Sound Off was almost over. But there was one final event—the Big Enchilada. The campers gathered together in front of the stage, where Brown, Dee, and Caitlyn were standing. But before this final event, Brown had a couple of announcements he wanted to make.
“I want to congratulate the Rhythm team for winning the championship,” he said. “You did great today and really deserve it.”
The boys from Rhythm Cabin raised their fists in celebration and Mac did a little victory dance as the other campers gave them all a big round of applause.
“And while we’re at it,” Brown continued, “I want to congratulate all of you. Just because your name is not on a plaque doesn’t mean you aren’t a winner.” As he said this, he looked right at Mitchie and Tess, who both smiled and nodded back at him.
There was more applause.
“Now it’s time for the Big Enchilada!” he said to loud cheers. “Can you handle it?”
“Yes!” everyone cheered in unison.
“Before we start, I want Caitlyn to give me that big binder she’s been carrying all day.”
Caitlyn didn’t know what was going on, but she came over and handed him the binder anyway.
“You guys have all seen this today. In it, Caitlyn, Peggy, and Shane planned out every single detail of the day. They made sure that everything came together and worked perfectly. And they all deserve a huge round of applause.”
There were more cheers from the other campers.
“But I’ve got bad news,” he continued. “We’re making some last-minute changes to the Big Enchilada.”
He laughed and tossed the binder over his shoulder. Caitlyn looked as though she were going to pass out when she saw it hit the stage. She started to go to pick it up, but he stopped her.
“You are hereby relieved of your duties as the commissioner,” he continued.
“Why?” she asked worriedly.
Brown smiled. “Because I want you and Shane and Peggy to participate in the Big Enchilada. It is the most fun race of the day, and I’d hate for you guys to miss it.”
“Really?” Caitlyn asked, her eyes wide.
“If you think you can handle it,” Brown said with a wink.
Caitlyn smiled. “Oh, I can definitely handle it,” she assured him. She was thrilled. While she had had fun planning the events, all day long she felt as if she were missing out on the fun of competing. Now she would have her chance.
Brown went on to explain the rules of the race. The Big Enchilada was a giant obstacle course that went all around the camp. Everyone competed as an individual, and along the way there were six different tasks that had to be completed. Each task was related to something from the history of rock and roll. The finish line was at the end of the dock, and the winner was the first person to jump off the dock and into the water.
At the starting line, Caitlyn took her place alongside Mitchie and Tess.
“You’ve got no chance against us,” Mitchie joked.
“Yeah,” Tess added with a laugh. “We are all about the Big Enchilada.”
Caitlyn smiled as she pointed out something that neither of them had considered. “Remember,” she said, “the winner of the Big Enchilada makes it on the plaque, too.”
Meanwhile, Shane was standing next to the boys from Connect Three.
“This time you’re going down, Shane,” Jason warned.
“Don’t forget boys,” Shane reminded them, “I’ve won the Big Enchilada before. This will be a walk in the park.”
“You were lucky that time,” Nate chimed in. “This time, you are finishing behind both of us.”
Shane just smiled and got into position. “We’ll see about that.”
“Is everybody ready?” Brown called out.
“Ready!” they all replied.
Brown smiled for a moment and then signaled the race to begin. As soon as he yelled, “Go!” the campers raced across a large, muddy field called Muddy Waters in honor of the great blues musician.
“This is so gross,” Mitchie said gleefully as she sank calf deep into the gooey mud.
The campers who tried to go fast slipped and slid, while the ones who went slowly sank deeper and deeper into the muck.
The surprise leader of the pack was Tess. She had figured out a strategy that had eluded the others. Everyone was going to get covered in mud, she realized. The trick was not caring. If you tried to keep from getting muddy, it only added to your time. Keeping clean wasn’t an option. So she dropped down on her hands and knees and scampered right through the field. She had mud all over her, but she was the first one to make it out. Observing her success, Caitlyn and Shane quickly did the same and were soon close behind her.
The second task in the obstacle course was called Jumping Jack Flash and was named in honor of the hit Rolling Stones song. Each camper had to do forty-seven jumping jacks, one for each year the Stones had been together.
Tess might not have liked sports, but she did like going to the gym and working out with her mom, so the jumping jacks were no problem for her. A bonus was that most of the mud fell off her as she did them. By the time she was done, all of the big clumps were gone.
Mitchie had finally made it out of the mud. By the time she made it to the jumping jacks, she was running even with Jason and Nate.
“How are you holding up?” Caitlyn asked as she finished her last jumping jack.
“I’m hoping there’s a break sometime soon,” Mitchie joked.
“You’re going to have to go faster,” Shane said teasingly to Jason and Nate. “I’m moving on, and you just got here.”
Tess was still in the lead when she reached the third task, a jog around the camp called the Long and Winding Road, after a Beatles song. She was trying not to get excited but couldn’t help thinking about how much fun it would be to win the race.
Meanwhile, Caitlyn and Shane were closing in behind her. “Who’s ahead of us?” Shane asked as they jogged along the path.
“Just Tess, I think,” Caitlyn said.
Both of them smiled and picked up their pace.
The fourth stop was at the camp’s archery range and was called Bow and Aerosmith. Each camper had to shoot at a target until he or she made a bull’s-eye.
For the first time since the race had begun, Tess felt a shiver of doubt. Her lead became tenuous and then gone. Caitlyn and Shane both reached the range while she was still shooting.
None of them, however, was having much luck at the challenge. They were still going a few minutes later when Mitchie arrived, followed closely by Nate and Jason.
Mitchie had never been great at archery. But, amazingly, she hit a bull’s-eye on her very first attempt.
She let out a squeal and started to run toward the lake where the last two stops were located. Just like that, she had taken the lead.
A few seconds later, Tess hit a bull’s-eye and was right behind her. The two girls who had most dreaded Sound Off were now neck-and-neck for the lead in the biggest event of all.
As they ran to the lake, they both laughed.
“This is so ridiculous,” Mitchie said.
“Ridiculous and fun,” Tess added.
The fifth task of the course was named after a Simon and Garfunkel song called “Bridge Over Troubled Water.” There was a bridge made of barrels across a corner of the lake. It bobbed up and down whenever anyone crossed it. When there were a lot of people on it, it bobbed all over the place.
Mitchie was the first one to make it to the bridge, although Tess was close behind her. They looked ahead and saw that after the bridge all they had to do was run down the dock and jump off the end into the water. It was certain that one of the two of them would win.
Mitchie was about halfway across the bridge when it suddenly bobbed up.
“Hold on!” Tess warned her. But it was too late.
Mitchie lost her balance. She tried to catch herself, but all she managed to do was wave her arms wildly. She fell into the lake with a loud splash.
Tess had it in the bag.
Until . . . she stopped and went back to help Mitchie.
“Give me your hand,” she said, kneeling down to reach for her.
“What are you doing?” Mitchie cried. “You can win this.”
Tess simply reached out for her again. “Give me your hand,” she said. “Leaving someone behind is so un-Vibe-like.”
Reaching up out of the water, Mitchie smiled as Tess pulled her back onto the bridge. Just as Mitchie was about to climb all the way back on, the next wave of racers reached the bridge and caused it to bob up and down.
Within seconds, Tess and Mitchie flew off the bridge and back into the water. They were underwater for a few seconds, but when they got back to the surface, both of them were laughing.
“At least this should get the rest of the mud off,” Tess joked.
“I can’t believe you came back for me,” Mitchie said. While they were in the water, a large group of people started to pass them. The leader was Shane. When he saw Mitchie and Tess, he slowed down to make sure they were all right.
“Gotcha!” Jason said as he sprinted past Shane. “This year I’m going to win.”
Jason and Nate both gleefully turned down the dock and ran to the end. They jumped off side by side and hit the water at the same time.
“I won!” Jason shouted, his mouth full of water as he returned to the surface.
“You did not,” Nate answered. “I won!”
“No you didn’t,” a voice called out to them.
They turned to face Caitlyn, Lorraine, and Ella. The voice belonged to Ella.
“She won,” Ella said, pointing at Caitlyn.
Jason and Nate had been so focused on Shane that they hadn’t noticed that the girls had already passed him.
“Lorraine came in second,” she added. “And I came in third.”
The three girls smiled happily at their sweep of the top spots.
“But fourth is good,” Caitlyn said with a big smile.
Sound Off had been a huge success. While the events had not followed Caitlyn’s plans exactly, they certainly had in spirit. And, though the Vibe team did not finish at the top of the pack, the four girls who made up the team had not only had fun, but also become much better friends.
It had been a day filled with surprises, but perhaps none bigger than what occurred at that night’s awards celebration.
Right after Caitlyn received her award for winning the Big Enchilada—a real giant enchilada, prepared especially for her by Connie—the Golden Drumstick was given out.
“This award,” Brown said, “is given to the camper who has shown the most spirit and best sportsmanship. And this year, it is my great honor to give it to Tess Tyler.”
As Tess stood there in total shock, her teammates hooted and hollered. They might not have won the big events, but their prize was much sweeter. They had figured out how to work together and, better still, be friendly to one another.
Mitchie smiled as she looked around the room. Once again, Camp Rock had given her a day to remember.