Maddie's Camp Crush

by Angela Darling

  “Fine,” Maddie said quickly. “Thanks for the letters.”

  “Looks like there’s a package, too,” Tara said with a grin. She handed over the mail and then left the cabin.

  “What’d you get? What’d you get?” Liza asked, excited.

  “Let me see,” Maddie said. “Looks like a letter from Uncle Jay and Aunt Marie. And one from Aunt Ellen. And the package is from Grandma and Grandpa.”

  “Open it!” Liza urged.

  Maddie obeyed. “Strawberry licorice, yay!” she said. She looked around the bunk. They weren’t supposed to get any candy but most counselors didn’t say anything about it. Maddie handed out pieces to everyone and stashed the package under her bed.

  Amelia took the pillow off her head, suddenly interested. “Wow, that’s a lot of mail.”

  “Yeah,” Maddie said, but she didn’t say much else. She knew her mom must have asked every relative to send her tons of mail to make her feel loved and all that stuff. But she didn’t feel like explaining it to Amelia, or even talking about it with Liza.

  “Yum, thanks!” Amelia said pleasantly as she bit into the licorice.

  Libby walked in, dressed in a white shirt and shorts and carrying her tennis racket.

  “Almost time for tennis,” she said.

  “Aren’t you sick of tennis yet?” Liza asked.

  “I will never be sick of tennis,” Libby promised.

  Emily put down her knitting needles. “Rats! I was almost finished,” she said. “When I get older I’m going to run a summer camp for kids who just want to do crafts all day.”

  “That’s actually a pretty good idea,” Samantha said, looking up from her book.

  “Thanks,” Emily said. “Seth said he’ll run it with me.”

  “Seth?” Maddie asked.

  “You know, my height, glasses,” Emily said. “He’s in the Charles bunk, with that tall kid from England or whatever.”

  Maddie almost shouted, I know him! He’s totally the cutest boy ever! but she stopped herself. She’d been keeping a lookout for BB (British Boy, her secret name for him), but she hadn’t mentioned anything to Liza or any of her friends about him yet. Every time the girls started talking about boys they got distracted. They started talking about which girls’ hair was longer or shorter and which counselors were the nicest (Tara was nice but strict; Wendy, who led the archery class, was strict but not supernice.) When they started talking about boys, even if they got distracted, they always ended up talking about boys again. It was hard to miss them this summer. It seemed like they were everywhere.

  But today they dropped the “boys” conversation and just got ready to go to tennis.

  And that felt pretty good to Maddie. Despite Tara constantly asking her if she was okay, and a lot more boy stuff this summer, she felt pretty normal so far. At school, all of her friends had been acting a little weird, but at camp it was like she was the same old Maddie.

  Then something changed a few days later, when the second week of camp began. Maddie woke up to a humming sound, and as the fog of sleep lifted, she realized that someone was blow-drying their hair.

  Maddie yawned and stretched. “What’s going on?” she asked Liza, who was standing in the middle of the cabin, impatiently tapping her foot.

  “It’s Amelia,” Liza said. “She actually took a shower this morning.”

  “Really?” Maddie asked. Most campers took showers at night to wash off the day’s dirt, and then jumped out of bed in the morning five minutes before flag. It was just how they did things. It didn’t make sense to shower in the morning and then go do a sweaty activity an hour later.

  “And she’s been hogging one of the sinks in there,” Liza said. There were only two sinks, which was a problem. “Emily is brushing her teeth now, and I can’t do anything until Amelia gets out of there.”

  “I’m sure she won’t be much longer,” Maddie said. She got dressed in shorts and a T-shirt, but when she was finished she could still hear the blow-dryer going. Peeking into the sink area, she saw Liza furiously brushing her teeth and casting evil looks at Amelia.

  Finally, Amelia stopped doing her hair—and picked up a makeup brush.

  “Amelia, we’re going to be late for flag,” Liza said. “Why are you bothering, anyway?”

  Amelia put down the brush. “In case you haven’t noticed, we have breakfast with the boys’ camp,” she said. “You can look like a mess if you want to, but not me.” Then she went back to applying her makeup.

  Liza’s eyes narrowed. “Oh yeah? Well, how about if you don’t back off of that mirror, I’ll tell Tara about your nightly texting sessions.”

  Amelia scowled. “You wouldn’t!”

  “Try me,” Liza said.

  With a huff, Amelia gathered up her makeup and hair accessories and left the sink.

  “Come on, Mads, you’re up,” Liza said.

  Maddie hurried to the sink and brushed her teeth. As she was washing her face, she heard Tara’s voice in the main room.

  “You girls are late for flag! Let’s go!”

  Maddie took a look at herself. She smoothed down her hair and tried to pinch her cheeks so they looked rosy. She didn’t look bad but, well, she looked like she just rolled out of bed.

  Maddie scrambled to finish up and followed the rest of the Hannahs out of the bunk. When they got to flag, she suddenly felt self-conscious—several girls from the other bunks had followed Amelia’s lead, doing their hair and putting on lip gloss and blush. Maddie scoped out the crowd and spotted BB talking with some of the boys. If the girls impressed them, they didn’t seem to notice.

  Emily nudged her and pointed to some of the made-up girls. “They look ridiculous, right? This is camp!”

  “Yeah,” Maddie whispered back. But even though she was relieved that the boys didn’t seem to care, she wondered if maybe Amelia had a point. Not about the lip gloss, maybe, but it couldn’t hurt to look nice in the morning, could it?

  By dinnertime that night, everyone was equally hot and disheveled from the day’s activities. The girls got on the food line and piled their plates with chicken fingers, mashed potatoes, and green beans.

  “Veggie burger number four,” Emily announced, holding it up for everyone to see.

  Liza picked up the salt shaker and eyed her mashed potatoes. “If I were vegetarian I’d eat mashed potatoes every day. Yum!” she said, then tipped over the shaker to salt the potatoes . . . and the loose cap fell off, dumping a mound of salt onto her food.

  “No!” Liza wailed. At the tables around her, other girls were shrieking and laughing in surprise as the same thing happened to them.

  “What’s going on?” Samantha asked.

  “It’s the oldest camp prank in the book,” Maddie replied. “The boys loosened the caps of all the salt and pepper shakers on the girls’ tables. You can’t tell, so when you go to shake it, the caps fall off.”

  She nodded to the boys’ side of the mess hall, where the boys were all cracking up at the girls’ reactions—even BB.

  Samantha started to giggle. “Sorry, Liza, but it’s kind of funny.”

  “Maybe,” Liza said, her eyes narrowing. “But if they’re out of mashed potatoes up there I’m going to swipe them from the first boy’s plate I see.”

  She got up and stomped back to the food line.

  “Wow, she seems mad,” Amelia remarked.

  “Don’t worry, she’ll be fine,” Maddie said. “I pity those boys when Liza gets her revenge!”

  chapter 5

  “BIG BUFFALO COMES FROM THE MOUNTAIN FAR, far away!

  Far, far away, woop, woop, woop.

  Far, far away, woop, woop, woop!”

  Maddie sang along with the other campers, ending with a big, loud WOOP and then bursting into giggles.

  “Great job, campers!” Patty Lewis cheered. “Enjoy the rest of your night!”

  Maddie and Liza stood up and stretched. They’d been sitting cross-legged on a blanket during the camp sing-along. Maddie lo
oked up at the shining stars scattered across the black sky overhead. Her dad had loved to show her the constellations.

  See that there? That’s the Big Dipper, he would say. And see how that star over there looks like it’s twinkling? Those are special stars. You can wish on them. Make a wish, Mads. Go ahead.

  When she was little, Maddie wished for things like chocolate ice cream or a new stuffed animal. As she spotted a twinkling star in the sky above her now, the power of wishing suddenly felt like a big responsibility. What would she wish for now? That Dad had never gotten sick? That Mom would be happy again? Or was it okay to wish for something frivolous, like wishing there’d be s’mores at the campfire tomorrow night? It didn’t really matter, anyway, because wishes weren’t real. If they were, Dad would still be alive.

  “Earth to Mads,” Liza said, interrupting her thoughts. “You okay?”

  “What?” Maddie asked. “Oh, yeah, sure. Let’s go get some cookies and milk.”

  They rolled up their blanket and headed over to the mess hall, following the rest of the campers. After the evening program there was a half hour of downtime before curfew, and most campers went to the mess hall for cookies and milk. Maddie and Liza found Libby, Emily, and Samantha sitting on some benches in the quad in front of the mess hall with three girls from the Betty bunk: Holly, Ava, and Morgan. They were all whispering and giggling.

  “What’s going on?” Liza asked as she and Maddie took a seat next to Libby.

  “We’re voting on who the cutest boy is at camp,” Libby replied. “So far, Brandon has the most votes.”

  “Totally,” Liza said, nodding. “He’s like, way cuter this year for some reason.”

  Maddie shrugged. “I think he looks the same,” she said. “Maybe a little taller.”

  “I think that British kid is pretty cute,” said Morgan, a girl with big brown eyes and curly blond hair.

  “That’s Gabriel,” Emily said. “Seth says he’s pretty nice.”

  Gabriel. Maddie’s heart skipped a beat. Wasn’t that the name of an angel? It figured he would have such a beautiful name. She scanned the quad and spotted Gabriel still over by the fire. Something about the way the firelight danced across his face made her heart jump again.

  Is this what it’s like to have a crush on someone? she wondered.

  “What about you, Maddie?” Libby asked.

  Maddie snapped out of her thoughts. “Um, I don’t know,” she replied, although it wasn’t true. She definitely thought Gabriel was the cutest, but the thought of saying it out loud still felt weird.

  “Well, I vote for Brandon,” Liza said, and Maddie noticed something in her friend’s voice she hadn’t before. Was Liza crushing on Brandon?

  “Brandon’s good at tennis, so I’ll vote for him too,” Libby said.

  “Shh! He’s coming!” Ava hissed, and the girls quieted down as Brandon walked by with some other boys. When they had passed, the girls collapsed into giggles again.

  She snuck another look over at Gabriel, beautiful Gabriel. Liza was crazy, he was way cuter than Brandon. Not even close.

  The next morning the rushing water sound of the shower woke Maddie. She glanced at the clock on her dresser and saw that it was only 6:35. It had to be Amelia, up early to do her hair again, Maddie guessed, but then she saw that Amelia was still asleep. Liza’s bed, though, was empty.

  Maddie sat up in bed and yawned. Once she was awake, it was tough to go back to sleep. A few minutes later Liza emerged from the bathroom, fully dressed and rubbing her hair with a towel.

  “What are you doing?” Maddie whispered.

  Liza glanced at Amelia. “I hate to say it, but I think she’s right,” she said. “I mean, it can’t hurt to look nice at breakfast, right?”

  “I guess not,” Maddie said thoughtfully. After all, half of the girls at camp had taken Amelia’s lead and were getting dressed up for breakfast. She didn’t want to stand out. She thought of Gabriel looking over at her with her hair matted down from sleep and the pillow marks still on her face. She shuddered. That would be bad.

  Maddie scrambled out of bed and got ready for a shower. When she got out, Libby was in the other shower and Samantha was waiting to take one. Amelia was standing behind Samantha, looking annoyed.

  “You guys could have told me you were getting up early too,” she complained.

  Maddie got dressed and then dried her hair, using the attachment that made it nice and straight. When she finished, she had to admit that she looked nicer than she had since she came to camp. Maybe Gabriel would notice.

  Then Tara poked her head into the bathroom. “Come on, girls! We’re going to be late! Who cares if your hair isn’t straight? This is camp!”

  “Coming!” Maddie said quickly. She ran into the cabin’s main room, where Emily was sitting at her dresser, gluing plastic gems onto a picture frame made of craft sticks. Her curly hair was just as messy as ever.

  “You too, Emily,” Tara said.

  “No problem,” Emily said, standing. “I’ve been ready since I woke up.”

  The girls rushed to make flag, mostly polished, although Amelia’s hair was still wet at the ends. Maddie didn’t pay attention to any of the morning announcements; she was too busy casting glances at Gabriel. Gabriel. She would never get tired of that name.

  At breakfast Maddie picked up the pepper shaker to use on her scrambled eggs, when Liza put a hand over hers, stopping her.

  “Better check first,” Liza warned, and Maddie obeyed. The cap was tight.

  “Thanks,” she said. “So, what are you planning to do to get back at them? Is anyone planning anything?”

  “I’m working on it,” Liza said. “It’s got to be perfect.”

  After they ate, the girls went back to the cabin to clean up and change into swimsuits for the all-camp activity. It was lake sports this week, Maddie’s favorite. Campers could choose between going out in a rowboat, canoe, or kayak.

  Maddie shoved some clothes into a drawer and quickly changed, putting her hair up into a ponytail.

  “What’s the rush, Mads?” Liza asked.

  “I want to get a kayak today,” she said. “Those are the most fun.”

  Liza nodded. “Yeah, they’re the fastest.”

  Maddie waved and raced out the cabin door. “See you there!” she called behind her.

  She jogged down the wooded path to Lake Wimoway, a lake about the size of a football field, which was a pretty good size for a summer camp, or so Maddie’s dad had always said. The boats were lined up along the sandy beach, and an old wooden dock bobbed on the water off shore. The water out by the dock was deep enough for diving and swimming.

  Maddie was one of the first campers to the lake, so after nodding to Shannon, the counselor in charge of lake sports, who smiled and waved to her, she grabbed a life preserver and headed toward a blue kayak. She dragged it into the water and hopped in, then gripped the double-ended paddle in both hands and headed out.

  She glided quickly across the water, rhythmically dipping the paddle left, then right, then left . . . . Then she heard a voice behind her.

  “Hey, mate, wait for me!”

  She turned with a smile, recognizing the accent. Gabriel was paddling beside her! Her heart started dancing around again.

  “Hi,” Maddie said shyly.

  “That was right brilliant to get here early and grab a kayak,” Gabriel said. “They’re the best, aren’t they?”

  “Definitely,” Maddie agreed with a smile. “So I guess that makes you right brilliant too.”

  Gabriel smiled back. “You’re fast,” he told her. “Not like some of those blokes in my cabin. They splash around like ducks in the water.”

  Maddie laughed. “I know, it’s like their paddles are dangerous weapons or something,” she joked. “But they usually get better by the end of the week. The counselors are pretty good at teaching stuff.”

  They paddled together in silence for a little while, making their way all around the lake. Inside her h
ead, Maddie couldn’t help singing, Row, row, row your boat . . . Her dad had always sung that—loudly—whenever they went kayaking or canoeing. She was very aware of Gabriel paddling next to her and she didn’t quite know what to say or do, so she was grateful for the rhythm of the boat and the slap, slap, slap of the paddle on the water. Soon Maddie was deep in a groove, paddling and singing the song in her head.

  Then, to her embarrassment, she realized that she had started to sing out loud! She was about to stop when she heard Gabriel join her.

  “Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily. Life is but a dream!”

  They sang together, playfully splashing at each other, until they heard Shannon’s whistle across the lake calling them in.

  “Race you!” Gabriel called out, and Maddie didn’t hesitate, paddling like crazy and laughing just as hard. She beat him to the shore by a foot.

  “Good race!” Gabriel congratulated her.

  “Thanks!” Maddie replied, and then suddenly became self-conscious. There is no graceful way to get out of a kayak; Maddie usually just tipped the boat on its side and spilled out into the water, but she decided that wasn’t the best thing to do in front of Gabriel. She set aside the paddle, and gripping the sides of the boat, she started to stand up. The kayak rocked unsteadily back and forth.

  Splash! It tipped over, sending Maddie into the lake.

  “Hang on!” Gabriel cried. He jumped out of his kayak, tipping his boat over too. Maddie laughed and splashed him, and Gabriel splashed her back.

  Shannon blew her whistle again, and Maddie finally got on her feet and dragged the kayak back to the sand. Liza was waiting for her with a knowing smile on her face.

  “He’s cuuuuute!” Liza said.

  Maddie just shrugged. “Oh, him?” But inside, her heart was smiling.

  chapter 6

  MADDIE COULDN’T STOP THINKING ABOUT Gabriel. She thought about him during tennis, and her crazy serves kept going out of bounds. She thought about him during drama, when she was supposed to be pretending she was a piece of bacon frying in a pan, but she forgot to move.

  “I need some more sizzle from you, Maddie!” the counselor yelled, and everyone laughed.