Read Spoiled Rotten for Free Online Page B

mix.
    â€œWhat’s this?” Amy asked.
    She pointed at something dark and sticky-looking on the rock beside her. I looked more closely and saw berry seeds in it. I knew exactly what it was, but I didn’t want to scare Amy. Who knew what she might do?
    â€œWhat is it?” she insisted.
    â€œNothing.”
    â€œDon’t tell me it’s nothing, I’m not that stupid. Is it from a cougar?”
    â€œNo, just a bear.”
    â€œCrap!” She jumped to her feet.
    I glanced up in surprise. That was the first time I’d heard Amy use a word like
crap
. If Dad ever heard her, he would probably say I had corrupted sweet little Amy. “Yes, it definitely is,” I grinned, “but, don’t worry. It’s not fresh poop.”
    â€œLet’s go,” Amy said.
    â€œI thought you were hungry.”
    â€œNot anymore.”
    â€œLook,” I said calmly. “The bear could be anywhere by now. It could be ahead of us, it could be watching us from the forest. As long as we don’t surprise it, it shouldn’t bother us.”
    But Amy refused to sit down. “I’m going,” she said and started off.
    I groaned and shoved everything back into my backpack. I wished Sara were here instead of this stubborn kid. Sara could take care of herself, she loved to hike in the mountains and she wasn’t afraid of a little bear poop.
    The river got smaller and smaller until it was no more than a little creek. Bushes crowded in on both sides and there was no clear land at all. But we didn’t want to quit, so we waded in, shoes and all. The shallow water was so cold it made my ankles hurt.
    In front of me Amy climbed out at a small muddy spot and started rubbing her ankles. My shoes squished into soft mud as I waded over to join her.
    â€œLook!” she said, her voice hushed.
    Sunk deeply into the mud was the biggest bear print I had ever seen. It was so clear you could count all five of its toes. The bear’s long slender claws showed too, and they pointed toward the bushes. A pathway of broken branches and trampled bushes led away from the stream. “It’s a grizzly,” I said. “I think we should turn back right now.”
    â€œNo way!” Amy shook her head stubbornly. “I’m not quitting until we find that lake!”
    â€œAll right,” I said. I really wanted to find the lake too. We had come so far and I figured we were almost there now. I checked my watch. “But if we don’t find it in half an hour we turn back. Agreed?”
    Amy pressed her lips together, then she nodded. “Okay.”
    Around the next bend we saw it. Smooth, blue water shining in sunlight. We waded toward it.
    At the lake’s edge we stopped. It wasn’t a big lake—not much more than a pond, really. But it was beautiful. It was surrounded by green, forested hills that swooped down tothe water’s edge. At the far end, peaking above the valley between two hills, a rugged, snow-capped mountain rose up to the sky. Its mirror image on the water was as clear as the mountain itself. The laughing cry of a loon echoed across the lake.
    A fallen log lay half in the water where the lake emptied into the creek. We waded to the log, took off our backpacks and laid them on it. Then we took off our shoes and socks and put them in the hot sun. Mud squished between my toes in the shallow water. It felt good, but the water was cold, like the river. I wanted to get out.
    On the far side of the log was a grassy area and I started toward it. Suddenly a shower of cold water hit me across the back. Amy laughed. I swung around and glared at her.
    She went as pink as that stupid scrunchy that hung loosely from her messed-up hair. Quick as a flash I bent down and sent a spray of water into her face. She came at me like a windmill, flinging water with her arms and legs.
    In the end I’m not sure who got the worst of it. We were both soaked when we staggered