Friends Forever?

by Tina Wells

  * * *

  Hi, Diary,

  What happened to the band? No one else seems interested anymore. Not even Ally. I mean, she seemed so happy when Mr. P made her part of the Beans, but during the drum circle, she acted like she didn’t care.

  * * *

  Zee stopped writing and thought. That was it! The trouble with the Beans started after Ally arrived. The Beans had had problems before, but nothing like this.

  * * *

  Is Ally breaking up the Beans?

  Zee

  * * *

  Mr. P banged on the cabin door. “Five minutes until lights-out, girls!” he yelled.

  “Anybody need to go to the bathhouse?” Zee asked.

  Chloe looked over the top of the book she was reading. “Nope,” she said. “I want to finish this chapter tonight.”

  “I’m good,” Ally told Zee. And a chorus of nos from the other girls followed.

  “Okay,” Zee said. “See you in five.”

  When Zee went outside, she heard a strange grumbling voice with a weird accent. “My leg.”

  Zee trembled and looked around. “Who’s there?”

  “Give me my leg,” the voice demanded. It sounded as though it was getting closer.

  The Mountain Man!

  Zee rushed back into the cabin. “Did you hear that?” she asked when she got inside.

  Chloe had already put her book down. “I did!” she said.

  “Me too,” Missy said. With a suspicious expression, she added, “Are you sure it wasn’t you?”

  “No way!” Ally said. “Zee wouldn’t do that to her friends. Plus, look how scared she is.”

  “I thought you didn’t believe in the Mountain Man,” Zee told her.

  “I don’t, but I believe you,” Ally said. “If you say you heard something, then someone is definitely out there.”

  “Everyone grab a flashlight,” Chloe commanded. “We’re going to find the Mountain Man.”

  Kathi stood up.

  “Are we going, too?” Jen asked her.

  “I’m losing too much beauty sleep over this horrible creature,” Kathi explained. “Not that I actually need it. The sooner we find out what’s making all that noise, the better.”

  “What about lights-out?” Missy asked.

  “We’ll just have to take a chance that we’ll get into trouble,” Ally said. “This is really important.”

  The group stormed out of the cabin, shining their flashlight beams into the woods. But all they saw were trees. Silent trees.

  Zee heard voices coming from the boys’ cabin. She pointed her flashlight at it. “If we heard something, maybe they did, too.”

  As the girls approached the cabin, Zee could hear what the boys were saying.

  “Who’s your favorite band, Jasper?” Marcus asked.

  “I suppose that would be GMT,” Jasper said. “They’re a British band.”

  “Greenwich Meantime?” Landon asked.

  “Do you know them?” Jasper said. The moody tone he had been using with Landon earlier had disappeared.

  “Yeah,” Landon told him. “I just downloaded their new CD.”

  Ally stormed into cabin two. “All right! Which one of you lost a leg?” she demanded. The other girls followed.

  “Huh?” Landon said.

  “Did you find an extra one?” Jasper asked, cracking Marcus and Conrad up.

  “Didn’t you guys hear a voice outside?” Chloe asked.

  A puzzled look spread across Conrad’s face. “No.”

  “Maybe because we were talking,” Marcus said.

  “We heard the Mountain Man!” Chloe announced.

  “He said something to Zee!” Ally added.

  In an instant, the room buzzed with excitement, and everyone started talking about this latest evidence. Zee looked from one seventh grader to the next and smiled to herself. If the Mountain Man could get the Beans back together like this, maybe he wasn’t so bad after all. Still, she didn’t plan on going to the bathhouse by herself anymore.

  10

  Fiddling Around

  The next morning, the girls finally had to take their turn at the worst camp job assignment—breakfast cleanup, which meant helping the camp staff get the dishes ready to be washed after breakfast. Which meant dealing with half-eaten slop.

  Knowing cabin one had to clean up the mess, cabin two’s trays were especially disgusting. Marcus mixed his eggs with his milk. Conrad made a revolting statue out of his sausage and fruit. “Ew!” Missy said when she saw it. “That looks like a pile of vomit.”

  Just then one of the camp staff members came out of the kitchen with a bucket of fruit and vegetable scraps. “Does anyone want to take this out to the compost bin?” she asked.

  “I do!” Missy’s hand shot up.

  “I do!” Zee, Ally, Chloe, and Jen echoed.

  The staff member handed the bucket to Missy. “Sorry, guys,” Missy said. “I called it.”

  “Darn it!” Zee said. “I had no idea you cared so much about composting.”

  “Until this moment, neither did I.”

  As Missy left with the bucket, the other girls began cleaning up the tables.

  “Ewww!” Jen screamed. She hadn’t noticed that Landon had wrapped chewed-up food in a napkin—until she picked it up.

  “It’s a good thing Jasper never leaves food behind,” Chloe joked as she placed his empty plate on the top of the growing stack.

  “Where’s Kathi?” Ally asked.

  “I bet she’s giving herself a manicure and pedicure back at the cabin,” Chloe said.

  “Or she hired someone to come give her one,” Ally added, laughing.

  Zee slid a lump of unidentifiable food into the trash can. “I wish Kathi had hired someone to do her camp chores,” she said. “I don’t think she’s done one thing since we got here.”

  “Do you know where she is, Jen?” Chloe asked.

  “Remember?” Jen began. “She said she had to go to the bathhouse.”

  “Wasn’t that a while ago?” Chloe pressed her.

  “I guess,” Jen said. Then she walked away from the group.

  “Maybe she has her period, too,” Ally suggested.

  “I don’t think so,” Zee said. “She gave me her supply of pads.” That’s when she remembered. “Oh no!”

  “What?” Ally asked.

  Zee leaned close and whispered, “I forgot to bring a pad.”

  Chloe looked worried. “Are you…okay?”

  “For now,” Zee said. “But I’m a little nervous without an extra.”

  “You should go get one,” Chloe suggested. “You don’t want to have a…problem.”

  “Chloe’s right,” Ally agreed. “We can do your work until you get back.”

  “You guys are the best,” Zee told her friends. She quickly headed to the cabin. From a distance, she could hear violin music. That’s weird, Zee thought. The closer she got to the cabin, the louder the sound got. When she opened the door, she saw Kathi playing frantically.

  The door shut, and Kathi stopped abruptly. Then she slid her violin behind her back. “What are you doing here?”

  “What are you doing?” Zee shot back. “You’re supposed to be working.”

  Kathi let the violin drop to her side and sighed. “This is the only time I can practice for the talent show.” She sounded desperate.

  “But we’ll all get to practice our acts after lunch,” Zee pointed out.

  “I need to do it in private—without Missy.”

  “She’s performing with you. Why would you want to practice without her?”

  “Because it was my idea and my song, and she’s still beating me.”

  Zee shook her head, confused. “But there isn’t any winning or losing. It’s just for fun.”

  “Wake up, Zee.” Now Kathi sounded impatient. “Everything is a competition. Just ask Ally.”

  “What does Ally have to do with this?”

  “Isn’t it obvious?” Kathi asked. “She c
an’t stand to see you doing better than her.”

  “But I’m not doing better—or worse.”

  “That’s not what she thinks,” Kathi told her. “She hates the fact that you got your period.”

  “How do you know?” Zee asked suspiciously. Had Ally confided in Kathi about how she felt?

  Kathi ignored Zee’s question. “And she obviously can’t stand that Jasper has a crush on you.”

  “Wha—but—” Zee could barely get her words out. “Jasper and I are just f-f-friends!” she protested.

  Kathi put her violin back under her chin. “Whatev.”

  Zee was so flustered she hurried out of the cabin toward the dining hall. It was true that Ally had been acting a little weird on the trip, but what Kathi had said just couldn’t be true. No matter what, Ally and Zee were BFFs. Right?

  “Ohmylanta!” Zee mumbled and stopped abruptly. She’d forgotten what she’d gone to the cabin for in the first place. She spun around. And came face-to-face with Landon.

  “Aaaaa!” Zee screamed, startled.

  “Is everything all right?” Landon asked. Under the gaze of his warm blue eyes Zee felt like she was melting.

  “Oh…uh…yeah…sure,” Zee said. “I just went to the cabin and was totally surprised. And it’s strange hanging out with Ally again. I mean, it’s great and all, but Jasper—” She stopped when she realized she was rambling.

  “What about Jasper?” Landon asked.

  Zee shook her head. “Nothing.” She really didn’t know what was confusing her about her friend. And she knew that even if she could explain it to Landon, she wasn’t sure she should. Normally, Zee would be thrilled to run into Landon on his own, but now she just needed to get away to sort out her thoughts.

  Up ahead on the path, Zee saw the perfect distraction. Missy and Jen were heading toward them going to cabin one.

  Zee’s relief lasted about a second. Oh no! she thought. She didn’t want Missy to catch Kathi practicing by herself. There was something really sad about the fact that Kathi was so desperate. Zee would hate for anyone else—especially Jen, who for some weird reason admired Kathi—to see her like that.

  “Uh…I gotta go,” Zee told Landon.

  “Oh…um…okay,” Landon said.

  “Hi, Missy,” Zee called out as loudly as she could and rushed toward the girls.

  “Are you okay, Zee?” Jen asked.

  “Yes,” Zee shouted, spinning around to face the cabin. “I am, Jen. How are you—AND MISSY?”

  All of a sudden, Kathi zipped out of the Jespt cabin and stood next to the group. She gave Zee the slightest “thank-you” nod.

  “What’s up, guys?” Kathi asked.

  “Ms. Merr—” Missy began, but Jen cut her off.

  “You’re acting kind of weird, Zee,” Jen pointed out.

  “N-n-n-no I’m not,” Zee protested.

  “We just saw you talking to Landon alone. Does it have something to do with him? Are you guys going out now?” Jen persisted.

  Zee gulped, hoping to use the extra time to get a response together. Just say no, Zee told herself. That’s the truth. “Wh…uh…huh?”

  Kathi stepped closer. “No way!” she said. “Zee needs someone as mature as she is—you know, because she’s a woman now.”

  “She is?” Jen said. “She’s twelve.”

  “You don’t understand,” Kathi said, putting her arm around Zee’s shoulder.

  Zee’s body stiffened. She hated to have Kathi speak for her. But she also didn’t want to talk about Landon to Jen and Missy, either.

  The rustle of leaves behind the girls made them turn.

  “What are you guys doing here? Shouldn’t you be at breakfast cleanup duty?” Mr. P asked.

  “Ms. Merriweather told Jen and me to get Zee and K—” Missy began.

  “Yes,” Kathi interrupted. “We needed to come get Zee and make sure she’s okay.” She looked at Zee and smiled.

  Zee decided to ignore Kathi’s lie. “I’m fine,” Zee said cheerfully.

  “Then I think everyone needs to get back to work,” their teacher told them. “You don’t want to be marked down.”

  Desperate to do something other than talk about Landon with Jen, Missy, and Kathi, Zee said, “I just have to grab something first,” and headed to the cabin to finally get a pad.

  11

  Cabin Fever

  Before lunch Zee finally had a chance to do what she’d wanted to do all morning—write in her diary.

  * * *

  Hi, Diary,

  I am so confused! I need you to help me sort it all out.

  Things That Really Shouldn’t Be Confusing but Are

  What’s Confusing?: Kathi

  Why?: One minute she seems so confident (and conceited). The next she’s just as scared as everyone else (including me).

  What’s Confusing?: ???

  Why?: Which is the real Kathi? Does she ever really mean it when she’s nice to me, or is it just an act?

  What’s Confusing?: Ally

  Why?: Is what Kathi told me true? Is Ally jealous of me? I can’t see why. Did Ally confide in Kathi? Would she really talk about me to her?

  What’s Confusing?: Landon

  Why?: Actually, he’s always been confusing.

  * * *

  Ally sat down at the lunch table between Zee and Jasper. “I was just talking to Molly Templeton,” she said. “Cabin seven is nearly done with the scavenger hunt list.”

  “Really?” Kathi sounded surprised. “But we’ve been working so hard! We have to win.”

  Chloe and Zee looked at each other and rolled their eyes.

  “Oh yeah, Kathi, we’ve all been working really hard,” Ally told her. “I guess everyone just needs to work a little harder if we want to win.”

  Kathi looked farther down the table where Marcus, Conrad, and Landon were sitting. “Hear that, guys? You need to make more of an effort or we’re all going to lose,” she chastised them.

  Conrad saluted Kathi and said, “Aye, aye, Captain!” while the other three cracked up laughing.

  Kathi turned back to the girls. “Boys. So mature.”

  “Jasper’s mature,” Ally defended him. “Aren’t you, Jasper?”

  Jasper looked down and pushed his ground beef hash around on his plate with a fork. “Uh…maybe…I don’t know.”

  “Oh, come on,” Ally said, giving him a little nudge. “You know you are.”

  “You know you are,” Marcus mimicked in a high voice. Once again, the boys started laughing.

  “You guys are just jealous,” Ally said.

  “Of…?” Conrad said.

  “Of Jasper,” she told him.

  “If he’s so mature, how come he wears Superman pajamas?” Conrad asked.

  Now Jasper looked up. “I don’t. I really don’t. I wear perfectly respectable flannels.”

  “Actually, Jasper really does wear flannel,” Conrad announced, turning to Jasper. “I was just busting on the girls.”

  “I think you’re embarrassing Jasper,” Zee whispered to Ally.

  “No, I’m not,” Ally said. “Jasper knows I was complimenting him. He doesn’t care what the other boys think.”

  Zee sighed and looked at Jasper. He actually did look fine. So why did Ally’s flirty behavior make Zee so uncomfortable?

  * * *

  Hi, Diary,

  Ever since I met Chloe and Jasper, I wanted them to be friends with Ally. But now that we’re finally all together, I’m not sure I really want that anymore. I mean, I still want Chloe and Ally to be friends. But it’s different with Jasper and Ally.

  It really bugs me that Ally is so flirty with Jasper. I’m just not sure why it bothers me. I wouldn’t care if she acted that way with Marcus or Conrad. (Okay, I admit it would annoy me if she did it with Landon.)

  So why do I care about Jasper?

  Maybe if I can get Chloe and Ally to be better friends, Ally won’t pay so much attention to Jasper.

  Zee

  *
* *

  After lunch, all of the seventh graders met in the main lodge so Mr. P could tell them about the next camp challenge. “We’re going to have a cabin decorating contest,” he announced.

  “Cool beans!” Zee enthused. “I love coming up with decorating ideas. I could spend hours watching home-decorating shows.”

  “Cabin one can totally win this,” Chloe said, turning to Zee.

  “I didn’t know you were into house decorating, too,” Ally said to Chloe.

  “This contest is so perfect for Chloe,” Zee said. “Her bedroom is amazing. It’s an Italian kind of theme, and she even made a really cool mosaic mirror frame out of ceramic pitcher pieces.”

  Ally half-shrugged. “It’s too bad you haven’t gotten to see my room in Paris yet,” she said. “It’s really awesome.”

  “Oh yeah,” Zee said quickly. “I’m sure—just like your room in Brookdale was.”

  “Zee and I used to redo our bedrooms about once a month,” Ally said. “Remember, Zee?”

  Zee laughed. “Except for that one summer when we did it once a week.”

  Mr. P whistled, interrupting the girls’ conversation. “The theme is My World,” he continued. “You’ll have until dinnertime to transform your cabin.”

  “What do we use—sticks and moss?” Marcus asked.

  “Supplies are in the art cabin,” Mr. P explained. “After dinner, everyone will tour the student cabins and vote.”

  Kathi’s hand shot up. “That’s not fair,” she said. “The cabins with the most people will get the most votes.”

  Mr. P nodded. “Good point. No one can vote for their own cabin.” Then he clapped his hands together. “Okay, everyone. Get to work.”

  “Let’s go,” Chloe said to the cabin-one girls. “We don’t have much time.” They hurried out of the lodge to the art cabin.

  “Man!” Zee said as she scanned the shelves and tables covered with papers, paints, felt, and other craft supplies.