Step It Up (7 page)

“Really?” Gracie smiled. “I can keep it?”

“Yeah,” Scarlett said, shrugging. “I have plenty of other ones. You can have it to play Kitten Olympics.”

“Will you play it with me?” Gracie asked, hopefully. She handed the kitten to Scarlett. “Mr. Mustard says, ‘Pretty please, Scoot?' ”

Scarlett chuckled. How could she say no to both Gracie's begging
and
the kitten's purring? “Okay, you win. Get the obstacle course ready!”

Gracie was delighted and ran back to the living room to finish arranging the “Bobcat Bobsled.”

She hoped that ending her feud with Gracie would be a step in the right direction toward making peace among all the Divas tomorrow. But she doubted it would be as easy.

Miss Toni tossed out a khaki-colored backpack in the middle of the studio floor. “Do you know what this is?” she asked.

“A bad example of how to accessorize?” Liberty joked.

“It's a camping backpack. You're all going camping tomorrow as soon as we get you suited up for it. I know it's a Monday, but you all have the day off from school while your teachers have an inservice day.”

Bria raised her hand. “Camping? You mean like sleeping in the woods, where there are bugs and snakes and wild animals?”

“And Bigfoot!” Gracie chimed in.

“Then you'll all just have to stick together to survive, won't you?” their coach replied. “I've spoken with all your parents and they approve—although, Bria, your mother insists you study for your science test. I told her I'd make sure you bring a flashlight with extra batteries.”

“Great,” Bria groaned. “Can hardly wait.”

“I don't actually own any camping stuff,” Rochelle spoke up. “I don't do camping.”

“Well, you do now. I gave your mothers a list and sent them off shopping. You'll need canteens, hiking boots, sleeping bags …” She handed Scarlett a map. “You're in charge of navigating.”

Scarlett read the name on the map. “Black Boulder Forest? Is that place dangerous?”

“Only if you don't work as a team,” Toni said. “We leave bright and early tomorrow morning. You'll have to hike on a trail, set up your campsite, build a fire, and rustle up some grub.
All
before the sun sets.”

“Grub?” Liberty groaned. “What kind of grub? Can't I call my mom and have it catered?”

“No catering, no moms, no assistance whatsoever,” Toni dictated. “This is exactly what you girls need.”

“To starve to death or be killed by grizzly bears?” Liberty shrieked.

“No, a wake-up call. A dose of reality. You'll be hiking several miles to the site. A park ranger and I will follow close behind, but there'll be no help unless it's an emergency.”

Rochelle laughed. “Liberty breaking a nail is an emergency.”

Bria looked nervous. She'd never “roughed it” before. “What if we don't want to go?” she asked.

“Then you certainly don't have to. I won't force you,” Toni said. “You can just hand in your Dance Divas jacket and find another studio to dance at.”

She turned and walked out the door, leaving the girls behind to discuss her proposition.

“So we have no choice,” Anya said. “We have to go on Toni's camping trip or get kicked off the team.”

Scarlett flipped through the forest guide. It looked huge, with lots of hills, trails, and lakes. “Maybe it will be fun,” she suggested. “A Divas' adventure.”

“Did you see
The Hunger Games
?” Liberty asked her.

“If we have to go, then we should try and make the best of it,” Scarlett insisted. “It's only one night. We're tough. We can do it.”

She raised her hand in the air for a Divas' cheer:
“Divas rock, divas roll! Divas are always in control!”
None of the others joined in—except for Bria, who had her own lyric to add:

“Divas alone in the woods? None of this sounds very good!”

When a van pulled up in front of the studio the next day at 6:00 a.m., none of the girls were excited—and they were barely awake.

“This is barbaric,” Liberty said, yawning. “Who ever heard of packing a backpack? All my luggage has wheels.” She struggled to hoist the sack over her shoulders and make her way over to where the rest of the Divas were waiting.

“Toni said to pack light,” Rochelle pointed out. “What do you have in there?”

“Just the bare necessities,” Liberty replied. “Pedicure kit, moisturizer, cordless curling iron,
cell phone charger, cashmere blanket—oh, and my lamb Pillow Pet of course!”

Rochelle rolled her eyes. “How about some canned food and water?”

“Nope, but I do have several issues of
Teen Vogue
for when we get bored!”

“I brought a compass,” Anya volunteered. She held up a tarnished silver disk on a chain. “My dad said it belonged to my great grandpa Alexei in Russia. It's kinda my good-luck charm whenever I travel, but it might actually come in handy this time.”

“Who needs a compass when I have this?” Bria held up her phone and pointed to her GPS app. “I can find anywhere on the planet with this.”

“Assuming you can get a cell phone signal in the woods,” Rochelle reminded her. “I wouldn't count on Wi-Fi wherever Toni is taking us.”

“Or a bathroom,” Scarlett said. “I don't think there's such a thing as a ladies' room in the wild.”

Liberty wrinkled her nose. “That is so disgusting! How am I supposed to do my nighttime beauty ritual without a sink?”

Rochelle shook her head. “You're worrying about your beauty? I'm worried about my life! What if there are ferocious beasts out there? I don't want to be some grizzly bear's midnight snack!”

Scarlett tried to keep them all calm. There was no use in freaking out … yet. “I'm sure Miss Toni wouldn't put us in any danger,” she said. “She's our teacher, after all.” She saw her dance coach loading up the van with assorted camping gear and hoped there was an air mattress in there as well.

“I hope she got me a pink sleeping bag,” Gracie commented. “Pink is my fave color, though purple would be okay, I guess.” Her backpack was filled with stuffed animals: Petunia Pig, Gerdie Gorilla, and her latest addition: a red cat she named Ketchup Kitty.

“You couldn't leave a few of those at home?” Rochelle asked her.

Gracie shook her head. “Nuh-uh. I need them to keep me snuggly at night.”

Scarlett had already been through this discussion at 5:00 a.m. When Gracie's canteen, change of clothes, and warm socks wouldn't fit in her bag, her mom handed them to Scarlett to carry in hers.

“But Mom,” Scarlett had whined. “I have my own stuff to take.”

“You are the big sister, so you have to look out for Gracie,” she warned her. Gracie then presented her with Tessie Teddy Bear. “You can carry her for me,” she said. “Thanks, Scoot.”

“Let's face it. We're all clueless.” Bria sighed. She was going through a checklist her mother had prepared for her. “I think I forgot to pack a toothbrush.”

“I'm not clueless,” Anya spoke up. She was checking to make sure her canteen was filled with water. “I went camping once when I lived in California.”

“Really?” Liberty raised an eyebrow. “Your backyard doesn't count.”

“It wasn't my backyard,” Anya defended herself. “It was in a state park with my Brownies troop.”

“Brownies? How old were you?” Rochelle asked.

“Seven or eight. I know it had to be in second grade …”

Bria chuckled. “Oh, great. That makes me feel so much better!”

“It doesn't matter,” Scarlett said, trying to keep everyone calm. They hadn't even left on the trip yet, and they were already bickering! “We'll learn as we go along.”

“Miss Toni says she wants us to learn an important lesson,” Gracie reminded them.

“Yeah,” Bria said. “I just hope that lesson doesn't involve a pack of wild werewolves.”

“You've seen one too many movies.” Rochelle chuckled. “Come on? Werewolves? Bloodthirsty coyotes, sure. Maybe poisonous snakes. But no werewolves.”

“Snakes?” Liberty gulped. “I don't like snakes … at all.” She unzipped her bag and
pulled out a can of bug repellent. “Do you think this keeps away snakes, too?”

Gracie held up her stuffed animal. “Miss Petunia Pig will protect us,” she said. “She's very brave.”

Scarlett seriously doubted a tattered pink pig with a missing ear would help them fend off wild animals, but it was a nice thought.

“Okay, everyone on board,” Toni said. She glanced down at Liberty's pink sequined sneakers. “Really? That's what you're hiking through mud and rough terrain in? I thought I told you to wear hiking boots.”

“The hiking boots my mom bought me were hideous,” Liberty sniffed. “I don't do ugly footwear.” She pulled up her leggings to reveal socks with pink stars on them. “There's no reason why camping has to be unfashionable.”

The campsite was two hours away. The roads were long and twisty and seemed to climb higher
and higher into the hills. The sun rose above the trees in a red ball.

“Are we going up a mountain?” Bria asked, peering out the window.

“Would you prefer to hike up or down?” Toni asked. “I thought I was being nice by making it easier on you. You'll hike down to the site.”

“If she wanted to make it easier on us, she could have just taken us shopping at the mall,” Liberty muttered under her breath.

When they arrived, a park ranger was waiting to greet them. “Ladies—or should I say Divas—welcome to Black Boulder Forest! I'm Ranger Sam and I'm at your service.” He sounded so enthusiastic, like this would be the best trip of their lives. But no one was buying it.

“Can you please show us to our accommodations?” Liberty said, dragging her backpack behind her. “I could really use a nice shower and spa treatment right now. Where's the hotel?”

The ranger laughed. “I'm sorry, but your only accommodations are the tents you'll set up
when you make your way to the bottom of the mountain.”

Miss Toni held up a vinyl duffel. “Got 'em right here! I hope they'll be to your liking, Liberty. I rented the top-of-the-line model with high-wind protection.”

“That's great!” Ranger Sam replied. “It can get very cold out there at night. You're in for a treat.”

Scarlett glanced over at Liberty. She looked like she was going to keel over. “What? No hotel? Not even a villa or cabana or
something
?” she exclaimed.

“Where are the beds?” Scarlett asked. “There are beds to sleep in, aren't there?”

Miss Toni smiled brightly. “Of course there are! I got each and every one of you your very own comfy sleeping bag.” She tossed a green sack at Liberty. “Catch!”

Then she handed a lantern to Scarlett, a bag filled with pots and pans to Rochelle, and two totes stocked with food to Bria and Gracie.
“I highly recommend the powdered hummus and the dehydrated sweet potatoes,” she said. “Yum!”