I know I already said it, but I miss you sooooo much! Counting down the days till you come home. Brilliant idea to extend our Gilmore Girls marathon to a full forty-eight hours. I will make sure to have my leggings with the stretched-out waist ready!
Love you more than anything,
Mom
P.S. Mr. Pebbles is getting a little spoiled. Now he likes alkaline water in his water bowl and he will only eat the fancy organic cat food.
I looked around the cabin and all of the girls were keeping themselves entertained during our “reading and writing block.” Poppy was writing a letter to Gwyneth, her best friend from back home. Isa was practicing a new soccer move, even though Ainsley had been getting on her case about playing in the cabin. Maisy was busy making team bracelets with Hannah for the tournament. They had figured out how to make a Sunflower design on each bracelet and they were working hard to finish on time for us to wear them to the competition.
I closed Mom’s letter and tried to calm the thoughts that were swirling in my brain. It was one thing for Mom to go on a blind date with Mr. Pembrook, it was an entirely different matter to spend the weekend together bonding over Mom’s favorite book/movie series in the entire world. If this was what anxiety feels like, I couldn’t imagine dealing with it every day like Maisy.
Maisy looked up at me and asked, “They’re still together?”
I put the letter on my bunk shelf. “They just spent the weekend together having a Harry Potter marathon.”
“Who’s still together?” Hannah asked.
“My mom’s dating our old math teacher,” I said.
“Isn’t that a good thing?” Poppy asked. “Haven’t you been trying to get her to start dating again?”
“Seriously,” said Hannah. “Your poor mom’s been single for as long as we’ve known you.”
“Yeah, but I didn’t expect her to end up with a guy who wears holiday-themed bowties and gives detention for gum chewing,” I said.
“He can’t give you detention if he isn’t your teacher anymore,” Isa said.
Maisy put down her friendship bracelet. “I always liked him, aside from the whole detention thing. He was really patient when I had trouble with a math unit, and he always explained things to me without making me feel dumb.”
“I’m not saying he isn’t a nice guy, but he isn’t someone I expected my mom to end up with,” I said.
Hannah groaned. “I wouldn’t want my mom dating my old math teacher.”
“Agreed,” said Poppy. “School and home are supposed to be two different worlds. It’s creepy when they collide.”
“At least he’s an elementary school teacher,” said Hannah. “Could you imagine if your mom’s boyfriend was your middle school teacher?”
“Blech! Our school campus is so small, though, that the middle school is connected to the elementary school,” I said. “This year is going to suck.”
Maisy raised her eyes to me. “Don’t worry, Bea. You’re going to have a great year, even with the Pembrook situation. I’ll make sure of that.”
I had a feeling this pact was going to be the one thing keeping me sane when I got home from camp.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
MAISY
From: @maisywintersiscoming
To: @madisonave
We need the other girls to think adding a new girl without an M name is their idea. The key is Mia. If you can convince her, the other girls will follow. So start dropping hints about it, until she thinks it’s her idea.
From: @madisonave
To: @maisywintersiscoming
You’re a genius!!
Mary Anne handed me a plate filled with fluffy blueberry pancakes with a pat of melty butter on top of the stack. “Here’s your usual.”
“Thanks!” I said and put the warm dish of food on my cold stainless-steel tray.
“What’s your bunk doing for the talent show?” Mary Anne asked, handing me a mini-pitcher of real maple syrup.
“Talent show?” I grabbed a chilled glass of OJ and put it on my tray. “What talent show?”
Mary Anne started scooping scrambled eggs onto a plate for Ella Ray from the Rose Bunk. “We have one every year. The bunks all perform. They do skits, dance routines, someone usually sings.”
Ella Ray grabbed a bagel and a chocolate milk. “It’s tonight. But your bunk never does it,” she said.
“There’s always a first time for everything,” I said, quoting Dr. Beth, who thinks this applies to just about everything in life. Never been on a ropes course? “There’s a first time for everything.” Never been in the deep end of the water? “Well, there’s a first time for everything.” You get the picture.
“Thanks for the heads-up, Mary Anne,” I said.
Mary Anne gave me a little nod to let me know she was rooting for me.
“What’s this I hear about a talent show?” I practically shrieked as soon as I sat down with the Sunflower girls. I slammed my plate down so hard that one of my pancakes landed on the table.
Isa waved her hand as if she was swatting a fly. “We never do it.”
I picked my runaway pancake off the table and stuck it back on my plate, then poured lots of syrup all over the stack. “What do you mean you never do it?”
Hannah looked up from her overflowing bowl of raisin spice oatmeal. “We have no hope of winning, so why bother?”
I whipped my head around to face Bea. “Why bother? Did she seriously just say ‘why bother’?”
Bea shrugged. “We’re usually so focused on getting ready for the tournament that we don’t want to waste time rehearsing for the talent show.”
“Not to mention, we’re really not that talented,” added Poppy, through a mouthful of scrambled eggs.
I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. “A talent show isn’t about winning.” I waved a piece of bacon at them. “Not everything in life is about winning.”
“Tell that to the Dandelion girls,” said Hannah. “They’ll never let us live it down if they beat us.”
“Who cares about the Dandelion girls?” I said. “The one cool thing about this camp is the talent show. We are not missing it!” I pounded my fist on the table and everyone’s juice glass rattled. All the girls, including the campers at the next two tables, stared at me like I had lost my mind.
“Do you seriously care this much about the talent show?” Poppy asked.
“I did kick some serious butt on the race course, and I am so close to getting through the spider web! We can afford one day of fun, can’t we?” I pressed. I clasped my hands together like I was praying, which it kind of felt like I was. “Pleeeeeeease?”
Bea sighed and looked at the other girls. “Well…”
I clapped my hands together. “OMG! This is going to be so much fun! What’re you guys good at—besides tournament stuff?”
Poppy looked up at the dining hall ceiling. “I’m good at modeling, but I don’t think that’s really talent show kind of stuff.”
“I’m good at soccer,” said Isa. “But also not really talent show stuff.”
I swallowed a huge bite of pancake and washed it down with Bea’s OJ since mine had a fly floating in it. “Don’t worry, guys, we’ll figure it out. Raise your hand if you can sing.”
I raised my hand, but everyone else just looked at each other.
Hannah started to raise her hand, then put it back down. “My singing’s more like ‘sing in the shower when no one’s around’ kind of singing.”
“Can anyone play a musical instrument?” I asked.
“I played the recorder back in third grade,” said Poppy.
Hannah rolled her eyes. “I had to drop clarinet because it conflicted with resource room.”
“I had to drop violin because I never had any time to practice,” said Isa.
I tried my best not to look hopeless. For a bunch of sporty girls, they really didn’t know how to do regular things. “Does anyone have a really good comedy act?”
The girls laughed so
hard that Isa almost choked on her toast.
“Know any magic tricks?” I asked.
No one even bothered to answer that one.
“Give me a minute. I’ll come up with something,” I said.
I spent the rest of breakfast chowing down while running through ideas in my head. I tuned out all the chatter around me and brainstormed.
When all of my pancakes and bacon were gone, and I had worked my way through Bea’s plate of toast, I finally got my stroke of genius. “I’ve got it! We’re going to do a dance number with Isa in the starring role.”
“That’s not gonna work because I have no rhythm. Like, literally no rhythm,” said Isa.
“Ah, but you can play soccer,” I said.
Everyone looked at me like I was sitting in the dining cabin in my underwear. Everyone except for Bea, who always trusted my plans.
BEA
Maisy grabbed my arm and asked, “Is that girl really gonna do the cups song from Pitch Perfect?”
Hannah rolled her eyes. “Lisa Turner does it every… single… year.”
Lisa sat in the middle of the square, which served double duty as our Talent Night stage. She ceremoniously waved a red Solo plastic cup in front of her before beginning. As she sang the song with the accompanying movements, I ran through our choreographed routine in my mind. Maisy had ingeniously taken the same exact eight count that we had used for our talent show routine at school and put it together for the camp routine. It was crucial for me to get it right because I would be standing in front of Poppy so that she could look on, while Maisy would be modeling the moves for Hannah.
As soon as Lisa finished her song, Maisy broke through the dull applause with her own boisterous clapping and cheers.
“I can see why she does that every year,” she said. “She was amazing!”
Isa smacked Maisy in the arm. “You’re cheering for the wrong team.”
Maisy rubbed her arm. “Ow! Tonight’s not about competition.”
Hannah smirked. “Good thing ’cause we have no shot at winning.”
Bailey stepped onto the middle of the court. “Let’s all have a big round of applause for Lisa.” She started clapping and a bored smattering of claps spread through the crowd.
“Great job, Lisa, um, really… perfecting that act,” Bailey said enthusiastically. “Next up are the Sunflower Girls, who are making their Camp Amelia Talent Night debut!”
We all reluctantly stood up while Maisy practically ran to the stage. She had asked Isa for a list of all the other soccer players at camp. Then she knocked on all their cabin doors until she had scavenged four matching pairs of black soccer shorts, four black headbands, black soccer cleats in the right size for each of us, shin guards, and knee-high black-and-white soccer socks. She even found semi-matching white soccer tees for all of us. Then she styled everyone’s hair in matching double dutch braids. Isa was “starring” as the goalie. So she made sure to stand out in a neon green goalie shirt with matching padded goalie gloves.
At first, I was shocked the Dandelion girls didn’t boo us off the stage, but then I realized that was to Maisy’s credit because she had cheered for them during their ten-minute mixed martial arts demo, which included Tinka flipping one of the counselors, the A twins breaking boards with their hands, and Kaya doing a spinning back kick.
“Come on, girls,” Maisy said, in an exaggerated cheerleader voice. “Put it in.” She put her hand out and waited for us all to pile our hands on top of hers. “Sunflower girls, on three!”
We all pumped our hands with her for three counts and then threw them in the air while shouting “Sunflower girls!” I felt simultaneously cheesy and proud.
I waited for the first beats of “Jump Around” by House of Pain. Admittedly, it’s a dated hip-hop song, but we were relegated to whatever mixed tapes we could dig up in the music cabin.
As soon as the song started, Maisy and I led Hannah and Poppy in the first set of eight counts that we would repeat over and over again until the song ended. As we went through the eight count, we moved across the grass so it looked like we were playing soccer. While we danced, Isa lifted the ball with her feet and did trick after trick. The entire time we were dancing, she moved the ball seamlessly from foot to foot, then up in the air, and around her body without letting the ball touch the ground once. Every time the audience thought she had shown them every trick imaginable, she pulled out another one.
I messed up a move or two, but it didn’t matter, because we were having so much fun. When I got on stage, I couldn’t wait for it to be over, but when the song ended I was sorry it did. Maisy grabbed our hands and led us in a bow. I extended my bow for just a second longer than necessary just to hold on to that moment.
When we sat back down in the audience, I actually enjoyed watching the other bunks perform. Maisy was right; not everything at camp should be about the tournament.
At the end of the night, when the paper plate awards were being handed out, we all gripped hands like we were on the cast of some reality dance show. Even Isa looked excited at the prospect of being awarded a superlative that was the equivalent of a participation trophy.
Bailey cleared her throat. “And the award for most creative choreography goes to… the Sunflower Bunk.”
Maisy turned to us all with a look of pure delight on her face. “OMG! We won an award!”
“Go on, Maisy,” said Isa. “You can accept it for us. You did all the choreography.”
Maisy shook her head. Even though every other bunk had sent up only one representative for their award, Maisy wouldn’t accept the award on her own. “We’re all going up.”
We all did the mandatory grumble as we followed Maisy to the stage. But when we got up there, we all got caught up in the participation trophy victory with Maisy and smiled and slow-waved to the crowd as if we were winners of a beauty pageant.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
MAISY
From: @maisywintersiscoming
To: @madisonave
Did you drop hints about adding a non M girl to the group?
From: @madisonave
To: @maisywintersiscoming
Tried to, but Meghan’s being mean again. She planned a sleepover with just Madeline and Mia and then only invited me after her mom found out. Too scared to bring up a new girl when I feel like Meghan wants to get rid of me :(
From: @maisywintersiscoming
To: @madisonave
Sorry Meghan’s being mean again. Don’t worry. I’ll be home soon. Miss you!!
I still wasn’t used to how cold and damp it was in the mornings, especially in Dr. Beth’s cabin. I snuggled into a floor pillow and pulled my sweatshirt over my legs. Okay, it was actually Isa’s shirt. Who would’ve thought I would ever be borrowing clothes from Isa?
“And then we hung up the paper plate award over our bunk door,” I said. “Everyone said I should keep it since I was the choreographer, but I told Isa to bring it home since her soccer skills rocked the show.”
Dr. Beth smiled. “From what you’ve told me before, she’s going to be on a professional team one day.”
I nodded. “For sure. Oh, and we had another running practice. Guess what? Turns out I’m not just freakishly fast when I’m thinking mad mom thoughts. I’m fast all the time!”
Of course Dr. Beth asked, “How does that make you feel?”
I need to find a sparkly mug that says How does that make you feel? for her collection. I’m totally gonna order one on Amazon for her when I get back to civilization. But unlike the school guidance counselor, Dr. Beth made me want to answer her questions.
“Like I’m not dragging my bunk down. Like we might actually have a chance at winning this thing. Like I might care about the Cup and these girls,” I said.
“Including Bea?” she asked. She didn’t swat away the gray kitten who was chewing on her braid.
I threaded yellow string on Poppy’s bracelet. Hannah and I were determined to have the Sunflower bracelets ready for the to
urnament so I was working on them every spare minute. “It’s easier to be friends with her here, away from home. At camp, it’s as if nothing bad ever happened between us.”
“You guys are in what’s called the honeymoon stage.” Dr. Beth scratched the orange and white cat on her belly till she purred. “Couples have an amazing time on their honeymoon because they’re away from all the everyday stress like bills, jobs, family, friends. When they get home, they have to get used to life together in the real world.”
I pulled green thread into the yellow to start building the Sunflower stalk. “I get it. It’s easier for us to be friends here at camp, away from the Mapleton drama.”
Figuring out how to get the M & Ms to accept Bea when we got back home was keeping me up at night—all right, not that late because all the crazy workouts really tired me out. But I did worry about it for the two minutes and thirty seconds after my head hit the pillow, before I fell asleep.
“One thing you can reflect on is how you can include Bea in your life back home,” Dr. Beth said. “Think about how you can make her part of your life, like she did for you here at camp.”
I swear sometimes it’s like Dr. Beth is reading my mind.
“Think it through and we can talk more about it next session. There’s something else we have to talk about today.” Dr. Beth tossed me a Milky Way bar from her emergency chocolate stash. “Here, kid. You’re gonna need this.”
No matter how much time I spent hanging around my bunkmates, I would never be that girl you can expect to catch things. “You’re freaking me out,” I said.
Dr. Beth grabbed the chocolate bar from the floor and handed it to me. “I know talking in circles makes you anxious, so I’m going to tell it to you straight. Your mom wants to make amends.”
My heart started beating superfast and my hands were instantly sweaty. “Mom’s here? At camp?”
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