Politically Incorrect (5 page)

“You must be Dr. Steve,” Tricia said with an outstretched hand that happened to have a perfect French manicure.

“It’s such a pleasure to meet you, miss,” Dr. Steve said as he shook Tricia’s hand. “We are so thrilled to have you at Camp Walla Walla as we put together our very first Green Festival.”

“Oh, the pleasure is all mine,” Tricia said, her hazel eyes glittering. “And thanks for picking us up at the train station. I would have come in a car, but I get really bad motion sickness.”

“Not a problem at all,” Dr. Steve reassured her. “Tricia, I’d like you to meet Natalie Goode. She’s one of our most popular campers. And you two have something in common. You both have famous fathers. Natalie’s dad is Tad Maxwell. The movie star.”

Natalie felt her heart sink.
One of the most popular campers?Her dad is a movie star?
She must sound like a total loser to Tricia! She was more popular than Natalie would ever be and her dad was
president
.

“Hey there,” Tricia said with a friendly wave. “I’ve seen one of your dad’s movies. It was pretty good.”

“Thanks,” Natalie stammered. All her worries about looking like a loser in front of Tricia disappeared. The whole “daughter of a famous actor” thing made Natalie think she could never be starstruck, but it turned out she was wrong! Natalie could see why Chelsea idolized Tricia so much. She’d only known her for less than a minute and she was already charmed by her sweet manner and cute style.

Dr. Steve noticed that Natalie was nervous, so he quickly jumped in. “Natalie is going to make sure you have a wonderful stay with us. She knows the camp inside and out, and she can help introduce you to the rest of the Walla Walla community.”

“Wow, that’s so nice of you, Natalie,” replied Tricia. “Thanks.”

“No problem at all,” Natalie said with a grin. She was finally beginning to loosen up. “I think you’re really going to like camp, Tricia.”

“And who might you fellas be?” Dr. Steve glanced in the direction of the Secret Service guys and gave them a friendly smile.

The men’s serious facial expressions did not change one bit, but the tallest, skinniest one stepped forward and spoke.

“My name is Wharton.” He pointed to the man on his left, who was shorter and rounder. “That’s Jones.” Then he pointed to the man on his right, who had a young face and freckles on his cheeks. “And that’s Shepard.”

“Well, ah, are you folks going to be, um, staying at camp?” Dr. Steve asked, clearly intimidated by Tricia’s beefed-up bodyguards.

Natalie hoped that they wouldn’t—they were kind of creeping her out at the moment.

“We’re staying at a nearby motel and taking shifts so that Miss Tricia will be under constant surveillance. Is that acceptable?” Wharton asked.

Dr. Steve nodded. “Of course, that’s fine. The camp has an extra car that you can use to travel back and forth.”

A shrill bark from inside Tricia’s pink animal carrier interrupted the conversation.

“I think Paris wants to be a security guard, too,” Tricia cooed into her pink pet carrier. “Isn’t that right, poochie?”

“Aw, she’s so cute,” Natalie said as she peered into the carrier’s mesh window and spied Tricia’s adorable dog panting away.

“Actually, she’s barking because she’s a bit claustrophobic,” Tricia explained. “But she’ll be fine as soon as I get her out of this thing.”

“Umm . . . I’m sorry, Tricia, but we don’t allow pets at camp,” Dr. Steve said with a frown.

“Oh, no. Really?” Tricia’s smile dropped.

Natalie couldn’t stand the disappointment on Tricia’s face. She didn’t want anything to prevent her from having an amazing experience at camp. Suddenly a great idea popped into her head.

“Wait, Dr. Steve. What if we kept Paris in the nature hut? I’m sure she’d get along with the animals there. And that way Tricia can visit her whenever she wants.”

Tricia’s eyes lit up. “Paris is such a good dog. I promise she won’t be any trouble.”

“Sounds like the perfect solution,” Dr. Steve said. “See? I knew you two would get along.”

“Thanks so much,” Tricia replied, and grinned at Natalie.

“Well, let’s get going, then,” Dr. Steve said, checking his watch. “Our hybrid is over in the parking garage. Follow me!”

When Dr. Steve walked ahead, Tricia whipped around and shook out her limbs as if she’d been cooped up like her dog. Then she began loudly chewing a piece of gum, which she must have been hiding under her tongue for their entire conversation.

“Hey, Nat,” Tricia called out through a couple of chomps. “Could you, like, get me some snacks from the vending machine before we hit the road? My blood sugar is, like, totally bottoming out or something,” Tricia added. “I’ll have my peeps pay for it.”

While Shepard began digging through his pockets for some change, Natalie did a double take. Was this the same well-spoken girl she’d been introduced to a couple minutes ago?

“Um, sure,” Natalie said, completely stunned.

“She likes Skittles and Snickers,” Shepard said before laying a few dollar bills in Natalie’s hand.

“Thanks! You’re the bestest!” Tricia shouted as she skipped off behind Dr. Steve, leaving Natalie in her dust.

“Natalie just called the front office from Dr. Steve’s cell. They’re only minutes away!” Chelsea shouted through two cupped hands.

Earlier that day, Chelsea and her bunkmates had decided to hold a surprise party for Tricia. It was the least they could do for the girl who had been described in last month’s
Teen Vogue
as “an inspiring young member of American royalty.”

At first, Chelsea had been in charge of cookie making, but after an hour of prep work, she had taken over the entire production. Chelsea wanted everything to be perfect for Tricia’s arrival. Making a good impression was really important to her.

“How are the banners coming along?” Chelsea asked Priya and Brynn.

They held up a long piece of parchment paper with brightly colored letters that spelled out
WALLA WALLA
TRICIA!

It was obvious that Priya was proud of her work by the size of the grin on her face. “I think it’s awesome.”

Chelsea looked on with approval. “I just love the glitter. That really makes a statement.”

“It was such a smart idea. Thanks, Chelse,” Brynn said.

“That’s what I’m here for,” Chelsea replied. “What about the gift bag?”

Sarah and Joanna scurried over to Chelsea holding a large wicker basket filled to the brim with goodies.

“There’s a ton of cool stuff in here,” Joanna said. “Like a Camp Walla Walla baby tee that’s made out of hemp and some strawberry flavored Burt’s Bees lip gloss.”

“My mom sent me books off of my Amazon wish list, so I included a few beach reads she might like,” added Sarah.

“Fantastic!” Chelsea was so pleased with how well everyone had worked together. She and her friends made such an amazing team. Tricia was sure to be blown away by this stellar greeting.

“Last item on the agenda is treats,” Chelsea said with anticipation. She had skipped breakfast in order to get ready for the party, so she was pretty hungry.

Sloan and Jenna each held out a tray stacked high with delectable baked goods. The aroma of cookies and brownies wafted through the tent, making the air smell sweet.

“Jasmine supervised us in the kitchen,” Sloan explained. “And everything is made completely with organic ingredients. I did the double chocolate chip cookies and the Rice Krispies treats.”

Chelsea took a sample tasting of each, savoring every delicious morsel on her tongue. “Wow, you really outdid yourself, Sloan!”

“Thanks,” she replied.

Chelsea took a close look at what was on Jenna’s baking pan and wrinkled her nose in dismay. “What’s this supposed to be?”

“Banana nut bread,” Jenna said with a sigh. “I kind of burned it. Sorry.”

“How did that happen?” Chelsea asked, slightly irritated. Jenna was notorious for goofing off at all the wrong times.

“Does it matter? I can’t UN-burn the bread,” Jenna snapped.

“Wait—isn’t Tricia’s favorite food red grapes?” Sloan asked.

Chelsea’s eyes lit up. She should have remembered that herself, given how psyched she’d been about Tricia coming to camp. But she’d totally forgotten. “Yes, you’re right! Could you run over to the dining hall and see if they have any?”

“Actually, I know the girls in the next bunk have a stash of them. Be right back,” Sloan said as she dashed out the door.

“Okay, everybody. Let’s get into our positions. Tricia will be here any minute now,” Chelsea instructed.

“Actually, the car just pulled up!” Joanna exclaimed as she peered out the window.

All the girls started giggling with excitement. “Okay, everyone grab hold of the banner,” Brynn said. Chelsea held her breath with anticipation. Any second now, she’d be face-to-face with her idol!

“Hold on, are we saying ‘Surprise, Tricia’ or ‘Welcome to Walla Walla’?” Sarah asked.

Before Chelsea could answer, the door of the tent flew open. Some of the girls said, “Welcome to Walla Walla,” and some of them said “Surprise, Tricia!” Luckily, the only person to witness the confusion was Sloan.

“Got the grapes!” she proclaimed.

Chelsea sighed in relief. Thank goodness Tricia hadn’t seen them mess up. “Great! Now hurry up and get in line.”

Sloan darted over to an empty space near Priya and smiled.

Chelsea cleared her throat. “Okay, we’re saying ‘Welcome to Walla Walla.’ Everybody got that?”

All the girls nodded.

The door creaked open again and in came Dr. Steve and Natalie, followed by Tricia and her adorable dog, Paris, who was being pulled along on a hot pink leash. There was also a stocky man with sunglasses next to Tricia who was checking out the place like he wanted to make sure it was safe.

“Welcome to Walla Walla!” the girls shouted as they proudly held up their homemade banner.

Chelsea’s heart somersaulted when she saw the happy expression on Tricia’s face.

“This is unbelievable,” Tricia said with enthusiasm. “Thank you so much!”

“I’m going to let you girls get acquainted,” Dr. Steve said as he placed Tricia’s suitcases on the floor. “Have fun! And don’t forget to drop Paris off at the nature hut once you get settled.”

“Oh, I will,” Tricia said with a wink.

Chelsea couldn’t stop staring at Tricia’s eyelashes, which were lush and thick and perfectly curled. She thought about asking Tricia what kind of mascara she used, but when Chelsea thought about how sophisticated and important Tricia was, she figured her question would sound rather silly. In fact, she wasn’t sure she should say anything now that she could finally have some one-on-one time with Tricia. She was so nervous, she was in distinct danger of stumbling over her words or doing something even more embarrassing.

“See you all at dinner tonight,” Dr. Steve said and walked out the door.

Tricia’s Secret Service man just stood there stiffly, with a stoic expression plastered on his face.

“Phew, I’m glad he’s gone,” Tricia said as she rolled her neck back and forth. Then she started chewing a piece of gum that seemed to magically appear in her mouth. “Now I can keep it real, ya know?”

Chelsea glanced around at the other girls. They looked just as baffled as she felt. Had Tricia’s voice changed from prim-and-proper to tart-and-tangy, or had Chelsea just imagined it?

“Um, hello, sir,” Priya said, presumably to the security guard. “Are you staying with us, too?”

Tricia laughed. “There is, like, no way I would let Jones cramp our style. He’s just going to stand outside and follow me around a lot. And when he’s not here, there’s two others just like him to take his place. You just have to pretend like they’re not around at all. Sound kosher?”

All the girls nodded their heads.

“Well, we have some things for you, Tricia. Just our little way of saying welcome to Walla Walla,” Sloan said while the rest of the girls presented Tricia with the overstuffed gift basket and trays of goodies.

“You chicas are totally righteous!” Tricia yelped as she tore through the items like a toddler on Christmas morning. When she was done examining everything, she put the gifts to the side, flopped down on Sloan’s bed, and put Paris on her lap.

“I bet you’re tired from your trip to Vienna, aren’t you?” Jenna asked.

Tricia mindlessly combed Paris’s fur with her fingers. “My trip to where?”

“Vienna. You were there with your parents, right?” Natalie prompted.

“Oh, that was just a cover story,” Tricia said matter-of-factly.

“Cover story?” Natalie asked with curiosity.

Chelsea couldn’t believe it. Tricia was getting cooler by the nanosecond!

“Yeah, the administration’s publicity people like to keep my image a certain way. It’s just part of politics, that’s all,” Tricia explained.