Lake Rescue

by Annie Bryant

  As the BSG pushed Avery in a wheelchair toward the dining hall—now the dance hall—a loud yell broke the silence of the campfire.

  Suddenly, Henry Yurt sprinted by shouting, “Live bear! Live bear!”

  “He’s not kidding.” Nick followed Yurt, grabbing Charlotte’s arm as he ran close to her. She scrambled to keep up with him.

  “Help, help, it really is a bear!” Dillon brought up the rear. “Run, climb a tree, get inside, something!”

  Sure enough, a big black animal chased behind the boys. With no time to do anything, the rest of the girls huddled together and watched it lumber by, long black ears flopping beside its huge head.

  “Wait a minute,” Avery said. “Bears don’t have long, floppy ears.”

  “Or long wagging tails,” Katani added.

  The “bear” turned, letting the boys escape, and ran toward the girls. He jumped up on Isabel, knocking her flat.

  “Help, help me, he’s slobbering all over me!” Isabel screamed.

  Katani, Maeve, and Avery doubled over with laughter. Taking pity on Isabel, Maeve pulled what looked like an enormous black dog off of her.

  “What kind of dog is this big?” she asked, staring at the dog, whose tongue lolled over the edge of her mouth while it waited eagerly for the girls to pet it. Thump, thump. “Yikes,” murmered Katani. “That’s the loudest tail wag I’ve ever heard.” Then she backed away, not quite sure that this actually was a dog and not a strange animal found only in the wilds of New Hampshire.

  “A Newfoundland. She’s a Newfoundland,” Avery said. “Where did she come from?”

  “She must be lost. Does she have a collar and tags?” Isabel said, then started laughing. “Ave, you’re a lost dog magnet. But this one is twenty times the size of Marty. We could never hide her in Charlotte’s attic.”

  The boys and Charlotte walked slowly back to where the girls were taking turns petting the bear/dog.

  “Here’s your girlfriend, Yurt,” Avery teased. “Be careful what you wish for.”

  “No tags, no way to find her owner. She’s all yours, Yurt.” Maeve collapsed in laughter again.

  “You’ll have to give her a bath before she can ride on the bus, though, and she’s not sitting by me.” Isabel was still brushing off wet leaves and combing twigs from her hair. “Look at me. These were the nicest clothes I brought. I saved them for the dance.”

  Yurt, Nick, and Dillon wore very sheepish looks. “It was dark,” Yurt said. “How could I see that it was a dog?”

  “Yeah, we’ve all been told to be on the lookout for bears. Our imaginations just ran away from us.” Dillon knelt down and hugged the Newfoundland, letting her lick his face. “Are you lost, girl? President Yurt here loves lost causes.”

  “Well, up until now, I hadn’t felt embarrassed and stupid this week. But I guess this takes care of it.” Nick grinned. “We can go home now.”

  “We can go home tomorrow,” Charlotte reminded him. “We were on our way to a dance, remember?”

  At the word dance, the Newfie stood up, placing her paws on Yurt’s shoulders. She was as tall as he was, but not quite as skinny, despite being out in the woods alone.

  “Okay, okay, if you insist.” Yurt took both paws in his hands and stepped back and forth with the huge dog, looking for all the world like a clown in the circus with a trained bear.

  “Anyone who would teach a dog this big a trick must love her a lot,” Avery surmised. “We have to find her owners. Maybe they are camping someplace out here.”

  “I’ll tell John to send out a lost dog alert,” Nick suggested. “We don’t want to miss the dance.”

  Yurt named the dog “Ursula” and got her to follow him to the camp office. Someone was always there to answer phones, treat cuts and bruises, or solve problems. Ursula trotted alongside Yurt as if she’d known him forever.

  They all stumbled into the dining hall, still cracking up about Henry’s new girlfriend. A few other campers had heard the commotion and wanted to know what had happened.

  Since Avery was confined to a chair, the rest of the BSG let her be the storyteller. Dillon grabbed Maeve and slid onto the dance floor.

  Billy pulled Isabel into the crowd, knowing Avery couldn’t do much dancing with her injury…and probably would refuse to dance with him anyway.

  Katani’s face registered surprise when Josh Trentini grabbed her hand and challenged her to keep up with him.

  “I would try to save you from a real bear.” Nick’s eyes twinkled at Charlotte.

  “Yeah, you’d shimmy up the tree first, then reach back to pull me up, if I hadn’t already been eaten.” Charlotte would rather tease Nick than be serious.

  Then the loudest rock and roll song came on and the whole dance floor seemed to go wild. Charlotte was taken up in a group of girls, and Kiki Underwood grabbed Nick.

  A few members of the green and blue teams were standing by the refreshment table when Chelsea walked up.

  “Chelsea, when we get back, I’m going to help you figure out how to make money with this photography business of yours, and then you’ll have enough to buy a movie camera.” Katani handed Chelsea a lemonade and leaned down to rub her foot, the foot that Josh had managed to step on. “’Course, you missed the best scene, but maybe we can reenact it for a seventh-grade film festival.”

  “Yeah, Yurt found a dance partner out in the wilderness,” Avery said, reaching across her wheelchair to poke him in the arm.

  “No way did I miss that.” Chelsea grinned. “Didn’t you see my flash go off? I don’t know whether to use that dancing bear shot for blackmail or as the first photo in the next Sentinel.”

  “Go ahead, use it.” Yurt snatched a cookie. “I’m going to be the most famous seventh-grade president Abigail Adams has ever had. And I did my good deed, like any politician would. Mike from the camp office said that Ursula belongs to an old man who lives along the road into camp. Mike’s driving her back home right now.”

  “You can retire for the rest of the year,” Charlotte said.

  “Oh, no, I have a lot of great ideas left.” The Yurtmeister had recovered from the bear scare and was already thinking about how to use it to his advantage. He turned around and bumped into Anna.

  Anna grinned. “Yurt has been taking dancing lessons, just to get ready for tonight. Come on, Yurt, show us what you got.” Anna pulled a red-faced Yurt into the crowd.

  “Well, I’ll have to say, Anna Banana is lots less clumsy than the Newfie,” Billy noticed as he sat out the next dance with Avery.

  “Life is full of surprises,” Chelsea said. “That’s what I’ve learned this week.”

  Nick surprised Chelsea. “Want to dance, Chelsea?”

  Chelsea blushed. Nick Montoya was asking her to dance. He was just being nice, she thought sadly. Then she realized. Yeah, he was being nice…to her. And he didn’t even have to.

  “Thanks, Nick, but I have to take pictures. Maybe another time. Look at Yurt and Anna. Is that the Swim or the Wiggle?”

  “Both,” he grinned.

  Chelsea passed up the plates of cookies, both hands attached to her camera. Charlotte watched as she worked her way around the room, snapping photos.

  Suddenly, Nick decided it was time for a fast dance. He pulled Charlotte onto the dance floor. Charlotte struggled to keep up with his expert moves. When they got home, she’d have to ask Maeve to give her some dance lessons. It was so embarrassing to dance with a boy who was a better dancer than you.

  CHAPTER 20

  The People on the Bus Go Home

  Charlotte didn’t think she could sleep at all Thursday night, but by the time Nick walked her, Isabel and Chelsea home from the dance—to protect them from bears, he said—she was so exhausted she could hardly put on her pajamas. She thought that she would dream of Nick, but the next thing she knew someone was walking around the cabins, ringing a bell, way too early.

  “Oh, I could sleep for a week.” Isabel sat up and yawned.

  “Me too
.” Charlotte groaned and turned over. “What time is it?”

  “Six a.m.” Chelsea grinned. “Maybe we can just pile onto the bus and sleep all the way home.”

  “I need a shower.” Charlotte pulled on yesterday’s dirty clothes.

  “We all smell the same.” Isabel stuffed clothes into her pack, not even trying to fold them neatly, just making sure she had everything.

  Breakfast included cocoa in take-away cups and bagels that they could eat on the bus. The drivers wanted to get home before rush hour traffic.

  Chelsea looked around for her favorite counselor and made a beeline for her. Chelsea was not going to miss out on thanking the person who had made this one of the best experiences she had ever had. “Jody, thank you so much,” Chelsea said. “I think you’ve changed my life.”

  Jody put her arms around Chelsea and gave her a big hug. “For the better, I hope. Promise you’ll e-mail me. I want to know how you’re doing. Really. And don’t forget those photos.”

  Charlotte, standing next to them, realized that Chelsea had formed a lasting bond with Jody. Charlotte felt closer to all her friends, and to a few other classmates, like Chelsea, who she hadn’t known well before the week’s activities. Mrs. Fields had been right. Lake Rescue had opened up new doors for everyone.

  Waving out the windows, the BSG watched their counselors fade into the fabric of Lake Rescue.

  “Thank you for not letting me stay home,” Maeve said, sipping her cocoa and stuffing the rest of her bagel and cream cheese into her mouth.

  “You really didn’t want to come?” Dillon sat in front of her, beside Billy Trentini, but he was turned around so he could talk with Maeve.

  Maeve shook her head while she swallowed. “I thought I’d hate every minute of it.”

  “I loved every minute until I met that root.” Avery had a whole seat to herself so she could prop up her leg. “Cross your fingers, guys, that I’ll be ready for basketball.”

  “I can teach you to play backgammon,” Billy offered.

  “Oh, goody. I know I’d love sitting around playing board games, or rather ‘bored’ games.” She opened her mouth wide for a pretend yawn. Maeve winced. Here was Billy trying to be nice and typical Avery dissed him. Maeve gave her friend a kick on her good ankle. Avery looked like she was going to yell, but Maeve’s face made Avery realize that she had been a little too dismissive of Billy.

  “Ah, thanks, Billy. Maybe we can play backgammon. I’d love to beat you.”

  Maeve groaned. Avery would never change. But Billy didn’t seem to mind. He high-fived her and went back to tormenting the Yurtmeister.

  Charlotte was trying to stay awake, afraid if she slept she’d snore, or worse, fall over and drool. Maybe she could make a pillow of her jacket and lean on the window.

  “It’s just like Jody told us,” Maeve said as she turned to speak to Charlotte. “We were all afraid that we couldn’t do all the activities and we’d make fools of ourselves.”

  “Yeah, but we didn’t,” Katani said, “except for Yurt and his new doggie friend.”

  “I heard that.” Yurt’s head popped up. “The Yurtmeister never falters or folds under stress, even when having to dance with bears. I hope Ursula found her own way home.”

  “Like Marty did.” Avery smiled, and memories of hiding Marty, all his antics, tricks, and majorly cute ways, flowed through all the Beacon Street Girls’ minds.

  “Remember how Marty ran out into the audience at the talent show?” Isabel asked. “I thought we’d lost him for sure. Thought we’d all get sent home for bringing a dog to the theater.”

  “Not by my dad,” Maeve said. “He loves dogs.”

  After rehashing the week, everyone dozed off. If anyone was awake, they were quiet, writing in journals or thinking about their adventures.

  When the bus arrived back at school, students collected their bags and searched for their parents in the parking lot.

  “When are we getting together?” Katani said. “I need a makeover from Maeve, new nail polish…”

  “I need to see Marty.” Avery struggled with her things until Billy grabbed her bags along with his.

  “Look, Ave, there’s your Mom and Scott. She looks really worried. Wave so she knows you’re still alive.” Billy picked up Avery’s hand and waved it out the window.

  “Trentini, you are ridiculous.”

  “I know, but don’t you love me anyway?” he beamed. His twin, Josh, picked up Avery’s backpack. “Mom said hurry. You need a hand, Avery?”

  “No, thanks. Here comes Scott.”

  Avery’s brother had climbed on the bus and was heading toward his sister. “Nice work, Ave,” he said with a grin as he grabbed her under one arm.

  Charlotte spotted her dad walking toward her, a big smile on his face.

  “I want to hear everything that happened,” Mr. Ramsey said, giving his daughter a big hug. “I have pizza in the car; I figured you’d be tired of camp food.”

  “Actually camp food wasn’t too bad.” Charlotte climbed into the car for the short ride home. But the smell of cheese and pepperoni made her hungry, and she was eager to share every minute of the week with her father. Well, almost every minute.

  She looked up to see Nick waving at her. He was already starting home. His parents had to work and couldn’t pick him up. Some kids might feel bad about that, but not Nick. Montoya’s Bakery was a family affair.

  “Want a ride?” she offered.

  He shook his head. “I need to stretch my legs. See you at the bakery tomorrow?”

  Charlotte smiled and nodded.

  “That boy seems to like you, Charlotte.” Mr. Ramsey kept his eyes on the road. “Am I right?”

  “Maybe.” Charlotte blushed. She had so much to write about in her journal, she could hardly wait.

  Charlotte’s Journal

  I worried so much about finding a best friend at Abigail Adams, it never occurred to me that I might meet a friend who’s a boy. It was really fun hanging out with Nick this week and getting to know him better…he’s really nice to everyone, and especially to me.

  This week of being outside most of the time, even in the rain, really made me look forward to camping with my dad next summer. I’m going to hold him to his idea that we go someplace together. We can spend the winter making plans.

  Maybe we can visit some of the places that he and Mom travelled to. I would really like that.

  Avery’s Blog

  Well, I have really done it now. How could I be clumsy enough to fall over a root? But I did, and my ankle hurts. It’s not broken, but it may take weeks to heal. Here’s my plan:

  Try not to be a crybaby. All athletes get an injury sometime.

  Find something else I like to do while I heal.

  What else do I like to do besides sports?

  I guess I could study.

  Learning to play backgammon with Billy might be fun.

  I could teach Marty some cool new tricks.

  Maybe I should be like my mom and get involved with a charity or something. That would be okay as long as I don’t have to cook. At least it would take my mind off of all the sports I’m missing. Hope this doesn’t last long!

  * * *

  Ask Dad to take Sam and me camping next summer.

  Ask Dillon to go to a movie, but ask Charlotte and Nick to go with us, and let the guys choose the flick. But what about Riley? I hope he feels better. He’s going to be so sorry he missed this.

  Stop judging people by the way they look. Getting to know Chelsea this week made me realize that even though I was never mean to her, I did kind of ignore her…

  Find some time for Sam each week. But I absolutely refuse to play army. That is beyond the call of duty. I suppose he won’t let me give him a makeover.

  * * *

  Isabel’s Diary

  I can’t believe I didn’t want to go to Lake Rescue! I had such a great time, and I’m going to make a list of all the things I did that scared me, that I thought I couldn�
��t do. Then, when I get scared to do something, I’ll look back at the list and remind myself of trying and succeeding. Nick was so nice to me all week, helping me whenever I needed it. I like him, but so does Charlotte, and I’d never flirt with him. The most important thing I did was to fill my journal with drawings of flowers and trees, and the small lake where the loon lived. I’ll do a watercolor of the loon for Mama’s birthday.

  P.S. And I didn’t even see one spider!:)

  I am permanently banishing the word fat from my vocabulary. And if it comes back I am throwing it in the wastebasket. What a waste of energy thinking about my weight. I want to have fun! At camp people seemed to like me. Nick Montoya, one of the coolest boys in the school, asked me to dance, and he wasn’t doing it to make fun of me. Maybe next time I’ll even take him up on his offer. And Billy Trentini told me I was awesome for standing up to Kiki Underfabulous. That was totally cool. Although I am not going to call her that again. Name-calling is a loser thing to do. I don’t like it…nobody does. Kiki did make me so mad though.

  This week was full of firsts: first time I tried so many scary things, like climbing up that rock wall. Even if I didn’t make it to the top, I tried. And diary—can you believe it—I got us all un-lost. I’ll have to thank Ben every day for the rest of my life for making me read that book. But I used my common sense, too, and I do have a good eye for detail because of my photography. Never knew that until now.

  I think I got some great photos. Charlotte said that they’d be the hit of The Sentinel this month. I think if people started thinking of me as the girl who takes awesome photos instead of the girl who is so fat she can’t do anything in gym, I could have a new reputation.

  Jody was so great to talk to. I’m going to e-mail her. I won’t be like a nuisance or a stalker or anything. I’ll just tell her what I’m doing. And I’m going to make a list of things I want to try once I’ve lost some weight. I’m not getting on a scale—nooo! to scales. But I already feel lighter.