Grace's Twist #3

by Melissa J Morgan

  “Yes and yes,” her mother replied. “As long as you start reading The Jungle Book right away.”

  “I will! I totally will this time,” Grace promised. “I let you guys down once, and you gave me a second chance. I’m not going to let you down again.”

  “That’s what I like to hear,” her father said.

  “Good night, honey. We’re proud of you,” her mother added.

  When Grace hung up the phone, she did a little jig all the way to the door of the office. She grinned at Kathleen.

  “Looks like you passed,” Kathleen said.

  “Yup!” Grace ran to the office door and threw it open. Eleven expectant faces gazed back at her. Her bunkmates had all come to wait for the results. They are the best friends in the entire world, she thought, touched.

  “Well, don’t keep us in suspense,” Natalie said. “How did you do?”

  “WetWorld, here we come!” Grace yelled.

  chapter TEN

  “What’s up, Gracie?” Gaby dropped down on the black box next to Grace at the start of drama class the next day.

  Grace couldn’t believe her ears. Gaby sounded completely friendly and normal. As if nothing had happened between them. As if they’d never had a disagreement in their lives.

  “Did you see Tyler and Stephanie at breakfast this morning?” Gaby asked. “They were actually holding hands.”

  Grace shook her head. How could Gaby just pretend that things were okay between them? Did she expect Grace to forget her bad behavior? Still, Grace couldn’t exactly be rude to her, not when Gaby was acting all nice like this.

  “Um . . . I really have to cram,” Grace said. “I didn’t think my parents would let me audition, so I haven’t even bothered to learn the scene.” She turned back to her copy of The Sound of Music.

  “No kidding,” Gaby said. “I am your partner. I know we haven’t been practicing.” She sounded annoyed. But what did she have to be annoyed about? Gaby still hadn’t apologized for lying about her free-swim punishment, and here she was acting as if Grace was the difficult one.

  “I’m sorry,” Grace said, not entirely meaning it. “We could have been rehearsing an audition scene for you. You never mentioned it, so I just figured you weren’t planning to try out for the play.”

  “It’s more fun to have half an hour to play around during drama,” Gaby said. “Who wants to spend time practicing?”

  “Um, I do,” Grace told her. “It’s really important to me to get a part in the play this year.” Gaby rolled her eyes, but Grace ignored her. “I’m going to do the scene from The Sound of Music like we talked about.”

  Gaby played around with the laces on her sneakers. She didn’t seem to want to help, but Grace knew she had no choice. The first half hour of drama was for practicing. Bethany was cool about people sitting and talking quietly with their partners—she knew not everyone wanted to audition. But they weren’t allowed to just goof around or wander away from their partners. So if she wanted to rehearse, Gaby was going to have to sit there and listen.

  “It’s the scene where she’s teaching the kids to sing,” Grace said, pulling the typed pages out of her notebook. She hadn’t even looked at them since the second day of drama. She’d been too bummed about the fact that her folks wouldn’t let her try out. But she had the movie The Sound of Music on DVD, so she knew the scene pretty well already. “You read the kids’ lines. There aren’t many.” She handed over the pages.

  Gaby heaved a huge sigh, as if Grace was asking her to climb a mountain or something.

  By the time she’d said two lines, Gaby was yawning. And when it was Gaby’s turn to speak, she was busy putting a little braid in her hair and missed her cue.

  “You’re supposed to be helping me,” Grace said, frustrated. “You’re the one who wanted to be partners.”

  “That’s because I thought you would be fun,” Gaby said. “I didn’t know you actually wanted to try out for the stupid play.”

  Grace noticed Devon and Simon glancing over in her direction. “Shh,” she told Gaby. “Other people are trying to rehearse.”

  “So?” Gaby’s voice was as loud as ever.

  “Why did you sign up for drama if you think the play is stupid?” Grace asked.

  “Who said I signed up for it? I asked for photography, but Lizzie put me in drama.”

  “Why?” Grace asked.

  Gaby shrugged. “My stupid bunkmate Christa is in photography, and Lizzie wanted to separate us.”

  “Because you stole her shampoo?” Grace said.

  “I told you I didn’t steal it,” Gaby snapped. “Christa’s just a crybaby.”

  Grace didn’t answer. She had a feeling there was more to the story than Gaby was telling her. Based on her conversation with Julie and Marissa, Grace thought that Gaby had gotten in a lot of trouble for bullying Christa.

  “Bethany, can I go to the restroom?” Gaby called out. When Bethany nodded, Gaby just got up and left without even glancing in Grace’s direction. So much for having a scene partner, Grace thought, exasperated. I can’t believe I ever thought she could be my best friend.

  “Psst, Grace.” Devon leaned toward her. “You can practice with us if you want. We’ll read lines for your scene and you can read lines for ours.”

  “Really?” Grace said.

  Devon and Simon both nodded.

  “Wow. Thanks.” She grabbed her stuff and headed over to them. She tried not to look at Devon’s friendly face. If she did, she knew she’d get tongue-tied and not even be able to read her scene. All she could do was hope that it would be easier talking to Devon using words that someone else had thought up!

  Dear Emily,

  I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry. (Repeat at least a hundred times.)

  You were right. You said I would be too busy having fun to write to you this summer. And at first I was. But then I got too busy not having fun. There’s this girl Gaby from bunk 3A—that’s right, those evil girls I told you about last year. Anyway, most of those girls are actually okay. But this one is mean. Kind of. Sometimes. She started out being all nice to me, and she was funny. So I thought maybe she could be my camp best friend. Not that I’m trying to replace you!! But it stinks that you’re not here. So I figured I could be friends with Gaby. And as soon as we were friends, she started being weird. Sometimes she’s mean, but then she always says she’s only joking. You know me—I have a good sense of humor. So why can’t I tell when she’s kidding around? I guess I just really missed having one best friend, a partner in crime. But you know what they say—with friends like that! I guess it just goes to show that you really are irreplaceable!

  Anyway, I thought I would let you know that I finished The Call of the Wild. Mom and Dad made me take a quiz on it, and I got everything right. Now I just have to read The Jungle Book. I think it will be easy after this one. So, I kept my deal with them to read the book, and now I’m keeping my deal with you. I promised to write and I’m writing!

  I wish you were here. You could tell me what to do about the situation with Gaby. I don’t think I really want to be friends with her, but I also can’t stand the thought of being mean or hurting her feelings. Maybe I’m too soft? Who knows. Cross your fingers that I figure it out soon. figure it out soon.

  See you in less than a month!

  Grace

  “Do, a deer, a female deer!” Grace sang as she swept the floor during chores on Wednesday. “Re, a drop of golden sun!”

  “Meeee, a name I call myseeelf!” Jenna screeched in a fake falsetto voice.

  Everybody cracked up. Grace felt a little bad. They were all probably sick of hearing that song. “Sorry,” she said.

  “Grace, you’ve been practicing nonstop for two days,” Alyssa said. “Take a break before you make yourself hoarse.”

  “Yeah, you’ll make yourself hoarse,” Candace added.

  “Besides, you know the whole scene really well,” Valerie said. She lowered her voice. “You learned it much faster than
Brynn did.” Brynn was outside, running lines with Alex as they walked to the Dumpster to throw out the garbage.

  “Nah, she’s just a perfectionist,” Grace said. “Plus, Brynn’s had more time to rehearse. Auditions are in an hour and I’m totally not ready.”

  “Yes, you are ready,” Marissa said. “You were singing in your sleep last night.”

  “Seriously, Grace, you’re a natural,” Natalie said. “You’ll definitely get a part. And then you’ll be the huge celebrity at camp, and everyone will forget all about my father!”

  Grace smiled nervously. “I’m finished sweeping. Is it okay if I go over to the drama shack to practice before auditions?”

  “Go ahead,” Julie said. “Break a leg!”

  “Thanks.” Grace pushed through the door and bounded down the steps. To her surprise, Karen was sitting on the grass in front of the porch. “Hey. Whatcha doing?” Grace asked.

  Karen jumped. “Oh! I’m, um, I’m on dusting duty. I came out here to shake out the duster.” She held up their ancient feather duster as evidence.

  “You’re shaking out the duster while sitting down?” Grace asked, confused.

  “No.” Karen got up quickly. “I was . . . uh . . .”

  “Hiding from Chelsea?” Grace guessed.

  Karen’s gaze dropped to her sneakers. “No. Of course not.”

  “Karen, I heard you guys talking the other day,” Grace said. “I know you’re bummed about having to skip the rides at the water park.”

  “No, it’s okay,” Karen said. “Chelsea doesn’t like rides.”

  “But you do,” Grace pointed out.

  “Yeah, but I don’t want to leave Chelsea alone,” Karen said. “That wouldn’t be very nice. I already told her I’d hang out with her.” She gave the duster a little shake. “I better finish my chores.” She hurried up the steps but turned back before going in. “Hey, Grace, good luck at your audition,” she said quietly. “I think you’re the best actress at camp.” Then she disappeared into the bunk.

  Grace started down the trail. All her nervousness had returned the second Karen mentioned the tryout. It was nice to know that her bunkmates thought so highly of her, but she felt completely unprepared for the audition. She’d had to do all the work on her scene by herself. Gaby hadn’t even bothered to check in and see how it was going.

  But when she got to the drama shack for tryouts, Gaby was there, sitting in the “audience”—a bunch of the black boxes turned upside down for people to sit on while they watched the auditions. Grace was touched. Maybe Gaby hadn’t been the best drama partner in the world, but at least she was there to support Grace when it mattered. It was the first best-friend-like thing Gaby had ever done. Only a real friend would realize how nervous Grace would be about the audition. If Emily had been at Camp Lakeview, she would’ve been there to show her support. And for once, Gaby was acting the same way. She was being supportive.

  “Hey,” Grace said, sitting on the box next to Gaby. “Thanks for coming.”

  “Why wouldn’t I come?” Gaby said. “I think I have a pretty good shot at landing a part.”

  Grace couldn’t believe her ears. “You’re auditioning?” she asked.

  “Of course.”

  “But you didn’t even practice,” Grace cried. “You said you thought the play was stupid!”

  “It is,” Gaby said. “That’s why I didn’t bother practicing. How hard can it be to get a role in Peter Pan? It’s a kiddie story!”

  Bethany clapped her hands for attention, so Grace couldn’t answer. She wouldn’t have known how to respond, anyway. Gaby hadn’t come here to support Grace at all. Gaby was only here for herself!

  Auditions went in age order, so the younger kids went first. Most of them forgot a line or two, but a few were very good singers. By the time it was the third division’s turn, the butterflies in Grace’s stomach felt more like a flock of birds. “Third division, who’s first?” Bethany called.

  “Me!” Brynn leapt up and ran to the front of the room. “I’m doing the scene from The Music Man.”

  “I think I’ll volunteer to go next,” Grace whispered to Gaby. “I’m so nervous, I just want to get it over with.”

  Brynn did an amazing job on her tryout. Grace had heard her do the scene a hundred times over the past week, but seeing her perform it today was like watching it for the first time. Brynn disappeared and Marion the librarian stood onstage talking and singing. When she was done, Grace clapped and whistled through her teeth. “Way to go, Brynn!” she yelled.

  “Thank you, Brynn,” Bethany said. “Who’s next?”

  “I am!” Gaby called, jumping up and heading to the makeshift stage. Grace almost laughed. Gaby’s behavior was so awful all the time that Grace wasn’t even surprised anymore when she acted rudely. It’s my own fault for telling her I wanted to go next, she thought. I should’ve known that would make her steal my slot for herself.

  Gaby did the scene from The Sound of Music. She forgot half the lines and only sang one verse of the song. But she looked totally proud of herself when she was done. Grace clapped politely, and then raised her hand to go next.

  As she passed by on her way up to the front of the room, Devon whispered “good luck,” and Simon gave her a thumbs-up. Grace smiled back. They’d been much more helpful to her than her own partner had—they’d gone through the scene with her three times the other day.

  Once she got on stage, Grace forgot all about Gaby and her obnoxious behavior. She forgot about The Call of the Wild and the quiz. She forgot about the fact that she still had to read The Jungle Book before camp ended. She even forgot about the water-park trip the next day. Her entire mind was focused on being Maria, the nun-turned-nanny, teaching the von Trapp kids to sing. She spoke the lines and sang the song as if the words were coming straight from her own brain, not as if she’d memorized them and practiced them over and over. The black room around her became the grassy hills of Austria, and the people watching became the children she was talking to. She loved singing, and she knew the kids would, too. All she wanted in the world was to show these boys and girls how much joy there was in music, so she sang with every bit of happiness she had ever felt in her life.

  When her song ended, Grace slowly became aware that people were clapping. She had to shake her head a little to clear away the image of the outdoors and the von Trapp kids. She’d been so wrapped up in her acting that she’d forgotten where she really was.

  Breathing hard from singing, she took a bow and headed back out into the audience. Gaby sat with a sour expression on her face, barely clapping. Brynn was practically bouncing up and down on her black box, making whooping sounds as she applauded. Devon and Simon sat nearby, clapping and cheering, too. Grace didn’t even hesitate.

  She walked right by Gaby and sat with her other friends.

  “And Devon was amazing, too,” Brynn said at dessert that night. “If only we were really doing The Sound of Music, he’d be an excellent Captain von Trapp.”

  “Then you two could act together, Grace,” Natalie teased her.

  “Don’t you want to hear how your boyfriend, Simon, did?” Grace teased back. “I’m surprised you didn’t sneak out of arts and crafts to come watch him audition.”

  “I thought about it,” Natalie replied. “But instead I made him a little plate in pottery that says ‘Congratulations.’ I can’t give it to him until he finds out if he got a part, though!”

  Grace shook her head. It was no fun to tease Natalie about Simon these days. She just never got ruffled about it anymore. Not that she’d ever really been bothered by the teasing—if she had, Grace wouldn’t have done it.

  “I think he’ll get a part,” Brynn said. “He did a good job. I think we’ll all get parts.”

  “Yeah, we rule,” Grace agreed. “Are you still hoping for Wendy, Brynn? A lot of those division four and division five girls were really good.” Brynn had done an incredible audition, but Grace didn’t want her to get her hopes up too high. Des
pite what Bethany said, everybody knew that the main roles always went to older kids.

  “They were good, but I still think I have a chance,” Brynn said confidently. “And so do you.”

  “Okay, enough drama talk,” Julie interrupted from her seat at the end of the bunk’s table. “I know you two are dying to go look at the cast list.”

  “Bethany said she was going to post it after dinner,” Brynn replied. “It’s not up yet.”

  “Well . . .” Julie grinned. “I happen to know that she put it up on her way over to the mess hall. She just figured no one would know it was there until after dinner.”

  Brynn leapt up from her seat. “Can we go now?” she asked excitedly. “Please please please?”

  “Go ahead,” Julie said. “Good luck!”

  Brynn grabbed Grace’s hand and pulled her toward the door. By the time they got to the drama shack, everyone at Lakeview seemed to know that the list had been posted. A crowd of kids stood around the bulletin board on the outside of the shack.

  “How are we supposed to see if we’re on the list when we can’t even see the list?” Grace joked.

  “That’s a total upset!” one of the division four kids said.

  “I can’t believe it,” another older girl murmured. “I’ve been coming here for years, and no one that young has ever gotten such a big part.”

  “Maybe it’s one of us!” Brynn cried happily.

  Grace stood on her tiptoes, but she still couldn’t see the list. “What are you guys talking about?” she asked the older girl.

  “A third division girl got the part of Wendy,” the girl said. “It’s unheard of.”

  “Oh, it’s not such a big deal,” Brynn said modestly. “I’ve been studying acting since I was really little, so it’s no surprise.”

  “Well, you’ll probably be surprised to hear it’s not you,” Gaby said, pushing her way out of the crowd around the list.

  Brynn’s face fell. “What do you mean? They said it was someone from division three.”