Jenna's Dilemma Read online

  “Where did you get it?” Jenna asked.

  “That senior girl Daphne gave it to us,” Natalie said, lifting her chin toward the other end of the room. “Plus, the bleach we have to use first.”

  “Bleach?” Jenna said, her mouth dropping open. “Are you crazy?”

  “Daphne says she does it all the time,” Alyssa replied. “It’s no big deal.”

  Jenna turned around to check out Daphne, a thirteen-year-old girl with white-blond hair. She was sitting at a table in the back of the room, chopping up newspapers with a pair of huge scissors. Jenna wasn’t sure what good her task was doing anyone, but as always, no one was bothering her. Daphne had been wearing black eyeliner ever since Jenna could remember, and whenever anyone asked her a question, she just grunted. She also cracked her knuckles constantly. Jenna had always been totally afraid of Daphne. Most of the counselors were even afraid of her. How had Natalie and Alyssa even gotten her to talk to them?

  “She changes her hair color every five minutes,” Natalie said.

  “Yeah, wasn’t she a brunette last week?” Jenna asked.

  “Yep,” Alyssa said. “She was saving the red for the end of the summer, but I traded her my pastel set for it. I wanted to do something cool and different for the social.”

  “Wow. Well, it’ll definitely be different,” Jenna said. “So, when are we going to do it?”

  “Tonight,” Natalie whispered. “It’s Julie’s night off, and you know Marissa sleeps like she’s practically dead or something,” she added with a giggle.

  “Aren’t you afraid of getting in trouble?” Jenna asked Alyssa.

  “It’s never stopped you, has it?” Alyssa said with a grin.

  Jenna grinned back. How cool! She was inspiring Alyssa to take a chance! “No, I guess not.”

  “Besides, what are they going to do to me?” Alyssa asked with a shrug. “By the time they see what I’ve done, it’ll be too late. And it is my hair.”

  They could do a lot of things to you, Jenna thought. Like give you extra chores or make you help out in the mess hall. Jenna had gotten enough punishments in her life to know that Alyssa could get in big trouble. But still, it was cool to see how calm Alyssa was about it all.

  “Wow,” Jenna said, leaning back in her chair again. “I’m impressed.”

  “And she’s going to look so fahb-u-lous with red highlights,” Natalie said, fluttering her lashes and tilting her head back.

  “Thank you, dah-ling,” Alyssa replied, flipping her hair.

  Jenna giggled, her boredom and irritation over Adam and his pictures entirely forgotten. Tonight was going to be so much fun. And for once, she wasn’t going to be the one getting yelled at or having suspicious looks thrown at her. For once, something big was going to happen, and no one would be able to blame it on her.

  chapter TEN

  Dear Matt,

  I can’t believe you think it was Me who pulled the pranks on Stephanie and Adam. First of all, they’re total whiners for telling you about them, anyway, because they were no big deal. But just because I am the “common link” (your words) between them, that doesn’t mean I did it. Besides, the sugar prank was pulled on Adam’s entire table, not just Adam. How do you know someone wasn’t trying to prank Eric? Or Simon? Or Nate?

  Besides, you know that if it WAS me, I wouldn’t be able to tell you, anyway. The less people that know you did a prank, the better—right? And when did you get so parental? Wasn’t it you who replaced the morning bugle sound track with “You Gotta Fight for Your Right to Party” that summer? People still talk about that. And you KNOW you love it.

  Just in case you’re interested in the good things I’M doing this summer, we won the scavenger hunt AGAIN, and I’M on the planning committee for the camp social. It’s going to be the best one ever. And Mom and Dad still haven’t gotten any freak-out phone calls. So there.

  I hope you’re having fun with your beakers and test tubes!

  Love,

  Jenna

  Jenna

  P.S. Thanks for the “I Eat Glue” bumper sticker. Very funny, you know, since I actually used to eat glue. Gum! Ha-ha. I swear I don’t eat glue anymore.

  That night, after lights-out, Julie left to meet up with the other counselors and do whatever it was they did on their nights off. Probably a lot of kissing and holding hands, Jenna thought. Gross.

  Jenna lay in her top bunk, staring at the ceiling, holding her breath and listening to the sound of her heartbeat. In the other bunks the rest of her friends were doing the same. Jenna turned her face and stole a glance at Valerie who grinned back. Everyone was psyched for what they were about to do.

  The minutes dragged on for what seemed like days, but soon enough Jenna heard the soft whistle of Marissa’s snoring. Somewhere in the bunk someone snorted a laugh and clapped her hand over her mouth. Jessie and Karen giggled and twittered until Alex shushed them. Finally the tiny beeping alarm on Sarah’s sports watch went off, and everyone sat up. Fifteen minutes had passed. Nothing but the trumpet reveille could wake Marissa now.

  Ever so quietly Jenna slipped from her bed and down the ladder, bumping butts with Alex as she came down from her own.

  “Are you ready?” Grace asked Alyssa as they all gathered in the center of the bunk in socked-feet.

  “Yeah. Let’s do this,” Alyssa said.

  “Yeah,” Candace added. “Let’s do this.”

  A few of the girls giggled and started to whisper.

  “Shhh! No more talking till we’re in the bathroom!” Jenna hissed, causing everyone to immediately shut up. Jenna smiled, happy she had come up with the order before Alex, and they all tiptoed past Marissa’s cot and into the bathroom.

  Brynn went for the light, but Alex grabbed her hand to stop her.

  “Pull the curtain first!” Alex said in a whisper.

  Jessie yanked the burgundy curtain across the door opening to shield some of the light from spilling into the bunk area, and then Brynn flicked the light on. Alyssa, Natalie, Valerie, and Grace were already gathered at the back sink.

  “This is going to be so cool!” Natalie said, tearing the box open. It made a hugely loud noise, and Jenna’s heart jumped into her throat. Everyone looked at the door. When they heard Marissa snore again, they let out a big sigh of relief.

  “She’s in dreamland,” Chelsea said. “Don’t worry about her.”

  “Okay, we’ve already read the directions about ten times,” Natalie said. “Let’s just go for it.”

  “Are you sure you want to do this, Alyssa?” Alex asked, ever the cautious camper. She looked at Alyssa’s reflection in the mirror, and Alyssa gazed steadily back.

  “I’m sure,” she said with a nod. “Let’s go.”

  “I can’t believe we’re doing this. I can’t believe we’re doing this!” Grace babbled excitedly.

  Jenna grabbed one of Alyssa’s towels and draped it over her shoulders. Natalie wiggled her fingers into the plastic gloves while Grace removed the safety cap from the bottle of dye. Valerie used a comb to help Natalie work parts into Alyssa’s hair. Then Natalie held up the dye bottle.

  “This is it!” Natalie said with a grin. Alyssa nodded quickly, and Natalie applied the dye. After a few seconds of watching them work, a sharp, sour smell hit Jenna’s nostrils, and she scrunched her nose.

  “Ugh! That stuff smells gross!” she whispered.

  “Sometimes you have to suffer for beauty,” Natalie replied, still working. “Or at least that’s what my dad’s girlfriend always says.”

  Everyone nodded at this piece of wisdom. Natalie’s dad was Ted Maxwell, the huge Hollywood star. His current girlfriend, Josie McLaughlan, was a starlet on the rise who had appeared on the cover of nearly every women’s magazine last spring. If anyone knew about beauty, she did.

  “Everything okay out there, Karen?” Valerie asked, glancing toward the door.

  Karen moved the curtain slightly and peeked out. “Yep,” she whispered with a nod. “She’s still asle
ep.”

  “Okay,” Natalie said when the bottle of dye was empty. “Now we just wait fifteen minutes and rinse it out.”

  Sarah pressed a few buttons on her watch and nodded. “Okay. Timer’s set.”

  Jenna looked around the bathroom. What were they going to do for fifteen minutes? With no other options in sight, she finally shrugged and sat down on the rough wooden floor. The other girls soon joined her and they all sat in a circle, breathing in the fumes from Alyssa’s head.

  “How does it feel?” Jenna asked.

  “It burns a little, but the box said it would,” Alyssa replied calmly. Jenna couldn’t believe how brave she was, sitting there like there was nothing going on. If Jenna was changing the color of her own hair, she would be losing it right then.

  “I can’t wait to see how it looks,” Grace said.

  “Me neither,” Jessie put in. “I just read the part in Anne of Green Gables where she tries to dye her red hair black and it comes out all green and horrible . . .”

  Everyone stared at Jessie until she realized what she was saying and all the color drained from her face.

  “Not that your hair’s going to be green and horrible,” she added quickly. “I’m sure it’s gonna look great.”

  Jenna rolled her eyes and leaned back on her hands. Sometimes Jessie could say the most spacey things. There was a moment of awkward silence, which Grace finally broke.

  “I love the movie version of Anne of Green Gables,” she said. “Actually I think it was a miniseries. My mom bought it for me on tape.”

  “Have you read the book?” Jessie asked.

  Grace flushed slightly. “No . . . just seen the movie.”

  “Oh, well, the book is so much better,” Jessie said. “I can lend it to you if you want.”

  “That’s okay,” Grace said.

  “Actually, you kind of look like Anne, Grace,” Karen said. “Your hair is the exact same color as hers.”

  “Really? Well, soon Alyssa’s gonna look like her, too!” Grace announced, bringing the attention back to the hair dye at hand.

  “I was actually hoping for more punk rock than prairie-girl chic,” Alyssa said.

  Everyone laughed, and after that they pretty much stayed quiet until the beeper on Sarah’s watch went off again.

  “Time to rinse!” Natalie said, jumping up.

  Alyssa scrambled to her feet and followed Natalie to the sink. She dipped her head forward under the spout.

  “How does it look?” Alyssa asked. Her eyes were scrunched shut to keep the dye out.

  Jenna’s mouth was totally dry. The water pouring from Alyssa’s hair and down the drain was bright red, like the color of blood. It was totally gross. Jenna was really worried. If Alyssa’s hair was the same color as that water, she wasn’t going to look as fahb-u-lous as Natalie had predicted at the newspaper. She was going to look scary.

  “It’s . . . hard to tell,” Grace said. “Because, you know, your hair is still wet and the color always looks different when it’s wet.”

  “So let’s dry it,” Chelsea said, pulling her hairdryer out. The girls all kept their toiletries in plastic crates near the wall and Chelsea’s was on the top shelf, always overflowing with headbands, barrettes, and various ribbons.

  “No!” Alex whispered. “You can’t turn that on!”

  “She’s right,” Alyssa said, lifting her head and wrapping the towel from her shoulders around her hair. “I know Marissa’s a deep sleeper, but that could definitely wake her up.”

  Jenna felt as disappointed as the rest of her friends looked. “So what do we do?” she asked.

  “We just wait until the morning,” Alyssa said. “It’ll dry overnight.”

  “Wow. Can you really wait that long?” Jenna asked. There was no way she would be as calm as Alyssa was right then. Dyeing her hair was a huge thing! How could she not be freaking out?

  “I kind of have to,” Alyssa said, leading the way to the door. “Come on, girls, let’s get some sleep. Tomorrow you’ll get to see the whole new me!”

  The next morning Jenna woke up super early, just like she always did on Christmas morning. For a moment she couldn’t figure out why she was so excited, and then she remembered. Alyssa’s top bunk was across the room from Jenna’s, so she rolled over to take a look. Maybe she could be the first person to get a look at the hair! Unfortunately, Alyssa must have been sleeping all the way back against the wall. All Jenna could see was her blanket and the edge of her pillow.

  As patiently as she could, Jenna waited until reveille. She must have dozed off again, because when the trumpet went off, she sat up so fast, she smacked her head into the ceiling.

  Alex, Chelsea, and Natalie, always up before the trumpet, all ran in from the bathroom. The rest of the girls shot one another glances from their bunks, grinning with anticipation. Finally Alyssa, the second heaviest sleeper next to Marissa, sat up and swung her feet over the side of the bunk.

  Jenna let out a gasp that was echoed by the rest of the girls. Suddenly she felt sick to her stomach. Alyssa’s hair, all knotted and stringy from being slept on wet, was Ronald McDonald red!

  “What?” Alyssa said, her eyes still closed as she stretched her arms out at her sides.

  “Alyssa! Your . . . your hair!” Natalie wailed.

  Suddenly Alyssa’s eyes popped open, and her hands flew to her head. She grabbed her long hair and slowly brought the ends in front of her face. Her eyes widened to the size of softballs.

  “Omigod!” she gasped, sliding down off her bunk and dropping to the floor. She ran to the bathroom, followed by the rest of the bunk, and stared into the mirror. “Oh . . . my . . . God!”

  It looked even worse in the bright lights of the bathroom. Alyssa’s hair wasn’t just red. It was flaming, fire-engine, hot-sauce, ketchup red. She looked like a Raggedy Ann doll. All around her reflection were the faces of her eleven stunned bunkmates. It was clear to Jenna that no one knew what to say. It was Natalie who finally broke the silence.

  “Alyssa, I am so, so, so, so sorry,” she said, holding her hands over her mouth. “I swear I followed the directions. I don’t know what happened.”

  Alyssa was just opening her mouth to say something when Julie walked into the room, all smiles in her gray sweats and white T-shirt. All the campers froze in place.

  We are so dead, Jenna thought. So very, very dead.

  “Good morning, girls!” Julie said, grabbing her toothbrush and taking it over to the sink. “Are you guys ready for another beautiful—ACK!!!”

  Julie dropped her toothbrush in the sink with a clatter and whirled to face the little group of campers. Everyone tightened in around Alyssa as if to protect her.

  “What happened?” Julie asked. “What did you do to yourself?”

  “I . . . I . . . dyed it,” Alyssa said, looking at the floor.

  “With what? Paint from the arts-and-crafts cabin?” Julie cried. She reached out and took a few strands in her hand. “Oh, Alyssa, what were you thinking?”

  “I thought it was just going to be highlights!” Alyssa said, lifting her big brown eyes to look at Julie. “I didn’t know!”

  Julie sighed and put her hands on her hips. “Did you girls help her do this?” she asked, looking around.

  “No!” Alyssa piped up immediately. “They didn’t even know until this morning.”

  “Lyss,” Natalie said.

  “I swear, Julie. If anyone should get in trouble, it should just be me,” Alyssa said, turning to look in the mirror again. “Ugh! I look like a horror movie!”

  Julie sighed again and shook her head. “All right, everyone but Alyssa, back outside,” she said, pointing a thumb at the door.

  Everyone shot sympathetic looks at Alyssa. On top of looking like an oversized rag doll, she was about to get in major trouble. It didn’t seem fair. Back outside the bathroom, Jenna and Alex both hovered near the door to hear.

  “Alyssa, why did you do this?” Julie asked, her voice low.

&n
bsp; “I thought it would be cool for the social tonight,” Alyssa replied.

  “And who gave you the dye?” Julie asked.

  There was a pause. “No one. I brought it with me to camp.”

  Wow. Alyssa’s a good person to have on your side, Jenna thought, sharing a look with Alex. She’s not even giving Daphne up.

  “Well, technically, I should revoke your privileges and at least make you stay home from the social,” Julie said, causing Jenna and Alex to gasp. “But I won’t,” she added.

  “Really?” Alyssa said.

  “I think looking at your reflection for the rest of the summer will be punishment enough,” Julie said. “Now go tell your friends you’re not in trouble. Except for the two nosy nosersons standing by the door, because they already know.”

  Caught, Jenna and Alex jumped back and joined the rest of their friends to wait for Alyssa to come out.

  “I’m not in trouble!” Alyssa shouted, throwing her hands in the air.

  Everyone cheered and started to go about getting ready for breakfast. Natalie, Grace, and Alyssa huddled in the corner, brushing out Alyssa’s hair and trying to figure out a way to make it look better. In the end, they borrowed a baseball cap from Sarah and decided to deal with it later.

  As Jenna headed for the sink to wash her face and brush her teeth, her mind was working overtime. She couldn’t believe Alyssa hadn’t gotten in trouble. If Jenna had dyed her own hair, she was sure Julie would have sent her right to Dr. Steve. Jenna always got in trouble when she was caught.

  Or maybe not, she thought, looking at her reflection in the mirror. Maybe Julie was softening a little. And there hadn’t been any big drama over either one of her last pranks. As far as Jenna knew, the camp director and the counselors still didn’t know for sure who had pulled them. Maybe the whole camp was getting a little easier on pranksters and jokesters. If Alyssa could turn herself into a clown and not get in trouble, there was no telling what Jenna might be able to get away with.