Free Just Like Me by Nancy Cavanaugh Page B

in front of the mess hall. No more sweet smile—just thin, tight lips. Even though this was church camp, she probably hated us. She went into her little counselor room and sat at her desk with her back toward us.
    We all flopped down on our beds. I was sweaty and sticky from the soccer game and wished Gina and I were walking down to the lake to jump in the deep end instead of lying here in this hot, stuffy cabin. Why did Vanessa have to be such a jerk? Gina could be cannonball splashing DD Jr., and we could be doing tricks on that slide right now.
    I looked over at Avery and Becca, who were both fanning themselves with their Chinese fans. A fan like that would feel pretty good right now. I reached down into my cubby to get my washcloth so that I could at least wipe some of the sweat off my forehead, and that’s when I realized that Gina and I had never switched our stuff back. My things were still lying at the foot of her bed, and her stuff was still in my cubby.
    I jumped down from my bunk and started taking Gina’s stuff out of my cubby and handing it to her. She got up to put it away and then handed me my stuff. I took my time organizing my shampoo, conditioner, lotion, bug spray, sunscreen, Band-Aids, and toothpaste. I wasn’t really sure what to do about the whole toothbrush thing.
    The last thing Gina handed me was my Bible, and as I slid it into the cubby alongside everything else, I realized that the yarn I’d tied to the zipper was gone. The yarn from my baby blanket.
    I started to panic. I didn’t really know why. It was only a piece of yarn. The story I had been telling myself wasn’t really true. I knew that. But even so, the missing yarn somehow did matter.
    Where was it? I hurried over to Gina’s cubby and looked inside to see if the yarn was there.
    â€œIt’s gone!” I yelled.
    Everyone froze because we weren’t supposed to be talking.
    â€œWhat’s gone?” Gina whispered.
    â€œThe yarn from my Bible!” I yelled. “It’s gone!”
    â€œWhat yarn?” Avery asked, sounding concerned.
    My hands started to sweat as I kept moving the bottles of shampoo, conditioner, and suntan lotion around, looking and hoping I’d just missed it, and that it was still there somewhere.
    â€œWhat’s the big deal about a piece of yarn?” Vanessa asked, looking bored.
    Then Gina walked across the room to where Vanessa was lying on her bed, propped up on her elbow.
    â€œIt’s your fault!” Gina yelled. “You’re the one who messed with our stuff!”
    â€œGirls!” Tori came in from her counselor room. “You are not supposed to be talking, and you certainly aren’t supposed to be arguing and yelling after what just happened out on the soccer field.”
    â€œYou switched our stuff and now something’s missing,” Gina said, ignoring Tori’s warning. “So what are you going to do about it?”
    My head throbbed. I had been pretending that the blanket was from my birth mom for so long that losing it while I was here at camp made me feel almost homesick.
    â€œIt was a joke,” Vanessa said. “You can’t take a joke?”
    â€œWhat’s going on, girls?” Tori asked. “Someone explain this to me.”
    I crossed to the other side of the cabin and stood right next to Vanessa’s bunk.
    Instead of that homesick feeling making me want to cry, it turned to anger and gave me the courage to yell at Vanessa, “ You’re the joke!”
    â€œOoooooh, quiet little Julia’s turning out to be not so quiet,” Vanessa chided.
    I felt my ears get hot and turn red with embarrassment and anger at my outburst.
    â€œThat’s enough !” Tori scolded. “All of you!”
    â€œJulia, don’t worry. We’ll find it,” Gina said, putting her hand on my shoulder.
    â€œWell, if it’s only a piece of yarn, can’t you just get another one?”