Politically Incorrect (8 page)

Tricia stopped dancing as soon as she saw Chelsea staring at her, but she didn’t seem embarrassed at all.

“Hey, Chelsea! How are you?” Tricia said loudly as she continued to bop to the music that was filtering through her earbuds.

It was enough to make Chelsea totally forget all about the morning and her near brush with death. “Great! Who are you listening to?”

“Katy Perry. She is
such
a sweetheart,” Tricia said with a smile.

“You’ve met her?” Chelsea just couldn’t believe how awesome Tricia’s life was. Her stories were even more impressive than Natalie’s.

“A bunch of times.” Tricia turned off her iPod and threw it on her bed. “I love her fashion sense.”

Chelsea grinned from ear to ear. “Me too! Did you see what she was wearing at the MTV Video Music Awards?”

“Only Katy can pull off zebra print hot pants,” Tricia replied.

“She got them at H&M y’know . . .” Chelsea trailed off.

“No way!” Tricia’s eyes twinkled. “Wow—you’re even more plugged in than I am—and I
know
the girl. Can we just follow each other around 24/7?”

Chelsea’s head almost exploded. Tricia thought she was plugged in?
This must be what heaven is like!

Just as Chelsea was going to say something witty in reply, Natalie stormed into the room, looking rather disheveled and tired. It was obvious by the scowl on her face that she was in a bad mood.

“Okay, Tricia. I loaded the last piece of your luggage and packages on the golf cart. Are you ready to go?” Natalie said as she redid her ponytail and wiped the sweat off her brow.

“Almost. Chelsea and I were just chatting,” Tricia chirped.

“
Go?
Where are you going?” Chelsea asked.

She hoped that Tricia wasn’t leaving Camp Walla Walla early. Just when they were starting to bond!

“Oh, Natalie got us a sweet hookup. She and I are moving into one of the vacant counselors’ bunks,” Tricia explained.

Chelsea crossed her arms in front of her chest and stared at Natalie. “Is that so?”

“Don’t look at me, it wasn’t my idea,” Natalie said curtly.

Tricia walked over to Natalie and threw an arm around her. “She’s right—I’m to blame! I’m just used to having a bigger room is all. And I couldn’t get along without Natalie. She’s the bestest!”

Chelsea felt a hot wave of jealousy wash over her, but when she saw Natalie roll her eyes at Tricia, it infuriated her even more. If Natalie didn’t want to be Tricia’s sidekick, then why didn’t she let Chelsea do it?

“Just let me run to the bathroom and we’ll be on our way,” Tricia said to Natalie. “Back in a sec.”

Chelsea squared off against Natalie once Tricia left the bunk and gave her a stern look.

“What’s wrong?” Natalie asked, clearly frustrated.

“Nothing. You just seem tired, like you can’t keep up with Tricia,” Chelsea said matter-of-factly. She knew this type of snippy comment might aggravate Natalie, but Chelsea couldn’t hold back.

“She’s a lot to handle.” Natalie sat down on her bed and rolled her neck back and forth. “I doubt the president can keep up with her, either.”

“Well, maybe you just need to be more energetic,” Chelsea replied. “You know, like me.”

Natalie glanced at Chelsea and chuckled. “Could you be any more obvious?”

“What do you mean?”

“If you want to room with Tricia, just say so,” Natalie said.

Chelsea hadn’t thought of that, but it was a great idea. She couldn’t contain her excitement. “That would be awesome!”

“Fine with me. I could use a break,” Natalie said, rubbing her feet.

“Thanks so much, Nat!” Chelsea said.

All of a sudden, Tricia burst through the door. “I’m back!” she sang.

Chelsea smiled widely. This was so surreal! She had always wanted to meet Tricia in person, and now she was going to share a bunk with her. How amazing was that?

“Hey, Tricia, can I make a suggestion?” Natalie asked.

“Sure. What’s up?” she replied.

Chelsea was already starting to think about the fun things she and Tricia were going to do. Manicures and pore shrinking face masks and gossiping and sharing clothes . . . Chelsea could imagine the possibilities.

“Maybe it would be better if Chelsea roomed with you instead,” Natalie finished.

Tricia looked confused. “But . . . you’re my personal guide.”

The bewildered expression on Tricia’s face worried Chelsea. Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea after all.

“Chelsea’s much better than a personal guide. She’s your biggest fan! No, she’s more than a fan—she’s
the
source for Tricia gossip! What could be better than that?!” Natalie said with all the enthusiasm she could muster.

Chelsea wanted to grab her pillow and throw it at Natalie’s head. She wasn’t supposed to tell
anyone
that, especially not
Tricia
!

Tricia glanced at Chelsea and stared at her awkwardly. “You are?”

Chelsea had no clue how to respond. If she said, “Of course not,” then she’d sound kind of mean, but if she said “Yes, I am,” didn’t that make her sort of a stalker? This was probably the most awkward moment of her life.

“Yeah, she actually has the same shirt you wore on Oprah,” Natalie added.

On the other hand, maybe
this
was the most awkward moment of her life.

“That’s . . . great,” Tricia said, a little unnerved.

Natalie turned to Chelsea and winked at her, as if to say, “Who’s your daddy?”

But Chelsea just glowered back at her. If Natalie thought she was helping matters, she was certainly wrong, wrong, WRONG! After learning that piece of private information, Tricia probably thought Chelsea was a gigantic loser.

“So what do you say, Tricia?” Natalie asked. “Want to trade campers?”

Chelsea wasn’t about to let Tricia answer—she was way too humiliated to bunk with Tricia now.

“That’s okay, Nat. You two should stick together,” Chelsea said quickly, trying not to let on that she was embarrassed and upset.

Natalie frowned. “Are you sure?”

“Yes, I’m sure,” Chelsea replied.

Tricia was visibly dying to make a break for it. “Well, we should be off then. Our tricked-out pad awaits!” she said, turning on her heels. She smiled at Chelsea, then waved good-bye. “Toodles!”

Tricia linked arms with Natalie, who was practically dragging her feet.

Chelsea grabbed a pillow and put it over her head so Jones the bodyguard wouldn’t hear her cry.

On Tuesday afternoon, Sloan and the rest of the campers dressed in their swimsuits and gathered at the lake for a canoeing activity. While all of her bunkmates chattered with each other, Sloan trained her eyes on her notebook. Tonight was the second Green Festival meeting and she wanted to be prepared.

Sloan was super-psyched about how the planning was going—the group had already started making flyers to put up in town and picked out a delicious array of food for the menu. All they needed to do was decide what kind of entertainment they should have, as well as what Tricia should talk about during her speech. That was going to be the highlight of the festival for sure!

“Okay, everyone, listen up,” Jasmine said in a loud, upbeat voice.

Sloan closed her notebook, put it in her canvas knapsack, and gave Jasmine her full attention.

“We’re going to start breaking up into teams of four. Three campers and one counselor,” Jasmine continued. “And then we’re going to have a little race from the east dock to the west dock.”

Some of the kids in the crowd threw their arms up in the air and said, “Sweet!” while some others whined, “Do we have to?”

Jasmine just smiled. “All right, everyone grab a life vest, and once you’ve done that, pick your team and then meet up with a counselor near a canoe.”

“Yes! This is going to be great!” Jenna said.

“I’m on your team,” Connor said to Jenna.

“What about me?” Brynn asked.

Sarah put her arm around Brynn. “There’s room for you in my canoe.”

“Nat’s on my team,” called a voice in the crowd.

Sloan saw Natalie helping Tricia on with her life jacket. The frown on her friend’s face was the size of a jumbo hot dog.

“Gimme a break,” another voice muttered.

Sloan peered over her shoulder and saw Chelsea grimacing as she strapped on her own life jacket. She looked as though she’d swallowed an entire grapefruit.
Geez, why is everyone in such a bad mood?

As far as she was concerned, life was pretty good these days. She was enjoying camp so much, and it was only going to get better as the Green Festival approached.

Sloan was brought back to reality by a tap on her shoulder.

“Do you have a spot on your team for me?”

Sloan spun around and saw Miles standing beside her. His hair was a little messy from the light wind outside and he was flashing his adorable,toothy grin.

“Of course I do,” Sloan said, her voice shaking a little.

“Great. I’m a really gifted rower,” he joked.

“Wow, I can’t wait to see it,” Sloan said, smiling.

“Sloan, Miles, why don’t you join me and Chelsea,” Jasmine called out.

“Okay,” Sloan replied dreamily. Jasmine could have asked her if she wanted to be on a team with Michael Phelps and she wouldn’t have noticed. Sloan only had eyes for Miles.

As she and Miles wandered over to Jasmine and Chelsea, they were approached by Natalie and Tricia (and Tricia’s bodyguard Shepard, who was wearing a life jacket over his navy suit).

“Hey, guys,” Tricia said, ever so bubbly.

“Hi, Tricia,” Sloan replied, finally turning away from Miles.

Chelsea managed a weak hello under her breath, while Natalie merely waved as if she were swatting at a fly. Sloan thought that both of the girls were acting a little weird, but didn’t think now was the proper time to ask if anything was wrong.

Tricia put her arm around Natalie. “I just wanted to invite you all over to our new digs to hang out and chill,” Tricia said. “Ellie agreed to chaperone and everything. Please come!”

“You and Nat have your own bunk? That’s really cool,” said Miles. “When is the party, exactly?”

“We were thinking about doing it after the Green Festival meeting,” Natalie mumbled. “I’m sure everyone will want to kick back and relax after a couple hours of planning.”

“That’s a great idea, Nat,” Sloan said brightly, happy that her friend thought to plan around her meeting. “We’ll be there.” She made eye contact with Miles and they both smiled.

“Awesome! See you guys later,” Tricia said, then traipsed off to Ellie’s canoe with Natalie and Shepard.

Chelsea mumbled something again once they all walked away.

“What did you say, Chelse?” Sloan asked.

“I said I’m not going to the party.” Chelsea stormed over to the dock, grabbed an oar, and hopped into the canoe.

“What’s the matter with her?” Miles asked.

Sloan had a feeling that whatever was bothering Chelsea had something to do with Natalie. But she didn’t want to burden Miles with the girls’ silly drama, so she just answered, “No idea.”

“Okay, people! The first match up will be Ellie’s team versus my team,” Jasmine yelled through cupped hands. “David, you can sound the horn once we’re ready.”

“Nice!” David replied, grabbing the air horn off the dock.

Sloan and Miles followed Chelsea over to the dock, picked up their oars, and got into the canoe. Jasmine grabbed an oar for herself and then sat at the front of the boat.

“Good luck, you guys!” Tricia shouted from the other side of the dock. She was sitting in between her bodyguard and Natalie. Ellie was perched in front of the boat, just like Jasmine.

Sloan and Miles laughed in unison while Chelsea brooded in the back of the boat.

“Spoken like someone who has never been to camp before,” Miles joked.

Once everyone was settled in their boats, Jasmine said, “Okay, David, whenever you’re ready!”

David nodded. “On your mark, get set, GO!” he shouted, and then sounded the horn.

As soon as she uncovered her ears, Sloan started to paddle. Miles kept time with her perfectly—he didn’t miss a beat. Sloan glanced over to Ellie’s canoe and saw that her team was already lagging behind. Sloan gripped her oar and paddled some more, but soon she realized that Chelsea was making their canoe move as fast as a freight train. In fact, she was pumping her arms so quickly that Sloan worried they might pop out of their sockets.

“Way to go, Chelse!” Jasmine said as they continued to propel forward.

“We’re getting closer!” Miles’s oar tore through the water at a frantic pace, but he still wasn’t as fast as Chelsea.

Sloan was trying to keep up, but was having a hard time.

“You can do it, Sloan! We’re halfway there!” shouted Jasmine.

Sloan could feel her breath cutting through her throat. Her arm muscles were aching and they’d only been rowing for a few minutes. Sloan could hear Chelsea grunting each time she plunged her oar in the water, and her intensity unnerved her a little bit.

“We’re neck and neck,” Miles yelled over the sound of water splashing around them.

Sloan looked over at the other boat again. From the strained expression on Tricia’s bodyguard’s face, she could tell he was having the same difficulties that Sloan was.

“Go team, go!” Jasmine called out, willing her boat to reach the west dock first.

And that might have happened if Sloan’s oar hadn’t gotten caught on a large piece of log that no one saw until it was right in front of them. Sloan wasn’t quick enough to let go of the oar and the bow of the boat shook hard. Jasmine slipped out of her seat and into the deep water a few feet away.

“Aaaahh!” she shrieked as she plunged into the cold lake.