"Up and at 'em girls! We have no time to waste!" Rachel yelled.
Rachel's voice slowly crept into her dream, weaving in with the images and voices mixing around in her head. As she progressed through that state of waking, everything stayed just a little bit fuzzy. In that state, everything was fine, and it was morning, how couldn't it be? But something tugged at the back of her mind as if there was something she was supposed to be worrying about, but she couldn't figure out what. Then it hit her like a ton of bricks, and she suddenly sat up, completely awake. Oh right, Miranda's not speaking to me, she thought.
In Lizzie's mind, or any 14-year-old's mind, being in a fight with her best friend was one of the worst possible things that could ever happen. She glanced down at Miranda's bunk, but she had already woken and was on the other side of the cabin getting ready with Jessie and Jenna. By the time Lizzie had gotten dressed everyone else was ready and waiting.
"Let's GO Lizzie," Jessie called impatiently from the porch.
"Yeah, yeah," Lizzie muttered under her breath as she hobbled getting her shoes on. "Hey Jessie, since when are YOU the counselor?" Lizzie asked, walking out the door, with her hands on her hips.
"Since Rachel designated me to be for the morning, since she just left for official business she had to take care of," Jessie responded, matter-of-factly.
Embarrassed Lizzie just zipped up her sweatshirt and grumbled to herself as she followed the girls to breakfast. The only solace she felt was that she would get to see Gordo in a few minutes. She walked behind the misery triplets the whole way, while Charlotte and Crystal followed sleepily behind her.
"So I got a letter from my boyfriend yesterday," Jessie said in a sickeningly sweet tone.
"Really? What did it say?" Miranda asked earnestly.
Ugh. I can't believe Miranda is actually acting like her friend, Lizzie thought.
"Well, he said that he was coming back from Spain this week, and was coming to visit me at camp! He said he had lots of Spanish presents for me. I can't wait!" Jessie squeeled.
Lizzie just rolled her eyes and tugged her hood over her head.
"You're allowed to have visitors like that?" Jenna asked.
"Well no, not exactly," Jessie responded, "but we'll arrange something. I'm calling him on the pay phone as soon as I get to breakfast. Hopefully the time-zones match up."
"Well at least you'll get to talk to him," Miranda said cheerily.
"Yeah, he's the best. He spends all his money on me. And why wouldn't he want to? I mean look at me…" Jessie went on.
Again the conversation was dominated by Jessie's superficial droning. Why on earth is Miranda going along with this? Lizzie thought. Lizzie tried to block out their conversation the rest of the way.
When they reached the mess hall Lizzie found Gordo's table and sat down. A wave of relief passed over her.
"Lizzie! Why the long face?" Ian called to her from the other side of the table.
Lizzie just looked at him and tried to smile, but it just came out falsely like she had just painted it on.
Gordo looked at Lizzie, then over at Miranda, on the opposite side of the hall. "Still not talking to her?" He asked.
"Nope. And it looks like she's taken up with lame-o number one and lame-o number two," she said looking at Jessie and Jenna. She let out a sigh and put her head down.
A counselor started talking over the din. "Attention campers!"
Lizzie lifted her head up in an instant.
"You may be wondering why some of your counselors weren't there when you walked to breakfast! Well, we have a big surprise for you! We were planning the annual canoe race!"
A wave of excitement spread across the hall as the campers started cheering. A huge grin spread across Lizzie's face. Now here was something she could really look forward to!
"Past campers know this is one of Camp Meadowlake's oldest and most enjoyable events! As you know, this is a partners race, so you must choose a partner, and choose him or her wisely!"
"Gordo-will-you-be-my-partner?" Lizzie blurted out.
"Of course, Lizzie," he said without missing a beat.
"Great," she said looking over furiously at Charlotte. "You promise?" She asked.
"I promise," he answered, looking her straight in the eye.
The counselor went on, "You all will be practicing today, and the race is in three days! So have your partners picked by the time you get to practice today! So have a great time, and let's get this breakfast started!"
After breakfast, all the girls but Lizzie walked back to their cabin. Lizzie had enough of listening to Jessie and Miranda, so she stayed back in the mess hall.
"I'll see you at canoe practice!" Lizzie shouted to Gordo as he walked with Ian out of the mess hall.
"Yep, I'll save you a spot in the canoe!" He shouted back over his shoulder.
Lizzie watched everyone leave and she sat down thinking about how great the canoe race would be.
Meanwhile the misery triplets continued their conversation on the way back to the cabin.
"Did you call your boyfriend?" Jenna asked.
"I did, but he wasn't there! He knew I was going to be calling. I left him a voice-mail yesterday telling him so. So I left another one telling him what an idiot he was! He knows I can't get to the phone that often!" Jessie said, sounding aggravated.
"You shouldn't call him an idiot," Miranda said.
"And what do you know about boyfriends? You don't even have one. Oh wait, yes you do! His name is Larry Tudgeman! And what a catch he is," she said sarcastically.
Jessie had touched a nerve in Miranda. "You're right, he is a catch! And if you had any sense in you, you'd find a guy half as decent as he is, not some guy who spends all his free time in Spain and avoids your phone calls because he can't stand spending time with someone so obnoxiously arrogant!" Miranda screamed at her.
"Well well, looks like we have a little spitfire on our hands," Jessie said.
"That's the best you can come up with? You know, I don't even want to hear the rest, because I really don't care about anything you talk about!" Miranda shouted as the group went on ahead of her.
Miranda crossed her arms and kept stationary as the others continued walking.
Meanwhile, Lizzie thought it was safe to leave the mess hall. No Miranda's, no Charlotte's, no Jessie's in sight. As long as they stayed out of her way, she'd stay out of there's, she thought to herself as she walked back to the cabin. It wasn't her fault she got stuck with the worst bunk ever.
"Hey." Lizzie heard a voice say flatly. She looked up. Miranda was standing there, arms still crossed.
"What are you doing here?" Lizzie asked.
"Standing," she said wryly.
Lizzie wasn't in the mood for her attitude. "You know, why don't you just go back to Jessie and Jenna!" She shouted at her.
"I don't even like Jessie and Jenna!" Miranda hollered back.
"Well, you seemed pretty friendly on the beach yesterday!" Lizzie argued.
"Well, that's only because you were mad at me, and you're my best friend here!" Miranda shouted.
"Well, you…" Lizzie started, but she couldn't finish. The look in Miranda's eyes said it all. They were best friends, and she couldn't even remember why they were fighting in the first place.
Miranda broke the silence. "Ugh! Look, I don't want to fight anymore! You were right, okay? I was mean to Larry. And all because I didn't want to look like an idiot in front of Jessie. Which is completely ridiculous because I care ten times more about what Larry thinks than what old what's-her-name thinks!" She exclaimed. "And I care even more about what you think. I don't want you to think I'm mean," she said calmly.
"Miranda, you're not mean, I'm sorry. I should have never said anything," Lizzie said softly.
"You were only trying to help," Miranda said.
Lizzie sighed. A tiny smirk crept across her face. "Friends?" She asked, sticking out her hand.
"Friends." Miranda agreed, shaking it.
The two started walking back to the cabin together. Lizzie felt a glimmer of hope that maybe this summer would turn out like she had planned after all.