Step It Up by Sheryl Berk Page B

they arrived, a park ranger was waiting to greet them. “Ladies—or should I say Divas—welcome to Black Boulder Forest! I’m Ranger Sam and I’m at your service.” He sounded so enthusiastic, like this would be the best trip of their lives. But no one was buying it.
    â€œCan you please show us to our accommodations?” Liberty said, dragging her backpack behind her. “I could really use a nice shower and spa treatment right now. Where’s the hotel?”
    The ranger laughed. “I’m sorry, but your only accommodations are the tents you’ll set upwhen you make your way to the bottom of the mountain.”
    Miss Toni held up a vinyl duffel. “Got ’em right here! I hope they’ll be to your liking, Liberty. I rented the top-of-the-line model with high-wind protection.”
    â€œThat’s great!” Ranger Sam replied. “It can get very cold out there at night. You’re in for a treat.”
    Scarlett glanced over at Liberty. She looked like she was going to keel over. “What? No hotel? Not even a villa or cabana or
something
?” she exclaimed.
    â€œWhere are the beds?” Scarlett asked. “There are beds to sleep in, aren’t there?”
    Miss Toni smiled brightly. “Of course there are! I got each and every one of you your very own comfy sleeping bag.” She tossed a green sack at Liberty. “Catch!”
    Then she handed a lantern to Scarlett, a bag filled with pots and pans to Rochelle, and two totes stocked with food to Bria and Gracie.“I highly recommend the powdered hummus and the dehydrated sweet potatoes,” she said. “Yum!”
    â€œWhat about breakfast?” Gracie piped up. It was her favorite meal of the day, and she couldn’t imagine it without a heaping pile of pancakes or her mom’s apple-cinnamon oatmeal.
    â€œGlad you asked!” Toni replied. She handed her a dry box of bran cereal. “Help yourself. There’s no milk, of course.”
    Bria rifled through the bag. There was absolutely nothing appetizing and her stomach was growling. “Maybe we can make a campfire and roast some s’mores,” she suggested.
    â€œThat would be nice,” Toni answered, “if you had any marshmallows and knew how to light a fire by rubbing two sticks together. Good luck with that!” She walked over to Ranger Sam. “You guys should definitely hit the trail right away. It’ll take you several hours to reach the bottom, and you don’t want to lose the daylight.”
    Bria gulped. “You mean, we’ll have to walkthrough the woods in the dark?” She tugged on Rochelle’s sleeve and whispered, “Werewolves!”
    Scarlett held up her lantern. “I guess that’s why we have this.” She looked at Miss Toni. “What happens if we get lost or in trouble?”
    Ranger Sam handed her a whistle. “We won’t be far behind, and I’ll be keeping an eye on you. But you girls are leading
us
, not the other way around.” He held up a pair of binoculars. “If you get into a bind, just toot for help.”
    Toni crossed her arms over her chest. She was not about to change her mind and let them all just go home. “Tick tock,” she said. “Time to hit the trail.”

Chapter 12
Not-So-Happy Trails

    Scarlett looked around, trying to get her bearings and figure out where they were on the map. “You’d think they would have marked it with an ‘X’ …,” she said. “You think we’re here?” She held up the map so Rochelle could see it.
    â€œYour guess is as good as mine,” Rochelle replied.
    â€œLet me see,” Liberty said as she pulled it out of Scarlett’s hands.
    â€œWhy? You think you’re Dora the Explorer?” Rock teased.
    â€œNo, but I can find my way expertly around the Riverside Square Mall floor plan. This can’tbe much harder.” She pointed