Can You Say Catastrophe Part 10

12:25 P.M.

I'm calling Brynn.

Still 12:25 P.M.

I just called Brynn. She said she was just about to call me, but before she could say another word, I told her I was coming over and I hung up. Was she going to call to tell me something good or something I don't want to hear? My stomach is a ball of fear, nervousness, and too much Captain Crunch.

2:10 P.M.

Just home from Brynn's GOOD NEWS! Brynn didn't tell Billy anything about Matt. When I asked her about it, she said she couldn't even believe I would ask her that because she would never do that. "April, we're best friends, like sisters," she said. "And I would never tell anybody anything that you asked me not to tell. Not even Billy." Then I knew that there was nothing going on between Brynn and Billy. I could tell they were just friends like they've always been.

I wanted to give Brynn the biggest hug ever, but she wasn't done talking.

Brynn said she had two things to tell me.

The first was that camp wasn't the same without me. "It was fun," she said. "But I really missed you."

The second thing was that Billy missed me too. I tried to get her to tell me if she meant he missed me the same way Brynn did or a different way. I even showed her the T-s.h.i.+rt and picture frame I brought her back from Disney World and told her I wouldn't give them to her until she told me.

But Brynn did this zip-her-lip thing and told me Billy wanted to talk to me himself.

Then she said he was planning to come to my house this afternoon and that I better get home fast if I wanted to be there when he arrives.

I got home in record time.

5:15 P.M.

Billy just left Best day ever!

I don't know where to start.

So much happened this afternoon when Billy came over. The first thinga"after May and June jumped all over Billy and gave him huge hugs like he'd been missing at seaa"was that right away, I noticed something was different. Billy grew while he was gone, and he was tan. On the cuteness scale, Billy went from a 7 to a 9.

The next thing that happened was that he gave me presents. Billy knows I love presents. And he had some really good ones. First he gave me a plaque with a photo he took of the sun setting over Silver Lake. It's so coola"I love it. He told me he made it for me in Arts and Crafts, and then he put it on my nightstand.

He started telling me all about camp, and even though it made me miss being there, it was fun hearing about it.

Then he gave me another presenta"a jar of lake water. He seriously brought me a jar of water from Silver Lake. We were sitting on the floor of my room, and he pulled this little jar out of one of his pockets and said since I couldn't make it to Silver Lake this summer, he brought the lake to me.

I opened the jar and it smelled disgusting, just like Silver Lake, but I loved it. I put the jar on my bookshelf. "That's the best present anyone has ever given me," I said. Then I told Billy that I had a present for him. I tried to give him the snow globe I brought him back from Disney World, but Billy said I'd have to wait my turn, that he still had more presents for me.

Billy took a piece of foil out of his pocket and opened it up. Inside was a s'more.

"It's from Final Campfire," he said.

I looked down at it. The marshmallow was just the right shade of brown. "It's perfect," I said.

He smiled at me. "You know what Camp Director Dan always says."

"If you don't want something to go up in smoke, don't hold it too close to a flame."

We laughed as we said the words together that we've been listening to Dan say at campfires for as long as we've been going to Camp Silver Sh.o.r.es.

I felt a lump in my throat as I looked at the s'more Billy gave me. He knows how much I love them. And Final Campfire is one of my favorite Silver Sh.o.r.es traditions. The last night of camp, anyone who wants to say something goes up to the campfire, puts a log on the fire, and says what they want to say to someone or to everybody. When everyone is done talking, the whole camp eats s'mores together, and then we do the Hokey Pokey. It sounds silly, but everyone ends up crying during Campfire and then laughing like crazy when we do the Hokey Pokey.

"I love it," I told Billy. "It makes me feel like I'm there."

"Pretend like you are," said Billy. "I have something I want to tell you. If you'd been at camp this summer, I wouldn't have said it to you at Final Campfire, but afterward, because I wouldn't have wanted anyone else to hear it." I looked down at the carpet.

Billy paused like he really wanted to make sure it came out right.

(I'm going to write out what he said as well as I can remember it, because it was amazing and I never want to forget it.) "I know things were weird between us before camp. You've been my best friend for so long, and then a things were different. I was really confused before I left, but I had a lot of time over the summer to think. I wanted to write and tell you what I was thinking. I started a bunch of letters, but they never sounded right so I decided to wait until I got home."

Billy's voice got softer. "April, I missed you this summer."

When Billy said he missed me, I could feel my heart thumping inside my chest. It was so sweet the way he said it.

He kept talking, quietly, like he only wanted me to hear what he was about to say, even though we were the only ones in the room. "April, it sounds weird to say this, but a will you be my girlfriend? I really hope you will be."

Part of me wanted to laugh. The way Billy asked me to be his girlfriend sounded so oldfas.h.i.+oned and funny. But it was so Billy-like to ask in such a sweet, sincere way.

My talk with Dad at the diner floated through my brain. Listen to your heart, April.

I knew what my heart was telling me. Finally, I had an answer instead of just questions. "Yes, Billy. I would love to be your girlfriend."

Billy grabbed my hands, pulled me up off my bedroom floor, and started doing the Hokey Pokey with me.

You put your whole self in, You put your whole self out, You put your whole self in And you shake it all about.

You do the Hokey Pokey And you turn yourself around, That's what it's all about.

When we were done, we were both cracking up, just like we always do at camp when we do the Hokey Pokey. Except that doing the Hokey-Pokey in my bedroom seemed even funnier. We couldn't stop laughing. Just looking at each other made us laugh even harder. Tears were rolling down my face.

We were laughing so hard that Mom came in my room to make sure we were OK.

I told her we were. We were more than OK. We were April and Billy, just like we've always been, only better.

The more things change, the more they stay the same.

a"Alphonse Karr.

Wednesday, July 17, 10:54 P.M.

Brynn's birthday.

Today was Brynn's thirteenth birthday, which she celebrated at the Love Doctor Diner. I still can't believe that's where she ended up celebrating her birthday. It worked out in a funny way.

It started this morning when I called Brynn to wish her happy birthday. She was telling me that her mom said she can have a party when school starts, because it was hard to plan something for her while she was away at camp.

I said, "It's too bad we can't have a party for you on your birthday."

June heard me say that, and of course she repeated what I said to Mom, who told Dad, who called Brynn's mom and said that it would be fun to celebrate Brynn's birthday at the diner. So that's what we did. Dad closed up early and we had a surprise celebration in honor of Brynn at the Love Doctor Diner.

Brynn and her mom and dad were there, and Billy and his family, and Mom and Dad and May and June and me. Dad served all of the Love Doctor Diner specialties: Fried chicken, potato salad, deviled eggs, biscuits, and shrimp and grits.

Mom made Brynn a "Birthday Girl" T-s.h.i.+rt and matching hat, which she insisted that Brynn put on.

I was a little embarra.s.sed about the T-s.h.i.+rt and hat thinga"though Mom has definitely made worse. But Brynn was a good sport. She even went along with things when May picked her up by the legs and said she was going to hold her in the air for thirteen minutes, one minute for every year of her life.

I guess the idea of it was really funny to May, who was laughing like a crazy person which made June do the same thing. It was mortifying, but also kind of funny, so I just shrugged my shoulders and made a kids-will-be-kids face.

I thought it was a cool way to handle things.

Mom seemed to think so too, because she put her arm around me and said something very parental about how I have shown a great deal of growth and maturity over the summer. Fortunately when she finished saying it, she told May to put Brynn down.

When dinner was over, Dad brought out a pie with candles in it and we all sang "Happy Birthday" to Brynn.

Brynn said celebrating her birthday with her friends and family at the Love Doctor Diner was great, and for the most part, I thought it was fun too. But it made me think a lot about the last time I was there with all of them, at the grand opening.

So many things have changed since that night.

At the grand opening, there wasn't one part of me that wanted to be at the diner. I didn't want to wear the jacket Mom made or serve pie to people I know or be any part of a crazy, themed restaurant smack in the middle of town. I didn't want anything to do with my family, and then Billy kissed me, and then Matt kissed me, and the next thing I knew I was stuck at home for the summer babysitting my sisters and going on a family vacation I didn't want to go on.

It's weird that my brain was so obsessed this summer with Billy and Brynn and Matt and what they were all thinking.

Now it all seems so silly. Things with Billy and Brynn are better than ever. Dad was right when he said I should trust my friends. Brynn is an amazing friend and Billy is an amazing boyfriend. In a month and a half I'm starting eighth grade, and Brynn says it is even more exciting to have a boyfriend in eighth grade than it is at camp. I guess we'll see (though I never did get to try it at camp). Even though a lot happened this summer, Billy, Brynn, and I are still the Three Musketeers, and hopefully, that's what we'll always be.

And then there's Matt. I spent so much time worrying about what he thought of me. All I wanted to do was look and sound cool around him. But I have Billy, and it feels right. Tonight I was just happy to be at the diner with the people I love most.

Which I have to admit, besides my friends, is my family. Things with them definitely improved over the summer. I mean, they're as weird as ever. But I think maybe I'm different. I've been trying to be more patient, especially with May and June. Mom said one day they'll grow up and I won't recognize them. I asked her if that was a promise.

I think Mom and Dad have been trying too. They still say stuff that gets on my nerves, but I think they're starting to get the idea that I'm a teenager now.

And even though so much changed this summer, some things stayed the same.

As we were all leaving the diner tonight, Brynn stuck a pretend microphone in my face and said, "Tell us, April Sinclair, as an experienced thirteen year old, do you have any advice for the birthday girl?"

It was so Brynn-like. I had to think about my answer. I decided to keep it short and sweet. "If you don't want something to go up in smoke, don't hold it too close to a flame." I glanced over at Billy, and he winked at me.

I still can't believe my friends were at camp without me. One thing I can say for sure is that I never EVER want to miss camp again. But I can also say that even though the summer didn't turn out the way I planned, I think it worked out exactly the way it was supposed to.

Acknowledgments.

This book was written with the help of so many people.

First and foremost, I'd like to thank my family. To my parents, Kenneth and Annette Baim, and my sisters, Leigh Mansberg and Karen Reagler: You have given me a lifetime of love, laughter, tears, and memories. For all of that and more, I am eternally grateful.

To my wonderful agent, Susan Cohen of the Gersh Agency: all my thanks for all you do (and you do a lot)!

To my amazing editor, Anna Cavallo, and the rest of the incredibly incredible team at Lerner: from start to finish, thank you for all you've done every step of the way.

To Gloria Rothstein, an amazing friend and a meticulously careful reader: thank you, thank you, thank you! (I can't thank you enough!) To all the students at all the schools I have visited: Thanks for all your input over the years. I hope you've learned even a fraction as much from me as I've learned from you.

And of course, my deepest thanks to my children, Becca and Adam, and to Albert. I love you all with all my heart.

About the Author.

Laurie Friedman can sympathize with April Sinclair. Ms. Friedman grew up in a small town in the South; she had two little sisters, a mom who made a lot of her clothes, and a dad who gave a lot of advice; and the summer she turned thirteen, she went on a family vacation while her best friends went away to camp. If you were to ask her parents, they would say that her att.i.tude at thirteen was a lot like April's. If you were to ask Ms. Friedman, she would say that although she didn't want to go on the trip her family took that summer, it turned out to be a lot of fun.

Laurie Friedman has written more than thirty books for young readers. She is the author of the award-winning Mallory series as well as many picture books, including I'm Not Afraid of This Haunted House; Love, Ruby Valentine; Thanksgiving Rules; and Back-to-School Rules. She lives in Miami with her family. You can find Laurie B. Friedman on Facebook or visit her on the web at www.lauriebfriedman.com.

When LAURIE FRIEDMAN was thirteen, her parents nixed her plans to go to summer camp with friends. Instead, they bought an RV and packed up Laurie and her little sisters for a two-week family getaway. She says the best thing about the trip was that it gave her lots of material to write about.

Ms. Friedman is also the author of the popular Mallory series and several picture books. She lives in Florida with her family.

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