The Curse of Camp Cold Lake

2

I guess I shouldn’t have freaked like that.

It made a very bad first impression.

But what was I supposed to do?

There were two bunk beds in the cabin. The three other girls had already chosen their beds. There was only one bed left-right in front of the window.

And the window had no screens.

Which meant that my bed would be crawling with bugs. I took one glance-and I knew I’d be swatting mosquitoes every night for the whole summer.

Besides, I can’t sleep in a top bunk. I toss and turn a lot at night. If I slept on top, I’d fall on my head.

I had to sleep on the bottom. In the bed against the far wall, away from the open window.

“I–I can’t do this!” I blurted out.

My three bunk mates turned to look at me. One had blond hair pulled back in a ponytail. Near her was a short, chubby girl with long brown hair. In the bottom bunk against the wall, an African-American girl with long cornrows stared across the cabin at me.

I guess they wanted to say hi and introduce themselves. But I didn’t give them a chance.

“Someone has to trade beds with me!” I cried. I didn’t mean to sound so shrill. But I was really upset.

Before they could answer, the cabin door swung open. A sandy-haired young guy in a dark green camp T-shirt poked his head in.

“I’m Richard,” he said. “I’m the boss guy, the head dude. Everything okay in here?”

“No!” I cried.

I couldn’t stop myself. I was just so nervous and unhappy. “I can’t sleep in this bunk!” I told him. “I don’t want to be near the window. And I need to sleep on the bottom.”

I could see that the other girls were shocked by my outburst.

Richard turned to the girl who was sitting on the bottom bunk against the wall. “Briana, would you trade beds with-”

“Sarah,” I told him.

“Would you trade bunks with Sarah?” Richard asked Briana.

She shook her head so hard, the beads in her cornrows rattled against each other. “I really don’t want to,” she said softly.

She pointed to the chubby girl with long brown hair, who sat on a camp trunk. “Meg and I were bunk mates last year,” Briana told Richard. “And we kind of wanted to be together.”

Meg nodded. She had a round, baby face. Squirrel cheeks out to here. And she wore blue and red braces on her teeth.

“I can’t sleep in front of the window,” I insisted. “I really can’t. I hate bugs.”

Richard stared hard at Briana. “How about it?”

Briana groaned. “Oh… all right.” She made a face at me.

“Thanks,” Richard said. I could see he was studying me.

He probably thinks I’m a real troublemaker, I thought.

Briana climbed off the bottom bunk. She dragged her duffel bag across the room to the bunk by the window. “It’s all yours,” she muttered.

She didn’t say it in a friendly way.

I felt bad. My bunk mates hate me already, I thought.

Why do I always do that? Why do I always get nervous and start off on the wrong foot with people?

Now I’ve got to try really hard to make them my friends, I decided.

But a minute later, I did something horrible.