Summer School

  CONTENTS

  TITLE PAGE

  1 SUMMER SCHOOL

  2 SARA

  3 THE FIRST DAY

  4 BOOK CAMP

  5 AUDREY’S SHADOW

  6 ARTS AND CRAFTS

  7 AUDREY’S PROBLEM

  8 FIELD TRIP

  9 THE GIANT PEACH DISASTER

  10 THE PEACH PROBLEM

  11 THE MYSTERY OF THE CRUSHED PEACH

  12 FAMILY DAY

  13 TO TELL THE TRUTH

  14 DEBBIE IS ANGRY

  15 A REAL FRIEND

  ACKNOWLEDGMENT

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  COPYRIGHT

  SUMMER SCHOOL

  Saturday!

  That was Audrey Green’s first thought when she opened her eyes. This was not just any old Saturday, either. It was the very first Saturday of summer. School was out!

  Audrey sat up in bed and felt for Sasha. Sasha was her family’s cat. He was very old and very big. For as long as Audrey could remember, Sasha had slept in Audrey’s bed with her. Under the covers. Every single night.

  Audrey felt around under the sheets. She hauled Sasha up and held him in her arms. Sasha blinked in the sunlight. He yawned. He closed his eyes again.

  “Come on,” said Audrey. She kissed him between the ears. “Let’s go have breakfast.”

  “Good morning, honey,” said Mrs. Green. She put a glass of juice by Audrey’s place.

  “Morning, Mommy,” said Audrey. “Morning, Daddy.”

  Mr. Green smiled at Audrey over the top of his newspaper. He took another bite of cereal.

  “Would you like cereal today or a waffle?” asked Mrs. Green.

  “A waffle, please,” said Audrey. “I need a special breakfast because it is the first day of summer vacation.”

  After Mrs. Green had made Audrey’s waffle, she sat down. “Are you going to play with Sara today?” she asked.

  Audrey nodded and took a bite of her waffle. Sara Ford was in Audrey’s second-grade class at Stoneybrook Academy. She lived down the street from Audrey. They were not best friends, but they were good friends. Audrey did not have one special best friend. She wished she did, though.

  “I spoke to Mrs. Ford yesterday,” said Mrs. Green. “It is too bad that Sara will not be going to the Stoneybrook Academy day camp. Mrs. Ford said they will be too busy to sign up for a two-week session. I am sorry. I know it would be fun for you if Sara went, too.”

  Audrey frowned. “I do not want to go to summer school,” she said. “I like school, and I like Ms. Colman, but summertime is for playing.”

  Mr. Green put down his newspaper. “It is not summer school, Audrey,” he said. “It is day camp. Day camp will not be like school. It will be more fun. You will play games and do arts and crafts. You will read books and play sports and do all sorts of fun things.”

  “I still do not want to go,” said Audrey.

  “You will know everyone there,” said Mrs. Green. “There will be nine kids from Ms. Colman’s class, and six kids from Mr. Berger’s class. They are all your friends.”

  Mr. Berger taught the other second-grade class at Stoneybrook Academy.

  “And Ms. Colman will be in charge of your day-camp group,” added Mr. Green.

  “I just want to stay at home,” said Audrey. “I want to play all day. I want to watch daytime TV.”

  “Audrey. You may not watch daytime TV even if you do stay home all day,” said Mrs. Green. “Anyway, your father and I both work. There is no one here to look after you.”

  “Could Allen come home and look after me?” asked Audrey in a small voice. Allen was her older brother. He was nice, but he was eleven years older than she was. He had been away at college for two years and came home only for holidays. Sometimes Audrey felt as if she hardly knew him. But even Allen would be better than day camp.

  Mrs. Green sighed. “Allen is doing a work-study program this summer, honey. He will be home only for one week at the end of August. He cannot come home to take care of you.”

  “Day camp will be fun,” said Mr. Green firmly. “Each two-week session has a theme. This first session is Book Camp. You will all be reading fun books. You like to read. You are a good reader.”

  “And the session after that is Theater Camp,” said Mrs. Green. “You will write plays and act them out. You will make costumes. Each day-camp session will have a new, fun, different theme. You will see. I know you will have a good time.”

  Audrey was not so sure. But she could tell that her parents did not want to talk about it anymore. She finished her waffle. She did not want to talk about it anymore either.

  SARA

  “No, no, the flower girl goes first,” said Sara Ford. She walked her baby doll down a pretend aisle. Audrey and Sara were playing wedding at Sara’s house.

  “Could Frederick be the flower dog?” asked Audrey. Frederick was Sara’s new dachshund puppy. Audrey thought he was so, so cute.

  “We could try,” said Sara. She looked around for Frederick.

  So far, the first Saturday of summer vacation was going okay, Audrey decided. After breakfast that morning, she and her parents had gone to the mall. Mrs. Green had bought Audrey some new shorts and T-shirts for day camp. Audrey had also gotten a new pair of sandals. They were white with pink and purple butterflies sewn onto the straps. They were great.

  The Greens had eaten lunch at the food court. Audrey had ordered a combination Chinese-food plate. Eating lunch out was fun.

  And now Audrey was at Sara’s house. Playing wedding was one of their favorite games.

  Sara came back in, holding Frederick around his middle. He drooped down at both ends, because he was so long.

  The girls brushed his short black hair until it was shiny. They tied some scarves and some plastic flowers to his collar. He made an excellent flower dog.

  “I wish you were coming to day camp with me,” said Audrey.

  “Me too,” said Sara. “But my parents and I will be taking little trips all summer long. So I cannot go. You will have fun, though.”

  “Maybe,” said Audrey. “I do not want to go to Stoneybrook Academy every day, like I do all year. It will not feel like summertime.”

  “I bet it will feel very different,” said Sara. “Like it does on Parents Night or something. Like school, but more fun.”

  “I guess. Anyway, let’s start again,” said Audrey. “This time I will be the bride.”

  Audrey fastened a white towel to her headband. “Dum, dum, da-dum,” she hummed. The towel flowed down her back like a real bridal veil. Audrey took off her new sandals and put on a pair of Mrs. Ford’s high heels.

  Sara waited for her at the wedding altar (which was really Sara’s bedside table).

  Frederick trotted down the aisle. Then he flopped down beside the altar and fell asleep with his paws in the air.

  Audrey giggled. She wobbled on her high heels and tripped on her veil. “Oh!” she cried. She fell forward, her hands outstretched, and landed on Frederick. He yelped and scrambled away, knocking over the altar. It crashed to the floor. Frederick got tangled in the scarves and paddled his short legs. He yelped again.

  Sara was laughing so hard, she could hardly stand up.

  “Wait, Freddie!” she cried. She managed to grab Frederick long enough to untangle him. As soon as he was free, he dashed out of the room.

  Audrey stood up. Her veil had come off. Her shoes had been kicked across the room. She and Sara picked up the bedside table.

  Audrey felt embarrassed. “I am sorry. I did not mean to trip. I hope I did not hurt Frederick.”

  “Oh, he is fine,” said Sara, still giggling. “It was so funny. You are not hurt, are you?”

  Audrey shook her head. She finished cleaning up the mess. “Things like this always hap
pen to me,” she said. “I guess I am just clumsy. Remember when I threw that iceball and accidentally knocked Ian’s tooth out?” That had been last winter.

  Sara nodded, and giggled again. “And the time you were holding Bobby’s mouse and she accidentally got away. Bobby could not finish his science project.”

  Audrey shrugged. “I did not mean to.”

  “Do not worry about it,” said Sara. “It is not a big deal. Now, do you want to play Cootie, or Junior Scrabble, or Junior Pictionary?”

  Audrey thought. “Junior Pictionary.” She smiled as Sara went to get the game. Sara was a good friend. The summer would be perfect if only Sara could go to day camp, too.

  THE FIRST DAY

  On Monday morning Audrey lay around in her bed. It was the first day of day camp. Mrs. Green came into Audrey’s room and opened her curtains.

  “Rise and shine,” she said cheerfully.

  Audrey groaned quietly. She still did not want to go to day camp.

  Mrs. Green smiled at her. “Sweet rolls for breakfast,” she said, and left the room.

  Audrey fished Sasha up from under the covers. “I wish you could come with me,” she whispered into Sasha’s fur. Then she rolled out of bed.

  Mrs. Green dropped Audrey off in front of Stoneybrook Academy. Audrey wore a small backpack. Inside it was her swimsuit, a towel, a spare T-shirt, and her lunch.

  “Have a wonderful day,” said Mrs. Green.

  “A wonderful day at summer school?” asked Audrey sadly. “I do not think so.” Then she climbed out of the car and walked to the playground.

  Audrey’s second-grade teacher, Ms. Colman, was on the playground. So were many kids from Ms. Colman’s class. Karen Brewer was sitting on a seesaw with one of her best friends, Nancy Dawes. Tammy and Terri Barkan, the twins, were playing hopscotch with Michelle Rivers, from Mr. Berger’s class. Omar Harris, Ian Johnson, and Hank Reubens were playing foursquare with Michael Davidson, also from Mr. Berger’s class. Jannie Gilbert was jumping rope with Debbie Dvorak and Nina Bluesky, two more girls from Mr. Berger’s class.

  Audrey sighed. She liked everyone here. They were all her friends. But she did not have a best friend.

  Soon a bell rang.

  Just like in school, thought Audrey.

  Ms. Colman clapped her hands. “All second-graders, come with me, please,” she called.

  This is different, thought Audrey. Usually when the bell rang, everyone lined up and marched to his or her classroom. But now Ms. Colman was leading the campers to the gym.

  Inside the gym, groups of kids were sitting on the floor. Each group was a grade. A teacher was in charge of each grade. And several teenagers were helping out, too. Ms. Colman led her group to an open space. She asked them to sit in a circle.

  Audrey sat between Karen Brewer and Debbie Dvorak.

  “Good morning, campers,” said Ms. Colman. “You all know me, of course. I would like to introduce you to Susan Perez and Tom Baldwin. They will be our assistant camp counselors.”

  An older girl, with brown shoulder-length hair, smiled at the group. She looked nice, Audrey decided. The boy looked nice, too. He had shiny black hair and soft brown eyes. Susan and Tom seemed friendly. Audrey felt a little better.

  “Before we return to the playground,” said Ms. Colman, “I would like to explain the camp program. Each morning we will meet on the playground. When the bell rings, come to the gym and find your group. The whole camp will sing some good-morning songs, just to wake us up and get us into the camp spirit. Then we will join other campers on the playground for sports and outdoor games.”

  Karen raised her hand. Karen was kind of bossy, but Audrey liked her. Maybe Karen could be Audrey’s special camp friend.

  “Yes, Karen?” said Ms. Colman.

  “Will we do arts and crafts?” asked Karen.

  “Yes,” answered Ms. Colman. “Our schedule will change each day, but we will have time for sing-alongs, drama classes, free periods, arts and crafts, and water fun. We will also have guest teachers who will share interesting topics with us. And this Friday we will take a surprise field trip.”

  “If we know we are going,” said Ian, “it will not be a surprise.”

  Ms. Colman smiled. “But do you know where we are going?”

  “No,” admitted Ian.

  “I love surprises,” whispered Karen. Audrey could feel Karen wiggle a bit with excitement.

  “Are there any questions?” asked Ms. Colman.

  No one had any questions. Ms. Colman was a very good explainer.

  “Okay, then,” said Ms. Colman. “Let’s join our fellow campers at the front of the gym for some good-morning songs.”

  Karen jumped up and ran to the front of the gym. She did not wait for Audrey. Who would Audrey’s special camp friend be? Maybe Tammy and Terri? Or how about Jannie Gilbert? Jannie’s best friend, Leslie Morris, was not here.

  “Come on! Let’s sit together,” said a voice.

  Audrey turned around. There was Debbie Dvorak, from Mr. Berger’s class. Audrey did not know Debbie very well. Debbie smiled and pointed to the front of the gym. “Come on,” she repeated, giving Audrey’s arm a little tug.

  Audrey smiled at Debbie. Debbie had thick, straight, light blonde hair and brown eyes. She looked nice.

  “Okay,” said Audrey.

  Audrey and Debbie sat down together at the front of the gym. The very first morning of day camp had just started. And Audrey had already made a new friend.

  BOOK CAMP

  All morning Debbie and Audrey stayed together. When they played capture the flag with the first-graders, Debbie made sure she and Audrey were on the same team.

  After capture the flag, they played kickball with the third-graders. Audrey kicked the ball as hard as she could, then ran to first base.

  “Go, Audrey, go!” yelled Debbie.

  Audrey smiled as she ran. It felt good to have someone rooting for her.

  At lunchtime Audrey and Debbie sat together under the big oak tree in the playground. Because this was day camp, they had a choice. They could sit inside at tables in the cafeteria. Or they could sit outside anywhere they wanted. Like a picnic.

  Sara had been right, Audrey thought. Day camp was different from going to school every day. Audrey was at school, but she was not doing the usual school things. Playing games and having different rules almost made Audrey feel like she was on vacation. And there was no math or science or social studies or spelling. That helped.

  As lunch was ending, Ms. Colman gathered the second-graders into a group again. They sat on the cool cement under the cafeteria overhang. Audrey sipped from a juice can, then set it down next to her.

  “As you know,” said Ms. Colman, “this first two-week session is Book Camp. That means we will focus on books and reading. You will each choose one book to read. After you finish it, you will create a project about that book. The project may be anything you wish. You could act out a scene from the story or draw a picture. You could even make a costume and tell the story as one of the characters in the book. On the last day of camp, you will present your project. We will have a special program to which you may invite family members.”

  “Cool!” said Karen. (She had not raised her hand.) “Can we choose any book we want?”

  “Yes,” said Ms. Colman. “Right now we will go to the school library. You will have half an hour to choose a book. Please let me know if you need any help.”

  Everyone stood up to go to the library. Audrey forgot about the can of juice next to her. Her foot knocked it over, and it spilled onto the cement.

  “Oops,” said Audrey. She quickly picked up the can.

  “That is okay,” said Ms. Colman. “But please clean it up so that we do not have any ants. Meet us in the library when you are done.”

  “I will stay and help Audrey,” said Debbie.

  Debbie and Audrey mopped up the juice with paper towels. Then Audrey filled her juice can with water and dumped it on the sticky cement.

/>   “Thank you for helping,” she said.

  “No problem,” answered Debbie. “What are friends for?”

  “Have you found one yet?” whispered Debbie.

  Audrey jumped. She was sitting on the floor of the library, between two rows of books. After looking and looking, she had finally found a book for her project. It was called Sarah, Plain and Tall, by Patricia MacLachlan. She had already started reading it.

  “Yes,” answered Audrey. She showed Debbie the cover. “What did you pick?”

  Debbie held up her book. It was called The Mystery of Lilac Inn. “It is about two sisters who are detectives,” said Debbie.

  “Cool,” said Audrey. “What will you do for your project?”

  “I do not know yet,” said Debbie. “I will decide after I read the book.”

  After all the kids had chosen books, they went back outside. They sat under the large oak tree and read their books. Ms. Colman and the two counselors, Tom and Susan, were there to help with difficult words.

  Audrey liked her book. She was on page nine when Ms. Colman announced that it was time for water fun. Audrey looked at Debbie and smiled. Water fun! Day camp was feeling less like summer school all the time.

  AUDREY’S SHADOW

  On Tuesday morning Debbie was waiting for Audrey at the edge of the playground. She waved and smiled when Audrey got out of her mother’s car.

  “ ’Bye, Mommy,” said Audrey.

  “ ’Bye, honey,” said Mrs. Green. “Have a good day.”

  “Hi, Audrey!” called Debbie. “Look, I saved the seesaw for us. I left my backpack on one of the seats. Come on.”

  “Hey, Audrey,” said Tammy. She and Terri were about to start a game of hopscotch. “Want to play?”

  “Um,” said Audrey. Hopscotch did sound like fun.

  “First we are going to seesaw,” said Debbie. Gently she tugged Audrey’s arm.

  Audrey looked back at Tammy and shrugged. “Maybe later,” she called. She did not really want to ride the seesaw. But it had been nice of Debbie to save it for her.