to give her half-hugs around the bulky crutches and help her to her bed all at once.
âSo, whatâs the damage?â Alyssa said, inspecting Jennaâs cast.
âA hairline fracture,â Jenna said, making her best attempt at her usual carefree smile, but it wasnât easy. She had a feeling her friends could see through her, too.
As Jenna settled onto her bed, her friends flocked around her. Nat fluffed her pillows, Karen searched through Jennaâs cubby for her pj top and a pair of shorts (since her pj bottoms wouldnât fit around her cast), and Mia broke out a set of permanent markers from the arts-and-crafts box under her bed.
âFirst things first,â Mia said, sitting down at the foot of Jennaâs bed. âYour cast is way too white. Donât you know white is out this season?â She flashed a rainbow of markers at the girls. âLeave it to us.â She tapped the cast gently. âWeâll make it so fabulous, weâll start a new fad. Castwearâfor the truly trendy.â
âIâm going to give Dr. Steve an update, and then Iâll be back in a few,â Andie said to Jenna. âIâm leaving you in good hands.â
After she left, the girls crowded enthusiastically around Jennaâs bed, picking colors for their artwork, and Jenna tried her best to put on a happy face. All the girlsâeven Chelsea (shocker!)âmade a big show of signing her cast and rallying around her. But although Jenna appreciated their efforts, she still couldnât believe her bad luck.
Half an hour and ten permanent markers later, even Jenna had to admit that her cast looked more like a masterpiece than boring plaster. Alyssa had written a poem titled âOwed to a Groundhogâ down the right side of the cast; Nat and Tori had painted soccer balls, basketballs, and bunk cheers all over the rest of it; and all had signed their names and written encouraging messages.
âIt looks great,â Jenna said. âThanks, guys.â
Just then, Andie stuck her head around the bunk door. âIâm back, and I brought a few more reinforcements.â
Adam walked in the door with Alex, Grace, and Brynn.
âAll right,â Brynn said. âLetâs see the war wound.â
Jenna pointed to her brightly colored cast.
Adam sat down on the edge of her bed. âSorry about your leg, Boo,â he said, ruffling her hair. âWhat a bummer.â
âTell me about it,â Jenna grumbled. âAnd donât call me Boo.â
âRight,â Adam said. âSorry.â
Alex hugged her, then sat back to inspect her cast. âThatâs impressive,â she said, looking for a place to sign it. âToo bad thereâs not a Color War competition for cast crafts.â
âNo kidding,â Jenna said. âWith my crutches, I think the only thing Iâll be able to compete in is Scrabble. And I hate Scrabble.â
âYeah,â Chelsea said. âAnd you stink at it, too.â
Alex rolled her eyes at Chelseaâs remark, but only Jenna saw it. It made her smile.
âColor Warâs not that big of a deal anyway, is it?â Tori said. âI mean, whatâs so special about it?â
âWhatâs so special?â Jenna cried, throwing up her hands. âItâs only the biggest event of the entire summer!â This was Toriâs first year at camp, so Jenna couldnât exactly blame her for not understanding Color War. But she needed to get filled in ASAP! âThe whole camp gets involved in Color War, and everyoneâeven people in the same bunkâgets divided into the Red and Blue teams. Thereâs a huge rally and balloons and fireworks, and one year one of the counselors even swung through the trees with red and blue torches,â Jenna rambled, talking a mile a minute. âThen, the warâs on. Every year the competitions are a little different. Thereâre division
Xara X. Piper;Xanakas Vaughn