ask.
Jenna stands up and pops my last grape into her mouth. “You
do
want her back.” She checks her watch and turns to Alex and Connor. “Lunchtime is over.”
We clean up the raft and then row back to shore. I spend the rest of Tuesday keeping as far away from Elizabeth Evans as possible, just to prove that Jenna is wrong again.
Chapter
13
The next morning Brooke glances up from stuffing candy into her pillowcase. It’s Wednesday, the day of our sneak-out. She zeros in on Jenna. “Who’s next on the trust fall schedule?”
Jenna looks up from refolding the clothes in her suitcase. She’s making us clean Chickadee extra-good today, since we outvoted her yesterday and didn’t clean up at all. She even got Stacey to put a pair of socks on her hands and pick dead flies off the windowsills. Plus, she sent Randi, Meeka, and Jolene outside with brooms to sweep cobwebs from the cabin walls. “Technically,
you,
since you skipped your turn.”
“I’m planning the whole sneak-out,” Brooke replies, adding a package of gum and a fistful of suckers to the pillowcase. “I’m not falling too.”
“Then Ida and Liz
butt
are tied for next tallest,” Jenna tells her.
Elizabeth stops rearranging the pinecone critters. She scowls at Jenna. “I’ve told you a million times. My name is
Liz.
”
Jenna rolls her eyes. “
Butt
ever.”
“One of you has to fall as soon as possible,” Brooke says to me and Elizabeth. “We need Alex to take us to the platform before it gets dark.”
“So the monster won’t get us?” Randi asks, coming inside again with Meeka and Jolene.
Brooke huffs. “I don’t care about that silly monster. All I care about is my plan.” She sets the pillowcase aside and scoots to the edge of her bunk, like she doesn’t want us to miss one word. “Jenna, you should be writing this down.”
Jenna grumbles and scoots her suitcase away. She isn’t in favor of Brooke’s sneak-out plan, but she
is
in favor of being organized. She climbs onto her bunk and pulls out her clipboard and a pen. “Go,” she says to Brooke.
Brooke clears her throat and begins again. “We’ll leave Chickadee at the
beep
of midnight. Jenna will set the alarm on her watch.”
Jenna makes a note on her clipboard.
“Everyone wear regular clothes to bed so we can leave quietly without waking up Alex.
Dark
clothes. And
no
flashlights, or someone might see them shining through the trees. Liz will keep watch by the cabin. The rest of us will go to the trust fall platform. Nat and Emillie are meeting us there.”
“Why can’t they just take us straight to the hideout?” I ask.
“Because that’s not how it’s done,” Brooke explains. “First, you meet up at a secret spot. Then, you go on a journey. Finally, you arrive at your destination.” She counts off each step on her fingers.
Elizabeth nods. Then she looks at me. “It’s called
drama,
Ida.”
I give her a squint. “You’re not even going with us. I call that
chicken
.”
I hear a muffled laugh and look over at Jenna. She gives me a thumbs-up.
Then I look at Stacey.
She gives me a frown.
“But if we don’t bring flashlights,” Meeka says,brushing cobwebs off her shirt, “we’ll never find the platform.”
“Already thought of that,” Brooke replies. “All we have to do is mark the trees with glow-in-the-dark paint! I saw some in the crafts cottage. We’ll be just like Hansel and Gretel, following a trail of bread crumbs!”
“But the birds
ate
their bread crumbs,” Jolene points out.
Randi nods. “And a witch almost ate
them.
” She mounts her broom and does a wicked cackle.
“That’s why
my
plan is better,” Brooke says. “Birds don’t eat paint.” Her eyes hopscotch from girl to girl. “Someone has to go to Alex’s craft this morning and get it. The glow-in-the-dark paint, I mean. Any volunteers?”
“Not me,” Randi says, circling the room on her broomstick. “I’m playing kickball.”
Jenna nods in agreement.
So
Jenna stands up and pops my last grape into her mouth. “You
do
want her back.” She checks her watch and turns to Alex and Connor. “Lunchtime is over.”
We clean up the raft and then row back to shore. I spend the rest of Tuesday keeping as far away from Elizabeth Evans as possible, just to prove that Jenna is wrong again.
Chapter
13
The next morning Brooke glances up from stuffing candy into her pillowcase. It’s Wednesday, the day of our sneak-out. She zeros in on Jenna. “Who’s next on the trust fall schedule?”
Jenna looks up from refolding the clothes in her suitcase. She’s making us clean Chickadee extra-good today, since we outvoted her yesterday and didn’t clean up at all. She even got Stacey to put a pair of socks on her hands and pick dead flies off the windowsills. Plus, she sent Randi, Meeka, and Jolene outside with brooms to sweep cobwebs from the cabin walls. “Technically,
you,
since you skipped your turn.”
“I’m planning the whole sneak-out,” Brooke replies, adding a package of gum and a fistful of suckers to the pillowcase. “I’m not falling too.”
“Then Ida and Liz
butt
are tied for next tallest,” Jenna tells her.
Elizabeth stops rearranging the pinecone critters. She scowls at Jenna. “I’ve told you a million times. My name is
Liz.
”
Jenna rolls her eyes. “
Butt
ever.”
“One of you has to fall as soon as possible,” Brooke says to me and Elizabeth. “We need Alex to take us to the platform before it gets dark.”
“So the monster won’t get us?” Randi asks, coming inside again with Meeka and Jolene.
Brooke huffs. “I don’t care about that silly monster. All I care about is my plan.” She sets the pillowcase aside and scoots to the edge of her bunk, like she doesn’t want us to miss one word. “Jenna, you should be writing this down.”
Jenna grumbles and scoots her suitcase away. She isn’t in favor of Brooke’s sneak-out plan, but she
is
in favor of being organized. She climbs onto her bunk and pulls out her clipboard and a pen. “Go,” she says to Brooke.
Brooke clears her throat and begins again. “We’ll leave Chickadee at the
beep
of midnight. Jenna will set the alarm on her watch.”
Jenna makes a note on her clipboard.
“Everyone wear regular clothes to bed so we can leave quietly without waking up Alex.
Dark
clothes. And
no
flashlights, or someone might see them shining through the trees. Liz will keep watch by the cabin. The rest of us will go to the trust fall platform. Nat and Emillie are meeting us there.”
“Why can’t they just take us straight to the hideout?” I ask.
“Because that’s not how it’s done,” Brooke explains. “First, you meet up at a secret spot. Then, you go on a journey. Finally, you arrive at your destination.” She counts off each step on her fingers.
Elizabeth nods. Then she looks at me. “It’s called
drama,
Ida.”
I give her a squint. “You’re not even going with us. I call that
chicken
.”
I hear a muffled laugh and look over at Jenna. She gives me a thumbs-up.
Then I look at Stacey.
She gives me a frown.
“But if we don’t bring flashlights,” Meeka says,brushing cobwebs off her shirt, “we’ll never find the platform.”
“Already thought of that,” Brooke replies. “All we have to do is mark the trees with glow-in-the-dark paint! I saw some in the crafts cottage. We’ll be just like Hansel and Gretel, following a trail of bread crumbs!”
“But the birds
ate
their bread crumbs,” Jolene points out.
Randi nods. “And a witch almost ate
them.
” She mounts her broom and does a wicked cackle.
“That’s why
my
plan is better,” Brooke says. “Birds don’t eat paint.” Her eyes hopscotch from girl to girl. “Someone has to go to Alex’s craft this morning and get it. The glow-in-the-dark paint, I mean. Any volunteers?”
“Not me,” Randi says, circling the room on her broomstick. “I’m playing kickball.”
Jenna nods in agreement.
So
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