Free Sammy Keyes and the Wild Things by Wendelin Van Draanen Page A

of just gazing at the stars, my eyes began to close. The cool breeze was so nice on my face. The warm bag so cozy around me. And the truth is, I was exhausted.
    And I was almost asleep when Cricket whispered, “Good night, Mom.”
    At first I thought she’d forgotten it was me in the tent, but when I opened my eyes, she was still gazing up at the stars.
    Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 

EIGHT
    I did not want to get up in the morning. I’d taken a quick little 2 a.m. trip to the bushes and knew—it was chilly outside! So Cricket and I stayed in our bags and played a few hands of rummy with the mini-deck of cards she’d packed, and I discovered that not only is Cricket not quiet, she’s a poker-faced shark! That girl remembers every card that’s been played, and she’s ruthless.
    So she was having a great time, and even though she was chewing me up and spitting me out, I was having a great time, too. I could have sat in the tent playing cards all day. But Bella was outside getting the fire going, and Cricket started feeling guilty. “We should probably go help.”
    I felt like saying, “Aw, do we have to?” but I’d promised myself I wasn’t going to whine about
anything
anymore. So instead I said, “Sure,” and pulled on the army pants that Cricket had lent me.
    Robin was talking quietly with Bella when we emerged from the tent, and when she saw us coming their way, she seemed to give Bella some final advice, then headed up to the Lookout calling, “Good morning, girls! I’m going to see if I can catch some flight activity. Let me know when the water’s hot!”
    We waved, and Cricket called, “Tell us if you get any signals. I want to show Sammy!”
    â€œWill do!”
    When we reached Bella, she grumbled, “Sorry about last night. I was a jerk and I know it and I’m sorry.”
    I was pretty impressed. I mean, she
had
been a jerk, but that’s not an easy thing for anyone to admit. It’s a whole lot easier to just go on being a jerk and blame other people for the way you act.
    I know all about that.
    Anyway, Cricket sort of grinned and said, “But the real question is, are you an idiot?”
    Bella gave her a tired smile. “Yeah, I’m an idiot. I’m a
huge
idiot.” Then her eyes came to life and her smile got brighter. “Just not about
boys
like
some
people.”
    Cricket and I both laughed, and then Cricket lowered her voice and asked Bella, “Have you talked to Gabby yet?”
    Bella shook her head. “I started to, but she’s still asleep.”
    Cricket whispered, “She can’t still be asleep. She probably just doesn’t want to come out. You should go in and talk to her!”
    Bella looked over at Gabby’s tent. “Will you guys get the water going?”
    We both nodded. “Sure.”
    So we grabbed the pail and headed off toward the spring, only we’d barely made it through camp when Robin came onto the Lookout deck and called, “Do any of you know where the receiver is? I thought I left it on the desk last night.”
    But before we could answer, Bella comes scrambling out of the tent, crying, “She’s gone! Mom! Gabby’s gone!”
    â€œWhat do you mean, she’s gone?”
    â€œShe stuffed her sleeping bag to make it look like she’s here, but her boots are gone, her flashlight’s gone . . .
she’s
gone!”
    â€œCalm down, calm down,” Robin said, walking toward the tent. “Maybe she’s out taking care of business,” which is Robin-speak for going pee.
    â€œWhy would she stuff her sleeping bag? Why would she take her flashlight? She’s been gone since before