Free Tug-of-War by Katy Grant

Libby started off the first lines of “Light Up the Campfire,” which had the same tune as “Down in the Valley.”
    Light up the campfire, sing us a song
    Here at Pine Haven, we all belong
    We all belong here, we all belong
    Here at Pine Haven, we all belong.
    When we first met, friend, we were both new
    Strangers we were, friend, till I met you
    Till I met you, friend, till I met you
    Strangers we were, friend, till I met you.
    Now we are sisters, happy are we
    Here we are sisters, always we’ll be
    Sisters forever, always we’ll be
    Here we are sisters, always we’ll be.
    Since we were dry now, a bunch of us went out on the porch to really enjoy the downpour. Raindrops pelted the surface of the lake, sometimes hard and sometimes softer. I felt like I could sit on the porch all day and watch the rain come down.
    Finally, late in the afternoon, it started to let up. As we left the lodge, big gray clouds still hung in the sky, and water dripped from all the tree branches. The rain made the air really cool, and Maggie, Boo, and I jumped over puddles as we ran down Middler Line to our cabin. We passed Reb Callison, Jennifer Lawrence, and a newbie named Kelly covered from head to toe in mud, laughing so hard they were falling over themselves.
    Maggie gave her shirt a deep sniff. “I smell like wood smoke.”
    I sniffed mine, too. “Yeah, I love that smell.”
    Boo pushed open the cabin door, and we walked into the middle of a little crowd standing around on Side A: Shelby, Laurel-Ann, Kayla, and Devon.
    Something was lying on Devon’s bed. It looked like a bundle of laundry.
    â€œWhat’s up?” I asked. We were all looking at the thing. The bundle seemed to have a face. And hair. And it had a note pinned to it. I leaned over Devon’s bed. “What is it?”
    â€œOh, that?” said Devon. “It’s supposed to be me. Yours Truly. Someone created this little masterpiece and left it on my bed.”

Lying on Devon’s bottom bunk was a white pillowcase stuffed full of something, probably clothes. On the front of the pillowcase, someone had drawn a face—two eyes with long eyelashes, two rosy cheeks, and a pink, pouting pair of lips. It looked like it’d been done with eyeliner, rouge, and lip gloss. There was a black cami pulled over the top of the pillowcase for hair. Around the “neck” of the pillowcase was the cord of Devon’s hair straightener, hanging down like some weird necklace.
    One of Devon’s clean white T-shirts was spread out on the bed under the pillowcase head, along with a pair of black shorts. White socks had been stuffed and laid out for arms and legs.
    â€œWe’ve just discovered your body!” I said.
    Maggie started laughing. “Jeez! Somebody sure got creative!”
    â€œI have to hand it to you, Beefaroni,” said Devon. “It’s pretty amusing. Pretty clever. I didn’t think you had it in you.” Devon picked up the note pinned to her “body.”
    Then Betsy walked in and looked at all of us just standing there, staring at this stuffed pillowcase lying on Devon’s bed. “Uh, I guess I missed something.”
    Devon sighed. “Okay. For the late arrivals: That’s supposed to be me lying on the bed there. And here’s what the note says.”
    Devon held up the paper and started reading very dramatically, with hand gestures.
    â€œDevon’s Top Ten Reasons for Hating Summer Camp:
    10. I can’t iron my hair every day.
    9. I don’t do swamps.
    8. Too many pig-flesh eaters.
    7. North Carolina looks nothing like Italy.
    6. Everyone has a ridiculous nickname.
    5. Those canoe paddles ruined my manacure.
    4. Rabid chipmunks will probably attack soon.
    3. Our hovel has a CONDEMNED sign on it.
    2. I have a gorilla for a roommate.
    1. When did I get drafted into the army?”
    When she was finished, she took a deep bow. We all applauded and cheered.