Alex's Challenge Read online

  “What’d you get?” Candace yelled before Jessie could put her hand over Candace’s mouth.

  “I’m not telling till tomorrow.” Alex smiled.

  And just then, red and blue balloons fell from a net that was suspended between several trees. Alex was so excited—the next few days would definitely make up for the recent bad ones.

  After two more rounds of “Green and Yeller,” all the kids headed back to their bunks—some keeping the secret, some surely not—screaming and yelling and acting like wild safari animals.

  Camp is awesome, Alex thought. This is the whole reason I came.

  “Twinkie time!” Jenna yelled as she ripped open a cardboard box from her parents that night. Julie and Marissa were out at a staff meeting, and so it was party time in 3C. Alex dreaded party time. The other girls looked forward to sharing the treats. But sharing time was always a nightmare for Alex.

  “I’ll give one to anyone who reveals their team!” she yelled.

  “I’m a Blue!” Chelsea yelled. Alex hoped she was just lying, but knowing her own luck lately, she probably wasn’t.

  “I’m a Red!” Jessie chimed in. “No wait, a Blue! No wait, a Red!”

  With that, Twinkies started flying through the air. “Nice pass,” Grace yelled as she caught hers.

  Chelsea, Karen, Brynn, Sarah, and Valerie tore into theirs. Alex could hear the cellophane wrappers crinkle. She could hear her bunkmates chewing, mmm-ing, and ahhh-ing.

  She knew as soon as Chelsea took the last bite and wiped her mouth, she’d be all over Alex as usual. But worse, Alex couldn’t control herself any longer. She wanted to eat one of those Twinkies so bad that she could taste it. It had been seven months—maybe longer—since she’d had such a yummy, sweet, sugary, totally-bad-for-you treat.

  “Alex?” Jenna asked, ever polite even though Alex never said yes. She—like everyone else—just assumed Alex was a health nut.

  Jenna didn’t get it into her head that Alex wished she would stop asking her. To Jenna, not offering a bite to everyone was bad manners. With so many siblings, it was part of her genetic makeup to share. Jenna didn’t understand that she was actually torturing Alex.

  “I, um,” Alex started to say. All eyes were, once again, on her. She hadn’t eaten the Nerds or the more recent chocolate peanut butter cookies. And Chelsea had been all over her both times.

  In fact, just yesterday, Karen—Karen of all mousy people!—had taken Alex aside and asked her if everything was all right. “I, um, like, saw you looking kind of greenish-yellow at free swim the other day,” Karen had said one night before bed. “You know, right when you and Brynn started having that fight. You can, um, like, tell me if something’s wrong,” Karen had added.

  Alex appreciated the concern, but she was losing her patience. She told Karen she was fine and offered to look at her sticker collection—just to change the subject. Alex was going to shred the entire camp’s pillows. That’s how tired she was of everything that had been going on lately. She was sick of Chelsea’s nasty words about “Little Miss Perfect” having to stay in shape for soccer.

  Alex’s walls were coming down.

  “You know what? Throw me one,” Alex said to Jenna.

  “Really? Cool!” Jenna said, glad to oblige. She tossed the Twinkie across the room to her friend.

  Alex caught it easily. She didn’t squish or harm the Twinkie. Who knew athletic ability would help keep your snacks safe? Alex thought. The other girls clapped and whooped. And Alex loved being cheered on, whatever the reason. It just felt good. It felt like belonging. And Alex had been feeling so left out for so long now.

  She scarfed that Twinkie down in three seconds flat.

  “Mmm,” she said loudly. “That was good!”

  “You want another one?” Jenna asked.

  “I do!” Brynn yelled.

  “Me first!” Grace begged.

  “Really, I only have one more, girls,” Jenna said. “Alex has missed out on all the other snacks. If she wants it, it should be hers.”

  “I’ll take it,” Alex said. She opened the other one, wide-eyed. She took one small bite, and then she got up to tuck it into a plastic box in her cubbyhole.

  “That so won’t be there tomorrow,” Chelsea said. “I’m going to eat it.”

  “You will not, or I’ll kick your butt,” Valerie said.

  The girls laughed and enjoyed their short-lived sugar high. They had almost calmed down by the time Julie and Marissa returned from their meeting.

  It took at least two more hours before the girls stopped whispering and gossiping in the dark. There was no way anyone was going to get a good night’s sleep that night—not with Color War starting tomorrow. Even though Alex had been having a really difficult couple of days, just for that evening, she could forget about it all. She pretended that she was just like everyone else, like she fit in. Sharing in their snacks and pillow fights was freeing. She didn’t have to pretend she was writing a letter or reading a book so they would leave her alone. She just jumped right in to join the fun—Twinkies and all. She was determined not to let anything, not even sweet treats—freak her out.

  chapter SEVEN

  The real roar of wild animals erupted early the next morning.

  Bunk 3C was totally not surprised.

  It was the first day of Color War, after all.

  Instead of Julie’s friendly, chirpy morning call of, “Wakey, Wakey!” the girls heard kids outside yelling things like, “Be prepared to get eaten alive!” and “Wake up and get ready to go dowwwwnnn!” and “Red will rule the entire free world!” A whole bunch of kids were up an hour early and running through the bunks in celebration.

  No one was supposed to tell a soul which team they were on until the kick-off breakfast that morning, but some kids clearly broke the rule as soon as last night’s meeting was adjourned. This year’s Reds—at least the ones with hyena giggles and lion roars—obviously weren’t concerned about the rules at that moment. They made so much noise—some of them even had lifeguard whistles to blow and pots and pans to clang—that sleeping was no longer an option for anyone.

  The crazy Red strategy was obvious. Many of them had gotten themselves to sleep early the night before—those who’d revealed themselves, that is—rose earlier, and then woke up the rest of the camp up. They clearly wanted the Blue team to be tired for the first day of competition. It was a sneaky, sneaky move. Alex admired their ability to work together and strategize, but she also thought the Reds were being silly. Surely, some of their team members would be tired, too. Especially the Reds who were in her bunk still chatting away about boys, life, camp, and one another until the late, late hours of last night.

  At least I feel really good this morning, Alex thought. She had been worried that the night before would have her worn out, maybe even sick, for the all-important competitions. But she was fine.

  Woohoo! This is great, she couldn’t help thinking.

  She looked around the bunk, and several girls were missing. The 3C Reds had sneaked out to participate in the morning mayhem. Now that was really impressive, Alex thought. She couldn’t believe she had been sleeping so soundly that she hadn’t heard them earlier. She looked around, seeing who was there and who was not. Her heart sunk. She had wanted certain people to be on her team, and those certain people’s beds were empty.

  After the initial shock of hearing the noise and seeing who was (and wasn’t) on her team, Alex decided there was nothing else to do but make the best of it. She’d have to pump herself up.

  There is nothing I love more than Color War, she told herself. She remembered the two whole days of outdoor activities—an all-out Alex fest around Camp Lakeview. Sure, she was surprised that she had liked woodworking as much as she had. But no matter how great it had been to finish a cutting board and to start on the chess set, it was still more fun to punt a soccer ball. Alex’s first love was sports, especially soccer. It was time to play ball!

  Breakfast was mayhem. As usual,
on the start of Color War, excitement hung in the air. Kids were yelling, others were telling tall tales about their athletic abilities, others still were hurling muffins and burned toast through the air. She tried to get down some food before kids started spraying silly string—a harmless Color War ritual aimed at ruining the opposite team’s morning meal.

  A stripe of electric blue shot through the air and landed on her empty plate, narrowly avoiding her cup of water. She wiped her mouth and licked her lips. She smiled. The silly string had missed her watery eggs. She’d already downed everything—somehow—and she was already feeling lucky about the day to follow. Her fingers were crossed.

  “Red! Red! Red! We are the best!” someone yelled. Alex heard, and her stomach dropped just like it had earlier that morning in the bunk. It was the voice of someone who’d been absent from the bunk that morning.

  It was, unmistakably, Brynn’s voice.

  When Alex looked up, Brynn was in the front of the long, narrow room doing a cheer with Sarah and a few other girls right in the middle of the mess hall. All eyes were on Brynn, and people were laughing, screaming, or booing—or all three together.

  Alex didn’t mind the confetti or the cheerleading act. What Alex really minded was that she was a Blue and that Brynn was a Red. In all the years they’d come to camp together, they’d always been on the same team. Sarah was, as fate would have it, a Red, too.

  Alex couldn’t help but be jealous that Brynn and Sarah would get to spend more time together—bonding, laughing, and strategizing. Alex was pitted against her friends—or ex-friends, as the case was—and she was totally uncomfortable with it. She knew she was a strong athlete and Scrabble player, so that wasn’t the issue. Alex could compete with anyone at camp. It was just that Alex usually coached Brynn and Sarah and cheered them on. The one thing that worried Alex was how skilled Brynn could be at mind games, which was another important element of competition.

  Alex knew she could beat Brynn physically, but she wasn’t so sure how she’d do against her in the more creative stuff like singdown. Overall, Alex was just sad that they wouldn’t be together this year.

  “Okay, kids!” Dr. Steve yelled on the mess hall PA system. “We’re posting the official team lists outside of the mess hall. You can share your team assignments now!”

  “Why the long face, Sport?” a high voice screeched behind her. It was Jenna’s, and Grace stood at her side. “We’re all Blues! Can you believe it?!”

  At least something good had happened. Jenna and Alex had never been on the same Color War team. They figured they had been separated on purpose. Really, it was more fair that way, since they were both really good at sports. But this year, who knew what could happen?

  The Color War isn’t looking so bad after all, Alex told herself.

  “We’ve got to make some signs at the Blue pep rally and put the brakes on those Reds,” Jenna said, already wearing a blue T-shirt and shorts, looking ready for a game.

  “I’m a better cheerleader than those chicks, anyway,” Grace said, joking. That was probably true, too. Grace was always happy and smiling, and she would be a great member of Alex’s team. She really would be good at keeping everyone’s spirit up. Maybe Alex didn’t need Brynn, after all.

  “Don’t worry, Alex,” Grace said, totally reading her friend’s mind. “Everything will be okay,” she added. It was nice to know that other people could see what was going on, even if Alex couldn’t talk about it. Alex refused to think like that for another second. She willed herself to snap out of her funk. Color War was her favorite time—it was a time to shine and show the Red Team what tough stuff she was made of. She just hoped Valerie was on her team.

  She thought to herself, I know I can, I know I can.

  “We’re so going to get them,” Jenna said. “Even if Chelsea is on our team.”

  “She is?!!!” Alex said, not even being careful to hide her feelings for the nasty blonde. “I’d hoped she was lying last night.”

  “I know—ugh,” Jenna said. She made a face.

  “Come on, let’s not think about that right now,” Grace added. “I’ll work on getting the blond beast in a good mood, and I’ll try to get her to play on the Scrabble team.” Chelsea was good at word games. The girls hoped that she would turn out to be a useful member of the Blues, and not a total storm cloud.

  “Oh, I don’t want to think about her. Let’s go to our Blue rally. Let’s make some killer signs,” Jenna said. “I’ve been stashing art supplies all summer for this very occasion. I just need you all to come up with ideas.”

  “So, is Valerie on our team, too?” Jenna asked.

  “Yeah, that’s what she told me,” Grace said. “You, me, Chelsea, Natalie, Alyssa, Alex, and Valerie.”

  That left Karen, Candace, Brynn, Sarah, and Jessie on Red. It was weird for the teams to be uneven, Alex thought. There must have been an uneven number somewhere else in the division that they were compensating for.

  Jenna and Alex shared a knowing glance, and Jenna said, “Grace, go grab Valerie some toast and bagels. The Reds will steal all the food soon. People don’t compete as well when they’re hungry. Alex, do you need some snacks, too?”

  “No, I’m good,” Alex answered.

  “What about you, Grace?” Jenna asked.

  “I’m all filled up and ready to par-tay,” she said, putting some treats in her pockets for Valerie and whoever else didn’t get a chance to eat. She was fighting kids from the Red Team who were up there hoarding stuff, too.

  Why does food always have to be such a big deal? Alex wondered as she ran over to the arts and crafts shack for the Blue rally.

  The crackle of the PA system indicated a new announcement from Dr. Steve.

  “Apparently,” he said, clearing his throat, “from the outburst this morning, we saw that one team in particular—some members of the Reds, specifically—didn’t keep their team affiliation secret. As a result, all Reds will get a twenty-five point deduction!”

  Some Reds hissed and booed and threw bagels at the Reds who had set up the abrupt morning wake-up.

  “So, Blues, you have an advantage. Use it wisely. Now good luck to you all!”

  The Blues—Alex, Jenna, Grace, Val, Alyssa, Natalie, and even Chelsea—whooped and screamed in celebration.

  Day One started with a rally. Marissa had made everyone blue wristbands, and Jenna and Alex made some kick-tail signs. They sung songs like “We Are the Champions” as they got ready for the big competition. Both days would start with a camp-wide competition—today’s was the singdown. Then the divisions broke up and, instead of their regular free-choice activities, there were division competitions.

  The first one each day would be sports, like basketball or soccer, and the second one after lunch would be a less athletic, like blob tag (so funny, Alex thought) and Scrabble. This went on for two days, and full schedules were posted on each bunk. In the evenings, kids could work on their missed activities (like woodworking, Alex realized) if they wanted to during free time.

  Since much of Color War dealt with athletic ability, endurance, and prowess, Jenna and Alex went back to the bunk with the others to put their heads together to strategize for their division soccer game. As long as they let Julie know where they’d be, they were allowed a little more independence during “Color War-designated hours.” When the competition ended for the day—or during meals, of course—everyone traveled as a bunk again.

  As they scribbled “We’re seeing BLUE!” and “BLUE will rock your world” on pieces of poster board, they plotted out ways to win.

  Since Scrabble would be soon, Alex knew the time had come for her heart-to-heart with Chelsea. Chelsea was really good at the game, so she could help the Blues earn their twenty-five points. And the only goal for Alex was to win, win, win.

  Alex tracked her down in the bunk and willed herself to be patient with her grumpy teammate.

  Needless to say, Chelsea did not exactly appreciate the pep talk. “Whatever. I know what
this is about. You just won’t be able to stand it if I’m better than you, right?” she said, wrinkling her nose.

  Alex, for the first time, actually felt sorry for Chelsea. When she stopped and thought about it, Chelsea rarely smiled. Even when she got to do something she liked—like Scrabble—she didn’t seem to enjoy it.

  She just seems like she doesn’t know how to be happy, Alex thought. Again, for the first time, Alex didn’t get mad at Chelsea. Instead, she pitied her. She thought Chelsea’s entire existence was just sad.

  “I need you to be the best, Chelsea, even if that’s better than me,” Alex said. “I don’t care which one of us wins, as long as we win together. It’s all about the Blues. It’s not about me. And it’s not about you, either.”

  Chelsea just stuck out her tongue and answered, “Always Little Miss Perfect . . . always.” With that, she pranced away to talk to Karen.

  Meanwhile, on the other side of the bunk, right in Alex’s line of vision, she could see Brynn hugging Sarah—overdramatically. Brynn glanced at Alex just to make sure that, yes, Alex had seen the two of them bonding—without Alex. Alex smiled at Brynn. Alex didn’t want Brynn to think she was getting to her, even if Brynn kind of was. To Alex, Color War was healthy competition; maybe it was a healthier way to work through their differences.

  Heck, she’d tried everything else, hadn’t she?

  Alex, Jenna, and Val headed out to the porch to work on a Blue Team cheer. Jenna was frantically racking her brain for a word that rhymed with “stupendous” when Alex heard a familiar voice.

  “Too bad we’re on different teams, Alex.”

  Alex looked up. Adam was making his way toward the bunk. She thought he was actually on his way somewhere else, but then he stopped and stood there like he wanted to talk. Alex was happy to see him, but she was also nervous. Something was up, definitely. She noticed the way he was sweating, too. Then he added, “So are you and Valerie both Blue?”