CHAPTER ONE:

Carmen took a long, deep breath as she looked at the "Welcome Campers!" sign hanging above the entrance to Camp Hollow Hill. When she had pictured the ultimate summer her mom had been talking about for the past two months, she never thought it would involve SUMMER CAMP. Now, here she was, walking to her doom. . .Oh well. . .

Carmen rolled her suitcase down the long trail of the campgrounds. She watched as tons of other teens were hugging and greeting each other excitedly. They exchanged things like "Ohmygosh, I missed you!" and "Wow, you look so different from last year!" Great. . .everyone knew each other. . .she was the newbie. . .well that was just AWESOME. She watched them silently, deep in thought of how terrible this summer was gonna be. . .

Carmen: (crashes into a blonde girl with curly hair wearing a blue tank top and mini skirt)

Girl: (rudely) Well, excuse YOU! Watch where you're going!

Carmen: (stammering) Oh, sorry. . .I-I didn't mea-

Girl: (walking off) Newbies! (rolls eyes)

Carmen: (watches her walk off)

Wow, Carmen thought, what's her problem? She stood there, shocked, staring after the mysterious girl with a bad attitude, watching her switch off. Suddenly she felt a tap on her shoulder and turned around, half-startled. A really cute guy stood in front of her, and she felt her heart skip a beat. . .

Boy: (flips hair) Hi, I'm Justin (smiles and sticks out hand) Don't mind Amy! She's always like that. . .her dad owns the camp and sometimes she walks over other campers. . .especially new ones.

Carmen: (shakes hand and smiles) Hello, I'm Carmen. . .Oh okay, haha for a minute there I thought I did something!

Justin: (laughs) Nope! But the warden is gonna do something to us if we don't hurry and get our bags to our cabins! (grabs one of her bags) Where ya headed?

Carmen: (reads ID Badge) Cabin D. . .?

Justin: Cool. West Side. . .haha (smiles)

He walks her to her cabin and helps her find her bunk.

Carmen: Wow, thank you. You're the warmest welcome I've gotten! (smiles)

Justin: No prob! I know what it's like being new! Well, I better get outta here before I get busted for being in a girls' cabin! See you at Campfire (smiles and walks out, shutting door behind him)

Carmen: (smiles and waves)

Whoa, Carmen thought, he is so sweet! And cute! She started unpacking when a girl with long brown hair walks in, wearing a fitted tee that says "Free Hugs" and dark blue basketball shorts.

Carmen: Hi. . .

Girl: Hey! I'm Lisa, you?

Carmen: Carmen. (sticks out hand)

Lisa: (shakes hand) Cute name! (smiles)

Carmen notices that Lisa is wearing a bright green wristband that says "Camp Hollow Hill: Summer '06"

Carmen: So I'm guessing this isn't your first year?

Lisa: Nope. (points to wristband) Been here since '06 (smiles) It's really a fun camp! You'll love it here!

Carmen: (laughs) Wow, is it that easy to tell I'm new? Do I stick out or something?

Lisa: Yeah. . .haha but not in a bad way! (smiles)

Carmen: (looks relieved) Whew! Good! (laughs)

Lisa: (laughs and looks at watch) You know, we should head on down to the fire pit! We've got a six minute walk!

Carmen: Okay! (closes drawer and follows Lisa out of the cabin)

Maybe this camp won't be so bad, she thought to herself, smiling.