Read Sports Camp Online

Authors: Rich Wallace

Tags: #Ages 9 & Up

Sports Camp (10 page)

Besides, everybody was weak at something. Barry and Hernando were useless in endurance events like swimming and running, and Vinnie had done poorly in the canoe race and had fallen down during the tug-of-war.

Still, those guys and Tony had carried the team in basketball and softball, and they’d all played well in water polo. Riley hadn’t made any big impact except for that leg in the relay race, and that had gone mostly unnoticed.

He had one huge opportunity ahead of him, though.

He’d been swimming laps for a half hour every day, mostly with Tony and sometimes with Eldon. A few times he’d seen other kids practicing, but nobody had done as much swimming as he had.

He stopped by the water and looked across the lake, all the way down to the totem pole.

Could he win it? He could dream about it, but it seemed impossible. He’d studied the results of the trials in the Bulletin, and a top-ten finish seemed within his reach. But the best swimmers were just too far out there.

Riley shut his eyes and took a deep breath, bringing in the smell of the lake. Crickets were chirping, and he could hear the occasional bellow of a frog. The air was still and moist, but he was wearing a light sweatshirt, more for comfort than warmth.

He felt like he could swim that race right now, cutting through the cool water, biding his time in the middle of the pack, making a big move midway through and reeling in the guys who went out too fast.

He’d gain strength as the race wore on, stroking past swimmers who were gasping for air and desperately trying to hang on. Then that all-out sprint, picking off one or two others in the final fifty meters as his teammates went wild on the dock.

He swallowed. His heart was pumping hard now, and all he’d been doing was
thinking
about the race.

Two more days. Less than that, even. Race time was forty-six hours away.

He walked past the boat house and onto the path that circled the lake. Had eleven days really passed since the last time he walked this loop alone at night? In some ways it seemed like forever, and in other ways it seemed like yesterday.

He’d been scared that first night, wondering if he’d make it back or wind up lost in the woods. He’d been embarrassed, too, after getting scorched in the basketball game and having Barry mock him about girls. So he’d been dreading the two weeks ahead.

He wasn’t scared anymore. Being on this path tonight felt comfortable; he knew the way now. There was nothing more to dread. Friday night’s race would be his breakthrough.

Something broke the water with a splash, and Riley turned his light toward it. Nothing remained but a spreading ring of ripples. Probably a bass. Maybe the one he’d hooked.

Way back up the hill he could see a line of flashlights moving toward the cabins. The basketball game must have ended. Barry had invited some guys from Cabin 1 over for a poker tournament, but Riley didn’t care about missing it.

He was almost to the end of the lake now, but he was in no hurry to head back. He climbed atop a large flat boulder that jutted a few feet into the water and spread out on his back. He shut off his flashlight and looked up at the stars.

There were millions of them. He lay on that rock for nearly an hour, just looking at the constellations. Somewhere nearby Big Joe must be resting. Riley felt comfortable being in his presence. Two creatures out here alone, not bothering anybody. Just being self-reliant. Independent.

Suddenly an intense streak of light caught his eye. A shooting star. It made a rapid arc, then burned out as quickly as it had appeared.

Riley remembered what Shawn had told them about the Perseid meteor shower, which occurred in mid-August every year. Apparently it was under way.

A second meteor appeared a few minutes later, smaller than the first. Every few minutes Riley would see another one, usually lasting no more than a second.

Cool
, he thought.
Everybody else is missing this
.

Shawn had said the shower would be most intense after midnight, but Riley wouldn’t be staying up that late. A few more minutes; that would be plenty.

When he got up to leave, the moon was higher in the sky and the natural light was nearly enough to see by. But he decided to make the full loop around the lake instead of
heading back the way he came, and it was still pretty dark in the woods. So he used his flashlight.

He crossed the bridge and walked faster. He wanted to tell Tony and Eldon to get outside and see the Perseids. They’d appreciate it. Maybe some of the others would, too. Maybe even Patrick.

As he rounded a turn, he realized that he was nearly to the point where he’d taken the baton in that relay race. This was the hill where Eldon had started to falter, leaving Riley with some ground to make up on the three runners ahead of him.

Riley started jogging, carefully lighting the path. When he reached the top of the hill, his heart was pumping; it was as if that race was going on all over again.

He ran down the hill where he’d stumbled in daylight, this time keeping his balance and beginning to move faster. There was better visibility as he came off the slope, just a bit of light from the boat house across the way.

The flashlight felt like a baton in his hand. He imagined those other runners just ahead of him straining and puffing while he felt so fresh. He burst out of the woods and began climbing Olympia Hill, pumping his arms and nearly sprinting already, feeling like a champion, feeling stronger than he’d ever been in his life.

He was running faster than he had in that relay, but it
felt almost effortless. Past the top of the hill; he’d finish this race now. He’d take on that final sprint to the mess hall.

After the work of climbing the hill, this flat stretch felt like nothing. Riley poured it on, top speed all the way until he reached the dark space beyond the finish line.

He walked now, sweating and breathing deeply. He raised his arms overhead, feeling triumphant.

Slowly he made his way back toward the cabins. A few lights were on, and he could hear some kids laughing. Three or four guys were gathered around a campfire outside Cabin 2.

He stopped near the Larry, scanning the sky again. He waited a couple of minutes but didn’t see any more meteors.

Down the hill Lake Surprise was lit by the moon. It looked deep and cool and peaceful.

A great home for a giant snapping turtle. And a great place for a swimming marathon.

Riley looked forward to both things connecting.

Two more days. He knew he was ready for anything.

CAMP OLYMPIA BULLETIN
Thursday, August 12

FORTUNES CLAIM HARDWOOD CROWN

Inside Strength Makes the Difference

It was Dawkins over Rios in an exciting and combative basketball final last night. Kelvin Dawkins dominated the boards and scored 18 points as the Fortunes held off the Fighters, 41–37. Johnny Rios continued his hot hand, pouring in 21 points in a losing effort.

Earlier in the day, Cabin 3 claimed third place over Cabin 1, 33

30. Vinnie Kazmerski scored 14 for the Threshers.

Who’s Got the Edge for the Big Joe Trophy?

It’s too close to call. The Cabin 4 Fortunes have taken an 8-point lead over the Cabin 5 Fighters, 91–83, but the Cabin 3 Threshers are right behind with 82. The Threshers will battle the Fighters in today’s softball final, so those standings might be changing significantly.

The water-polo semis are late this afternoon. The Fortunes and Threshers go head to head for one spot in the final, with the Tubers and Sixers vying for the other.

Quote of the Day

“This is the most exciting race for the Big Joe Trophy I’ve ever witnessed,” said counselor Shawn Pearson, who is in his second season on the Camp Olympia staff.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN
A Quick-Rising Storm

R
iley and Tony swam frantically toward the player with the ball, but the opponent deftly flipped it back to one of his teammates. Vinnie and Hernando sprinted in that direction, but the Cabin 4 players were very effective at keep-away.

Only seconds remained, and the Threshers were trailing by a goal.

“Get the ball!” shouted Barry.

No kidding
, Riley thought. But Cabin 4 had controlled the action for several minutes.

Riley and Eldon had moved up from the defensive zone, putting six Threshers on the attack. But when Kelvin Dawkins tossed the ball into an empty corner of the playing area, their fate was sealed. Riley and the others swam back toward it, but the whistle blew before they got there. Game over.

Riley climbed out of the water and sat on the dock in disbelief. It all seemed to be coming apart.

They’d just lost the water-polo semifinal, capping a horrible day for Cabin 3. They hadn’t even been close in the softball final earlier in the day, dropping an 11–2 nightmare. Riley’d struck out three times.

“We stunk!” said Barry, staring out at the lake.

“We got trashed,” Patrick said, shaking his head.

“Losing to those guys, of all people,” Barry said. “The biggest jerks in camp.”

Riley looked up as Tony took a seat next to him. “Maybe we should get some more eggs,” Tony whispered. Then he grinned.

Riley didn’t dare laugh. He’d played poorly in the water-polo game, too, although Barry had let three goals get past him in the second half.

Kelvin and a couple of other Cabin 4 players hopped out of the water in front of Riley’s team. “Looks like that trophy’s gonna be ours,” Kelvin said, flexing his muscles.

“We’re still mathematically alive,” Barry said defiantly. “We scored big points for that second place in softball, and we can salvage third in water polo tomorrow.”

“Sure,” Kelvin said. “Third place is right where you guys belong.”

Barry stepped closer to Kelvin and stared him straight in the face. “I’m talking about
first
place, my friend. You haven’t sewn up anything yet.”

“You better call the Ghostbusters,” Kelvin said as he started to walk away. “No way you can overtake us by yourselves.”

“We’ll see,” Barry said, turning to his teammates. “It’s not over yet.”

“Yeah,” said Vinnie. “Anyway, I’m starving. It’s dinnertime.”

“How can you think of eating after a loss like that?” Barry asked.

“Still gotta eat.”

“Not me,” Barry said. “I’m too agitated…. What’s on the menu?”

“Chicken,” said Hernando.

“Real chicken?”

“Of course not. Some chicken-like substance in gravy.”

“Okay,” Barry said. “I’ll eat. But I’m calling a team meeting for tonight. Nine-thirty at the trash barrel. Don’t be late. This is crunch time.”

Riley walked up the hill with Eldon and Tony.

“Can we really still win this thing?” Eldon asked.

Tony shrugged. “If we all swim out of our minds tomorrow night, maybe. I mean, we’d have to do
much
better than
we did in qualifying. But it’s possible. We sure didn’t help our cause today.”

They’d dragged a fallen tree trunk out of the woods and set it near the barrel, so Riley sat on it with Eldon, Kirby, and Diego. The others stood around the fire or sat on the ground. Barry stood behind the barrel and stared silently at the flames for a while before speaking.

“What bothers me the most,” he whispered, “is letting Cabin Four get away with that nonsense they did to our cabin last week.”

“They’re jerks,” Hernando said.

“Yeah, they are,” Barry replied. “We had the perfect retaliation planned, but then Maynard intervened.”

Barry looked from face to face. Vinnie and Patrick nodded sternly.

“It was a brilliant plan,” Barry continued, “but there are forces at work in this camp that are beyond human understanding. For some reason, those forces didn’t want us to get revenge at that time. I’m at peace with that. These things happen for a reason.”

“Amen to that,” said Vinnie.

Riley squirmed on the trunk. He could feel the heat from the barrel, but he was too low to see the flames. The sky overhead was as clear and starry as the night before.

“Losing to those guys today was a big setback,” Barry said, “but I’ve studied this carefully. As long as we win the consolation game tomorrow, we’ll still be very much in the hunt, no matter what happens in the championship. It’ll all come down to the swimming, and I’m expecting Tony and Vinnie to have outstanding races. If Colin and you others can pick up a few points, then we might just pull this off.”

Riley took a deep breath and let it out slowly. Eldon caught his eye and smirked. They were “you others,” but Riley didn’t mind that he hadn’t been mentioned by name. He didn’t need any more pressure.

“The sweetest revenge is victory,” Barry said. “That’s the message. Straight from Maynard and whatever other spirits had a hand in all this. If we win that Big Joe Trophy, those Cabin Four guys can kiss my butt.”

“You said it!” Vinnie shouted.

“You’re the man!” added Hernando.

“I am,” Barry said. “We are. Tomorrow night we’ll be champions.”

They all stared at the barrel for a minute before Patrick asked, “Meeting over?”

“Meeting over,” Barry said. “But this fire’ll be burning for a few hours if anybody wants to stick around.”

Vinnie and Tony and some others wandered off. Riley and Eldon and Diego stood and stepped up to the barrel.
Barry put his hands in his pockets and looked at the sky. He pulled a small bag of M&M’s from his pocket and passed it around. Riley took two red ones and a green one and popped them into his mouth.

Barry swept his hand in the direction that Vinnie and Tony and Colin had gone. “I’m glad they took off,” he said. “I didn’t want to disturb them, but something happened last night that might be repeated. I wouldn’t want to freak them out about swimming across the lake.”

The bag came back to Barry and he emptied the last of the M&M’s into his mouth, then tossed the wrapper into the barrel. He slowly chewed the candies, then cleared his throat.

“I couldn’t sleep last night—too keyed up about today’s games—so I walked down by the lake. It was way after midnight, probably one or one-thirty.

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