Free Friends Forever? by Tina Wells Page A

and make sure she’s okay.” She looked at Zee and smiled.
    Zee decided to ignore Kathi’s lie. “I’m fine,” Zee said cheerfully.
    â€œThen I think everyone needs to get back to work,” their teacher told them. “You don’t want to be marked down.”
    Desperate to do something other than talk about Landon with Jen, Missy, and Kathi, Zee said, “I just have to grab something first,” and headed to the cabin to finally get a pad.

11
Cabin Fever
    B efore lunch Zee finally had a chance to do what she’d wanted to do all morning—write in her diary.
    ----
    Hi, Diary,
    I am so confused! I need you to help me sort it all out.
    Â 
    Things That Really Shouldn’t Be Confusing but Are
    What’s Confusing? : Kathi
    Why? : One minute she seems so confident (and conceited). The next she’s just as scared as everyone else (including me).
    What’s Confusing? : ???
    Why? : Which is the real Kathi? Does she ever really mean it when she’s nice to me, or is it just an act?
    What’s Confusing? : Ally
    Why? : Is what Kathi told me true? Is Ally jealous of me? I can’t see why. Did Ally confide in Kathi? Would she really talk about me to her?
    What’s Confusing? : Landon
    Why? : Actually, he’s always been confusing.
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    Ally sat down at the lunch table between Zee and Jasper. “I was just talking to Molly Templeton,” she said. “Cabin seven is nearly done with the scavenger hunt list.”
    â€œReally?” Kathi sounded surprised. “But we’ve been working so hard! We have to win.”
    Chloe and Zee looked at each other and rolled their eyes.
    â€œOh yeah, Kathi, we’ve all been working really hard ,” Ally told her. “I guess everyone just needs to work a little harder if we want to win.”
    Kathi looked farther down the table where Marcus,Conrad, and Landon were sitting. “Hear that, guys? You need to make more of an effort or we’re all going to lose,” she chastised them.
    Conrad saluted Kathi and said, “Aye, aye, Captain!” while the other three cracked up laughing.
    Kathi turned back to the girls. “Boys. So mature.”
    â€œJasper’s mature,” Ally defended him. “Aren’t you, Jasper?”
    Jasper looked down and pushed his ground beef hash around on his plate with a fork. “Uh…maybe…I don’t know.”
    â€œOh, come on,” Ally said, giving him a little nudge. “You know you are.”
    â€œYou know you are,” Marcus mimicked in a high voice. Once again, the boys started laughing.

    â€œYou guys are just jealous,” Ally said.
    â€œOf…?” Conrad said.
    â€œOf Jasper,” she told him.
    â€œIf he’s so mature, how come he wears Superman pajamas?” Conrad asked.
    Now Jasper looked up. “I don’t. I really don’t. I wear perfectly respectable flannels.”
    â€œActually, Jasper really does wear flannel,” Conrad announced, turning to Jasper. “I was just busting on the girls.”
    â€œI think you’re embarrassing Jasper,” Zee whispered to Ally.
    â€œNo, I’m not,” Ally said. “Jasper knows I was complimenting him. He doesn’t care what the other boys think.”
    Zee sighed and looked at Jasper. He actually did look fine. So why did Ally’s flirty behavior make Zee so uncomfortable?
    Â 
    ----
    Hi, Diary,
    Ever since I met Chloe and Jasper, I wanted them to be friends with Ally. But now that we’re finally all together, I’m not sure I really want that anymore. I mean, I still want Chloe and Ally to be friends. But it’s different with Jasper and Ally.
    It really bugs me that Ally is so flirty with Jasper. I’m just not sure why it bothers me. I wouldn’t care if she acted that way with Marcus or Conrad. (Okay, I admit it would annoy me if she did it with Landon.)
    So why do I care about Jasper?
    Maybe if I can