Over & Out (19 page)

“Not if you start eating it,” Chelsea grumbled, still angry about her favorite skirt getting drenched earlier, even though Andie had assured her that it would be fine. “You could probably finish off that entire pile.”

“Nuh-uh,” Jenna said. “Not tonight. Italian food is one thing, but I'm going easy on candy for a while. Those watermelon gummy worms put a temporary damper on my sweet tooth.”

“Thanks to me,” Blake snickered.

“What?” Jenna asked.

Blake's eyes twinkled. “The worm pies were my invention. I overheard Andie and Alex talking to Uncle Steve about it, so I came up with the kind of pie.” He smiled. “You're not the only one who has brilliant ideas, you know.”

“Oh, I know. That's what scares me.” Jenna laughed. “I guess I should just be glad they weren't real worms.”

Everyone laughed, except Nat, who was horrified by the idea.

“I can't believe camp's almost over again,” Alex said. “For a whole year. That's forever.”

Adam smiled at her and reached over to give her hand a split-second squeeze. “It'll go by fast. You'll see.”

Jenna couldn't believe what she was seeing! Her brother had practically almost held hands with Alex! Ick! But as Jenna watched Alex blushing in the firelight, she suddenly found herself smiling instead of gagging. Seeing Alex and Adam crushing on each other might take a little getting used to, but it was actually . . . sort of . . . cute? Of course, that didn't mean she was going to crush on any guy anytime soon. No way. But at least now she'd be able to hang out with Alex and Adam without being totally weirded out.

“So, Jenna,” Perry asked her. “What's the first thing you're going to do when you get your cast off?”

Jenna smiled. “Completely cream Alex in soccer.”

“In your dreams,” Alex said. “You couldn't do that even
before
you broke your leg.”

“Wanna bet?” Jenna said. “What about last year when I kicked that ball right over your head straight into the goal, and the year before that, when I scored fifteen goals in the second half? And then there was the time when I—”

Alex burst out laughing. “I give up,” she said, throwing up her hands. “I just wanted to see if your broken leg had affected your memory.”

“Very funny,” Jenna said dryly, but she was smiling. “My soccer game might have to wait a few more weeks, but let's not forget who's the pie-eating queen.” She ribbed Adam. “By the way, are you feeling better, bro? 'Cause I brought you something special to eat tonight.” She popped open the ten-pound tub of gummy worms she'd won earlier and held it under his nose. “Mmmm, doesn't that smell good?”

Adam leaped up from the table, turning a shade paler. “Jenna, come on!” he said, holding one hand over his mouth and one over his stomach. “That's not funny!”

“If it's not funny, why is everyone laughing so hard?” Jenna said with a giggle as everyone cracked up.

“Ah,” Andie said, grinning at the two of them. “I sure am going to miss you guys and your sibling rivalry.”

Jenna giggled again and looked around her. The stars were shining, fireflies were blinking, and the moonlight sparkled on the lake. A couple of the smaller kids fell asleep on their towels, and some of the counselors had to carry them back to their bunks. But Jenna and her friends just huddled in closer to the bonfire as the night got colder, talking about all the fun they'd had over the summer, sharing pictures and home addresses, roasting s'mores, and telling ghost stories.

As Jenna ate her s'more, she looked around at all of her friends. There was Alex, her toughest competitor and veteran camp buddy; Nat, her favorite Manhattan fashion consultant; Alyssa, her reality check; Adam, her annoying but lovable (on occasion) twin; and Blake, her arch nemesis and . . . friend? After all they'd been through the last couple of weeks, was it possible that the guy she'd found so annoying and stuck-up at first had turned into someone she might actually have fun with? Maybe it was.

She handed him the second s'more she'd just made. “Thanks, Blake.”

He blinked in surprise as he bit into the s'more. “For what?”

“For proving that I was wrong about you,” Jenna said, “by giving Lakeview a chance. And for pulling off Operation Drowned Rat.”

Blake gaped at her. “What? But I thought you were mad at me for that.”

Jenna shrugged. “I was, but not anymore. Because if it hadn't been for you, none of us would be out here right now,” she waved toward the bonfire, “enjoying all this. Don't get too cocky or anything, but you made this the best banquet ever.”

“Until next year,” Blake said with a mischievous grin. “Just wait until you hear what I've got planned. I'll need a partner in crime, though.”

“I'm retired, remember? You'll have to find another accomplice.” But then she leaned toward him. “But I can't wait to see what happens,” she whispered with a grin.

After the bonfire, all the girls from both bunks crowded into 4A for a final night of girl bonding. Andie, Mia, Becky, and Sophie had all agreed that the girls could hang out together for an extra hour before lights-out, and the bunk had turned into one huge slumber fest. Alex, Sarah, Brynn, and all the other 4C-ers were sitting on the floor to make room for everyone. The bunk was completely packed and noisy, just the way Jenna liked it.

“So, are we going to have a camp reunion before next summer?” Jenna asked.

“Of course,” Alyssa said. “Don't we always?”

“We could plan to get together for more than just the reunion, too. You could come visit me in Manhattan again,” Nat offered. Last fall, all the girls had stayed in Nat's New York apartment for the whole weekend of the camp reunion, and it had been a blast.

“Maybe you want to try someplace different this year?” Andie asked.

“I know!” Tori said. “You could come to L.A. to visit me! I could take you to my favorite juice bar. They have the best banana-strawberry smoothies you'll ever have in your life.”

“I don't know if smoothies can top New York pizza,” Nat said. “That's the best food there is in my book, besides sushi, of course.”

“And you're not biased or anything.” Tori giggled. “You guys will love L.A. We can shop till we drop and go to museums.”

“I've heard that the theater there is awesome, too,” Grace said.

“I'll go,” Jenna said. “On two conditions.”

“What are they?” Mia asked.

“That I get this darn cast off first!” she said as everyone broke into laughter. “And . . . that there's only limited boy talk during our girl bonding time.”

“But what if I kiss Simon for real and want to tell you guys?” Nat asked forlornly.

“You're limited to five minutes of details about boys . . . tops,” Jenna said. “
Especially
if you kiss Simon for real.”

“Fine by me,” Alex jumped in.

“But won't you want to fill us in on what's happened with you and Adam?” Sarah asked Alex.

“Hey, I can do that in less than five minutes, no problem,” Alex said. “Besides, I might like Adam, but my friends still come first.”

Jenna smiled, relieved to hear that even if her friends were starting to get interested in boys, they would still be able to have just as much fun without them, too. “No matter where we meet up this year,” she said, “we're going to have a great time, as long as we're all together.”

“And we can use our camp blog until then, and we can e-mail each other, too,” Brynn said. “We'll keep in touch, no matter what.”

All the girls nodded as Mia handed out lists with everyone's home and e-mail addresses on them.

“Okay,” Andie said, holding up the new fall preview issue of
CosmoGirl
, “anyone want me to read the special ten-page autumn horoscope, ‘Who will you fall for in the fall?' ”

“I already know who Tori's falling for,” Natalie said. She grinned slyly. “Blaaaake.”

“I am not,” Tori said, elbowing Nat. “I'll never forgive him for the toothpaste incident. No way.”

“But Blake got his payback for the toothpaste,” Jenna said, “and for the bucket of lake water in my shower, too.” She held up the final issue of the camp newspaper for everyone to see. “Behold, Miss Camp Lakeview.” She unfolded the front page to the photo collage of the summer, and there was Adam's photo of Blake, front and center. In it, Blake was snoozing peacefully, his pomegranate lip gloss shimmering in perfect cover-girl form. “If anyone else needs a makeover, I work wonders.”

“I'll pretend I didn't just hear that confession,” Andie said, but she was smiling.

“He's a regular sleeping beauty,” Alyssa remarked, and all the girls cracked up.

“He's even good-looking wearing lip gloss,” Tori said, causing ten pillows to be launched at her head. “What? Maybe I
can
forgive the toothpaste incident. Just look at him! Who wouldn't crush on a guy like that?”

“I wouldn't,” Jenna said. “He might be an okay prankster, but he's still a guy. Gross.”

She pulled back the cover on her bed, slid between the sheets, and suddenly felt dozens of pine needles pricking into her. “Ack! They're all over my mattress!” she cried, struggling to brush the itchy needles from her pajamas.

“I bet I know who did that,” Alyssa said. “Blake!”

“Jenna Bloom,” Andie said. “I think you might have finally met your match.”

“Not if I can help it,” Jenna said, giggling. Right at that moment, a yell echoed from the direction of the boys' bunks.

Andie narrowed her eyes at Jenna. “What was that noise?”

“Don't worry,” Jenna said innocently. “I think Blake's bed might have just mysteriously fallen apart. That's all. It's nothing that a few nuts and bolts can't fix.”

“And where would those nuts and bolts be?” Mia asked.

“Under my mattress.” Jenna smiled. “Hey, even a retired prankster gets to have one last laugh, right?”

Andie sighed, then giggled. “Just make sure it's really your last, okay?”

“I promise,” Jenna said. “At least until next summer!”