Friends ForNever Read Free Page A

haven’t told me your big secret.”
    â€œOh! Sorry, I was totally distracted. But first I need to go to Solitary. Come with me.”
    We took off out the door to the bathrooms in the building between Cabins 3 and 4. I wanted to talk to Nicole in private without everyone else hearing us. I went to one of the faucets and washed my hands.
    â€œHey, this reminds me of when we shaved our legs for the first time.” Last summer Nic and I bought plastic razors and a can of shaving cream at the camp store and then shaved in this room. Instead of sinks, Solitary has long troughs all along the walls, so we had to stand at the trough with one leg hooked over the edge so we could reach the faucets. Afterward we had a massive shaving-cream fight. Mom was not thrilled when she found out I’d shaved. She thought eleven was too young.
    â€œYeah, great memory.” Nicole held up both hands like she was about to choke me. “Will you tell me already?”
    I grabbed a paper towel from the dispenser, then tossed it into the trash barrel. “Okay. I’ve been absolutely dying to tell you. Mom and Paul have been talking about having a baby!”
    Nicole gasped. “Oh, no! That’s horrible! You’ve got to stop them.”
    My mouth fell open. “What? Are you kidding me? I am so excited, I could scream! It’s incredible! It’s amazing! I’m going to be a big sister!”
    Nic crossed her arms and glared at me. “You’re already a big sister.”
    â€œBlake doesn’t count. Well, I guess he counts, but it’s not like I remember him as a baby. A baby, Nic! We’re going to have a sweet, precious, adorable little baby in our family!”
    â€œPrecious? Adorable? Do you have any idea how much babies cry? Sweet? Wait’ll you get a whiff of the first dirty diaper.” Eyebrow up, corner of the mouth down.
    â€œOh, don’t be so negative! Every time I go to the mall, I go straight to the baby clothes section. I hope it’s a girl! What do you think of Vanessa? Or Madeline? But a boy would be fine too. Colton. Don’t you think that’s a cool name? And then there’s the nursery to decorate. . . .”
    â€œYeah, if it’s a girl, you’ll probably have to share your room with the squealing little darling.”
    â€œWho cares! The only thing is”—I grabbed Nic’s arm—“Mom’s worried about whether she can get pregnant at her age, and if there’ll be any complications. I heard them talking about it.” Those worries absolutely terrified me.
    â€œOh, good point. Maybe it won’t even happen.”
    â€œNicole! How can you say that?” I was hoping she’d comfort me.
    â€œDarcy, you need to be realistic. Things might not be all sunshine and roses.”
    â€œBut they might,” I insisted. “Mom didn’t have any trouble with Blake or me. And she’s really healthy. Anyway, that’s my big secret.” Why did I need to convince Nicole to be happy for me?
    â€œWell, I hope for your sake everything will turn out okay,” said Nicole.
    Walking back to the cabin, she bumped me with her hip and I bumped her back. Nic and me together again at Camp Pine Haven for another incredible summer. That definitely made me smile.

On the afternoon of every Opening Day, all the campers had to go down to the lake and take a swim test, whether it was our first year or our fifth. I’d always thought that was strange; I mean, if we proved we could swim last summer, why would we have to do it again?
    Nic and I had just gotten back to the cabin after our mandatory first-day swim tests when Sarah Bergman arrived.
    â€œOh, yippee!” she said, spotting the bottom bunk. “I get to fold myself up under here every night?”
    At five foot five, Sarah towered over the rest of us. All the girls in our cabin were twelve, but Sarah could’ve easily passed for fifteen. Her dark