Jenna's Dilemma (5 page)

“Want to hear a secret?” Marissa whispered.

Both Jenna and Alex perked up. There was nothing better than a secret. They all leaned closer to the table.

“I was afraid to dive until I was thirteen,” Marissa told them.

Jenna and Alex glanced at each other, disbelieving.

“No way,” Alex said.

“Way,” Marissa said. “I was so pathetic. I was light-years behind my friends.”

“So what finally made you do it?” Jenna asked, eyes wide.

“Well, I was standing with the younger campers on the beginners' pier, still petrified to dive, when I saw Marcy Brachfeld flirting with Tommy Catherwood by the diving boards,” Marissa said. “I had a huge crush on Tommy, and there was no way I was letting Marcy have him, so I closed my eyes and dove off. Two days later Tommy was flirting with
me
by the diving boards,” she added with a casual shrug.

Jenna and Alex giggled uncontrollably. “Okay, but I don't have a crush on anyone, so that's not going to make me dive,” Jenna said finally.

“All I'm saying is, you never know what's going to get you over that hurdle,” Marissa told her. “But I think that having Alex help you during free swim is a great idea. It'll be much less pressure than trying to do it with all the yellows watching. And I'll be there, too, if you want. As a former non-diver, I should support you.”

“Yeah?” Jenna said, glancing from Alex to Marissa. Everyone in the bunk loved Marissa, and the idea of getting the CIT all to herself made Jenna smile. Well, not
all
to herself, since Alex would be there. But Marissa wanted to take time out to hang with Jenna. And that was pretty cool.

“Yeah,” Marissa said. “But Jenna, you've got to want to learn, or you'll never be able to do it.”

“I know,” Jenna said halfheartedly.

“That doesn't sound like someone who wants it,” Marissa said.

That's because I'm still scared out of my mind
, Jenna thought. “I do,” she managed to say. “I want to learn how to dive.”
But only so Chelsea can't pick on me, and I won't be compared to Adam or get left behind next year.

“Good,” Marissa said, patting her on the back.

“Good,” Alex repeated with a confident nod.

“Good,” Jenna said, trying to smile. But she shuddered when she thought of the lake looming below her. Jenna would never admit it in a million years, but suddenly she wished her mom and dad were there.

chapter FOUR

“Jenna, you are a genius! Have I ever told you that you are a genius?” Grace whisper-giggled that evening.

“I know. I know. It's a gift, really,” Jenna said with a shrug.

Jenna, Grace, and Alex were alone in the cabin with Marissa, who had turned on her Walkman and told them to pretend she wasn't there. Marissa knew what they were doing and, as a long camp legacy herself, had no problem with initiation pranks, as long as they were harmless. And of course, Jenna's initiation prank was always harmless.

Plus, it was fun. Messing around with Alex and Grace was even helping her forget about her awful afternoon. She, Alex, and Marissa had spent an hour on the pier, and Jenna hadn't done one dive. They were going to help her again tomorrow, but just thinking about it made Jenna ill. So she wasn't going to think about it.

“Here, put this in Chelsea's cubby,” Alex said, handing Alyssa's art supplies to Grace. “Jenna, give me Chelsea's diary and I'll put it in Alyssa's cubby.”

“Here. Hide it good and deep,” Jenna said, handing over the glitter-covered book. She was still irritated with Chelsea for picking on her that morning at the lake. After that, Jenna was happier than ever that Alex had reminded her to pull the initiation prank. Chelsea
so
deserved it. “And let's put Natalie's makeup in Alyssa's, too,” she added. “Oh, and give me that mix CD Alyssa's always listening to. We'll put it in Nat's.”

“I mean, the way you got them out of the cabin!” Grace said, still giggling. “Telling them about the guys' nightly Wiffle ball game? That was perfect!”

“Yeah, especially for the guy crazies like Nat and Chelsea,” Alex added, rolling her eyes. “I bet they're over there right now cheering on their favorite guys.”

“Blech!” all three of them said in unison, sticking out their tongues.

“Yeah, but I thought Alyssa was never going to leave,” Alex said, tossing Chelsea's favorite sandals into Natalie's cubby. “Brynn saved the day there.”

“Totally,” Jenna agreed.

At the last minute, when Alyssa had insisted for the tenth time that she did not have any interest in watching the guys play Wiffle ball, Brynn had stepped in and told her it would be a great story for the paper. The rivalry between Adam's bunk, 3F, and bunk 3E was almost as big as the one between Jenna's bunk and 3A. Tonight, 3F and 3E were playing each other during their free period, and Brynn had told Alyssa that she
had
to cover the game. Alyssa had finally, grudgingly, agreed and taken off with her pad and pencil. Jenna would really have to thank Brynn later.

Satisfied that they had switched up enough of the newbies' stuff to be confusing, Jenna slapped her hands together and turned around. Now for the best part: the beds.

“You guys do Natalie and Chelsea,” Jenna said. “I'll get Alyssa's. The top bunks are always harder.”

“This is going to be so great!” Grace said as she tore the sheets off Natalie's bed. “I can't wait to see their faces.”

Jenna grinned. For the first time all day she was in a perfectly giddy mood, and there wasn't a thought of diving or siblings or anything else in her mind. There was nothing like a good prank to cheer her up.

 
 
That night, Jenna's heart pounded as she crawled into bed early and stayed near the edge, all the better to see the action. No one had noticed anything before dinner, and right after eating they had all gone to Classic Game Night in the main cabin. Sitting through several rounds of Coke and Pepsi, playing Red Rover with the guys, and watching the first-years go nuts during the Duck, Duck, Goose tournament had seemed to take forever. All Jenna wanted to do was see how Alyssa, Natalie, and Chelsea reacted to their initiation. Now, it was showtime.

Jenna caught Alex's eye as Chelsea went over to her cubby. She had to slap her hand over her mouth to hide her smile as Chelsea dug through the stuff that clearly wasn't hers. “Hey! Has anyone seen my diary?” Chelsea asked.

“No,” Natalie said, pulling a few things out of her own cubby. “Have you seen my monogram pajamas?”

“Why would I have seen those?” Chelsea asked as Alyssa stepped up behind her.

“Oh, I don't know. Maybe because you have my paint set in your cubby,” Alyssa said, whipping the tin out and holding it up. “What are you doing with this?”

Jenna buried her face in her pillow to keep from laughing. She could hear Grace and Brynn in the bathroom, wheezing for breath as they listened in.

“I didn't take your paints,” Chelsea replied. “You must have put them in the wrong cubby.”

“Wait a minute. Whose is this?” Natalie asked, pulling a black T-shirt out of her own cubby and holding it up between two fingers.

“That's mine, too!” Alyssa exclaimed, grabbing it away. “What's going on around here?”

Chelsea stalked over to Alyssa's cubby, pushed some things aside, and pulled out her diary. “Oh! And you accused
me
!” she shouted at Alyssa. “Who said you could read my private thoughts?”

“Trust me, I didn't even know you had thoughts,” Alyssa said flatly.

Natalie cracked up laughing, but Chelsea just blinked as the joke went over her head. Jenna pounded her fist into her bed, practically crying, she was laughing so hard.

Then Chelsea finally got the insult and started shouting at Alyssa, who shouted right back. Natalie jumped between them, trying to calm them down, but it soon grew into a three-way fight.

“All right! All right! What's going on in here!?” Julie said, storming in from the porch, where she had been talking to another counselor.

Natalie, Alyssa, and Chelsea tried to explain all at once, and Julie's face gradually broke into a smile. She glanced from Jenna to Alex to Brynn and Grace, who were now standing in the bathroom doorway. All of them shrugged innocently.

“I don't know what's so funny!” Chelsea said to Julie. “Alyssa's a thief!”

“Girls! Girls! Calm down!” Julie finally said, holding up her hands. “I think you've officially been initiated.”

“Welcome to bunk 3C!” Jenna and the other girls shouted, gathering around the newbies, cheering and clapping.

Natalie and the others looked stunned. “What?”

“Sorry, Nat,” Jenna said, looping her arm around her friend's shoulder. “It had to be done.”

“She's done it to all of us,” Val explained.

“Except for the ones who started with us the first year,” Alex explained.

“You're one of us now!” Grace shouted, hugging all three of the newbies in turn. “Congrats!”

Finally, Natalie, Alyssa, and Chelsea all seemed to get what was going on and started to smile.

“Omigod! I was ready to kill Alyssa for taking my diary,” Chelsea said, covering her mouth.

“Not before I killed you for taking my paints,” Alyssa replied, laughing as well.

“I
still
don't know where my pajamas are!” Natalie mock-whined.

“Here!” Jenna shouted, pulling them from the back of Alyssa's cubby and tossing them to Natalie.

“All right! Now let's everyone get to bed!” Julie announced. “The fun's over, and it's time for lights-out. You can sort your stuff out in the morning.”

Everyone groaned, and Natalie, Chelsea, and Alyssa quickly changed into their pajamas. Jenna and the other veteran campers climbed into bed and waited. Julie only
thought
the fun was over.

Natalie pulled back her blanket. Alyssa climbed to her top bunk. Chelsea fluffed her pillow. And then they all shoved their feet in under their sheets.

“Hey!” Chelsea exclaimed.

“What the . . . ?” Alyssa said.

“You
guys
!” Natalie wailed.

“Short-sheeting!” Jenna, Alex, Brynn, and Grace shouted, tossing their pillows toward the new girls.

And then, no matter how much Julie protested, the pillow fight of the century was launched.

“Okay, Jenna, what scares you the most about diving?” Marissa asked as she, Jenna, and Alex stood on the edge of the beginner's pier again the following afternoon.

“Everything,” Jenna replied.

“It can't be
everything
,” Alex said, crossing her arms over her chest.

“Okay, fine. I just don't get how you're supposed to go headfirst,” Jenna said, gesturing toward the water. “The water is so far down. And doesn't it hurt?”

“It doesn't, I promise,” Alex said. “You just need to do it.”

Jenna was starting to get tense with Alex breathing down her neck. It seemed like her idea of helping Jenna was standing there telling her to just do it. She was like a walking, talking Nike ad. It was a good thing Marissa had offered to help. If the CIT hadn't been there, Jenna probably would have given up by now.

“Okay, how about this?” Marissa said. “Why don't you try jumping into the water feetfirst? You can do that, right?”

“Everyone can do that,” Jenna said with a scoff, stepping to the edge.

Marissa reached out and touched her arm before she could jump. “But this time, I want you to pay attention to your feet. Really think about how your feet feel when they hit the water, okay?”

Jenna blinked. Think about her feet? Was Marissa losing it? “Um . . . okay,” she said.

She jumped off the platform, closed her eyes, and concentrated on her feet. They hit the water, Jenna felt the splash, and then went under. The water rushed up around her, refreshing and cool. Jenna smiled as she swam back up to the surface. She really did love to swim. If only she could just avoid the diving.

“Well?” Marissa asked.

“Well what?” Jenna replied, paddling over to the ladder.

“Did it hurt? Did your feet hurt when they hit the water?” Marissa asked.

Jenna paused as she climbed, thinking about it. “No.”

“So if it doesn't hurt your feet when they go in first, it's not going to hurt your head, especially when your hands are breaking the water first,” Marissa said happily.

“Wow. She's good,” Alex said.

Jenna couldn't have agreed more. Marissa definitely had a point. Why would diving hurt any more than jumping?