Adventures at Camp Lots-o-Fun (5 page)

Outside, Chris's whistle shrilled. “Time's up,” he called.

DJ scrambled to his feet. “We haven't got a lost yet, or a found.”

Andrew frowned. “Wait a minute.” He pointed to DJ's cap. “Your feather can be our found.”

“But we still don't have a lost,” said DJ.

Chris came into the cabin. Raj and Ernie were right behind him. “Did you find everything on the list?” asked Raj.

“We found everything except round,” said Ernie.

“We found everything except lost,” said Andrew.

“Let's have a look,” said Chris.

Raj held their bag open.

Ernie pulled out a smelly pinecone for old and a seedpod for new. For yellow and blue they had a mushroom with a yellow cap and half a robin's eggshell.

“What do you have for rough, lost and found?” asked Chris.

Raj produced a piece of bark for rough and a snail shell for found. “And look what we have for lost,” he said. He held up a slim brown object. “A porcupine quill.”

“That's not a porcupine quill,” said Andrew. “It's a pine needle.”

“I told you it was a pine needle,” said Ernie.

“It still counts,” said Raj. “The pine tree lost one of its needles.” He looked at Andrew. “Let's see what you found.”

Andrew and DJ spread out their finds.

“I don't think we should count the squashed blueberry,” said Raj. “You found it indoors.”

“Squashed or not, it's still blue,” said Chris. “And blueberries grow in nature.”

“You still didn't find everything on your list,” said Ernie. “So no one won.”

While everyone was talking, DJ was using his Power-Man thinking. “We did win!” he said. He snatched up the feather. “This is our found
and
our lost,” he declared. “A bird lost the feather before we found it.”

“No fair,” said Raj. “You can't use one thing for both.”

“I think it is fair,” said Chris. “I didn't say you couldn't use the same item twice.” He turned to DJ and Andrew. “Congratulations, guys. You two make a good team.”

DJ and Andrew grinned and gave each other a high five.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN
G
OING
H
OME

After breakfast the next morning, everyone packed up to go home. DJ put Sockster into his backpack extra carefully. He checked twice to be sure Sockster was safe.

Soon the buses were loaded. Chris sat beside DJ. He put his seat back and closed his eyes.

DJ pulled his journal out of his backpack.

Dear Lots-o-Fun Journal,

We're ready to go home. We're just waiting for the bus
driver.

Camp Lots-o-Fun was LOTS OF FUN. I feel sad
saying goodbye to Chris and the guys in my cabin.
But guess what? They're all coming back next summer.
And we are all going to ask if we can be in the same
cabin again. Even Andrew. He's really nice when you
get to know him. And guess what else—I got the award
for the Most Fun Camper. I voted for me, and so did
everyone else.

I got a postcard from my mom a couple of days ago.
She said things are really quiet when I'm not around.
I'll bet they have all been really bored. But they'll start
having fun again when I get home.

That's all the news for now. Wait a minute.
The driver just got on the bus. He looks kind of weird.
He has big silver eyes. He has a pointy head.

I don't think this is a bus at all. I think it's a
spaceship. We're about to blast off. Goodbye, Camp
Lots-o-Fun! We're on our way to the moon!

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

MARILYN HELMER
is the author of many children's books, including picturebooks, early readers, novels, riddle books and retold tales. Marilyn says one of the best sources for story ideas is her own children. With imagination and a dab of exaggeration, she turns their exploits and adventures into stories other children enjoy reading.

Adventures at Camp Lots-o-Fun
is Marilyn's fourth book with Orca.
Dinosaurs on the Beach
, an Orca Young Reader, was published in 2003.
Sharing
Snowy
(2008) and
The Fossil Hunters
(2009) are both part of the Orca Echoes series. Marilyn and her husband Gary live in Belwood near Fergus, Ontario.