Free Love or Something Like It by Laurie Friedman Page B

bye to all my cousins and saved Sophie for last.
    â€œI’m going to miss you!” I said as I gave her a hug.
    â€œHow do you think I feel?” said Sophie. “What am I going to do here for four weeks without you?”
    â€œYou’ll have plenty of time to work on knitting your scarf and mittens.”
    Sophie laughed. “Maybe I’ll make a blanket too.”
    â€œGood idea,” I told her. Then I leaned closer. “Keep an eye on Matt while I’m gone,” I whispered.
    â€œWill do,” said Sophie.
    Then we hugged one last time and I left. Saying bye to her wasn’t easy. We’d had so much fun together since she arrived, and part of me didn’t want to go. Plus, I knew I’d have to say good-bye to Matt next. I don’t want to sound like a drama queen, but I was kind of picturing Matt and me kissing and saying it would be hard to be apart for four weeks. But the real good-bye was nothing like that.
    When I got home from Gaga’s, I kept checking my phone to see if he’d called or texted. But he hadn’t. He knew I had to get up early to go on the camp bus, so it kind of sucked that he hadn’t tried to make a plan to say bye. By nine I still I hadn’t heard from him, so I texted him. I told him he should come over sooner vs. later because my parents would think it was weird if we didn’t say good-bye.
    He came over, but it seemed like he only did because he felt like he had to.
    When he walked into the den, I tried to give my family a look like they should excuse themselves, but they didn’t. They just stuck around, so all Matt ended up saying was pretty lame stuff like bye and have fun.
    When he was leaving, I walked him out the door. We were standing on my front porch. Our place. I finally had a minute alone with him.
    â€œI won’t have my phone at camp,” I told him. “So you won’t be able to text me.”
    Matt shrugged like that wasn’t a problem.
    â€œBut you can write,” I said. “I’ll write to you too.”
    Matt raised his eyebrows like someone just asked him to shave his head. “I’m not much of a letter writer,” he said.
    â€œI’ll miss you,” I said. And this time I wasn’t even embarrassed to say it.
    But Matt just looked at me like he wasn’t sure what he was going to say. Then he leaned over and gave me a quick kiss on the lips. “Yeah, me too,” he said, and he left.
    But I wasn’t convinced. I’m also not convinced that going to camp is a good idea.
    I repeated the prayer I made the last day of school. But this time, I squeezed my eyes shut and prayed like I really meant it.
    Dear God, please, please let this be a good choice.

If you never did, you should. These things are fun and fun is good.
    â€”Dr. Seuss
    Saturday, June 14, 4:45 p.m.
Day 1
    Camp is off to a great start. I was a little worried about how May would do, given that just last year, her main approach to socializing was to show off her strength by picking people up. But she was the first one off the bus, and by the time I found her to make sure she’d met her counselor, she was already chatting with the girls in her bunk like they’d known each other forever.
    It’s really cool to be on the senior side, too. My bunk is huge. My closest camp friends, Talia, Meg, Karina, and of course, Brynn, are all in it, and we have the coolest counselors, Ellen (who was a Silver Lake camper and the counselor Brynn and I both wanted) and Sandy (a new counselor from Texas who is a cheerleader at her college and seems really fun.) But the best part about being back is that right when I got off the bus, my friends were waiting for me.
    â€œShe’s back!” screamed Karina as they all grabbed and hugged me.
    It felt like I hadn’t missed a day. I think I made the right decision to come.
    Sunday, June 22, 1:30 p.m.
Rest hour
Week 1 wrap-up
    I kind of feel like I should do