“Cabin contest?” Jo looked up and noticed for the first time that it was near dusk. Sky violet.
Jo jumped off the rock, her April sensors tingling. “Ohmygosh Rip! We gotta go!”
Grabbing hands, the two of them burst into a run.
CHAPTER 11
Jo arrived back at Roanoke just in time for a fit of pure Roanoke madness. Piled up in front of the cabin was a mess of materials, half of which, for a change, seemed to be twisted around Molly instead of Ripley.
April was doing her best to calmly and coolly organize a plan.
It was not going well.
“Neptune is cold, right?” she said, pacing in furious circles. “So we could do, what, icicles? What if we made snowflakes? Is that too obvious? Is obvious BAD?”
“Hey!” Jo said, skidding to a stop next to the cabin and the chaos with Ripley.
“What the LOUISE FITZHUGH?!” April frowned, still pacing. “Where have you been?”
“In the woods with Barney,” Ripley reported with a very official tone.
Jo looked at Ripley. “Uh, me too. In the woods.” She smiled nervously at April. “But I’m here now. What’s happening?”
April pointed at the piece of paper BunBun had handed her. “Well we got our planet for the COSMIC CABIN CONTEST!”
“And we have NEPTUNE!” April continued. “Which, FIRST OF ALL, absolutely has to be the hardest planet to do for a decorating contest. SECOND OF ALL, we have an hour to figure out what we’re going to do to decorate our cabin and no one has any ideas. THIRD OF ALL . . .”
“Third of all?” Jo asked.
“Okay, admittedly, it’s just those two things,” April admitted. “BUT IT IS A LOT AND I AM FREAKING OUT!”
“We have string,” Molly said, uncoiling the many ribbons that had somehow mummied her arms while she was carrying them.
Jo looked up. Holy kittens it was getting late.
Mal opened her mouth to say something. Because normally, Mal was full of ideas.
Except.
Mal’s mouth hung open. Silent.
Molly, still unstringing the ribbons from around her arm, raised an eyebrow. “You okay, Mal?”
Mal shrugged.
Jo stared blankly at the cabin. “Uh,” she said. “Well. Okay.”
It was like Jo’s brain was trying to start an equation but all she could hear was the letter in her pocket.
Ahem. Quick reminder. Huge opportunity. In your pocket. Right now.
“There’re winds on Neptune,” April said, mostly to herself, pacing in circles of increasing circumference. “Aren’t there? Can we use that? Can we make wind out of string? Is that weird? That’s weird, right? It seems weird. Is it weird? Is that okay?”
“I think weird is okay,” Molly offered.
April looked at Jo. April could not hear what Jo was hearing, but she could see Jo’s face. Jo was clearly lost in thought, a place April knew Jo spent a lot of time. But there was something else. April couldn’t quite decipher what it was.
“Jo?” April reached up and touched Jo’s hand. “Are you okay?”
“Huh.” Jo swung her head around to look at April. “What? Neptune? Right. Neptune.”
The good thing about ideas is, if you don’t have one, PROBABLY someone else has one you can borrow.
That’s one of the great things about friends.
How smart they are.
Ripley suddenly remembered the haunted house she made with her family, which included a creepy howling wind that blew through their very crowded house.
“I KNOW I KNOW I KNOW!” Ripley said, waving her hand in the air to get everyone’s attention. “I have an awesome idea! But Jo has to build something first.”
CHAPTER 12
The cabin-judging committee consisted of Camp Director Rosie, Cook Kzzyzy Koo, and Seafarin’ Karen, the marine instructor with a penchant for taking notes and keeping a clean ship.
Who was also a shapeshifter.
Which didn’t affect her judging, but it seems pertinent to mention because the universe is a wonderful place full of people with abilities and skills you don’t expect.
The sky was an umbrella of icy stars as the judges, clipboards in hand, walked through the carnival of decorated cabins.
Possibly you are thinking, Hey, aren’t Lumberjanes hearty adventurers who like to climb mountains and swing from vines and build fires from scratch?
Uh YAH.
MANY are.
But this does not mean that Lumberjanes aren’t also crafty as all get out.
A Lumberjane knows a slip stitch, a lanyard, a pipe cleaner triple twist, and can sequin the house DOWN.
Lumberjanes are so well rounded as a bunch they even have a See You a Well-Rounded badge, where scouts are encouraged to complete at least three different badges from three different disciplines and backgrounds.
Jo received this badge after taking up rug hooking (Off the Hook badge), Baseball (HEY BATTA BATTA! badge), and Haiku (575 badge).
Many bottles of glue and tubs of sparkles and boxes of pipe cleaners later, the cabins were ready to have their cabins judged.
Roswell cabin had Saturn, and they had built actual tracks of rings circling the cabin with little moon trains chugging along the tracks.
“These scouts came to PLAY,” Kzzyzy marveled, her eyes alight.
“It’s a steam train,” Tabby, of Roswell, explained.
CHOO! CHOO!
Outside Zodiac, the judges were met by a committee of Zodiacs, all dressed in armor.
“Welcome to MARS!” Mackenzie, a.k.a. Skulls, announced. “The planet named after the god of war!”
He struck a match and touched it to the ground.
Instantly there was a shower of red sparks that lit up the cabin with a fury of red light.
Barney stood guard in their armor, a massive fire extinguisher in hand. “Safety first,” they chirped.
“Marvelous,” Rosie said, scribbling on her board.
“I like the safety touch,” Kzzyzy added, nodding at Barney.
Barney had recently received their Better Safety Than Sorry badge, for which they had to learn at least a dozen ways of preventing at least a dozen possible hazards (a badge that curiously did not include instructions for unplugging everything in the house before you leave to prevent fires).
“Arrrrg, not bad,” Seafarin’ Karen noted.
Zodiac high-fived.
“It’s in the BAG,” Wren said.
The judges turned and cast their eyes on their charts.
“The next cabin is . . . Roanoke,” Kzzyzy said.
Rosie looked up and smiled. “Well, look at that!”
You could see Roanoke from a hundred steps away. Heck, you could probably see it from space.
It. Glowed.
A deep, ominous blue.
Like the dark heart of the ocean, but in space. Thanks to a bucket of phosphorescent paint mixed up by Molly, the entire cabin was painted in glowing stripes of blues and purples.
“Now that,” Jen commented quietly to herself from her impartial corner with the rest of the counselors, “is not going to wash off.”
On closer inspection, the planet of Neptune as created by Roanoke was also experiencing a perpetual windstorm, powered by a wind bicycle put together by Jo (based on Ripley’s idea) using an old exercise bike, many elastic bands, and some folded paper fans. As April pedaled, the bike turned the fans, which in turn made a current of air that made the strings Ripley had taped to the roof and walls of the cabin dance wildly.
It’s difficult to explain, but the effect was really cool.
On the roof, Ripley and Bubbles, dressed in a wild concoction of string and pipe cleaners and thoroughly drenched in phosphorescent paint, wriggled and whipped around like aliens tumbling in a Neptunian hurricane.
(If you looked closely, you might think it looked a bit like a cha-cha with an extra two or three wriggles added for good measure.)
“Welcome,” Molly, Jo, and Mal, who were
also painted blue, greeted the judges.
“This is Neptune, the icy windswept hurricane that is our solar system’s most remote planet,” Molly said.
“Very impressive,” Seafarin’ Karen said, looking down at her notes.
“It’s very . . . creative!” Rosie smiled, making a note on her clipboard.
Seafarin’ Karin saluted the scouts with a grin. “Nice blue, scouts.”
“Next—” Rosie looked down at her list.
As the judges stepped away, Mal sighed and dropped down to the grass.
“Seriously,” Molly frowned, sitting down next to her. “Are you okay?”
Mal touched her two index fingers together, tapping them nervously. “Earlier. In the music portable? I didn’t pass my test. I made too many mistakes so I didn’t pass my badge.”
“Aw!” Molly put a gentle hand on Mal’s shoulder. “That’s all right! It’s like you said, just because you don’t do something perfectly doesn’t mean you’re not still awesome.”
“It’s not the same,” Mal said quietly, rubbing the back of her neck. “It’s not the same for me. It’s music.”
“And?” Molly asked, tipping her head to the side.
“I’m the music person!” Mal burst, throwing out her arms. “You’re the super cute and smart and supportive one with archery skills.”
“Well,” Molly said. “I don’t—”
Mal pointed at April, who was staring intently at the cabin with her finger on her chin. “April is the feisty redhead with winning drive. Jo is the smart one with the even temperament. Ripley is the speeding bullet with the blue hair and the love of animals.”
Mal pressed her hands to her chest. “And I’M the musical one with the cool hair and clothes!”
“What’s going on?” Jo wandered over, scratching her nose because DayGlo paint is really itchy.
“I didn’t pass my badge,” Mal grumbled, getting to her feet.
“Well, can you try again?” Jo asked.
Mal shoved her hands into her pockets. “If I’m not the musical one, who am I!?”
And with that she moped into the cabin.
“Hey!” April appeared from around the cabin. “Who was in charge of moons?”
“MOONS? ME!” Ripley vaulted down from the roof. “Why?”
“Neptune has thirteen moons,” April said, pointing at the walls of the cabin.
“AND I made thirteen moons,” Ripley chirped. “I made them with paper and tape and glue and yellow sparkles and white sparkles and a few blue sparkles but not too many.”
Ripley walked around the cabin, counting. “One, two, three, four, five, six, seven . . . eight, nine, ten, eleven, twelve . . . hey.”
Molly shrugged. “You think they were counting moons?”
Jo was half listening, half looking at the trees and trying to drown out the voice of the letter that was still mumbling in the back of her brain, when she spotted, at the edge of the forest, a slip of white and a flash of yellow sparkle on what could very well be a runaway moon.
“There were thirteen here just a minute ago,” Ripley frowned. “Swear to goddess!”
Suddenly Jo was off, running toward the woods, her flashlight bobbing in the dark.
“Hey!” April hollered. “Where the Roxane Gay are you going?”
CHAPTER 13
Sometimes the best way to find out where someone is going is to follow them. Quickly! Ripley was the first to catch up with Jo, with a Ripley-like burst of speed. “Where are we going?”
“I thought I saw something in the woods a few nights ago,” Jo huffed, passing into the trees. “A mysterious glowing thing.”
“What the junk!” April said, catching up. “You saw a mysterious glowing thing?” April pressed her lips together in an annoyed line. Which is hard to do when you’re running.
“I didn’t even know if it was a real thing!” Jo said, still running. “Also I can’t tell you all the thoughts in my head all the time, April.”
April threw her hands up. “What does that even mean? I tell you all mine!”
“Oh, look,” Mal huffed, as she and Molly sprinted to catch up. “It’s the running and talking part of our evening.”
“At least this time there aren’t any smelly unicorns,” Molly noted.
“Yet,” Mal added.
In the thick of the trees, under the light of the near-full moon, they assumed a reverse Lilith formation, which means standing in a circle with everyone facing out.
A convenient, circular way to cover ground.
“Okay,” Jo said, shining her flashlight on the ground. “Everyone walk slow, look low.”
“Got it,” Ripley said. “What are we looking for?”
“A moon and a moon thief,” Jo answered, searching the ground with her flashlight.
“OOO! OOO!” Ripley danced over a spot on the ground. “LOOK! THE GLITTER! THAT’S THE GLITTER I USED!”
Under the light of Ripley’s flashlight, a thin trail of chunky holographic buttercup glittery specks twinkled. Ripley loved glitter so much, if she could safely eat glitter, she would.
“This,” Jo said, kneeling down and touching her finger to a spot of glitter, “is what we’re going to use to find the moon.”
“Hansel and Glitter,” April noted.
The glittery trail wound its way into the woods.
It wound its way into the deepest, darkest part of the woods, where the light of the camp could barely be seen. There, tucked behind some pines, was an ominous cave.
“We are standing outside a deep, dark cave.” Molly whispered in a serious Dungeon Master-y voice. Molly, in addition to archery and raccoons, was a huge fan of board games and Dungeons and Dragons. Although her parents rarely let her play. “Do we enter?”
April shone her flashlight into the cave. The light barely cut into the blackness inside. “It’s like a black hole,” she said, her voice echoing in the darkness.
“Wait,” Molly said, “is it possible this IS a black hole? Or a magical black hole? I ask because it seems within the realm of possibility.”
Molly was right to be cautious; the difference between a magical black hole and a cave is one you rarely discover before it’s too late.
Ripley stuck her head in. She cupped her hand next to her mouth. “Helloooooo.”
Everyone listened.
Nothing.
“It sounds like a regular cave,” Jo said.
“Well, no one’s home,” Mal cheered, turning to leave. “Guess it’s time to go!”
Ripley tried again. “Hellllooooo. Is there anyone in there?”
Everyone listened.
There was a skittering sound.
“Great,” Mal sighed. “Skittering. Skittering is the perfect sound for right now.”
Jo stepped forward, flashlight pointed. “I’m going in.”
Because there’s no “Jo goes alone” in team, all the members of Roanoke advanced in slow, cautious steps, squinting in the dark.
The cave was cold, a void of light.
“What is that?” April’s eyes grew wide.
“I think that’s my heart beating,” Molly said.
Jo felt something. A familiar tingle. “What was that?”
The sound of tiny, sharp breaths.
The scouts turned and aimed their flashlights at the sound in question. There, seemingly, stood Ripley’s moon; glittery and glam with the flashlight beams hitting giant flecks of silver and sending tiny mirrors of white against the black of the cave. Something was holding up the moon, maybe like a shield.
“FREEZE!” April yelled out, although no one was moving. “DROP THE MOON AND PUT YOUR HANDS UP!”
“Okay, Cagney,” Jo whispered, putting a gentle hand on April’s back. “Easy does it.”
April had been reading some more of the awesome Mermaid Lemonade Stand Mystery series, including the bestseller Where Do You Think You’re Going? FISHY! Which is the one where the mermaid detective is always yelling, “PUT YOUR FINS UP!”
/> The moon was trembling.
“Heh heh, sorry about that,” April said, her voice calmer and quieter. “Little overexcited.”
“Hey,” Jo added, in a soft and soothing voice. “We’re not going to hurt you.”
Slowly, the moon slid down, slightly, to reveal a tiny, furry, mousey face.
HOSTING FOR THE BEST
“Be Our Guest”
Making your home, or the place where you are currently living, a space that is welcoming to newcomers is a vital skill. A Lumberjane is always ready to welcome a visitor to camp, to show them all the amazing things that being a scout has to offer, to share the joy that is being a Lumberjane.
Being a good host is as much about learning about your guest as it is about making sure your guest knows about all the things you know about the world. Every person we meet is an opportunity to learn something new, to expand our universe.
So the next time you’re faced with a new face, a new encounter, don’t forget to . . .
CHAPTER 14
There are many available reactions a person, or creature, can have to seeing something unexpected. Ms. Annabella Panache, head of the drama club, overseer of the Be So Dramatic badge, teaches scouts the variety of classic reactions available to aspiring thespians.
Shock, with hands held up and next to the face, mouth and eyes open wide, is a good one.
Awe, with hands clapped over the mouth, is also nice.
If you do either of these poses with your body tipped backward, that’s Shock and Awe. If you’re frowning, that’s Shock and Dismay.
While it was entirely surprising to the members of Roanoke to discover a well-dressed mouse in a cave with a moon, Shock and Awe were not their immediate responses.
I mean, yes, the fact that it was a MOUSE was sort of surprising.
But the members of Roanoke cabin once stood face to face with a Grootslang, which is a very large animal that looks a bit like a cross between an enormous alligator and a very angry elephant.
Sure, it’s possible to be surprised after that.
Lumberjanes: The Moon Is Up Page 4