Hit the Beach (20 page)

And it wasn’t even over yet for Madison. She still had hatchling night to look forward to.

Madison hit
NEW
and typed into her blog, just as she’d promised Aimee she would. Her BFF would check for the new page in just a few short hours—and Madison wanted to be there, waiting.

08-18


I hope we never have 2 be apart again for more than a week at a time. It feels like this past wk was hard 4 everyone—including me. OMG Thanx 4 being so honest about stuff. None of u are alone!!! OK so I have this confession 2 make—I am still crushing on this Will guy so I made a list of all the things I like about both him & Hart. OK—ready??


When I read the list, I can’t even tell them apart. Which makes me more confused than ever. So again I just want u 2 know UR NOT ALONE (Fiona!!!) and u shouldn’t feel bad just because u made a mistake or liked someone else. I think everything happens 4 a reason, right?


This has been a week of surprises (Prince Harry! No more dance studio! OMG!!!!!) and I miss u all more than words. We need 2 be 2gether soon. This whole week I thought it was all about my crushes and boys and doing the coolest thing. But now I wonder if that’s what it’s all about. What do u think??? What is it all about?????


OK. I have 2 go now and get ready to watch turtles lay eggs in the dark and I wonder if maybe THAT is what it’s all about. Yours till the heart breaks … or NOT! No, definitely NOT—no heartbreak here, pleez!!!


p.s.: Thanks 2 everyone for being the VERY BEST BLOGGERHEADS in the whole universe. U made this week go by sooooooo much faster.


LYLAS—FAE! FAE! FAE!!! :>)


B
ECAUSE HATCHLING NIGHT BEGAN
with the last moments of sundown and continued into the very late nighttime hours, Thursday’s camp session didn’t officially begin until seven o’clock in the evening. That gave Madison more time to check blogs and write e-mails. It also gave her time to surf the Internet and look up random information about loggerhead turtles.

She had plenty to keep herself busy, which is exactly what she did.

Madison skimmed some of the last-minute notes she’d scribbled on a notepad. She needed to remember that stuff.

• Loggerheads roamed the oceans by millions, but no longer
  
• ? can drown in shrimp trawls (what??) and other fishing gear
  
• ? can die from pollutants or swallowing trash they think is food (plastic on soda 6-packs
  
• hatchlings who get disoriented by lights near beach wander away from the ocean and get crushed by cars
  
• nesting season runs a long time fm May 1-October 31
  

She took a lot of notes, but of all the facts Madison had learned at Camp Sunshine, what she’d learned most of all was that she still had a lot left to learn! Hatchling night was some kind of symbolic beginning, wasn’t it?

Madison was learning to see the world around her in a new way. Not only was she seeing new animals and meeting new people, but she was finding ways to see in the dark. Or at least she hoped so. Madison needed to have good night vision in order to watch the loggerheads digging in the sand under a white, glowing moon.

As the time to head to the ELC grew closer, Madison began to feel butterflies in her stomach. She assumed at first that this was because of Will. But as time went on, she wondered if it had more to do with someone—or something—else. Maybe all this feeling was just about the turtles, plain and simple.

Could it be that simple?

Dad drove Madison to the ELC as the sun dipped lower in the sky. The air had cooled off some, thankfully. The last week had been hotter than the week before it. But now there was actually a bit of a breeze.

Madison spotted Ann and Suchita standing together near the side of the building. She hustled over to them. “Hey,” she said. “It’s so weird to be starting camp when it’s getting dark, isn’t it?”

It was nearly eight o’clock. There was still a lot of light left in the sky, but night was coming, and (Madison hoped) so were the turtles.

“Yes,” Suchita said. “My mother didn’t want me to come. She’s worried.”

Ann held up a mini tape-recording device. She planned to record a blow-by-blow account of hatchling night—and maybe write an article on it for her school paper—or even her local newspaper back in Cleveland. Just like Madison, Ann had made a scratch-pad list of notes about loggerheads. Madison admired Ann’s motivation.

On the edge of the beach, Leonard and the camp staffers made sure all of the groups were present and accounted for.

“Look up at the sky,” Leonard advised. “We have an almost-full moon. We have a sea ahead of us and a sea above us. Just look at that sea of stars, boys and girls. Even though the moon is bright, I can still see the Little Dipper. Can you?”

Madison liked the fact that Leonard was talking all poetically about the sea and stars. It inspired her, and she wondered if maybe she should write a poem of her own about this night, about this entire camp experience. Maybe she could send it to Bigwheels.

Will, Teeny, and Logan were standing off to the side. When Leonard stopped talking for a moment, the boys trudged over to where the girls from the Egrets stood. Madison could sense Will’s approach; even though it was dark and she couldn’t see well, Madison was fairly sure he had a determined look in his eyes.

“Maddie!” Will called out before he’d even gotten to her.

Madison stepped aside so Ann was the first person Will ran into—literally. As luck would have it, Will tripped on the sand near the edge of the berm and nearly plowed into Ann.

Suchita laughed. Logan came over, also laughing. Meanwhile, Ann reached out and helped Will get up from the sand.

Madison took a deep breath of the sea air. It smelled like salt and dampness, and she wished she could go for a swim. The moon was hitting the water beautifully. She scanned the sand for some sign of turtle life, but there was nothing yet.

“Maddie, where are your night goggles?” Teeny asked.

Madison laughed. “I left them at home,” she said.

Just then, Leonard approached the cluster of Egrets.

“I will be making announcements on the beach during hatchling night,” Leonard said. “Does everyone have insect repellent on?”

He had a walkie-talkie in his hand, as did most of the counselors, to be able to communicate across the span of beach.

Leonard’s voice echoed in the night air. “I just wanted to remind all of you that there is no flash photography and there are no flashlights allowed. Lights disrupt the nesting turtles and can disorient them. Okay?”

Madison nodded. All the talk about the turtles had her really excited, and although she’d just reviewed her notes, she had nearly forgotten the importance of keeping the baby and mother turtles out of the light.

From where they stood on the side of the beach, Madison and the rest of the Egrets could see the area where some of the nests had already been built, where the hatchlings were expected to hit the beach. The night was very still. Everyone kept their eyes on the sand. If all went as planned, the silver moon would provide all the light needed for a pathway from ocean to sand. Once the first turtles climbed out of the sea, the campers would move on to the beach for full observation.

Ann steadied her tape recorder as she whispered into it. “Waiting for the turtles,” she said.

Patiently, everyone waited for a change in the horizon, a break in the surface of the water. The buzz of Leonard’s walkie-talkie and the others was a foreign sound compared to the easy gush of waves breaking onshore—and the low, consistent chirp of crickets. The tide was rising.

Madison heard Leonard’s voice cut across the night air.

“Loggerheads. Due north.”

The campers spun around. Then, led by counselors holding little red lights (because red light was not off limits), they moved toward the north. Everyone wanted a look at a turtle as it made its move on to the beach.

But the group got more than it bargained for. As one turtle slowly dragged its body up on to the sand, the cluster of campers hung back, waiting and watching. Then, all at once, at least a dozen more turtles appeared at the waterline, and, just like that, the beach seemed covered with turtles. More specifically, turtles on a mission.

The moonlight was the best light for watching the turtles. It was enough for observation yet it let the campers remain relatively undetected. Of course, with that many campers on the sand, it was tricky to keep a low profile. The group worked very hard to do so.

Madison, Ann, and Suchita ended up together again. They followed one very large female loggerhead to an area of sand closer up near the dunes and watched as she began to dig her nest. Sand flew as she dug deeper still. By the time she began dropping her eggs, the three camp friends were ready to burst into applause.

Leonard came over to watch, with the girls. He asked Madison and the others to form a semicircle so he could help identify the turtle’s age. “See all those barnacles on her shell?” he asked.

Madison nodded.

“She’s a mature loggerhead, this girl,” Leonard said. He was smiling. “I feel like I should know her. She’s been around the sea a few times.”

Leonard pressed closer as the turtle continued to lay her eggs. He had one of the staffers come over with a little red light and shine it on to the egg drop. Madison was in awe of the entire process. The eggs sat neatly in the sand as the turtle added more and more to the pile.

When it seemed as though the turtle had completed her egg-laying, Madison and the others beat a steady retreat south. They needed to give the loggerhead the space she needed to make her way back to the ocean.

No sooner had the turtle gone than Will reappeared.

“Did you just watch her lay eggs?” Will asked breathlessly. Logan and Teeny were with him.

Madison, Ann, and Suchita described the events as they had just happened. Unfortunately, the boys had not yet witnessed an egg-laying. Will looked sorely disappointed.

A buzz from another walkie-talkie, however, sent the boys off in another direction. There were more loggerheads coming on to the beach, in different shapes and sizes.

“This is one of the most amazing nights of my life,” Suchita said, speaking the words that both Madison and Ann were also feeling.

Ann seconded the remark. “I feel like these past two weeks are nothing compared to this right now. Wow,” she said.

“I like that we’re doing this with just the three of us,” Madison said. “It reminds me of how I do stuff with my BFFs back home.”

Ann checked her watch. “I can’t believe it’s already ten o’clock. I wonder how much longer we’ll be here.”

Leonard walked around the beach with his red light, searching for signs of life in the sand. He pointed out different sets of tracks. It seemed as though all the information that the campers had learned for the past ten days or so was being put to good use.

Madison stood on the sand next to the two friends she had never expected to have and felt very thankful. Although she still missed her BFFs more than anything, this night nearly made up for all the pangs of loneliness she’d felt.

“I can’t believe it’s over now,” Ann said dejectedly, as if she’d only just realized that fact.

“It went by so fast,” Suchita said.

“Maybe we can stay in touch,” Madison suggested. “We could be keypals. Or e-pals or something.”

“What’s a keypal?” Ann asked.

Madison explained. She told both girls about her long-distance relationship with Vicki, aka Bigwheels. She also mentioned TweenBlurt.com. Much to Madison’s surprise, neither girl had ever heard of it before.

By then the activity on the beach had subsided a little. No one seemed tired, even though it was getting close to eleven o’clock. Suchita wandered off to talk to someone from the Alligators group; that left Madison on her own with Ann.

“So, you were right after all,” Madison said. “I guess we were meant to be friends.”

Ann shrugged. “But I’m so bummed out.”

“Why?” Madison asked.

Ann looked as though she wanted to cry. “I don’t know,” she said, sniffling. “It’s just that—I don’t have—well, I told you my friend Patti sort of blew me off, and I don’t have that many friends, and—now you’re going home—”

Madison put her arm lightly around Ann’s shoulder. “Don’t worry,” she said gently. “What about the turtles? What about tonight? What about Will? You still like him, right?”

Ann looked squarely at Madison. “I’m not stupid. I know he doesn’t like me. Not like that. No one does.”

Madison didn’t know what to say. It was as if Ann had suddenly become this whole other person—as if the real (genuine, honest, not-full-of-herself) Ann had been holed up inside all week. Now she came pouring out.

“I’m sorry for being such a downer,” Ann said. “See? Now I probably ruined tonight for you. Figures.”

Madison shook her head. “No way,” she said. “No one could ruin tonight. It was as close to perfect as it gets. Doncha think?”

Ann sniffled again. Then she smiled. “I guess so. Yeah, you’re right. It was pretty perfect.”