"I'm home!" called Stephanie, walking in the front door. Michelle was right behind her. Stephanie sat down on the couch, and began sifting through the mail on the coffee table. She picked out four letters addressed to her and headed upstairs. Michelle was close behind.
Stephanie sat down cross-legged on her bed and tore open the first envelope. Michelle peered over her shoulder.
"Michelle!" cried Stephanie. "Don't read my mail! It's personal!"
"I can barely even read!" replied Michelle. "But the pictures look pretty!" Michelle grabbed a pamphlet from Stephanie's hands.
"What is this place?" she asked.
"It's an advertisement for a camp," replied Stephanie. "I must've requested pamphlets from every camp in the country! I figure that if I find the right one, Dad will let me go."
"Well, go ask him then," replied Michelle, starting for the door.
"Wait, Michelle!" cried Stephanie, grabbing her wrist and pulling her back in the room. "I haven't found the right one yet, and I want to ask Dad at the perfect time. So you have to pinky swear that you won't mention anything about this."
Michelle thought for a moment, then replied, "Okay," and held up her pinky. Locking pinkies with Stephanie, she declared, "Pinky swear!" with a smile. She was glad that Stephanie entrusted her with such a special secret.
"I'm going to play with Nicky and Alex," said Michelle.
"Sure," replied Stephanie, eager to get back to her mail. She tore open the remaining three envelopes and spread them out on her bed. She picked up the first one and began to read.
"Camp Mountainside- Conveniently located by a mountain!...Wow, how much more creative could that slogan get?...Many fun activities including non-messy crafts, safety swimming with life vests, and pony-riding. For ages 5-9." Stephanie sighed, throwing the packet in the trash.
After carefully reading the remaining three packets, Stephanie saw that they all had potential. It was now time for the second round of elimination.
"Deej?" she asked, walking into DJ's room.
"Rules?" replied DJ.
"I'm getting sick of this rules thing," said Stephanie. "If you leave your door open, I should just be allowed to come in!"
"Well, then, you're not getting any help from me," replied DJ, beginning to read her book again. Stephanie sighed and walked back outside the room. She knocked on the open door.
"Come in," said DJ, and Stephanie reentered the room.
"Oh, no," groaned DJ, spotting the colorful advertisements in Stephanie's hand. "How many today?"
"Three," replied Stephanie. "And these ones actually seem like possibilities."
"Give them to me," said DJ, as Stephanie sat down. After glancing at the first one, DJ threw it aside.
"No way," she said.
"What's wrong with this one," asked Stephanie. DJ took it back.
"Camp Lakeview. Located in upstate New York. Dad's never going to let you take a plane by yourself all the way there. He likes places where he can easily come get us if necessary," replied DJ.
"How would you know?" asked Stephanie. She didn't remember DJ ever having gone to camp.
"Well, the summer I was nine, Mom convinced Dad that I was old enough for camp. I was just going for one session, which was two weeks. The camp was about two hours away. The first night I was there, there was a thunderstorm. Dad was convinced that I was scared, and came to check on me. Meanwhile, I was fine, and actually already enjoying myself. But Dad came and brought me home, and I never went back."
"Well, I guess that's why I never remembered you going to camp," replied Stephanie. "Because you never really went. And what I do know now is that convincing Dad is going to be harder than I thought. And the first step to getting there is choosing the right camp. So let's keep looking."
"Not this one," said DJ, throwing the next one aside.
"Why not?" asked Stephanie. "This one looks perfect!"
"Co-ed cabins? Dad would flip!" said DJ. Stephanie looked more closely at the pamphlet, and realized that this was true.
"I didn't notice that before," she said. "I guess this one's not right either." She picked up the last pamphlet and gave it to DJ. "Last one for today," she said, crossing her fingers.
"Whoa," said DJ. "Air-conditioned cabins, meals from a gourmet French chef, purebred horses for trail riding…."
"Sounds cool, doesn't it?" asked Stephanie.
"Steph, it sounds like some rich kids snob camp," replied DJ. "And besides, three thousand dollars for a one week session?"
"Where does it say that?" asked Stephanie. She tossed the pamphlet in the trash with the others after DJ pointed out the price.
"I'll be back tomorrow," said Stephanie, going back to her room to do her homework. She sat down at the table and opened her math book. She sharpened her pencil, then triple checked her assignment, stalling for as long as possible.
"Did you find a good camp?" asked Michelle, walking in.
"Not yet," replied Stephanie. "There's something wrong with all of them."
"Well, that's okay," said Michelle. "Then you can stay with me."
"Thanks Michelle, but I really want to do this. This is a chance to prove to Dad that I am much more mature and responsible. And if I'm going to prove that I'm responsible, I better start my homework," said Stephanie, beginning the first problem.
"Girls, dinner!" called Danny from the kitchen.
"I'll be responsible after dinner," declared Stephanie. "Right now I'm hungry. Come on, Michelle."
"Hi girls," said Danny as DJ, Stephanie, and Michelle came down the stairs.
"Hi, Dad," they murmured, all their attention on the delicious pizza in the middle of the table.
"Well, it's good to see you, too," laughed Danny. "I better serve the pizza before it gets cold." After giving each girl a slice, he called out, "Come on, everyone, the pizza's going to get cold!" At that, everyone magically appeared in the kitchen.
"Can't let the pizza get cold!" said Joey, taking three slices.
"Joey, you only take one," scolded Michelle. "If you're still hungry, you can have more. That's what Daddy always says!"
"Sorry, Michelle," said Joey. "But I've been working on my comedy all day, and I haven't eaten since breakfast!"
"That's okay, Joey," replied Michelle. "You can have three slices, just this once!"
As everybody began to eat, Stephanie thought about how fun summer camp would be. She would eat dinner in the cafeteria every night, laughing with all her new friends. Then she'd go to bed in a cozy little cabin where they'd play truth or dare in secret, and pretend to be sleeping when the counselors came to check on them and-
"Right, Steph?" asked Danny, catching her off guard.
"Oh, uh, yeah," replied Stephanie, quickly shoving more pizza in her mouth. Now she had an excuse.
"I'm going to go finish my homework," she said.
"Sure, Steph," replied Danny. "That's my studious, responsible girl." Stephanie took that as a small victory. Now she had proof that Danny thought she was "responsible," and that would help her with convincing him to let her go to camp.
The next day, only one camp advertisement came. It was quickly discarded when Stephanie saw that it was circus camp.
"Who would want to go to circus camp?" she thought as she sat down on the couch to start her homework. She didn't want Michelle pestering her again. Just as she was about ready to begin, Steve and Kimmy came running through the door.
"Don't you guys ever knock?" asked Stephanie.
"Is DJ here?" asked Steve, looking at the bag of pretzels on the table.
"She's upstairs, and go ahead," said Stephanie, nodding towards the bag of pretzels on the table and rolling her eyes. "Do you want me to go get her?"
"I'll do it," said Kimmy, yelling "DJ!" at the top of her lungs.
"Gibbler!" cried Stephanie. "Have some respect for the people who actually live in this house!"
"Hey, guys!" said DJ, running down the stairs. "What's going on?"
"Guess what, Deej?" asked Kimmy.
"You're moving to Antarctica?" asked Stephanie, cheered by the thought.
"No, very funny. Steve and I both got jobs at that summer camp about an hour away from here!"
"What?" asked DJ, who didn't seem very excited.
"Come on, Deej, aren't you happy for us?" asked Steve.
"How am I supposed to spend my summer without my best friend and my boyfriend?" asked DJ.
"Well, you should apply for a job, too," said Kimmy. "They took me, they'll take anybody!"
"I don't think that my dad will let me," said DJ, disappointed. But Stephanie was seeing the light in this situation.
"Steve, Kimmy, so you happen to have a pamphlet for the camp?" she asked.
"Oh, sure, Steph, rub it in," said DJ.
"I got one right here, Squirt," said Kimmy, pulling it out of her pocket.
"First of all, don't call me Squirt. Second of all, let me see that," said Stephanie, grabbing it from Kimmy. "Camp Lakota," she read. "Your source for summer fun. Read on to see the many features of this camp for all ages from six to thirteen." She smiled, a distant look on her face. "I have a brilliant plan…" she said.
After detailing the plan to Michelle, she asked, "Are you sure that I don't have to stick my head in another fence?"
"Yes, Michelle, now go be lookout for Dad," replied Stephanie.
"He's coming!" yelled Michelle, running over to the couch.
"Great, now everybody sit down and get ready," said Stephanie. Danny walked in to see the five sitting on the couch.
"Who died?" he asked, taking in their serious faces.
"Dad, sit down," said Stephanie, leading him to a chair.
"What's going on," asked Danny.
"Mr. T, we have a little presentation for you," said Kimmy. Stephanie turned around to give her a death stare.
"Oh, right, I'm supposed to be the silent one," said Kimmy, sitting down again. Stephanie nodded to DJ, who began the presentation.
"Dad, we are getting older, and becoming more mature. And as this happens, we need to experience new things," she started. "And one of these things is camp. At the age of sixteen, I have not yet even been to camp."
"Yes, you have, and you hated it, remember?" asked Danny.
"No interruptions, please," said Stephanie, nodding to DJ to continue.
"And we don't want Stephanie or little Michelle to miss out on this amazing experience," continued DJ, as Stephanie and she both came to one of Michelle's sides, and they all made puppy-dog faces at the same time.
"Mr. Tanner," said Steve, standing up. "Kimmy and I were both accepted as counselors at a camp about an hour from here. It's for ages six to thirteen, and they're still looking for more counselors ages sixteen to eighteen."
"Dad," started Stephanie. "I have looked at camps from each of these fifty United States-" She paused to dump out a garbage can full of packets out on the coffee table. "And this camp seems to be the right one," she continued.
"And with my big sisters there to keep an eye on me, I couldn't misbehave," said Michelle, smiling and winking.
"So Dad, what do you think?" asked Stephanie, crossing her fingers behind her back.
"Well," started Danny. "I think that that was a very convincing argument."
"And….?" prompted Stephanie.
"And I can tell that you all worked together to put this little presentation together. That takes teamwork and you girls working together shows a lot of responsibility. I think that you girls are old enough to go to this camp," said Danny.
"So we're going?" asked DJ.
"As long as you write every day," smiled Danny.
"Thanks, Dad!" cried Stephanie, hugging him tightly.
"Wait, where's everyone going?" asked Danny as everyone ran upstairs.
"Well, I'm going to go pack," said DJ.
"I'm calling my friends to tell them I don't have to go to Camp Day 'O Fun!" said Stephanie.
"And I'm going to…..tell Uncle Jesse!" said Michelle.
"I'm helping DJ pack, Mr. T," said Kimmy.
"And I'm going to the kitchen!" said Steve.
"But the kitchen's that way," replied Danny.
"I'm taking a new route, to mix things up," said Steve, shrugging. "You never want to get bored of the kitchen!"
"They're never going to write," said Danny, the realization hitting him. Stephanie suddenly came running back down the stairs.
"Thanks, Dad, you don't know how much this means to me," she said. "And don't worry, I'll write."