Maddie's Camp Crush by Angela Darling Page A

of the fern leaves and smaller flowers aside. “I bet if you spray these with some acrylic spray, they’ll last for a while. Long enough to mail them, anyway. You can spraythem outside, and when the stuff dries just glue them to the front of the card.”
    â€œCool,” Maddie said. “Where’s the spray?”
    Emily pointed. “In that closet over there,” she said, and then went back to gluing more gems onto her craft caddy.
    Maddie and Liza went to the closet and looked for the spray. Maddie noticed a big jar of petroleum jelly on the shelf. She picked it up and grinned at Liza.
    â€œJust what we need,” she whispered.
    Liza looked around to make sure no one was looking at them. Then she took the jar from Maddie and slipped it into the empty brown bag.
    â€œPerfect,” she said, nodding at Maddie. “Now let’s go make some cards.”
    With Emily’s help, the girls created a dozen cards decorated with beautiful flowers and leaves.
    â€œNow I have to start writing those letters,” Maddie said, holding up a card with a little white daisy on the front. “I’ll definitely, definitely do it tomorrow.”
    â€œI’ll remind you,” Liza said. “Because after I’m gone, I want to make sure you write me a letter too.”
    â€œOf course I will,” Maddie promised.
    That night, the girls sang loudly at the campfire,cracking up after each silly song. When the sing-along was over, they headed to the mess hall for milk and cookies. Maddie saw Gabriel waiting by their rock for her. He looked at Maddie expectantly as she approached.
    Maddie looked at Liza.
    â€œIt’s okay,” Liza said, her eyes twinkling. “See you back at the bunk.”
    â€œHey,” Maddie said, walking to the rock.
    Gabriel slid over, offering her a seat. “I got you a cookie,” he said, “and some chocolate milk.”
    â€œThanks,” Maddie said, taking the snack from him. She noticed she didn’t feel as flustered as she usually did. Things just felt . . . normal.
    Is that good or bad? she asked herself, starting to worry. Didn’t the sweaty palms, heart-pumping thing mean she had a crush? So was her crush gone?
    â€œYou and your friend are good singers,” Gabriel said, and Maddie blushed a little.
    â€œYeah, we were kind of loud tonight,” she said, and then her worried thoughts flew away. “So, where are you from, exactly?”
    Gabriel smiled. “London,” he replied. “I thought it was fairly obvious.”
    â€œBut your mom,” Maddie said, and then she stopped herself. Gabriel had seemed pretty embarrassed by his mom that first day. Maybe she shouldn’t bring it up?
    But Gabriel just laughed. “She’s American. My dad is British, but they got divorced last year, so mum and I came to America to live.”
    â€œWow,” Maddie said. “That’s a big change.”
    Gabriel nodded. “Getting used to another country is pretty big. I miss my friends, but I miss my dad the most. He’s pretty far away.”
    So is mine, Maddie thought, and even though it wasn’t exactly the same, she knew how Gabriel must feel.
    â€œHave you started school yet?” Maddie asked, changing the subject.
    â€œNo, we just moved in June,” Gabriel replied, and he suddenly looked nervous. “I start in the fall. My mum thought it would be a good idea for me to go off and have a nice summer at camp while she gets everything settled at home. If you ask me, she wanted to park me somewhere while she got things sorted out. I’d rather be settling in at home.”
    A dark looked crossed his face, and then softened. “No offense or anything!”
    Maddie shook her head. “It’s okay. I think my mom dumped me here for the whole summer too!”
    Gabriel didn’t ask why, and Maddie didn’t tell him. Soon it was time for curfew. She said good-bye to