Friends Forever? (5 page)

“Oh, I can give you lots of advice,” Kathi explained. “Now we can be in a secret club together.”

“Secret?”

“You know, so people who don't understand don't try to get in.”

Zee flashed on Ally and Jasper's conversation about London on the bus. And Ally and Missy's conversation about living abroad in the cabin. Zee felt a twinge of jealousy tighten inside her. It would be nice to have something special to share with someone—even if it was with Kathi.

“Cool beans,” Zee said.

“GWP.”

“GWP?”

“Girls with Periods,” Kathi said matter-of-factly. “It's code, so no one knows what we're talking about.”

“Oh, right.” Zee was in shock—but not about getting her period. Was Kathi really asking her to be in the same club? “Are there any other members?” Zee asked.

“Jen hasn't gotten hers yet,” Kathi said. “Have Chloe and Ally?”

Zee shook her head slightly. She felt weird about sharing such personal information about her best friends with Kathi.

“What about Missy?” Kathi asked.

“I don't know,” Zee said.

Kathi thought a second, then mumbled, “Maybe I finally beat her in something.”

Zee jumped when the cabin door opened with a
thud
. “Ms. Merriweather says you two need to come right now if you don't want to be on cleanup duty,” Ally told them. “I had to beg her to let me leave to warn you.”

“Okay,” Zee said. “I just need a second to put my pad in.” She flashed an excited grin and held up the square blue package.

Zee expected Ally to jump up and down or hug her like Kathi had or…something. Instead, Ally just calmly said, “Oh, you got your period?”

Zee's smile melted. Kathi leaned close to her ear. “See? You have to be in the club to understand,” she whispered. Then she headed toward the door and in a normal voice said, “I'm out of here. The only thing grosser than serving institutional food to other people is cleaning up their disgusting leftovers.”

As Zee watched Kathi move down the wooden steps, she felt a tug. Did she really feel closer to Kathi at that moment than to Ally?

 

“H
ey, Jasper!” Chloe shouted. “Bring the camera over here. I think I found something.” After breakfast, all the seventh graders were back in the woods looking for plants and animals for the scavenger hunt.

“Looks good to me,” Ally said, making a check mark on their sheet.

“At this rate, I think we might actually win,” Zee said excitedly, slapping the spot on her leg where a bug had just landed. “Too bad we don't have to find bugs. They keep coming to
me
.”

“Maybe it's not such a good idea to wear shorts in the woods,” Chloe said. She had on stretchy blue sport pants with a stripe down each side and a white long-sleeve T-shirt.

“But aren't they cute? Look at all the pockets,” Zee said. “I got them just for camping.”

“Then perhaps you should have applied some insect repellent,” Jasper suggested.

“My mother provided me with numerous bottles of that, too.”

“That's
such
a great idea, Jasper,” Ally said.

Jasper blushed and looked at the ground. “Thanks.”

Zee couldn't believe that Ally had actually found a way to flirt with Jasper over bug spray.

“What are they doing?” Chloe asked, pointing to Kathi and Jen, who were sitting on a huge boulder, reading magazines.

The fifth-period science class had divided up so they could find items faster. Zee, Jasper, Chloe, and Ally had ended up looking together in one part of the woods. Missy, Landon, Conrad, and Marcus were farther down the path.

“What they always do,” Ally said. “Avoiding work.”

“I thought Kathi got straight As,” Jasper put in. “How can that be?”

“She makes sure the group she's in works hard to get an A for her,” Ally explained.

“Maybe Kathi is the Mountain Man,” Chloe suggested. “You know—to scare us all so much, we have to end the field trip and go back home.”

“I don't think so,” Zee said. “She was in the cabin last night.”

“Oh yeah,” Chloe said, looking disappointed.

“Still, I'd be happy if I never heard creepy groaning noises like that ever again,” Zee said.

“That was probably just my stomach growling. I was pretty hungry when I went to bed,” Ally joked.

“Well, unless your stomach can throw its voice outside the cabin, I don't think so,” Zee said. “And it certainly wasn't you limping into the woods.”

“We're not sure we saw anything limping in the woods,” Ally said.

“Did you guys hear anything in your cabin, Jasper?” Chloe asked. He had moved a few feet down the trail and was searching around for other scavenger hunt items.

“I was exceedingly tired last night,” Jasper said without looking up at the girls.

“What if there really is a Mountain Man?” Zee wondered out loud.

“There's not,” Ally insisted.

“How do you know?” Chloe said.

“Who was the first person to ever mention the Mountain Man?” Ally asked.

Zee thought. “I guess it was Adam.”

“Exactly.” Ally nodded.

“Why wouldn't Adam tell the truth?” Chloe asked.

“Because he loves to make Zee crazy. And it's working.”

Out of nowhere, a loud cry echoed through the woods.

“That sounds like Conrad!” Chloe said.

Zee, Chloe, Ally, and Jasper rushed down the dirt path toward the noise. Even Kathi and Jen got off their rock to see what was happening. When they reached the other group, Conrad was lying on the ground. Marcus and Landon were huddled around him. Missy ran over from where she had been hunting for specimens.

“What happened?” Missy called out.

“Something grabbed me from behind and started dragging me away,” Conrad explained. His voice was shaking and scared. “When I screamed, he let go.”

Tingles ran up Zee's spine as she noticed the tracks from
Conrad's body being dragged.

“The Mountain Man,” Zee whispered.

“What did you say?” Marcus asked.

“I think it might have been the Mountain Man,” Zee said. “Did you see anything, Missy?”

Missy shook her head. A couple of tiny leaves stuck out of her silky brown hair, and a trail of dirt streaked her forehead. “No. Conrad thought it would be a good idea for me to go into the woods over there and look for stuff.”

Conrad stood up. “I heard a ripping sound.”

Zee gasped. “Look!” she said. A piece of flannel hung from the tip of a low tree branch. “That looks like part of a
man's shirt. That must have been what you heard.”

Kathi twisted up her face. “Ugh! If
that's
what he's wearing, I hope he stays on the mountain.”

Craaaaaack!
The sound echoed loudly, cutting through the forest.

Zee grabbed Jasper's arm. “What was that?” she asked.

Marcus, Conrad, and Landon looked around. Conrad seemed even more terrified than he had before.

“Yeah, what was that?” Landon asked.

Ally eyed him suspiciously. “Have you guys found anything for the scavenger hunt yet?”

“Well…um…uh,” Conrad stammered.

“I found a few things,” Missy said, holding up the camera. “Missy's the only one, huh?” Ally said.

“We do still have tons of items on our list,” Marcus said.

Landon's face suddenly brightened like a lightbulb had gone off in his head. “I have an idea. Maybe Zee could work with us, too.”

“Why?” Jasper quickly asked.

“Well, that way the groups would be more even, and Missy won't be the only girl,” Landon explained.

“I don't think we should be penalized because you guys haven't found much,” Jasper countered.

“It's not a punishment,” Landon said. “We're all on the same team—fifth-period science.”

Jasper turned to Zee. “Don't you want to be with your friends?”

Flustered, Zee almost couldn't speak. She felt caught in the middle of her best friend and the boy she had a huge crush on.

“Umm…yeah…,” Zee said. “But everyone here is my friend.” She looked at Landon and Jasper. And Chloe and Ally. “Everyone is friends with everyone. Right?”

The Beans stared at one another awkwardly. Missy, Conrad, and Marcus looked confused. Kathi and Jen looked smug. Landon and Jasper looked angry. And Chloe looked like she was biting her tongue.

Ally took Jasper's arm and guided him away from the group. “Come on! Let's get back to work.”

“You're awfully serious about the scavenger hunt,” Kathi said to Ally.

“Even though you're not getting graded,” Jen added.

Zee looked at Kathi and Jen.
Someone has to be
, she thought.

Ally put her arm around Zee. “I'm just looking out for my best friend.”

Ohmylanta
. Zee felt like a total idiot. Just because Ally didn't go nuts about Zee's period didn't mean they weren't still best friends forever.
Duh!

 

“What happened after that?” Ally asked Missy. The two girls were talking about their travels as cabin one walked into the main lodge for afternoon cleanup duty.

“The plane made an emergency landing—right in the center of a big field!” Missy told her. “The villagers rushed over to say hello.”

“Were they mad?”

“At first, they didn't know how to react,” Missy began. “But my dad took out his digital video camera and started filming them.” Missy's father was a documentary film-maker. “They loved seeing themselves.”

“That's so cool!”

“And it turns out a woman was giving birth,” Missy went on, “so my mother helped deliver the baby.”

“Your parents have the most interesting jobs,” Ally said. Zee felt a twinge of jealousy. Mr. Carmichael was the editor
of
Gala
magazine and got to meet lots of celebrities. Until now Ally had always said he had the most interesting job.

Zee opened the lodge's utility closet. “Ms. Merriweather told us we should sweep up the floor and wipe off all of the surfaces,” she reminded the girls. “We can divide up the work.”

“I'll sweep,” Chloe volunteered.

“Umm…okay,” Zee said. “But there are just two brooms.” Would she sweep with Chloe or dust with Ally?

Ally answered her question. “Missy and I can wipe everything off,” she said, stepping into the closet to grab a pile of rags. She handed one to Missy, then held one out for Kathi.

“No thanks,” Kathi said. “I'm not going to need that.”

“Did you want to sweep instead of dust?” Zee asked.

Kathi and Jen rolled their eyes and giggled. “None of the above. We brought our magazines.”

“But Ms. Merriweather said we could have free time if we finish quickly,” Chloe reminded them.

“Then you better hurry,” Kathi told her as she and Jen headed to a table in the middle of the room.

Chloe and Zee began sweeping the floor near the utility closet as Ally and Missy wiped off the large wooden chairs in the front of the room.

“I talked to the girls in cabin four, and second-period science has only about half of the stuff for the scavenger hunt,” Chloe told Zee.

“We've got to beat them,” Zee said. “I don't want the Mountain Man to keep us from winning.”

“I hope Conrad isn't too scared to go back in the woods to look for stuff,” Chloe said.

“We need all the help we can get,” Zee agreed.

Chloe motioned toward Kathi and Jen. “I don't know who is scarier—the Mountain Man or them.”

Zee swept a pile of dirt and small bits of paper into the dustpan. “Guess what?” she excitedly whispered to Chloe.

“What?”

“I got my period!”

“Get out of here!” Chloe said.

Zee nodded.

“When?”

“This morning,” Zee said. “I've been dying to tell you, but there's always someone around.”

“What's it like?” Chloe asked in a low voice.

“Actually, it doesn't really feel that different,” Zee said. “I don't really notice it—except the pad is kind of weird.”