A Fair to Remember #13

by Melissa J Morgan

  “No!” they all chorused.

  Natalie got up and then sat down next to Jenna, squeezing the two of them in between the arms of her chair. “Jen, we do not think you’re a jerk,” she said. “You can’t help how you feel.”

  “I know! I really can’t!” Jenna cried.

  “It’s David who’s acting not-so-nice,” Tori pointed out. “If he was going to tell you he liked you, he should have at least broken up with Sarah first. That would be the honorable thing to do.”

  “Honorable?” Alyssa asked.

  “I read a lot of romance fiction,” Tori said, raising one shoulder.

  Alyssa smiled. “She’s right, Jenna. If anything, you did the right thing. You told the truth, but you were also loyal to your friend.”

  “Just like you always are,” Grace said.

  Jenna slowly started to smile. The hard rock that had been sitting in the pit of her stomach all day finally started to melt. “Thanks, guys,” she said.

  Just then a station wagon pulled up the rocky drive and its horn honked. Mr. Bloom walked out the front door and let the screen door slam behind him.

  “Looks like your chariots are arriving, ladies,” Mr. Bloom said.

  “Yep! That’s my mom!” Alyssa said, jumping up.

  “And my ride!” Grace added. She stood up and lifted her heavy text. “I can’t believe we’re already going home!”

  “I know. I hate saying good-bye,” Brynn said.

  “But it’s not good-bye for long,” Alex pointed out. “We’re all going to be at camp again in just a few weeks!”

  “Yeah!” Natalie and Jenna cheered, then laughed.

  “If I pass my test,” Grace said, biting her lip.

  “You are so going to pass,” Valerie told her. “Just keep singing!”

  Grace laughed and hugged everyone good-bye, then Alyssa did the same. Mr. Bloom, who had walked over to Alyssa’s mother’s car, backed up to let the girls by. They thanked him for the weekend, then piled into the car. Jenna and the rest of the girls waved at the station wagon until it was completely out of sight. As soon as the dust had settled, a black sedan pulled in, followed by Natalie’s mother’s SUV. Nat’s mother was taking Alex, Brynn, and Val all back to New York City, where their parents would be picking them up.

  “Guess everyone’s going,” Jenna said sadly.

  “Turn that frown upside down!” Brynn told her. “You just hosted the best Lakeview reunion ever!”

  Jenna grinned. “I did kind of do that, didn’t I?”

  She hugged Brynn just as Adam and David came running up from the lake. The moment Jenna saw David, her heart started to slam around in her chest. He looked at her, blushed, and quickly looked away. Then Adam went over to Alex and they walked off together to say good-bye. That just made the vibe in the air even more awkward.

  “Good luck on the ride home,” Tori whispered to Jenna as she hugged her. “E-mail me as soon as you get there and tell me how it went. I won’t get it until I land, but I’m definitely going to want to hear all about it.”

  “I will. I promise,” Jenna told her.

  Tori waved to everyone and headed for her car. Her driver got out and opened the door for her and she slipped into the backseat.

  “That’s the life,” Brynn said. “When I’m a huge movie star, I’m totally going to roll like that.”

  Jenna and the rest of the girls laughed. They all hugged good-bye and soon enough, Jenna was standing there alone. With Adam and David.

  “So? Everyone ready to go?” Jenna’s dad asked, clapping his hands together.

  “Definitely!” Jenna cried.

  She ran past David, grabbed her duffel bag, and raced for the car. It took her all of two seconds to toss her stuff in the trunk, pop her headphones in her ears, and hunker down in the front seat.

  When David and Adam walked over to get in the back, she avoided their gaze and turned up the volume on her MP3 player. Tori wanted to know how the ride went? As far as Jenna was concerned, all she’d have to tell Tori was that she listened to music and didn’t even realize David was there.

  Now if only she could get her heart to stop pounding and her palms to stop sweating. Then everything would be just perfect.

  chapter THIRTEEN

  Jenna’s dad had barely hit the brakes in front of her mom’s house and she was already out the door.

  “Bye, Dad! Thanks! I’ll call you later!” she shouted, running up the steps.

  David’s mom wasn’t coming to pick him up for another hour, but she figured if she could just get to her room and close the door, she’d be safe.

  “Hey! Jenna!” David called after her. “Wait up!”

  Jenna’s heart hit her throat. Her hand was already on the doorknob. She pushed the door open.

  “Jenna! Come on! Stop!” David said.

  “Jenna Bloom! What has gotten into you?” her dad shouted after her.

  Finally Jenna stopped in her tracks. She turned around and faced David, who was right behind her on the front stairs. Her father and Adam were still back at the car, unloading bags and looking at Jenna and David like they were crazy.

  Maybe they’re right, Jenna thought, trying to catch her breath.

  “You didn’t say one thing to me on the whole car ride,” David said. “What’s up?”

  “What’s up? Are you kidding me?” Jenna asked.

  “So . . . what? You’re never going to talk to me again?” David asked, looking sad and hopeful at the same time.

  Jenna felt all heavy inside. She wanted to talk to David. She wanted to make him laugh and hang out and maybe even dance with him again one day. Doing all of that with David was so much fun. But she couldn’t. Not as long as he was going out with her friend.

  “I’m sure we’ll talk again at some point,” she said flatly.

  “You know that’s not what I mean,” he said, looking at her expectantly. But she wouldn’t budge. “I thought you liked me.”

  Jenna’s heart twisted painfully. Why did he have to keep bringing that up? She backed through the door and looked David in the eye. “Maybe I’ll see you at camp,” she said.

  Then she closed the door right in his face and ran to her room as fast as she possibly could.

  Two nights later Jenna stared at her computer screen, feeling numb. There was an e-mail message in her inbox from Sarah, sent the morning before. Jenna could not bring herself to open it.

  Clearly Sarah would be mad. Clearly she had heard something. But what? What did she know? And how had she heard? Part of Jenna was dying to find out, but a bigger part of her was petrified to read the e-mail. If only the subject line could tip her off. But no such luck. Sarah had left it empty.

  The phone rang. Jenna closed her eyes. David had already called the night before and the one before that. Both times she had told her mother to tell him she wasn’t feeling well. She just hoped this wasn’t him calling again.

  “Jenna! It’s David calling for you again!” her mother shouted up the stairs.

  Jenna groaned. She got up and walked out to the hallway. “Mom? Can you just tell him I went to bed or something?”

  Her mother walked over to the bottom of the stairs and looked up at Jenna, concerned. Her hand was over the telephone’s mouthpiece.

  “Honey? Is everything okay?” she whispered.

  “Yes! I just don’t want to talk to him right now. I’ll . . . I’ll call him back tomorrow or something,” she fibbed.

  “Okay,” her mother said. Then she walked into the kitchen to tell the little white lie to David.

  Standing in the hallway, Jenna felt totally trapped. She couldn’t go back to her room and keep staring at her e-mail inbox. It was driving her crazy. She had to find out what was going on, but how was she going to do that without talking to David and without reading Sarah’s e-mail?

  A loud guitar wail sounded from Adam’s room. Well, there was one way. Jenna went over and pounded on her twin brother’s door. He whipped it open. His curly hair was stic
king out in all directions.

  “What’s up?”

  “Have you talked to David since he left?” Jenna asked.

  Adam broke into a wide grin. “David and Jenna sitting in a tree! K-I-S—”

  Jenna slapped her hand over Adam’s mouth and his eyes widened.

  “Do not finish singing that song if you want to live,” she said.

  Adam nodded mutely. She let him go. All she could feel was the nervous pounding of her heart.

  “I can’t believe you like David and David likes you,” Adam whispered. “If you guys go out it’ll be like my sister is dating my best friend. Freaky.”

  “Yeah. Join the club,” Jenna said.

  Adam looked at her blankly.

  “You and Alex?” she said.

  Adam smiled and blushed. “Oh yeah. Right.”

  “Listen, do you know if David said anything to Sarah about him and me?” Jenna asked. “Because I have this e-mail from her and—”

  “Yeah. He totally told her everything,” Adam said casually. Like it was no big deal.

  “He did?” Jenna said. “What did she say?”

  “I’m sure she flipped out,” Adam told her. “She is a girl.”

  Jenna staggered back a couple of steps until her back hit the wall.

  “She flipped? He told you that?” she asked. She felt like she had just been punched in the gut.

  Adam shrugged. “He didn’t have to. Wouldn’t you flip out if your friend was macking on your boyfriend?”

  “Hey! I have never macked on anyone in my life!” Jenna blurted. “What does that even mean?”

  “How should I know? You’re the one doing it,” Adam said.

  “I am not!” Jenna said.

  Her heart was pounding so hard she felt like it was going to explode through her chest. Adam was not telling her anything, and yet everything he said was causing her more stress.

  “Anyway, why are you asking me? I thought you already know what happened,” Adam said.

  “Why?” Jenna asked. “Why would you think that?”

  Adam rolled his eyes. “Because David told me Sarah was going to e-mail you,” he said.

  “Well, what was she going to say in the e-mail?” Jenna asked, her patience wearing thin.

  Adam’s brows came together. “Wait a minute. You haven’t read that yet?”

  “No,” she answered.

  “Well, what are you waiting for?” he asked.

  “I’m . . . I’m scared, all right?” Jenna admitted. “What if she hates me?”

  Adam took a deep breath. “There’s only one way to find out,” he said. “You gotta just open the thing, Jenna. Otherwise you’re just gonna drive yourself crazy.”

  Jenna stared at him. If there was one thing she couldn’t stand, it was when Adam made perfect sense. She tipped her head back and sighed.

  “Fine! I’ll open my e-mail!” she said. Then she looked at him and narrowed her eyes.

  “Anytime,” he told her. Then he closed the door in her face and the music started up again.

  Jenna turned slowly and trudged back to her room. She dropped down in her chair and looked at the screen. Her hand was shaking as she reached for her mouse. Her throat and mouth were completely dry.

  Just don’t let her hate me, she thought. Please, just don’t let her hate me.

  She closed her eyes and clicked on the little, waiting envelope. After counting to ten Mississippi, she opened her eyes again and read.

  To: Aries8

  From: SarahSports

  Subject:

  Dear Jenna,

  I talked to David a little while ago and he told me he didn’t think we should be boyfriend and girlfriend anymore. When I asked him why, he said I wasn’t going to like the reason. Then he told me he liked you now. He also told me that he told you how he feels and you shot him down. (Those were his words.) He said you told him you couldn’t do that to a friend. So I just wanted to say thanks for that.

  But the truth is that if you want to go out with him, it’s totally okay with me. I was going to post this on the blog, but I guess I’ll tell you now: I’m not coming back to Camp Lakeview this year. Abby and I both decided to go to this sports camp that our softball coach told us about. So it won’t be awkward for the three of us at camp or anything. I was probably going to break up with David anyway, since we weren’t going to get to see each other this summer. So you and David can do whatever you want.

  Jenna stopped reading for a moment. Her eyes had completely filled with tears, making everything blurry. She couldn’t believe what she had just read. Sarah wasn’t coming back to camp? That was so wrong. It was going to feel completely bizarre without her there. No Sarah on the kickball field? No Sarah and her Red Sox baseball caps? How could she just stop coming to camp? Jenna couldn’t imagine it.

  She took a deep breath and wiped her eyes. There were only a few lines left of the e-mail.

  You’ve always been a really good friend, Jenna, and I’m going to miss you and Camp Lakeview SO much. I’m going to miss all our bunkmates, actually. But my softball game really needs improvement, so I think this is the right move for me.

  Make sure you say hi to Dr. Steve for me! And see if you can smuggle me out some bug juice. ;-)

  Love,

  Sarah

  Jenna took a deep breath and read the e-mail again. She just couldn’t believe what she was reading. On one hand, she was relieved that Sarah didn’t seem to be mad about her and David. Jenna hadn’t hurt her friend after all. But on the other hand, Jenna was crushed that she wouldn’t be seeing Sarah this summer. Camp Lakeview without Sarah Peyton would be like peanut butter and fluff without the fluff.

  Jenna had no idea what to do next. She wanted to talk to David. She wanted to talk to Sarah. But the idea of calling either one of them made her stomach fill with butterflies. If she called David, he might ask her out, which would be totally nerve-racking. If she called Sarah, she might want to talk about the breakup, which would also be nerve-racking. Still, the urge was overwhelming. She just couldn’t imagine that she might never see her friend again. That was more important than any boy. Even David.

  Jenna jumped out of her chair, fished out her address book from her backpack, and ran downstairs. She grabbed the phone from the kitchen and took it into the living room. She held her breath as she dialed. Sarah picked up on the first ring.

  “Hello?”

  “Sarah? It’s Jenna,” Jenna said.

  There was a pause. Jenna’s heart dropped. Maybe Sarah was only pretending not to be mad at her and didn’t want to talk to her ever again. Maybe that whole e-mail had been one big lie.

  “Hey, Jenna! I can’t believe you called!” Sarah said, sounding psyched.

  Jenna’s heart flooded with relief all over again. “How could I not after you told me you’re not going to camp?” Jenna said. “And what’s this about your softball game needing improvement? You’re already the best player I know.”

  “Tell that to my coach. I struck out three times in the game yesterday,” Sarah said.

  “Ouch.”

  “But then I hit a two-run triple and we won,” Sarah told her giddily.

  “Yeah, girl!” Jenna said.

  She sat back on the couch and she and Sarah chatted for twenty minutes about camp and sports and their friends. Just like old times. Jenna told Sarah all about the weekend—about what had happened between Alex and Adam and how Val had led them to victory. Sarah gave Jenna a play-by-play of her game. And neither of them ever said a word about David.

  Some things were just not as important as friendship.

  Posted by: Grace

  Subject: I failed my test . . .

  Gotcha! Just kidding! I actually got a B+! Can you believe it? I have all my bunk 4A and 4C girls to thank for that one. Of course, I did get scolded a couple of times for singing during the test . . .

  But it worked! I passed history and now all I have to do is pass English and there’s nothing standing between me and
Camp Lakeview!

  Just a few more weeks, girls! Can’t wait to see you all again!

  (And maybe we’ll put on a little dance recital, huh?)

  Turn the page for a chilling sneak preview . . .

  camp

  CONFIDENTIAL

  Scary Super Special!

  Hide and Shriek

  Available Soon!

  PROLOGUE

  They’re coming, he thought as he watched the fog slowly take form above the jagged coves and uncharted crannies of mysterious Shadow Lake.

  This year, he would be ready.

  I made a mistake last time. I let them get away.

  The fog boiled up from the water and rolled toward him. owl hooted beneath the e-white moon, warning the little creatures in the dark woods that danger lurked everywhere, and they had better stay alert if they wanted to survive the night. Nature could be cruel. So could fate.

  His right hand—his only hand—gripped the rotted wood of the post on the porch of the old cabin. The wood pulped between his fingers in an ooze of dry rot and decay. He was still panting from his explosion of fury.

  He had been down in the basement, searching for his old ax and a couple of heads. There was so much junk down there—maps of the woods, some kid’s backpack, a pair of rusted handcuffs—that he couldn’t find the heads at first. Turned out they’d rolled behind the rotted couch upstairs.

  He grabbed them and the ax and hurried outside. The cabin bulged with ghosts, and he couldn’t stand being inside it longer than he had to. It should have been torn down long ago.

  Soon, he promised himself.

  His smile cracked the purple scars across his features. He turned his head slightly to the left. It was a habit he’d developed after he lost his left eye. His black eyepatch looked like an empty eye socket in the ebony darkness.