“It is okay with me if you help,” I replied.
“Me too,” said Marilyn.
“We are making the longest chain in the world,” I said.
We made loop after loop after loop. My fingers started getting stiff. My back started getting achy.
“Attention, campers. The rain has stopped. The sun is shining. It is time to go outside!” said Claudia.
“You have all made terrific projects,” said Kristy. “But I want everyone to look at the paper chain Karen, Marilyn, and Carolyn have made. It is the longest paper chain I have ever seen.”
We stood up and stretched out our chain. I could not believe how long it was. The campers and counselors started to clap.
I do not know if our paper chain was the longest in the world. But it was the longest at Stoneybrook Arts Camp. And that was good enough for me.
A Special Announcement
“Give me an A!” said Claudia.
“A!” I shouted with the other campers.
“Give me an R!” said Kristy.
“R!” we replied.
“Give me a T!” said Mary Anne.
“T!” we said.
“What do you get?” our counselors said together.
“FUN!” we answered.
This was a new cheer our counselors had taught us. We thought this was gigundoly funny because A-R-T spells “art,” not “fun.” (I am a good speller and know how to spell much harder words than that.)
“This morning I have a special announcement to make,” said Claudia.
“Yes!” I cried.
Whenever my teacher, Ms. Colman, makes a special announcement at school, it is something excellent. And I usually shout out in class. Then Ms. Colman has to ask me to use my indoor voice.
But I was not at school. I was at camp. And we were not inside. We were outside in Mary Anne’s yard.
“Why don’t you wait to hear the announcement?” said Claudia. “Maybe you will not like it.”
“I am sure it will be something good,” I replied.
It was! Claudia told us that we were going to hold an art show on the last day of camp. We would sell tickets. The money would be used to pay for art supplies for the next summer.
“Please think about what you would like to make for the show. You can make any kind of art project you want. It is just a few weeks away,” said Claudia.
I did not want to waste any time. I started thinking right away. It did not take me long to come up with a gigundoly good idea. It was not just an ordinary idea, either. It was special. I had to ask a counselor if I could do it.
I told my idea to Kristy. Guess what. She loved it.
This was my idea. I was going to make puppets and put on a puppet show. The show is the part I had to ask Kristy about. I knew most kids would just make things. But I wanted to perform, too. Kristy said that would make me a performance artist. This sounded very cool.
The only thing was, I had no idea what my show would be about. I had to think hard. I went off by myself to sit under a tree. I brought a pad and a pencil with me. While I was thinking, I started doodling. I drew faces for my puppets. I drew eyes. Noses. Mouths. Then I drew hair.
Hmm. My first puppet face looked a lot like Hannie. I smiled. Then I sketched another face. Eyes. Nose. Mouth. Hair. My smile got bigger. That is because my second puppet face looked a lot like Nancy.
I got out my eraser. Then I made the noses a little crooked. I made the mouths a little bigger. I opened the eyes wide and made the hair a little wild. The faces still looked like my friends’. But now they looked very silly.
It took me two seconds to decide what my show would be about. It would be about three friends who are supposed to go to camp together. But two of them are meaniemos and become deserters.
My show would have plenty of action. It would be funny, too. Maybe it would win an award.
I was thinking about my acceptance speech when Kristy announced it was time for lunch.
The Second Announcement
That night at dinner I heard another special announcement. My whole big-house family was gathered. Except for Kristy. She had a baby-sitting job.
“I would like everyone’s attention,” said Daddy. “Elizabeth and I are going away this weekend. A friend of Elizabeth’s is not feeling well. We want to spend time with her.”
“I will be away this weekend too,” said Nannie. “I am visiting a friend at the shore.”
I wondered what was going on. First my friends were deserters. Now my family. I did not like this one bit. David Michael and Andrew did not look too happy either.
“Who will take care of us?” I asked.
“Yeah, who?” said Andrew.
“You do not have to worry,” said Elizabeth. “Kristy, Sam, and Charlie will be in charge. And we have asked the Hsus and the Kilbournes to check in.”
It was nice that our neighbors would be checking in. But I was not so sure about having Kristy, Sam, and Charlie in charge for a whole weekend. Well, maybe Kristy, since she baby-sits all the time. But she does not baby-sit for a whole weekend.
“What are you worried about?” asked Charlie. “We will not let anything happen to you.”
“There is one thing I should tell you,” said Sam. “I have invited some spooky monsters to dinner Saturday night. I hope that is okay.”
When Andrew heard the word “monsters,” his eyes grew wide. I thought he was going to cry.
“If spooky monsters are coming, I am leaving!” said Andrew.
“I was only joking,” said Sam.
“We love you kids,” said Elizabeth. “We would never leave you if we thought you were not safe.”
I figured that was true. I also figured that nothing I could say would change their plans. So I excused myself and went to my room. I had important camp homework to do.
When I got upstairs, I took out a pad of paper and my favorite pen. It was a purple pen with a fat point. It made the letters look nice and chunky.
I wrote at the top of a clean page, in big letters, KAREN’S PUPPET SHOW. (I would have to think of a better title later.)
First I needed interesting characters for my story. Hmm, what should I name them?
I knew I could not name them Karen, Hannie, and Nancy. I did not want everyone to know who the show was about. I needed other names. Hmm. Susan. Betsy. Linda. No. Those names did not sound right. Lucy. Rita. Josephine. No. The names still were not right. I thought some more.
Then it hit me. I could name the puppet that looked like me Sharon. That sounded like Karen. And I could name another puppet Hannah. Guess who she would be like. The third puppet could be Francy.
I wrote the names below the title. Now all I needed was a story. That was easy. My show was going to be about one nice and loyal puppet, and two meanie-mo deserter puppets. It would have lots of funny parts. All I had to do was write them. For an excellent writer such as myself, that would be easy.
I held my pen to the paper. I was ready to write my first funny line. I thought and thought. But I could not think of anything to say. Hmm. I guess writing is not always easy — even for an excellent writer like me.
Karen’s Puppet Theater
A few days later it was raining hard. But you know what? I did not even mind. All of the campers went inside Mary Anne’s barn to work on projects for the art show. It was time for me to make my puppet theater. I decided to make my theater from a cardboard carton.
While we were working, some of the counselors told rainy-day jokes.
“Why did the silly billy cut a hole in the top of his umbrella?” asked Jessi.
None of us knew the answer.
“He wanted to see when it stopped raining!” she said.
We all thought this was a very funny joke.
Then Kristy led us in a rainy-day song. It was a long song about Noah and his ark. My favorite part was when Noah builds an ark-y, ark-y made out of hickory bark-y, bark-y to keep the animals dry.
“If I made an ark-y, ark-y,
I would make it spark-ly, spark-ly. Hey, I will make my theater sparkly, sparkly!” I said to Natalie. (Natalie was making a bouquet of cardboard flowers for the show.)
I wanted to put the sparkles on my theater right away, but I had some work to do first. I needed to cut the carton to make it into a stage. Cutting cardboard is hard, so Kristy helped me.
As soon as I finished cutting, I wanted to put the sparkles on. But it still was not time. I had to paint the carton first. I painted it light blue inside and out.
It looked very good. But it still was not ready for the sparkles. My theater needed curtains. I made them out of red crepe paper and hung them from the top with pipecleaner curtain rods. It still was not time for the sparkles.
I made a floor out of dark blue contact paper. Finally my theater looked perfect. It needed only one more thing. Sparkles. I put on lots of them.
“Karen, your puppet theater really is beautiful,” said Kristy when I finished.
“Thank you,” I replied.
Later, when I got home, a package was waiting for me. Nannie said that Nancy’s mom had driven her over so she could drop it off. I guess Nancy was trying to be nice to me. Who cares, I thought.
I took the package up to my room. I did not want to open it because I was still mad at Nancy. But I was curious, so I ripped the paper off and opened the box.
Inside was a mug with my name on it. The card from Nancy said, “Hi! I hope you are having fun at camp!”
I am having tons of fun, I thought. Without you.
I put the note and the mug under my bed. I did not feel like thinking about Nancy Dawes.
A Great Idea
On Thursday I started making my puppets. They were very cool. They were paper cutouts that looked like you-know-who glued onto tall sticks I found in Mary Anne’s yard.
By the time I was finished, Sharon was a very beautiful puppet with long blonde hair — even longer than mine — and pink glasses with sparkles on the frames. Hannah’s hair was black. Francy’s hair was reddish brown. I gave both of them goofy expressions.
“Ha! That is what you get for being disloyal deserters,” I whispered to the Hannah and Francy puppets when no one was looking. At least I thought no one was looking.
“Um, Karen, are you talking to your puppets? I hate to tell you this, but they are not real,” said Margo.
“Thank you, I know that,” I replied. “I was just practicing for my show. It is going to be excellent, by the way.”
(Sometimes Margo and I do not get along very well.)
When I got home from camp, Nannie said there was mail for me. She handed me a postcard. It showed a seagull sitting alone on the beach. The card said, WISH YOU WERE HERE. I turned the card over and saw Hannie’s name at the bottom. Boo. It is fun to get mail. But not from ex-friends.
I thought about putting the card away without reading it. But I was curious again. So I read what Hannie had written: “I am having so much fun. I hope you are having fun at camp too.”
Yes, Hannie Papadakis. I am having fun. Lots of fun. And I will have even more fun when I put on my show. So there.
I ran upstairs and put the postcard under my bed with Nancy’s mug.
Then I thought about my show. I had a theater. I had puppets. My characters had names. But I still had not written a play.
I sat on my bed and thought. But I was having trouble concentrating. That was because I heard music coming from Charlie’s room. Sometimes he plays his music loudly. Someone was singing about a friend who let her down. “Down, down, you dropped me down to the ground. Ooh! Ow! Ow!”
Hey, that is just like Hannie and Nancy, I thought. They let me down.
All of a sudden I had a great idea. I decided to make my play into a musical! Instead of writing my play on a pad, I would sing it onto a tape.
I was sure I had an old tape player somewhere. I searched my closet until I found it. Then I found a blank tape.
I cleared my throat and started to sing my very own tune: “Hannah and Francy let me down. They dropped me down in the dirt and I feel very hurt. Ooh! Ow! Ow!”
Pizza Express
On Friday camp was so much fun. The day was very hot. So after we worked on our art projects, we played a game of water-balloon dodgeball. It was the campers against the counselors. We all got soaking wet.
Kristy and I were still soggy when we returned home. Daddy, Elizabeth, Nannie, and Emily were waiting to say good-bye. (Nannie had decided it would be easier for the rest of us if Emily Michelle went with her.)
“I hope Kate gets better soon,” said Kristy. (Kate is Elizabeth’s friend.)
“Thank you, Kristy,” replied Elizabeth.
“Have a great time, Nannie. You too, Emily,” said Charlie. He gave Nannie and Emily hugs and kisses.
“You have a good time too, kids,” said Nannie.
“We will!” said Sam.
“What time on Sunday will you be home?” I asked Daddy.
I hoped he was going to say he would be back first thing in the morning. But he did not.
“We will call and let you know,” said Daddy.
He gave me a hug. The next thing I knew Emily and the grown-ups were gone. Kristy, Sam, and Charlie were in charge. Gulp.
“The fun begins!” said Sam. “Who wants pizza for supper?”
“Me,” I said. Pizza sounded like a good supper.
“What toppings should we get?” asked Charlie.
“I want plain pizza,” said Andrew.
“That is boring,” said Sam. “You are getting to be a big boy now. It is time to try new things.”
“I do not like new things.”
“You can take off any toppings you do not like,” said Kristy.
“I will eat pepperoni,” I said.
“That is the spirit!” said Sam. “How about you, David Michael?”
“Pepperoni is okay.”
“Pepperoni it is,” said Sam. “And maybe a few more things for the rest of us.”
Sam called Pizza Express.
“We will have one large pizza with everything on it!” he said. Then he turned to me and said, “Do not worry. It will have pepperoni.”
Pizza Express says they are always fast. But they are not. Sometimes they take a long time to deliver a pizza. By the time our pizza arrived, I was starving.
Sam opened the box. I took one look.
“Eww! There is no way I am going to eat that!” I said.
On the pizza were mushrooms, pepperoni, peppers, sausage, onions, and some yucky-looking things I did not even know the names of. And it was still not enough for Sam.
“I am going to add hot peppers and pineapple,” he said.
“I want to take everything off. But it will still be gross,” said David Michael.
“I am hungry!” said Andrew. He started to cry.
“Do not worry,” said Kristy. “I will heat up spaghetti for you kids. We have some left over from last night.”
Thank goodness. Kristy heated up three bowls of spaghetti. I took mine to the den.
“I do not even want to see that pizza,” I said.
“I am right behind you,” said David Michael.
“Me too,” said Andrew.
I could see this was going to be a very strange weekend.
The Drive-in
“Who wants to see a movie?” asked Charlie.
It was almost seven-thirty. David Michael, Andrew, and I were still in the den.
“We are watching a movie,” I said.
We had turned on a tape of a Tom and Jerry movie. Andrew thought they were the funniest cat and mouse ever.
Boing! Tom, the cat, got hit on the head with a garbage-can lid.
“Come on, kids. You can watch that tape anytime,” said Sam. “We want to have fun now that the grown-ups are away. We want to go to the drive-in. And we cannot leave you behind.”
I pressed the pause button on the remote control so we could talk.
“What movie is playing?” asked David Michael
.
“The movie is called The Puppet Masters,” said Sam.
“It’s about a puppet? I will go!” I said.
Andrew and David Michael were not so excited. But finally they agreed to go too.
We piled into the station wagon. Daddy had left the keys so we would not have to ride in the Junk Bucket. (That is the name of Charlie’s rattly old car.)
“Buckle up, everyone,” said Charlie.
As soon as we reached the drive-in, Andrew started complaining that he was sleepy.
“I packed some pillows and blankets,” said Kristy.
She took them out and made a cozy bed for Andrew in the back of the wagon.
Then she took out the bag of goodies she had packed. I was munching pretzels when the movie started. I watched the movie for a few minutes. All I saw were people.
“When are the puppets going to come on?” I asked.
“There are no puppets, Karen. It is science-fiction week at the drive-in. This movie is about monsters from outer space,” said Sam.
“Monsters!” said Andrew, who was still awake. “I want to go home!”
“You do not have to watch the movie,” said Kristy. “Just close your eyes and think sleepy thoughts.”
“I thought there were going to be puppets in this movie,” I said. “If there are no puppets, why is it called The Puppet Masters?”
“Because the people act like puppets when the monsters take them over,” said Charlie. “I have seen this movie before.”
“It sounds awful,” I muttered.
“Give it a chance. Maybe you will like it,” said Sam.
David Michael and I watched a few more minutes of the movie. David Michael did not like it one bit.
“This is boring,” he said.
“Please be quiet anyway so we can watch,” said Kristy. “Why don’t the two of you play a game? A quiet game.”
“I am going to sleep,” said David Michael. He curled up in his seat and closed his eyes.