R. Stine: The Curse of Camp Cold Lake

The lights flashed on.

“Help!” Meg cried. She leaped out of bed. Her bare feet hit the floor hard. It sounded like an elephant landing.

“It bit me!” Briana cried.

She and Meg were both on the floor now, dancing and wriggling. Slapping at their arms, their legs, their backs.

I bit my lip to make myself stop laughing.

“Spiders! Spiders all over!” Meg shrieked. “Ow! It bit me too!” She pulled up the sleeve of her nightshirt. “Ow! That hurts!”

Jan stood at the light switch. I hadn’t moved from my bed. I was enjoying it all too much. Watching them squirm and dance.

But Jan’s words wiped the smile from my face.

“Sarah put the spiders there,” she told Briana and Meg. “I saw her messing around at your bunks when I came in.”

What a snitch. I guess she was still angry at me because I spilled her asthma medicine.

Well, that put an end to the fun.

I think Briana and Meg wanted to strangle me. They both had to go to the infirmary and wake up the camp nurse. They had to make sure the spider bites weren’t poisonous.

How was I to know that these were the kind of spiders that bite?

It was just a joke, after all.

I tried to apologize when they came trudging back from the nurse. But they wouldn’t speak to me. And neither would Jan.

Oh, well, I sighed. So they won’t be my friends. I’ll make other friends….

The next morning in the mess hall, I ate breakfast alone. The room had two long tables that stretched from wall to wall. One for boys and one for girls.

I sat at the far end of the girls’ table and spooned up my cornflakes in silence.

All the other girls were chattering away. At the other end of the table, Briana and Meg kept flashing me angry looks.

I saw Aaron at the boys’ table. He and his friends were laughing and goofing on each other. Aaron balanced a pancake on his forehead. Another boy slapped it off.

At least he’s having fun, I thought bitterly.

I had the sudden urge to go over and tell Aaron how unhappy I was. But I knew he would just tell me to lighten up.

So I sat at my lonely end of the table and choked down my cornflakes.

Did things get better when I arrived at the lake for canoeing?

Three guesses.

Kids were already pulling their canoes off the grassy shore, into the water. They all seemed to be paired up.

Liz walked over to me. Her white one-piece bathing suit glowed in the morning sunlight. She had her frizzy red hair tied behind her head.

She let a silver whistle fall from her mouth. “What’s your name?” she asked, eyes on the lake.

“Sarah,” I told her. “I signed up for canoeing, but-”

“You need a buddy,” she said. “Find a buddy. The canoes are over there.” She pointed, then trotted away.

Canoes splashed into the water. The slap of the wooden paddles echoed around the shore.

I ran to the stack of canoes, searching for a buddy. But everyone had already chosen partners.

I was about to give up when I spotted Jan, pulling a canoe to the water. “Do you have a buddy?” I called.

She shook her head.

“Well, can I come with you?” I asked.

“I don’t think so,” she replied nastily. “Do you have any more spiders you want to set loose?”

“Jan, please-” I started.

“Are you two together?” Liz appeared behind us, startling us both.

“No. I-” Jan started.

“I want to be her buddy, but she doesn’t want to,” I said. I didn’t mean to whine, but it came out that way.

Jan made an ugly face at me.

“Get your canoe in the water,” Liz ordered. “You two are the last ones in.”

Jan started to protest. Then she shrugged and sighed. “Okay, Sarah. Let’s go.”

We pulled on life preservers. Then I grabbed a paddle and one end of the canoe. We dragged it to the water.

The little boat bobbed against the shore. The lake current was stronger than I thought. Low waves plopped steadily against the grassy shore.

Jan climbed in and took a seat in the front. “Thanks for embarrassing me in front of Liz,” she muttered.

“I didn’t mean-” I started.

“Okay. Push off,” she commanded.

I tossed my paddle into the canoe. Then I leaned over and gave the boat a hard shove with both hands.

It slid smoothly away from the shore. Then I had to wade out to it and pull myself inside.

“Whoa!” As I struggled to hoist myself up, the canoe nearly tipped over.

“Watch it!” Jan snapped. “You’re such a klutz, Sarah.”

“Sorry,” I murmured. I was so grateful to have a buddy, I didn’t want any more trouble between us.

I pulled myself into the canoe and dropped down behind Jan.

The canoe bobbed up and down as we began to paddle. The rocking waters sparkled like silver under the bright morning sunshine.

It took us a while to find the right rhythm.

Neither of us spoke.

The slap of our paddles and the rush of water against the little canoe were the only sounds we made.

The lake gleamed in front of us like a giant, round mirror. I could see several canoes up ahead. Jan and I were far behind them.

The rubber life preservers were hot and heavy. We pulled them off and dropped them to the canoe floor.

We paddled steadily, not too fast, not too slow.

I glanced back. The shore seemed miles away.

I felt a chill of fear. I’m not that strong a swimmer. I suddenly wondered if I could swim all the way to shore from out here.

“Hey!” As I stared back at the shore, the canoe suddenly started to rock.

“Whoooa!” I grabbed the sides.

I turned-and to my horror, saw Jan standing up!

“Jan-stop! What are you doing?” I shrieked. “What are you doing?”

The little boat rocked harder. I gripped the sides, struggling to steady it.

Jan took a step.

The canoe tilted. Water splashed over my feet.

“Jan-stop!” I cried again. “Sit down! What are you doing?”

She narrowed her eyes at me. “Bye, Sarah.”

The boat tilted more as she raised one foot to the side. She pulled off the T-shirt she had over her swimsuit and tossed it to the canoe floor.

“No-please!” I begged. “Don’t leave me out here. I’m not a good swimmer. What if the boat tips over? I don’t think I can swim back from here!”

“You ruined my summer,” she accused. “Now everyone knows I have asthma. So they won’t let me go on the six-day canoe trip.”

“But-but it was an accident-” I sputtered.

“And you’re messing up everything for Briana and Meg too,” Jan said angrily.

“No. Wait-” I started. “I apologized to them. I didn’t mean-”

She shifted her weight.

Tilted the canoe the other way.

Then she shifted her weight again. Again.

Deliberately making the canoe rock.

Deliberately trying to frighten me.

“Don’t tip it over, Jan. Please-” I pleaded.

She tilted it more. Made it rock so hard, I thought I’d tumble out.

“I’m really not a good swimmer,” I repeated. “I really don’t think I-”

She uttered a disgusted groan. Then she tossed back her hair. Raised her arms over her head. Bent her knees. Kicked off hard.

And dove into the lake.

“Noooo!” I let out a cry as the boat rocked violently. Jan’s dive sent up a tall, foamy wave of water.

The canoe tilted… rocked…

…and flipped over!

I hit with a smack. Cold water rose up around me as I sank.

Frozen in shock.

I felt the canoe bounce above me on the surface.

Then I started to choke as water invaded my nose and mouth.

Sputtering and gagging, I thrashed my arms and legs.

Pushed myself… pushed… pushed myself to the surface.