"So it's all settled. We'll leave on the 22nd."
I looked up, suddenly aware that my dad was speaking.
"Leave? You mean we're actually going to Disneyland?"
Spencer laughed hysterically and I could hear Dad chuckling.
My mother meanwhile, looked at me and sighed.
"Oh Melissa, I wish you'd get your head out of the clouds just once! We're not going to Disneyland!"
I gasped in shock. "But you promised!"
"I did no such thing, Melissa Ann Sherwood!"
"Oooohh!" came Spencer's voice. Like me, he knew that when Mom used our full names, she meant business.
"Okay then. Where are we going?"
"We're not going anywhere." She replied. "You are."
I blinked. "What?"
"Your father and I want you to have a productive summer." She explained. "So we're sending you away to summer camp."
If Timothy Hutton himself had walked through the door, I couldn't have been more surprised. And he was the foxiest guy ever to appear on film!
"Mom, you can't be serious! Summer camp?"
"Come on, Honey! It'll be good for you!"
I looked at my dad with annoyance. "Are you crazy? I can't go to summer camp! That's for losers! Remember how miserable Bianca was the summer she went?"
"But this isn't just any summer camp." My father said, in an attempt to make this conversation seem worthwhile. "This is Camp Firewood!"
"A Jewish camp!" Spencer so graciously added.
My mouth fell open in stunned amazement. This really couldn't be happening.
"How can I go to a Jewish summer camp? In case you've forgotten, we're not Jewish!"
"Well, yes we realize that, dear." Mom said. "But your father pulled some strings and his boss Ernie agreed to let you in. Isn't that wonderful?"
"Great!" I said, feigning excitement. In a matter of one dinner my hopes and dreams came crashing down.
This was going to be the worst summer ever.