Free There's a Bat in Bunk Five by Paula Danziger Page B

to ever end.
    We get back in the car, head back to town, and then sit for a while in the car holding hands and talking.
    Dinner. Then a movie. It’s fun, but I want to be alone with Ted, without other people around.
    By the time we get out of the movie, it’s very dark. There aren’t any streetlights.
    â€œI guess we’ve got to go back,” I say.
    Ted nods. “Yeah, but I don’t want to. Do you?”
    I shake my head.
    Another kiss. I think I’ve been kissed more times today than the total of all the times I’ve ever been kissed before.
    This time, when I get into the car, I sit right next to Ted.
    It’s real dark on the road.
    We drive along. My head’s on Ted’s shoulder. I put my hand on his knee.
    He gives me a kiss on the top of my head and says, “Watch it. I’ve got to keep my mind on driving.”
    I take my hand off his knee and move away.
    â€œI didn’t mean you had to leave. Are you always a person of extremes?”
    I nod, move back, and just sit there.
    We pull into the camp parking lot. Ted stops the car motor, turns off the headlights, and puts his arms around me. “Now I don’t have to keep my mind on the driving.”
    Reading books never really prepared me for how I feel. It’s one thing to read about love and caring and wanting to hold someone and be held, but this is one time that the twenty-six letters don’t come close to the real thing.
    â€œMaking out” is such a dumb expression for something so special.
    Finally Ted says, “This steering wheel’s really uncomfortable. Why don’t we find someplace else to go? Like the backseat?”
    I shake my head. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
    â€œAfraid?”
    I nod.
    He kisses me. “Okay. Let’s just sit here a few minutes and relax.” He leans back.
    I think about how wonderful he is. How I’ve always heard that lots of guys won’t take no for an answer. But Ted’s really nice. And I’m not ready yet. I know that. It’s not just the question of what’s right or wrong about sex. I know that right now it would be more than I could handle to actually “go all the way” as the kids in the cabin always say.
    I put my hand on his knee and say, “I really care about you.”
    He takes my hand off his knee and says, “That’s not going to help me to relax, to have you do that right now. I’m glad you care. I do too.”
    More kissing.
    â€œWant to reconsider your decision about not moving to the backseat?” he asks, touching my face.
    â€œI keep reconsidering it, a lot. But no,” I say.
    â€œOkay, then I think we should go back,” he says.
    â€œAre you mad at me?”
    â€œNo. I just think it’s best for us to stop now, if we’re not going any further. Otherwise it’s going to be very hard for me to maintain my reputation with you as ‘nice.’ ” He pats my hand. “Come on. Let’s get going.”
    As we walk up the hill, he says, “Tomorrow morning I’ll talk to Carl about giving us the same days off again for the next time, if you want that.”
    I nod. “I want that.”
    We get to the cabin. Just as we start to say good night, we hear a lot of screaming coming from the bunk.
    We rush inside.
    There’s a bat in bunk five.

CHAPTER 9
    T here’s a bat in bunk five!
    It’s flying all over the place.
    I duck and feel like throwing up. What if it swoops down and its wings touch my face? Even worse, what if it bites me?
    The kids are screaming, crying, and running.
    Corrine’s trying to kill it with a dust mop.
    Ted grabs a broom.
    One of my worst fears is coming true. There reallyis a bat. Just when things are going well, something happens to ruin it. It’s like I’m being punished for being happy and doing what I want to do. That’s why I’m so scared much of the time. Either