Sleepaway Girls by Jen Calonita Read Free Book Online Page A

age I know who calls me by my full name. “Mal told me you’ve got your eye on some guys there. Come home with a boyfriend so we can finally double date, okay?” The two of them laughed and I cringed.
    Mal broke
both
video rules? She let him video her message and told him what I said in mine? Mark knew all of my fears about camp, my gushing about Hunter and my last confessional about liking Cole? How could she do that to me?
    “Sam, please, please pick Hunter. He sounds beyond hot,” Mal seconded.
    “Baby, are you saying someone is hotter than me?” Mark cooed.
    I rolled my eyes again.
    “No one is hotter than you,” Mal baby talked back to him. Then the two of them started kissing.
    I fast-forwarded a few seconds till Mal finally came up for air and spoke again. “Sorry about that, Sam,” she giggled. “I’ll try to call you soon. I miss you and I’m sorry for my lack of tapes. I’ll try my hardest to send you another one, but I’m not sure if/when I can. I can’t wait for your next video though! I like hearing what you’re up to. Oh! And before I forget, I wanted to tell you that I don’t think we should try out for cheerleading this fall. I think we should do kickline instead. Mark says the routines are hotter. I’m also thinking we should try out for the school play instead of doing chorus. I’ll talk to you about it when you get back. Have a great summer!”
    The screen faded to fuzz. I looked at my watch. FOUR MINUTES? That’s how long the tape was? Just four minutes? My tapes were each at least thirty minutes long and I had already sent two!
    I pulled the tape out of my palmcorder and threw it in the bottom of my trunk.
    Mal was in for a rude awakening if she thought I was sending her another tape anytime soon. I had better things to do with my summer than just please her. Leaving my friends and becoming a CIT was the first independent thing I had done in a long time, and yet instead of embracing it, I’d been spending all my time worrying about my friends back home. Enough was enough. I had to make time for me and my new life.
    “Hey!” The door to the cabin slammed shut. Court was the first one back from breakfast. We had chores and a bunk inspection before our first period. She frowned when she saw me. “What’s wrong?”
    “Nothing,” I said. “I’m just really glad I’m here.”

10
The First Meeting of the Sleepaway Girls
    The first thing I noticed was a bright light in my face. It was kind of hard to miss.
    “Are you awake?” Court whispered. She’d climbed onto my bed and was leaning over me with a flashlight that was practically burning my eyeballs.
    “Yes,” I told her, even though I was actually falling asleep. Meg was at her “counselors’ meeting” (or more likely hanging out at the counselors’ lounge AFTER her meeting. She generally didn’t check in on us on Wednesday nights) and lights-out was supposed to be at eleven. I knew we were sneaking out at 11:30, but I had drifted off.
    I threw back my covers and pulled off my pajama pants and top (I had kept my real clothes on underneath). My hands were shaking as I did it. I’d never snuck out of the bunk at night, but Court, Em, and even Grace looked like pros. The girls were dressed and waiting by the cabin door. The only sound I could hear was Em using her inhaler. I winced. Just the thought of Ashley and Gabby waking up and seeing the rest of us gone made me want to throw up.
    I grabbed my backpack with my recorder, and walked briskly to the door. The four of us managed to get through the screen door without it making a single squeak. Once we were several yards away from the cabin, Court let out a small squeal.
    “I told you that would be a piece of cake!” she said. It was so dark it was hard to see her.
    I still wasn’t used to getting around camp at night. There were lights on the paths and the buildings, but it was still
pitch black.
While the camp was inviting and fun during the day, at night it reminded