“She’s a lot to handle.” Natalie sat down on her bed and rolled her neck back and forth. “I doubt the president can keep up with her, either.”
“Well, maybe you just need to be more energetic,” Chelsea replied. “You know, like me.”
Natalie glanced at Chelsea and chuckled. “Could you be any more obvious?”
“What do you mean?”
“If you want to room with Tricia, just say so,” Natalie said.
Chelsea hadn’t thought of that, but it was a great idea. She couldn’t contain her excitement. “That would be awesome!”
“Fine with me. I could use a break,” Natalie said, rubbing her feet.
“Thanks so much, Nat!” Chelsea said.
All of a sudden, Tricia burst through the door. “I’m back!” she sang.
Chelsea smiled widely. This was so surreal! She had always wanted to meet Tricia in person, and now she was going to share a bunk with her. How amazing was that?
“Hey, Tricia, can I make a suggestion?” Natalie asked.
“Sure. What’s up?” she replied.
Chelsea was already starting to think about the fun things she and Tricia were going to do. Manicures and pore shrinking face masks and gossiping and sharing clothes . . . Chelsea could imagine the possibilities.
“Maybe it would be better if Chelsea roomed with you instead,” Natalie finished.
Tricia looked confused. “But . . . you’re my personal guide.”
The bewildered expression on Tricia’s face worried Chelsea. Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea after all.
“Chelsea’s much better than a personal guide. She’s your biggest fan! No, she’s more than a fan—she’s the source for Tricia gossip! What could be better than that?!” Natalie said with all the enthusiasm she could muster.
Chelsea wanted to grab her pillow and throw it at Natalie’s head. She wasn’t supposed to tell anyone that, especially not Tricia!
Tricia glanced at Chelsea and stared at her awkwardly. “You are?”
Chelsea had no clue how to respond. If she said, “Of course not,” then she’d sound kind of mean, but if she said “Yes, I am,” didn’t that make her sort of a stalker? This was probably the most awkward moment of her life.
“Yeah, she actually has the same shirt you wore on Oprah,” Natalie added.
On the other hand, maybe this was the most awkward moment of her life.
“That’s . . . great,” Tricia said, a little unnerved.
Natalie turned to Chelsea and winked at her, as if to say, “Who’s your daddy?”
But Chelsea just glowered back at her. If Natalie thought she was helping matters, she was certainly wrong, wrong, WRONG! After learning that piece of private information, Tricia probably thought Chelsea was a gigantic loser.
“So what do you say, Tricia?” Natalie asked. “Want to trade campers?”
Chelsea wasn’t about to let Tricia answer—she was way too humiliated to bunk with Tricia now.
“That’s okay, Nat. You two should stick together,” Chelsea said quickly, trying not to let on that she was embarrassed and upset.
Natalie frowned. “Are you sure?”
“Yes, I’m sure,” Chelsea replied.
Tricia was visibly dying to make a break for it. “Well, we should be off then. Our tricked-out pad awaits!” she said, turning on her heels. She smiled at Chelsea, then waved good-bye. “Toodles!”
Tricia linked arms with Natalie, who was practically dragging her feet.
Chelsea grabbed a pillow and put it over her head so Jones the bodyguard wouldn’t hear her cry.
chapter NINE
On Tuesday afternoon, Sloan and the rest of the campers dressed in their swimsuits and gathered at the lake for a canoeing activity. While all of her bunkmates chattered with each other, Sloan trained her eyes on her notebook. Tonight was the second Green Festival meeting and she wanted to be prepared.
Sloan was super-psyched about how the planning was going—the group had already started making flyers to put up in town and picked out a delicious array of food for the menu. All they needed to do was decide what kind of entertainment they should have, as well as what Tricia should talk about during her speech. That was going to be the highlight of the festival for sure!
“Okay, everyone, listen up,” Jasmine said in a loud, upbeat voice.
Sloan closed her notebook, put it in her canvas knapsack, and gave Jasmine her full attention.
“We’re going to start breaking up into teams of four. Three campers and one counselor,” Jasmine continued. “And then we’re going to have a little race from the east dock to the west dock.”
Some of the kids in the crowd threw their arms up in the air and said, “Sweet!” while some others whined, “Do we have to?”
Jasmine just smiled. “All right, everyone grab a life vest, and once you’ve done that, pick your team and then meet up with a counselor near a canoe.”
“Yes! This is going to be great!” Jenna said.
“I’m on your team,” Connor said to Jenna.
“What about me?” Brynn asked.
Sarah put her arm around Brynn. “There’s room for you in my canoe.”
“Nat’s on my team,” called a voice in the crowd.
Sloan saw Natalie helping Tricia on with her life jacket. The frown on her friend’s face was the size of a jumbo hot dog.
“Gimme a break,” another voice muttered.
Sloan peered over her shoulder and saw Chelsea grimacing as she strapped on her own life jacket. She looked as though she’d swallowed an entire grapefruit.Geez, why is everyone in such a bad mood?
As far as she was concerned, life was pretty good these days. She was enjoying camp so much, and it was only going to get better as the Green Festival approached.
Sloan was brought back to reality by a tap on her shoulder.
“Do you have a spot on your team for me?”
Sloan spun around and saw Miles standing beside her. His hair was a little messy from the light wind outside and he was flashing his adorable,toothy grin.
“Of course I do,” Sloan said, her voice shaking a little.
“Great. I’m a really gifted rower,” he joked.
“Wow, I can’t wait to see it,” Sloan said, smiling.
“Sloan, Miles, why don’t you join me and Chelsea,” Jasmine called out.
“Okay,” Sloan replied dreamily. Jasmine could have asked her if she wanted to be on a team with Michael Phelps and she wouldn’t have noticed. Sloan only had eyes for Miles.
As she and Miles wandered over to Jasmine and Chelsea, they were approached by Natalie and Tricia (and Tricia’s bodyguard Shepard, who was wearing a life jacket over his navy suit).
“Hey, guys,” Tricia said, ever so bubbly.
“Hi, Tricia,” Sloan replied, finally turning away from Miles.
Chelsea managed a weak hello under her breath, while Natalie merely waved as if she were swatting at a fly. Sloan thought that both of the girls were acting a little weird, but didn’t think now was the proper time to ask if anything was wrong.
Tricia put her arm around Natalie. “I just wanted to invite you all over to our new digs to hang out and chill,” Tricia said. “Ellie agreed to chaperone and everything. Please come!”
“You and Nat have your own bunk? That’s really cool,” said Miles. “When is the party, exactly?”
“We were thinking about doing it after the Green Festival meeting,” Natalie mumbled. “I’m sure everyone will want to kick back and relax after a couple hours of planning.”
“That’s a great idea, Nat,” Sloan said brightly, happy that her friend thought to plan around her meeting. “We’ll be there.” She made eye contact with Miles and they both smiled.
“Awesome! See you guys later,” Tricia said, then traipsed off to Ellie’s canoe with Natalie and Shepard.
Chelsea mumbled something again once they all walked away.
“What did you say, Chelse?” Sloan asked.
> “I said I’m not going to the party.” Chelsea stormed over to the dock, grabbed an oar, and hopped into the canoe.
“What’s the matter with her?” Miles asked.
Sloan had a feeling that whatever was bothering Chelsea had something to do with Natalie. But she didn’t want to burden Miles with the girls’ silly drama, so she just answered, “No idea.”
“Okay, people! The first match up will be Ellie’s team versus my team,” Jasmine yelled through cupped hands. “David, you can sound the horn once we’re ready.”
“Nice!” David replied, grabbing the air horn off the dock.
Sloan and Miles followed Chelsea over to the dock, picked up their oars, and got into the canoe. Jasmine grabbed an oar for herself and then sat at the front of the boat.
“Good luck, you guys!” Tricia shouted from the other side of the dock. She was sitting in between her bodyguard and Natalie. Ellie was perched in front of the boat, just like Jasmine.
Sloan and Miles laughed in unison while Chelsea brooded in the back of the boat.
“Spoken like someone who has never been to camp before,” Miles joked.
Once everyone was settled in their boats, Jasmine said, “Okay, David, whenever you’re ready!”
David nodded. “On your mark, get set, GO!” he shouted, and then sounded the horn.
As soon as she uncovered her ears, Sloan started to paddle. Miles kept time with her perfectly—he didn’t miss a beat. Sloan glanced over to Ellie’s canoe and saw that her team was already lagging behind. Sloan gripped her oar and paddled some more, but soon she realized that Chelsea was making their canoe move as fast as a freight train. In fact, she was pumping her arms so quickly that Sloan worried they might pop out of their sockets.
“Way to go, Chelse!” Jasmine said as they continued to propel forward.
“We’re getting closer!” Miles’s oar tore through the water at a frantic pace, but he still wasn’t as fast as Chelsea.
Sloan was trying to keep up, but was having a hard time.
“You can do it, Sloan! We’re halfway there!” shouted Jasmine.
Sloan could feel her breath cutting through her throat. Her arm muscles were aching and they’d only been rowing for a few minutes. Sloan could hear Chelsea grunting each time she plunged her oar in the water, and her intensity unnerved her a little bit.
“We’re neck and neck,” Miles yelled over the sound of water splashing around them.
Sloan looked over at the other boat again. From the strained expression on Tricia’s bodyguard’s face, she could tell he was having the same difficulties that Sloan was.
“Go team, go!” Jasmine called out, willing her boat to reach the west dock first.
And that might have happened if Sloan’s oar hadn’t gotten caught on a large piece of log that no one saw until it was right in front of them. Sloan wasn’t quick enough to let go of the oar and the bow of the boat shook hard. Jasmine slipped out of her seat and into the deep water a few feet away.
“Aaaahh!” she shrieked as she plunged into the cold lake.
“Omigod!” Sloan screamed. Even though Jasmine had her life jacket on, Sloan was scared that her counselor might be hurt.
“I’ll get her,” Miles said, not even hesitating before diving into the water after Jasmine.
Chelsea turned around to look at Sloan, her eyes tearing up. “I hope she’s okay.”
Sloan heard a second splash. Tricia’s bodyguard had dived into the lake water as well and was swimming toward them. Seconds later, Miles resurfaced with his arm around Jasmine, who seemed stunned but fine. When Shepard reached them, he helped Miles get Jasmine back into the boat.
“I’m all right, girls, just very startled, that’s all,” Jasmine said, her teeth chattering.
Sloan breathed a big sigh of relief as Chelsea wiped at her eyes.
Ellie’s boat had rowed over right away. Everyone in that canoe looked very concerned.
“Are you okay?” Natalie asked Jasmine.
“I’m fine, really,” she replied.
As Miles and Shepard climbed back into their respective boats, Sloan could hear everyone from the east dock cheering and clapping.
“That was terrifying,” Tricia said, sighing.
“To everyone except Miles,” Sloan said.
She had to admit, she was really impressed with how brave he was, thinking on his feet and jumping in after Jasmine like that. Not everyone would be so calm and decisive under pressure.
“Boy Scout training comes in handy sometimes,” Miles said as he wrung his shirt out.
“Let’s turn around and get back to the dock,” Ellie suggested.
Sloan’s eyes locked with Miles’s as the canoes started to drift apart on the water. Any awkward feeling she had toward him had completely faded away.
“So, how are you going to top that this summer?” Sloan asked him with a warm smile.
“I guess we’ll have to wait and see,” he replied with a wink, then turned his back to Sloan and began to row.
The second Green Festival meeting was underway on Tuesday afternoon and Sloan was all business, no play, even after that scare at the lake. The big weekend was only a few days from now, and although her team was off to a good start, Sloan knew that time was not on their side.
“Okay, everyone. Let’s get started. We have a lot of work to do,” Sloan said to the crowd of campers and CITs gathered at the rock garden.
Sarah raised her hand and waved it so that she could get Sloan’s attention.
“What’s up, Sarah?” Sloan asked.
“Do you think if we break up into groups we might get more done?”
Sloan smiled. “That’s a great idea. If everyone could split up and focus on a particular part of the festival, we’d accomplish our goals a lot quicker.”
Within a few minutes, everyone had assembled in groups, just like Sloan asked. Brynn, Joanna, and Sarah were in charge of putting together a skit for entertainment. Priya and Jenna were trying to assemble a small band of campers to sing a few old nature-themed folk songs from the 1960s.
The pack of boys at the meeting, which included David, Jordan, and Connor, all volunteered to be on the set-up crew. All the boys except for one, that is. Miles had offered to help Chelsea and Sloan shoulder the huge responsibility of handling the most important part of the festival—Tricia’s keynote speech. Sloan was so happy he was interested in working closely with her. Maybe after all this planning was over they could—
“Are you ready yet?” Chelsea interrupted Sloan’s train of thought. She was standing next to Miles with her hands on her hips, looking as sour as she had this afternoon.
“I know I am,” Miles said, smiling.
Sloan grinned back at Miles, who was wearing a vintage T-shirt and yet another perfectly worn-in baseball cap. “I was born ready.”
“So, where is Tricia, anyway? If we’re going to be talking about her speech, shouldn’t she be here?” Miles inquired.
“Good question. I have no idea where she is,” Sloan replied.
“She’s probably busy with Natalie, getting ready for her party,” Chelsea said curtly.
“Well, I guess we can talk with Tricia while we’re there,” Sloan said.
“I told you already, I’m not going,” Chelsea snapped.
Sloan flinched a bit at Chelsea’s sharp tone. She knew that Chelsea was annoyed that Natalie was spending so much time with Tricia, but why wasn’t she over it yet? There had to be something else that was putting Chelsea on edge. Perhaps she and Nat had gotten into a fight.
“Um, then why don’t we throw around a few ideas now, narrow them down and then run a couple by Tricia tomorrow?” Miles suggested.
“That makes sense.” Sloan was happy to have Miles around as a buffer. Aside from their strange first meeting, Sloan thought he was so easy to be around.
Chelsea was silent for a moment, thinking. Then her eyes lit up. “I know! She should talk about famous people.”
Sloan
sighed.
This is going to be the longest meeting ever.
“Like famous people and their charities?” Miles questioned.
“Well, I guess you could go that route,” Chelsea said, annoyed. “I just think the audience might find it boring.”
“I don’t mean to be difficult here,” Miles began, his cheeks turning a little pink. “But shouldn’t Tricia speak on a topic that’s more connected to the theme of the festival?”
“Okay, let’s see what Sloan thinks,” Chelsea said.
Miles shrugged. “Fine with me. What’s your opinion, Sloan?”
Sloan’s stomach began to churn with anxiety. She didn’t want to play referee here, but that was part of being cochairperson. And while Chelsea was her friend, Sloan agreed with Miles. She had to stay true to her instincts, for the sake of the festival.
Sloan took a deep breath and spoke her mind. “I think Miles is right. Celebrity stories don’t seem very relevant to the festival. Sorry, Chelsea.”
“Suit yourselves,” Chelsea said with a frown.
There was a long, tension-filled silence before Miles piped up with another idea.
“What if Tricia talked about what kids across the country are doing to protect the environment?”
Sloan practically pumped her fist in the air. “That’s perfect!”
Miles grinned widely. “You really think so?”
“Yes, I do,” Sloan said, her lips curling up into a soft smile.
“Are you guys forgetting that I’m cochair? I should get a say in this, too,” Chelsea insisted.
Sloan and Miles’s happy moment was instantly deflated by Chelsea’s prickly attitude. Still, Chelsea was in the right. Sloan had asked her to cochair this committee, so she was entitled to have a strong voice in the matter.
“Of course,” Sloan said, her voice strained. “What are your thoughts?”
As Chelsea cleared her throat, Sloan hoped that she wouldn’t say anything harsh.
“Frankly, I think Tricia would rather talk about her dog than what Miles is suggesting,” Chelsea said.
Forget harsh! That’s harsh to the tenth power,Sloan thought.
Politically Incorrect Page 6
