33 - The Horror at Camp Jellyjam (2 page)

“Yeah. We’re okay,” I told him. “A little shaken up, but—”

“Who are
you
?” Elliot cried, poking his head out the door.

The guy’s smile didn’t fade. “My name is Buddy.”

“I’m Wendy. He’s Elliot. We thought you were our parents,” I explained. I
hopped down to the ground.

Elliot followed me. “Where are Mom and Dad?” he asked, frowning.

“I haven’t seen anyone, guy,” Buddy told him. He studied the trailer. “What
happened here? You came unhitched?”

I nodded, brushing my dark hair off my face. “Yeah. On the steep hills, I
guess.”

“Dangerous,” Buddy muttered. “You must have been really scared.”

“Not me!” Elliot declared.

What a kid. First, he’s shaking in terror and calling out my name over and
over. Now he’s Mister Macho.

“I’ve never been so scared in all my life!” I admitted.

I took a few steps away from the trailer and searched the woods. The trees
creaked and swayed in a light breeze. The sun beamed down brightly. I shielded
my eyes with one hand as I peered around.

No sign of Mom and Dad. I couldn’t see the highway through the thick trees.

I could see the tire tracks our trailer had made through the soft dirt.
Somehow we had shot through a clear path between the trees. The trailer had come
to rest at the foot of a sharp, sloping hill.

“Wow. We were lucky,” I muttered.

“You’re very lucky,” Buddy declared cheerfully. He stepped up beside me,
placed his hands on my shoulders, and turned me around. “Check it out. Look where you guys
landed!”

Gazing up the hill, I saw a wide clearing between the trees. And then I saw a
huge, red-and-white banner, stretched high on two poles. I had to squint to read
the words on the banner.

Elliot read them aloud: “King Jellyjam’s Sports Camp.”

“The, camp is on the other side of the hill,” Buddy told us, flashing us both
a friendly smile. “Come on! Follow me!”

“But—but—” my brother sputtered. “We have to find our parents!”

“Hey—no problem, guy. You can wait for them at the camp,” Buddy assured
him.

“But how will they know where to find us?” I protested. “Should we leave a
note?”

Buddy flashed me another dazzling smile. “No. I’ll take care of it,” he told
me. “No problem.”

He stepped past the trailer and started up the hill. His white T-shirt and
white shorts gleamed in the sunlight. I saw that his socks and high-tops were
sparkling white, too.

That’s his uniform. He must work at the camp, I decided.

Buddy turned back. “You guys coming?” He motioned with both hands. “Come on.
You’re going to like it!”

Elliot and I hurried to catch up to him. My legs trembled as I ran. I could still feel the trailer floor bouncing and jolting
beneath me. I wondered if I would ever feel normal again.

As we made our way up the grassy hill, the red-and-white banner came into
clearer view. “King Jellyjam’s Sports Camp,” I read the words aloud.

A funny, purple cartoon character had been drawn beside the words on the
banner. He looked like a blob of grape bubble gum. He had a big smile on his
face. He wore a gold crown on his head.

“Who’s
that
?” I asked Buddy.

Buddy glanced up at the banner. “That’s King Jellyjam,” he replied. “He’s our
little mascot.”

“Weird-looking mascot for a
sports
camp,” I declared, staring up at
the purple, blobby king.

Buddy didn’t reply.

“Do you work at the camp?” Elliot asked.

Buddy nodded. “It’s a great place to work. I’m the head counselor, guys. So—welcome!”

“But we can’t go to your camp,” I protested. “We have to find our parents. We
have to…”

Buddy put a hand on my shoulder and a hand on Elliot’s shoulder. He guided us
up the hill. “You guys have had a close call. You might as well stay and have
some fun. Enjoy the camp. Until I can hook up with your parents.”

As we neared the top of the hill, I heard voices. Kids’ voices. Shouting and
laughing.

The clearing narrowed. Tall pine trees, birch trees, and maples clustered
over the hill.

“What kind of sports camp is it?” Elliot asked Buddy.

“We play all kinds of sports,” Buddy replied. “From Ping-Pong to football.
From croquet to soccer. We have swimming. We have tennis. We have archery. We
even have a marbles tournament!”

“Sounds like a cool place!” my brother declared, grinning at me.

“Only the best!” Buddy said, slapping Elliot on the shoulder.

I reached the top of the hill first and peered down through the trees to the
camp. It seemed to stretch for miles!

I could see two long, white, two-story buildings on either side. Between
them, I saw several playing fields, a baseball diamond, a long row of tennis
courts, and two enormous swimming pools.

“Those long, white buildings are the dorms,” Buddy explained, pointing.
“That’s the girls’ dorm, and that’s the boys’. You guys can stay in them while
you’re here.”

“Wow! It looks awesome!” Elliot exclaimed. “Two swimming pools!”

“Olympic size,” Buddy told him. “We have diving competitions, too. Are you
into diving?”

“Only inside the trailer!” I joked.

“Wendy is into swimming,” Elliot told Buddy.

“I think there’s a four-lap swim race this afternoon,” Buddy told me. “I’ll
check the schedule for you.”

The sun beamed on us as we followed the path down the hill. The back of my
neck started to prickle. A cool swim sounded pretty good to me.

“Can anyone sign up for baseball?” Elliot asked Buddy. “I mean, do you have
to be on a team or something?”

“You can play any sport you want,” Buddy told him. “The only rule at King
Jellyjam’s Sports Camp is to try hard.” Buddy tapped the button on his T-shirt.
“Only The Best,” he said.

The breeze blew my hair back over my face. I
knew
I should have had it
cut before vacation! I decided I’d have to find something to tie it back with as
soon as I got into the dorm.

A soccer match was under way on the nearest field. Whistles blew. Kids
shouted. I saw a long row of archery targets at the far end of the soccer field.

Buddy started jogging toward the field. Elliot stepped up beside me. “Hey—we wanted to go to camp, right?” he said, grinning. “Well? We made it!”

Before I could reply, he trotted after Buddy.

I brushed back my hair one more time, then followed. But I stopped when I saw
a little girl poke her head out from behind a wide tree trunk.

She appeared to be about six or seven. She had bright red hair and a face
full of freckles. She wore a pale blue T-shirt pulled down over black tights.

“Hey—” she called in a loud whisper. “Hey—!”

I turned toward her, startled.

“Don’t come in!” she called. “Run away! Don’t come in!”

Buddy turned back quickly. “What’s the problem, Wendy?” he called.

When I returned my eyes to the tree, the red-haired girl had vanished. I
blinked a couple of times. No trace of her.

What was that girl doing out here? I wondered. Did she hide behind that tree
just to scare people?

“Uh… no problem,” I called to Buddy. I followed Elliot and the counselor
into the camp.

I quickly forgot all about the girl as we made our way around the soccer
field and past a long row of fenced-in tennis courts. The
thwack
of
tennis balls followed us as we turned on to the main path that led through the
camp.

So many sports! So much activity!

We pushed our way through kids of all ages, eagerly hurrying to the swimming
pools, to the baseball diamond, to the bowling lanes!

“Awesome!” Elliot kept repeating. “Totally awesome!”

And for once, he was right.

We passed several other camp counselors. They were all young men and women,
dressed completely in white, all of them good-looking and smiling cheerfully.

And we passed dozens of little triangular signs showing the purple, blobby
face of King Jellyjam, smiling out from under his shiny gold crown. Under each
face was the camp slogan: Only The Best.

He’s kind of cute, I decided. I realized I was starting to like
everything
about this amazing sports camp.

And I have to confess I found myself secretly hoping that Mom and Dad
wouldn’t be able to find Elliot and me for at least a day or two.

Isn’t that terrible?

I felt really guilty about it. But I couldn’t help thinking it. This camp was
just too exciting. Especially after days of riding in the backseat of the car,
staring out at cows!

We dropped my brother off at the boys’ dorm first. Another counselor, a tall,
dark-haired guy named Scooter, greeted Elliot and took my brother off to find a
dorm room.

Then Buddy led me to the girls’ dorm on the other side of the camp. We passed
a gymnastics competition being held in an outdoor arena. Beyond that, one of the
swimming pools was jammed with kids watching a diving contest off the high board.

Buddy and I chatted as we walked. I told him about my school and about how my
favorite sports are swimming and biking.

We stopped at the white double-door entrance to the dorm. “Where are you
from?” I asked him.

Buddy stared back at me. He had such a confused expression on his face. For a
moment, I thought he didn’t understand the question.

“Do you come from around here?” I asked.

He swallowed hard. He squinted his blue eyes. “Weird…” he muttered
finally.

“What’s weird?” I demanded.

“I… I don’t remember,” he stammered. “I don’t remember where I’m from. Is
that weird or what?” He raised his right hand to his mouth and nibbled his
pointer finger.

“Hey, I forget stuff all the time,” I told him, seeing how upset he was.

I didn’t get a chance to say anything else. A young woman counselor with very
short, straight black hair and bright purple-lipsticked lips came trotting up to
us. “Hello. I’m Holly. Are you ready for some sports?”

“I guess,” I replied uncertainly.

“This is Wendy,” Buddy told her, his expression still troubled. “She needs a
room.”

“No problem!” Holly declared cheerfully. “Only The Best!”

“Only The Best,” Buddy repeated quietly. He flashed me a smile. But I could
see he was still struggling to remember where his home was. Weird, huh?

Holly led the way into the dorm. I followed her down a long, white-tiled
hall. Several girls came running past, on their way to different sports. They
were all shouting and laughing excitedly.

I peeked into some of the open rooms as we passed by them. Wow! I thought.
This place is so modern and luxurious! It’s not exactly your basic, rustic
summer camp.

“We don’t stay in the rooms much at all,” Holly told me. “Everyone is always
outdoors, competing.”

She pushed open a white door and motioned for me to step in. Bright sunlight
flooded the room from a wide window on the opposite wall.

I saw two bright blue bunk beds against each wall. A sleek white dresser
between them. Two white leather armchairs.

The walls were white. They were bare except for a small, framed drawing of
King Jellyjam above the dresser.

“Nice room!” I exclaimed, squinting against the bright sunlight.

Holly smiled. Her bright purple lips made the rest of her features seem to
disappear. “Glad you like it, Wendy. You can take that bottom bunk over there.” She pointed. She had purple fingernails that matched her
lipstick.

“Do I have roommates?” I asked.

Holly nodded. “You’ll meet them soon. They’ll get you started with some
activities. I think they’re playing soccer on the lower field. I’m not sure.”

She started out of the room, but turned at the doorway. “You’ll like Dierdre.
I think she’s about your age.”

“Thanks,” I said, gazing around the room.

“Catch you later,” Holly replied. She vanished into the hall.

I stood in the center of the sunlit room, thinking hard. What am I supposed
to do for clothes? I wondered. What about swimsuits? Sweats?

All I had were the denim short-shorts and pink-and-blue-striped T-shirt I was
wearing.

And why didn’t Holly tell me where to go next? I asked myself. Why did she
just leave me by myself in this empty room?

I didn’t have long to ask myself questions.

I started to cross to the window when I heard voices. Whispered voices
outside the door.

I turned to the door. Were my roommates returning?

I listened to the excited buzz of whispers.

Then I heard a girl loudly instruct the others. “Come on. We’ve got her
trapped in there. Let’s
get
her!”

I gasped and searched frantically for a place to hide.

No time.

Three girls burst into the room, their eyes narrowed, their mouths twisted
into menacing sneers. They formed a line and moved toward me quickly.

“Whoa! Wait!” I cried. I raised both hands as if to shield myself from their
attack.

The tall girl with streaky blond hair was the first to laugh. Then the other
two joined in.

“Gotcha,” the blond girl declared, tossing back her long hair triumphantly.

I glared back at her, my mouth hanging open.

“Did you really think we were going to attack?” one of the others asked. She
was thin and wiry, with very short black hair cut into bangs. She wore gray
sweats and a torn gray T-shirt.

“Well…” I started. I could feel my face growing hot. Their little joke had really fooled me. I felt like a total jerk.

“Don’t look at me,” the third girl said, shaking her head. She had frizzy
blond hair tumbling out from beneath a blue and red Chicago Cubs cap. “It was
all Dierdre’s idea.” She pointed to the girl with streaky blond hair.

“Don’t feel bad,” Dierdre told me, grinning. Her green eyes flashed. “You’re
the third girl this week.”