Just then, Simon walked to their table with a group of his friends.
“Hey!” Natalie called out, getting Simon’s attention. “Thanks for offering to help me take her. That was cool of you.”
“Oh, no problem. But you were awesome,” Simon said.
“Huh? What do you mean?” Natalie asked, surprised.
“Well, just the way that you took charge,” Simon explained. “You knew that the only answer was to go to the infirmary, even if it meant getting in trouble, and you were willing to go and accept the consequences. Not everyone would have done that.”
“Well, I mean, when your friend is practically an amputee,” Natalie joked, shrugging off the compliment.
“Come on, Nat. You would have done that no matter who was hurt,” Simon insisted. Natalie couldn’t decide which was more exciting—hearing Simon say such nice things about her—or the fact that he was calling her “Nat.” She liked hearing him use her nickname, like they were old friends.
“Excuse me, Simon,” Chelsea cut in. “But I believe the boys’ table is over there.” She pointed to the other side of the mess hall.
Natalie rolled her eyes as Simon walked off.
“I’m sure he’ll talk to you at the campout,” Alyssa whispered.
“The campout? That’s hardly going to be my finest hour!” Natalie groaned. She flung her head down onto the table in mock despair.
“You do realize you’re getting cornflakes in your hair,” Grace said dryly.
When breakfast was over, the girls slowly filed out of the mess hall. It was gray and overcast as the girls stepped outside.
“What do you think’s going on over there?” Brynn asked suddenly, stopping short.
Natalie glanced over to where Brynn was pointing, just a few paces in front of the mess hall. Sure enough, an enormous stretch limo idled on the dirt path, and in front of it stood a small entourage of rock-star types—a super-skinny blonde; a tall, beefy man in black; and a small, nervous, wiry type. From where she stood, Natalie couldn’t quite make out who the would-be celebrities were, especially since they were completely mobbed by campers. But she had some idea.
“Oh my God!” she heard one girl from an older division yell. “I LOVE you!”
“Dude, your last movie rocked!”
“Can I have your autograph?”
“What are you doing here?”
“Is that your limo, man? Sweet!”
Natalie’s stomach lurched, and a feeling of dread washed over her.
“Oh my God!” Brynn shouted, recognition dawning. “I can’t believe it!”
“That’s Tad Maxwell!” Alex shrieked excitedly. “What is he doing here?” Her faced turned bright red. “I think I’m going to hyperventilate. I mean, I’m his biggest fan! I can’t believe it! I just can’t believe it!”
“Alex, relax. You’re gonna blow a gasket,” Natalie said, uncomfortable.
Alex whirled around to Natalie, eyes flashing with excitement. “Of course I am, Nat! Do you even realize who that is? That’s Tad Maxwell! Spy in the Big City Tad Maxwell. Spy in the Far East Tad Maxwell! Spy in the Jungle Tad Maxwell! And he’s here! Right before our eyes! I mean, it’s not a poster, it’s really him! That’s Tad Maxwell! That’s—”
“—that’s my father,” Natalie finished.
Then she turned and ran away.
“I’m sorry.”
Natalie tilted her head up to regard her father. He did look genuinely sorry to have surprised her.
“I thought it’d be fun for you,” he insisted.
After her terrible experience at the mess hall, Natalie had run back to the bunk as fast as she possibly could. But once she was there, she didn’t know what to do with herself. After all, her secret was out now. And it wasn’t like anyone wouldn’t find her back at the bunk. Not to mention, her father was here on one of his unexpected visits, and she had to face him sooner or later.
She really, really wished it could be later. But no such luck.
The thing was, Natalie really liked her father. He was fun and sweet, and she totally knew how much he loved her. Unfortunately, his work was very demanding, and he was often away on location for months at a time. When he wasn’t on location, he was touring to promote his latest movie or shooting magazine covers or training for his next role . . . one way or another, he was always occupied. And so Natalie had learned to appreciate him when he was around, but not to expect more of him than he was able to give. It was sad, but it was life. The most important thing was that she had a mother and a father who both cared about her.
Back in New York, Natalie went to a pretty fancy private school. Most of her friends were either the children of celebrities, or else their parents were just so rich that they couldn’t even be bothered with the whole starstruck thing. Hannah’s mother, for example, was an African ambassador, and their friend Maggie’s mother was actual royalty, though Natalie couldn’t even pronounce the name of the country that she came from.
Natalie’s friends thought the fact that her father was a big-time action hero was pretty cool. But it really wasn’t a big deal to them. Natalie never knew how other people would react to the information. Some kids were really weirded out and just assumed she was a snob or spoiled or something. Others got really nicey-nice, wanting to get in and meet a real-life movie star. Natalie was tired of people seeing her for who her father was first, before they got to know her on her own terms.
So when her mother first told her about “Operation Lake-puke,” Natalie had decided that she wasn’t going to tell anyone about her father. For once, she wanted to be anonymous. It would be nice, she decided, to be just “Natalie”—no strings attached.
Fat chance of that now. For Pete’s sake—he’d brought his girlfriend, his bodyguard, and his personal assistant! To Lakeview! Not exactly low-profile . . .
Natalie’s father had eventually tracked her down to her bunk. Julie had suggested that they go out on the porch to talk privately, which was where they now sat. Her father explained that he was between shoots and wanted to stop by and see how her summer was going. He seemed really sorry that he had just popped in like that.
Natalie sighed. “It’s not your fault,” she said. “I know you were trying to do something special.”
“You used to like it when I surprised you,” he pointed out.
“I did! I mean, I do. But I was really liking the way that no one knew who you were,” she said. Her father looked hurt. “I mean—well, it was cool to be meeting people on my own terms, you know? I mean, I didn’t want anyone to act weird or different once they knew who you were. I wanted them to like me for me. Or not like me for me, whatever. You get the point.”
Her father smiled and pushed her hair back from her face. “Believe it or not, Nat, I know exactly what you mean. I have to deal with that every day. Agents, actors, directors—everyone telling me what I want to hear.”
Natalie smirked at him. “That must be awful.”
He laughed. “Well, okay, not always. Point taken.”
“You look good,” she said. “The ‘spy’ training is always a good thing.” And he did look good. He was tanned and fit and actually even looked relaxed, which was rare for him.
Her father fake-flexed a bicep. “Not bad for an old-timer, right?” he laughed.
“One of the girls in my bunk has your poster up on the wall,” Natalie said. “She thinks you’re cute. It’s pretty gross.”
Her father arched an eyebrow. “Gross? Should I be offended?”
Natalie giggled. “Sorry.” She stood up and walked toward him. “I’m glad to see you.”
Her father reached out and pulled her close for a hug. “I’m glad to see you, too, sweetie.”
She pushed away and looked at him again. “What have you got on tap for today? I’d give you the grand tour but even with all your personal training I don’t think you could handle the real great outdoors,” she teased. “Also, you wouldn’t be able to walk a foot in any direction without
being attacked by legions of fans.”
“Well, hang on, that could be fun,” her father protested, pretending to consider his options. “Legions, you say? ...Nah, I get enough of that in LA,” he decided. “How about I bust you out of this joint for the afternoon? I already cleared it with Dr. Steve. Who, by the way, does not strike me as a medical professional. Has your mother checked his credentials? Anyway, we could do lunch, go shopping—”
“Shopping? Please don’t be kidding,” Natalie said, eyes lighting up at the prospect.
“Of course I’m not kidding! Josie couldn’t go a day without spending some of my money.”
Natalie knew that her father’s girlfriend, Josie, loved to shop.
“I don’t know what sort of shops we’ll find up here,” Natalie warned her father.
“Oh, I’m not worried. Somehow, between you and Josie, I bet we can sniff out the bargains,” her father said, patting her on the head. “I have one call to make—”
“How very Hollywood of you—” Natalie quipped.
“—and then I’ll get Skylar to bring the car up,” her father finished, ignoring her.
“Don’t be ridiculous, Dad. Go make your call, and I’ll meet you at the front entrance to the camp. No more drama, okay?” Natalie said.
“Fine.” He kissed her on her forehead. “See you in fifteen.”
Her father trotted off in the direction of the camp entrance, and Natalie squared her shoulders and prepared herself to go back into the bunk. She had no idea what she was going to say to any of her friends, but it was now or never.
As she walked into the bunk, she was aware of the room going utterly silent. She suddenly had the distinct impression that just moments before, she’d been the subject of conversation. Don’t be paranoid, Nat, she told herself, but she couldn’t shake the sensation that all eyes were on her. She kept her head down as she crossed to her cubby to fish out her bag.
“How’s your father, Nat?” Julie chirped, breaking the silence.
“Um, he’s okay,” Natalie managed. “Tired, I guess, because he just finished filming.”
Julie didn’t seem to know what else to say. In the end, she decided on a nondescript, “mmm,” before turning back to her book.
“God, he is really great-looking in person.”
Natalie turned to find Chelsea gazing at her with stars in her eyes. It was like she’d had some sort of personality transplant or something.
Just what I didn’t want to happen, Natalie thought, dejected. She glanced up to Alyssa’s bunk—but all she could see were feet. Alyssa was either sleeping or playing dead. Natalie hoped she was sleeping.
“Why didn’t you say anything?” Alex said. She looked a little bit sad. “We wouldn’t have cared. But I feel so stupid for all of those times I went on about him, and he—he was your father . . .” Her voice trailed off.
“I know,” Natalie whispered. “I just . . .”
Just what? she asked herself. But she just couldn’t come up with a good enough answer. “I’m sorry,” she finished finally. “I have to go. I’ll be back later.”
“Sure!” Julie agreed. Her enthusiasm was out of sync with the mood of the room.
Natalie trudged out the front door, wondering how she was going to make things right with her friends. Why had she lied to them? Why had she hidden the truth about her family? How could she expect them to trust her again?
“Hey, uh, can I talk to you?”
Natalie looked up and gasped. “Simon,” she said. “I, uh . . . what’s up?” Duh. What’s up is that your father is a movie star and you never said anything and now everyone thinks you’re weird and secretive and probably all stuck-up and spoiled. That’s what’s up.
“So, uh . . . your father. Tad Maxwell,” Simon said, stating the obvious.
“Yup,” Natalie said, swinging her arms back and forth nervously. “That he is. And I, um, didn’t want to say anything . . . I don’t know why I didn’t want to say anything,” she said at last. “I guess I suck. I wouldn’t blame you if you were mad at me.” Oh, please don’t be mad at me, Natalie thought.
“Well, it’s just—”
Natalie’s heart dropped to her stomach. “Well, it’s just” was not the same thing as “of course I’m not mad.” Not at all. And suddenly, she wasn’t sure she wanted to hear the end of that sentence. Her friends were upset with her, her secret was out, and now Simon—well, whatever was on his mind, it was too much. She couldn’t deal with it just then. And her father was still waiting for her down at the entrance to the camp.
“Look, I’m really sorry, okay?” she said pleadingly. “I know I wasn’t completely honest with you. And I know you probably hate me. But I can’t talk right now. My father . . . my father’s waiting. And I have to meet him. Now.” She turned and began to walk off down the path, doing her best to ignore the hurt look in Simon’s eyes.
Quickly, almost against her own will, she turned back again. He was still staring at her, looking very confused and disappointed. “I’m sorry,” she repeated.
Then she took off to find her father.
chapter TEN
“Well, Natalie, I do have to give you credit. I don’t know if I would be able to survive in the wilderness all summer long,” Josie said, delicately picking at a salad.
After several hours of attempting to shop, Natalie and Josie had finally given in and accepted that rural Pennsylvania didn’t have that much to offer them. There were lots of cute crafts shops and antiquey places, but the truth was that Tad’s house in LA was totally done out in an ultra-mod design, and none of the things they would find in Pennsylvania would really mesh with his decor. And the outlet shops, it turned out, were hours away. Once the trio had gotten past the disappointment (well, Natalie and Josie had been disappointed, and Tad had just done his best to seem sympathetic), they opted to drown their sorrows in milkshakes and burgers at the nearest roadside stop. Her father thought it would be great fun to eat at an authentic diner. Josie, however, was accustomed to healthy California food and was busily picking out the cheese and croutons from her salad.
Natalie laughed. “It’s not quite the ‘wilderness,’ you know. I think you just got the wrong impression when they told you they didn’t have low-fat dressing here. I mean, we do have running water and indoor toilets.” She flashed back to the spider she’d encountered on her first day of camp and shuddered. “Most of the time,” she amended. “Anyway, I’m told it builds character.”
Her father laughed heartily. “Kid, I think you’ve got more than enough character already.”
“Tell that to Mom,” Natalie groaned, giggling.
“Seriously, Natalie—how are you liking camp? Because I’ve spoken with your mother, and we both agree that if you’re really miserable, you can come home. She says your letters—the few that she’s gotten—are written with your typical sarcasm, and she can’t make out how bad it really is. So you have to fess up.”
“You spoke to Mom?” Natalie asked softly. Accepting as she was of her parents’ love lives, a part of her still couldn’t quite believe that their marriage was over. They had divorced when she was four, so she’d had some time to get used to it, and she and her mother were happy and doing well. But the fact that the separation had been so . . . amicable almost made it harder to accept. If they were screaming and yelling about things like child support all the time, she might be more willing to let go of the fantasy that they’d someday get back together.
Camp Confidential 01 - Natalie's Secret Page 9
