Goosebumps: The Curse of Camp Cold Lake by R. L. Stine Page B

turned from her trunk. “You don’t like to swim, and you came to a water
sports camp?”
    Briana and Jan laughed.
    I could feel my face grow hot. I didn’t want to tell them that my parents made me come to this camp. That just sounded too geeky. I didn’t know what to say.
    “I… uh… I like other things,” I stammered.
    “Oh—I love that swimsuit!” Briana declared. She pulled a bright
yellow swimsuit from Meg’s trunk and held it up in front of her. “This is
excellent!”
    Meg tugged it back. “Like it would really fit you!” she muttered, rolling her
eyes. Her braces clicked when she talked.
    Meg looked a little like a bowling ball next to tall, graceful Briana.
    “Did you lose weight over the winter?” Briana asked her. “You look great.
Really, Meg.”
    “I lost a little,” Meg replied. She sighed. “But I didn’t get any taller.”
    “I grew about a foot this year,” I chimed in. “I’m the tallest girl in my
school. Everyone stares at me when I walk through the halls.”
    “Boo hoo,” Meg said sarcastically. “You’ve really got it tough. Would you
rather be a shrimp like me?”
    “Well… not really,” I replied.
    Ooops. I realized I’d said the wrong thing.
    I saw a flash of hurt in Meg’s eyes.
    Why did I say that? I asked myself.
    Why do I keep putting my foot in my mouth?
    I picked up my backpack from where I had tossed it on the floor. I carried it
to my bunk to unpack it.
    “Hey—that’s mine! Put it down!” Jan came rushing over to me.
    I glanced down at the backpack. “No. It’s mine,” I insisted.
    I started to unzip it—and it fell off the bed.
    A whole bunch of things fell out and clattered across the cabin floor.
    “Oh!” I cried out in surprise. The stuff wasn’t mine.
    I saw pill bottles. Medicine jars. And little plastic inhalers.
    “Asthma medicine?” I cried.
    Jan dropped to her knees and began gathering it all up. She glared up at me
angrily. “Thanks a bunch, Sarah,” she growled. “Thanks for letting the whole
world know I have asthma. Why don’t you stand up at the campfire tonight and
announce it to the whole camp?”
    “Sorry,” I murmured weakly.
    “I told you it was my backpack,” Jan snapped.
    Meg bent down and picked up an inhaler for Jan.
    “Having asthma is nothing to be ashamed of,” she told Jan.
    “Maybe I like to keep some things to myself,” Jan snapped. She shoved all the
medicine into the pocket and grabbed the backpack away.
    “Sorry,” I said again. “Really.”
    All three girls glared at me. Briana shook her head. Meg tsk-tsked.
    They hate me already, I thought.
    I felt sick. Really sick.
    They hate me, and it’s only the first day. The first hour.
    With a sigh, I slumped down on my bunk.
    Can things get any worse? I wondered.
    Guess the answer to that.

 
 
4
     
     
    Later that night, we had our first campfire. It was built in a wide, flat
clearing near the woods. Smooth logs were placed in a circle to be used as
benches.
    I dropped down on an empty log with my back to the trees. Flames from the big
fire danced brightly against the gray evening sky.
    The fire crackled and popped. It smelled so sweet. I took a deep breath.
    Counselors tossed more sticks on the fire. Soon the flames rose up over their
heads.
    The night air was hot and dry. My cheeks burned from the heat tossed off by
the fire.
    I turned away and gazed into the woods. The dark trees shivered in a light
breeze. In the gray light, I saw a squirrel dart between tall weeds.
    I wondered what other animals lurked in the woods. I imagined there were
bigger animals than squirrels in there. Bigger and more dangerous.
    A loud POP from the fire made me jump.
    It’s creepy outside at night, I thought. Why can’t they have the campfire
indoors? In a fireplace or something.
    I slapped a mosquito on my neck.
    When I turned back to the fire, I saw Briana and Meg on another log bench.
They were laughing about something. Talking to two girls I didn’t