Over & Out

by Melissa J Morgan

“Done!” Tori said proudly, holding out Jenna’s hands for inspection. Jenna wiggled her toes, too, and Nat nodded in approval.

  “A mani and pedi worthy of the best Manhattan salons,” Nat said.

  Jenna admired her sand-colored fingernails and toes, then asked Tori to reach into her beach bag for her. “You’re looking for chocolate,” Jenna said, and when Tori pulled out two candy bars, Jenna nodded to her friends. “I can tip you with a Twix or a Snickers. Your choice.”

  Nat and Tori each took one, and then Tori pulled a pack of Twizzlers and Jenna’s book from the bag for her. “Now,” Jenna said, her tone all business, “if you ladies will excuse me, I have some serious reading to catch up on. And Tori, if you’re not in that water in ten seconds, I’ll throw you in myself.”

  Tori laughed. “I’d like to see that happen,” she said, patting Jenna’s cast.

  “Go!” Jenna ordered, pointing to the water, and she could see Tori caving.

  “All right, all right,” Tori said. “But I’ll be back to give you an intensive moisturizing hand treatment in fifteen.”

  Nat wiped her brow and stood up. “I think I’m going to sit on the pier to dip my feet in. Just to cool off.”

  “Tell me about it,” said Jenna. “Enjoy the water, and don’t worry, the lake’s really not that toxic. You’ll be fine.”

  Nat nodded. “But if anything, and I mean anything, slimy so much as touches my feet, I’m calling it quits.”

  Jenna looked on as Nat and Tori ran to the water, laughing all the way. Jenna sighed and buried her nose in her book. She didn’t want to keep her friends from having fun, so she’d just suck it up and entertain herself for a while. She was reading Little Women, and at the moment she was feeling a special bond with the character Beth, the sickly sister who had to watch from her bed while everyone else roughhoused. Here she was, watching the summer slip away from the sidelines, too. Poor Beth, she thought. Poor me.

  That afternoon, when she should’ve been at her sports elective, Jenna slowly hobbled to ceramics instead. To make things worse, she had to pass the soccer field along the way. There were Alex and Sarah, the two best athletes in 4C, shooting practice balls into the goal like pros.

  “Hi, Jenna!” Alex shouted, giving her wave. “We’ll miss you out here today.”

  “I’ll miss being out there!” Jenna called back. “Score one for me, okay?” She smiled. “Hey! Do you want to walk with me back to the bunks after I’m done at ceramics? Matt just sent me a new bumper sticker I want to show you.”

  Alex got a funny look on her face, then jogged over to Jenna. “I totally want to see the bumper sticker, but Sarah and I got special permission to stay on the field for an extra fifteen minutes for a longer practice. Adam said he might come by to take some more pictures for the newspaper.” She dropped her eyes shyly to the ground. “So I’ll be late for siesta. But maybe after dinner tonight, okay?”

  “Sure,” Jenna said, her smile drooping at the corners. “See you later.”

  The rest of the way to the ceramics shack, Jenna kept thinking about Alex . . . and Adam. She couldn’t believe that Adam wanted to spend even more time with Alex. And that Alex seemed to want him, too. That was the toughest part for Jenna. Alex had always been as anticrush as Jenna was. But starting last summer and now even more this summer, that had all changed in a very weird way. And Jenna didn’t like it. Not one bit.

  When she finally hobbled into the crafts room ten minutes late, Farrah, the counselor who taught the class, pointed to an empty chair. Jenna’s eyes widened when she saw it, because sitting at her table was none other than Blake Wetherly, Dr. Steve’s nephew. Blake liked ceramics? No way. It just wasn’t possible. And it certainly wasn’t possible that she would be able to endure sitting next to him every day.

  Jenna sighed, took a deep breath, and made her way to the table. She thought about being nice and starting fresh with Blake, but when she opened her mouth to say hello, Blake beat her to the punch with, “So, I guess they thought you’d be better at Play-Doh than soccer, huh?” He snorted. “Well, at least if you’re a klutz in here, you won’t break anything, except maybe a ceramic mug.”

  Jenna’s skin turned prickly hot with anger. “For your information, I’m not a klutz. It was a groundhog hole. I tripped. It could’ve happened to anyone.” She stared him down. “And I didn’t expect to see you here. Aren’t you afraid of messing up your clothes?”

  “Believe me, this wasn’t my choice,” he said. “This was the only elective they had room for me in, except for boating. And I’m taking that in the mornings.” He looked around the room. “This is about as exciting as spending an afternoon with Martha Stewart. And I should know, because my parents are friends with her.”

  Jenna bit her lip to keep from completely losing it, and thankfully, Farrah started giving instructions. Jenna simmered down, but not enough. As soon as Farrah was done talking, Jenna picked up her ball of clay from the table and began pounding it. It gave her great satisfaction to imagine that she was really pounding Blake’s stuck-up nose instead. She didn’t know how long she pounded until she started feeling better.

  “If you’re trying to kill it,” Blake said, smirking, “I think you succeeded about ten minutes ago.”

  Jenna blushed, but just pounded harder. “Well, I don’t know what you’re trying to make, but it looks like it could use some CPR, too.”

  “I don’t care what it looks like,” Blake said. “This class is totally lame anyway. The whole camp is.”

  “So why are you here then?” Jenna said.

  Blake shrugged. “My parents made me come. They think hanging out here will make me ‘well-rounded.’ ” He rolled his eyes. “Whatever. This place is a dump. I’d rather be home with my iPod, chillin’ by our pool.”

  Jenna shrugged. “Camp is really awesome. You should give it a try. If I were you, I’d be doing every activity I had the chance to. Trust me, it’s better than being stuck with crutches. Especially with Color War starting next week.”

  “Color War sounds stupid, too. Who cares about the Purple and Pink teams?”

  “Red and Blue teams,” Jenna corrected, fuming.

  “Whatever.” Blake shrugged. “We’ll see if I can spice things up around here, before we all die of boredom.”

  Before Jenna got a chance to ask what he meant, Farrah came over to check on their progress, and Jenna had to focus on molding, instead of pounding, her clay into something resembling art. Or a coffee mug, at least.

  “You should’ve heard him,” Jenna vented about Blake as soon as everyone was together in the bunk that night. “Dissing camp like he was way too good for it. I can’t believe Dr. Steve puts up with that.”

  “Maybe he doesn’t know how bad it is,” Karen offered.

  Mia looked up from the horoscopes she was reading in Cosmo Girl. “Actually, you guys should try to be nice to Blake,” she said. “Dr. Steve told Kenny that Blake’s parents don’t pay much attention to him. They’re always going to parties and traveling, and Blake doesn’t have too many friends his own age, except for ones that are probably even bigger snobs than he is. That’s why Dr. Steve wanted him to come to camp for a couple weeks this summer. Maybe Blake just doesn’t know how to act around you guys yet.”

  “Oh, he knows how to act,” Jenna said. “Like a jerk.”

  “Special delivery!” a voice called from outside, and Andie walked in, balancing two huge packages in her hands. She laid the boxes down on Jenna’s bed. “They came in the mail today.”

  Jenna checked the labels. “One’s from my mom and one’s from my dad.” She ripped them open to find mounds and mounds of candy, cookies, Rice Krispies treats, and a tub of gummy bears . . . yum. Both boxes were filled to the brim with sweets.

  “Yes!” Jenna shouted gleefully. “Everybody . . . the candy’s on me!” She grabbed a handful of candy bars and started passing them out.

  “You keep eating all that junk, Jenna,” Chelsea said, “and you’ll gain so much weight y
ou won’t be able to play soccer even after your leg gets better.”

  “If you think it’s junk,” Jenna said. “I guess you don’t want any, right?”

  Chelsea froze, staring down at the Snickers bar in her hand. “Maybe ‘junk’ was the wrong word choice.”

  “You think?” Alyssa said, and everyone cracked up.

  “There’s enough candy here to stop world hunger,” Anna said, splitting a huge Hershey’s bar with Perry and Lauren.

  “I guess I can’t complain about my parents breaking up anymore, because now I get double of everything!” Jenna grinned. “I have to admit, this is one benefit of having a broken leg.” She thought about checking with Andie to see if she could ask Alex to come over to share the wealth, but then she remembered that Alex had promised to come see her tonight, and she’d never shown up after dinner. No, she wouldn’t go looking for Alex. If Alex wanted to hang out with her, she knew where to find her.

  chapter FIVE

  Dear Matt the Mad Scientist,

  Thanks for the letter and the bumper sticker. I BRAKE FOR BECKHAM—where did you find that, a soccer fan website? And yes, I do get the play on the word “ brake” (smart aleck). Believe me , it’s not easy to forget my leg, even though I’d love to. Every morning when I wake up, I keep hoping the cast won’t be there anymore. But it hasn’t disappeared yet.

  I know you say I should look on the bright side , but so far that’s been tough to do. I tried making a coffee mug for Dad in ceramics, but yesterday when I took it out of the kiln and filled it with water, the bottom fell out. Go figure. Farrah , my ceramics teacher, says all I have to do is find my niche, and I’ll get the hang of it. But I sure don’t have the same skill with clay as I do in spor ts. And there’s this skill with clay as t do in sports. And there’s this really annoying guy in my class, too, who makes it impossible for me to concentrate.

  I hate having to sit on the sidelines during sports every day (yawn—talk about boring!). I’ve been tr ying to coach my bunkmates to prep for Color War, and I’m afraid it might be a lost cause (but don’t tell them I said so). But—hey!—enough complaining.

  I’d rather tell you about the weird stuff going on around here. First, you know my friend Alex? Well, I think she and Adam are crushing on each other again, just like last summer! Can you believe it? Of course, I don’t know any details, and I soooo don’t want to either. I’m still trying to get used to the idea of Adam hanging out with a girl without trying to impress her by burping the alphabet. Second, someone other than me has been playing pranks around camp! And believe it or not, Blake , the obnoxious boy in my ceramics class, was the first victim. Someone put a garter snake in his pillowcase last night. All I have to say is . . . justice has been served. He definitely had it coming to him. Of course, all the girls in my bunk thought I did it, because they know that I can’t stand Blake. But then all I had to do was remind them that I couldn’t sneak anywhere without clanging my crutches on the floor like a three-legged horse , and they believed me. But that leaves the question . . . who did it? At least I can keep myself entertained trying to figure that out, right? And, of course, thinking about Blake and the snake and laughing ... hard.

  Gotta go. I have to try to coach our sorry soccer team now.

  Write more soon!

  Love

  Jenna

  “Come on, guys!” Jenna yelled from the sidelines, waving her right crutch in the air. “Keep your eyes open out there!” Even as she said it, she covered her own with her hand. This was getting too painful to watch. The game was going badly, and that was putting it mildly.

  They were scrimmaging against 4C again, and they were losing . . . again. Jenna sighed. Alex was tearing up the field, playing better than Jenna’d ever seen her play. Sarah had switched positions from goalie to center forward, and she and Alex were both scoring like crazy. Every time Alex kicked a goal, Jenna felt a tightness build in her stomach. Why couldn’t she be out there, too?

  “Our bunk’s getting better,” Mia offered, setting up the water cooler on the grass. “You’re doing a great job coaching.”

  Jenna shook her head. “No, I’m not,” she said glumly. “Nat just passed the ball to the other team by mistake. She practically gave Sarah that goal. Karen got hit in the stomach with the ball a while ago, and now she ducks every time it comes her way. Alex and Sarah look great out there, and we look like idiots.”

  “Nice coaching, Jenna,” Chelsea yelled sarcastically from center field as Alex scored another goal for 4C. “I thought you were supposed to be helping us play better, not worse. You don’t have anything else to do, so what’s the problem?”

  “Ignore her,” Mia said. “She’s just frustrated. This hot weather is making everyone grumpy.”

  “Hey,” Jenna said, examining the field more closely. “We lost a player. Where’s Tori?”

  Mia and Andie both scanned the field, but Jenna spotted Tori first. She was standing underneath one of the pine trees on the other side of the field, talking to Blake. Tori wasn’t paying attention to anything happening in the game. Instead, she was laughing and chatting away with Blake in full flirt mode.

  “What’s he doing here?” Jenna cried.

  “Good question,” Andie said. “He’s supposed to be in free swim right now.” She took off toward them. “I’ll be right back.”

  “Blake,” Jenna heard Andie say, “You’re ten minutes late for free swim.”

  Blake shrugged. “So? Uncle Steve doesn’t care when I show up.”

  “Dr. Steve cares about all of his campers being on time for their activities,” Andie said. “And that includes you.”

  He just rolled his eyes. “Whatever you say, Mom. I’m going, I’m going.”

  After he’d gone, Jenna caught up with Tori as she walked back onto the field. “What was that all about?” Jenna asked. “You’re not supposed to leave the field in the middle of a game. You’re supposed to work with everyone as a team.”

  Tori giggled. “Blake was just saying hi.”

  “Yeah, well,” Jenna huffed. “Don’t do it again. You’re never going to start playing better if you don’t practice.”

  Tori frowned as she joined everyone else. “It’s just a game, Jenna. Relax already.”

  But Jenna couldn’t relax, especially when at halftime, Alex and Sarah started in with some razzing cheers.

  “4C rules, and we all know it,

  We’re kicking butt today to show it.

  We’re soccer queens, better than the rest,

  You’re gonna lose, ’cause we’re the best.”

  Alex hooted and gave Sarah a high-five.

  “Give it a rest, will you?” Jenna said to Alex. “We know we’re losing. We don’t need to be reminded with your stupid cheers.”

  “Don’t be mad, Jenna,” Alex said. “It’s all in good fun. We always used to razz each other about stuff like this before you hurt your leg.”

  Jenna sighed. “You’re right. I’m sorry.”

  Alex grinned. “No problem. You’re not as sorry as you will be when we win.” She gave Jenna a friendly slug on the shoulder.

  “Ha-ha,” Jenna said, trying to smile as Alex and Sarah headed out onto the field again.

  “Don’t pay attention to them,” Jenna told her team. “We can still beat them.”

  “I don’t think so, Jenna,” Nat said. “It’s so hot, I can barely breathe. I’m exhausted.”

  “Me too,” Perry said.

  “Count me in for three,” Anna said.

  “Come on!” Jenna said, mustering up an encouraging smile. “You can do this!”

  She turned to Alex, Sarah, Brynn, and the other 4C players, and cheered:“You may think that you’re the best,

  But we’re going to put that to the test.

  We’ll make you pay with every play,

  You’ll need crutches, too, by the end of this day!”

  “That was . . . forceful,” Andie said when Jenna finished, out of breath. But Alex and Sarah just crack
ed up laughing, which made Jenna even madder.

  “Listen,” Jenna said, leaning toward her teammates. “You get out there and start playing, or none of you will stand a chance in Color War, no matter which team you’re on.”

  “Thanks for the vote of confidence,” Alyssa said, shaking her head and slowly heading back onto the field. No one else said one word. They just took their positions on the field and played even worse than before.

  After a final score of 20-3, with 4C reigning victorious, Jenna headed to lunch in a foul mood. She definitely didn’t feel like being social, and she wasn’t feeling much better during the bunk’s siesta time that afternoon. Everyone else was being ultra-careful around her, as if they didn’t know what might set her off into grumpy mode again.

  “Okay,” Andie said, pulling out her Cosmo Girl. “Who wants to take the ‘What Would You Do for a Million Dollars’ quiz?”

  “I’m in!” Nat said.

  “Me too!” Chelsea, Karen, Perry, Laura, and everyone else echoed.

  “I’ll be right there!” Tori yelled from the bathroom. “I’m just brushing my teeth. I can’t get the disgusting taste of those fish sticks we had for lunch out of my mouth.”

  “Jenna,” Mia said, handing out sheets of flowered stationery to everyone to write on, “do you want to take the quiz, too?”

  “Nah,” she said, holding up her copy of Little Women. “I think I’ll read instead. I’m getting really into this. Beth’s my favorite character.”

  “Oh, that’s a smart pick,” Chelsea said. “She’s the one who kicks the bucket.”

  “Chelsea!” Jessie said. “Don’t give away the story.”

  “That’s okay. I knew it was coming anyway,” Jenna lied. Then she stared at the pages of her book. How depressing. Well, Chelsea had just put a damper on her plans for afternoon reading. She forced herself to keep turning pages, though, so that no one would bug her as the quiz started.

  “What would you do for a million dollars?” Andie asked, reading from the magazine. “Would you rather eat a bucket of worms or show up naked to school for a whole week?”