The Sign in the Smoke (Nancy Drew Diaries #12)(17)

“All I mean,” said Kiki, turning to Nina with exaggerated patience, “is you’re, like, conditioned to do this. At home, the most I walk is around the mall with my sister!”

Nina cocked an eyebrow. “Have you ever thought that might make you the abnormal one?” she asked. “Maybe you should get more hobbies.”

Kiki whirled around, clearly ready to give Nina a piece of her mind. But before I could figure out what to say to defuse the situation, Katie suddenly pointed ahead of us and shouted.

“OMG, you guys!” We all turned in the direction she was pointing. “Is that the creek?”

I checked my map. Oh, thank heavens, yes. “It is!” I said happily. “See, I told you! We were almost there.”

“Thank goodness,” Cece said. “I’m hungry enough to eat my sneakers. I was too excited to eat much breakfast this morning.”

“Me too,” Winnie added.

“Me too,” said Nina with a smile.

I glanced back at Harper, all the way in the back, but she remained silent, looking into the woods around us. She hadn’t said a word the whole hike, except one “excuse me” when she bumped into Cece.

“So guys,” I said when we’d reached the edge of the burbling creek, “let’s spread out our blanket and settle down here. This looks like a good place for lunch.”

“Any place would look like a good place for lunch right now,” Maya pointed out, holding out the bag that held our sandwiches. “Nancy, shall we lay everything out buffet-style and we can all serve ourselves?”

“Good plan,” I agreed.

Once we had the food all laid out and had each grabbed a plate, everyone tore into their sandwiches and chips. Things grew silent for a few minutes, except for the babbling of the creek and the sound of chewing. Then, suddenly, Nina spoke up.

“Are we going to do everything together?” she asked, looking pensively into the water. “Like, our bunk? Or are we going to be in different groups for different activities?”

I paused and put down my sandwich. “We’ll be together for most activities,” I said, thinking. “You’ll mix with some other bunks for some things, like swimming or sports. But for the most part, we’ll all be together.”

“Oh.” Nina crumpled her sandwich wrapper in her hand, not looking entirely happy.

“Why are you asking?” asked Cece. She’d been watching our exchange curiously, and now her voice held an edge of annoyance. “Are we not, like, what you were looking for in a bunk?”

I shook my head. “Let’s not make assumptions, guys,” I said. “Why do you ask, Nina? Did you want to mix more with the other bunks?”

Nina pursed her lips, fiddling with the balled-up sandwich wrapper in front of her. “Not exactly,” she said. “I mean, you guys all seem nice. I just thought . . . well, this is a Best of All Worlds camp. So I guess I thought there would be a few more sporty people in my bunk.”

Winnie put down her sandwich and tilted her head in Nina’s direction. “How do you know we’re not sporty?” she asked. “I happen to play tennis on, like, a competitive level.”

Nina’s eyes widened. “Really?” she asked.

Winnie nodded. “I don’t talk about it a lot. It’s just something I’ve always done,” she said. She smiled. “I kind of stink at other sports, though,” she added. “Just so you don’t get your hopes up.”

Nina chuckled.

“You guys,” said Maya, waving her hands in front of her as she often did, “one of the best parts of coming to camp is getting to hang out with people you never would have met back home! When I was at Camp Larksong—you know, that’s what this camp used to be called years ago—my best friend ended up being this girl named Lucy, who was super quiet and into drawing. At the end of camp she drew this amazing graphic novel about all the fun we’d had! We’re still friends now, and I still have a copy of her book.”

I shot Maya a grateful look. “That’s right,” I said. “My best friends are here at camp too—they’re counselors, Bess and George. You’ll meet them later, I’m sure. But anyway, we have nothing in common—except how much we like each other! You’ll see. Being alike isn’t what makes you friends. It’s appreciating what makes you different.”

The girls all seemed to respond to that, and soon they were chatting and exchanging questions about the different hobbies they’d each mentioned during the get-to-know-you session.

As we were munching on dessert, freshly baked chocolate chip cookies, Katie looked over at Harper, who’d remained mostly silent through much of the conversation. “Hey, Harper,” she said, adjusting her position to face her quiet bunkmate. “You seem a little quiet, and that’s cool. But can I ask you a question?”

Harper glanced up, looking surprised and even a little nervous. “Um—okay?”

“What are those books you brought?” Katie went on. “Because I love to read, and I really like dragons, but I’ve never seen those books before. Are they any good?”

Harper’s eyes lit up. “They really are!” she said, with more enthusiasm than I’d heard from her the whole morning. “They’re called the Dragon’s Eye Chronicles, and you might not have heard of them because they’re only published in Britain. My dad buys them for me when he goes to London for work.”