never hear from Mom and Dad.
Do they know it makes me sad?
Not even one letter.
Mosquitoes like me better.
Katie thought back to all the times Shannon had brought the mail to the bunk. She hadn’t really noticed it before, but Alicia never seemed to get any letters or packages like everyone else did.
No wonder she was so angry all the time.
Just then Katie heard lots and lots of cheering. It was coming from the waterfront area. The big swim marathon was on!
Katie really wanted to be down there at the lake cheering on her bunkmate. But she couldn’t. Not as long as she was Alicia.
Still, she sure wanted to know who was winning.
A few minutes later Katie had her answer. One of the swim counselors shouted the results through a megaphone:
“First place: Blue team.
Second place: Green team.
Third place: Orange team.
Fourth place: White team.”
Wow. Second place was great. Especially since Chelsea hadn’t been swimming all summer.
But it wasn’t enough to bring the Green team to first place.
Just then, Katie felt a breeze blowing on the back of her neck. The cool wind felt nice as it gently blew on her.
But then, suddenly, the breeze wasn’t so gentle anymore. It was getting stronger and stronger. Now it was a powerful tornado. A tornado that was swirling just around Katie.
The magic wind was back! It whirled and swirled, lifting Katie’s legs right off the ground.
And then it stopped. Just like that. Katie was back.
So was Alicia. And, boy, was she surprised.
“What am I doing here?” Alicia asked Katie.
“You . . . uh . . . you came back to the bunk to . . .” Katie didn’t know what to tell her. There was no way she could explain this.
Luckily, Alicia wasn’t waiting for an explanation. She looked at the alarm clock on top of Shannon’s cubby and gulped. “Oh man, I’m late. I was supposed to be at the lake twenty minutes ago. I’ve got to get my bathing suit on and get down there.”
“Don’t bother,” Rainbow said as she and the other Bumblebees walked into the bunk. “The race is over.”
“Chelsea swam in your place,” Gianna added.
Alicia bit her lip. “How did you do?” she asked Chelsea.
“Second place,” Chelsea replied proudly. “Not bad, considering it’s the first time I swam all summer.”
“I would have come in first,” Alicia murmured quietly.
“Yeah, well, you weren’t there. You let us down,” Gianna yelled at her.
Katie looked over at Alicia. She looked as if she was going to cry. And the saddest part was that it wasn’t even Alicia’s fault. It was Katie’s fault. She was the one who had chickened out of swimming.
Now, because of Katie, the rest of the bunk hated Alicia even more than before.
“We’re going to have to win the big sing tomorrow,” Rainbow said.
“Our team song is really good,” Chelsea said.
“But we don’t have a cheer yet,” Gianna reminded her. “It’s got to be the best ever if we want to win the sing.”
That gave Katie an idea. “Our cheer will be awesome,” Katie said. “Because Alicia’s going to write it. She’s a great writer.”
Alicia looked at her curiously. “I am?”
“You write poems in your diary, don’t you?” Katie said.
“How did you know that?” Alicia asked angrily. “Were you snooping in my cubby?”
Oops. “I . . . um . . . I just figured that was what you were writing in there. Because, uh . . . well . . . you’re too smart and cool to just write sentences like other people,” Katie said quickly.
Alicia stared at her in surprise. The other girls looked pretty shocked, too. No one ever complimented Alicia.
“Why should we let her write our cheer?” Gianna asked Katie. “She’s the reason we’re in this mess, anyway. She’s the one who ran out on us before the race. But you did a great job, too, Chelsea,” she added, making sure her friend’s feelings weren’t hurt.
“Thanks,” Chelsea replied. “But even I know Alicia could have won it. She just
Do they know it makes me sad?
Not even one letter.
Mosquitoes like me better.
Katie thought back to all the times Shannon had brought the mail to the bunk. She hadn’t really noticed it before, but Alicia never seemed to get any letters or packages like everyone else did.
No wonder she was so angry all the time.
Just then Katie heard lots and lots of cheering. It was coming from the waterfront area. The big swim marathon was on!
Katie really wanted to be down there at the lake cheering on her bunkmate. But she couldn’t. Not as long as she was Alicia.
Still, she sure wanted to know who was winning.
A few minutes later Katie had her answer. One of the swim counselors shouted the results through a megaphone:
“First place: Blue team.
Second place: Green team.
Third place: Orange team.
Fourth place: White team.”
Wow. Second place was great. Especially since Chelsea hadn’t been swimming all summer.
But it wasn’t enough to bring the Green team to first place.
Just then, Katie felt a breeze blowing on the back of her neck. The cool wind felt nice as it gently blew on her.
But then, suddenly, the breeze wasn’t so gentle anymore. It was getting stronger and stronger. Now it was a powerful tornado. A tornado that was swirling just around Katie.
The magic wind was back! It whirled and swirled, lifting Katie’s legs right off the ground.
And then it stopped. Just like that. Katie was back.
So was Alicia. And, boy, was she surprised.
“What am I doing here?” Alicia asked Katie.
“You . . . uh . . . you came back to the bunk to . . .” Katie didn’t know what to tell her. There was no way she could explain this.
Luckily, Alicia wasn’t waiting for an explanation. She looked at the alarm clock on top of Shannon’s cubby and gulped. “Oh man, I’m late. I was supposed to be at the lake twenty minutes ago. I’ve got to get my bathing suit on and get down there.”
“Don’t bother,” Rainbow said as she and the other Bumblebees walked into the bunk. “The race is over.”
“Chelsea swam in your place,” Gianna added.
Alicia bit her lip. “How did you do?” she asked Chelsea.
“Second place,” Chelsea replied proudly. “Not bad, considering it’s the first time I swam all summer.”
“I would have come in first,” Alicia murmured quietly.
“Yeah, well, you weren’t there. You let us down,” Gianna yelled at her.
Katie looked over at Alicia. She looked as if she was going to cry. And the saddest part was that it wasn’t even Alicia’s fault. It was Katie’s fault. She was the one who had chickened out of swimming.
Now, because of Katie, the rest of the bunk hated Alicia even more than before.
“We’re going to have to win the big sing tomorrow,” Rainbow said.
“Our team song is really good,” Chelsea said.
“But we don’t have a cheer yet,” Gianna reminded her. “It’s got to be the best ever if we want to win the sing.”
That gave Katie an idea. “Our cheer will be awesome,” Katie said. “Because Alicia’s going to write it. She’s a great writer.”
Alicia looked at her curiously. “I am?”
“You write poems in your diary, don’t you?” Katie said.
“How did you know that?” Alicia asked angrily. “Were you snooping in my cubby?”
Oops. “I . . . um . . . I just figured that was what you were writing in there. Because, uh . . . well . . . you’re too smart and cool to just write sentences like other people,” Katie said quickly.
Alicia stared at her in surprise. The other girls looked pretty shocked, too. No one ever complimented Alicia.
“Why should we let her write our cheer?” Gianna asked Katie. “She’s the reason we’re in this mess, anyway. She’s the one who ran out on us before the race. But you did a great job, too, Chelsea,” she added, making sure her friend’s feelings weren’t hurt.
“Thanks,” Chelsea replied. “But even I know Alicia could have won it. She just
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