Adventures at Camp Lots-o-Fun (4 page)

DJ glared back. “I saw a humongous spider. And it crawled right under your bed.”

“Forget it, DJ,” said Andrew. “You're not going to get me to fall for a dumb trick like that.”

CHAPTER ELEVEN
S
TARGAZING

As soon as it was dark, Chris and the boys went down to the dock.

“There must be a million stars in the sky,” Ernie said, looking up.

“There's Ursa Major.” Andrew pointed. “It's the Great Bear. And see those seven stars?”

“That's the Big Dipper,” said DJ.

Raj looked. “Where?”

“There. See? It looks like a pot with a long handle,” said DJ.

Raj followed DJ's finger. “Awesome,” he said.

“Watch,” said Chris. He drew a line with his finger through the bowl in the Big Dipper. “There's the North Star. Does anyone know another name for it?”

“Polaris,” DJ and Andrew answered together.

Andrew pointed. “Over there is Cassiopeia.”

“I just saw a falling star,” said DJ.

Ernie stared at the sky. “I can't see it.”

“It's gone now,” said DJ. “It must have fallen all the way to the ground.”

Andrew made a snorting sound. “Stars don't fall to the ground.”

“They might,” said DJ.

“They don't,” Andrew said.

“Hey, guys, look!” Raj pointed. “Those stars look like a dinosaur.”

“You're dreaming,” said Andrew.

“They do look like a dinosaur,” said DJ. “Like a Tyrannosaurus rex. Hey, maybe we have discovered a new constellation.”

“It doesn't look like any dinosaur I've ever seen,” said Andrew.

“How many dinosaurs have you seen?” asked DJ.

A shout came from a nearby cabin. “Quiet out there. We're trying to sleep!”

“It's late,” said Chris. “Enough stargazing for tonight.”

Back in Cabin Six, everyone fell asleep quickly. But they didn't sleep for long. The still night was shattered by a scream of terror: “Help! There's a huge spider crawling up my arm.”

CHAPTER TWELVE
P
OWER
M
AN
TO THE
R
ESCUE

Chris flicked the lights on.

Andrew hopped around the room. His eyes were wide with fright. “Where is it? It was crawling up my arm!” he shouted.

“There it goes.” Raj pointed. A large spider scurried across the floor.

Ernie huddled in the top bunk. “I see it!” he said.

“I told you I saw a tarantula,” said DJ.

The boys went wild, screeching and shouting, “Tarantula! Tarantula!”

Chris rolled his eyes. “It's not a tarantula.”

No one was listening.

Lights went on in other cabins. Mike appeared in their doorway. “What is going on here?” He glared at everyone. “You're waking up the whole camp.”

“There's a tarantula in our cabin,” said DJ.

Mike looked around the room. “I don't see any spiders,” he said.

The spider had disappeared. Panic broke out again. Not seeing the spider was almost as scary as seeing it.

“Spiders like darkness,” said Mike. He grabbed a flashlight and looked under the beds. “There it goes.” He whistled. “It is a big one. But it's just a harmless fishing spider. It won't hurt you.” He wiggled the bed and the spider scurried out.

“Step on it! Squash it!” Andrew shouted.

DJ gasped. Kill it? No way. This was a job for Power Man.

DJ spotted the blueberry bowl. He grabbed it and clamped it over the spider. Blueberries rolled across the floor like marbles.

Andrew screamed. “Don't let it get away.”

With a quick swoop, DJ flipped the bowl upright. The spider sat safely on the bottom.

“Good work, DJ,” said Mike.

Raj clapped DJ on the back. “You are so brave.”

DJ grinned. “Power Man has to be brave.” He turned to Andrew. “My mom's scared of spiders too. I catch them for her all the time.”

Andrew shuddered. “Get it out of here.”

DJ looked in the bowl. The spider's legs were long, but they weren't fat, and it didn't have any fangs.

“It looked a lot bigger on the floor,” said Raj.

“And a lot scarier,” said Ernie.

“It's the one who looks scared now,” said DJ.

Mike reached for the bowl. “I'll turn it loose outside.”

After Mike left, they cleaned up the spilled blueberries. “We forgot to have our snack tonight,” said Chris.

“Lucky we had the bowl,” said DJ. “Otherwise Power Man might have had to catch the spider with his bare hands.”

Ernie peered down from the top bunk. “Would you really pick it up with your hands?”

“That would be a dumb thing to do,” said Andrew.

Chris swung around. He put a hand on Andrew's shoulder. “I do not want to hear the word
dumb
coming from your mouth again,” he said. “Is that clear?”

Andrew's face went fire-engine red. He stared at the floor. “Sorry,” he muttered.

“Back to bed, guys,” said Chris. “Let's try to get some sleep.”

DJ didn't go to sleep right away. Thoughts scurried through his head. Wouldn't a spider make a great pet for Power Man? DJ sat up, almost bumping his head on the top bunk. Maybe I can ask all my friends to give me one for my birthday. Maybe I can have a whole family of spiders! Fan-tabulous!

CHAPTER THIRTEEN
L
OTS
-
O
-F
UN
D
AY

Dear Lots-o-Fun Journal,

Whew, no more spider attacks last night. It was
raining when we got up this morning. So I had to wear
my Power Man jacket. And guess what? At breakfast,
everyone was talking about the tarantula I caught last
night. Mike told them it wasn't a tarantula. It was just
a fishing spider. No one believed him.

Today is our last day at Camp Lots-o-Fun. We're
all going home tomorrow. Today is Lots-o-Fun Day.
We've had races and games and a whole bunch of fun
stuff. Guess what else? Cabin Six got the most points.
We each got a Camp Lots-o-Fun T-shirt. Fan-tabulous!

We're supposed to be resting now. I told Chris that
Power Man never needs to rest. Chris told me sometimes
he needs a rest from Power Man. I think that was a
joke. Chris has a weird sense of humor sometimes.

I think everyone has rested by now. Got to go—it's
time for our nature scavenger hunt.

Scavengely yours,
DJ, a.k.a. Power Man!

Chris handed Raj and DJ each a piece of paper. “This is a list of the things you have to find,” he said. “You'll work in pairs. Raj, you work with Ernie. DJ, you work with Andrew.”

DJ and Andrew stared at each other. Andrew frowned. DJ frowned too. Before either of them could protest, Chris gave them their instructions.

“This is a nature scavenger hunt,” Chris said. “Only things you find in nature count.” He grinned. “Get busy, guys, and good luck.”

CHAPTER FOURTEEN
S
OMETHING
L
OST

DJ read the list again. “Something old, something new, something yellow, something blue. Something rough, something round, something lost, something found.”

“So far we have a rock for old and a mushroom for round,” said Andrew.

“And a pinecone for rough,” DJ added. Moments later, he picked up a twig. It was covered with tiny buds. “Here's our new,” he said.

Andrew shrugged. “What's new about a twig?”

“The buds are new leaves,” said DJ.

“Oh, yeah, okay,” said Andrew.

Raj and Ernie ran past. “We've already found five things,” Raj shouted over his shoulder. “Bet that's more than you guys have.”

“Not for long,” Andrew shouted back. He turned to DJ. “I know what we can use for yellow,” he said. “Follow me.”

Andrew led the way to the back of the cabin. A clump of bright yellow buttercups glowed like sunshine. Andrew picked one.

DJ saw something out of the corner of his eye. It was a gray, black and white feather. He picked it up and stuck it in his cap.

“We need something blue,” said Andrew.

DJ thought for a moment. “Blueberries! Remember the blueberries I spilled when I caught the spider? We cleaned them up, but maybe we missed one.”

They raced into the cabin and started searching.

“I see one,” said Andrew.

DJ spun around. As he did, his foot came down, smack on top of the blueberry. “Oh, no,” he groaned.

“Maybe it's stuck to the bottom of your shoe,” said Andrew.

DJ yanked off his shoe. On the bottom was a blue blob. He showed it to Andrew. “All we've got is a blobby blue blueblerry,” he said.

Andrew looked at DJ and burst out laughing. “No, we've got a bobby blue booblerry,” he said.

DJ clutched his stomach. “Or a blobbily blue booblerry.” He and Andrew collapsed in a giggling, snorting heap.