Chapter Seven

The next morning, Morgan greets Claire with, “What did your parents say? Can you join the sea turtle superhero group?”

Claire gives Morgan a big grin, “Yup! How about yours?”

“I can go too!” Morgan cheers. “My parents will only let me do it one day a week, but still, we get to go! This is going to be so much fun!”

“I know it is!” Claire tells Morgan. “I can only go one day a week too. Let’s find out what Robbie and Ruby’s parents said when they get here, and then we can all plan which day each week we want to go together.”
“Good idea,” Morgan says. Morgan and Claire are impatient for Robbie and Ruby to get to camp. Finally, they arrive a couple of minutes before camp is supposed to start. Morgan yells out, “Did they say yes?” before they even get to the group. Robbie and Ruby shake their heads sadly as they walk over to Morgan and Claire.

“No,” Robbie tells them miserably. “Mom said it was way too far to drive to Hilton Head. Plus our brother and sister didn’t want to do it, so Mom said it would be too hard to get us there.”

“Oh, no!” Morgan and Claire exclaim.

Claire tells them, “It’s not going to be as much fun without y’all.”

Morgan nods her head in agreement with Claire and then asks, “Are you sure you can’t convince her?”

Ruby responds, “We tried all night, but she still said no.”

Morgan asks, “Will I get to see you again after today? Where do you three go to school? Maybe we’ll be in the same class!”

“That would be fun!” Ruby says. “We go to the Catholic school in downtown Savannah.”

“Oh,” Claire says. “I go to school on Wilmington Island, where I live. I guess we won’t be in school together.” Claire looks sad.

“I live on Wilmington Island too,” Morgan tells her. “I think I will be going to school with you, Claire.” Morgan is excited that she already knows someone at her school. She hopes that Claire will be in her class. She really likes Claire, and it would be nice to already have a friend in her class.

Still, she is unhappy at the thought of not seeing Robbie and Ruby after today. They are really fun, and Morgan hates that she has to give up two of the three friends her age that she has made so far in Savannah. And she really hates saying goodbye to people, especially since she just had to move away from all of her friends in Arizona. She hadn’t thought about not seeing people again when she started camp, but now she realizes she should have expected it. After all, Savannah is a large town, and she lives on an island near Savannah. She should have thought about the fact that there are several schools, and some of the friends she made over the week would go to different schools. At least she will get to see Claire again.

Morgan says to Robbie and Ruby, “I’m going to miss you. I’ve had a lot of fun with you this week. Let’s make sure that today is extra fun, and maybe we can still see each other sometimes on the weekends or email each other.”

Robbie responds, “We’re going to miss y’all too.” Ruby nods her head, “Yeah, let’s make today really fun.”

“Ok, Loggerheads!” Asha calls. “Are you ready for a great last day of camp?”

“Yes!” the campers reply.

“Then let’s get going!” she responds. “First, we are going to work on an art project. I want you to apply all of your new knowledge about the animals here at the Nature Center and create a mask of your favorite animal. Each of you will get the basic mask, and it is up to you to create the animal. You can color or glue on any of the various items we have in the middle of each table for you. Remember to focus on the details that you have observed about your favorite animal to make sure that your mask is accurate! Raise your hand if you need any help.”

Morgan, Claire, Robbie, and Ruby run over to one of the tables to get seats together. Morgan thinks about making a sea turtle mask, but then she thinks it might make Robbie and Ruby sad again since they can’t be sea turtle superheroes. So she decides to make a bobcat mask instead. They all laugh and joke as they create their masks.

She grabs one of the blank, white masks with triangles on top of the mask for ears. First, she colors the mask, thinking about the pattern on a bobcat’s face. Once the whole mask is colored in browns and blacks with black-tipped ears and reddish-brown nose, Morgan looks at the materials she can use to glue onto the mask. She chooses some black pipe-cleaners for the whiskers and adds some black feathers to use as the downy insides of the bobcat’s ears. She carefully glues everything in place, making sure that it is all in the right place while it dries.

When she is done, she looks around at the others’ masks. Robbie’s mask is a cougar with its tan and white fur. Claire’s is an osprey that she decorated with black feathers in a stripe across its face with a black beak and speckled forehead. Ruby’s mask is an owl with big, beige circles around the eyes, a yellow beak, and a dark brown, streaked head.

As she looks at Robbie and Ruby’s masks, she thinks about how much she is going to miss them. She gives Robbie her mask and tells him, “I know how much you like bobcats too, so you can have my mask.”

Claire apparently feels the same way because she hands her mask over to Ruby, “Here, I want you to have my mask.”

Robbie and Ruby give Morgan and Claire hugs and then insist on exchanging masks. They all try on their new masks as John announces to the group that they are going on one last hike on the nature trail.

They talk and laugh as they walk the trail, getting to see all of the animals one more time. Robbie tells hilarious jokes about animals, while Claire tells bad knock-knock jokes (the only kind of jokes she knows). Ruby reminds them of funny stories from the week at camp, and Morgan makes up stories about the secret lives of each animal. According to Morgan, the alligator is a secret underwater spy in one habitat, whereas, in another habitat, the fox is in love with the owl.

Finally, the whole camp gets together for a cookout. While the Loggerheads had been out on their trail walk, some of the counselors had been preparing a huge lunch, with all kinds of Lowcountry food on a huge buffet table. Morgan and her friends rush to get a plate to fill up. At the table, there are sausages, collard greens, barbecue, mac and cheese, sweet potatoes, and corn bread. There is also a pile of food at one end. Morgan asks Ruby, “Why did they pile up the food down there?”

Ruby answers, “It’s Lowcountry Boil! It’s one of my favorites. They cook shrimp and potatoes and corn and sausage all together. Then when it’s done, they drain it, dump it on the table, and you get to grab a bunch of it. Try it, you’ll love it!”

Morgan likes everything in Lowcountry Boil, so she gets a couple of huge spoonfuls for her plate (there isn’t much room left by that point). Everything is so good! Then, when everyone is finished, they all line up to get an ice cream cone.

Once they are all done with ice cream, Asha and John remind the group about their sand candles. Each camper has to find his or her bucket and dig the candle out of the sand. Morgan finds her bucket and digs out her star-shaped candle. She hopes her mother will like it, even if it is lumpy. Once she has it out, she brushes off most of the sand from the bottom and sides of the candle. Some of the sand sticks to the wax of the candle. Morgan can also see part of the shells that she put in the hole before they poured the wax peeking out of the sides of the candle. The top of the candle is the only part without any sand on it. Morgan likes the green color because it reminds her of the sea grass on the beach dunes.

Suddenly, it is time for the end of camp. Morgan sees her parents waiting for her, so she gives Robbie and Ruby hugs, and they all exchange phone numbers. She and Claire walk over to her parents to wait for Claire’s mom. Morgan introduces Claire to her parents. Once Claire’s mom gets to camp, the adults get together to decide which night would be best each week to join the sea turtle group. That done, they exchange phone numbers, and Morgan and Claire hug, excited about getting to see each other again the following week.