Camp Rules!

by Nancy Krulik

  If she stayed really still, maybe she wouldn’t be noticed. Because if she was seen, she would be taken for Alicia and would be forced to swim.

  But staying still wasn’t easy. Katie’s nose was right up against one of Alicia’s smelly gym socks. She’d thrown it under there instead of sending it to the laundry. A skunk would have smelled better than that sock did.

  But Katie couldn’t move the sock. Any move could reveal her hiding place.

  “I haven’t seen Alicia anywhere,” Katie heard Chelsea say.

  “Me neither. I checked the mess hall, the nature shack, and the canteen,” she heard Rainbow add.

  “Leave it to Alicia to mess up Color War for us,” Gianna added.

  “Maybe Katie’s seen her,” Chelsea suggested.

  Katie frowned. Seen her? She was her.

  And at the moment, being Alicia was getting more and more difficult. Alicia never swept under her bed. The dust bunnies made Katie want to sneeze.

  The mosquito bites all over Alicia’s body were making Katie itch.

  And that smelly sock was making her kinda sick to her stomach.

  But Katie didn’t dare sneeze, scratch, or puke.

  “Katie’s in arts and crafts working on the banner,” Rainbow told Chelsea. “Alicia wouldn’t go there.” She plopped down on the bed just above Katie. The mattress sank down right in the middle, hitting Katie on the back.

  “Mmmph . . .” Katie let out a small groan, shoving her fist in her mouth to muffle the sound.

  “Did you hear that?” Chelsea asked nervously.

  Katie’s heart began to pound. What if the girls found her now? They’d make her swim for sure. What a mess that would be!

  “Come on, Chels, there are no ghosts here,” Rainbow said in her gentle voice. She shifted her weight slightly. Now the mattress sank into the back of Katie’s head. That pushed her face farther into the stinky sock. Blech!

  “This is the worst thing Alicia has ever done,” Gianna said. “The Green team is in second place. We need Alicia to win that race to pull us into first.”

  “I know. All the older girls on our team are in the soccer match,” Rainbow said. “We have no one to swim in that race.”

  The girls all looked at one another and frowned.

  “Oh yes, we do!” Chelsea exclaimed suddenly. She jumped up.

  “Where are you going?” Shannon asked her.

  “To put on my bathing suit,” Chelsea replied. “I’m taking Alicia’s place.”

  “But you can’t swim,” Gianna reminded her.

  Chelsea shook her head. “I never said I couldn’t swim. I said I didn’t want to swim. I’ve been swimming since I was four years old. I’m really good—and fast.”

  “But what about your hair?” Rainbow asked her.

  Chelsea shrugged. “This is an emergency. But my blow-dryer better be working when I get back!”

  Chapter 20

  “AAACHOOO!”

  The second the girls left the bunk, Katie let out the biggest sneeze of her whole life. Then she scratched the mosquito bites on her legs and took a deep breath of fresh air.

  It was good to be out from under the bed. Hopefully no one would come back to the bunk. But just in case, Katie decided to stay on the floor near Alicia’s bed.

  And that’s when she noticed the diary on the floor next to Alicia’s bed. It must have fallen out from her cubby. Now there it was, lying open on the floor.

  Katie knew it was wrong to read someone else’s diary. Really wrong. But it was lying there, wide open.

  She couldn’t help taking a peek.

  Alicia had written a poem on one of the pretty pink pages.

  No letters for me again today.

  It’s no surprise I have to say.

  I never hear from Mom and Dad.

  Do they know it makes me sad?

  Not even one letter.

  Mosquitoes like me better.

  Katie thought back to all the times Shannon had brought the mail to the bunk. She hadn’t really noticed it before, but Alicia never seemed to get any letters or packages like everyone else did.

  No wonder she was so angry all the time.

  Just then Katie heard lots and lots of cheering. It was coming from the waterfront area. The big swim marathon was on!

  Katie really wanted to be down there at the lake cheering on her bunkmate. But she couldn’t. Not as long as she was Alicia.

  Still, she sure wanted to know who was winning.

  A few minutes later Katie had her answer. One of the swim counselors shouted the results through a megaphone:“First place: Blue team.

  Second place: Green team.

  Third place: Orange team.

  Fourth place: White team.”

  Wow. Second place was great. Especially since Chelsea hadn’t been swimming all summer.

  But it wasn’t enough to bring the Green team to first place.

  Just then, Katie felt a breeze blowing on the back of her neck. The cool wind felt nice as it gently blew on her.

  But then, suddenly, the breeze wasn’t so gentle anymore. It was getting stronger and stronger. Now it was a powerful tornado. A tornado that was swirling just around Katie.

  The magic wind was back! It whirled and swirled, lifting Katie’s legs right off the ground.

  And then it stopped. Just like that. Katie was back.

  So was Alicia. And, boy, was she surprised.

  “What am I doing here?” Alicia asked Katie.

  “You . . . uh . . . you came back to the bunk to . . .” Katie didn’t know what to tell her. There was no way she could explain this.

  Luckily, Alicia wasn’t waiting for an explanation. She looked at the alarm clock on top of Shannon’s cubby and gulped. “Oh man, I’m late. I was supposed to be at the lake twenty minutes ago. I’ve got to get my bathing suit on and get down there.”

  “Don’t bother,” Rainbow said as she and the other Bumblebees walked into the bunk. “The race is over.”

  “Chelsea swam in your place,” Gianna added.

  Alicia bit her lip. “How did you do?” she asked Chelsea.

  “Second place,” Chelsea replied proudly. “Not bad, considering it’s the first time I swam all summer.”

  “I would have come in first,” Alicia murmured quietly.

  “Yeah, well, you weren’t there. You let us down,” Gianna yelled at her.

  Katie looked over at Alicia. She looked as if she was going to cry. And the saddest part was that it wasn’t even Alicia’s fault. It was Katie’s fault. She was the one who had chickened out of swimming.

  Now, because of Katie, the rest of the bunk hated Alicia even more than before.

  “We’re going to have to win the big sing tomorrow,” Rainbow said.

  “Our team song is really good,” Chelsea said.

  “But we don’t have a cheer yet,” Gianna reminded her. “It’s got to be the best ever if we want to win the sing.”

  That gave Katie an idea. “Our cheer will be awesome,” Katie said. “Because Alicia’s going to write it. She’s a great writer.”

  Alicia looked at her curiously. “I am?”

  “You write poems in your diary, don’t you?” Katie said.

  “How did you know that?” Alicia asked angrily. “Were you snooping in my cubby?”

  Oops. “I . . . um . . . I just figured that was what you were writing in there. Because, uh . . . well . . . you’re too smart and cool to just write sentences like other people,” Katie said quickly.

  Alicia stared at her in surprise. The other girls looked pretty shocked, too. No one ever complimented Alicia.

  “Why should we let her write our cheer?” Gianna asked Katie. “She’s the reason we’re in this mess, anyway. She’s the one who ran out on us before the race. But you did a great job, too, Chelsea,” she added, making sure her friend’s feelings weren’t hurt.

  “Thanks,” Chelsea replied. “But even I know Alicia could have won it. She just didn’t want to.”
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  “No, that’s not it,” Alicia insisted. “I didn’t feel . . . well . . . actually, I’m not sure what happened.”

  “Come on, haven’t any of you guys ever gotten really nervous about something?” Katie added, covering for Alicia. “She just freaked out.”

  “I did?” Alicia looked totally puzzled.

  “Anyway, Alicia can make it up to us by writing the cheer,” Katie said.

  “I guess we could give her a chance,” Rainbow said.

  “But don’t mess it up,” Chelsea added.

  “I won’t,” Alicia vowed. “I promise.”

  Chapter 21

  “Blue rules! The rest are fools! Gooo, Blue!”

  While the Blue team finished their cheer at the sing, the Green team took the stage.

  Katie, Alicia, Rainbow, Gianna, and Chelsea all had green paint in their hair. They’d used face paint to draw green stripes on their faces. Some of the older girls were practically painted from head to toe in green.

  “They look like big pickles,” Alicia said.

  The Bumblebees all giggled. They knew it was a joke. Alicia wasn’t being mean at all.

  “Thanks for coming up with a way for me to be part of Color War,” Alicia whispered to Katie. For the first time she sounded really nice.

  “The Green team needs you,” Katie replied. “You’re going to lead us to victory!”

  Suddenly Shannon came running over to them. “Okay, girls, it’s time for the Green team to do their cheer.”

  Katie looked over at Alicia. “Ready?”

  Alicia nodded. “You bet!”

  “Then let’s go!”

  With Alicia leading the way, the members of the Green team began their cheer.

  “Mighty Greens,

  We’re the Color War queens.

  Toughest girls you’ve ever seen,

  Other teams shake,

  Their boots quake,

  When we take the lead

  With killer speed.

  It’s like nothing you’ve ever seen,

  The mean Green fighting machine!”

  A few minutes later, after all the teams had sung their songs and shouted their cheers, the judges announced the winner.

  “And in first place, the Green team!”

  All at once everyone on the Green team began screaming, shouting, and hugging one another.

  Some of the bigger girls picked up Alicia and began carrying her around on their shoulders.

  Alicia was a hero. She had led the Green team to victory.

  Well, actually, she and Katie had done that—since it had been Katie’s idea. But Katie was fine with letting Alicia take the credit. It was the first time she had seen her friend smile all summer.

  Friend. Wow. That was a word Katie never thought she would use to describe Alicia. But Alicia was her friend now.

  And, as if to prove it, Alicia whispered something in one of the older girls’ ears. A moment later three big girls raced over and lifted Katie off the ground, too.

  “Yeah, Alicia! Yeah, Katie!” they shouted loudly.

  “Yeah, Green team!” Katie and Alicia cheered back.

  Chapter 22

  As Katie stepped onto the yellow school bus, she turned and took one last look around. She couldn’t believe camp was over. But Katie wasn’t sad. She knew she would be back next summer. And so would Alicia, Rainbow, Gianna, and Chelsea. They had all promised to return to Camp Cedar Hill.

  Suddenly a song began running through Katie’s head. “Friends, friends, friends. We will always be . . .” she hummed to herself as she found a seat in the middle of the bus.

  A few minutes later, the bus driver turned on the engine and started driving home toward Cherrydale.

  Katie reached into her backpack and pulled out a white pillowcase. The other Bumblebees had all signed and written their addresses and phone numbers on it. Katie found the address she was looking for and pulled out one last postcard.

  She was making sure her friend Alicia got at least one letter this summer.

  Dear Alicia,

  I hope the rest of your summer is a lot of fun. I am going to spend this whole month practicing my swimming at our town pool. Next year I will take the deepwater swim test so we can swim together. I hope you can visit me in Cherrydale this winter.

  Your pal,

  Katie

  P.S. Go, Green team!

  You GOTTA Have It!

  Overnight camps usually send out a list of items they think you need to pack in your trunk. You’ve probably seen the kinds of things they put on their lists: 14 pairs of underwear, 10 pairs of shorts, 10 camp T-shirts, 18 pairs of socks . . .

  Sure, you need that stuff, but doesn’t it sound so boring?

  Of course, there are plenty of items camps forget to tell you to stash in your luggage. Those are the kinds of things any camper will need to really survive the summer. That’s why Katie and her friends have designed this Gotta Have It Checklist. Pack the items on the list, and your summer can’t miss!

  Aren’t you lucky to have pals like the Bumblebees of Camp Cedar Hill?

  THE GOTTA HAVE IT CHECKLIST

  Scented stickers (to seal the envelopes for your letters to the friends and folks back home)

  A photo of your pet (Katie kissed Pepper’s picture every day she was away!)

  A favorite sleep friend (don’t be embarrassed to bring your teddy bear along—everyone does!)

  A disposable camera (to keep your memories alive even after you get home)

  Extra hair ribbons, clips, and bows (you’d be surprised how quickly they disappear!)

  Posters and paper flowers (to decorate the bunk)

  Tape (to put up the posters and paper flowers, of course)

  Face paints (so you can paint your face for Color War)

  A book of creepy ghost stories (to read late at night)

  A book of jokes (just in case your bunkmates are too creeped out by your ghost stories)

  An extra plain white pillowcase for your pals to sign (it’s the perfect end-of-summer souvenir!)

  About the Author

  NANCY KRULIK is the author of more than 150 books for children and young adults, including three New York Times bestsellers. She lives in New York City with her husband, composer Daniel Burwasser, their children, Amanda and Ian, and Pepper, a chocolate and white spaniel mix. When she’s not busy writing the Katie Kazoo, Switcheroo series, Nancy loves swimming, reading, and going to the movies.

  About the Illustrators

  JOHN & WENDY’S art has been featured in other books for children, in magazines, on stationery, and on toys. When they are not drawing Katie and her friends, they like to paint, take photographs, travel, and play music in their rock-’n’-roll band. They live and work in Brooklyn, New York.