Hit the Beach (15 page)

Madison quickly hit
SAVE
. The clock said it was just 9:00
A.M.
In a few minutes, Stephanie would be running Madison over to the ELC for Monday’s rescheduled riverboat trip. There, the entire camp would board three different pontoons at precisely 10:00
A.M.
and would tour on the boats through lunch. Two teams and several camp staff members were assigned to each large pontoon. Stephanie said it would be like a nature cruise; luckily, there were no gray clouds in sight.

Pontoons were good fun for groups like Madison’s camp, because they were flat-bottomed boats. If the group had had to ride on a regular boat, there would have been no place to stand and move around. This way, everyone could sit or stand or shuffle around to observe the birds, fish, and, if they were really,
really
lucky, a Florida panther, one of the endangered species occasionally spotted along the coast.

Once Madison arrived at the ELC, she saw a procession of kids heading for the camp docks and the river launch. Madison wanted to say something to Stephanie about the weekend, but she didn’t. Instead, she offered a regular good-bye and followed the others as they drifted down to the water. Along the way, Madison caught a glimpse of Ann and Will walking up ahead. She raced to catch up to them.

“Hey!” Madison said, a little winded from her sprint.

“Maddie!” Ann cheered.

Will gave Madison a big smile. “Mad Dog!” he said.

Madison burst into laughter. “Do you have to call me that?” She was relieved to laugh after the tension of the past few days.

Will just laughed. “Yes, I do have to call you that, Mad Dog. Why? Don’t you like it, Mad Dog?”

Madison pushed Will’s arm. “Stop!” she teased, even though she secretly loved the fact that he’d assigned her a special nickname.

“What’s the matter, Mad Dog?” Will continued, poking her in the back.

Madison raised her arm to push Will a second time, but Ann stepped between the two of them. “Break it up, you two. I just saw one of the counselors looking over here.”

Will seemed about to make some funny crack back to Ann, but just then Teeny came running up with Suchita.

“There you are!” Teeny said.

“Anyone see Logan?” Suchita asked.

The walk down to the water took a little bit longer than Madison had expected. Mangroves grew over the path in spots, and some kids (prompted by some counselors) kept stopping to identify creatures and plants along the way.

“Did you guys see Logan?” Suchita asked again.

Madison shook her head but smiled. She guessed that Suchita had a crush on Logan. That was why she always wanted to be his partner. Madison wondered if
she
were equally transparent about her crush on Will. She hoped not. She wasn’t ready for the entire universe to know about her mixed-up feelings. What if somehow Hart had found out?

“Look at
that
!” Teeny cried, pointing up at a tree. Sticking out from under a piece of bark was a long, thin snake. Its scaly skin was red, black, and yellow.

Suchita let out a little scream, and everyone jumped.

“What is
that
?”

One of the counselors rushed over.

“Stand back,” she said. Then she turned to everyone with a calm look on her face. “No worries,” she said. “It’s a scarlet king snake.”

“But I thought snakes with that many colors were bad. Isn’t it poisonous?” Ann said.

The counselor shook her head. “You’re thinking of the coral snake, I think. This isn’t the same color combination. I know it can be confusing. Just remember this little rhyme and you’ll be able to identify the snakes correctly. You look at the way the colors are lined up on a snake’s body—like this: red to yellow, kills a fellow; red to black, venom lack.”

“That’s cool,” Will said. Just as he spoke, the snake disappeared back into the tree.

Madison shuddered. She liked learning important facts about the wildlife and reptiles—especially snakes and alligators—but it didn’t make her any less scared of long, slimy, slithery things. No amount of love for animals could help Madison get over slithery things.

After more frog- and lizard-sightings, Madison and the others finally reached the water. The path opened on to a clearing where Leonard was waiting with the boatmen. The three pontoon boats were revved up and ready to go.

It didn’t take long for everyone to board. The Alligators crowded in with the Flounders. The Butterflies and the Crabs were put together, too. That left the Dolphins and the Egrets. Madison, Will, Ann, and the others sat in neat rows of seats across their boat. Each boat carried about seventeen passengers in all—campers plus Camp Sunshine staffers and two other crew members.

The air felt cooler on the boat, for some reason. Madison soon realized that there was a large fan operating nearby—the driver told them that it was turned on to keep the bugs away. It had been a buggy month in the swamp. Each crew left the docks in sequence. Madison leaned forward on the edge of her seat. She’d been on boats many times before, including the time when she had been in the Amazon with Mom on one of Mom’s shoots for Budge Films, and on the lake near Gramma Helen’s house. But something about this trip felt different. Maybe it was the fact that she was alone here—no parents, no grandparents.

And then there was the Will factor.

For whatever reason, this boy had gotten under Madison’s skin. She kept stealing sidelong glances at him. His hair was all messy in front. He looked as if he’d just rolled out of bed. He had a tan, too, which made his skin the color of a golden raisin and made his white teeth stand out when he smiled one of his coy little smiles.

“Maddie? Is anyone in there?”

Madison shook off her daydream and realized that Leonard was standing over her.

She shot a look up at him and started to sputter. “I—I—I …” she said, unable to get any more words out.

“Are you okay?” Leonard repeated. “I saw you sitting here and you looked a little dizzy. Are you?”

Madison felt a hot breeze on her face. The boat was moving. She’d completely spaced out for almost a whole minute.

How embarrassing.

She glanced around and realized that while she’d been in space, Will, Teeny, Ann, and the others had moved to the side of the boat. They were looking out over the water, pointing at different things on the shore, in the water, and up in the air.

Madison swallowed hard. “I think I’m okay,” she said, although she wasn’t really sure.

Leonard smiled and offered his hand. “Why don’t we join the rest of the group?” he said.

Madison stood up and shuffled over with Leonard to the crowd. There was no space near the other Egrets, so she slipped in between two Dolphins.

One of the kids who seemed about ten feet tall moved aside so Madison could see. He towered over Madison. She could hardly see his face; it was shaded by a red baseball cap.

“Hey,” the boy grunted. “We just saw a blue heron.”

“Oh,” Madison said softly.

“Yeah, take a look,” the boy said. “Over there.”

He pointed, and Madison looked across the stretch of river. Along the banks, she saw a blue heron sunning itself in a glade. Brown, green, and yellow grasses grew around the area, like a carpet. The bird stood still and then moved to a rock. It appeared to turn its body and stare in Madison’s direction—like a picture on a postcard.

“Look!” someone cried from the other side of the boat. Up in the sky, Madison saw what all the fuss was about. A pair of birds swooped around the tops of a tall, tall tree.

“Osprey!” Leonard announced. He gave everyone a quick tutorial about the birds and their feeding habits. Madison was glad to have the camp leader on her pontoon. She figured Leonard would be able to spot more wildlife on the water than anyone at the ELC.

The ospreys danced in the air. Madison had never seen anything like it; and yet she knew she must have seen ospreys before then. There was something about camp, something about this pontoon ride, that was helping Madison to see things more clearly. She was in awe of the birds’ flight pattern. Their wings stretched out so they could soar higher and higher.

And then without warning, one of the ospreys dived down to the shoreline and grabbed something.

“He got lunch!” someone cried. Madison recognized Teeny’s voice, and she giggled.

The osprey vanished into the trees.

The hot air smelled like fish and muck, but the occasional breeze, no matter how warm, brought some relief. Madison tilted her face back into the sunlight.

“Hey, Mad Dog! Where did you go?”

Madison blinked in the bright sunshine. Then Will’s face came into focus.

He’d come looking for her?

It wasn’t as if Will had had to walk far to find Madison, since there weren’t many people on their boat. But he’d looked for her—and that was all that mattered to Madison.

“There wasn’t enough room where you guys were standing …” Madison began.

Will started to say something in reply, but then he turned around; Ann was calling to him and the rest of the Egrets.

“Will! Madison! Logan! Suchita! Teeny! Come here!”

She sounded like a drill instructor, the way she called out each of their names. But everyone raced over to see what she was fussing about. After the preceding day, of rain and rattled nerves, this was a welcome change. It felt good to be outside sharing the sky and water with the birds and fish.

During the remainder of the ride, the kids saw other birds. Leonard gave some tips on bird-watching. Madison was amazed at how much she was learning on the trip.

“Here are some tricks to identify birds. First, check out the bird’s shape and its color. You should take a look at a bird’s behavior, too. Is it hunting for food quickly or wading slowly through the water? Listen for its voice. You can tell a lot about a bird’s temperament by its call.”

“This guy knows everything,” Teeny whispered to Madison.

Madison nodded, still listening.

Leonard continued. “The thing is, kids, that the ELC is located on what’s called the Eastern Continental Flyway. This is a major bird-migration corridor, where shorebirds, waterfowl, raptors, and passerines stop to feed and hang out. The folks at the state bird-watching organization have identified more than three hundred different species of birds in this area alone.”

Wow, Madison thought, as off in the distance a large trio of pelicans flapped by. She knew exactly what kind of birds they were. Already, she’d been able to take Leonard’s tips and turn them into something.

By the time the boats pulled back in to the docks almost two hours later, most of the campers were sad to disembark. Everyone wanted a second pontoon ride. That only made Leonard laugh.

“I’m glad to see that you kids are learning something,” he said. “You should get out and do your own bird-watches. Tell your friends. Do one in your own neighborhoods at home. Look up birds on the Internet.”

Madison made a mental note to do so. She knew it was exactly the kind of project her friends Egg and Drew would enjoy. Anything that involved online research was right up their alley.

Along with Madison, the boys were responsible for many of Far Hills Junior High School’s website downloads, photographs, and other site updates. Madison wondered if maybe the three of them could create links on the school site to environmental websites. She thought that maybe she’d speak to the science teacher, Mr. Danehy, about doing a special project. Her mind buzzed with ideas.

“Cool stuff, right?” Will said. He grinned, and Madison felt herself grin right back. The grin was contagious. They were on the same wavelength, there was no better feeling.

The Egrets walked back to the ELC together. Madison realized that she’d been so consumed by the fun on the pontoon boat that she had worried less about Ann that day. Ann seemed just as excited by the day’s events, and hadn’t talked as much as she usually did.

Sometimes, Madison thought, there were things that were bigger than the six of them. Sometimes it was better just to hang back and let things fly (literally) overhead before sinking in.

Lunch and the rest of the afternoon weren’t nearly as exciting as the morning boat trip, but Madison didn’t mind. By the time Stephanie and Dad came (together) to pick her up in front of the ELC at the end of the day, she was still beaming.

The ride back to the apartment was strangely quiet. Dad and Stephanie didn’t argue as they had the day before. But something was still stuck in the air between them.

Madison started to tell them about the ospreys and the king snake with its red skin. But for some reason, neither Dad nor Stephanie were listening as closely as they usually did.

So Madison stopped talking. She stared out the window. When she got back to the apartment, Madison thought, she would send a message to one of her BFFs. Aimee would “get it.” Or maybe Fiona would.

The apartment was icy cool. Madison stepped inside and realized just how hot it had been out there on the boat all morning. She decided to take a shower and then check her e-mailbox. She would do that and then blog.

Meanwhile, Dad and Stephanie remained as silent as before. Dad mentioned that he was planning to grill some marinated chicken fillets for dinner. Stephanie was making a tossed salad and steamed broccoli. They said nothing more, and Madison didn’t push it. She figured that after her experiences poking her nose into Dad and Stephanie’s fights, it was better to stay out of it. A hands-off approach was the right one for Madison, Dad, and Stephanie.

After a quick shower, Madison slathered herself in some cucumber-melon lotion that Mom had given her for the trip. It smelled very fresh. Madison’s skin was flushed from the sun, but the cream cooled her down.

She dressed in a pair of sweat shorts and a pink T-shirt. Then Madison sat down at her laptop and logged onto TweenBlurt.com. There were no e-mails in her e-mailbox.

Hart had not written.

He’d said he’d E Madison, but she knew he might not. It was a big step—to E each other long distance. They’d only just recently admitted their feelings of like.

Madison clicked
NEW
and decided that she would send
him
an e-mail. She began to type in the subject line.