Hailey Twitch and the Campground Itch (2 page)

Our camper is very small. But also very perfect. There is one couch that turns into a bed for me and Addie Jokobeck. And two beds near the ceiling for Kaitlyn and Maya. And one big bedroom in the back for my mom and dad.

After we put all our things away, it is time to go to the rec hall! The rec hall is where you go when you want to play basketball. Or shuffleboard. Or when you want to play video games if you have some quarters.

My mom gives us each four quarters! But then she says me and Addie have to go to the rec hall with Kaitlyn and Maya only!

“But, Mom!” I say. “I am old enough to go by my own self! Addie is very responsible, right, Addie?” I look at Addie. Addie is very responsible. She always brushes her hair. And she knows how to print in very good, neat letters. And she always uses plain pencils without glitter or feathers. And she even won student of the month for responsibility.

“I don't know,” Addie says. She is talking real quiet. She looks down at her hands. “I think maybe Kaitlyn and Maya should go with us.”

“But we hate Maya!” I say before I can control myself. Controlling myself is not something I am very good at.

“Hailey!” my mom says. “That is not very nice! You know that we do not say things like that.” My mom is unpacking a big box of plastic spoons and forks for later. That is when we are going to cook out on the grill and have
very good delicious hamburgers oozing out with ketchup.

“I am very sorry,” I say. “And since I have learned my lesson, Addie and I will be going up to the rec hall now, please.”

“No,” my mom says. “You will wait for Kaitlyn and Maya.”

But Kaitlyn and Maya take about thirty bazillion hours to even get ready! They are giggling and laughing and talking about stupid boys, boys, boys. And they are putting lots of makeup on. Like sparkly lip gloss that makes their lips very red. And lots of stuff for their eyes that is very black and smooshy.

“Finally,” I say when Kaitlyn and Maya come out of the camper.

We start to walk up to the rec hall. I am skip, skip, skipping I am so happy. “When we get there,” I tell Addie. “I am going to play badminton and shuffleboard!”

“Badminton and shuffleboard?” Addie looks scared. “I have never played those before.” Addie gets nervous when she thinks she has to learn some new sports. “Do not worry,” I tell her. “You will not get hurt. Those sports are very easy, and you will love them!”

And that is when I spot it. Poison ivy on the side of the road! Poison ivy is a bad plant that makes you itch, itch, itchy if it gets on your skin. And you have to lie in bed for a long time, and it itches all on your skin, and you cannot even itch it, and if you do, you get very red. And your mom has to put special poison ivy lotion all over you, and you have to take
lots and lots of baths in a bathtub that is filled with sticky, gummy, gooey oatmeal!

Maybelle is going right in the poison ivy! “Watch out!” I scream at her. “Stay out of that poison ivy!”

“What is poison ivy?” Maybelle asks. I guess they do not have poison ivy in that castle where she lived.

“Poison ivy is that plant right there, and it will get on your skin and make you very itchy, and it is not very fun or funny at all.” Maybelle looks very scared. So does Addie Jokobeck. But Maya Greenbert thinks I am talking to her. And so she gets very snot, snot, snotty.

“I know what poison ivy is, Hailey,” she says. “I am fourteen, not seven.” Then she laughs.

I roll my eyes behind her back. And then I stick my tongue out right at her.

Maybelle is over on the side of the road, and she is pointing her wand at the poison
ivy. “This poison ivy is going to be zapped right away!” she says. But her magic wand accidentally zaps that poison ivy so that there is even more of it! And poison ivy is growing all around and around and around.

I quick grab Addie Jokobeck's arm and
pull her away. “Watch out for the poison ivy, Addie!” I tell her.

But Maya Greenbert is not paying attention to where she is going. “Watch out for the poison ivy, Maya!” I say. But she is not listening to me. She is too busy talking about boys, boys, boys. So if she gets poison ivy, it will be all her own fault. Don't say I didn't warn her.

When we get up to the rec hall, I decide that it is time to play some video games in the arcade! Those quarters in my pocket are itch, itch, itching to be spent.

“Do you want to play video games?” I ask Addie Jokobeck. “We can play badminton and shuffleboard right after.”

“Yes,” Maya Greenbert says. “We are going to play in the arcade now. Come along, little girls.”

I am about to yell at her and tell her that she is not the boss of me. And that she should
not be calling us little girls. She is not even that much older than us! I am seven. And she is fourteen. And fourteen minus seven is seven! That is only seven years difference! I am not sure how many days that is because we have not learned to multiply that high yet. But it is not even long!

But before I can yell at Maya, I realize that Maybelle is over in the corner. And she is playing a video game!

I run right over to her.

“Maybelle!” I say. “Where did you get a quarter for that, please?”

My mom gave me eight quarters. Four for me and four for Addie. She did not give me any for Maybelle. That is because my mom does not know that Maybelle exists. And also because sprites should not be playing video games. Video games should be for humans only, thank you very much.

“I do not need quarters!” Maybelle yells. “I have magic!”

I think about this. Maybelle's magic has not been working so good. But maybe she got it working for video games because she is playing away on a driving game. She is a very good driver, that sprite. I wonder if she had a car when she lived in the castle. But before I can ask Maybelle to maybe make some video games for me so that I do not have to spend my money on them, Maya Greenbert comes rushing right over.

She is twirling one of her very curly hairs around her finger. “Hailey,” she says. “You
cannot just run off like that. You need to let me and Kaitlyn know where you are at all times.”

“Yeah,” Kaitlyn says, running up behind her. “You should not run off like that. You are only a child.” Gasp! That is not being a very good sister! Kaitlyn is very mean to me when Maya Greenbert is around. “Now we are going to stay in this arcade,” Kaitlyn says. “And you and Addie are going to stay here, too. DO NOT LEAVE THIS ROOM.”

“Don't worry,” Addie Jokobeck says. “We will stay right in your sight.” She does not realize that Kaitlyn and Maya are trying to be mean, mean, mean and boss, boss, bossy. But I decide to let it go. Letting it go is when you pretend you are okay with something when you are really not. But you just decide not to talk about it so that you do not have a fight or a big tantrum.

“Addie,” I say. “Do you want to play this
game?” I bring her over to a very fun-looking game. It has a big claw. And you put in one quarter, and you could win a stuffed animal!

“I don't know,” Addie Jokobeck says. “One time I heard my dad say that those machines are rip-offs.”

“Oh, rips-offs,” I say. “That is just what parents say when they do not want you to do something fun, fun, fun.” Addie's dad Mr. Jokobeck is very nice. He lets us have food fights, and he does not even care when Mrs. Jokobeck says I am maybe a bad influence. But he is still a dad. And dads are very into the lies of something being a big rip-off. Rip-offs are when you spend some money on something that is not even worth it. Like if you use one of your quarters to try to win a stuffed animal, and it is set up so that you always, lose, lose, lose.

But I am feeling very lucky today! So I put
one quarter in the machine. Then I put that big claw right over this very wonderful stuffed dog with big brown floppy ears and a little black nose that is in there.

But then something horrible happens. Maybelle flies right up into the machine! And when the claw drops onto that dog, it grabs Maybelle instead.

“Ahhh!” she screams as the claw comes up and drops her into the chute. “Ahhh!”

“Oh my God!” I scream. “Maybelle, are you okay?” She pokes her head out of the door of the chute and looks out at me.

“Yes,” she says. She sounds very grumbly. And very cranky.
Like maybe she is about to have a big fit or tantrum. Or maybe she hit her head when she got dropped.

“Well, you should not have been flying into a machine!” I say. “What is wrong with you?”

“Hailey,” Addie Jokobeck says. She is looking around and seeming very confused. “Who are you talking to?”

“Um, no one,” I say real quick. “Your turn!” I push her right up to the game.

Addie puts her quarter in, and Maybelle swoops out of that machine. Her hair is a very big mess. It looks like a rat's nest. That is what you call your hair when it is all tangly and even a good brushing won't get rid of all the knots, and you have to use a special spray that comes in a green bottle to get it back to being smooth.

“Everyone wants those stuffed animals,” Maybelle says. “Because they are fun! I am going to get a stuffed animal for you and
Addie!” She takes out her sparkly wand. And she points it at the machine. I have a very bad feeling about this.