I was thinking that it was probably fun to be on top, to hang over and talk to the person below you, when Athena, in the bed across from me, whispered, “G’night, everybody!”

  Karyn mumbled something I couldn’t make out—I bet she was just about out. Jocelyn, however, who sounded wide awake, called out, “Nighty, nighty, nighty!” I took a deep breath and forced out, “Nuh!” I wish I could have said more. But I’m pretty sure they knew that.

  Flickering camp lanterns dangled from each counselor’s bed. Not oil—that would be way too dangerous—just a battery-powered flame, like a mini bonfire. It actually made the cabin seem sort of pretty.

  I lay there for a long time. Sleep seemed to be having a hard time finding me. The cabin was quiet now but nowhere close to silent. Athena snored! Karyn coughed every so often. Jocelyn mumbled in her sleep. I heard her say, “Go, go, go,” and then something that sounded like “Mushy, mushy, mushy”—I wasn’t sure. Even in her sleep she spoke in threes!

  I wondered what I did in my sleep. I hoped it was nothing embarrassing like farting or anything.

  I could hear tree frogs outside—at least that was what I thought was making that chirpy sound. I remembered that from studying for Whiz Kids in fifth grade—Mrs. V would be so proud. Besides, birds wouldn’t be up this late, would they? I guessed they were probably asleep. But then I started to wonder, How do birds sleep, anyway? Do they just close their eyes while sitting on a branch? Why don’t they fall off?

  I never did figure it out.

  CHAPTER 18

  I woke up with a gasp. Where was I?

  Camp. That’s right. Camp. So it was Monday. And I was still here. I looked across to the next bed. And, ha-ha, so was Karyn! She didn’t even mention going home last night!

  Birds were chirping so loudly outside I couldn’t believe they hadn’t woken everybody up. I guess for them, living here must be like hanging out in paradise all the time—zillions of trees and bugs and worms, and limitless sky.

  Trinity came over and squatted by my bed. “Good morning, early bird,” she whispered, smoothing my blanket, like Mom does. Hey, how’d she climb down from her bunk without me hearing?

  I smiled, just to let her know I was awake.

  “You ready for day two?” She was clearly one of those people who woke up looking like they had professionals to do their face while they slept: her makeup was perfect. And her braids were tight—not one bit of frizz. She probably beat the birds getting up!

  I knew from experience that my hair was a tangled mess. My face felt sticky. Hopefully, I had no dried drool on my chin—yeah, I’m a drooler when I sleep. Maybe that meant I didn’t fart? That would be a good trade-off.

  So I nodded hard, genuinely eager to hear what was up for today.

  “Let’s see what we’ve got planned….” She glanced down at her tablet and kept her voice low. “Ah, the first is a surprise, but you’ll love it! Then probably another swim—gotta get you from tadpole to guppy—and maybe we’ll be able to squeeze in a boat ride. And, of course, Fire Time tonight.”

  Gotta admit, I was relieved that she didn’t say horseback. Mom was the one who’d been excited about the horses. Me? Not sure yet. I was gonna take the wait-and-see approach. Because, duh, my balance was like zip! How was I supposed to stay on top of a thousand-pound animal? But I was curious. At the same time, riding a horse had never been on my just-gotta-do-it wish list. Horses were big. And fast. And I was not. So there was that. But then, I didn’t have fins, and yesterday I swam! Man, I was getting good at arguing with myself!

  “Okay, girlfriend,” Trinity said, patting my arm, “we’ve got lots to do today, like taking a shower!”

  So we got up and headed to the showers, which were across the yard and beyond the latrine, passing a few other early birds on the way. A pair of chipmunks chased each other, right in front of my chair!

  When we rolled in, wow—what a surprise! The room, instead of being morning-chilly, was warm and cozy. They had special shower chairs just for kids like me. It still felt weird having a total stranger see me naked, but I just shrugged it off. It is what it is, Dad always says. Trinity rolled me in, set my shower gel and sponge in the basket attached to this shower chair, and let me wash up without her. I really appreciated that—I’m way too old to have anybody washing me! Mom had packed pink peppermint shower gel, and the whole washroom area smelled like melted candy by the time I was finished.

  Back at the cabin, everyone else was just waking up. Like me, Jocelyn had serious bed head going on, but she just yanked her hair into a ponytail and she was done.

  “We’ve got a ginormous box of Fiery Falcons shirts,” Trinity told me as we were getting dressed. “Want one?” She held up a Falcons shirt in one hand and the lime-green one that Mom had packed in the other. I really liked the green shirt—Mom and I had found it at Target at the last minute. But I pointed to the orange one. No one’s gonna say I’m not a team player. Unlike other people—but I pushed that thought away. The Whiz Kids stuff was more than a year ago. I needed to be over it!

  As we headed out to breakfast, Karyn, also in a Falcons T-shirt, rolled up next to me. “Hope they have pancakes,” she said. I answered with a head jerk and a flinging of my hand. “What’s your fave—blueberry or chocolate chip or caramel?” she asked.

  “Chocolate chip!” Athena called out. She also wore her camp shirt, but she had a bright pink tank top underneath it. That girl was gonna get her pink on, no matter what.

  “Caramel for me, please!” I tapped.

  Karyn rolled on ahead, I guess to check out the menu.

  No pancakes today, but even better—cheesy eggs, one of my favorites, and oatmeal, as well as plenty of bacon. Can’t eat bacon, too chewy, but Karyn and Athena gobbled a stack of it, keeping count to see who ate the most slices. Jocelyn, who today insisted she didn’t eat meat, even though I watched her eat hot dogs yesterday, downed three sausages. Exactly three. Trinity and I took our time as we made our way through that pile of eggs and caramel-drenched oatmeal.

  Just as I ate my last bite, Elvira beeped. It was Mom. She sent a text message with a half dozen smiley faces and thumbs-ups, saying how she hoped I was having fun. I was able to quickly answer by tapping on phrases and sentences already saved into my machine; Mom and Mrs. V took lots of time typing in “camp conversations” before I left. Clearly they were more bugged out than I was about me going away! Trinity helped me find some phrases to send to Mom so she didn’t worry.

  Hi Mom. I am fine. I went swimming and did not drown. Ha-ha! Camp is okay. Bye!

  Before the first full day of camp, there was apparently a general all-camp meeting right there in the dining hall. It’s not really a hall—it’s just a big inside area that can hold a bunch of kids and picnic tables. Cassie stood up in front of us once we’d all crammed in. I did some quick math: four kids per cabin, times sixteen cabins—whoa, that’s sixty-four of us.

  That’s an awful lot of kids who fit the qualifications to be eligible for a camp like Green Glades. But it sure felt good to hang with kids who were just like me.

  Cassie was trying her best to get everyone’s attention. She reminded me of a drill sergeant as she held up a clipboard and read from it. “Welcome to your first full day at Camp Green Glades, and I hope the tree frogs didn’t keep you awake! We have an exciting schedule of activities planned for today.”

  I was right—they were tree frogs!

  “Some of you will start your day on a luxurious lake cruise. Some will create masterpieces or symphonies. Others will work off their breakfast with a swim. The rest will learn to… fly!!” At that, she wagged an eyebrow mysteriously.

  Fly? Literally every single kid glanced at every other kid. Murmurs filled the air.

  “Settle down. Settle down. We’ll be on a rotating schedule. But don’t worry, everyone will have a chance to do everything—including flying!” she assured us. “And of course we’ll end the day with a bonfire.”

  Oh, I was psyched for another bonfire. But I was mostly wondering what the heck she meant by flying.

  CHAPTER 19

  After the group meeting, we stopped to quickly brush our teeth and make a bathroom stop. Then we dropped back by our cabin to grab some waters and juice boxes.

  “Well,” Trinity asked us as she stuck the boxes in her backpack, “are you ready for this morning’s big adventure? Because today we’re going zip-lining!”

  My cabinmates looked up in surprise. So that was what Cassie had hinted at! I thought back to that photo of somebody else flying through the air, held by just a strap and a cord… and it seemed sooooooo cool. Even a little dangerous. Me, doing a little dangerous? Soooo, huh… yep. This might be a little over the top. But what was wrong with that? I thought about Mom—she’d have heart failure! And that made me want to do it even more. And yet… it was so high….

  “You will LOVE it!” Trinity told us.

  “This will be the part of camp you’ll remember the most!” Lulu chimed in.

  Jocelyn had started walking in circles, then paused by the window. “Flying? Flying? Flying?” she kept repeating, worry in her voice. The morning sky was the bluest of blues. She stared out the window for a long, long time. Finally she said, “Okay! Okay! Okay!”

  I couldn’t tell what changed her mind. But it got me thinking. These folks have done this with probably dozens of groups of camp kids. For sure they’ve figured out how to avoid sending a camper to Mars on a zip line!

  I looked over at Karyn—we were the ones with the wheels here, after all. She must have been thinking the same thing because she turned to me, too. We silently exchanged a look that said, If you go, I’ll go. After a moment, Karyn shrugged. So I nodded.

  “Ah, I see smiles!” Trinity said victoriously.

  I touched okay, and before any of us could change our minds, the counselors practically sprinted us down the trail to the zip-line loading station.

  And yikes! Trinity and I got there first, which meant I was gonna be the cabin guinea pig!

  Kya waved as we arrived. Most of the counselors here wore blue jeans or shorts and camp T-shirts, but instead of jeans, Kya wore her camp shirt with bright yellow silky-looking slacks that rippled as she walked.

  “Greetings, Falcons! It’s great to see you again. You’re gonna love this. I’m an expert on zip-lining—I’ve been zipping and helping campers slide and glide for a decade now,” she told us. “I was honored to be asked to run the zip-line program here at Green Glades. Most important thing to know? No one has ever fallen on my watch. Actually, I’ve never seen anyone fall, ever!”

  I managed to nod, in spite of the fact that I was worrying about dying for the second time in as many days. ’Cause today might be the day Kya’s luck ran out. That would be just my luck!

  Kya took her time explaining how it was all going to work. “First,” she said, “you and Trinity will ride our little elevator to that platform you see above you.”

  I peered up. That platform sure was high in the sky. I mean, I practically had to squint to see it.

  “You’ll be fastened into a harness and the bucket, and then Trinity and I will double-check the safety straps.”

  I was gonna be harnessed into a bucket? Dad says I have an overactive imagination, but I never imagined I’d hear those words. Me. In a bucket. Those photographer people better get a shot of this!

  “So, any questions? Are you ready?”

  I wasn’t, but I nodded… or maybe I trembled. I’m honestly not sure.

  Trinity rolled me onto a platform, pushed a lever, and oh my! I gasped. I’m not trying to sound like Jocelyn, but we were heading up, up, up! In less than a minute, we rolled off onto another platform, but whoa! It was like a million feet in the air! Well, maybe a hundred. In front of us I saw a bright red cushioned chair attached to cables that were attached to… I have no idea! It was almost too much to think about in one swallow.

  “Okay, girlfriend, here we go!” Trinity said as she lifted me into the bucket-seat thingy. It was curved to the size of my butt, and it was even padded. Kya clicked the seat belt around me. Next came the harness, and holy moly, there were like ninety-nine buckles on that thing, which was attached to the seat with another ninety-nine clasps, and they all needed to be hooked together.

  “These hooks are called carabiners, just like the folks who climb Mount Everest use,” Kya explained. “And yeah, we check the safety straps. And check again. Then once more.” She gave me a wink. “Like I said, no one falls on my watch!”

  Trinity gave each clasp a second tug. And, as promised, Kya checked once more. Then she plunked a helmet on my head. Chin strap? Check! Check the check? Check, check! But wait, if I’m not going to fall, why would I need a helmet?

  “You’re all set, Melody,” Kya said at last. Then Trinity got in behind me, and she got helmeted and harnessed in as well. She circled her arms around me, the ninety-nine buckles, and let’s be honest here, my trembling heart.

  “Okay, it’s fly time, fly girl!” Trinity said, all psyched. “And don’t close your eyes. You’re gonna want to see this. It’ll be over in like twenty seconds, and you don’t want to miss even one.”

  So I gave my helmeted head a tiny nod, and Trinity yelled out, “Go!”

  And then, just like that, before I even had time to freak, because for sure I was gonna die in like thirty seconds, I was flying! Trees hurtled past, their leaves a blur. I swear the very air whooshed right through me. I was an eagle, a hummingbird, a creature of feathers and air. I got it now—why birds soar and swoop and float on the air. This was pure joy! I had never moved so fast.

  My disobedient legs swung loose in the air, finally taking advantage of all that uncontrollable movement. They got the chance to kick and kick without it mattering at all. And it felt so good!

  But in a snap, it was over. A gentle slowdown, and we were done. No trees hit. And no more soaring. Like a flash of lightning that slices the sky, it brightened my world, and then was gone. I wondered if they’d let me do it again.

  “Thumbs-up?” Trinity asked after all those buckles and clasps were unclasped and I was back in my chair.

  I focused super hard and held both thumbs up.

  “Wanna do it again?”

  “Yes! Yes! Yes!” I whacked Elvira.

  Athena went next. She was begging “AGAIN!” even before they’d unhooked her.

  Jocelyn asked to go three times, but Lulu reminded her she had to give everybody at least one turn before anyone got a second. Karyn was at first hesitant, but the look on her face when she landed on the platform on the other side was stunned happiness.

  “I… I was like… the wind!” she whispered to me as soon as she was down.

  After everyone got a slew of chances to zip down that incredible contraption again, we headed back to camp. Rolling in my chair seemed soooooooo boring. Karyn caught up with me, and, looking slightly embarrassed, said that she probably wasn’t gonna go home today after all.

  And I totally got why.

  Because today we learned we could fly!

  CHAPTER 20

  Swimming was next up on the schedule. This time, with Trinity supporting both my head and my stomach, I lay flat on the water—facedown—almost like the swimmers I’ve seen on TV. But not really—I made real sure that not one drop of water touched my nose. I was able to use my arms to move me a little, and it felt SO good! I felt closer to being a guppy, for sure. Trinity’s hair stayed dry; mine was a soppy mess. She wasn’t kidding about saving those braids!

  When we got out, we headed back to the cabin, made a quick change into dry clothes, and gobbled down our mac-and-cheese lunch. More cheese, less mac, would be my review if anyone asked. And for dessert we had something called snickerdoodles, which sounds like a type of dog but turns out are freshly baked cinnamon cookies—really awesome. Trinity soaked mine in milk so I could eat them easier. How come I’d never thought of that?

  Then Trinity announced we were doing more water! These folks were seriously into wet activities.

  “So, are you ready for our deluxe ocean-liner cruise?” she asked.

  Not sure what she meant by ocean liner, we all waited.

  “I got jokes—sorry. We’re going on a boat ride! It’s not a cruise ship—sorry—we’ll be on a little flat-bottomed boat on Lake Lilliana.”

  She watched for our reaction. Since I’d never been on a boat, I only had ocean-liner movie scenes in my head. Hmm—now was probably not the time to be thinking about Titanic, one of my favorite movies of all time. So I had lots of questions, starting with how would they manage to get all of us on a boat?

  Karyn had questions too and didn’t need time to type them out, so I was glad she began to pepper Trinity and Kim with them.

  “So what kind of boat do you have? There’s too many of us for a rowboat.”

  “It’s called a pontoon,” Trinity started to reply, but Athena interrupted with “What’s a pontoon? That’s a silly word!”

  My thoughts exactly!

  “A pontoon,” Sage explained, “is basically a giant metal floatie.” We must have looked skeptical, because she added, “Let’s see…. Look at it this way: a pontoon boat is like a floating living room with a sunroof!”

  “What’s great about a pontoon is that it’s 99.5 percent impossible to sink—honestly. I don’t even know how one could even be sunk!” Sage added.

  “Is that all?” Karyn said with a frown.

  “I’ve got you, Karyn,” Kim told her. “One hundred zillion percent!” She gave Karyn’s arm a quick rub. Karyn, I noticed, did not pull back. But she still looked worried. Kim explained further, “The boat makes runs with campers every day. Trust me, they’re experts.” Karen still gave her the side-eye.