Chapter One

Carefree laughter floated around the campsite, punctuated by the occasional shriek of excitement from those enjoying the summer camp"s activities. Most of the children darted between chaotic craft tables and challenging obstacle courses with the encouragement of their counselors. Other groups had gathered to play games in the open field between the cabins. There was no denying the bustling energy from those in attendance.

"Just get the frisbee, Brook," Sally complained as she shielded her eyes from the sun. She rested her other hand on her hip in impatience. "It couldn"t have gone that far into the woods."

Brook wasn"t afraid of the woods so much as she was of poison ivy. She had practically been covered with the itching rash from head to toe last year. She had also missed out on several fun events because of her horrible reaction, and she didn"t plan for that to happen this summer. She peered over her shoulder, hoping to spot her brother.

Jacob wasn"t afraid of anything.

"Brook, hurry up!"

"Fine," Brook muttered to herself when she couldn"t locate Jacob. She thought she had spotted him earlier near the water jugs, but he was nowhere in sight. She raised her voice to answer Sally. "I"m going!"

Brook scrunched her nose before somehow summoning the courage to cross the tree line. The overhead leaves provided instant shade. Pockets of sunlight filtered through the branches, and the scent of sunblock had been quickly overpowered by the earthy, damp odor of the forest floor. The humidity was so thick that Brook held her arms up so that her shirt wouldn"t be left with wet stains on the fabric.

She walked gingerly in the direction where the frisbee must have fallen after bouncing off one of the trees, but the disc was nowhere to be found. The hard plastic was red, so it should have been easy to spot. The entire time she canvassed the area, she kept a very close eye on any green leaves that resembled poison ivy. She had been so engrossed by the foliage that she hadn"t realized the ground sloped downward until it was too late.

The soles of Brook"s running shoes were no match for the steep terrain, and she lost her footing. Unable to catch herself, her hands were of no use to her as they were scraped by small twigs and debris all the way down to the bottom of the small ravine.

"Great," Brook muttered in frustration as she remained on the ground to take stock of her injuries.

There were several scratches on her hands. Upon closer inspection, they didn"t seem too deep. She blinked away her tears and wiped her palms on her shorts before she scanned her surroundings. This part of the woods always made her uneasy.

It was quiet...too quiet.

Until she heard an odd fluttering to her left. She quickly turned to find a male cardinal sitting on a low-hanging branch. His feathers were the same color as her frisbee. The bird stared at her for a while before he flittered away, as if to remind her that she should be moving as well. All she wanted to do was find her frisbee as fast as possible so that she could get back to the game with her friends.

A twig snapped, causing Brook to startle.

No bird was heavy enough to make that type of sound.

"What are you doing here?"

Brook scrambled to her feet upon hearing the question. A girl with long blonde hair stood between two large trees. She wore a purple shirt with the name "Stella" glued to the front of the fabric with shimmering glitter.

"I"m looking for my frisbee," Brook replied as she brushed the dirt off her shorts. She studied Stella, guessing the girl to be about the same age as Jacob. "You don"t go to my summer camp. Are you out here with your family?"

At first, Brook had been relieved that someone else was in the woods. She didn"t like the quiet. Neither had the cardinal. Right now, there weren"t any birds chirping. Her mother always said that usually meant they were scared.

"Campers have to stay inside the boundary. Aren"t those the rules?"

"Yes," Brook said with a frown. She didn't like the girl's tone. "You don"t have to be so mean."

"This is my spot, and I don"t want you here." Stella crossed her arms and continued to stare at Brook. "If you were shipped off to summer camp, then your parents didn"t want you, either."

"That"s not true!"

"Are you sure about that?" Stella taunted with an evil smile. "How long is that summer camp, anyway? One week? Two?"

"Stella!" A man"s voice called from a distance. "Where are you?"

"I"m coming!" Stella shouted over her shoulder. She turned back to Brook with a snotty expression. "You better leave. And don"t come to my spot again."

Before Brook could respond, Stella disappeared into the dense foliage. The leaves rustled and snapped as the girl ran away. She hadn"t been very nice. Brook"s mother would have scolded Stella for not being kind to others.

Not wanting to get into trouble for being gone from camp for too long, Brook made her way back up the slight incline. She had to grab onto a few branches for leverage, but she finally managed to reach the top without slipping or hopefully rubbing against any poison ivy.

A bright flash of red caught her eye.

There was her frisbee, sitting right at the base of a nearby tree. Brook smiled in victory as she quickly grabbed it. A part of her thought that maybe Stella had hidden the disc on purpose. Some kids weren"t nice, and she obviously fell into that category.

"Rude," Brook whispered to herself as she made her way back to camp.

Brook couldn"t understand why anyone would think summer camp was a bad place. There were a ton of fun games to play, crackling campfires to sit around in the evening, and gooey s"mores that were delicious. The counselors made everything fun, so maybe Stella was just jealous.

As Brook broke through the tree line, she was greeted by the sight of Sally performing a cartwheel. Before too long, others were following suit and grading one another on their landings. The sounds of laughter once again overtook the area, and everything had gone back to normal. Brook smiled as she ran to join her friends, and the sting of Stella"s hurtful words faded away into nothing but a hazy memory.