Maddie's Camp Crush

by Angela Darling

  Maddie’s mom stopped and looked at Maddie. “I will be just fine, Mads,” she said, using her dad’s pet name for his daughter. “Now before I go, this is for you.”

  She reached into her purse and handed her a folded-up note. “It’s from Dad,” she said, and Maddie started to get choked up. “I was going to hide it for you, but, well, I wasn’t sure where he hid them. He didn’t tell me that part, and then I worried that you might not find it at all, so . . . ”

  Maddie stared at the note and then looked up at her mom quizzically. Dad had died months ago. So where had the note come from?

  “Dad and I talked about what your plans would be this summer,” Mrs. Jacobs explained. “He wanted . . . ”

  She had to stop and take a breath. “No matter what happened, Dad wanted you to go to camp this year,” she went on. “He knew how much you loved it and he wanted you to see your friends and have a ball like you always do. So he wrote you a note, just like he always did.”

  Maddie felt the tears flow now; she couldn’t stop them.

  “Oh, Maddie, no!” her mom said, hugging her. “This is a happy thing. Dad would want you to be happy, and I do too. Do you want to put the note away for a while or should we read it together?”

  Maddie gulped. Part of her wanted to share the note with her mom, to talk and cry some more. Another part of her wanted to keep the letter between just her and her dad.

  “I’m okay, Mom,” she replied, slipping the note into the pocket of her shorts. “I usually read them before I go to bed.”

  Her mom looked worried, but she nodded. “Then that’s what you should do,” she said. She cupped Maddie’s face in her hands and smiled at her. “Now it’s time I left you with your friends. Give me a hug and promise me you’ll have fun, okay?”

  Maddie managed a smile and gave her mom a big bear hug, and her mom gave her a kiss on the top of her head.

  “I’ll miss you, Madeline, but I want you to have a great summer, okay?”

  Maddie nodded, and her mom kissed her one more time before getting into the car. Maddie waved as her mom drove away—down the road that led to the boys’ camp instead of the road that led her out. She tried to signal her mom to stop, but Mrs. Jacobs didn’t notice.

  Oh well, Maddie thought. She’ll figure it out. We both will.

  chapter 3

  THE GIRLS WERE FINISHING UNPACKING AND catching up when Tara came into the cabin, a ball of happy energy.

  “Hello, Hannahs!” she said, calling the girls by the name of their bunk. “Lunch is in ten minutes, but before we go I want to go over some bunk rules. Rule number one—”

  “Have fun!” Liza yelled out, and then burst into a fit of giggles.

  Tara grinned. “I was just about to say that. But seriously, we do have some rules around here. Number one, which I’m sure you all know, is no cell phones or electronic devices while you’re at camp.”

  “What?” Amelia wailed. “You have got to be kidding!”

  “That rule is clearly spelled out in the camp brochure,” Tara said, looking Amelia squarely in the eye. “But if you brought any devices with you, we can keep them in the safe in the main office for you.”

  “What? No,” Amelia said quickly.

  “Good,” Tara said, and then looked down at the clipboard she was carrying. “Everyone cleans up their own mess in the bunk, and we all help clean up the mess hall after meals. Lights out means lights out—no messing around. And if you have a problem with another camper, bring it to a counselor. We’re here to help.”

  Libby raised her hand. “What about possums? Did you guys check for possums this year?”

  Tara got a look of recognition on her face. “Oh, so you’re the possum girl. Um, I’m not sure about that. I’ll get back to you.”

  Amelia looked worried. “What about possums?”

  “Don’t worry, Libby will tell you all about it at lunch,” Maddie promised her.

  They headed to the mess hall, the largest building in the whole camp—a long, one-story rectangle covered with weathered wood shingles. Inside, campers were taking their seats at the round wood tables. A metal counter stretched along one side of the building, and Maddie smiled and waved at Mrs. Hancock, the camp cook. The plump, curly-haired woman smiled and waved back. “Hi, Maddie!” she called.

  The six Hannahs sat down at one of the tables, and Amelia started to look around at the other campers.

  “So, we have to all sit together when we eat?” she asked.

  “Bunks always sit together,” Maddie explained.

  Liza nodded across the room, where the boys were starting to file in. “Yeah, and they separate the girls and boys across the room. No fun.”

  Maddie slyly glanced over to the boys’ side, hoping to see the cute British boy. He was easy to spot because he was so tall, and she saw him laughing at something Jared was saying. Maddie quickly looked away. For a second she thought about pointing him out to her friends, but she felt a little silly.

  Maybe later I’ll tell Liza, she thought, grateful that their beds were right next to each other. Even though the rule was no talking after lights out, Maddie and Liza had held some of their most memorable conversations at night, whispered in the darkness.

  Tara appeared at their table with a cheerful smile. “Okay, girls, time to line up for lunch!”

  The girls joined the other campers on line to get lunch. Steam trays held hamburgers, veggie burgers, and fries. Next to the hot line was a salad bar loaded with lettuce and all kinds of vegetables. Next to that was the drink station. Samantha put a cup under the nozzle of one of the big jugs that were lined up, pulled the lever back, and watched a stream of neon orange liquid flow out.

  She made a face. “What is this?”

  “Bug juice,” Maddie explained. “At least, that’s what campers call it. It comes in three different flavors: sweet, sweeter, and sweetest. But you’re probably better off with water.”

  Samantha cautiously took a sip. “I don’t know. It’s not so bad.”

  Amelia grimaced. “It looks disgusting.”

  The girls got drinks and then headed back to their table.

  “Veggie burger number one,” Emily announced, setting down her tray.

  “What do you mean?” Samantha asked.

  “It’s the most popular vegetarian option at camp,” Emily explained. “That and spaghetti. Last year I think I ate fifty veggie burgers, so this year I want to keep count.”

  “Why don’t you just eat salad?” Libby asked, holding up a forkful of lettuce. “I love salad.”

  “Salad is okay, but it doesn’t fill me up,” Emily said with a sigh. “Plus, it gets boring.”

  “Everything here looks boring,” Amelia complained.

  “I know it might look that way now, but it’s really fun,” Maddie assured her. “After we eat, they’ll show us the activity schedule. You’ll see.”

  “Well,” said Libby, peering around. “Has anyone checked out the boys yet?”

  The girls all started craning their necks to see the boys at the other tables.

  “Don’t be so obvious!” hissed Libby, starting to giggle.

  All the girls turned back around.

  “Well some of them have grown a lot,” said Emily.

  “Some of them are kind of cute,” said Samantha.

  Amelia suddenly seemed very interested. “Which ones are our age?” she said.

  Libby rolled her eyes. “The ones at the table behind us.”

  “Oh,” said Amelia, sighing. “Them.”

  “The tall one is cute,” said Samantha.

  “Which is the tall one?” asked Emily.

  “Um . . . the really tall one,” said Samantha.

  Maddie’s ears perked up. Did she mean the British boy?

  Just then Patty and Jim Lewis, the camp directors, were standing up and wildly trying to get everyone’s attention. “Campers!” called Jim. “It’s time for announcements!”

  “Welcome, campers, to Camp Wimoway!”
said Patty, a short, athletic-looking woman with a neat haircut. “This is going to be a great season!”

  Maddie joined in as the campers clapped and cheered. Liza put two fingers between her lips and let out a long, loud whistle.

  “Now let’s meet this year’s fantastic counselors!” announced Jim, a trim man with a crew cut and glasses.

  The counselors, young men and women in their twenties, like Tara, lined up next to the camp directors. Jim and Patty called out names and the campers cheered for each one.

  Amelia leaned over to Maddie. “So what’s with these two?” she asked, nodding her head toward Patty and Jim.

  “Patty’s family started the camp back in the fifties or something,” Maddie explained. “Jim’s her husband. They run the camp together.”

  Amelia rolled her eyes, like somehow that was a dumb job to have.

  “They met at camp,” said Maddie, watching Amelia.

  Amelia stopped twirling her hair. “Really?” she said. She turned back around to take another look at the boys behind them. Maddie wondered if she was thinking she would marry one of them. Just as long as it wasn’t her British boy.

  Maddie didn’t want to make her mind up about Amelia just yet—new campers always needed time to adjust—but something told her that Amelia might be trouble.

  After the counselors were introduced, they handed out camp schedules. Maddie had been coming to camp so long that she knew the basic schedule by heart. Every year, though, the Lewises added some new activity choices to keep things interesting.

  Camp Wimoway Schedule

  7:30: wake-up

  8:00: flag

  8:15: breakfast

  9:00: clean-up time

  9:30: all-camp activity

  10:30: activity 1

  11:30: activity 2

  12:30: lunch

  1:15: siesta time

  2:15: activity 3

  3:15: instructional swimming

  4:15: free time/snack time

  5:15: activity 4

  6:30: supper

  7:30: evening program

  8:30: downtime

  9:00: curfew

  9:30 lights out

  “Seven thirty wake-up? Are they serious?” Amelia asked, her eyes wide.

  “You get used to it,” Maddie told her, but Amelia didn’t look convinced.

  Shy Samantha spoke up. “I don’t get some of these things. What is siesta time?”

  “They let us chill after lunch,” Liza explained. “And that’s when the little kids take a nap.”

  Maddie walked over to her and pointed to the schedule. “Flag is when we raise the camp flag outside the main office and get morning announcements. All-camp activity is something the whole camp does together, like a hike.”

  “You mean the boys and girls are together then?” Samantha asked.

  Maddie nodded. “Right, and also during meals and flag and the evening program and free time,” she explained. “The evening program is like a camp sing-along or something, and at free time and downtime you can do whatever you want.”

  “Thanks,” Samantha said with a grateful smile.

  “See? I told you guys there was instructional swim every day,” Libby said with a groan. “I hate getting my hair wet!”

  “Me too,” Amelia agreed.

  “Campers, today’s schedule is a little different,” Patty announced. “After lunch you’ll have free time to choose your activities. Then at three o’clock we’ll all meet at the new pool for swim tests, so we can place you in the proper instructional swim class.”

  “Fun,” Libby said with another groan.

  “It looks like there’s other fun stuff in the schedule,” Maddie pointed out.

  “Let’s go back to the cabin after this and pick what we want to do, so we can all do it together,” Liza suggested.

  A short while later the girls sat cross-legged on the colorful rag rug on the cabin floor. Amelia flopped down on her bed, keeping her distance.

  “Activity one: tennis or volleyball,” Maddie read out loud.

  “Tennis!” shouted Libby.

  “Volleyball!” shouted Liza at the same time.

  Emily sighed. “No crafts? I wish I could do crafts all day.”

  “I’ll do whatever you guys do,” Samantha said.

  Emily shrugged. “I guess I will too, then, since I don’t care.”

  Liza and Libby looked expectantly at Maddie. Normally she would have done whatever Liza wanted, but she had been hoping to take tennis this summer. Her mom had loved to play with her dad, and Maddie hoped to get good enough to play with her.

  “I think tennis,” Maddie said cautiously. “I’m trying to learn so I can play with my mom, but I’m really terrible at it.”

  Liza looked a little disappointed, but she seemed to understand.

  “Ooh, it will be fun!” Libby promised. “I can help you, Maddie.”

  “Thanks,” Maddie replied warmly.

  “I guess tennis works,” said Amelia. The girls turned around and looked at her; they had completely forgotten about her sitting on the bed behind them.

  Then they worked out the rest of the activity periods: drama, archery, and arts and crafts.

  “Amelia, what are you doing?” Maddie asked as Amelia wandered over to the window.

  “Plotting my escape out of here,” Amelia replied darkly.

  Then Tara came in. “All right, girls, time to slather on the sunscreen and suit up.”

  Thirty minutes later they were gathered around the pool with the rest of the campers. The afternoon sun was warm, and Maddie was itching to dive into the water. She loved any sports that took place in the water—kayaking, rowing, and especially swimming. So did Liza, which is one of the reasons they became friends in the first place.

  The swim test was pretty simple. Four lanes had been set up across the pool, marked off by blue ropes held afloat by bright orange buoys. A counselor monitored each lane, and one by one the campers who knew how to swim were asked to jump or dive in the water, swim with a freestyle stroke to the other side of the pool, and swim back.

  “Okay, Hannahs, you’re up!” Tara told them.

  Confident, Liza got to the front of the line. “Let’s do this!” she said.

  Tara blew a whistle, and Liza dove into the pool. As soon as she hit the water, she started to flounder, splashing her arms.

  “It’s s-s-so cold!” she complained.

  “Come on, Liza, swim!” Maddie cheered.

  Liza recovered and flawlessly swam across the pool and back. Then it was Maddie’s turn. She braced herself now that she knew the water was cold. When she dove in, she told herself to just keep going, and then she swam to the other side and swiftly returned.

  “Nice job!” Tara complimented her.

  After Maddie’s swim test, Samantha and Libby doggy-paddled their way across the pool. Amelia had a pretty good freestyle, but she got tired halfway back and finished with a lazy backstroke. Then, like Maddie, Emily had a nice strong swim.

  “Good job, Hannahs,” Tara said when they were done. “Samantha and Libby, you’re in beginners. Amelia and Liza, you’re in intermediate. Maddie and Emily are in advanced.”

  “Intermediate?” Liza asked, incredulous. “That is so not fair! I just got shocked by the cold water, that’s all. Ask the swim counselor from last year, she’ll tell you that I know what I’m doing.”

  “I have to base my placement on this test,” Tara said evenly. “If you show improvement in the intermediate class, you can move up next week.”

  Liza frowned and looked away, and Maddie felt bad. That meant she and Liza wouldn’t be in class together. That was another disappointment for her friend, Maddie knew—first the volleyball, now this, and then there was the fact that Liza wasn’t staying the whole summer.

  “Sorry, Liza,” Maddie said, but her friend didn’t say anything in response.

  That night before lights out, Liza, Libby, and Emily sat cross-legged on Maddie’s bed. Samantha was q
uietly reading a book, and Amelia had her head under the covers. The friends could see a soft glow shining through the blanket.

  “I bet she’s texting,” Liza whispered, and Maddie put a finger to her lips.

  “Shh,” she said. “I think she’s having a hard time adjusting.”

  “I am having a hard time adjusting to instructional swim,” Libby complained, and everyone laughed just as Tara walked in.

  “Lights out, campers,” she said, and then she noticed the four girls huddled together. “I see I’ve got the Four Musketeers in this cabin.”

  Everyone laughed but Liza.

  “It won’t be for long,” she said sullenly. “I’ll be leaving in the middle of the summer.”

  “But you’ll be our fourth musketeer in spirit,” Maddie promised.

  “Yeah,” Liza said, but she didn’t sound convinced. She went over to her bed and pulled the covers over her.

  “See you bright and early, Hannahs,” Tara said when all the girls were settled, and then she turned out the light.

  Maddie glanced over at Liza, eager to catch up, but Liza had already turned over to go to sleep. It looked like the night of whispering would have to wait. She drifted off to sleep, hoping that her friend was okay.

  chapter 4

  “MAIL CALL!” TARA ANNOUNCED, BURSTING INTO the girls’ bunk.

  Amelia groaned. “Come on. I’m trying to siesta!” she complained, pulling a pillow over her head.

  It was the fourth day of camp, and Amelia hadn’t been adjusting to the early wake-up too well. Every day after lunch she headed right for the cabin and crashed. Today Libby was out getting some extra tennis practice, Samantha was reading, Emily was knitting a canteen cozy, and Liza and Maddie were playing a board game.

  “Sorry, Amelia,” Tara said, but she didn’t lower the naturally loud volume of her voice. “Maddie, there are three letters for you.”

  “Three?” Maddie asked, looking up from the game board. She didn’t usually get a lot of mail at camp.

  “I guess everyone’s looking out for you,” Tara said, and Maddie suddenly felt uncomfortable.

  Here we go, she thought.

  “Maddie, how are you doing? Okay?” Tara asked in that concerned voice that Maddie had heard so much over the past year.