Read Online Alex's Challenge by Melissa J. Morgan - Free Book Online Page A

They pretended to be busy reading books—except that Jenna’s copy of Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret was upside down.
    â€œSo, Alex,” Brynn said, sitting down next to her. “Sorry about that and all. You know how Chelsea is,” Brynn added loudly so Chelsea would hear.
    Chelsea just gave her—and everyone else—an evil eye.
    â€œIt’s nothing,” Alex answered, even though comments like that were everything to her. She was glad that Brynn had at least noticed how hurt Alex had been.
    â€œSo, are we on for tomorrow night then?” Brynn asked, sitting down next to Alex on her bed like she always did.
    Alex’s throat got tight again. I can’t believe what I did! She had just promised to be at Julie’s banquet planning meeting! She wanted to be at that meeting with all the counselors. She wanted to help plan the big dinner and play Scrabble with them afterward! But she had promised to help Brynn paint the Peter Pan set for the big show tomorrow night.
    Ugh, Alex thought. How did things ever get so complicated? She had double-booked, and she couldn’t have picked a worse time to do it. Brynn had just started acting like she wasn’t mad anymore! Apparently, she hadn’t been completely unaffected by Alex’s clash with Chelsea. That, at least, was something, Alex thought. Though it didn’t exactly solve the current problem.
    â€œSo, we are, right?” Brynn said, looking at Alex with her puppy eyes. “I really hoped you could help us.”
    Alex was no good at painting. She kind of hated it, too. Her mother had made her do way too much of it when she was a little kid. She had only told Brynn she would do it to be nice. She was, however, good at Scrabble. She did like organizing the formal banquet. She would get a say in the menu, and that would be awesome, too.
    â€œBrynn, please don’t be mad at me, but I told Julie I’d be at a banquet-planning meeting tomorrow night,” Alex said, wishing she had brought her pocket organizer to camp.
    â€œYou’ve got to be kidding me,” Brynn said, her voice getting louder and louder. “After today with the swimming and everything?” Brynn stood up, a sure sign that big time theatrics were on the way.
    â€œPlease, just try to understand,” Alex said, thinking that she’d rather yank off her ponytail at the roots than endure her third fight of the day.
    â€œUnderstand what?” Brynn yelled, acting like she’d yank out Alex’s ponytail for her. “What? That you’d rather hang out with Valerie and Julie and whoever else than with me? I get it just fine.”
    â€œI think we need to talk about this. This is not how best friends are supposed to act,” Alex said, trying to keep her voice steady.
    â€œOh yeah, like you’re the poster girl for how to be a best friend,” Brynn said again, getting all evil-eyed. “Kind of like you were earlier today?”
    â€œYou need to get a grip, you are so totally blowing this out of proportion!” Alex yelled. Immediately, she wished she’d just counted to ten first. She knew it was always better to chill out—but Brynn was making that so hard to do!
    â€œLadies, back to your corners,” Grace said, trying to ease the tension with a joke.
    â€œ Grace!” Alex and Brynn shouted in unison.
    All eyes were back on Alex for the second time in five minutes. She’d had the most up-and-down day of anyone at camp. She had never been in this many fights with Brynn—or anyone else—before. Jenna and Alex clashed sometimes, but they always worked it out. They never yelled, either.
    Alex really didn’t know what to do. Arguing was not her style, and she just wasn’t used to it. She felt herself mentally checking out of the situation. She just wanted to run out into the woods—and run and run and run. She couldn’t make Brynn happy, and she was tired of