Over & Out (16 page)

“Me too,” Jenna admitted. She still felt a little frustrated that she hadn't gotten to play against Alex and give her and Sarah a run for their money, but she'd have more chances to do that. “There's always next year,” she said with a smile. “And don't go getting too cocky over this win. The soccer tournament's tomorrow, and we're more than ready to take you on.”

Alex grinned. “I can't wait.”

Jenna led the way from the basketball court through the path of pine trees toward the bunks, and she got all the Reds to start a cheer against the Blues as they walked. They were shouting and laughing so loud, they didn't hear the crackling of branches on the forest floor until it was too late.

“What was that?” Nat said, stopping mid-cheer.

“Probably just a deer.” Jenna shrugged. “Don't worry ab—”

A blue water balloon shot out of the pine trees, headed straight for them.

“Duck!” Jenna yelled, too late, just as the balloon smacked into Tori's shoulder, exploding into a torrent of blue liquid.

Tori screamed, wiping at the blue liquid coursing down her face and arms. “It was filled with paint!” she cried.

“We're under attack!” Alyssa cried, just as a shower of blue balloons rained down on them from all directions. “Run!”

Jenna took off with everyone else, but she lagged behind because of her crutches and got pelted in the back twice. Luckily, her cast only got a little paint-splattered. She scoured the trees as she fled, but all she could see were flying balloons, not the sneaks who were launching them. When she broke out of the trees and into the clearing, she assessed the damage.

Almost every single one of the Reds had been hit.

“We look like a bunch of renegade Smurfs,” she said, and everyone laughed as they wrung the paint from their clothes and hair. “I'll give you guys three guesses who on the Blue team masterminded this.”

“We don't need three guesses,” Grace said.

Alyssa, Nat, and Tori all looked at each other and nodded. “Blake,” they said together.

“You got it,” Jenna said. “But there's no way we can prove it, not if the Blues won't talk.”

And the Blues wouldn't talk. By the time the Reds had cleaned themselves up during the break between events and met the Blues on the camp lawn for the obstacle course group event, Dr. Steve had heard about what happened, but no one was naming names.

“Good sportsmanship is one of the things required of all of you during Color War,” Dr. Steve said, addressing everyone before the obstacle course competition started. “And the prank that the Blues pulled on the Reds earlier today was not in keeping with the rules of fair play. So, I'm deducting twenty-five points from the Blue team for unsportsmanlike conduct.”

The Blues booed and hissed while the Reds cheered. The deduction erased the points the Blues had scored when they'd won the basketball competition, leaving the teams tied. Much to Jenna's frustration, though, the Blues still went on to win the obstacle course competition. But the Reds won the boating race. As the first day of Color War came to a close, the Blues were ahead by just twenty-five points. Jenna crawled into bed that night knowing that tomorrow's soccer game and pie-eating contest were the two big chances the Reds still had to gain the lead. And all night long, she dreamt of eating pies filled with soccer balls, one after another after another.

chapter TEN

Today was the day—the day that would decide the fate of the Red team forever, and Jenna was ready. In just ten minutes the division soccer game would start, and she'd have to sit on the sidelines, waiting it out. Darn her broken leg! If only she didn't have this stupid cast, she'd be running onto the field with the rest of the Reds, getting ready to crush the Blues. But as she dabbed on a last dash of paint under her eyes, she knew that even if she wasn't playing, she certainly wouldn't be helpless, either. What she lacked on the field, she was going to make up for on the sidelines.

She stepped back from the bunk mirror, surveying what three containers of paint and about two hundred feathers had done to her appearance. She was transformed—a flash of flaming color. She'd painted her face fiery red, she was wearing a red headdress leftover from last year's drama production of
Peter Pan
, and her newly painted bright red cast was practically glowing under the fluorescent light. Today, she would be a Red warrior, fighting for her team. And no one would be able to stop her.

As she walked onto the soccer field, a hush fell over her teammates. Then, they all burst into cheers.

“I may not be on the field with you today,” Jenna said, “but there was no way I wanted any of you to miss seeing me cheer you on.”

“You'd have to be blind to miss that outfit,” Chelsea said.

“So,” Jenna said, “now's your chance to show the Blues what you can really do. That last play you made on the basketball court yesterday was awesome. If you play like that from the start today, you can win this game.”

Grace shook her head doubtfully, her curls falling into her face. “Did you see Alex and Sarah warming up? If we get in the path of one of their balls, we're dead.”

Nat nodded. “I'll never live to eat sushi again.”

Anyone who knew Nat knew how serious that would be. She practically ate sushi for breakfast, lunch, and dinner when she was back home in Manhattan.

“Simon said he might stop by to see me play after his division game is over,” Nat said. “He's awesome at soccer. What if he thinks I'm awful when he sees me play?”

“And there's no way I can be a convincing Cinderella in the play tonight if a flying soccer ball breaks my nose,” Grace said. She'd been practicing her lines during all of her free time for the last week, and all the girls knew she'd be heartbroken if she didn't get her part just right.

“First of all, Nat, you're not awful, and you have lots of sushi to look forward to. And Simon will think you're even hotter when he sees you play! And Grace, you're going to be a gorgeous Cinderella, because the ball's not going to get anywhere near your nose.” She grinned at her teammates. “Hey,” she said to them, “soccer didn't kill me, did it?” She held up her leg.

With her red cast flashing on the sidelines like a beacon for all to see, Jenna yelled her lungs out as Natalie, Alyssa, Tori, Chelsea, Grace, and the other girls took the field:

Natalie and Tori looked scared out of their minds as the game kicked off, but Jenna followed every move they made, pacing up and down the sidelines and shouting encouragement.

Within the first few minutes, Alex stole the ball from a fumbling Grace and raced to the goal with it for the first score of the day.

“That's okay!” Jenna said, urging Grace on. “Shake it off! Think of yourself as a ball magnet. Be one with the ball!”

Grace laughed, but soon enough, she was actually dribbling the ball with a little more certainty. She passed it seamlessly to Nat, who performed what looked like some sort of strange dance move to keep the ball away from Sarah, then dribbled the ball downfield and kicked a clean shot straight into the goal.

Whether it was Simon watching from the sidelines that had spurred Nat on, or just her growing courage, Jenna wasn't sure. But Nat was playing better than ever before. Near the end of the second half, the teams were tied. Alex and Sarah had each scored three goals for the Blues, but Perry, Tori, and Chelsea had scored one each for the Reds, too.

“One more goal wins the game!” Jenna shouted hoarsely, starting to lose her voice from all the yelling. “You can do it!”

Alex and Sarah were bearing down hard on the ball, keeping it tight and close between them as they dribbled and passed to each other, getting closer and closer to the goal. But at the last second, Tori swooped down on Sarah and scooped the ball out from under her and raced away with it. Just as the Blues were closing in on her, Tori swung her leg back and sent the ball rocketing toward the goal with a power Jenna had never seen her use before. Gaby, the Blue's goalie, dove for the ball, but it brushed past her fingertips and sailed into the goal just as screams exploded from Reds.

“YES!” Jenna screamed, completely forgetting her crutches and hopping onto the field with her good leg to meet her teammates. “You won!” she yelled. “Victory!”

“I can't believe we won,” Grace said.

“I can't believe you won, either,” a voice said behind them, and they all turned to see Alex. “I just wanted to say congratulations on an amazing game,” she said. “You all played great.”

“So did you,” Jenna said, high-fiving Alex. “And now the Reds and Blues are tied again.”

Alex nodded. “Until the pie-eating contest.”

Jenna smiled. “Finally! A game I can compete in.”

“And one that I
can't
compete in.” Alex smiled back. “Now I get to sit on the sidelines and watch
you
.”

“It's about time.” Jenna laughed. If she could win the pie-eating contest, the Reds would be in the lead. Her team had won one for her, and now she'd do her best to win one for her team. It was all up to her and her sweet tooth.

Her sweet tooth was starving, and so was she. Her stomach gave a loud rumble as she sat down at the table set up on the outdoor stage for the pie-eating competition. Jenna hadn't eaten one bite of lunch, because the last thing she'd wanted was to be scarfing down pies on an already full stomach. She'd seen some of the other kids eating their lunches, but as they sat down at the long pie table, too, she wondered just how much more they could fit into their bellies. As hungry as she was, she thought that winning this competition would be a piece of cake. Or a piece of pie, actually.

That was, until Adam walked onto the stage and sat down next to her.

“Are you ready to stuff your face, sis?” Adam asked with a grin.

“
You're
competing in this?” Jenna cried.

Adam patted his stomach. “Yup. And man, am I hungry. I didn't have breakfast
or
lunch today.”

Jenna's spirits sank. This was not good. Adam was on the Blue team, and Jenna knew from witnessing his dozens of disgusting refrigerator raids at home that he was a bottomless pit. He ate all sorts of gross food, too. His favorite sandwich was pickles, peanut butter, and Spam, for crying out loud! This competition had just gotten a whole lot tougher.

Andie stepped onto the stage with a bullhorn. “Ladies and gentlemen, it's time for the pie-eating competition! Bring out the mystery pies, please!”