“She called last week,” Josie chirped, breaking into Natalie’s little imaginary tour of the alternate reality where her nuclear family was still intact. “Because she knew we were coming to surprise you.”
“Yes, we’re all in on it, sweetie. If you’re unhappy, we’ll take you right home. Well, technically, you’d have to come out to LA, because your mother won’t be back from Europe for a few more weeks. But I have about a month before I head off on location again, so the timing would be perfect.”
Natalie frowned. She wasn’t sure how she felt about it. A week ago, being offered the chance to go home would have been a dream come true. Could it be that so much had changed in such a short period of time? There were things about camp that she could definitely do without—spiders in the bathroom, for example. Or that horrible food three times a day. Or having to put up with Chelsea’s snipes. But then she thought of smart, sensitive Alyssa, and outgoing Grace. Boisterous Jenna, and energetic Alex. Assuming those girls still planned on talking to her, she couldn’t just bail on them. What would Val do in nature without her? Or Simon? That is, if he doesn’t hate me, Natalie thought.
But if her friends did hate her, she knew she had to stay and smooth things over. Going home wasn’t the answer. Hannah wasn’t in New York City, and Maggie and Ellen were away, too, so what was the fun in that? And as for visiting her father in Los Angeles . . . well, she loved being out in California (she especially loved his huge house and heated swimming pool), but she had already planned a trip to see him at the end of the summer, just before school started. Now was camp time. And to Natalie’s surprise, she found that she was determined to stick it out.
“You know what, Dad?” Natalie found herself saying. “It’s okay. I’ve kind of gotten used to camp. I can’t walk away now.”
Her father grinned, his bright blue eyes twinkling. “What did I tell you? More than enough character! That’s what I like to hear, honey. I’m proud of you.”
“Me too,” Josie echoed, pushing her plate aside and flagging down the waitress. “Do you think they have fat-free frozen yogurt in this place?”
“I’m just disappointed that you didn’t find anything today that you wanted,” Tad said to Natalie. They had finished their lunch and driven back to camp, stopping only at a farm stand on the side of the road. Now his limo was parked just outside the front entrance to camp. Natalie didn’t want to risk generating attention by bringing her father back onto the campgrounds. She’d had enough time in the spotlight already that day—and somehow, she had a feeling that she hadn’t seen the last of it.
“Not true,” Natalie pointed out. “Everyone in my bunk is going to be really into the peanut butter and chocolate fudge we got at the farm stand.” She grinned devilishly in Josie’s direction. “Want to take some home with you? I think it’s fat-free.”
Josie swatted Natalie playfully. “You’re terrible. But he’s right, we wanted to bring you stuff.”
“Are you kidding? You’ve got a whole wild retail wonderland stuffed in the trunk!” Natalie’s eyes had almost popped out of her head when her father and Josie had shown her their idea of a “care package”—they’d loaded up the car with industrial-sized boxes of cereal, cookies, chips, and soda (“Have you heard of this place called Costco?” Josie had asked, wrinkling her nose with distaste.), as well as CDs, DVDs, books, hair accessories, and more than a few cute T-shirts and skirts. “Trust me,” Natalie said, “I’ve got plenty of stuff.”
“Are you sure you want us to drop this all off in New York, then?” her father asked doubtfully.
Natalie shrugged uneasily. “The thing is, Dad, some of the kids might think it was weird, me bringing all that stuff in. I mean, that’s enough food to carry us through to next summer! I just . . . I really don’t want to seem different, you know?”
Her father sighed. “I understand. But if you won’t let me spoil you, what have I got left?”
Josie patted his shoulder reassuringly. “You could spoil me.”
Tad laughed and hugged both of his girls close to him. “All right, then, I guess, if we can’t convince you to take this stuff, and we can’t convince you to run away with us, then the time has come for us to be on our way. We have a suite booked at the Soho House for tonight, and Josie has a trainer coming early tomorrow morning.”
Natalie thought fleetingly of the luxurious Soho House hotel and its rooftop swimming pool. Her father was just one of the many celebrity guests who stayed there, and the pool club was considered a real scene. All she had to do was say the word, and she’d be sipping ice-cold soft drinks on a lounge chair all afternoon. She groaned. “You’re killing me, Dad,” she said. “But I’ll just say good-bye now.” She threw her arms around him and gave him a huge hug. “Thanks for stopping by. It was a fantastic surprise.”
“You know I’d still love a tour of the camp, kiddo. Especially the famous nature shack.”
Natalie groaned. “Haven’t you already caused enough of a stir?”
Her father laughed. “You’re right. At least I got to talk to the camp director before I met up with you. And that woman—Kathleen, is that her name? Very energetic woman. And I got that great twenty minutes of quality time on the porch of your bunk. I hope I didn’t get you in too much trouble with your friends?” he asked.
“Either that, or I’m going to be really popular for the rest of the summer. It could go either way. But whichever it’s going to be, I’m going to have to face things sooner rather than later.” She squared her shoulders dramatically.
“You’re a trooper,” her father laughed. He gestured toward the trunk again. “Your things will be waiting for you when you get home in August. Sort of a reward for sticking it out.”
Natalie nodded. “Cool. And thanks.” She paused and thought for a moment. “Well, maybe I’ll just take one box of cookies. And some chips. And soda. You know, for the girls.”
Josie nodded knowingly. “The girls deserve it.”
“And, um, maybe that really cute tank top with the ribbons on the shoulders.”
Josie and Tad smiled. “Do you want to have another look in the trunk before we go?” Tad asked.
Natalie grinned sheepishly. “Well,” she said, “if you’ve brought it all this way . . .”
By the time Natalie had finished saying her good-byes to her father and Josie, dinner was long over and the entire camp, it felt like, was off at evening activity. Natalie realized she didn’t even know what evening activity was supposed to be that night. She figured maybe it was for the best. She’d return to her bunk, and put away her things. Then maybe she’d have some time to relax before having to face her bunkmates again.
She pushed open the door of her bunk to find Marissa and Pete sitting on Marissa’s bed, talking quietly. Natalie had the feeling she was interrupting something. What’s going on between Marissa and Pete? she wondered. After all, she knew they were friendly.
But if either of them were feeling awkward, they didn’t show it. Marissa sat up straight on her bed and beamed at Natalie. “Hey, girl, how was your day with your dad?” she asked.
Natalie blushed. “Oh, you know . . . fun. Unexpected,” she said.
Pete smiled. “I’ll say!”
“I guess I should have said something,” Natalie admitted. She dropped her clothes and books on her bed, and brought a bag of chips over to where Marissa and Pete sat. She popped the bag open and offered them a snack.
“Parents are the best,” Pete said, crunching down on a handful of chips.
“My dad’s got his issues, but he means well,” Natalie agreed.
“He’s got great taste in snack food,” Marissa said.
Natalie couldn’t believe it. Were they really not going to give her a hard time for not coming clean with them about her father? “Okay, so what’s the deal?” she demanded abruptly. “Why are you being so normal about this?”
Marissa and Pete glanced at each other briefly, and then back at Natalie. “What would you rather we do?” M
arissa asked softly. “It’s your family, and it’s your business. I think you’re a great girl, Natalie, and I respect you. If you didn’t want to talk about what your father does, then that’s your call. I don’t blame you. I bet you have to deal with a lot of weirdness, growing up as Tad Maxwell’s daughter.”
Natalie felt relief course through her in waves. Leave it to Marissa to be totally understanding. “Exactly,” she said. “I didn’t mean to lie, I just . . . wanted to spend the summer without having to deal with that. I mean, you never know how people are going to react, and I just wanted to be here on my own terms this summer.”
“I totally dig that,” Pete said. He reached forward for more chips.
Marissa rolled her eyes. “He’s just easily bribed. A little salt and vinegar goes a long way.” She suddenly lowered her voice, slightly more serious. “But I think you have to be prepared for the fact that some other people might react a little differently.”
“Is everyone mad at me?” Natalie asked nervously. “Not that I blame them. I mean, I sort of lied.”
“I don’t know that people are ‘mad,’ Nat, but definitely, some of your friends are going to wonder why you didn’t trust them enough to come clean,” Marissa replied.
“And then there are others who might just be really weird now that they know who your father is,” Pete said. “People react really strangely to fame, you know?”
Natalie sighed heavily. “Actually, I do.” She looked up at the two of them. “So where is everybody now?”
“Capture the flag tonight,” Marissa explained. “Up in Far Meadow. But it’s half over, anyway. You can stay here with us if you want.”
“I really appreciate it, Marissa,” Natalie said. “But I guess I have to deal sooner or later.
“It might as well be sooner.”
Natalie could hear the sounds of cheering and laughing long before the sprawl of Far Meadow actually came into view. She wasn’t really sure what “capture the flag” was and she didn’t much mind having missed half the game. Now, she was almost deliberately dragging her feet. She did and she didn’t want to deal with her fellow campers just yet.
Rounding the corner, she could see Alex in a huddle with Sarah, Brynn, Valerie, and Alyssa. She broke into a jog and ran over to where they stood.
“Can someone fill me in on what this game is about?” she asked, trying to sound more confident than she felt.
Everybody jumped. “Nat!” Alex said. She looked startled, and it was obvious that she was making a deliberate effort to compose herself. “Hey,” she said coolly. “Did you have fun with your dad?”
Natalie nodded. “Well, you know, it was a big surprise. It’s always a surprise to see him.” She tried desperately to catch Alyssa’s eye, but her friend just looked away.
The rest of the girls all nodded in unison, as though they understood. To Natalie, the moment seemed to occur in slow-motion, and it felt very awkward. But if no one was going to say anything, then she wouldn’t, either.
“Natalie!”
Natalie turned to see Chelsea sprinting toward her as though they were long lost friends. “Are you on our team?” she asked breathlessly. Her tank top was streaked with grass stains and a few blond wisps had escaped her ponytail, but if anything, the flush in her cheeks made her look even prettier than usual. “We’ve got a no-lose strategy. Did Alex fill you in?”
Alex shrugged. “I didn’t have a chance yet.”
Natalie’s head was spinning. The scene felt almost completely surreal. Her friends were being polite but awkward, and Chelsea was suddenly her bestest best friend in the world? This was so not what she wanted! This was why she hadn’t wanted to let people know who her father was!
Chelsea leaned in again. “Look, Betsey is our offense.” She gestured to midfield where a lanky brunette from 3A hunkered, hands on her knees. “Jenna’s gonna create a distraction—see? Bennett’s playing defense, so Jenna’s on top of him. Then Betsey will go long and grab the flag. We’ll go wait just outside of the goal zone, and once she’s got the flag, she’ll pass. Then we can run it back to our side.”
Natalie stared at Chelsea in disbelief. “I’m, uh, not such a fast runner.” To say the least.
Chelsea burst out laughing and gave Natalie a playful shove. “Come on. It’s fine.” She grabbed Natalie’s arm and began to drag her upfield. “All you have to do is act like you know what you’re doing.”
“You guys—” Natalie protested, and glanced fleetingly at Alex.
“It’s a solid strategy,” Alex said, wrapping her glossy black hair back into a sloppy ponytail. “Go for it.”
The girls ran up the meadow, Chelsea pausing to high-five Betsey behind her back. Once they were within spitting distance of the other team’s goal, Chelsea shoved Natalie hard. “Go distract the goalies.”
“Huh?” Natalie asked as she stumbled forward. Three boys stood in front of the goal, which she assumed was where the flag would be. One was Jenna’s brother Adam, and one was a boy named Caleb who was on the newspaper with Natalie.
One was Simon.
Before Natalie could even begin to think of what to say to him, Caleb was in her face, growling and pretending to be tough. “Don’t even think about it, girlie,” he said, puffing his chest out and standing really close to her. “We’re all over this flag.”
“Dude, do you know who her father is?” Adam asked. “Tad Maxwell. You know, huge action spy. She might be able to kick your butt!”
“It’s just a movie,” Natalie said desperately. She looked over at Simon, but he wasn’t looking back. “I mean, he’s really not that tough.”
“Oh, yeah?” Caleb asked thoughtfully. “I’ve got an idea. How about you hook me up? I get to meet your dad, you get to capture the flag?” He winked and then burst out laughing as though this were the most hysterical joke ever told.
“You know who I want to meet? Josie McLaughlan!” Adam said. “Her father’s girlfriend. She’s so hot, I could cry. Do you think she’ll come up for Visiting Day, Natalie?”
“I doubt it,” Natalie said. “I think my father’s going to be shooting.” Do we have to talk about this? she thought anxiously.
“But you could get us, like, an autograph or something, right?” Caleb pressed.
“Ah, sure, maybe,” Natalie said. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Chelsea creeping behind the flag, waiting for Morgan from 3B to break in and away. She was racking her brain for the right thing to say to Simon but drawing a blank. It didn’t matter—he didn’t look like he wanted to talk, anyway.
Suddenly, Betsey burst forward, cutting between Natalie and Caleb in a blur of long brown braid and legs. She snatched the flag from its pole and circled around Simon, passing it off to Chelsea and backing away again.
“YEAH!” Chelsea screamed, tearing forward and making a break for the far end of the field.
“Dude, are you asleep?” Caleb shouted to Simon, taking off after Chelsea. After a moment, Adam followed him. Now Natalie stood alone, facing Simon. The tension in the air was thick. A thousand ways to open a conversation raced through Natalie’s mind, but she rejected them all.
Finally, Simon spoke. “You should go after them,” he said quietly.
Then he ran off to follow his teammates.
chapter ELEVEN
“Nat, do you want to borrow my extra flashlight for the camping trip?”
Natalie looked up to find Chelsea beaming down at her, waving a bright yellow flashlight. “Oh, ah, I’ve got my own,” she managed. “But, thanks.” She pressed her toiletries case into her daypack and zipped it shut. Everyone who was going on the camping trip had packed a larger duffel that was being driven to the campsite separately. That baggage had been delivered to the rec hall the night before. But all the campers were responsible for bringing their own daypacks and carrying them on the hike.
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