Free Frog Freakout by Ali Sparkes

“It’s raining sideways,” said Danny. “In fact, I’m fairly sure it’s just started raining
up
.” He slammed the cabin door behind him and thumped down heavily on the bed next to Josh.
    â€œIt’ll probably stop soon,” sighed Josh, who was peering at a book in the dim light. The energy-saving bulbs in the cabin were orangey and not very bright.
    â€œYou said that yesterday,” grumbled Danny. “And the day before.”
    â€œWell, I’m not a weather forecaster!” said Josh. “I don’t know! I’m just trying to be cheerful.”
    â€œJust trying to be cheerful,” mimicked Danny in a silly high voice. He kicked a bucket, which was collecting some drips from the ceiling. “Why did I ever say yes to this stupid summer camp?”
    â€œIt was the rappelling,” said Josh, still reading. “And the canoeing. And the den building and the tree climbing.”
    Danny folded his arms and huffed. There had been
some
fun—bits of it—in between the rain. The rappelling was great. Even Josh had had a go, although he’d looked as white as a sheet in his ropes and safety helmet as he stepped off the ten-meter-high platform. The canoeing had been good too. But both these things had been cut short when the rain and wind got so bad the instructors couldn’t actually
see
the kids anymore.
    Since then there had been indoor stuff going on. To start with, loads of them had been playing handheld computer games for a few hours in the big canvas tepee, and that was a brilliant laugh . . . right up until Drill Sergeant had stomped in and confiscated them all.
    â€œDidn’t you read the rules?” he bellowed as the rain drummed loudly above them. “Nobody should have brought any computer games or mobile phones or gadgets with them! This is Outdoor Action Camp—not Suction Your Eyeballsto a Beeping Screen Camp. Here—read some pamphlets on how to light a campfire instead.”

    His name was Steve, but every kid there called him Drill Sergeant because he was so shouty. There was a rumor that he’d been a prison guard in his last job. He had a jaw like a cement block and tiny dark eyes that glittered malevolently at kids who didn’t instantly do as they were told. Several had been refused dessert and treats by Steve for misbehaving (Danny on day one!). And the man shouted so loudly whenever he was angry that the crows in a nearby clump of trees would scatter into the sky, cawing with terror.
    â€œOoooooh! LOOK!” Josh suddenly threw down his book and shot across the floor of the cabin to scoop something up in his hands.
    â€œWhaaa-aat?” asked Danny, anxiously, and Callum and Sayid sat up on their bunks to see what was going on.
    â€œWhat a beauty!” murmured Josh, staring into his cupped palms.
    Danny stepped back a bit. He knew where this was going. “What have you got now, you freaky little bug nerd?” he asked.
    â€œA nursery web spider!” said Josh and opened his palms gleefully. A large yellowy-brown spider sat there, its front four legs clumped together in pairs so it looked as if it might have only six. Its abdomen was long and pointed. It started to scuttle up Josh’s arm.
    â€œEeeeeeeugh!” Danny shuddered. He hated creepy-crawlies. Even though he’d been one—quite a few times.
    â€œAh come on—she’s gorgeous,” said Josh, and Sayid came to have a look, squinting through his spectacles. So did Callum, although he kept hisdistance and held his Marvel comic annual across his chest.
    â€œGorgeous?” Danny stared at his brother. Sometimes he had difficulty believing that they really were related—but being identical twins proved they must be. “Josh . . . you need to get out more!”

    Sayid and Callum soon lost interest and wandered out of the cabin, holding their raincoats over their heads, to see what was for