Chapter One
Crash!
Eric Shelton was driving a small racing car in an amusement park. He turned and shouted to Cam Jansen, “Stop it! Stop crashing into me.”
Eric held on to the steering wheel with both hands and gently pressed the pedal with his foot. The car moved slowly forward until it was close to the one ahead. Eric stepped lightly on the brake pedal. His car stopped.
Eric closed his eyes and clenched his teeth.
He knew Cam would move her car forward, too. He was sure she would crash into him.
Eric waited. Then he felt Cam’s car softly touch his.
Eric turned and said, “That’s better.”
Eric moved his car up again and stopped. He unhooked the safety belt and stepped out onto the platform beside the racetrack.
Crash!
Cam had driven right into the back of Eric’s car. She stepped out and met Eric at the exit.
“That was a great ride,” Cam said.
Eric said, “It was fun until the end. Why did you keep bumping into me?”
“My pedal was loose. Anyway, the cars have those big bumpers because they expect us to crash.”
It was a warm spring Sunday afternoon. Cam and Eric were in the park with Cam’s Aunt Katie and Uncle George.
“There they are,” Cam said. She pointed to two old people sitting on a bench. Aunt Katie was talking to a woman pushing a baby carriage. Uncle George was holding a cane and resting. His eyes were closed and his legs were stretched out in front of him.
“Isn’t she just the cutest baby?” Aunt Katie said to Cam.
“Yes, she’s very cute.” Cam looked around and asked, “What ride are we going on next?”
“Look at her hair. Look at those tiny curls.”
“I see her hair, Aunt Katie. It’s very nice,” Cam said. Then she whispered, “Eric has a baby brother named Howie. I can see him any time I want, but this is the only chance I’ll have to take these rides.”
Aunt Katie stood and said, “You’re right. I told you we would go on every ride we can, and we will. Where should we go next?”
Cam closed her eyes and said, “Click.”
“What is she doing?” the woman with the baby carriage asked.
Eric explained, “Cam has a photographic memory. She can take one look at something and remember it perfectly. It’s as if she has a mental camera, and photographs stored in her head. Whenever she wants to remember something, she says, ‘Click.’ That’s the sound her mental camera makes.”
Aunt Katie told the woman, “When Cam was a baby, we called her Jennifer. That’s her real name. But as soon as we found out about her amazing memory, we began calling her ‘The Camera.’ Soon, ‘The Camera’ was shortened to ‘Cam.’”
“I’m looking at a picture of the map we saw when we came into the park,” Cam said. Her eyes were still closed. “If we go up the road to the left, we’ll pass the parachute and train rides, and the Haunted House. To the right are the merry-go-round, pony rides, and the gift shop.”
“Amazing,” the woman with the baby carriage said.
“Watch out!” Eric called.
Cam opened her eyes.
Two teenage boys on roller skates were coming toward Cam, Eric, Aunt Katie, and the woman with the baby.
Cam moved to the left. Eric and the woman moved to the right. Aunt Katie didn’t know which way to go. First she moved to the right. Then she moved to the left.
Crash!
One of the boys couldn’t stop. He went right into Aunt Katie.
“Oh, my!” she said as she fell to the ground.
The boys tried to help her, but they couldn’t. Each time they started to pull her up, they rolled on their skates and fell again. Finally Cam, Eric, and Uncle George helped her to the bench.
“Oh, my,” Aunt Katie said as she sat down.
“We’re very sorry,” the boys said. Then they rolled down the road toward the parachute ride.
Aunt Katie brushed off her clothes. Uncle George helped her.
“Are you hurt?” Eric asked.
Aunt Katie smiled and said, “No, I’m fine. Let’s go to the next ride. Let’s go to the Haunted House.”
“Oh, yes,” Eric said. “I like to be scared.”
Cam puffed out her cheeks. She held her hands over her head, waved them, and yelled, “Boo!”
Uncle George held his hands to his heart. Aunt Katie said, “Oh, my!”
Eric said, “They’re just being nice. You’re not scary at all.”
“Well, then, let’s go to the Haunted House,” Aunt Katie said. “I’m sure it will be very scary.”
