Free Politically Incorrect by Melissa J. Morgan Page A

agreed with Miles. She had to stay true to her instincts, for the sake of the festival.
    Sloan took a deep breath and spoke her mind. “I think Miles is right. Celebrity stories don’t seem very relevant to the festival. Sorry, Chelsea.”
    “Suit yourselves,” Chelsea said with a frown.
    There was a long, tension-filled silence before Miles piped up with another idea.
    “What if Tricia talked about what kids across the country are doing to protect the environment?”
    Sloan practically pumped her fist in the air. “That’s perfect!”
    Miles grinned widely. “You really think so?”
    “Yes, I do,” Sloan said, her lips curling up into a soft smile.
    “Are you guys forgetting that I’m cochair? I should get a say in this, too,” Chelsea insisted.
    Sloan and Miles’s happy moment was instantly deflated by Chelsea’s prickly attitude. Still, Chelsea was in the right. Sloan had asked her to cochair this committee, so she was entitled to have a strong voice in the matter.
    “Of course,” Sloan said, her voice strained. “What are your thoughts?”
    As Chelsea cleared her throat, Sloan hoped that she wouldn’t say anything harsh.
    “Frankly, I think Tricia would rather talk about her dog than what Miles is suggesting,” Chelsea said.
    Forget harsh! That’s harsh to the tenth power, Sloan thought.
    Whatever was eating at Chelsea now had her lashing out at people she barely even knew. Sloan couldn’t ignore it any longer.
    “Hey, Miles, could you give me and Chelsea a second to talk privately?” Sloan hoped he’d be understanding.
    “No problem,” he said good-naturedly, and began to wander in the direction of a different group.
    As soon as Miles was out of earshot, Sloan began to question her friend.
    “Chelse, it’s obvious that you are upset about something. What is it?”
    “Nothing. I’m fine,” Chelsea said tersely.
    “C’mon, you can tell me,” Sloan reassured her. “And it’ll stay just between us.”
    Chelsea buried her face in her hands for a moment and then looked up at Sloan sympathetically. “I’m sorry. I know I’ve been kind of moody today. And I feel awful about how I’m acting. I really do. It’s just—”
    Sloan waited for Chelsea to finish her sentence, but she got so choked up, she couldn’t.
    Once she took a big gulp of air, Chelsea said, “I’m going to take a short walk, okay? I’ll see you back at the tent later.”
    Sloan’s shoulders slumped forward. She was so disappointed that Chelsea wouldn’t open up to her and allow her to help. “All right.”
    “And could you tell Miles that I’m sorry?” Chelsea added.
    “Sure,” Sloan replied.
    “Thanks.” Chelsea began to walk away, but she stopped for a moment and turned around to add, “Have fun at Tricia’s party.”
    Sloan just smiled, then watched Chelsea slink through the rock garden as the sun began to set in the early evening sky.

chapter TEN
    “Turn the music up, Nat! We need to get our groove on!” Tricia shouted as she mingled among a big cluster of adoring Walla Walla campers. Natalie grimaced, turning up the volume of the i-deck a notch. This was the twentieth order that Tricia had flung at her today, and she was getting kind of tired of obliging. True, Dr. Steve had asked her to stick by Tricia and make her feel at home, but being her gopher was above and beyond the call of duty, wasn’t it?
    “This is one sweet jam,” Priya said, dancing alongside Brynn.
    “Nat, you are so lucky! I’d give anything to stay here with Tricia,” Sarah said. “She’s ridiculously fun!”
    “Yeah, I’m kind of jealous,” Joanna added.
    Natalie bit her lip to stop herself from telling her friends what hanging out with Tricia was really like. She wanted to be honest, but didn’t have it in her to give Tricia a bad rep.
    “I guess,” was all Natalie could say.
    “This sure beats planning the Green Festival,” Jenna said. “I had no idea how much work it was going to be.”
    Natalie sighed with