So there I was one day, having a perfectly nice (stupid, impossible, ridiculous) daydream about Katie when I almost got mowed down right in the middle of Lake Wannamorra.
Nope, not the Bobcats. This time it was my own sister.
At first, I wasn’t paying any attention. I had my head in the water, and this tiny voice somewhere in the background started going, “Rafe… hey, Rafe… it’s me!”
But then without warning, it turned into, “LOOK OUT, RAFE! I DON’T KNOW HOW TO STEER THIS THING!”
When I looked up, all I saw was the pointy end of a canoe coming right for my face. I dove down deep, swam over to the raft, and climbed up on top to get out of the line of fire. Lucky for me, I’m good in the water.
Georgia was sitting there in the canoe with some girl I didn’t know. Both of them had these big life vests on and looked like a couple of giant orange marshmallows—the kind who don’t know the first thing about steering a boat.
“What are you doing here?” I asked. “I can’t believe they let you out on the lake by yourself.”
“I’m not alone—duh!” she said. “This is Christine Worley. She’s my bunk mate and my new best friend.”
As soon as the other girl started talking, I could see why she and Georgia might get along. It was like they had matching big mouths.
“Hi-Rafe-Georgia-already-told-me-all-about-you-are-you-having-a-good-summer-I-am-and-by-the-way-I-think-your-sister-is-totally-the-bomb-I’m-so-glad-we-got-assigned-to-the-same-cabin-because-we’re-having-a-really-really-really-REALLY-awesome-time!” she said.
“Hi,” I said.
“Christine’s brother goes here too,” Georgia told me.
“Uh-huh,” I said. Katie was over on the dock putting suntan lotion on her nose, and I was watching her, so I wasn’t really paying attention.
“His name is Tommy Worley,” Georgia said. “Is he in your cabin?”
“Nope,” I said.
“Actually, nobody calls him Tommy,” Christine said. “Everyone here calls him Doolin….”
And—SLAM! Let me tell you, I didn’t see that one coming. It was like getting hit in the head with an invisible fist. This girl was Doolin’s sister?
I was still taking that one in while she kept talking.
“The Doolin part comes from my mom, ’cause when Tommy was little, he used to play with swords all the time, so she started calling him Dueling Tommy and then Dueling and then it was just Doolin after that. Actually, my brother has a whole bunch of nicknames, like TW and Cheese Steak, and sometimes we even still call him Pamp—”
“Yeah, okay, well, have a good summer,” I said. Then I dove into the water and started making my getaway.
It wasn’t like I was afraid of Christine, exactly. I just figured that between her mouth, Georgia’s mouth, and my luck, I was better off keeping my distance. One false move, and I’d have the whole Bobcat cabin coming after me even more than they already were.
“Wait!” Georgia yelled after me. “Don’t you want to come canoeing with us?”
I turned over in the water and just kept kicking. “No way,” I said. “Too dangerous!”
They probably thought I was talking about the canoe. Which was fine with me. The less I said, the better.
Because unlike my sister, I know when to keep my mouth shut.