Because it was the first half of the month, Sophie was living with her dad. She lived with her mum in the second half. This meant she had two lots of things — two toothbrushes, two beds and two desks. Other things, like her clothes, she had to pack up each time she swapped houses.

‘Hi, Dad!’ yelled Sophie from the front door.

‘Hi, Monster,’ her dad called back.

Monster was his nickname for her.

‘Are you going to work in here with me this afternoon?’ he called.

Sophie’s dad was an illustrator and worked from home. Sophie liked doing drawings on the floor of his studio while he worked at his desk.

‘I can’t today,’ said Sophie. ‘I have to pack!’

It didn’t take her long. Sophie was an expert packer now.

Toothbrush. Toothpaste. Hairbrush. Raincoat. Boots. Thick socks. Undies. Jumper. Puffy jacket. Beanie. T-shirt. PJs. Sleeping bag. Pillow.

There was even some room left over.

Just enough space for a bag of chips!

Sophie sneaked into the kitchen to see if there were any in the cupboard. Her dad didn’t let her eat much junk food so she would have to be sneaky. He was standing at the bench, chopping up vegetables for dinner.

‘Come to give me a hand?’ he asked, not looking up.

‘I’ll help in a sec,’ said Sophie.

She quietly opened the cupboard.

Excellent! There was a big packet of chips right there.

The packet started to rustle loudly as she picked it up. Sophie quickly coughed to cover up the noise.

Her dad looked up and Sophie shoved the chips behind her back.

‘Are you getting a cold?’ he asked, looking worried.

‘No, it’s just a tickle in my throat,’ said Sophie.

Then she skipped off down the hall, trying not to laugh. For once, she’d outsmarted her dad!

‘By the way,’ he called out after her, ‘I bought some chips for you to take to camp. They’re in the cupboard.’

Sophie stopped and groaned.

How did her dad always know what she was up to? It was too weird.

Once she’d finished packing Sophie helped her dad cook. They were having pasta and it was Sophie’s job to make sure the spaghetti didn’t stick together.

While she stirred the pot, Sophie started thinking. What if Megan was right about the food at camp? What if it was terrible?

Her mum always told her to just eat the bits she did like. But what if they served stuff she hated? Sophie only liked veggies that were crunchy. If they just served soggy cauliflower and mushy carrots she might starve!

Sophie usually told her dad about her day while they ate dinner, but tonight she was too busy worrying about camp to talk much. She might get homesick or stung by a bee. She might fall in the lake when they went canoeing. Was she a good enough swimmer to make it to the bank?

‘You must be so excited about going on your first school camp, Monster,’ her dad said.

Sophie poked at her pasta. ‘I guess so,’ she said.

By the time she went to bed Sophie had even more worries. What if she needed to go to the toilet in the middle of the night? It would be pretty dark out there in the bush. It wasn’t that she was afraid of the dark, but it was nice having a light switch nearby.

She curled up under her doona and tried to get to sleep, but her eyes wouldn’t close. Her backpack was casting a strange shadow on the wall. It looked a bit like a bear. A big bear with pointy teeth and sharp claws.

Her dad came in to say goodnight.

If she told him she didn’t want to go on camp anymore, would he let her stay home? She could help him work by sharpening his pencils and stuff like that.

Her dad sat on the end of her bed and handed her a small parcel. On it he had drawn a picture of a monster wearing a backpack.

‘The monster looks worried,’ she said.

‘It’s a bit nervous, but it’s also excited,’ explained her dad. ‘Why don’t you unwrap it and see what’s inside?’

Sophie tore the wrapping off. Inside was a silver penlight — small enough to fit in her pocket. Sophie turned it on. It was very bright.

The bear-shadow on the wall completely disappeared.

‘When I went on my first camp I kept a torch under my pillow,’ said her dad. ‘It stopped me feeling scared.’

Sophie was surprised. She didn’t think her dad was afraid of anything.

‘I won’t be scared,’ said Sophie, hugging her dad. Now she had the torch she knew it was true.