Melissa J. Morgan - Natalies Secret (Camp Confidential #1)

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Table of Contents

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Your support of the authors rights is appreciated.

Copyright 2005by Grosset & Dunlap. All rights reserved.

Published by Grosset & Dunlap, a division of Penguin Young Readers Group,
345Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014.
GROSSET & DUNLAP is a trademark of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.
.S.A.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

eISBN : 978-1-436-27988-8

http://us.penguingroup.com

chapter ONE

Dear Hannah,

Hey there! I cant remember the last time I picked up a pen and paper to write an honest-to-goodness letter, but desperate times call for desperate measures, I guess. I have no idea whether or not there will be any computer access atugh, its too torturous to oven think a&outCAMP Mom insists that it wont be as backwoods as IM expecting, but at this point IM not sure I trust her! I Mean, reallysending Me away to Nowheresville, Pennsylvania, for eight weeks? She is obviously having some sort of mental breakdown, and Im the one whos going to suffer!

Youre so lucky your parents are taking you to Europe. I know youre not that excited about all of the touring around (dusty old paintings and all) but seriously, it has to be better than painting clay pots and identifying different poisonous leaves and whatever else they do at camp all summer long. Promise me youll take lots of pics of your gorgeous self being all cool and sophisticated in front of the Mona Lisa, Big Ben, the Trevi fountain...

Have I Mentioned that IM way jealous?

I think were about an hour from Camp Lake-pukejoyso Im going to put down My pen and start rethinking My attitude, as Mom suggested. She is totally convinced that the fresh air will do Me good.

I pointed out that if fresh air was so important, we wouldnt live in Manhattan, but somehow she didnt see things my way.

There is a girl sitting two seats in front of me with awesome clips in her hair. Like little sequins or something. She has the thickest Mess of curly red hair Ive ever seen. And I bet its her natural color. Anyway, the barrettes are promising. Maybe Ill go Make friends. Or not.

You better Miss Me! Cross your fingers that this summer is as painless as possible and that were back in NYC before we even know it (even if it Means school again)!

xoxo,
Nat

Natalie signed her letter, folded the crisp lavender sheet of paper into a neat square, and tucked it into the front pocket of her bag with a sigh. Her envelopes and stamps were all packed away in her trunk, which had been shipped separately a week before. Hopefully, her things would be waiting for her when she arrived at camp.

Camp Lakeview. It was all Natalie could do not to shudder at the thought of it. To say that she was not interested in nature was a severe understatement. In fact, Natalie was pretty sure that she was actually allergic to nature. Natalie and her mother lived in the concrete junglethe coolest, most interesting city in the worldNew York. The closest Natalie ever came to the great outdoors was when she and her friends went Rollerblading in Central Park on weekends. And that was just fine by her.

Most summers, Natalie would take special classes that were offered by local private schools. Shed study painting or drawing or writing or dancing. The rest of the time, she and her friends would hang out, shop, see movies... it was awesome. But not this summer. This summer, Natalies mother had to travel to Italy. She was an art buyer, and she needed to scout out new pieces for her gallery. Natalie had begged to go with her, but Natalies mom was firm. Camp will be good for you, she had said. A change of pace. A chance to meet different types of people.

Whats wrong with the people I know now? Natalie had asked.

Her mother had laughed. Nothing, of course. Your friends are wonderful, sweetie. But everyone you know lives in the same neighborhood as you and goes to the same school. You even go to the same tennis lessons and music programs. It will be good for you to broaden your horizons.

I like my horizons narrow, Natalie had protested stubbornly. But her mothers word was final.

That conversation had taken place five months ago. Now, Natalies mind raced as the stuffy charter bus she rode careened down the highway toward Camp Lakeview. Endless grassy pastures dotted the landscape, and she had even seen a few cows and sheep grazing. Sheep , for Petes sake. Was this what her mother meant about broader horizons?

She could go home now, right?

Natalie glanced at the other kids on the bus. She couldnt believe that there wasnt anyone on the bus as miserable as she was, but looking around, most of the other kids were grinning away, laughing, talking to one another... Natalie didnt know a soul here. She wasnt especially shy, but she also wasnt thrilled at the prospect of having to make all new friends. Her own friends were cool, and other than Hannah, they were all back in New York City taking a drama intensive offered by a special high school for teenage actors. Everyone was there. Including Kyle Taylor. Kyle Taylor who had, it should be noted, promised to write Natalie over the summer. That is, if he doesnt forget about me , she decided. Which, how could he not, what with me out in the wilderness with the lions and tigers and bears and whatever.

I should have asked Dad to talk to Mom for me , Natalie thought glumly. He would have let me go to acting school, definitely. But as quickly as the thought had popped up, Natalie pushed it out of her mind. Talking to her father was Out of the Question. He and her mother had split up when Natalie was only four years old, and even though Natalie knew her father loved her, they didnt talk very often. It was hard to be in touch with him because... no, she wasnt going to think about it. Talking to her father was, at least for right now, a non-option, and therefore, shed just have to pray that Camp Lake-puke, as she had come to think of the place, wasnt as bad as she feared.

Natalie snapped out of her little daze to see Cool Barrette Girl smiling at her. Well, in her general direction, anyway. Natalie took her chances and smiled back. Success. Barrette Girl stood up from her seat, stretched, and wove her way back to where Natalie sat.

Hi, she said, still grinning, Im Grace Matthews. Im from New Jersey. Montvale. Its in the north, right by the George Washington Bridge. She stuck out her hand to shake, which seemed a little weird to Natalie. The only people she knew who shook hands were grown-upsbut, heyshe wasnt about to start turning away friendly faces. She reached out her own hand toward Grace.

Im Natalie Goode, she said.

Youre new, right? Grace asked. I was here last summer.

Yeah, Im from Manhattan, so, um, Im not so used to summer camp, Natalie said. She realized she was babbling. What was wrong with her? She didnt usually get nervous around new people. But this, this whole camp thing was totally new and strange to her. So, yeah, Im new, she finished, feeling sort of lame.

Youll love it, Grace assured her. There are a few other kids from the city here, and they, like, love it even more than the rest of us. I think cause theyre not used to, you know, trees.

Oh, hey, noweve got tons of trees where I come from. I mean, theres a tree right outside my building, Natalie said, hoping Grace would get that she was kidding.

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