.”
“What do you have to do to get to swim in there?” Rainbow asked her.
Gianna pointed to the raft. “You have to do two laps of crawl, one lap of breaststroke, and one lap of sidestroke,” Gianna said.
Katie knew all of those strokes. But she was afraid she might be too tired to do four laps.
“I think I am going to take the intermediate test,” she said finally.
“Me too,” Rainbow agreed.
“Yeah!” Gianna cheered. “Then we can swim together at free swim.”
Alicia rolled her eyes. “I guess I’m the only deepwater swimmer in our bunk,” she said, then she dove in and swam out toward the raft. “See you later, Bumblebee babies!”
“Why does she keep saying that?” Rainbow asked. “She’s a Bumblebee, just like us.”
“Alicia was like that last year, too,” Gianna said with a shrug. “She’s just mean.”
Katie shook her head. “Nobody’s just mean,” she said quietly. “Not even Alicia.”
Chapter 5
“Boy, pioneering was so much fun!” Rainbow said at the end of the day as the girls were getting into their pajamas. “I loved cooking s’mores over that fire.”
Katie nodded in agreement. The graham crackers, melted chocolate, and marshmallows had been yummy.
“I’ve never built a fire before,” Chelsea said. “There’s no place to do that in the city.”
“Well, you did a really great job!” Katie said. “The sticks you piled up caught fire right away.”
“I know,” Chelsea said proudly. “I can’t wait to write home and tell my parents.”
“Big deal, so you piled a bunch of sticks into a pyramid,” Alicia groaned. “Like that’s really something to write home about.”
“It is to me,” Chelsea told her. She pulled out a box of stationery. “Anybody want a piece?” she asked. “It smells like bubble gum.”
“Oh, cool!” Gianna said. “I’d love to send a letter to my sister on that. Thanks.”
“I’ve got stationery and postcards,” Katie said. “Thanks, though.”
“My parents would kill me if I sent them a letter on anything but recycled paper,” Rainbow explained. “They’re really into saving the trees. Thanks anyway, Chelsea.”
“How about you?” Chelsea asked, holding her box of stationery out toward Alicia. “You could write your parents to tell them you passed your deepwater test.”
“They already knew I would pass,” Alicia told her.
“Okay,” Chelsea said with a shrug. She started to write her letter.
Katie climbed up in her bed and began to write one, too.
To: Jeremy Fox
Camp Arrowhead
USA
Dear Jeremy,
Hi. How is your camp? Mine’s great. I took my swim test today. The bottom of the lake was kind of slimy, but the water was really clean and nice. I didn’t see any fish, but were some little tadpoles swimming around in tha shalow part. I guess we’re going to have a lot of frogs hopping around here soon.
At night we had a campfire and made s’mores. Do you make those at your camp?
Please write back soon.
Your pal,
Katie
“Okay, Bumblebees, everyone into bed!” Shannon told the girls cheerfully. “It’s time for lights-out!”
Katie climbed up into her top bunk and crawled under the covers.
“Good night, sleep tight,” Shannon said. “Don’t let the bedbugs bite!”
“Oooh. Don’t say bugs!” Chelsea groaned.
Shannon laughed. “If you have any problems, there are two counselors on duty outside in the field. Just call for them and they’ll come help you.”
Katie lay there for a minute, feeling the scratchy camp sheets against her arms and legs. It was weird not being able to sleep in her own bed. Suddenly a big knot began to form in her stomach. She got a lump in her throat.
For the first time all day, Katie felt homesick. She let out a long, sad sigh.
“What’s the matter, Katie?” Rainbow asked her.
“I miss my dog,” Katie told her. “He always comes into bed with me at night.”
“You’re so lucky to have a pet,” Rainbow said. “My parents think all animals should be free. But I think dogs like living with people.”
“I think so, too,” Katie said. “Pepper sure likes living with us.”
“We can’t have pets in our apartment building,” Chelsea said sadly.
“I just don’t know if I’ll be able to fall asleep without him,” Katie told the girls.
“Sure you will,” Gianna assured her.
“Yeah, we’re all really tired,” Chelsea said. “You won’t be able to stay awake much longer.”
“Besides, there are plenty of wild animals around here,” Alicia added in a nasty voice. “If you’re lucky a big old grizzly bear will crawl into bed with you.”
Chelsea gulped. “There are bears here?” she asked nervously.
“I’ve never seen one,” Gianna assured her. “And this is my third summer. Alicia’s just teasing.”
“If you say so,” Alicia said. “Of course, if it’s not a bear, it could be a ghost,” she continued. “I did hear about the ghost of an evil camper who roams the campgrounds, looking for unsuspecting campers to haunt.”
“Stop it!” Chelsea shouted from her bed. “I hate ghost stories.”
“That’s all it is,” Gianna assured her. “Just a story. There are no ghosts here.”
“I hope not,” Chelsea said with a shudder.
“I can’t stay up another minute,” Rainbow told the other girls. “I’ll see you all in the morning.”
A few minutes later, everything was quiet. Katie lay there in the darkness. She was pretty sure she was the only one in her cabin still awake. And that just made her feel more lonely.
Just then, she heard a scratching noise coming from outside the bunk. It was the kind of noise Pepper made when he wanted to come into her room, but the door was closed.
Katie’s eyes opened wide. What if there was a grizzly bear out there?
For a minute, Katie thought abo
ut calling out to one of the counselors on duty. Then she changed her mind. There were no grizzly bears at camp. Gianna had told her that.
The scratching was probably just her imagination.
And imagine how badly Alicia would make fun of her if she made a counselor come into their cabin for nothing!
Katie shut her eyes tight and stuck her fingers in her ears to block out the scratching. “There are no bears here,” she told herself. “No bears. No bears.”
Chapter 6
The next thing Katie knew, the sun was shining in through the screened windows of the cabin.
“Rise and shine, Bumblebees,” Shannon called out loudly. “It’s a beautiful day!”
Katie rubbed her eyes and sat up in her bed. It was a beautiful day. She could see the sun shining above the rows and rows of pine trees in the woods.
The woods! Suddenly Katie remembered what Alicia had said about the bears that lived there. She thought about the scratching noise she’d heard the night before.
“Uh, Shannon?” Katie asked nervously.
“Yes, Katie?” Shannon answered.
“Are there any bears in the woods here?” Katie continued.
Shannon shook her head. “I’ve never seen a bear. Not even a bear track. Why?”
“Because I heard something scratching on the side of the cabin last night,” Katie told her.
“My guess is you heard a raccoon,”
Shannon told Katie. “There are lots of them around. That’s why you girls shouldn’t leave any food out in the bunk. The raccoons will come in and eat it.”
“What’s wrong with that?” Rainbow asked her. “If the raccoons are hungry, shouldn’t we feed them?”
Shannon shook her head. “Raccoons are wild animals. And they can bite,” she told Rainbow. “Besides, they really do have plenty to eat out there in the woods—the food nature provides for them, like berries and acorns and bugs.”
Chelsea made a face. “Eating bugs. That’s nasty.”
Shannon giggled. “Not to a raccoon. Now, come on. Our breakfast is ready.”
“I sure hope it tastes better than bugs,” Chelsea joked.
“Oh my gosh . . . look,” Rainbow whispered to Katie after sunset as the girls walked back to the cabin.
Katie looked over to where her friend was pointing. Sure enough, there was a little raccoon chewing on some wild berries that grew in the dark wooded area behind the cabin.
“He’s so cute,” Rainbow said quietly. “I think he’s a baby.” She took a step in his direction.
“Don’t,” Katie warned. “You’ll scare him. And remember what Shannon said.”
“But he looks so soft and cuddly,” Rainbow insisted. “Look at his little black mask and those rings around his tail.”
“He’s a wild animal,” Katie reminded her.
“Do you see his mom anywhere?” Rainbow asked.
Katie looked into the woods. She didn’t see a mother raccoon anywhere. That made her sad. “Poor little thing. He’s all alone out in the woods, with no one to take care of him.”
“Maybe we could take care of him,” Rainbow suggested. “You know, feed him.”
“But Shannon said we couldn’t bring food inside the bunk,” Katie reminded her.
“And we won’t,” Rainbow assured Katie. “We’ll leave his food outside the bunk.”
A big smile came over Katie’s face. “Great idea!” she said. “We’re going to the canteen tonight for evening activity. I think I’ll get some peanut-butter crackers for him.”
“And I’ll get him popcorn,” Rainbow added. “We can leave the food right here.”
Katie watched as the raccoon licked his front paws clean. “You know, if he’s going to be our pet, we should give him a name,” she said.
“Can I name him?” Rainbow asked her. “I’ve never had a pet before.”
“Sure,” Katie agreed. “What should we call him?”
Rainbow thought for a minute. Then, finally, she said, “Rocky. We’ll call him Rocky Raccoon. It’s the name of an old song my parents like.”
“Rocky Raccoon,” Katie repeated. “I like it.”
“We’d better go wash up or we’ll miss canteen,” Rainbow said.
“Okay,” Katie agreed. She turned and headed toward the cabin door. “Bye, Rocky,” she added.
“Let’s not tell anyone about our pet,” Rainbow told Katie.
“Not a soul,” Katie agreed. “He’s our secret.”
But someone else already knew all about Rocky. She had been hiding behind a tree the whole time. And she’d heard every word Katie and Rainbow had said.
“Hey, do you hear that?” Chelsea asked that night as the girls climbed into bed.
“It’s probably just a raccoon,” Gianna told her. “It’s just hungry and looking for food, just like Shannon said.”
Not so hungry, Katie thought happily to herself. After all, she and Rainbow had left him plenty of goodies to munch on. “Raccoons usually come out at night,” she said instead.
“Someone must be feeding him,” Alicia remarked. “Otherwise he would go away.”
“There’s no food in our bunk,” Rainbow told her.
“Definitely nothing in here,” Katie seconded.
Alicia shrugged. “I’m just saying that if the raccoon couldn’t get food near our bunk, it would leave.”
“He’s not bothering anyone,” Rainbow said.
“He’s bothering me,” Chelsea told her. “That scratching is driving me crazy.”
Gianna giggled. “Well, just put a pillow over your ears and drown it out!” she shouted, hitting Chelsea with her pillow.
“I’ll get you for that,” Chelsea said, leaping out of bed and slamming Gianna with her pillow.
Katie grabbed her pillow and climbed down from her bed. She reached up and hit Rainbow in the face with the pillow.
Rainbow sat up in her bed, grabbed her pillow, and leaped from her top bunk. “Eeyaah!” she yelled, coming up behind Katie and hitting her on the head.
Within seconds, all the girls in the bunk were involved in a big pillow fight. All the girls except Alicia, that is. They’d all been afraid to hit her with their pillows.
But Alicia didn’t seem to want to be part of the fun, anyway. “Babies,” she mumbled in a grouchy voice as she rolled over on her side.
Chapter 7
“Keep your eye on the ball, Katie,” Gianna said as she served the tennis ball over the net the next afternoon. Katie and Gianna had both signed up to play tennis for their first activity. Gianna was really good. Katie wasn’t. But she was trying.
“I played tennis a lot last summer,” Gianna said. “That’s how I got so good. If you practice, you’ll get good at it, too.”
Boing. The ball hit the center of Katie’s racket and bounced over the net. “I did it!” she shouted excitedly.
“Yeah!” Gianna cheered as she hit the ball back to Katie. “Try it again.”
Whoosh. Katie swung at the ball and then missed it completely.
“Oh, well, you’re still getting better,” Gianna assured her kindly.
“I’m getting thirsty, too,” Katie said.
“I know what you mean,” Gianna agreed. “Let’s go to the canteen and get some juice.”
Katie nodded. That was a good idea. She’d be able to get Rocky a few snacks there, too.
It seemed like all of the Bumblebees were hot and thirsty. By the time Katie and Gianna arrived at the canteen, Alicia, Chelsea, and Rainbow were already there. Katie went over to the small store and bought herself a juice, a candy bar, and some peanut-butter crackers. (The crackers were actually for Rocky.) Then she sat down on a log and began to drink her juice.
Alicia came over a minute later. “Oh, yum,” Alicia said, eyeing Katie’s canteen goodies.
“Didn’t you get anything?” Katie asked, looking at Alicia’s empty hands.
Alicia smiled. “I just bought a juice. I don’t need to get anything else since you’re going to g
ive me your chocolate bar and crackers.”
“Why would she do that?” Rainbow asked, coming up behind Katie.
“The same reason you’re going to give me that ice-cream sandwich you just bought,” Alicia said with a sly grin.
“Huh?” Rainbow asked.
“If you don’t give me the food, I’ll tell Shannon that you guys are feeding that raccoon behind the bunk,” Alicia told her. “She’s not going to like that.”
“How did you know about Rocky?”
Rainbow asked her. She didn’t even try to deny it.
“That doesn’t matter,” Alicia told her. “The point is, I know about your pet raccoon. And if you don’t give me those snacks, Shannon’s going to find out, too.”
Katie frowned. She didn’t want Shannon to make her stop feeding Rocky. She handed her snacks to Alicia.
“Smart move,” Alicia said as she took Rainbow’s ice-cream sandwich as well.
“What is her problem, anyway?” Katie asked.
“I don’t know, and I don’t care. Do you want to go out in a canoe?” Rainbow asked Katie a little while later as the girls walked toward the lake.
Before Katie could answer, her stomach rumbled. She was kind of hungry, because Alicia had eaten her snack. Still, that was a small price to pay to keep Rocky a secret. After all, the poor little orphaned raccoon really needed them.
Katie nodded. “I think Gianna and Chelsea are going canoeing, too.”
“We can race!” Rainbow said.
Katie nodded excitedly. Then she stopped. “If we’re all out in canoes, what’s Alicia going to do?”
Rainbow shook her head. “I don’t know. Probably go kayaking by herself. She doesn’t like to be around other people, anyway—unless it’s to bully someone.”
Katie nodded. That was pretty much all Alicia did.
But not Katie. She was busy with all sorts of activities. Soon it would be her favorite part of the day: choice time. That was when they all split up and went to the activities they wanted to.