Free The Second Adventure by Gordon Korman

leaped to his feet, applauding and howling with laughter. With him rose the entire audience, including the competition from Camp Spotlight. This was a comedy routine without equal.
    Melissa didn’t know much about drama, but she understood instantly that Logan had just put Camp Ta-da! in position for the greatest come-from-behind win in Showdown history. So she cued the music for the final number of the revue — the song “Tomorrow” from the Broadway show
Annie
.
    Mary Catherine was beside herself. “We can’t do the finale now! The show’s ruined!”
    â€œNo, it’s not!” Melissa insisted. “We’re a smash! Look!”
    It was true. Logan was taking bows, basking in the glory of his standing ovation.
    Melissa put the curly red wig on Mary Catherine’s head. “You go out and sell this song, and we’re winners for sure!”
    It had to be the first time all summer that Mary Catherine did what someone else told her to do, without putting up an argument. She walked to the center of the stage, took a deep breath, and inhaled a few stray hairs from Luthor. Her allergies kicked in.
    Mary Catherine Klinger dissolved into fits of sneezing that had no end. It was so violent and so loud that, for a moment, Luthor looked away from his food. The audience watched, transfixed. Was this another surprise comedy routine? Should they laugh?
    Standing in the wings, Melissa was frozen with indecision. They were going to lose the Showdown because of Mary Catherine’s allergies!
    Before Melissa fully understood what she was doing, she was striding across the stage in front of all those people. If there was one thing she didn’t relish, it was being the center of attention. Yet she had to do this — not for Mary Catherine, who had been horrible to Logan, and none too pleasant to everybody else. This was for the Ta-da! performers, who had worked so hard. It was even for herself, to prove that she could do it, so she could retire undefeated and never do it again.
    Melissa took the wig from Mary Catherine and placed it on her own head. Then she stood beside Luthor, and began to sing.
    â€œT HE SUN WILL COME OUT TOMORROW ,
B ET YOUR BOTTOM DOLLAR THAT TOMORROW
THERE’LL BE SUN. . . ”
    Strong, full, and clear as a bell, the voice that came from behind the curtain of hair was not to be believed. It seemed to soar over the outdoor auditorium, leaving the spectators unmoving and transfixed.
    Lincoln’s hat dropped from Logan’s nerveless fingers, and he didn’t even notice, so enthralled was he with his friend’s performance. Mary Catherine stared, openmouthed, at the girl who had absolutely refused to sing. Luthor stopped eating and listened, as if hypnotized.
    Her eyes squeezed shut, the star of the moment noticed none of this, so petrified was shy Melissa at being the object of such total focus. In her mind, she was not singing; she was repairing a fried computer circuit board. As the powerful melody swelled from her throat, she was painstakingly working with a tiny tweezers, reattaching color-coded wires to gold-plated connectors. It was the only thing preventing her from passing out from sheer stage fright.
    She finished the number and opened her eyes to make sure the world hadn’t ended during her ordeal. There was stunned silence, broken only by Mary Catherine’s wheezing. Then waves of rapturous applause flooded the stage.
    â€œI declare Camp Ta-da! the winners!” shouted Mickey Bonaventure over the noise.
    The response was nothing short of pandemonium. The entire Ta-da! cast swarmed the stage, bumping the upended Pride Rock and knocking it back on its base again. The counselors were right behind them, escorting a sheepish but triumphant Bobby, who was wrapped in a blanket.
    Logan enfolded Mary Catherine in an ecstatic bear hug. She sneezed in his face, but looked very pleased to accept the trophy as the winning captain. It was a