Charmed Forces #19 Page 17

This sudden thrill made her suck in her breath. Did this mean what she hoped it meant—that he wanted to get back together, too?

  “I’d love to,” she said.

  “Excellent,” Jordan said. “I—I’ve been hoping we could get back together this summer. I just wasn’t sure what you were thinking.”

  “I was hoping that, too,” Brynn said. “But I thought you didn’t want to. You didn’t seem that interested at first.”

  “Well . . . I was trying to play it cool,” Jordan said. “And, you know, last spring I kind of got the feeling you might not want to hang out. I think your exact words were ‘It’s over.’ ”

  Brynn laughed. “Those were not my exact words. I just couldn’t juggle rehearsing a play and having a boyfriend. It wasn’t fair to either one of us. But once I got to camp I was doing the same thing as you—playing it cool.”

  “I guess the playing it cool method doesn’t work too well when both people do it,” Jordan said.

  “Guess not.”

  “But—you do want to get back together?” Jordan asked.

  “Yeah. I do,” Brynn said.

  “All right!” Jordan said. “Well, I’ll let you sit with your friends. See you tomorrow night. If not before.”

  “Okay.”

  Brynn’s face flushed with happiness. She felt so warm, she had to turn away from the fire.

  “What happened?” Natalie asked. She and Candace rushed over to Brynn and sat down in the spot Jordan had left empty. “We saw you talking to Jordan and were afraid to come over in case we were interrupting something.”

  “Jordan wants to get back together!” Brynn said. “And he asked me to the dance.”

  Natalie and Candace squealed and hugged Brynn. “That’s fantastic!” Candace said. “You guys belong together.”

  “We’ll have the best time tomorrow night,” Natalie said. “Even if we do have to wear our bathing suits.”

  chapter EIGHTEEN

  “It’s kind of chilly for bathing suits, don’t you think?”

  Gaby buttoned her pink sleeveless dress over her red one-piece swimsuit. The girls in bunk 6B were getting ready for the Midsummer Dance together. A cool breeze blew in through the window. Gaby shivered.

  “I think the breeze is refreshing,” Valerie said. “After all the hot weather we’ve had.”

  “Still,” Natalie said as she zipped up her white eyelet dress. “If we have to dance in our swimsuits, it would be nice not to freeze.”

  “My bikini is ruining the lines of my dress,” Chelsea complained. The straps of her yellow bikini halter showed under her blue spaghetti-strap dress. “This is so not fair.”

  “It’s only one dance,” Alex said. “We’ll ask the DJ to play a really short song.”

  “Then we’ll pull off our dresses, dance around in our suits, and put our dresses back on as soon as the song ends,” Candace said.

  “It’s going to be mortifying,” Gaby said.

  “It will be over like that.” Mandy snapped her fingers. In solidarity with her campers, she was wearing a bathing suit under her denim skirt and polo shirt.

  “Don’t you have something a little dressier to wear, Mandy?” Chelsea asked. The sixth division traditionally wore fairly fancy dresses to the Midsummer Dance.

  “These are the fanciest clothes I’ve got,” Mandy said with a grin. “Don’t worry—I’ll pick some honeysuckle to wear in my buttonhole and I’ll be fine.”

  “Here, take one of mine.” Alyssa wore the necklace she’d made in arts and crafts and a wildflower wreath in her hair. She plucked off one of the wildflowers and gave it to Mandy, who threaded it through the buttonhole on her polo.

  “Thanks,” Mandy said.

  Gaby checked herself out in the mirror. She wanted to look perfect for Donovan. But something was missing.

  Alyssa seemed to read her mind. She offered Gaby a pretty blue flower from her wreath. “You take one, too, Gaby. Tonight’s the big night!”

  “Thanks, Alyssa.” Gaby pinned the flower in her hair with a barrette.

  “Hello? Anyone home?” There was a knock at the cabin’s screen door. Gaby froze.

  “It’s Donovan!” Brynn whispered. “Gaby, are you ready?”

  “I don’t know. Inspection!” Gaby twirled in front of her bunkmates. “Do I look ready?”

  “You look great, Gaby,” Alyssa said.

  “You look perfect,” Natalie said.

  “Perfect,” Candace said. “And beautiful.”

  “Okay,” Gaby said. “Here I go.”

  “We’ll be right behind you,” Mandy said.

  Gaby went outside to meet Donovan. He looked more adorable than ever. A month of camp sunshine had reddened his cheeks and nose and put a bit of gold in his hair, making him glow. He wore a navy jacket over a blue Oxford button-down shirt and neat cotton pants cinched with a canvas belt showing different nautical flags. He looked every inch the preppy sailor boy, and at that moment Gaby thought a preppy sailor boy was the highest life-form in the universe.

  “Hey, there, skipper,” she said.

  “Ahoy there, first mate,” he said. “Shall we shove off?”

  He took her arm and walked her up the path toward the main lodge. The dance was held on the porch and the front lawn. Gaby thought Camp Lakeview had never looked so beautiful. The sun was setting over the lake, the fireflies beginning to haunt the trees. Up ahead the music grew louder, and soon they were there, at the dance.

  Glowing Japanese lanterns blew in the chilly breeze, casting a romantic light on everyone. If she squinted, Gaby could make the crowd of gawky, sunburned campers look like graceful, romantic couples. If she squinted. Hard.

  DJ Hank, the sailing instructor, played dance music at the turntable. Mandy reported for duty at the refreshment stand, offering punch and soda and snacks. Everything was trimmed in honeysuckle and roses.

  The wind picked up a bit, and clouds passed over the sun. The lightning bugs disappeared, as if they were hibernating.

  “Chilly?” Donovan asked Gaby.

  Gaby nodded. “It’s getting weirdly cold, don’t you think?”

  “Want to borrow my jacket?” Donovan said.

  “Maybe later,” Gaby said. “Want to dance? That’s a good way to warm up.”

  “Okay,” Donovan said. “As long as you don’t make fun of me.”

  “I won’t. Do you know how to Pogo?” Gaby hopped up and down as if jumping on a pogo stick. “It’s pretty much the easiest dance ever invented.”

  Donovan hopped up and down with Gaby. The rest of her bunk had arrived, and they crowded onto the dance floor. Brynn danced with Jordan, Natalie with Logan, Alex with Adam, Jenna with David. Alyssa and a bunch of other girls pogo’d together in a clump. Gaby took both of Donovan’s hands. He was doing great. “See?” she shouted over the music. “It’s not hard.”

  Donovan grinned his charming grin. His hair bounced up and down as he danced. They pogo’d to every song, even the slow ones, until they were dying of thirst and could pogo no more.

  “Let’s get something to drink,” Gaby said.

  They dodged the younger kids, boys and girls chasing one another around, on their way to the refreshment table.

  “Looks like you’re having fun out there,” Mandy said, pouring Gaby some punch.

  “We are,” Gaby said.

  Another chilly gust blew, and Mandy said, “We should be serving hot apple cider instead of punch.”

  Winnie and another 5C girl stopped by for a drink. “Hey, Gaby,” Winnie said. “Hope you’ve got your bathing suit on under that dress.”

  “Yeah,” said the other girl. “Get ready, because we’re not letting you off the hook.”

  “We’re ready,” Gaby said. “Don’t worry.”

  “What’s that all about?” Donovan asked.

  “This stupid bet we made,” Gaby said. “Long story.”

  “Oh, right. The bathing suits,” Donovan said. “Want to sit down for a minute?” He led Gaby to the edge of the d
ance floor. She thought they’d sit in the chairs that lined the side, but he kept going, underneath the Japanese lanterns, across the path, and into the woods. “Here,” he said. They sat under a big old elm tree. Gaby leaned against its thick trunk and sipped her punch.

  “You’ve got the pogo down,” Gaby said.

  “Thanks,” Donovan said. “My other dance moves could use some practice.”

  “I’ll be glad to practice with you, if you want,” Gaby said. “Any time.”

  They sat quietly for a few minutes, sipping their drinks and listening to their friends laughing and cheering across the path. Gaby tried to think of something to say.

  “I could use some extra practice, too,” she said. “In sailing, I mean.”

  “No problem,” Donovan said. “Why don’t we spend a few of our free periods sailing together? By the end of the summer you’ll be an old salt.”

  “Excellent.” Gaby felt her face glow. Extra sailing practice with Donovan! This summer was about to get a whole lot better.

  The sun had set, and the night got downright cold. Gaby rubbed her arms.

  “Here,” Donovan said. He took off his jacket and draped it over Gaby’s shoulders.

  “Thank you,” Gaby said. He was such a gentleman. She looked at his face in the moonlight. He was grinning his wide, goofy grin. Suddenly Gaby had a vision—of herself kissing him.

  Donovan must have read her mind. He leaned forward and kissed her right on the lips.

  “Wow,” Gaby said.

  “Yeah,” Donovan said. “You know what? That’s something else we ought to practice more.”

  “You’re already pretty good at it,” Gaby said.

  “So are you,” Donovan said. “But a little practice won’t hurt, right?”

  “Right,” Gaby said. She kissed him again. After all, she thought, practice makes perfect.

  Alyssa was so busy dancing, she hardly noticed how cold the night had gotten. But later in the evening she realized a lot of the campers were wearing sweaters and sweatshirts over their fancy dance clothes.

  “I wish I’d brought a shawl,” Natalie said. “Look—I’ve got goose bumps!”

  “Me too,” Alyssa said.

  “Okay, kids,” DJ Hank stopped the music and took the microphone. “Hope you’re all having a good time. Are you?”

  “Yeah!” The whole camp cheered.

  “All right,” Hank said. “I’ve got a special announcement to make. The girls of bunk 5C inform me that the girls of 6B have to make good on a little wager they made. Can I get all the 6B girls on the dance floor?”

  “Oh, no,” Alyssa said. “Here we go.”

  Mandy herded all her girls to the middle of the dance floor. Alyssa saw Gaby sitting off to the side with Donovan and waved her over.

  “Get over here, Gaby!” Alyssa called. “You’re not weaseling out of this!”

  Gaby laughed as Donovan pushed her onto the dance floor with the others.

  “I can’t believe we have to do this in front of the whole camp!” Chelsea said.

  “Come on—it’ll be fun!” Brynn said. “A Lakeview experience you’ll never forget.”

  “That’s for sure,” Jenna said with a laugh.

  “All right, girls,” Hank said. “Time to dance in your bathing suits. Let’s boogie!”

  Alyssa and her bunkmates pulled their dresses over their heads and huddled together on the dance floor in their bathing suits. The crowd laughed and clapped.

  “Brrr!” Tori said. “It’s freezing!”

  “Start dancing!” Mandy said. “It will warm us up!”

  Might as well enjoy it, Alyssa thought. She and her friends started dancing, and soon they didn’t feel cold at all. They formed a kick line, which was greeted with wild applause. They sang along to the song Hank played.

  “This is fantastic!” Natalie cried.

  “So much fun!” Candace shouted.

  Suddenly, Alyssa felt something cold and wet land on her shoulder. She ignored it, but it happened again. And again. Finally, she looked up. And she couldn’t believe what she saw.

  Big, fat, beautiful white flakes were floating down from the sky.

  A flake landed on Alyssa’s forearm. She touched it. Cold, wet, white . . . It was snow!

  Snow! In July!

  Squeals of delight rang out over the camp.

  “It’s snowing!” Brynn cried.

  “I don’t believe it!” Mandy said.

  “Ladies and gentlemen, I do believe it’s snowing!” Hank said. “Time for some new music.” He pressed some buttons on his iPod and soon the song “Let It Snow” poured out of the speakers.

  “Let it snow!” Brynn sang out. The rest of the campers swarmed the dance floor to dance in the snow. Alyssa watched the scene in amazement. Donovan took Gaby’s hands and swung her around. Natalie and Logan kissed under the falling flakes. Brynn snuggled with Jordan, and Alex with Adam. Jenna and David tried to catch snowflakes on their tongues.

  “Isn’t it romantic?” Valerie said. She took Alyssa’s hand. Soon they were joined by Candace, Priya, Chelsea, Tori, Sloan, and Mandy. They danced in a circle, holding hands. The rest of their bunkmates joined the circle and they spun around on the dance floor, shouting, “Let it snow!”

  The 5C girls clapped and laughed and danced around them. “You girls sure know how to pay off a bet in style!” Winnie said.

  “Alyssa predicted it!” Brynn shouted. Alyssa moved to stop her, then decided against it. The amethyst was back with Gwenda. It wasn’t a secret anymore, so there was no need to keep quiet about it.

  “That’s right!” Candace said. “Alyssa—you predicted this! You predicted snow in July—and here it is!”

  “It’s a miracle!” Priya said.

  “This is so weird,” Valerie said.

  “But lovely!” Natalie said.

  Even Chelsea was impressed. “Wow,” she kept saying over and over, as if she were in some kind of trance. “Wow. Snow. Wow. I don’t believe it. Snow. Wow.”

  Alyssa didn’t know what to say. Was it magic? Did she really have the power to predict the weather?

  “Mandy,” Sloan said. “You said that if it snowed in July, you’d believe in magic.”

  All eyes were on Mandy. Would she admit that she believed in magic?

  “Well, we’ve had some pretty weird weather patterns this year,” Mandy said. “Remember that seventy degree day back in February? And we are in the mountains—”

  “Mandy, come on,” Sloan said. “Alyssa mentioned snow last night at dinner—and here it is!”

  “When is the last time you saw snow here at camp?” Jenna said.

  “Okay, you’re right,” Mandy said. “It’s an amazing coincidence.”

  “A coincidence?” Gaby said.

  “It’s strange, okay?” Mandy said. “I admit it. This is very strange. Mysterious. Baffling. A miracle! I believe! I believe in magic!”

  “Hurray!” her campers shouted, laughing. “Mandy believes in magic!”

  They danced some more as the snow poured down. Soon everything around them—the grass, the trees, the paths and the picnic tables—all were covered with a thin coat of white.

  “It’s so beautiful!” Natalie said.

  “It’s like dancing in a fairyland,” Alyssa said.

  Whap! Something cold and wet splattered against Alyssa’s back. Alyssa whipped around. Logan, Jordan, and Donovan approached the dance floor packing snowballs in their hands.

  “Snowball fight!” Brynn cried, swiping a handful of snow and packing it into a snowball as well as she could. “Fire!”

  The boys tossed snowballs at them. The girls fired back. A few of the little kids built tiny snowmen on the grass. Alyssa stuck out her tongue to catch a fat snowflake. The whole camp was giddy as everyone played in the summer snow.

  “This must be the strangest Midsummer Dance in the history of camp,” Valerie said. “Girls dancing in the snow in their bathing suits! It’s wild!”

  “May
be so,” Alyssa said, “but isn’t it great?”

  Everyone agreed that it was.

  chapter NINETEEN

  “I can’t believe I have to go swimming now,” Gaby said the next morning. “I mean, it snowed last night! These are, like, polar bear conditions.”

  But the sun was strong, the snow had melted, and the day was warming up. Summer had returned. Last night’s snow felt like a dream.

  “Did it really snow?” Alyssa said.

  “It really snowed,” Natalie said in a stunned voice. “It really snowed.”

  “It hardly feels real,” Gaby said.

  “Magic never does,” Sloan said.

  “That’s okay,” Gaby said. “There’s more magic to come. Camp is only half over!”

  “Alyssa, can I talk to you a minute?”

  Alyssa was surprised to see Gwenda at the softball field. Just the sight of Gwenda gave Alyssa a pang—Amy. Alyssa missed her.

  “Sure,” Alyssa said. “What’s up?” It was a beautiful day and she was macrame-ing a plant holder while watching Alex, Valerie, Priya, and Jenna play softball. Alyssa felt a little sleepy that morning. The night before, at the Midsummer Dance, she and her friends had danced together in the snow until midnight, when Mandy had to drag them back to their bunk.

  Gwenda sat down on the grass and watched the softball game. She looked uncomfortable. But then, she usually did. She wasn’t what Alyssa would call a social person.

  Alyssa waited for Gwenda to say whatever was on her mind, but she didn’t. Guess it’s up to me to get things started, Alyssa thought.

  “Did you have a good time at the dance last night?” she asked Gwenda.

  Gwenda nodded. “The snow was beautiful. But highly unlikely this time of year. It came out of nowhere, a total shock. It didn’t even show up on my weekly meteorology report.”

  Meteorology report? “Snow in July is definitely strange,” Alyssa said. “But that just made it seem even cooler.” After another awkward silence, she added, “So—you said you wanted to talk to me?”

  “I heard what you did with the amethyst,” Gwenda said.

  Alyssa froze. What she did with the amethyst? Had she done something wrong? Had she damaged it in some way?