"An ACTING camp?" Skye wailed. "No! I CAN'T act! Remember me being Rainbow? Or was I Grass Flower…"
"You were RAINBOW." Jane butted in, eyes sparkling. "Or I was Rainbow, at least. And Rosy! Wonderful! My talent will shine once again! Oh…"
"Whatever. Rosy, I fainted. I was so freaking' terrified, I FAINTED before I went on. Please please PLEASE don't make me do this! I can stay with… um… Tommy!"
"Oh, Skye. I'm so, so sorry. But Daddy and Iantha are going on a business trip, and since Tommy's mom is going for her Master's degree, she's going with his. And you know about his dad… leaving." Rosalind sighed. Skye started pacing, and Batty added something to the conversation for the first time since she came into Rosalind's room.
"Rosalind, I think It's wonderful. But why an acting camp? Why not a nature camp like Skye would prefer?" Skye saw a glimmer of hope in Batty's words, which were much too wise for an eight year old.
"Yes, why not a nice stargazing camp? Or something like that?" She begged. Rosalind shot the hope down by grimacing.
"You see, the thing is… it was the only camp that would take us on such short notice. He tried desperately to find anything else. Even Anna is in Bermuda, and every other sleepaway camp is in full swing. And the school is sponsoring it, so he knows it's safe." Rosalind explained. Skye stopped pacing and leaned on the bed, duly terrified, only the words short notice registering.
"Rosalind Madilynn Penderwick." Skye enunciated, her voice shaking nevertheless. "Just when does this camp start?" Rosalind closed her eyes.
"Friday. Since it's school sponsored, we take one of those nice charter busses, so no flights, at least." She whispered, barely letting the words slip from her lips.
"What? That's tomorrow!" cried Skye. Rosalind nodded grimly.
"Which is why we better start packing."
Batty could pack herself, she argued, after all wasn't she eight? She was just as capable of packing as anyone. Still an avid collector of stuffed animals, she dropped Funty into her carry-on backpack, and after a bit of debate, slipped Ursula in there too. What if Funty got homesick? Or lonely? Batty also decided to bring her favorite books, introduced by Jane. Batty was working on The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe series, and was currently on The Magician's Nephew. Batty inserted the rest of the series into her carry on, and also added some origami paper to her bulging bag. In her suitcase she folded jeans, shorts, and her favorite t-shirts. Obviously coming with her were her muppet t-shirts, (one with Kermit, another with all the muppets with their signatures underneath), and her favorite sweater, the sunshine yellow one lined with fleece and that had a hood. Also going in was a dress for fancy occasions. When Batty decided she had packed enough, she lay on her bed, dreaming.
Rosalind packed her suitcase carefully, just like she always did. She folded in enough shirts and jeans to keep her going, but also folded in some pretty skirts she had just bought. Her packing was finished quickly.
Skye was completely mathematical. She measured a standard t-shirt and a pair of jeans. Then she calculated the volume of her suitcase. She figured she could fit ten shirts and seven pairs of pants. That left room for the unorthodox. In went Arnold and, of course, her telescope. In her duffel for the bus, she carefully stacked three space books. Since charter busses have TVs, she figured that was enough.
Jeffery had just arrived two days ago after multiple phone meetings with Mrs. T-D to let him come on vacation with them. Therefore, he had all of his stuff and simply needed to refold some of it.
Jane was anything BUT mathematical. Deciding all she'd need for her entertainment was her laptop for writing, she threw six flowing dresses she had bought at a street fair, some sandals with teeny tiny mirrors sewn on them, and multiple flowery headbands in her suitcase. Cramming in some shirts and jeans, and managing to get the zipper shut, she surveyed the bulging bag with satisfaction.
Then she realized she had forgotten her jacket.
"My darling daughters," Mr. Penderwick said, after all of them had finished packing. "Iantha and I will miss you SO MUCH. We promise to email every day. Don't worry, and have a great time. Set your alarms for five in the morning tomorrow; the bus leaves at seven and we want PLENTY of time." Skye didn't even look at her father. She rushed upstairs. Rosalind knew Skye seemed like she was being dramatic, but Skye really was terrified. Ever since she had almost had to star as Rainbow, Skye would only be convinced to go on a stage if she was getting an award for math or science. How would she get through this?
Gooooooooood mornin', good mornin', it's great to stay up late, good mornin', good mornin' to youuuuu.
Jane bounced up as the cheerful voice of the actress permeated her sleep. Jane glanced at the clock. Goodness, five in the morning? Well, she might as well get up. The sky's awake, so I'm awake. Jane thought wryly.
Bonjour! The song continued, and Skye burst into the room, her eyes smudged with grey.
"Please. Shut. That. Thing. Off." Skye ordered icily.
"Bonjour?" Jane offered weakly, pressing a button that silenced her alarm. Skye nodded sharply, and trudged out of the room. Jane leaped out of her room and into her rolly chair. She scrolled over to her wood desk where her laptop was charging. Flipping open the lid, Jane glimpsed the how well charged the meter was. It was green.
"Oh, what a hopeful sight a full battery can be." mused Jane. Closing her laptop, she slipped out her door. Spiriting a bowl of cornflakes to her room, she began to type the intro to her seventh Sabrina Starr book.
"It will be magnificent! A true reflection of what I am worth…" She murmured dramatically.
After telling Jane to shut off her relentlessly happy alarm, Skye snatched a cereal bar and climbed her favorite tree. Leaning against the smooth, cool bark, she thought about Mommy. How she would be proud if Skye managed to get a good part in this play. Skye's eyes closed, and one tear slipped through. Mommy would want her to be in this play. Especially since it was one of her favorites.
"A Midsummer Night's Dream," Rosalind had told her. "Mommy loved it."
"Why?" Skye had asked.
"She said that what goes around comes around. It's a whole love quadrangle."
"Well…" Skye had hesitated.
"Hmmm…" Skye sighed, and peered at the hunting hawk with her binoculars.
Meanwhile, Rosalind had whipped up an ambrosial batch of made from scratch pancakes. Cutting her first pancake into triangle shaped pieces, she smacked Jeffery, who was cramming them into his mouth like he had never eaten one before.
"Soowy Way." he mumbled around a mouthful of pancake, and began cutting up the other three he had heaped onto his plate. He tipped the jug of syrup over the pancakes and licked his fingers when he snapped shut the lid. Just then, Batty waltzed in and snagged a pancake. Rolling it into a stick and swabbing up some syrup from Rosalind's tiny dish (Rosalind liked to dip her pieces), she swiftly swallowed it down. Rosalind looked at the remaining stack and frowned. Stacking two well-syruped pancakes on one plate and three on the other, she walked outside. Noticing a foot sticking down from a tree, she quickly stepped up to it and tapped the leg.
"What?" A surly voice asked.
"Skye? It's me."
"What do you want?"
"Are you hungry?"
Skye peered down.
"Well… I guess I could eat."
Rosalind held up the pancakes, and Skye reached for them greedily. She devoured the first in under ten seconds and swallowed the second without even breathing. Rosalind left her to her task.
Five minutes later, with her remaining plate, she tiptoed upstairs. She only heard clacking noises when she tapped Jane's door with her foot, so she pushed open the closed door to see a totally engrossed Jane. Noticing the empty bowl next to her laptop, Rosalind quietly slid the plate of two pancakes on a nearby surface- just in case- and padded away. She wouldn't want to disrupt a genius at work.