Tug-of-War (17 page)

I stared back at her. “Of course. Sounds peachy.”

Neither one of them noticed the sarcasm dripping off my tongue. They both skipped away as happy as two peas in a pod and took their positions on opposite sides of the court. I stood leaning against the fence, wondering why I'd bothered to even come along.

There were so many more interesting things I could be doing right now. Picking all the lint off my socks, for instance, or counting the strings on my racket.

But no, I was privileged enough to stand here and
watch while Devon and Maggie played each other in a game of tennis.

That was how I spent my whole Saturday. Watching Devon and Maggie at crafts. Watching Devon and Maggie at archery. But mostly watching Devon and Maggie talk.

I'd almost forgotten that we were having the second dance with Camp Crockett tonight because I'd been having so much fun being a spectator for an entire day.

Late in the afternoon, everyone was lined up outside the showers again and racing around, getting ready. Devon and Maggie made a point of getting in line early, but I took my sweet time collecting my shampoo and soap, so when I got down there, I was way in the back.

“Chris, come up here.” Maggie waved to me where she was standing with Devon in line for the third shower stall. “We saved a spot for you.”

“No cuts!” yelled Katherine Sperling at me from her place in line.

“I'm okay back here,” I told them.

Maybe a cold shower would wake me up from this nightmare.

By the time I got out, Devon and Maggie were waiting for me in the cabin.

“We're going to the lodge,” said Devon, waving her
hair straightener around in one hand. “Are you coming with us?”

“No, thanks,” I said, toweling my hair dry. “You said I should never straighten my hair, remember?”

“Yeah, but you can come with us and hang out at least,” said Maggie.

“Well, I don't want to hold you up,” I told them. “You two go ahead, and maybe I'll be down in a few minutes.”

“Okay, see you in a few,” said Devon cheerfully, and they left together, talking about which brands of shampoo didn't test their products on animals.

Wayward came in and stretched out on her bed. She'd seemed a little down the past couple of days because her old plaid hat had reappeared and the black top hat had magically vanished.

Betsy ran a brush through her short blond hair. “Looking forward to the dance tonight?” she asked me with a friendly smile.

“Sure. I guess.”

Not even the thought of seeing Jackson tonight could perk me up right now. I had no idea what I was going to wear. I could wear the same outfit as last time, since he'd never even laid eyes on me, but instead I just settled on a pair of jeans because my knees still looked
all scabby. Then I grabbed the first clean shirt I saw, an orange tank top.

No way was I going down to the lodge to interrupt Devon and Maggie's friend fest. They'd never even miss me.

About twenty minutes later, Devon walked in with a big smile on her face. “Attention, everyone. I'd like to present to you the new and improved . . . Maggie Windsor!” She held the screen door open.

An unrecognizable person with absolutely straight red hair walked in.

“Ta-da!” shouted Devon.

The redhead had an equally big smile on her face. Kayla and Laurel-Ann came running over.

“Oh my gosh! Maggie?” gasped Laurel-Ann.

Devon stood with her arms crossed, a satisfied look on her face. The redhead was standing in front of the mirror, turning from side to side to admire the view.

She looked at all of us. “What do you think? Different, huh? I kinda like it!” She turned back to the mirror and looked sideways at herself. “I can't wait till Jackson sees it! He'll freak!”

Devon nodded. “It's the new you!”

Betsy, Laurel-Ann, and Kayla stood around and complimented this stranger on how she looked. Boo walked
in and burst out laughing, but then she admitted she thought it was a nice change.

“It's an awesome new look,” Wayward said with a sigh. “Be better with a top hat, though.”

The new Maggie stood in the middle of the crowd and grinned. She looked so completely different.

I felt a sudden pang in my heart.

I really missed the old Maggie.

When the dance started in Pine Haven's dining hall a few hours later, my mood hadn't improved. Jackson did look cute and everything. He had on a gray T-shirt and plaid shorts, but he was so stunned by the sight of his sister with straight hair that he never even noticed me.

“And I'm a vegetarian now!” Maggie announced, after he got over the shock of her hairstyle. Then Devon and Maggie told him all about that, and I walked away and pulled up a chair. Might as well get comfortable.

Devon frowned and gave me a quick, one-handed wave that meant
Get back over here
, but I looked away and watched the dancers for a while.

I could hear Jackson telling them a story about how he'd had to help a counselor pull some kid out of the
lake today after he'd hit his head on the diving board. “Don't worry, though. I didn't have to give him mouth-to-mouth! He was breathing and everything.”

Even Jackson's rescue story wasn't enough to get me to walk over and stand there with them while the three of them talked.

I left three times to get bug juice and cookies, went to the bathroom twice, wandered out to the porch once, and watched Reb Callison and another girl from Cabin One, Kelly Hedges, get into a screaming fight.

It was a thrill-packed evening.

After the Camp Crockett guys had left our dining hall, we were all walking back up the hill toward the cabins. Devon ran through the crowd to catch up with me.

“What's wrong with you? I was going to help you talk to Jackson, but you sat by yourself the whole night.”

“I don't feel well,” I told her.

Maggie came up on the other side of me so they had me surrounded. “You're not feeling well? Sorry to hear that.” She patted me on the shoulder, but I moved away. I didn't want to be comforted right now.

The tree frogs were croaking like crazy, and the smell of the just-cut grass filled my nose. An occasional lightning bug flicked on and off around us. I was
glad they couldn't see my face in the dark. My eyes were watering a little, and my nose tingled. I had this heavy, sad feeling in my heart, like everything had changed and nothing was ever going to be the same as it was before.

Maggie had new, straight hair. Devon liked her now, and Maggie liked Devon. And neither one of them seemed to care at all about how I felt about any of this.

All I wanted to do was go to bed. Maybe tomorrow I would start to get used to this new arrangement. All summer I'd felt like each of them had me by an arm, pulling me in opposite directions.

But now, suddenly the two of them were a perfect pair.

And I was the third wheel.

I was the first one in the cabin, and I flipped on the light switch at the door. Yellow light flooded the room, making me squint. I went to my duffel and pulled out the oversize T-shirt I slept in.

“Wasn't he cute?” Laurel-Ann squealed from Side B. “His name is Eric. I love that name now! Think he'll call me when camp is over? I gave him my cell phone number three times and he said he'd memorized it. It's easy to remember because of the 4477 part at the end.
Don't you think that's an easy number to remember?”

“Unfortunately, it's permanently imprinted on my brain,” I heard Boo tell her.

I stepped up on the metal rungs at the end of the bunk bed and saw a sheet of paper lying on my pillow.

A note from Devon saying she was glad I was back?

I picked it up and started reading. It was written in all capital letters on Pine Haven stationery.

WE HAVE YOUR BEAR. DO NOT, WE REPEAT,
DO NOT
CONTACT THE AUTHORITIES. IF YOU WANT TO SEE YOUR BEAR ALIVE AGAIN, YOU WILL MEET THE FOLLOWING DEMANDS BY SUNDAY EVENING AT SIX P.M. THEN YOU'LL AWAIT FURTHER INSTRUCTIONS ABOUT WHERE TO FIND YOUR BEAR.

IF OUR DEMANDS ARE NOT MET, WE
WILL
RETURN YOUR BEAR TO YOU . . . LITTLE BITS OF STUFFING AT A TIME. DO NOT TAKE ANY CHANCES WITH YOUR BEAR'S SAFETY!

PLACE THE FOLLOWING ITEMS IN A PILLOWCASE AND LEAVE THEM ON THE BACK PORCH OF MIDDLER LODGE.

RANSOM DEMANDS:

A long list of stuff followed, and my eyes quickly scanned the rest of the page. My heart was pounding like crazy, and I looked around. Melvin wasn't propped up on my pillow where I always left him. But I noticed something sticking out from under my pillow. It was Melvin's little red flannel pajama bottoms.

“What's that?” asked Maggie, coming up behind me to look over my shoulder.

I crumpled up the paper and hurled it across the cabin in the direction of the trash can. It missed.

“Very funny. Now give me back my bear.”

Devon stood beside Maggie. They both stared at me with wide eyes. “What's going on?” asked Devon with this totally innocent tone in her voice.

“Give me my bear back. Now!” I roared at Devon. My heart had turned into a caged animal, beating against my rib cage as if was trying to escape.

“I don't have your bear,” said Devon. Her eyes darted from my bed to the trash can to Maggie.

I swiveled around and faced Maggie. “Give him back. It's
not
funny!” The blood was roaring in my ears like ocean waves pounding on the shore. “I'm not in the mood for a joke right now, and I want my bear back!”

Kayla and Shelby were peeking across the cabin at
us to see what all the yelling was about. Betsy came in, holding her toothbrush. “What's going on?”

A hush had fallen over the cabin. I stared down Devon and Maggie. “I'm waiting!” I yelled. Yelling was good. Yelling helped. Being mad kept me from bursting into tears.

Maggie went over to the wadded-up piece of paper lying on the floor and unfolded it so she could read it. She looked up. “I guess the prankster kidnapped Melvin,” she said in a soft voice.

“I'm sick and tired of these stupid pranks!” I spun around to glare at all the faces looking at me. “You two think you're so funny, but you're not!” I screamed at Maggie and Devon.

“Chris, maybe it wasn't them,” Betsy said in a hushed voice.

“Well, don't everybody start blaming me again. I didn't do it!” said Boo.

“I wish Gloria and Wayward were here,” Laurel-Ann whispered to Kayla. But they'd stayed in the dining hall with the rest of the counselors to move the tables and chairs back.

The blood still roared in my ears, and my heart hammered away, going two hundred beats a minute, or at least it felt like it. I knew any second I was going to cry,
so I had to do something. Had to make this stop.

I climbed up on my top bunk and thrust my feet under the covers. Everybody's eyes were on me, waiting to see what would happen next.

“I'm not going along with this stupid joke,” I announced loudly, staring up at the rafters over my head. My face felt as hot as Devon's hair straightener. “The pranks stop now.”

I rolled over so that I was facing the wall. Hot tears spilled out onto my pillow, and I took slow, steady breaths so I wouldn't sniffle.

No one said a word. I could hear them all moving around and getting into pajamas. I closed my eyes and let the tears flow.

When I first woke up, for a split second I didn't remember anything, and I felt completely normal and content. Then it all came rushing back to me.

I sat up and glanced around. No sign of Melvin anywhere. I looked all over our side of the cabin, my eyes scanning the shelves, the trunks, and everyone still lying asleep in their beds.

He wasn't anywhere. I fell back into bed and stared up at the rafters above me. My face felt hot as I remembered last night.

It was just a joke. My bear had been kidnapped, and they were threatening to return little bits of stuffing at a time? I felt the corner of my mouth twitch a little.