Maddie's Camp Crush

by Angela Darling

  Maddie smiled. “I know where we can eat. Let me get a blanket.”

  A few minutes later they were under the shade of a tree at the edge of the soccer meadow, setting up lunch picnic-style.

  “I got you a chicken Caesar sandwich from Eddie’s deli,” Mrs. Jacobs said, handing Maddie a wrapped sandwich. “And there’s that potato salad you like. And a giant chocolate-chip cookie.”

  “Yum!” Maddie said, happily unwrapping her sandwich. She took a bite and closed her eyes, savoring it. “This is soooo much better than camp food.”

  Things were quiet for a little while as everyone ate, but before long Maddie’s mom and grandparents were asking her a million questions.

  “How are Liza and Libby and Emily?”

  “What’s your favorite activity?”

  “Were there any good pranks this year?”

  Maddie answered everything, leaving out the part about the greased toilet seats. When they were done eating, Grandpa stood up and stretched.

  “How about giving us a tour?” he asked. “I’ve always heard a lot about this place, but I’ve never seen it.”

  “Sure,” Maddie said.

  They put the cooler back in the car and Maddie led them on a tour, taking them to the mess hall, the lake, and the arts and crafts cabin. Then they headed over to the tennis courts. Maddie was dying to tell her mom about the special lessons she’d been getting from Libby, but she wanted to keep that a secret for now.

  Mom’s not the only one who can pull off a surprise, she told herself.

  They were walking across the courts when Maddie spotted Gabriel and his mom coming toward them.

  “Hi!” Gabriel called out, and Maddie felt herself turning bright red. She wasn’t exactly sure why. What was the big deal?

  She heard her grandfather let out a chuckle, and saw her grandmother poke him in the ribs. Maddie wished she could sink into the court, but she felt like she should say something.

  “So, guess you’re on a tour too,” she said.

  “Right,” Gabriel replied, and he seemed a little uncomfortable too. His mom was giving him a weird smile. Maddie knew she probably should have introduced her mom and grandparents, but her feet had a mind of their own. She hurried off the court.

  “See you later,” she said, barely looking at him.

  “Right,” Gabriel said again.

  “Well,” her mom said, as soon as they were off the court. “Is that someone special?”

  “Mom!” Maddie cried, embarrassed. “No! He’s just Gabriel. He’s my friend.”

  “Okay, okay,” her mom said. “Just asking. Now let’s go see the horses. Have you done any riding yet?”

  “Not yet,” Maddie replied. “I was saving that for this session.”

  Maddie continued the tour, thankful that nobody mentioned Gabriel. Before she knew it, it was time for the visitors to leave. Maddie reluctantly walked them back to the car.

  Her mom grabbed her in a hug that lasted so long Maddie wasn’t sure if her mom would ever let go. When she finally did, she asked, “You’re having fun, right?”

  “Yes,” Maddie replied, and she realized she meant it—and that surprised her a little. Fun. A few months ago she thought she would never have fun again.

  Mrs. Jacobs looked relieved. “I’m so glad, honey. You have a good time the next few weeks. I miss you, but you’ll be home before you know it.”

  She squeezed Maddie again and then slipped into the backseat. Grandpa gave her a hug next, and then finally it was Grandma’s turn.

  “You okay, sweetheart?” she asked, looking into Maddie’s eyes.

  The question didn’t annoy Maddie as much as it would have a few weeks ago.

  “I’m good, Grandma,” she replied. She was thoughtful for a moment. “How’s Mom?”

  “Oh, she’s doing fine,” Grandma replied. “Don’t you worry about her. Once we got her through the first week she was much better.”

  Maddie was confused. “What do you mean?”

  “She missed you so much, pumpkin,” Grandma explained. “She didn’t want you to go to camp, let alone the whole summer. She was worried she’d miss you too much, and she was worried how you’d do away from home. But your dad insisted that you go this year. He knew how much you love camp and he wanted you to have a wonderful summer doing fun things. I think he knew it would be hard at home, and he wanted you here instead.”

  Maddie was quiet as she absorbed all this. All along, she had thought Mom just couldn’t handle her being around. She had no idea that Mom didn’t want her to go to camp. She started to think about her mom all alone in the house, and she suddenly felt bad.

  “Mom isn’t too lonely?” she asked her grandmother.

  “Oh, don’t you worry,” Grandma replied. “She’s had so many visitors, and all of her friends are keeping her busy. In the car up here, she was joking that she wanted everyone to stop asking if she was okay and leave her alone for a few days.”

  Maddie smiled. She knew just how Mom felt. “Thanks, Grandma.”

  Then she walked over to her mom’s window and leaned inside.

  “I miss you, Mom o’ Mine,” she said, using a nickname from when she was a kid. “But I’m having fun. See you soon!”

  Maddie’s mom broke into a smile. “That’s just what I wanted to hear.”

  chapter 14

  THE FOURTH WEEK OF CAMP WAS A BLUR AS Maddie got used to her new activities and new bunkmates. She had to catch glimpses of Gabriel around camp, but she felt like she hadn’t seen him in weeks. Actually the girls in her bunk hadn’t really talked that much about boys at all. Ashley, Alexis, and Abigail woke up early every morning, but not to shower and do their hair—they woke up to run. They cared way more about sports than boys. It was kind of nice. Maddie and her friends picked their new schedules and avoided taking volleyball.

  “All those girls do is spike it,” Maddie warned her friends. “It gets frustrating.”

  Instead, they filled their activity slots with horseback riding, rope climbing, photography, and ceramics. Actually, Maddie and Libby signed up for rope climbing, but Emily managed to convince the counselors to let her take another round of arts and crafts.

  Emily also managed to make some changes in the dining hall. A few days into week four, the dining hall served tacos with a fixings bar. Emily showed up at the table with two tacos.

  “What, no veggie burger?” Maddie asked.

  Emily grinned. “It’s a tofu taco. Mrs. Hancock really liked the apron I made her. She’s adding veggie chili to the menu, too, and I got her to do mac and cheese three times a week.”

  Maddie shook her head. “Emily, you are on a roll.”

  Every night after the evening program, Maddie and Gabriel met at “their rock,” as Maddie liked to think of it, and talked. Some of the new girls looked at them curiously and walked away whispering, but Maddie ignored them. She and Gabriel were just talking.

  One night, when she got back to the cabin, she found all of her bunkmates on the porch. Ashley, Alexis, and Abigail were not playing volleyball, for once, and they seemed to be in a chatty mood.

  “We saw you with that British guy,” Ashley said as soon as Maddie walked up the steps.

  “He’s so cute!” said Abigail.

  “Is he your boyfriend?” asked Alexis.

  Maddie tried not to let the question upset her. “No, he’s not,” she said. “We’re friends. I don’t see what the big deal is about having a boyfriend.”

  “I have a boyfriend.”

  Maddie turned with surprise at the sound of Emily’s voice. “You what?”

  Emily nodded calmly. “Yeah, Seth. I figured you knew.”

  Libby gave her a playful shove. “We did not know. When? How?”

  Emily gave a pleased little smile and ran into the cabin. “Hold on.”

  Maddie and Libby looked at each other curiously. Emily emerged a few seconds later with—well, something Maddie couldn’t quite make out.

  “He made me t
his,” Emily said, holding up the object. “It’s a papier-mâché sculpture of my head.”

  As soon as she said it, Maddie realized that’s what it was. Seth must have used a volleyball to mold the papier-mâché, because Emily’s head was really round. He had made her hair out of curled pieces of paper and even made glasses out of wire.

  “That is so cool!” Maddie exclaimed.

  “I’d like to serve that over a net,” Ashley said with a giggle, and Emily protectively held the head closer to her. “Just kidding! Just kidding! It’s cool!”

  “He gave me this two days ago and asked me to be his girlfriend,” Emily explained. “How could I say no? I mean, he made a sculpture of my head.”

  Libby nodded. “It’s a little creepy, but you’ve got a point.”

  “Wow. So he just came right out and asked you?” Maddie said. She was still trying to wrap her head around the whole thing. Emily, who never cared about blow-drying her hair and always had paint on her face, had a boyfriend? But why not? She was funny and cute and sweet. It had just always seemed like she didn’t care about stuff like that.

  “Yeah, he just asked me,” Emily replied. “It’s cool. He’s nice. And we like a lot of the same stuff.”

  “Well, um, congratulations,” Maddie said.

  Ashley, Alexis, and Abigail filed into the cabin and high-fived Emily on their way in.

  “Yeah, nice job,” Ashley said.

  Emily followed them in, smiling, leaving Libby and Maddie on the porch.

  “You know, I’m sure Gabriel will ask you soon,” Libby said.

  “Maybe,” Maddie said, a little crossly. Why hadn’t Gabriel asked her? Did it mean he didn’t like her? “Whatever.” And then she walked into the cabin, leaving Libby behind.

  The next morning, Maddie woke up in a bad mood. It wasn’t that she wasn’t happy for Emily; she just couldn’t shake the feeling that there must be something wrong with her and Gabriel.

  At free time that afternoon, Maddie flopped down on her bed. Libby came up and grabbed her by the arm.

  “Oh, no, Miss Maddie,” she said. “Now that we don’t have tennis every day, we need to practice whenever we can.”

  Maddie reluctantly got up. Even though she didn’t feel like it, she knew Libby was right, and she really wanted to surprise her mom. When they got to the tennis courts, Libby had some new advice for Maddie.

  “You know, I’ve been thinking that maybe you’re trying too hard,” Libby said. “My instructor always tells me to take some deep breaths before a game. When you’re relaxed, it’s easier to get into the rhythm.”

  “The rhythm of what?” Maddie asked.

  “Of the ball,” Libby said. “Come on, close your eyes and take three deep breaths.”

  Maddie felt silly, but she tried it.

  “Okay,” Libby said. “Now keep your eye on the ball, and feel the rhythm. Don’t worry about anything else. Not even beautiful Gabriel,” she teased.

  Maddie flushed hotly. But she took Libby’s advice and just concentrated on the yellow ball.

  Libby gently lobbed the ball over the net, and Maddie swatted it back right to her. Libby returned it, and Maddie hit it back again. They hit the ball back and forth a few more times before Maddie missed it.

  “Rats!” she cried, but Libby was encouraging.

  “That was great!” she said. “You’re getting it, Maddie!”

  For the first time, Maddie felt like she might actually figure out tennis after all.

  Now if I can only figure out this thing with Gabriel, everything will be great! she thought.

  chapter 15

  THE NEXT WEEK BEGAN WITH ANOTHER ALL-CAMP activity on the lake. Once again Maddie hurried to try to get a kayak, but they were all gone by the time the arrived. Then she spotted Gabriel waving to her by a canoe. Maddie ran over.

  “I tried to save us kayaks, but those three volleyball girls are really fast,” he reported. “They grabbed the last ones.”

  Maddie laughed. “That’s Ashley, Alexis, and Abigail. I call them the volleyball girls too. But thanks for getting us a canoe.”

  “I thought it might be fun,” Gabriel said, and the two of them grabbed onto the canoe and dragged it into the lake. Then Gabriel waved his arm toward the canoe. “After you, my lady,” he said.

  “Why, thank you,” Maddie replied, and she climbed aboard.

  Soon they were paddling across the lake. It was another beautiful day, with birds swooping and soaring in the blue sky overhead.

  “I can’t believe there are only two more weeks of camp,” Gabriel said. “Then I have to start school.” He shuddered.

  “I kind of like school,” Maddie admitted. “But if I had a choice, I’d rather stay at camp.”

  “I’m rather worried that American school will be different from school in London,” he said. “What’s it like here?”

  “Well, you’re going into seventh grade, right?” Maddie asked.

  “I think so,” Gabriel replied. “They name the years a little bit differently. Is that the same as middle school?”

  Maddie nodded. “Yeah. And we have different subjects, like math and reading and science and social studies and computers. And a foreign language. And then there are usually electives, like sewing and woodworking and stuff.”

  “What about PE?” Gabriel asked.

  Maddie frowned. “PE?”

  “Physical education,” Gabriel answered.

  “Oh yeah,” Maddie said with a nod. “We call that gym. Yeah, we do that every day. But there’s no rowing, like at your old school.”

  Things were quiet for a moment, and Maddie noticed that they were all the way in the middle of the lake. Gabriel frowned.

  “We’ve lost the current,” he said. “See how still the water is? It’s going to take us forever to get back.”

  And what would be so wrong with that? Maddie thought.

  “Just wait,” Maddie said out loud. “My dad taught me a lot about the water when we used to go boating together. Sometimes you just have to sit still and wait to see what the current or the wind will do. Then you’ll know which way to go.”

  They sat quietly for a few minutes, waiting and looking around the beautiful lake. It was quiet and peaceful and Maddie felt okay not saying anything, just sitting there with Gabriel. She wasn’t even thinking that there were only two weeks left for him to ask her to be his girlfriend. Well, she wasn’t thinking about it too much. Then, sure enough, the water began to ripple, and a little breeze began to blow.

  “Paddle left,” Maddie instructed, and soon they were paddling with the current and moving swiftly back to shore.

  “Your dad must be really smart!” Gabriel remarked.

  “He is,” Maddie replied. Then she realized what she’d said. She still was never sure what tense to use. “Well, I mean, he was.”

  Gabriel looked at her questioningly, and Maddie decided there was no use keeping it from him anymore.

  “My dad died last fall,” she said. “He was sick for, like, a year, and then it looked like he was getting better, and then he got really sick again, really fast.” Her eyes started to tear up, remembering.

  Gabriel was tearing up too. “Oh, I’m so sorry.”

  “Thank you,” she said.

  And then they just kept paddling. Gabriel didn’t ask any more questions or say anything to try to make her feel better, and Maddie was grateful.

  At the sound of the counselor’s whistle they brought the canoe back to shore.

  “Thanks for telling me, Maddie,” Gabriel said when they climbed out of the boat. “I really am sorry about your dad.”

  Then he hugged her. At first, Maddie thought she might faint. She stood there for a second with her arms at her sides.

  Hug him back! a little voice inside her urged, and she cautiously returned the hug. Gabriel smelled like sun and water and summer.

  The hug lasted maybe five seconds, but when it was done Maddie felt like she was tingling from head to toe.

&
nbsp; “Um, thanks,” she said shyly. “See you later.”

  Gabriel smiled and waved to her as she headed back to the bunk—and it felt like she was floating the whole way. She knew she had to get ready for her next activity, but after she changed out of her swimsuit she took out one of the flower cards she and Liza had made together.

  Dear Liza, she wrote. You will not believe what just happened . . .

  chapter 16

  MADDIE COULDN’T STOP THINKING ABOUT THE HUG all day. At lunch, she waved to Gabriel as he walked back to his table with his tray, and he waved back. Part of her wanted to go up to him and say something, but she stopped herself. That wasn’t their thing. They ate meals separately, and then hung out during downtime. She didn’t want to rock the boat.

  Rock the boat. Just thinking about the canoe brought back that tingly feeling she got from the hug. She realized she must have been smiling because Emily quizzed her when she sat down.

  “What’s up, Maddie? Are you as happy about the mac and cheese as I am?” she asked.

  “Um, yeah,” Maddie lied. She wasn’t ready to tell anyone else about that hug yet. “Gotta love that mac and cheese.”

  But at dinner that night, neither Maddie nor Emily were smiling—but for different reasons.

  “Mac and cheese again?” Emily asked. “I mean, I love it, but twice in one day?”

  “Be careful what you wish for,” Libby quipped. “At least, that’s what my grandma always says.”

  Emily sighed and poked at her macaroni and cheese with her fork.

  But Maddie wasn’t paying attention. Her eyes were focused across the mess hall, where Amelia had planted herself next to Gabriel, at a boys’ table! Not only that, but she and Gabriel were talking and laughing. Maddie felt jealous, and then wondered if she had a right to. He wasn’t her boyfriend—but what about that hug?

  During the evening program that night, the counselors led the campers in a game of flashlight tag. It wasn’t super dark out yet, but the flashlights made it more fun. But Maddie couldn’t really get into the game, because she kept watching Gabriel. Just like at dinner, Amelia planted herself right by his side, running after him and chasing him.