Charmed Forces #19 Read online

  Logan wiped a sweaty lock of blond hair out of his eyes. “Please—I’m boiling back here. Can I interest you in a greaseburger?”

  Natalie laughed. “I’m going for the pasta salad, so no thanks.”

  “Didn’t think so. I’d offer you sushi if I had any. You still like sushi, don’t you?”

  “Totally,” Natalie said.

  “That’s good,” Logan said. “I’m glad to know some things never change.”

  A pale ten-year-old boy with straight black hair in a bowl cut tugged on Logan’s shirt. “Logan, can I have another hot dog?”

  “How many have you had, buddy?” Logan asked. He was a CIT this year. Natalie figured this boy was in his bunk.

  “Four,” the boy said.

  “I think that’s enough for now,” Logan said. “Save some room for s’mores.”

  “I was going to make a s’more hot dog,” the boy said.

  Natalie made a face. “A s’more hot dog? What’s that?”

  “You put a hot dog, a marshmallow, and some chocolate between two graham crackers. Then you force-feed it to one of the first-division kids,” the boy said.

  “Sweet,” Natalie said.

  “Now I’m definitely not giving you a hot dog,” Logan said.

  “Party pooper.” The boy walked off, muttering, “I’ll just have to feed them ants instead.”

  “Nice kid,” Natalie joked.

  Logan shook his head. “They’re devils. You have no idea what boys can get up to.”

  “Were you like that when you were little?” Natalie asked.

  “I guess I must have been, but I don’t remember force-feeding ants to anybody,” Logan said. “I must have blocked out the memory.”

  Nat smiled, but she didn’t know what to say next. She had run out of conversation topics. Tumtum was on her mind, but she didn’t want to bring that up—too depressing—and Logan wasn’t helping. He made himself busy poking the coals and turning the hot dogs with his tongs.

  I wonder if he’s going to want to get back together this summer? she thought. She was still in touch with Reed, the very sweet boy she’d met visiting her dad in L.A. And she still thought about Reed a lot. But now here was Logan, standing right in front of her, looking supercute . . . and she and Logan would be together at camp all summer, while Reed was all the way across the country . . . Still, cute and charming as Logan was, he could be full of himself sometimes. Nat was torn. She wondered again what he was thinking, if he wanted to get back together. And then she wondered, Do I?

  The silence lasted uncomfortably long. “Well,” Natalie began. “I guess I’ll go get some pasta salad.”

  “Okay,” Logan said. “See you later, maybe?”

  A little girl came up behind Natalie and held out a plate with a hot dog bun on it. “Can I please have a hot dog?” she asked Logan.

  “Sure.” Logan took her plate and put a fresh hot dog on her bun. “There you go.”

  The little girl picked up the hot dog and took a bite. “Ow! My tongue! I burnt my tongue!” She dropped her plate in the dirt, hot dog and all, and started crying.

  “Are you okay?” Nat asked, but the girl wouldn’t stop screeching.

  “That hot dog was too hot!” the girl said.

  Logan came out from behind the grill. “I’m so sorry! Let’s go get some ice for your tongue.” He took the little girl’s hand. “I’d better take care of this, Nat. See you.”

  “See you.” Logan led the girl to the drink table. Nat moved on to get some pasta salad. So much for easy answers. So far the whole Logan situation was inconclusive at best.

  chapter THREE

  “Good morning, sleepyhead.” Alyssa’s upside-down face floated, smiling, over Natalie. Natalie sat up and rubbed her eyes. She’d been dreaming. What was Alyssa doing in her bedroom?

  “Yoo-hoo, earth to Natalie,” Alyssa said. She climbed down from her bunk and sat on Natalie’s bed, clutching her amethyst in one hand. “Rough night?”

  Natalie’s head began to clear. Oh, right, she thought. I’m at camp. Sunlight poured into the cabin. She was happy to see all her bunkmates around her, waking up for the first full day at Lakeview.

  “I had such a weird dream,” Natalie said. “I was back in New York, but I couldn’t get into my apartment. I’d lost my key. I kept looking for it, all along the sidewalk and through the hallway of my building . . .”

  Valerie got up and started getting dressed. “That’s awful. I hate those dreams when you can’t find something.”

  “At least now you know it isn’t real,” Priya said. “It was just a dream.”

  “I wonder why I dreamed that, though?” Natalie said. “I wish I knew what it meant.”

  “Maybe Alyssa can tell you,” Sloan said. “Amethysts are supposed to help interpret dreams.”

  “That’s right,” Alyssa said. “Let me think about this a minute.” She closed her eyes and rubbed the amethyst between her hands. She squinted as if thinking hard, but after a few seconds her face relaxed into a frown of concentration.

  “I’m getting a feeling,” she said. “You lost something . . . your key. The key to your house. You—you’re worried. You’re worried about something you care about, something that’s out of your reach. Or maybe a person. Someone you left behind at home.” She opened her eyes and blinked at Natalie. “Does that sound right?”

  “I don’t believe it,” Natalie said. She hadn’t meant to share her worry with the whole bunk, but this was too eerie to keep secret. “You’re right, Alyssa. I am worried about someone at home. My puppy, Tumtum.”

  “Wow. This thing is incredible.” Alyssa stared at the amethyst as if she almost didn’t believe it herself.

  “Your puppy, Tumtum—is something wrong with him?” Candace asked.

  “He has a tumor,” Natalie confessed. “Or at least, a suspicious lump in his belly.”

  “Oh, no!” the whole bunk gathered around in sympathy. “Is he going to be okay?”

  “I don’t know yet,” Nat said. “The vet did a biopsy to see if it’s cancer or not. They’re supposed to call my Mom with the results today.”

  “That’s terrible,” Alex said.

  “I’m so sorry, Natalie,” Mandy said. “I hope he’ll be all right.”

  “I didn’t want to say anything until I heard the results.” Natalie stared at Alyssa, who gripped her stone. “But—you saw it! How did you know?”

  Alyssa shrugged. “I don’t know. It just came to me.”

  “Just like the words pasta and salad came to you yesterday,” Sloan said. “And then we went to the cookout and they had pasta salad.”

  “Yeah,” Tori said. “That is weird.”

  “What about the biopsy?” Natalie asked Alyssa. “Can you tell if Tumtum will be okay?”

  “I don’t know,” Alyssa said.

  “Try it,” Valerie said.

  “Okay.” Alyssa closed her eyes again and rubbed the stone. “I’m concentrating on Tumtum . . .”

  The cabin was silent while she squeezed the amethyst. All the girls froze in place, watching Alyssa and holding their breath, Natalie most of all. At last Alyssa opened her eyes.

  “Well?”

  “I predict that the tumor will be benign,” Alyssa said. “Tumtum will be okay.”

  A collective sigh of relief filled the room as the girls relaxed. One by one they began to change out of their pajamas and into their shorts and T-shirts.

  “Oh, I hope you’re right,” Natalie said. She and Alyssa were the only two who hadn’t started dressing yet.

  “We’ll see,” Chelsea said. She reached under her bunk, searching for a missing sock. “When will you find out, Natalie?”

  “I’m supposed to call my mother this afternoon,” Natalie said. “I’ll let you all know what she says.” She went to her cubby and started pulling out her clothes for the day.

  “All right, girls,” Mandy said. “That’s enough psychic hotline for this morning. Time to pick your electives. I’ll write
down your first three choices while you’re getting dressed. Then, after breakfast, I’ll work out the schedules while you’re taking your swim tests. Natalie, I’ll start with you.”

  “I’ll take drama, photography, and ceramics,” Natalie said, pulling a blue cotton top over her head.

  Mandy wrote this down on her clipboard. “Good. Okay, next. Alyssa?”

  Alyssa rubbed the amethyst, thinking. “Give me . . . nature and arts and crafts. For a backup, I’ll take photography.”

  Natalie put on her shorts and sneakers while Mandy finished writing down everyone’s preferences.

  “Oh, and there’s a special event this afternoon, right after lunch,” Mandy announced. “An obstacle course, with prizes for individual campers and for the winning bunks. We’ll be competing against bunk 5C.”

  “Great!” Alyssa said. Natalie watched her give the stone another rub before hiding it away in the toe of her extra pair of sneakers. “I hope we win!”

  “Mandy, is it okay if I skip the obstacle course?” Natalie asked. “I need to call home this afternoon . . .”

  Mandy’s no-nonsense face softened. “Right, about Tumtum. Sure, Natalie. You’re excused from the obstacle course.”

  “Thanks, Mandy,” Natalie said. “I’m not much good at that stuff, anyway. I’ll let you all know what my mother says as soon as I talk to her.”

  “I hope he’s okay,” Valerie said.

  Alyssa put her hand on Natalie’s shoulder. “He will be. I can feel it.”

  “I hope you’re right,” Natalie said.

  “Is there a new cook?” Alyssa said as they trooped from the mess hall to the lake after breakfast. “That French toast was actually tasty.”

  “I saw someone new in the kitchen. I guess Pete didn’t come back this summer. I’ll miss him and all, but I won’t miss his burned French toast,” Jenna said.

  “And they served it with fruit salad,” Tori added. “Nice touch.”

  Alyssa’s morning was going well. A good breakfast for a change, and a beautiful blue-sky day. Next up: Swim test.

  Alyssa usually hated swim tests, especially in the chilly lake in the morning. But the day was so hot, she volunteered to go first, and the water felt wonderful. She passed her test with flying colors and wouldn’t have to take lessons with the younger girls, as she’d feared, but with the advanced swim group like most of the others in her bunk.

  She spent the rest of the test period floating on her back and staring at the puffy clouds as they drifted overhead. One by one her bunkmates joined her as they finished their tests. A dragonfly skipped over the surface of the lake. Little boys kayaked in the distance. A light breeze shook the lush green trees.

  “Aah,” Alyssa said. “This is what summer camp is all about.”

  “Totally,” Sloan said.

  “Yeah,” Alex said. “This plus Color War.”

  Alex was right, Alyssa thought. This peace and quiet wouldn’t last. Soon the contests would begin, rivalries would heat up, bunks would fight to prove their superiority. Camp isn’t just about dreamy sunny mornings. It’s also about cutthroat competition—unfortunately, Alyssa thought. It’s how you blend the two that makes a good summer.

  Mandy was waiting for them when they got back to the cabin to change out of their wet bathing suits. “I posted your elective assignments on the door,” she said.

  The girls crowded around the door to look. Alyssa picked the amethyst out of her shoe and rubbed it for good luck. Then she checked the list. She had nature and arts and crafts—her first two choices. Yes!

  “Great! I’m working on the newspaper,” Brynn said.

  “Rats, I didn’t get photography,” Gaby said.

  “I did,” Chelsea said, gloating. “And Gaby, guess who’s also taking photography? Probably, I mean.”

  “He said he might sign up for it,” Gaby said. Everybody knew who he was—Donovan. “That doesn’t mean he’ll get it. And there’s always sailing.”

  “Sailing?” Chelsea said. “Is that what he’s into?”

  “Oh—you didn’t know?” Gaby said gleefully. “Yes, Donovan’s huge into sailing. I signed up for it for my sports elective.”

  “Really?” Valerie said. “So did I.”

  “Me too,” Candace said.

  “Well, I’ll just sign up for sailing, too,” Chelsea said. “Then I’ll have two activities with Donovan, and you’ll only have one.”

  “That’s if he gets photography,” Gaby said.

  That’s when Mandy piped in. “Chelsea, I’m pretty sure sailing is completely filled up. Sorry.”

  Chelsea looked like she might pop a vein.

  “Girls, girls, chill,” Sloan said. “If the fates want to throw you together with Donovan, they will. If they don’t, they won’t. You can’t fight the universe.”

  “The fates? Fight the universe?” Gaby said. “What are you talking about?”

  “Sloan’s right,” Alyssa said. “Go with the flow.”

  “You’re only saying that now because you got your first choice electives,” Gaby said to Alyssa.

  “You’ve got to become one with nature,” Alyssa said. “Especially nature’s rock formations.” She pulled the amethyst out of her extra sneaker, kissed it, and then stuffed it back in. “I’m off to arts and crafts. I think I’ll make an amethyst holder.”

  “Go, Alyssa! Go!”

  Alyssa grabbed the rope, swung over a ditch, and leaped over a series of logs to a ladder. It was bunk 6B versus 5C, and Alyssa was the last one up on the obstacle course.

  Normally the obstacle course was not Alyssa’s thing—not at all. It was definitely more of an Alex or Jenna type activity. Alyssa liked to observe nature and be a part of it, not conquer it.

  But that afternoon she felt energized, as if a surge of electricity was running through her arms and legs. She didn’t know what was causing it, but she was running the obstacle course of her life.

  “One hand over the other!” Alex shouted. “You can do it, Alyssa!”

  Alyssa dangled over the ground, crossing a set of monkey bars hand over hand. She’d have blisters later, but she didn’t care. Bunk 6B had to beat 5C. The sixth-division girls were a year older, after all. They had their pride.

  The bars seemed to jump into her hands. Alyssa almost felt as if she didn’t have to do anything—her body was guided by an invisible force. She jumped off the monkey bars and raced for the finish line. Mandy waited there with a timer. The other girls were jumping up and down and screaming.

  “Five point three minutes!” Mandy announced. “The fastest time today! Sixth division wins!”

  Alyssa’s bunkmates circled her and smothered her with hugs. Alyssa felt like she was dreaming. She’d never been the star of an athletic event before, or helped her team win. It was almost . . . eerie.

  “All right, Alyssa!” Jenna said.

  “Have you been working out or something?” Valerie said. “I’ve never seen you run like that.”

  “I know,” Alyssa said. “It’s weird, isn’t it?” She wiped a bead of sweat from her brow with the back of her hand and considered what Valerie had just said.

  “Yeah,” Candace said. “It is kind of weird, now that you mention it.”

  Mandy led the girls back to the beginning of the obstacle course. Alyssa was still panting, but she felt great. Jenna draped an arm over her shoulders in sporty solidarity.

  Mandy tucked her clipboard under her arm. “Maybe you’re developing new skills as you get older,” she said. “That’s natural.”

  “Maybe,” Alyssa said. “I always thought my artistic skills would improve, but I figured sports were a lost cause.”

  “You never know,” Mandy said. “Anyway, everyone in the bunk gets a free can of soda, and Alyssa, for your stellar performance, you win an extra prize: a free makeover with Counselor Yvette.”

  “You’re so lucky,” Chelsea said. “I heard Yvette’s a real professional makeup artist.”

  “Great!” Alyssa said. S
he hadn’t been expecting to win anything, and she wasn’t all that into makeup and stuff, but why not?

  The girls from 5C met them at the head of the course to shake hands. “Nice job,” a 5C-er named Winnie said. “But there are more challenges coming up. How about a swim relay, girls? Thank you can handle it?”

  “And maybe you’d better lock your bunk door,” said another 5C girl.

  “What’s that supposed to mean?” Brynn said.

  “The bunk doors don’t lock,” Candace said.

  The 5C girls just giggled and walked away, whispering. The 6B-ers lingered, watching them go.

  “What do you think they meant by that?” Alyssa said.

  “I’m not sure,” Jenna said. “But I don’t like the sound of it. Sounds like they’re planning a prank.”

  “A prank?” Sloan said. “What kind of prank?”

  “You sneak into a rival bunk and put shaving cream on the toilet seats, run their panties up the flagpole, replace their secret candy stash with acorns,” Jenna said. “That sort of thing.”

  “Jenna used to be Queen of the Pranks,” Alex said.

  “Pranking can get out of hand fast,” Mandy said. “I don’t want our bunk involved in anything like that.”

  “We wouldn’t think of it,” Chelsea said. “But those 5C girls as good as threatened us!”

  “I wouldn’t worry about it,” Mandy said. “They’re just teasing. And maybe they’re sore losers. Good job today, girls. Especially you, Alyssa. I had no idea you were such a jock.”

  “I’m totally not,” Alyssa said. “Not usually. I swear.”

  “Let’s get back to the bunk,” Mandy said. “Natalie’s waiting.”

  “Hey, maybe she’ll have some good news from her mother,” Alyssa said. She hoped her prediction had been right and Tumtum was okay. Mostly for Natalie and Tumtum’s sake, but also, just a little bit, to prove that she, Alyssa, really was psychic.

  So far this had been one of the greatest days of her life. Not that anything big had happened, but the energy of the universe seemed to be flowing in her direction. Everything was going right. She’d had the best breakfast in Lakeview history, she got her first choice electives, did better than she thought on her swimming test, and won the obstacle course practically single-handedly. Amazing!