Friends Forever? (2 page)

“Bye-o-nara,” Adam called out.
“I'll make sure all your luggage gets on the bus. 'Cause that's just the kind of guy I am.”

“Thanks, big bro!” Zee shouted behind her.

“See you on Friday,” Ally added.

The other fifth-period science girls boarded behind Zee and Ally.

As Zee walked down the long aisle to a seat in the back, she noticed Marcus and Jasper huddled with Landon and Conrad. They stopped whispering and sat up straight as the girls moved past.

Landon glanced at Zee and smiled.
Don't blush. Don't blush. Don't blush
, she silently pleaded—as her face got hotter and hotter. Zee had had a crush on Landon since forever. But they'd recently decided to be just friends. She grinned at Landon, then quickly sat down beside Chloe in the row of seats behind the group. Ally sat on the other side of her.

Kathi, Jen, and Missy filled in the row behind them as Mr. P moved down the aisle. His name was short for Mr. Papademetriou, and he was Zee's favorite teacher and the director of her band, the Beans. The fifth-period science students were all members.

“Oh, good,” he said. “You're all together. I know some of you brought your instruments, which is really cool, because
there should be plenty of free time for you guys to get together for jam sessions.”

“What's a jam session?” Conrad asked.

“You know, when you just hang out and play and sing together for fun,” Mr. P explained.

“Cool beans!” Zee said. Then she called out, “Mr. P, just so you know, Ally brought her flute.”

“That's great.” Mr. P smiled at Ally. “You can be an honorary member of the Beans.”

“Thanks!” Ally said. “That's so awesome!”

“The instruments will be kept in the main lodge,” Mr. P continued.

“Will they be safe?” Kathi asked. “My violin is worth
a lot
of money.”

Chloe rolled her eyes and Zee stifled a giggle.

“Yes, they'll be locked up when no one is in the lodge,” Mr. P said.

The bus driver closed the door and started the engine, so Mr. P scrambled for a seat in the front with Ms. Merriweather and the chaperones.

As the bus pulled away, all of the students cheered. Zee pulled out her diary and began writing.

 

 

Zee closed her diary and dropped it in the tote bag she'd made out of a tank top. Then she turned toward Ally, who was leaning over the seat in front of them, chatting with Jasper.

“What are you guys talking about?” Zee asked.

“I was giving Ally a guide to London,” Jasper said.

“Oh yeah,” Zee said. “I really want to visit the Tower of London. All of those terrible kings and queens lived there and did all those horrible things.”

Ally sat back in her seat. “That's definitely cool, but we're not talking about touristy places.” As she shook her head, her long brown hair brushed her shoulders. “Jasper's giving me insider tips on the best shopping, secret bakeries, great tea…”

“I don't think I could ever trade my Frappuccinos for tea,” Zee said.

“That's because you've never had real English tea.” Ally leaned forward again.

“Maybe,” Zee said. She looked at Chloe, who was staring out the window. “Want to make friendship bracelets?” Zee asked her. Without waiting for an answer, she pulled bundles of red, blue, and purple string out of her bag. She placed a container of wooden beads on the seat between them.

“I found out how to make really awesome chunky ones,” Chloe said as she began braiding. “I'm gonna make the first one for you!”

“Thanks,” Zee said, slowly turning to look from Chloe to Ally. She wasn't sure who she'd make her first bracelet for.

A
s the camp bus climbed the narrow, curving dirt road, each bump and jolt reminded Zee how far away from civilization she was. Finally, a sign rose in the distance.

BROOKDALE MOUNTAIN CAMPGROUNDS

The bus turned onto an even narrower, curvier path, then finally stopped and opened its door.

Students unbuckled seat belts and scrambled into the aisle. Mr. P stood up at the front. “Everyone, grab your luggage from the last bus and wait for more instructions,” he announced. Then he hurried down the bus steps before the herd of rushing seventh graders.

After the bus driver unloaded the luggage, Zee pointed to her backpack. “Could you guys help me with this?” she asked her friends.

“Sure,” Chloe said. She and Ally struggled to get the bag off the ground. The two girls managed to lift it high enough for Zee to reach her arms through the straps. Zee leaned over slightly to balance the heavy pack on her body.

“Did you bring your entire closet?” Jasper asked.

“No way,” Zee said. She reached down and pulled out the handle of a small matching suitcase on rollers. “It wouldn't all fit in both of these.”

Ally looked at Jasper. “Her mother wouldn't let her take
a third bag,” she explained.

“Why did you bring so much?” Jasper asked Zee.

“How can I know what I'm going to want to wear a week ahead of time?” Zee said. “What if I change my mind?”

“I suppose that would be quite disastrous,” Jasper said.

Zee eyed him suspiciously. “Are you being sarcastic?”

Kathi joined the group and saved Jasper from having to answer. She scrunched up her nose and sniffed. “What's that smell?”

“Yeah,” Jen agreed. “It's really weird.”

Zee, Ally, Jasper, and Chloe inhaled deeply.

“Does it smell like trees?” Zee asked.

“Yes!” Kathi responded.

“I think that's nature,” Chloe spoke slowly.

“Well, I hope it goes away,” Kathi said.

“Ow!” Zee said, slapping her leg.

“Why are you hitting yourself?” Ally asked.

“A mosquito bit me.”

“Oh my gosh!” Kathi yelled. “I better hide. Mosquitoes loooove me.”

“Maybe that's because you both make an annoying, high-pitched noise,” Ally mumbled.

Kathi looked around frantically. “When do we get to go to the hotel, Mr. P?” she called out, pointing to a huge
stone-and-log building in the distance.

“That's the main lodge, for indoor activities and meetings,” Mr. P said. He pointed into the woods in the opposite direction—to ten small wooden shacks with screens in the windows. “We'll sleep in the cabins.”

“Mr. P!” Kathi shouted, hurrying toward their teacher. “Do my parents know about this?”

“Probably.” Mr. P stuck a pencil behind his ear and flipped through the papers on his clipboard. “Since you're in science and the band together, the Beans will be in cabins one and two—girls in one, and boys in two. You all can head over and get settled. Meet me at the lodge in fifteen minutes.”

As Mr. P read the assignments for the rest of the campers, Zee and the others walked toward their cabins. Zee quickly realized that rolling suitcases didn't work very well on dirt paths. To make matters worse, under the weight of her heavy backpack, she couldn't keep her balance. First, she veered off to the left. Then to the right. Then she stumbled backward. Right into Landon!

Landon steadied Zee by wrapping both of his arms around her. She was certain that he must have been able to feel her heart thumping.

“Oh, uh, thanks,” Zee said.

Landon pulled away quickly. “Are you okay now?” Even with his surfer's tan, Zee could see that Landon was blushing beneath the blond bangs that hung slightly over his face.

Zee avoided looking directly into his amazingly blue eyes. She was afraid she'd say something like, “I am now” or “Yes, thanks to you.” Yuck!

“Yeah…I'm…uh…fine. Totally.” Zee stumbled a little more but managed to stay upright without any help.

When Landon saw that Zee was okay, he rushed to catch up with Marcus and Conrad.

Jasper hurried to Zee's side, his own olive-green nylon pack perfectly square on his back. “Why don't I take your rolling luggage?” he asked, grabbing the handle.

“Thanks!” Zee said.

“That's very gentlemanly of you, Jasper,” Ally said.

“Well, I like to think it's what anyone would do.” Jasper looked in Landon's direction. “Although perhaps I'm wrong.”

Ally moved nearer to Zee. “So did you do that on purpose to get Landon to notice you?”

“No!” Zee and Jasper said at the same time.

Zee, Ally, and Chloe stared at Jasper.

“I mean,” Jasper quickly added, “that's not exactly the best way to get a guy's attention.”

“Ohhh?” Ally asked curiously. “Maybe you should tell us what
is
the best way.”

Jasper gulped and looked down at the ground.

“I'm just kidding,” Ally said with a flick of her hand.

“Besides, Zee and Landon don't like each other like that anymore,” Chloe defended Zee.

Zee looked at Chloe. Jasper was right—crashing into a guy was not the best way to flirt. But when it came to guys, Ally definitely knew her best. Even though Landon and Zee were just friends, Ally knew Zee still had a major crush on him!

 

As soon as she entered the cabin, Zee dropped her backpack onto the floor. The other girls rushed past her to claim their beds.

Ally climbed the ladder to the top bunk in the corner of the cabin. “Zee and I will sleep over here,” she said.

Zee looked over at Chloe, who was standing by the bunks next to her.

“Yeah, that makes sense since Ally's your guest,” Chloe
said. “You wanna share with me, Missy? You can take the top.”

Missy tossed her sleeping bag on the bed above Chloe. “Okay. Thanks!”

Kathi and Jen claimed the last set of beds. “I'll be on top,” Kathi declared.

Of course you will
, Zee thought, since that's where perfect Kathi almost always landed anyway.

“This is so awesome!” Chloe said. “We're out in the middle of nowhere in a cabin with no electricity.”

“Let me know when you get to the awesome part,” Zee said.

“Look at this!” Missy said, pointing to the messages that covered the walls. “‘Simone loves Thomas.' It's carved into the wood, so it will be here forever. That's so romantic.”

“‘Kari was here,'” Jen said, gesturing to a date written in black marker. “‘Seven. Thirteen. Nineteen ninety-seven.'”

“‘NT plus RB,'” Zee read, then sighed. “Don't you wish you knew if they stayed together?”

“Remind me to get a marker,” Kathi loudly said to Jen. “I have something I want to write.”

Zee rolled her eyes and wondered how long it would be before Kathi stopped dropping hints and told everyone about her new boyfriend. As Zee bent to get her backpack, something small and brown scurried past her. “Aaaaaaa!” she screamed, quickly climbing up the ladder to sit next to Ally. “I just saw a rat!”

Chloe moved toward the tiny creature, which was escaping through a small hole at the bottom of the wall. “It's not a rat. It's a mouse.”

“Same thing,” Zee said.

“Not hardly. Rats are bigger
and
lots smarter,” Chloe explained. “That's why they make great pets.”

“I think I'd rather have a dog,” Zee said.

The other girls began to get set up.

“Where do you think the armoires are?” Kathi asked as she unpacked her brown leather Louis Vuitton bag. “I have to hang some of this stuff up before it wrinkles.” Kathi hated any kind of imperfection. The phrase
roughing it
was definitely not in her vocabulary.

Missy's eyes grew big. She hadn't been at Brookdale Academy as long as the other girls, so some of Kathi's comments still shocked her. “You have to keep everything in your suitcase.”

“Is housekeeping going to wash the dirty clothes?” Kathi asked.

“Um…there isn't any housekeeping,” Missy said. “You have to take your dirty clothes home like that.”

“You mean I have to mix my clean and dirty clothes in one bag?”

Missy nodded. “Mmm-hmm.”

“I like Missy!” Ally whispered to Zee.

Zee smiled and whispered back, “She's cool.”

“But I've got brand-new stuff in here!” Kathi continued.
“Some of it still has tags on.”

“Why did you bring such nice stuff to camp anyway?” Chloe asked. “Didn't you get the information sheet and supply list?”

“I thought it was a joke,” Kathi said, sounding defensive. “I mean, it listed ‘sweatshirt.' Why would anyone wear something with the word
sweat
in the name?”

Zee hated to admit it, but she had to agree with Kathi on her fashion point. They were finally out of their horrible school uniforms. Why would they want to wear sweats?

“It doesn't matter,” Kathi said, trying to change the subject. “I need to send a text message to
someone
before we go to the lodge anyway.” She gave Jen a sneaky look.

“Who?” Zee asked, unable to stand Kathi's obvious hinting for one more minute.

“My boyfriend,” Kathi said. “Trey Munson.”

“You're going out with Trey Munson?” Ally asked. “He's soooooo hot!”

A proud smile spread across Kathi's face. “Yeah, he is.”

“I thought Trey was going with Carrie Navatny,” Chloe pointed out.

“That was last week,” Jen put in. “Before Kathi told me to tell Trey she likes him.”

As Kathi headed outside, the boys from cabin two
bounded into the girls' cabin. Conrad started snooping around their bags and bunks.

“So who's sleeping where?” Marcus asked.

“I'm over there with Missy,” Chloe said, pointing to her bunk. “Zee and Ally are there. And Kathi and Jen are in the other one.”

“Are you just keeping your bags under your beds or somewhere else?” Marcus continued.