Chapter 6
Meanwhile, further down the highway, Shawn couldn’t wait for the trip to be over. She slept for a little while, though even in her dreams she thought she could hear Angie’s nasty laugh. Shawn woke with a start and shook her head. Let it go, Shawn thought to herself. Don’t let Angie ruin this trip for you. Oh, I can’t wait to get there. I can’t wait to be with the Chef Girls again!
Several hours later, the buses turned off the highway onto a narrow, two-lane country road. Enormous pine trees lined the road and, in the distance, Shawn could see snow-covered mountains reaching up to the sky. She felt a shiver of excitement and turned to Grace. “Look! Look how beautiful that is!”
Grace looked up from her book and smiled. “It is! Before we moved to Brooklyn, my mom and I lived in Maine,” she said. “Even though we’ve been in Brooklyn for four years, pine trees always make me think of home.”
“I’ve always lived in Brooklyn,” Shawn said with a laugh. “To me, brownstones are home.”
A few minutes later, a kid near the front of the bus yelled, “Check out that sign—‘Chestnut Hill Farm!’ ” Everyone on the bus screamed and cheered.
Soon, the buses pulled up in front of a large cabin. Mr. Yamamoto stood in the front of the bus. “Listen up,” he said sternly. “We’re all going into the lodge for bunk assignments. Then you’ll come back here to get your luggage and go to your cabins to settle in. We’ll meet back in the lodge at five o’clock.”
The students scrambled off the bus and filed into the front room of the cool old lodge, which was filled with comfortable couches and armchairs, old books, and board games. Shawn searched through the crowd until she saw her friends.
“Molly! Amanda! Argh! I’m so glad we’re finally here!” Shawn cried. “I missed you guys.”
“Poor Shawn,” Natasha said. “Were you totally bored?”
Shawn nodded. “Yeah. But I sat next to Grace Daniels, who’s really nice.”
“Well, the important thing is that we’re all together now,” Peichi announced. “Now the fun can really start!”
Elizabeth ran up to the girls. “Hey, everybody! I just checked the bunk assignments—we’re in Cabin Four. I can’t wait to see it! Let’s get our luggage and go!”
Elizabeth led the way over to the piles of suitcases and bags, followed by Amanda, Molly, Peichi, Natasha, Tessa, and Iris. Shawn found her suitcase in the pile of bags for Bus #3 and then quickly joined her friends. Together, they followed signs leading to the cabins. The snow on the path crunched beneath their shoes.
“My toes are cold! I can’t wait to change into my boots!” Peichi said, hopping around in her sneakers. Her breath made tiny puffs of steam in the chilly air.
Iris inhaled deeply. “It smells so good here!” she exclaimed. “The pine trees...the snow...the air smells, like, so clean. I love it!”
“And it’s so quiet,” Amanda added. The girls stopped and listened. There were no cars, no buses, no sirens—just a peaceful stillness that surrounded them.
“Look! There it is!” Molly interrupted, pointing toward a log cabin with a sign in front of it that read CABIN #4 in green paint.
“I love it! It looks so old-fashioned!” Amanda raved. The wooden cabin was a large room with eight single beds; each bed was covered with a thick patchwork quilt in a rainbow of colors. A small staircase in one corner of the room led up to a loft. There was an old, spotted mirror in the other corner, and a tiny bathroom behind a door. Three exposed lightbulbs hung from the ceiling, and a small window on each wall let in bright light from the reflection of the snow.
“That loft must be where Mrs. Lopez will sleep,” Natasha said thoughtfully. I’m so glad Mom’s not chaperoning our bunk!
“Okay,” Molly said, taking charge. “Let’s pick our beds and start unpacking.”
The girls scrambled for the bunks, each one picking the quilt she thought was prettiest. Then they started unpacking.
Molly shook her head. “Amanda, I still can’t believe you brought two suitcases for only five days,” she said as she dragged one of Amanda’s bags over to her chest. “What’s in here, anyway—rocks?”
“Ha, ha, ha,” Amanda rolled her eyes playfully. “I’m used to bringing enough clothes for both of us, since you under-pack anytime we go anywhere!”
“Ewww!” squealed Shawn.
“What’s wrong, Shawn?” Elizabeth asked.
“The zipper on my suitcase! It’s all stuck together with chewed gum! Yuck! This is so sick!” Shawn jumped up and ran over to the tiny sink, where she tried to wash the sticky gum off her hand.
“Ohmigosh! Shawn, that’s awful!” Amanda exclaimed. She and Molly hurried over to the suitcase. The two zipper pulls were covered with a glob of pink gum that was even stuck into the zipper’s teeth.
“We’ll get it off,” Molly said quickly, pulling a tissue out of her pocket. But the tissue just stuck to the gum, making it worse.
“Oh! I know! Rubbing alcohol!” Amanda exclaimed. “I brought it to sterilize my earrings. But it also works on gum.” It took about twenty minutes, but finally Amanda was able to get all of the gum off the zipper.
“Poor Shawn,” Tessa said. “You’ve been having the worst luck lately.”
“Yeah,” Shawn said. She didn’t say what she was thinking: This is more than just bad luck.
Molly cleared her throat and smiled brightly. “Well, I think that’s all done with now. From here on, we’re just going to have fun, fun, fun!”
Shawn smiled gratefully at Molly and thought, I hope she’s right, right, right.
Half an hour later, the girls had finished unpacking and were making their way over to the lodge for the five o’clock meeting. As they walked, Shawn and the twins fell toward the back of the group.
“I know things have been lousy lately, Shawn,” Molly began. “First those scary phone calls, then your locker, and getting stuck on Angie’s bus, and now your suitcase. But we’re gonna watch your back! You’ve got your best girls with you.” At the same time, Amanda and Molly linked arms with Shawn.
“I know. You guys are the best,” Shawn said simply. But there was still an edge of worry in her voice.
The girls passed some of the other cabins on their way to the lodge. Suddenly, Shawn heard Angie’s cackling laugh and saw her standing in the doorway of Cabin Nineteen with some of the other cheerleaders. Angie stared at Shawn, and started whispering to the cheerleaders, who dissolved into giggles. Then, looking right at Shawn, Angie blew an enormous bubble. The other cheerleaders laughed like it was the most hysterical thing ever.
Shawn felt Amanda stiffen on her left. “Ooh! She is so evil!” Amanda hissed.
“Ignore it,” Shawn said quietly. She looked straight ahead and tried to make herself walk slowly, as if Angie wasn’t bothering her at all.
As soon as they were out of Angie’s sight, Amanda turned to Shawn. “Shawn, tell someone!” Amanda exclaimed. “This is horrible! Angie has got to stop picking on you like this!”
But Shawn just shook her head and looked down at the ground.
“Well,” Molly said grimly. “At least we know who did it.”
“Yeah, right,” Amanda snorted. “Like there was any doubt.”
In the lodge, Mr. Degregorio stood in the middle of the rec room and blew his whistle. Everyone grew quiet.
“Welcome to Chestnut Hill Farm, everyone! To begin, I’d like to introduce Mr. and Mrs. Hudson, who own this farm. They run it year-round and open it to campers during the summer, and to special tours, like us, during the winter. What they say goes, okay?”
Mr. and Mrs. Hudson, a kindly-looking couple in their late fifties, waved and smiled at the students.
“Now, let me introduce our chaperones. You all know Mrs. Lopez, Mr. Yamamoto, Mr. Nielsen, Ms. Francis, Miss Kwan, Mr. Bainbridge, and Mrs. Danu from school. Our parent chaperones are Detective and Mrs. McElroy, Mr. and Mrs. Ross, Mr. and Mrs. Portchoy, Mr. Hernandez, Mrs. Polkington, and Mr. and Mrs. Ting. One chaperone will stay in each bunk. Like I said before, whatever they say, goes. Right?”
“Right!” chorused the students.
“Under no circumstances should boys go into the girls’ cabins, or vice versa. If you get caught, you will be sent home immediately.” Mr. Degregorio gestured to some charts that were propped up on one of the walls. “These are the Chore Charts. I’ll put a new one up each morning. They tell you which activities you have when. Generally, the work activities, like farming and cleaning, are in the morning, and the afternoons are for free time—you can ski or snowboard, or hang out in your cabin, or here in the lodge. Two or more bunks will be grouped together for each chore. Now I’m going to turn the floor over to Mr. Hudson so that he can go over the rules.”
Mr. Hudson smiled at the students and cleared his throat. “Mrs. Hudson and I want to welcome all of you to Chestnut Hill Farm,” he began. “We don’t have a lot of rules here, but the ones we do have are real important. There are four slopes along our mountain—bunny slopes for beginners, intermediate slopes, and advanced slopes. Then there’s the Five Point slope. We call it Five Point because it’s the tallest mountain of the five big ones in the range. You’re only allowed to ski that one if you’re over eighteen. Okay?”
“Okay!” chorused the students, though some of the more athletic kids groaned.
“It’s a mean slope—lots of boulders, trees, and sudden turns. You’ve got to be a pro to handle it. Every year, two or three fools wipe out—and the results aren’t pretty.”
Mr. Hudson paused for a moment and glanced at his wife. She stood and smiled. “Lights out is at ten every night. Breakfast is served every morning at eight a.m.—don’t be late or you’ll miss it! Lunch is at one o’clock, and dinner is at six. And, since it’s about five-thirty now, let’s all get ready for dinner!”
The Hudsons led the way through large double doors on the left side of the room, which opened into an enormous dining room filled with long, wooden tables and benches.
“Mmm, that smells delicious!” Molly said. “I wonder what they’re serving tonight.”
“I can’t wait for our turn in the kitchen,” Amanda commented. “We’re gonna blow everyone away!”
“I can’t wait to hit the slopes,” Peichi said. “Wait ’til you guys see my new ski suit! It’s aqua-blue with fuchsia trim! I love it so much! As soon as I saw it, I knew that it was perfect and I totally wanted it! Hey, look! They’re bringing in the food!”
Swinging double doors between the dining room and the kitchen burst open, and six waiters and waitresses began carrying in enormous trays heaped with platters of steaming food. A young woman stopped at the Chef Girls’ table, smiling as she set down the heavy tray.
“Phew! I’m always a little worried I won’t make it to the table,” she joked, making everyone at the table chuckle. “My name is Vicky, and I’m a ski instructor here. And, as you can see, a waitress, too. We’ve got a great meal for you tonight. We call this dish Snowshoe Chicken—it’s chicken breasts with a rich maple-mustard sauce. For sides, we have mashed potatoes and gravy, glazed carrots, and green salad. There’s milk and soda and water on that table by the wall. But, whatever you do, make sure you save room for dessert!” Vicky winked at the girls, then hurried back to the kitchen.
“Save room for dessert? Not a problem,” joked Amanda. Her friends laughed—Amanda had a serious sweet tooth!
“Wow, this chicken is so juicy!” Shawn said after her first bite.
“And I love the sauce. It’s sweet and tangy and the seasonings are just right!” Natasha added.
“I wonder if this place has a cookbook,” Molly mused. “Maybe they’ll give us some recipes for our Dish cookbook!”
Half an hour later, Vicky returned to their table, this time carrying a large bowl of vanilla ice cream and a deep-dish apple pie. “It’s still warm,” Vicky told the girls with a smile. “We just took it out of the oven thirty minutes ago!”
“Mmm. This is delicious,” Amanda sighed. The rest of the girls agreed!
After dinner, Omar came up to the Chef Girls’ table. “Cheng!” he yelled out. “I challenge you to a game of foosball. Meet me in the rec room in five minutes—if you dare.”
“Oh, I’ll be there,” Peichi shot back. “And don’t call me Cheng!”
Two hours and several foosball games later, Mr. Degregorio flicked the lights in the rec room on and off. “Okay, everyone,” he announced. “Lights out is at ten o’clock. It’s time to get bundled up and head back to the cabins.”
Several kids groaned, but Amanda leaned over to her friends and whispered, “Now the really fun part starts—our four-day sleepover party!”
Outside, a nearly full moon shone brightly in the night sky. “Wow!” Peichi exclaimed. “It’s so bright out here from the moon! And there are no streetlights or car lights or anything!”
“Yeah, but it’s awfully dark over there,” Amanda said, shivering as she pointed toward the forest.
“It’s cold, too,” Natasha added. “Let’s run back to the cabin!”
A few minutes later, the girls arrived at their cabin, breathless from running in the cold air.
“All right! Let the sleepover begin!” Amanda cried, jumping onto her bed.
“Let’s get out all of our snacks,” Natasha suggested. “Then we can share during the weekend.” Soon, there was a huge pile of snacks—chips, soda, cookies, juice boxes, apples, and oranges—on the table.
Mrs. Lopez came in then. “My goodness, that’s quite a spread,” she said when she saw the pile of food. She glanced at her watch. “Lights out in thirty minutes, girls. I don’t mind if you talk quietly before bed. Quietly. Good night!”
“Good night, Mrs. Lopez,” chorused everyone.
“Thirty minutes? That doesn’t give us much time for a sleepover,” complained Tessa.
“Not to worry,” Amanda replied. She rummaged in one of her suitcases and pulled out four flashlights and several packages of batteries. “After lights out, we can still have a low-light sleepover! But first things first. Let’s change into our pj’s and get beautiful while there’s still enough light to look in the mirror!”
After the girls had changed into cozy sweats and flannel pajamas, they crowded around the small mirror on the wall.
“You need to take extra-good care of your skin during cold weather,” Amanda said importantly. “I read it in one of Mom’s magazines. Really cold air makes your skin all dry and icky. That’s why I brought all of this stuff!” Amanda dumped her toiletries case onto the bed. Out spilled several small tubes of moisturizer, lotion, and face masks.
“Dry skin is not exactly my problem,” Iris laughed. “More like super-oily pimply skin!”
“Yeah, I’ve been breaking out lately, too,” Peichi complained. “What’s up with that? My skin was really smooth before and now it’s totally gross!”
“Don’t worry, I came prepared,” Amanda joked. “This cream gets rid of zits practically overnight. It works great!”
“Yeah, right. You don’t even have any zits!”
“Exactly,” chuckled Amanda as she tossed the tube of cream to Peichi.
Amanda played dermatologist as she examined each one of her friends’ faces and prescribed a beauty mask for them. Soon, all the girls were giggling as they applied thick layers of goopy mud, seaweed, or honey masks. Even Molly let Amanda convince her to try a mud mask!
“Eeek! This stuff is so slimy!” Peichi squealed as she smeared a drippy seaweed mask onto her face.
“Shhh! Don’t wake up Mrs. Lopez!” Shawn shushed her.
Suddenly, there was a knock at the door. The girls froze.
“Who-who do you think that is?” Elizabeth asked.
Molly shrugged. “I don’t know,” she replied. She walked over to the door.
“Molls, don’t answer it!” Amanda whispered fiercely. “What if it’s, like, an escaped convict or something?”
Molly rolled her eyes. “Oh, puh-lease,” she sighed.
There was another knock, and the girls squealed.
“Hey, be cool. It’s just me, Connor,” came a voice from the other side of the door. The girls giggled with relief.
“I found Natasha’s mom’s wallet on the path,” he said. “But I’m not sure which cabin she’s staying in.”
“Oh, okay,” Molly called out.
She swung open the door just as Amanda squealed, “Molls, no! We’re not even—”
Connor, Omar, and Justin jumped into the room.
“Say cheese!” Omar said in a loud whisper. A flash brightened the room, then the boys raced out the door.
“Ohmigosh! They just took a picture of us! Looking like this!” Amanda shrieked.
“They really, really stink!” Iris exclaimed—but she couldn’t stop laughing.
The girls heard Mrs. Lopez’s door open. “Girls, what’s going on down there?” she called from the top of the steps.
Amanda opened her mouth to reply, but Peichi beat her to it. “Oh, nothing,” she called out. “Sorry we were loud. We’re just going to finish getting ready for bed and go to sleep. Good night!”
“Good night,” Mrs. Lopez called back.
“Peichi! Why didn’t you tell her what those jerks did?” Amanda whispered. “They would have gotten seriously busted!”
“I have a better idea,” Peichi replied slyly. “We’re going to get back at them by getting even—not by telling. Trust me, it will be way more fun!” She switched on her flashlight and turned off the overhead light. “Now, let’s come up with some really wicked, really awesome pranks. We’ll teach them to mess with the girls in Cabin Four!”
