Over & Out #10

by Melissa J Morgan

  “What—” she started, looking up.

  Suddenly, the ceiling sprinklers all over the mess hall turned on full force!

  Water rained down on everyone and splattered on the floor, tables, and all over the plates of food and the beautiful, perfect Color War cake. Everyone was screaming, laughing, and yelling all at once. Some kids were running for the doors, but the whole mess hall had turned into a virtual Slip ’n Slide. Red and blue streamers oozed color onto the mess-hall floor, and the banquet cake started to look like an icing massacre.

  “Jenna, your cast!” Andie yelled. “Try to keep it dry until I get back!”

  “With what?” Jenna asked, but Andie had already run off in the direction of the supply closet. Jenna scooted to a chair and plopped down in it, ignoring the chilly puddle of water already accumulating in its seat. She propped up her leg so it was under a table, protected from the water. The only problem was, the rest of her wasn’t protected, and now she couldn’t move without getting her cast wet. So she sat back, letting the water pelt down on her, and watched the chaos around her, completely and totally stunned. How had this happened? This was her prank idea. How could someone else have had the same idea for Operation Drowned Rat? This couldn’t have been just an accident, right?

  “My hair!” Nat cried, trying to cover her head with her arms. Simon tried to come to her rescue, skidding toward her through the water, but Nat took one step toward him and slip-slided right into Tori. The two of them fell down in a soggy heap, until Simon was able to make his way over to help them up.

  Some of the younger kids were laughing and stomping around on the slick linoleum floor, trying to splash each other. Sarah was using her sandals to skate around the floor to try to help some kids to the door. But already more than a couple of the third-year campers had fallen, and one of them had scraped his knees and was in tears.

  Jenna was about to go help him, wet cast or not, when Andie slid over to her holding out an umbrella. “Come on,” Andie said, holding the open umbrella over Jenna’s leg. “Let’s get you out of here.”

  They followed right behind Mia, who was ushering the rest of the drenched kids out into the warm night air.

  “How did this happen?” Mia asked, staring bewilderedly into the soggy mess hall.

  “Could something have set off the sprinklers accidentally?” Alex wondered.

  Not something, Jenna suddenly realized, someone! Because just then she saw Blake rounding the corner of the mess hall, and he was dry as a bone—and laughing! In a split second Jenna had the whole thing figured out. She’d thrown her notes for Operation Drowned Rat in the outdoor garbage that day . . . right outside her ceramics class. Blake must have found the plans in the trash and used them to carry out her prank!

  Jenna couldn’t believe it. She’d thought she and Blake were finally starting to be friends, but now he’d gone and ruined everything! The banquet she’d worked so hard on had turned into a demented water-park nightmare. The food, the decorations, everyone’s clothes—completely ruined!

  Suddenly, Dr. Steve exploded out of the mess-hall doors, dripping from head to toe, and shooting fire from his eyes.

  “Jenna Bloom!” he said, his eyes flashing. “Are you responsible for this?”

  “No, sir,” Jenna started quietly. “It wasn’t me, I swear.” And this time, she was telling the absolute, total truth.

  “Then how do you explain this?” Dr. Steve said, holding up Jenna’s blurred and crumpled notes for Operation Drowned Rat. “I found them lying on the floor in the kitchen. Farrah told me this looked like your handwriting. Is that true?”

  Jenna looked from one pair of angry eyes to another and sighed. So this was how it was going to come down. She might as well kiss any future years at Camp Lakeview good-bye, because there was no way Dr. Steve would ever believe she was innocent now. How could she ever explain this to him?

  “Yes, sir,” Jenna said. “It’s my handwriting. But I threw that piece of paper away two days ago. I swear. I decided not to go through with the prank. Someone else must have done it.”

  She glanced at Blake, who now stood sheepishly a few feet away.

  “If it wasn’t you, then who was it?” Dr. Steve asked. “You’re the only one here who could pull off something like this, and we have the proof right here.”

  Jenna just shook her head. It was hopeless. Dr. Steve would never believe his perfect little nephew Blake was actually the mastermind behind the mess-hall monsoon.

  “Uncle Steve,” Blake started, stepping forward and taking a deep breath. “It wasn’t Jenna. I know it wasn’t. Because it was—”

  “Me,” a voice said from behind them, and they all turned to see Pete, holding a spatula, his apron dripping a puddle onto the porch. “This was all my fault. I had a last batch of garlic bread in the broiler, and I forgot to set the timer. I got so into listening to the Color War awards, I forgot all about it. By the time I remembered, the garlic bread was molten and smoke was pouring out of the ovens. I opened the kitchen windows, but it was too late. The second the smoke reached the sprinkler nozzles, it was all over.”

  “But, Pete,” Blake started again.

  “Don’t protect me, Blake,” Pete said somberly. “I can take it like a man.” He winked at Blake and Jenna.

  Dr. Steve looked from Jenna to Blake to Pete. Finally, he let out a long, tired sigh. “All right,” he said. “Jenna, I’m going to believe that your conscience overruled your prankster side and that you did actually throw these plans away. How they ended up in the mess-hall kitchen is a great mystery.” He met Blake’s eyes for one long moment, then rubbed his forehead and sighed again. “But . . . a mystery it will remain. Accidents do happen, and there’s no use crying over spilled bug juice. We’ll get this all cleaned up. I’m afraid I’m at a loss as to how to save our banquet, though. And the cake is a complete disaster.”

  Jenna stared out at the campgrounds, her mind churning with ideas. “I’ve got it!” she cried. “It’ll be perfect.”

  “Perfect is good,” Dr. Steve said, brightening just a little. “I like perfect. Please share.”

  “Well, it’s hot out here tonight,” she started, “so maybe we can finally put this heat wave to good use. What about a bonfire down at the lakefront?”

  Dr. Steve rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “Not a bad idea.”

  “We can all get changed and meet down there in fifteen minutes,” Jenna continued enthusiastically. “And I have the perfect solution for the cake, too. Just leave it to me.”

  She filled Dr. Steve in on the rest of her plan, and he and the counselors rounded up the bedraggled campers, sending everyone off to their bunks to get out of their wet clothes.

  Once Dr. Steve left to clean himself up, trailing droplets of water behind him as he walked away, Jenna turned back to Pete. “You didn’t really burn any garlic bread, did you?” she asked him.

  Pete smiled, shaking his head slowly. “Nope. But I figured every prankster deserves a second chance. You got one last year after you let the animals loose during the square dance, and Blake gets one now.” Pete lowered his eyebrows at Blake in warning. “I saw you sneak out of the mess hall during the Color War awards and pull those plans out of your pocket. I know it was you. But I don’t imagine your uncle would be too happy with you if he found out the truth.”

  “No, he wouldn’t,” Blake admitted, and for the first time, Jenna got an inkling of how highly Blake actually thought of his uncle. He looked genuinely upset by the idea of Dr. Steve being unhappy or disappointed with him.

  “Just don’t pull something like that again,” Pete said. “Got it?”

  Blake blushed but nodded. Then he turned to Jenna. “You knew I set off the sprinklers, too, didn’t you? Why didn’t you turn me in?”

  “Believe me, I thought about it,” she scolded. But then she shrugged. “As a fellow prankster, I can appreciate a good prank when I see one. And that one . . .” she grinned, “was the best prank ever. It’s only fair that you ge
t to stick around to see it go down in Lakeview history.”

  What came out of Blake’s mouth next must not have been easy for him to say, because he sputtered and stared at the ground for a full minute before finally saying a simple, “Thanks, but I am sorry I ruined the banquet, even if it was a great prank. Your decorations were pretty cool.”

  “Was that a compliment?” Jenna asked, gaping.

  “Sort of, but don’t let it go to your head.” Blake grinned.

  “You know, I might be wrong,” Jenna said, “but I think you’re actually starting to like it here.”

  Blake shrugged. “Maybe I am.”

  “Truce?” Jenna finally said.

  “Truce,” answered Blake, shaking hands with her.

  “Good,” Jenna said. “Now, let’s go save the final banquet.”

  chapter TWELFE

  Jenna dumped the final box of her candy onto the growing pile on the picnic table. A bonfire was roaring on the beach, throwing yellow sparkling light onto the lake. The counselors had lined the water-front with tiki torches, and everyone was sitting at the picnic tables, on the pier, and on towels in the sand, talking, laughing, and having a great time.

  “That’s the last of it,” she said, standing back to gaze in satisfaction at the mound of candy and platters of Twinkies, brownies, cookies, and Rice Krispies treats covering every inch of the table.

  “There’s enough here to feed an army,” Blake said after tossing his pillowcase full of Nerds and Twizzlers onto the pile.

  “Do you think this will make up for the cake?” Jenna asked. For the past half an hour, Jenna and Blake had been recruiting other campers to donate the goody stashes from their bunks to make desserts for everyone for the final banquet. From the looks of the enormous pile, it seemed like just about everyone had pitched in a little something. Blake had helped Jenna carry both of her own boxes down to the lakefront, too. Even Alex had goodies in the pile that she could eat—the special honey cookies that Jenna’s mom had sent for her earlier last week.

  “It more than makes up for the cake.” Blake grinned. “We’ll be on sugar highs for a week, at least.”

  “A broken leg does have some perks,” Jenna said as she and Blake sat down with Natalie, Simon, Alyssa, Alex, Adam, Brynn, and the rest of the gang to enjoy the junk-food feast. “My mom and dad felt so bad for me, they sent me twice as much candy as usual, just to get me through Color War. There’s even enough for everyone to have seconds!”

  “Not if you start eating it,” Chelsea grumbled, still angry about her favorite skirt getting drenched earlier, even though Andie had assured her that it would be fine. “You could probably finish off that entire pile.”

  “Nuh-uh,” Jenna said. “Not tonight. Italian food is one thing, but I’m going easy on candy for a while. Those watermelon gummy worms put a temporary damper on my sweet tooth.”

  “Thanks to me,” Blake snickered.

  “What?” Jenna asked.

  Blake’s eyes twinkled. “The worm pies were my invention. I overheard Andie and Alex talking to Uncle Steve about it, so I came up with the kind of pie.” He smiled. “You’re not the only one who has brilliant ideas, you know.”

  “Oh, I know. That’s what scares me.” Jenna laughed. “I guess I should just be glad they weren’t real worms.”

  Everyone laughed, except Nat, who was horrified by the idea.

  “I can’t believe camp’s almost over again,” Alex said. “For a whole year. That’s forever.”

  Adam smiled at her and reached over to give her hand a split-second squeeze. “It’ll go by fast. You’ll see.”

  Jenna couldn’t believe what she was seeing! Her brother had practically almost held hands with Alex! Ick! But as Jenna watched Alex blushing in the firelight, she suddenly found herself smiling instead of gagging. Seeing Alex and Adam crushing on each other might take a little getting used to, but it was actually . . . sort of . . . cute? Of course, that didn’t mean she was going to crush on any guy anytime soon. No way. But at least now she’d be able to hang out with Alex and Adam without being totally weirded out.

  “So, Jenna,” Perry asked her. “What’s the first thing you’re going to do when you get your cast off?”

  Jenna smiled. “Completely cream Alex in soccer.”

  “In your dreams,” Alex said. “You couldn’t do that even before you broke your leg.”

  “Wanna bet?” Jenna said. “What about last year when I kicked that ball right over your head straight into the goal, and the year before that, when I scored fifteen goals in the second half? And then there was the time when I—”

  Alex burst out laughing. “I give up,” she said, throwing up her hands. “I just wanted to see if your broken leg had affected your memory.”

  “Very funny,” Jenna said dryly, but she was smiling. “My soccer game might have to wait a few more weeks, but let’s not forget who’s the pie-eating queen.” She ribbed Adam. “By the way, are you feeling better, bro? ’Cause I brought you something special to eat tonight.” She popped open the ten-pound tub of gummy worms she’d won earlier and held it under his nose. “Mmmm, doesn’t that smell good?”

  Adam leaped up from the table, turning a shade paler. “Jenna, come on!” he said, holding one hand over his mouth and one over his stomach. “That’s not funny!”

  “If it’s not funny, why is everyone laughing so hard?” Jenna said with a giggle as everyone cracked up.

  “Ah,” Andie said, grinning at the two of them. “I sure am going to miss you guys and your sibling rivalry.”

  Jenna giggled again and looked around her. The stars were shining, fireflies were blinking, and the moonlight sparkled on the lake. A couple of the smaller kids fell asleep on their towels, and some of the counselors had to carry them back to their bunks. But Jenna and her friends just huddled in closer to the bonfire as the night got colder, talking about all the fun they’d had over the summer, sharing pictures and home addresses, roasting s’mores, and telling ghost stories.

  As Jenna ate her s’more, she looked around at all of her friends. There was Alex, her toughest competitor and veteran camp buddy; Nat, her favorite Manhattan fashion consultant; Alyssa, her reality check; Adam, her annoying but lovable (on occasion) twin; and Blake, her arch nemesis and . . . friend? After all they’d been through the last couple of weeks, was it possible that the guy she’d found so annoying and stuck-up at first had turned into someone she might actually have fun with? Maybe it was.

  She handed him the second s’more she’d just made. “Thanks, Blake.”

  He blinked in surprise as he bit into the s’more. “For what?”

  “For proving that I was wrong about you,” Jenna said, “by giving Lakeview a chance. And for pulling off Operation Drowned Rat.”

  Blake gaped at her. “What? But I thought you were mad at me for that.”

  Jenna shrugged. “I was, but not anymore. Because if it hadn’t been for you, none of us would be out here right now,” she waved toward the bonfire, “enjoying all this. Don’t get too cocky or anything, but you made this the best banquet ever.”

  “Until next year,” Blake said with a mischievous grin. “Just wait until you hear what I’ve got planned. I’ll need a partner in crime, though.”

  “I’m retired, remember? You’ll have to find another accomplice.” But then she leaned toward him. “But I can’t wait to see what happens,” she whispered with a grin.

  After the bonfire, all the girls from both bunks crowded into 4A for a final night of girl bonding. Andie, Mia, Becky, and Sophie had all agreed that the girls could hang out together for an extra hour before lights-out, and the bunk had turned into one huge slumber fest. Alex, Sarah, Brynn, and all the other 4C-ers were sitting on the floor to make room for everyone. The bunk was completely packed and noisy, just the way Jenna liked it.

  “So, are we going to have a camp reunion before next summer?” Jenna asked.

  “Of course,” Alyssa said. “Don’t we always?”

&
nbsp; “We could plan to get together for more than just the reunion, too. You could come visit me in Manhattan again,” Nat offered. Last fall, all the girls had stayed in Nat’s New York apartment for the whole weekend of the camp reunion, and it had been a blast.

  “Maybe you want to try someplace different this year?” Andie asked.

  “I know!” Tori said. “You could come to L.A. to visit me! I could take you to my favorite juice bar. They have the best banana-strawberry smoothies you’ll ever have in your life.”

  “I don’t know if smoothies can top New York pizza,” Nat said. “That’s the best food there is in my book, besides sushi, of course.”

  “And you’re not biased or anything.” Tori giggled. “You guys will love L.A. We can shop till we drop and go to museums.”

  “I’ve heard that the theater there is awesome, too,” Grace said.

  “I’ll go,” Jenna said. “On two conditions.”

  “What are they?” Mia asked.

  “That I get this darn cast off first!” she said as everyone broke into laughter. “And . . . that there’s only limited boy talk during our girl bonding time.”

  “But what if I kiss Simon for real and want to tell you guys?” Nat asked forlornly.

  “You’re limited to five minutes of details about boys . . . tops,” Jenna said. “Especially if you kiss Simon for real.”

  “Fine by me,” Alex jumped in.

  “But won’t you want to fill us in on what’s happened with you and Adam?” Sarah asked Alex.

  “Hey, I can do that in less than five minutes, no problem,” Alex said. “Besides, I might like Adam, but my friends still come first.”

  Jenna smiled, relieved to hear that even if her friends were starting to get interested in boys, they would still be able to have just as much fun without them, too. “No matter where we meet up this year,” she said, “we’re going to have a great time, as long as we’re all together.”