Over & Out by Melissa J. Morgan Page B

traveling, and Blake doesn’t have too many friends his own age, except for ones that are probably even bigger snobs than he is. That’s why Dr. Steve wanted him to come to camp for a couple weeks this summer. Maybe Blake just doesn’t know how to act around you guys yet.”
    â€œOh, he knows how to act,” Jenna said. “Like a jerk .”
    â€œSpecial delivery!” a voice called from outside, and Andie walked in, balancing two huge packages in her hands. She laid the boxes down on Jenna’s bed. “They came in the mail today.”
    Jenna checked the labels. “One’s from my mom and one’s from my dad.” She ripped them open to find mounds and mounds of candy, cookies, Rice Krispies treats, and a tub of gummy bears . . . yum. Both boxes were filled to the brim with sweets.
    â€œYes!” Jenna shouted gleefully. “Everybody . . . the candy’s on me!” She grabbed a handful of candy bars and started passing them out.
    â€œYou keep eating all that junk, Jenna,” Chelsea said, “and you’ll gain so much weight you won’t be able to play soccer even after your leg gets better.”
    â€œIf you think it’s junk,” Jenna said. “I guess you don’t want any, right?”
    Chelsea froze, staring down at the Snickers bar in her hand. “Maybe ‘junk’ was the wrong word choice.”
    â€œYou think?” Alyssa said, and everyone cracked up.
    â€œThere’s enough candy here to stop world hunger,” Anna said, splitting a huge Hershey’s bar with Perry and Lauren.
    â€œI guess I can’t complain about my parents breaking up anymore, because now I get double of everything!” Jenna grinned. “I have to admit, this is one benefit of having a broken leg.” She thought about checking with Andie to see if she could ask Alex to come over to share the wealth, but then she remembered that Alex had promised to come see her tonight, and she’d never shown up after dinner. No, she wouldn’t go looking for Alex. If Alex wanted to hang out with her, she knew where to find her.

chapter FIVE
    Dear Matt the Mad Scientist,
    Thanks for the letter and the bumper sticker. I BRAKE FOR BECKHAM—where did you find that, a soccer fan website? And yes, I do get the play on the word “ brake” (smart aleck). Believe me , it’s not easy to forget my leg, even though I’d love to. Every morning when I wake up, I keep hoping the cast won’t be there anymore. But it hasn’t disappeared yet.
    I know you say I should look on the bright side , but so far that’s been tough to do. I tried making a coffee mug for Dad in ceramics, but yesterday when I took it out of the kiln and filled it with water, the bottom fell out. Go figure. Farrah , my ceramics teacher, says all I have to do is find my niche, and I’ll get the hang of it. But I sure don’t have the same skill with clay as I do in spor ts. And there’s this skill with clay as t do in sports. And there’s this really annoying guy in my class, too, who makes it impossible for me to concentrate.
    I hate having to sit on the sidelines during sports every day (yawn—talk about boring!). I’ve been tr ying to coach my bunkmates to prep for Color War, and I’m afraid it might be a lost cause (but don’t tell them I said so). But—hey!—enough complaining.
    I’d rather tell you about the weird stuff going on around here. First, you know my friend Alex? Well, I think she and Adam are crushing on each other again, just like last summer! Can you believe it? Of course, I don’t know any details, and I soooo don’t want to either. I’m still trying to get used to the idea of Adam hanging out with a girl without trying to impress her by burping the alphabet. Second, someone other than me has been playing pranks around camp! And believe it or not, Blake , the obnoxious boy in my ceramics