Over & Out

by Melissa J Morgan

  “Look at him,” Jenna grumbled. “He’s so proud of the fact that he has a secret no one else knows.” She was especially impatient to get the assignments, because she couldn’t wait to hand out her special surprise to everyone first thing tomorrow morning.

  Suddenly, flashes of bright light filled the night sky. Jenna looked up as red and blue fireworks exploded over the lake, sending twinkling sparks that rained down on the water. She smiled. Even with her broken leg, she had a happy feeling that this was going to be one of the best Color Wars ever.

  chapter NINE

  Jenna’s eyes shot open even before the sun peeked through the window of the bunk.

  “Rise and shine, sleepyheads!” she sang to her bunkmates. “Don’t you want to know your team assignments?”

  “I’d rather sleep, thank you,” Alyssa said, pulling her sheets over her head.

  “You are so warped, Jenna,” Chelsea quipped. “It’s not even light out yet.”

  “Wake up! Wake up!” Jenna singsonged, rapping on Nat’s and Perry’s beds with her crutches. Then she flipped on the bunk lights just as a barrage of pillows showered her from all corners of the room.

  Tori sat straight up in bed. “I can’t believe you woke me up before the alarm went off.” She pointed to her face, which was completely covered in blue goop. “This rehydrating mask needs at least six hours for full moisturizing potential.”

  “Oh, get over it! It’s the start of Color War!” Jenna cried jubilantly, throwing up her hands. “Hey . . .” she took a closer look at Tori. “What’s wrong with your forehead?”

  “What?” Tori gasped, her hands flying up to her hairline. “Oh please, please, please tell me I didn’t get a zit.”

  “You’ve got a big red dot right in the middle of all that blue,” Jenna said, “It looks like . . . paint.”

  Her eyes flickered around the room. “We all have dots painted on our foreheads! Either red or blue.” She squealed. “Our team assignments!” She whipped around to see Andie and Mia giggling from their beds. “You sneaks!”

  “We did it while you were sleeping last night,” Mia said, stifling a yawn.

  Jenna went around the room, taking a tally. Once she finished, she had the breakdown. Nat, Alyssa, Chelsea, Tori, and Perry were on the Red team. Anna, Lauren, Jessie, and Karen were on the Blue. Then she froze. “But what color am I?” she cried. “Somebody help me.”

  “Red!” Nat said, jumping out of bed to hug her.

  “Red!” Jenna repeated, her smile spreading. “The color of victory!”

  Maybe she’d spoken too soon. The Blues stood more than a chance. From the looks of things at the kickoff breakfast, the Blues actually had the upper hand. As Jenna made a mental list of who was on what team from the other bunks, her spirits sank. Grace, Abby, Priya, and Candace were all Reds, which was great. But Alex, Brynn, Sarah, Valerie, Tiernan, and Gaby were Blues, which was trouble. As soon as breakfast was over and everyone left the mess hall to head to the first event of the day, Alex and Sarah stopped on the lawn and yelled out a cheer with the rest of the Blues. Jenna tried to organize the Reds to give a countercheer, but she wasn’t quick enough, and the chance slipped by.

  “We’ll get ’em next time,” Jenna said, struggling to make her voice sound optimistic.

  But then Chelsea said what Jenna’d really been thinking but was afraid to say.

  “We’re going to get killed in sports,” Chelsea whined. “Alex and Sarah will be impossible to beat.” She glared at Jenna. “What did you have to go and break your leg for, anyway? Talk about stupid. How are we supposed to win the soccer tournament tomorrow with two prima donnas and a drama queen on our team?”

  “Thanks for the vote of confidence, Chelsea,” Tori piped up. “But I’ll have you know that Nat and I painted our nails with Nails of Steel strengthening polish last night so we wouldn’t worry about breaking them. We’re ready to do battle.”

  Nat nodded. “And Simon’s a Red, too,” she added proudly. “He’s really good at sports, so I bet he’ll bring home some wins for the guys, too.”

  “We can take on the Blues, no problem,” Grace, one of the Reds from 4C, chimed in enthusiastically, her curls bouncing wildly. “I’ve been rehearsing my dribble for the last three days. A good actress can play all sorts of parts, including a soccer pro.”

  “The Blues aren’t going to know what hit ’em,” Jenna said encouragingly, doing her best to hide her doubts. She turned to Nat, Tori, Chelsea, Alyssa, and Perry. “I know we haven’t played that well up till now.”

  “That’s an understatement,” Alyssa said.

  “But we can,” Jenna said. “Lots of underdogs overcome the odds. We just have to do our best.” She banged her crutch on the mess-hall railing. “Can I have the attention of everyone in 4A and 4C, please?”

  The girls from both bunks stopped outside the mess hall and turned toward her. Jenna slid her backpack from her shoulder and pulled out the surprise she’d wanted to give everyone last night but hadn’t been able to until she knew the team assignments.

  “I made these for everyone in both of our bunks.” She held up ten red and ten blue necklaces, each made with the ceramic beads she’d worked so hard on yesterday. Each red bead had just the tiniest flecks of blue in it, and each blue bead held a little red. “It turns out, jewelry was the only thing I made in ceramics that didn’t fall apart,” she joked, making everyone giggle.

  “I knew you’d be great at jewelry!” Nat said.

  “They’re friendship beads,” Jenna said, passing them out by color to the two bunks, “to remind us that before we are frenemies, we are friends, first and forever.”

  “What a great idea, sweetie,” Andie said, hugging Jenna. “And you’re right. Our friendships are what count more than anything, and no matter what, now everyone has a reminder of that. I’m so proud of you for remembering what’s most important!”

  “Most important,” Jenna agreed. “But we Reds are still going to make the Blues eat our dust!”

  If fun included getting massacred in the first division event, then the Reds were definitely having a lot of it. The basketball tournament wasn’t so much a competition as it was a catastrophe.

  “Jenna,” Andie said from the sidelines, “you’re pacing so much, you’re digging a hole in the ground.”

  Jenna looked away from the basketball court for the first time since the game had started and saw that she was actually creating a small dirt trail where her crutches had been clumping across the grass. “I can’t help it. It’s the only thing I can use this stupid thing for.” She gave her cast a frustrated thump with her crutch, feeling totally helpless watching from the sidelines.

  She sighed, refocused her attention on the court, and clapped her hands encouragingly. “Come on, Reds!” she shouted. “You can do it!” Her eyes flickered briefly to the scoreboard, and it was all she could do not to throw in her crutches then and there. Fourth quarter and the score was 20 to . . . 2?!

  As much as Jenna hated to admit it, she knew Chelsea had had a valid point at breakfast. The Reds had only managed to score two measly points so far, and that was only because the referee had granted the Reds two free shots after the Blues got penalties for holding. Miracle of miracles, Nat and Tori had each made a shot. But it seemed that they could only actually make it into the basket when they were shooting while standing completely still. Making a shot on the court while the game was in motion? Forget about it.

  The sad truth was that the game had been one disaster after another. It all started when Chelsea tried to pass the basketball to Tori in the first quarter and Tori screamed and fumbled so badly that she dropped the ball straight into the hands of the Blues. Then, things went from bad to worse when Grace and Nat collided trying to catch the ball in the second quarter. By the third, it was obvious that this tournament was turning into Humiliation 101 for the Reds. Now, in the fourth, Jenna was just hoping her teammates would live to see the end of the game.

  With one minut
e left on the clock, Jenna called a time-out and motioned her dreary-looking team into a huddle.

  “You guys are doing great,” she said. “We still have time to make a comeback.”

  “Are you kidding?” Chelsea cried. “Please tell me what grand plan you have for making up eighteen points in one minute.”

  “I’m not talking about winning,” Jenna said. “Who cares about that? We’re here to have fun. Right?”

  Silence.

  “Right?” she asked again louder.

  “Right,” Alyssa, Tori, and Nat answered weakly.

  “So,” Jenna said, happy that she’d gotten at least a lukewarm response from her teammates, “you may not win, but you can still play like a team. Right?”

  “Right!” everyone shouted.

  “Here’s what we do,” Jenna said, leaning over to whisper her plan.

  Once everyone was back on the court, the clock started again and Jenna watched, holding her breath, as Alyssa started dribbling the ball down the court toward the Blues’ basket. Then, in the maneuver Jenna had laid out beforehand, Alyssa faked a pass to Nat, who screamed perfectly on cue, sending Alex and Sarah both racing over to her to try to intercept the ball. That left Alyssa free to pass the ball to Tori, whose extra-strength nail polish apparently worked as she caught the ball, spun around, and handed it off to Grace.

  “Yes!” Jenna yelled. “Go, Grace, go!”

  Grace scooted past Gaby and Brynn, but when Alex and Sarah both closed in on her, panic hit her face.

  “Now!” Jenna cried, and Grace focused on the basket, crouched down, and shot the ball into the air. Up, up, up—over everyone’s heads . . . and straight into the basket just as the final buzzer sounded.

  “Woo-hoo!” Jenna hollered, rushing onto the court as fast as her crutches could carry her. She gave Grace a bear hug while the rest of the Reds whooped and clapped. “Grace, that was amazing!”

  “But we didn’t win,” Grace said quietly.

  “Who cares?” Jenna blurted. “That was an incredible shot.” She smiled proudly at Nat, Tori, and the rest of her teammates. “That was awesome teamwork out there. Keep it up.”

  “Great shot, Grace!” Alex said, walking over with Sarah.

  Sarah nodded. “Good game, guys!” she said, and she and Alex shook hands with each of the Reds.

  When Alex reached out for Jenna’s hand, she hesitated for a split second, looking at Jenna’s face uncertainly. Jenna closed the distance between them, shaking her hand. “That shot you made earlier was nothing but net, Alex. You played great.”

  “And you were a great coach for your team,” Alex said. “I’m sorry you didn’t get to play.”

  “Me too,” Jenna admitted. She still felt a little frustrated that she hadn’t gotten to play against Alex and give her and Sarah a run for their money, but she’d have more chances to do that. “There’s always next year,” she said with a smile. “And don’t go getting too cocky over this win. The soccer tournament’s tomorrow, and we’re more than ready to take you on.”

  Alex grinned. “I can’t wait.”

  Jenna led the way from the basketball court through the path of pine trees toward the bunks, and she got all the Reds to start a cheer against the Blues as they walked. They were shouting and laughing so loud, they didn’t hear the crackling of branches on the forest floor until it was too late.

  “What was that?” Nat said, stopping mid-cheer.

  “Probably just a deer.” Jenna shrugged. “Don’t worry ab—”

  A blue water balloon shot out of the pine trees, headed straight for them.

  “Duck!” Jenna yelled, too late, just as the balloon smacked into Tori’s shoulder, exploding into a torrent of blue liquid.

  Tori screamed, wiping at the blue liquid coursing down her face and arms. “It was filled with paint!” she cried.

  “We’re under attack!” Alyssa cried, just as a shower of blue balloons rained down on them from all directions. “Run!”

  Jenna took off with everyone else, but she lagged behind because of her crutches and got pelted in the back twice. Luckily, her cast only got a little paint-splattered. She scoured the trees as she fled, but all she could see were flying balloons, not the sneaks who were launching them. When she broke out of the trees and into the clearing, she assessed the damage.

  Almost every single one of the Reds had been hit.

  “We look like a bunch of renegade Smurfs,” she said, and everyone laughed as they wrung the paint from their clothes and hair. “I’ll give you guys three guesses who on the Blue team masterminded this.”

  “We don’t need three guesses,” Grace said.

  Alyssa, Nat, and Tori all looked at each other and nodded. “Blake,” they said together.

  “You got it,” Jenna said. “But there’s no way we can prove it, not if the Blues won’t talk.”

  And the Blues wouldn’t talk. By the time the Reds had cleaned themselves up during the break between events and met the Blues on the camp lawn for the obstacle course group event, Dr. Steve had heard about what happened, but no one was naming names.

  “Good sportsmanship is one of the things required of all of you during Color War,” Dr. Steve said, addressing everyone before the obstacle course competition started. “And the prank that the Blues pulled on the Reds earlier today was not in keeping with the rules of fair play. So, I’m deducting twenty-five points from the Blue team for unsportsmanlike conduct.”

  The Blues booed and hissed while the Reds cheered. The deduction erased the points the Blues had scored when they’d won the basketball competition, leaving the teams tied. Much to Jenna’s frustration, though, the Blues still went on to win the obstacle course competition. But the Reds won the boating race. As the first day of Color War came to a close, the Blues were ahead by just twenty-five points. Jenna crawled into bed that night knowing that tomorrow’s soccer game and pie-eating contest were the two big chances the Reds still had to gain the lead. And all night long, she dreamt of eating pies filled with soccer balls, one after another after another.

  chapter TEN

  Today was the day—the day that would decide the fate of the Red team forever, and Jenna was ready. In just ten minutes the division soccer game would start, and she’d have to sit on the sidelines, waiting it out. Darn her broken leg! If only she didn’t have this stupid cast, she’d be running onto the field with the rest of the Reds, getting ready to crush the Blues. But as she dabbed on a last dash of paint under her eyes, she knew that even if she wasn’t playing, she certainly wouldn’t be helpless, either. What she lacked on the field, she was going to make up for on the sidelines.

  She stepped back from the bunk mirror, surveying what three containers of paint and about two hundred feathers had done to her appearance. She was transformed—a flash of flaming color. She’d painted her face fiery red, she was wearing a red headdress leftover from last year’s drama production of Peter Pan, and her newly painted bright red cast was practically glowing under the fluorescent light. Today, she would be a Red warrior, fighting for her team. And no one would be able to stop her.

  As she walked onto the soccer field, a hush fell over her teammates. Then, they all burst into cheers.

  “I may not be on the field with you today,” Jenna said, “but there was no way I wanted any of you to miss seeing me cheer you on.”

  “You’d have to be blind to miss that outfit,” Chelsea said.

  “So,” Jenna said, “now’s your chance to show the Blues what you can really do. That last play you made on the basketball court yesterday was awesome. If you play like that from the start today, you can win this game.”

  Grace shook her head doubtfully, her curls falling into her face. “Did you see Alex and Sarah warming up? If we get in the path of one of their balls, we’re dead.”

  Nat nodded. “I’ll never live to eat sushi again.”

  Anyone who knew Nat knew how serious that would be. She practically ate sushi for breakfast, lunch, and dinner when s
he was back home in Manhattan.

  “Simon said he might stop by to see me play after his division game is over,” Nat said. “He’s awesome at soccer. What if he thinks I’m awful when he sees me play?”

  “And there’s no way I can be a convincing Cinderella in the play tonight if a flying soccer ball breaks my nose,” Grace said. She’d been practicing her lines during all of her free time for the last week, and all the girls knew she’d be heartbroken if she didn’t get her part just right.

  “First of all, Nat, you’re not awful, and you have lots of sushi to look forward to. And Simon will think you’re even hotter when he sees you play! And Grace, you’re going to be a gorgeous Cinderella, because the ball’s not going to get anywhere near your nose.” She grinned at her teammates. “Hey,” she said to them, “soccer didn’t kill me, did it?” She held up her leg.

  With her red cast flashing on the sidelines like a beacon for all to see, Jenna yelled her lungs out as Natalie, Alyssa, Tori, Chelsea, Grace, and the other girls took the field:“We’re gonna tear up these fields and win this fight,

  Kick lots of goals with Red team might.

  The Blue team’s going down as our score climbs higher,

  We’ll kick the Blue team’s butt, ’cause we’ll never tire!”

  Natalie and Tori looked scared out of their minds as the game kicked off, but Jenna followed every move they made, pacing up and down the sidelines and shouting encouragement.

  Within the first few minutes, Alex stole the ball from a fumbling Grace and raced to the goal with it for the first score of the day.

  “That’s okay!” Jenna said, urging Grace on. “Shake it off! Think of yourself as a ball magnet. Be one with the ball!”

  Grace laughed, but soon enough, she was actually dribbling the ball with a little more certainty. She passed it seamlessly to Nat, who performed what looked like some sort of strange dance move to keep the ball away from Sarah, then dribbled the ball downfield and kicked a clean shot straight into the goal.