by Charles Tang
“Welcome, Seagulls!” the flagpole crowd yelled out. “Give us a seagull squawk!”
The new campers weren’t sure what to do.
“Go ahead,” Ginny urged everyone.
“Crawk! Crawk!” the campers screamed out like a flock of seagulls about to land on Claw Island.
“The camp is so pretty,” Violet said when she stepped onto the dock. “Evergreen Lodge looks just the way I pictured — with porches and big windows looking out on the bay.”
“You know,” Benny said, “Claw Island doesn’t look a bit like a scary lobster claw.”
“That’s only on a map, Benny,” Violet said, laughing. “Or if you’re a bird looking down.”
Ginny waved the campers toward the flagpole group. “There’s my husband, Rich.”
Rich and Ginny Gullen wore identical CAMP SEAGULL DIRECTOR shirts and nearly identical friendly smiles.
“Greetings,” Rich began. “Welcome to Camp Seagull. Hope you had a smooth ride over. Ginny and I are happy to welcome you to our first season as directors of Camp Seagull. The camp has been around since Ginny and I grew up in Dark Harbor. Both of us worked here when we weren’t much older than most of you.”
Ginny looked around at the campers. “I know some of your parents were once campers here. We’ve kept up many of the traditions the Pines family started in the past. And we’ve added a few of our own.”
The Aldens noticed Mr. Pines and his children didn’t seem in a hurry to join the group.
“Is Mr. Pines related to the family that owned the camp?” Jessie asked Kim in a whisper.
“Yes,” Kim whispered back. “But he doesn’t mention it. His family had to give up the camp. Now he has to work for Rich and Ginny. They changed everything from before.”
“Do you still have Dress Your Favorite Fruit Night?” a girl camper asked Rich.
Rich grinned. “At Camp Seagull we even dress up vegetables! Our campers last session voted to have a Dress Your Favorite Vegetable Night. We’ve added new activities like that. But it’s still the same special place it’s always been. Now Ginny will tell you all about the Camp Seagull Olympics.”
“Okay, campers. Let’s start by lining up,” Ginny began. She picked up a big blue bowl. “Come and choose a surprise from this bowl.”
Benny tried to peek over the rim of the bowl. “Is it a snack?”
Ginny held the bowl out for Benny. “You’ll see.”
Benny reached in. “It’s a little dolphin.” He showed Violet the small plastic animal.
“I picked a seal,” she said.
“I got a dolphin,” Jessie said after her turn. “So did Henry.”
When the bowl was empty, Ginny looked around at all the campers. “During your stay, you’ll either be on a dolphin or a seal team, depending on the animal you chose. Half our cabins are Dolphin cabins, and half are Seal cabins. Even day campers have a cabin to spend time in during the day. As for you overnight campers, after our first Flag Ceremony, Mr. Pines will move your trunks and duffels to your cabins.”
“Except yours,” Zach muttered before stepping away from Henry.
Ginny waited for the campers to settle down. “Here’s how our Olympics work. Dolphins and Seals try to get points for our activities and events, as well as for doing good things around camp.”
“Like making our beds, right?” a girl around Benny’s age asked. “My brother told me. And not screaming at the ferry horn. Only I did ’cause I forgot.”
“And shooting a gazillion baskets in basketball,” another boy added. “When my dad was a camper, his team won the Olympics. He was a good basketball player a long time ago.
“Up until this year, my groups won every single year,” Kim announced. “I’ve been playing soccer and basketball since I was little. I won lots of points in the Camp Seagull Olympics. But not this year.”
“How come?” one of the new campers wanted to know.
“I was a Junior Counselor for the Dolphins last session,” Kim answered bitterly. “But we lost. Sports don’t count as much anymore. The Olympics are way harder to win now.”
“No fair,” said the boy with the basketball player dad.
Ginny waited for the campers to quiet down. “Well, Rich and I did make a few changes in the Olympics. We wanted to make it easier for all campers to earn points, even those who aren’t sports stars. So now campers think up new activities together that everyone can be good at — even if you don’t play a sport.”
“Like not talking too much, right?” Benny asked. “That’s what my brother, Henry, told me. Only I talk a lot, so the Dolphins might not win for that.”
Ginny tried not to laugh, but she couldn’t help it. “Well, Benny, maybe you’ll win the Make Somebody Laugh Award. Last session, the Seals thought up that activity.”
Ginny held up a blue notebook. “In here, you’ll find a list of fun Olympic activities from last session. You’ll also get to add new ones when you go to your cabins later. Your counselor will make a list of all your ideas. Then each cabin will choose the one idea that best pulls the whole camp together and give it to me or Rich for our Big Idea Medal.”
Rich continued where Ginny left off. “This medal is worth a hundred points to the winning side. Now we will officially begin camp with our first Camp Seagull Flag Ceremony.”
The next thing the campers heard was a scratchy sound that filled the air. The campers covered their ears as the loud notes of a bugle blared out from a tape recorder.
“Hear ye! Hear ye, campers!” Rich called out over the loudspeaker. “Sorry we don’t have a live bugler yet. We will when Henry Alden’s bugle arrives with his trunk. What you just heard is the famous Camp Seagull bugle recording. Our new Junior Counselor Henry Alden will conduct the Flag Ceremony this session.”
Henry stepped forward with the American flag and the Camp Seagull flag. As he had learned to do in the Scouts, Henry carefully unfolded the flags and fastened them to the ropes. As he guided the flags slowly up the pole, the campers watched in silence.
When both flags reached the top, Rich started the bugle tape again. The whole camp broke into a cheer.
“Let Camp Seagull begin!” Rich cried out over the cheers and the last notes of the crackling bugle tape.
The campers gave the Camp Seagull cheer. “Crawk! Crawk!” they all cried.
“Crawk! Crawk!” a seagull answered from its perch on the top of the flagpole.
After the Flag Ceremony, Ginny assigned each counselor to a group of campers.
“Let’s find Violet,” Henry suggested to Jessie and Benny. “I want to wish her luck before we go to our cabins.”
They found Violet sitting cross-legged on the ground a few feet away from Kim Waters. Kim had a clipboard in front of her. She was speaking with her campers one by one.
When she saw her family, Violet scrambled to her feet. “My group is getting ready to go to our cabin,” Violet said.
“I wish you were on the Dolphin team,” Benny said. “Aldens like to stay together.”
Violet’s eyes darkened. “I know. At least you’ll be with Henry. And I’ll be near Jessie’s cabin. Birch — that’s the name of our cabin — is only two cabins away from hers. Maybe we can visit back and forth.”
Jessie hugged Violet. “We’ll all see one another at activities and meals, though not overnight.”
“Violet Alden!” Kim yelled out. “Over here with the Seals. We have to get to Birch Cabin — on the double!”
Violet gave Jessie one last hug. “ ’Bye. See you at dinner,” she said.
Kim blew her whistle again. “The Seals sit together at meals,” she told her campers. “Now what we’re going to do is come up with the best Big Idea in the whole camp. This session, the Seals are going to win the Olympics. No matter what.”
“Why is Kim so grouchy?” Benny asked. “I’m glad I’m a Dolphin.”
“Maybe Kim wanted to be in the Dolphins again,” Jessie guessed. “Well, time to go to our cabins with our campers.
See you later, Benny. ’Bye, Henry.”
CHAPTER 4
Boo!
Henry and Dave Baylor, a Senior Counselor, were in charge of the six- and seven-year-old Dolphin boys. They introduced themselves to the campers. Since Dave had work to do at the waterfront, Henry led the boys to the cabin on his own. “This way, Dolphins. Driftwood Cabin is just down the Interstate.”
“Henry’s kidding,” Benny explained in case the other boys didn’t get Henry’s joke. “The Interstate doesn’t go to Claw Island, just the Boo boat.”
Henry noticed Zach pushing a cart piled high with duffel bags and trunks. “Hey, Zach, we’re going the same way. That cart looks heavy. Want some help?”
“I don’t need any help,” Zach answered.
“Sorry about leaving our bags onshore,” Henry said. “We didn’t mean to make more work for you and your dad. When Dave comes back from the waterfront, maybe I can help you finish unloading the ferry.”
“I told you, I don’t need any help,” Zach said. “I’m still in charge of luggage. You’re in charge of the Flag Ceremony now. Let’s keep it that way.” Zach then pushed the cart so hard, it nearly tipped over on a tree root.
“How come Zach doesn’t like you?” Benny whispered.
“I wish I knew,” Henry said.
When Henry arrived at Driftwood Cabin with his group, Boo Pines was nailing some loose boards on the screen door.
“Boo!” one of the boys said.
Boo Pines didn’t even look up.
“Let’s not bother Mr. Pines,” Henry told the boys. “First we’ll unpack so we can make up our bunks.”
“But you don’t have a trunk,” a boy named Sam said.
“Not yet,” Henry said, “but it’ll be here tomorrow. My bugle’s in it. I’ll teach you to play a few notes.”
Benny was proud of his older brother. “Henry’s the new bugle player and flag-raiser person,” he announced.
“What about Zach?” Sam asked. “How come he’s not doing it? That was his job last session.”
Slam! Slam! All the boys, even Henry, jumped when the screen door banged so hard it shook the cabin.
“Something the matter?” Henry called out.
Out on the cabin porch, Boo shut the lid of his toolbox. The next sounds the boys heard were Boo’s heavy work boots thumping down the steps. When Henry looked out, Boo had disappeared into the woods.
“Welcome to Cedar Cabin, Dolphins,” Jessie began when her campers stepped inside. “It looks a little bare right now, but not for long. We’ll fix it up so it’s nice and cozy. My brothers and sister and I used to live in a boxcar in the woods. We made it like a real house.”
“I wish our cabin was a boxcar,” one of the campers said. “Will you tell us stories about living in the woods?”
“Lots of them,” Jessie said, “including how our dog, Watch, found us. But first I need to get Lizzie Pines here. She’s a day camper, but she’s supposed to be in Cedar Cabin right now.”
Jessie dug into her backpack. “Here’s a piece of paper and a pencil, girls. I’ll draw a squiggle on it. Then you girls pass it around and see if you can turn the squiggle into a picture by the time I get back with Lizzie. Here comes Sarah, our Senior Counselor. She’ll stay with you while I fetch Lizzie. Hi, Sarah.”
Outside, Jessie headed toward the ferry landing. She spotted Lizzie and Zach talking.
“But I don’t want to be a Dolphin,” Jessie overheard Lizzie telling Zach when she got closer. “I want to be with Kim like last time. She said I could help her win the Olympics like we used to all the time before Ginny and Rich came. Maybe Kim will let me stay overnight in Birch Cabin. Then I can be an overnight camper like Dad promised.”
Zach turned to his sister. “Look, Lizzie, you have to go along with the Aldens. Ginny and Rich are in charge now, not Dad. But there are lots of ways you can help Kim.”
“Lizzie!” Jessie yelled out without coming closer. She didn’t want Zach and Lizzie to know she had heard them talking about her. She motioned Lizzie to return to Cedar Cabin. Jessie walked back alone, wondering what was going on. What did Zach mean about Lizzie helping Kim?
“Squiggles was a good game for the girls,” Sarah said when Jessie returned. “I have to run to the office. Be back soon.”
A redheaded camper named Laura handed Jessie a sheet of paper. “Here’s what we drew.”
“A boxcar!” Jessie said, admiring the girls’ drawing.
“Where’s Lizzie?” Laura asked.
Jessie stuck her head out the door. Lizzie was coming toward the cabin. “She’s right behind me. Let’s carry in all of your trunks. I’ll help you unpack now that Lizzie’s on her way.”
Lizzie was on her way — but not to Cedar Cabin. Instead, she stopped off at Birch Cabin.
All the Birch campers, except for Violet, had their trunks and duffels open. Violet was helping Kim unpack.
“Clean towels stay folded in the trunks,” Kim told Violet. “I guess your sister and brother didn’t read the rules. Especially the one saying not to leave your trunks on the beach.”
Violet tried not to think about her neatly packed trunk sitting in Dark Harbor. She looked up when Lizzie came in. “Did Jessie send you over to tell me something?”
“No,” Lizzie answered. “I came to see Kim.”
Kim turned around. “What’s up, Lizzie? I was hoping you’d be in my group. I have to teach my campers everything, even not to forget their trunks.”
“I have a message,” Lizzie said. She handed Kim a piece of paper.
Kim read it over. “Hmmm. I guess it’s okay. You’d better go to your own cabin now.”
Lizzie didn’t move. “Can’t I stay a little longer? Or overnight? I’m sure my dad would let me. I could put a sleeping bag in the corner. I wouldn’t take up much room.”
Violet had an idea, but she was too shy to say anything right away. Finally she decided to speak up. “What if Lizzie and I switch? That way she could be a Seal and stay here in Birch since you’re friends already.”
Kim and Lizzie looked at each other.
“Please, Kim,” Lizzie pleaded. “Can I stay here?”
Before Kim had time to answer, there was a knock on the cabin door.
“Come in,” Kim called out. “Oh, hi, Sarah. I thought the Senior Counselors had a meeting in the office.”
“It’s over,” Sarah said. She looked around until she spotted Lizzie sitting on Kim’s bed. “Aha! I see you kidnapped one of my favorite campers,” Sarah joked. “Lizzie, I think you forgot which cabin you were assigned to. You’re with Jessie Alden and me over in Cedar. It’s time to start the fun. We can’t do that if one of the Dolphins in our pod is missing. Let’s go, kiddo. Jessie’s waiting.”
Lizzie didn’t move from Kim’s bed. “But . . . but, we were just talking about Violet changing places and being a Dolphin instead. Then I could stay in Kim’s group like last session.”
“No way!” Sarah said, smiling. “Last session, you were such a great camper, I kept wishing you were on my team. And now you are. Off we go!”
Violet looked on as Sarah led Lizzie back to Cedar Cabin. She tried not to think about how strange everything seemed on her first night at camp. Jessie was just two cabins away, but that seemed as far away as Greenfield.
“I have an extra stuffed animal,” one of the girls said, holding out a floppy fur rabbit. “You can borrow him until your trunk comes, Violet.”
“If it comes,” Kim said before shutting the lid of her own trunk.
CHAPTER 5
Footprints in the Sand
A spiral of blue-gray smoke arose from the campfire near Evergreen Lodge. The hamburger and hot dog smells from Camp Seagull’s first cookout began to fade. Now that the day was nearly over, the first day of camp was fading, too.
Benny pulled his stick from the fire. On the end was a melted, golden brown marshmallow. He slid it between two graham crackers and a piece of chocolate. “Yum,” he said after tasting his s’
more treat. “Cookouts are my favorite.”
“So are breakfast, lunch, and dinner,” Henry kidded.
Jessie and Violet laughed at Henry’s joke, along with the campers nearby.
“I’m glad Kim let us sit together for dessert,” Violet told Jessie.
“Me, too,” Jessie said. “Here, you can have my s’more. I’m full from our cookout,” Jessie said. “Are you having fun with the Seals?”
Violet stared into the fire. “I’ll like camp better when I can go on nature walks or start making pottery. Kim is upset with our cabin because of my trunk. She said I lost points for our team.”
Jessie frowned. “Well, be sure to mention that since Henry and I are both Dolphins, our team will lose twice as many points for leaving our trunks behind. Ginny was a little upset, but she asked Mr. Pines to bring them to camp tomorrow morning when he drops off the day campers.”
Violet wriggled her toes to warm them near the fire. “I’ll still lose for cabin inspection. Kim’s cross with me.”
“That’s just her way,” Jessie said. “She’s probably upset that Rich and Ginny changed the Olympics from sports to a lot of other activities. Don’t worry. You’ll help the Seals win with your crafts and the way you help other campers. Oh, listen,” Jessie said, “it’s the bugle tape again.”
“I have a few announcements before Henry takes down the flags for the night,” Rich began. “Counselors, remember to walk your campers to the dock at seven-twenty. Mr. Pines will have the ferry ready to bring the day campers back to Dark Harbor for the night.”
Benny was glad to hear this. “I like camp,” he said to Jessie, “but I like seeing Grandfather ‘s’more.’ ”
“Good one,” Jessie said, laughing at Benny’s joke. “Uh-oh. S’more bugle music is coming on. Let’s stand up for Flag Ceremony.”
Henry walked over to the flagpole and lowered the camp flags as the campers watched quietly. When the flags reached the bottom of the ropes, everyone cheered for Henry. He carefully folded the flags for the next day and brought them to Evergreen Lodge.
