The Curse of Camp Cold Lake

5

I jumped shakily to my feet. “What’s wrong?”

“Those boys,” Meg whispered. She pointed across the fire. “They threw fireworks in the fire! It’s going to explode!”

“Run!” both girls cried.

Meg gave me a shove to get me started.

I stumbled-and then lurched forward. As I ran, I shut my eyes tight, expecting the blast any second.

Could I get away in time? Were Meg and Briana escaping it too?

I stopped short when I heard the laughter.

Shrill, gleeful laughter.

“Huh?” Swallowing hard, I turned back.

And saw half the camp laughing at me.

Meg and Briana slapped each other a high five.

“No. Oh, noooo,” I murmured. How could I fall for such a dumb trick?

How could they play such a mean joke on me?

They must have told everyone to watch. As I stood at the edge of the clearing by myself, I could feel all the eyes on me.

And I could hear kids laughing and making jokes.

I saw Jan laughing. And I saw Richard and some of the other counselors grinning and shaking their heads.

I know, I know. I should have laughed too. I should have made a joke of it.

I shouldn’t have let it upset me.

But the whole day had been so terrible. I was so nervous. And so eager not to make any more mistakes.

I could feel my shoulders start to shake up and down. I could feel tears welling up in my eyes.

No! I ordered myself. You cannot cry! You cannot allow yourself to cry in front of the whole camp.

Sure, you feel like a total jerk, Sarah. But so what? It was just a joke. Just a dumb joke.

I felt a hand on my arm. I pulled away.

“Sarah-” Aaron stood beside me. His dark eyes were wide in the shadowy evening light.

“I’m okay,” I snapped. “Go away.”

“You’re such a bad sport,” he said softly. “Why can’t you ever let things slide off you? It was just a joke. Why go nuts over a dumb joke?”

Do you know what I really hate?

I really hate it when Aaron is right.

I mean, he’s my younger brother-right? What right does he have to be the sensible, calm member of the Maas family?

It really steams me when Aaron comes on like the older brother.

“Do I need your advice?” I snarled. “Take a hike.” I gave him a shove toward the campfire.

He shrugged and hurried back to his friends.

I crept to the campfire. I didn’t go to my old seat. It was too close to the fire-and too close to Briana and Meg.

I dropped down on the edge of a log near the woods, outside the glow of the fire. The darkness cooled me and helped to calm me down.

Richard had been talking for a while. I realized I hadn’t heard a word he said.

He stood in front of the crackling fire. He had a deep, booming voice. But everyone leaned in to hear him better.

I gazed around the circle of campers. Their faces glowed orange in the bright firelight. Their eyes sparkled.

I wondered if anyone here would be my friend.

I knew I was feeling really sorry for myself. I wondered if any other new campers felt the way I did.

Richard’s voice droned on in the back of my mind. He was saying something about the main lodge. Something about the meal schedule. Then he began talking about towels.

I started to pay attention when he introduced the head waterfront counselor. Her name was Liz.

Everyone clapped when she stood up beside Richard. One of the boys gave a loud wolf whistle.

“She’s awesome!” another boy called out.

Everyone laughed.

Liz grinned too. She knew she looked really awesome. She wore tight denim cutoffs and a dark blue midriff top. She waved for everyone to get quiet.

“Are you all having a good time?” she called out.

Everyone cheered and clapped. Several boys whistled.

“Well, tomorrow will be your first day at the waterfront,” Liz announced. “And before you go in the lake, there are lots of water rules we want you to know.”

“Like, don’t drink the water!” Richard chimed in. “Unless you’re very thirsty!”

Some kids laughed. I didn’t. The thought of drinking that disgusting, slimy water made me sick.

Liz didn’t laugh, either. She frowned at Richard. “We need to take this seriously,” she scolded.

“I was serious!” Richard joked.

Liz ignored him. “When you get back to your bunks, you will find a list of water rules on your bed,” she continued, brushing back her long, frizzy red hair. “There are twenty rules on the list. And you need to know them all.”

Huh? Twenty rules? I thought. How can there be twenty rules?

It will take all summer to learn twenty rules.

Liz held up a sheet of paper. “I’m going to go over the list with you now. If you have any questions, just call them out.”

“Can we go swimming now?” a boy shouted, trying to be funny.

Lots of kids laughed.

But Liz didn’t crack a smile. “That’s rule number eight,” she replied. “No night swimming, even if counselors are with you.”

“Don’t ever swim with counselors!” Richard joked. “They have germs!”

Richard is pretty funny, I thought. He seems like a good guy.

But Liz seems so serious.

The sheet of paper fluttered in the wind. She gripped it with both hands. Her red hair caught the glow of the fire.

“The most important rule at Camp Cold Lake is the Buddy System,” Liz announced. “When you are in the lake, you must always have a buddy.”

She glanced quickly at the campers seated around her. “Even if you are only wading in up to your ankles, you must have a swimming buddy with you,” she said. “You may have a different buddy each time. Or you may choose a buddy for the whole summer. But you must always have a buddy.”

She took a deep breath. “Are there any questions?”

“Will you be my buddy?” a boy shouted.

Everyone laughed. I laughed too. The kid’s timing was perfect.

But once again, Liz didn’t crack a smile. “As waterfront counselor, I will act as everyone’s buddy,” she replied seriously.

“Now, rule number two,” she continued. “Never swim more than three boat lengths from one of our safety boats. Rule number three-no shouting or pretending to be in trouble in the water. No horseplay. No kidding around. Rule number four…”

She talked on and on, reading off all twenty rules.

I groaned. She talks to us like we’re five year olds, I thought.

And there are so many water rules.

“Let me repeat one more time about the Buddy System…” Liz was saying.

Gazing past the fire, I could see the dark lake. Smooth and black and silent.

The lake has tiny waves. No current. No dangerous tides.

So why are there so many rules? I wondered.

What are they scared of?