Summer Camp Mystery Read Free Page B

the family that owned the camp?” Jessie asked Kim in a whisper.
    “Yes,” Kim whispered back. “But he doesn’t mention it. His family had to give up the camp. Now he has to work for Rich and Ginny. They changed everything from before.”
    “Do you still have Dress Your Favorite Fruit Night?” a girl camper asked Rich.
    Rich grinned. “At Camp Seagull we even dress up vegetables! Our campers last session voted to have a Dress Your Favorite Vegetable Night. We’ve added new activities like that. But it’s still the same special place it’s always been. Now Ginny will tell you all about the Camp Seagull Olympics.”
    “Okay, campers. Let’s start by lining up,” Ginny began. She picked up a big blue bowl. “Come and choose a surprise from this bowl.”
    Benny tried to peek over the rim of the bowl. “Is it a snack?”
    Ginny held the bowl out for Benny. “You’ll see.”
    Benny reached in. “It’s a little dolphin.” He showed Violet the small plastic animal.
    “I picked a seal,” she said.
    “I got a dolphin,” Jessie said after her turn. “So did Henry.”
    When the bowl was empty, Ginny looked around at all the campers. “During your stay, you’ll either be on a dolphin or a seal team, depending on the animal you chose. Half our cabins are Dolphin cabins, and half are Seal cabins. Even day campers have a cabin to spend time in during the day. As for you overnight campers, after our first Flag Ceremony, Mr. Pines will move your trunks and duffels to your cabins.”
    “Except yours,” Zach muttered before stepping away from Henry.
    Ginny waited for the campers to settle down. “Here’s how our Olympics work. Dolphins and Seals try to get points for our activities and events, as well as for doing good things around camp.”
    “Like making our beds, right?” a girl around Benny’s age asked. “My brother told me. And not screaming at the ferry horn. Only I did ’cause I forgot.”
    “And shooting a gazillion baskets in basketball,” another boy added. “When my dad was a camper, his team won the Olympics. He was a good basketball player a long time ago.
    “Up until this year, my groups won every single year,” Kim announced. “I’ve been playing soccer and basketball since I was little. I won lots of points in the Camp Seagull Olympics. But not this year.”
    “How come?” one of the new campers wanted to know.
    “I was a Junior Counselor for the Dolphins last session,” Kim answered bitterly. “But we lost. Sports don’t count as much anymore. The Olympics are way harder to win now.”
    “No fair,” said the boy with the basketball player dad.
    Ginny waited for the campers to quiet down. “Well, Rich and I did make a few changes in the Olympics. We wanted to make it easier for all campers to earn points, even those who aren’t sports stars. So now campers think up new activities together that everyone can be good at — even if you don’t play a sport.”
    “Like not talking too much, right?” Benny asked. “That’s what my brother, Henry, told me. Only I talk a lot, so the Dolphins might not win for that.”
    Ginny tried not to laugh, but she couldn’t help it. “Well, Benny, maybe you’ll win the Make Somebody Laugh Award. Last session, the Seals thought up that activity.”
    Ginny held up a blue notebook. “In here, you’ll find a list of fun Olympic activities from last session. You’ll also get to add new ones when you go to your cabins later. Your counselor will make a list of all your ideas. Then each cabin will choose the one idea that best pulls the whole camp together and give it to me or Rich for our Big Idea Medal.”
    Rich continued where Ginny left off. “This medal is worth a hundred points to the winning side. Now we will officially begin camp with our first Camp Seagull Flag Ceremony.”
    The next thing the campers heard was a scratchy sound that filled the air. The campers covered their ears as the loud notes of a bugle blared out from a tape