CHAPTER 7
Unfriendly Competition
After dodgeball, the girls raced ahead to the Boom! Pow! Obstacle Course. Ellie fell back to check the description in her camper’s guide. It read:
Campers go through a series of superhero-themed obstacles. Only one camper is allowed on the course at a time.
“Only one camper? Phew!” Ellie said with relief. “I’m glad it’s not a partner activity. If I had to pick Mona over Leona—or the other way around—one of them would not be happy.” She clapped the guide closed. “Grumpy heroes are the worst!”
With a burst of super speed, Ellie took off. She caught up with the twins on the field behind the rec center. Her eyes popped at the sight of the obstacle course in the middle of the grassy area. It reminded her of a comic book city!
There were colorful cardboard buildings with paper super-villains peeking out from behind. Each villain had a catch-me-if-you-can look. They were set up around obstacles such as a cargo net and a curvy tunnel.
Wendy was lining up campers. At the head of the line, Mona and Leona waved.
“Ellie, you’re going—”
“—first!”
Ellie landed in front of them. “First? Thanks for saving me a spot!”
“Actually,” Mona said, “I got here before Leona, so I saved the spot for you.”
Leona spun toward her sister. “Did not! I saved it for Ellie.”
They started to argue. Ellie held up her hands, and they settled down. “It was nice of you both,” she said. “Besides, it’s the thought that counts.”
Just then, Wendy lifted her clipboard. “All right, everyone!” she said, addressing the crowd. “On my whistle, the first camper will attempt the obstacle course. When that camper has finished, I’ll send the next person along.” She turned to Ellie. “Ellie, you’ll start. Are you ready?”
Feeling unsure, Ellie took her mark. Mona and Leona’s behavior bothered her. They weren’t being very kind to each other.
It’s probably a side effect of the Ultra Hypno Change-O, she figured. She just hoped it would go away before the Super Friend Campfire. The activity was supposed to be for friends, but the twins were acting more like enemies.
At Wendy’s whistle, Ellie zoomed onto the course. She weaved around cones and crawled through tunnels. “Out of my way, cardboard creeps!” she shouted as super-villains blurred past.
After reaching the top of the cargo net, Ellie jumped down into a foam pit. She rocketed back out and spotted the last obstacle ahead. It was a long balance beam. Bags swung across, ready to knock someone off. Each bag had a sinister-looking face painted on it.
Those no-good bags can’t stop me! Ellie thought. Her brainpower fired up, and she started calculating the precise moment to pass through unscathed.
Just then the twins appeared. “Ellie! I saw that you stopped,” Mona said, gliding up to Ellie’s right side. “Need a hand with this obstacle?”
“I can help!” Leona replied on Ellie’s left.
“Uh . . . no, I’m good,” Ellie said. “I’m figuring out the best time to cross the beam. I almost have it down to the nanosecond.”
But the girls weren’t listening. With rocket-force, frost shot from their hands. It hit the bags, freezing them in mid-swing.
The beam was now clear. “Go ahead, Ellie,” Leona said proudly. “If you need anything else, give me a shout. That’s what friends are for!”
Mona’s forehead wrinkled. “I’m Ellie’s friend,” she told Leona. She linked Ellie’s arm. “We go together like jingle bells on a sleigh.”
Leona took hold of Ellie’s other arm. “Well, we go together like a pair of skis.”
“Like snowcaps on a mountain.”
“Like polar bears in the North Pole!”
The girls pulled at Ellie. She felt like she was in the middle of a tug-of-war.
Luckily Wendy came to the rescue. “Oh my!” she said, jogging over. She stared at the bags, which now dripped like melting icicles in the sun. “It appears we have a problem. What happened?”
Mona and Leona let go of Ellie’s arms. They turned their backs to one another without saying anything.
“We’ve had a misunderstanding,” Ellie said, speaking for everyone. “But we’ll sort it out. It’ll be as easy as catching an evildoer.”
Wendy offered a cheerful thumbs-up. “I’m glad to hear that,” she said. “In the meantime, one camper is allowed on the course. Mona? Leona? You can wait for Ellie back in line.”
The girls stayed silent as they left with Wendy. Ellie could tell they were still fighting with each other. It seemed like they were competing to be her friend—in an unfriendly way.
* * *
Over the next two days, the competition continued. On Wednesday Leona snagged the last paddleboat for her and Ellie. They pedaled around the lake, quacking like ducks and making fish faces. When they got back to shore, Mona invited Ellie to make snow angels in the sand—without Leona.
On Thursday the girls tried pulling Ellie onto different sides of the dodgeball court. Ellie’s arms hurt as they tugged at her. She wished she could stretch like her Rubberband Dude action figure.
“How about this?” she said, squirming free. “I’ll play the first half of the game with one of you. Then, for the second half, I’ll join the other. Fair and square, right?”
To pick who she started with, Ellie eeny, meeny, miny, mo-ed between them. Leona won the first round. While Ellie flew to her side, Leona put her thumb on her nose and wiggled her fingers at Mona. Mona frowned at her sister.
Maybe I should reverse the gadget’s effect, Ellie thought. But what if they leave me out again? The campfire is tomorrow. I don’t want to eat s’mores by myself. . . .
Ignoring the double trouble seemed easiest. Still she couldn’t help but notice another effect of the Ultra Hypno Change-O. Mona and Leona were talking separately more than ever. They had always spoken together—that was, before being hypnotized.
It made her worry about the gadget’s power. Could it push the twins further apart?