Eternal Spring A Young Adult Short Story Collection Read Online Free Page A

chocolate
unattended. Actually, for some reason, chocolate gives witches diarrhea, so
this was fake chocolate. The camp had a "no candy" policy other than
the official camp desserts. Sophie was busy helping our campers manage roasting
their marshmallows and build their s'mores. I tried to catch her eye, but she
didn't notice. The tongue flashed again and grabbed a full s'more this time.
    “Scott,” I yelled. “Quit distracting them. They need to deal
with F—” What was frog girl's name? Right. “Maggie!”
    Three pairs of eyes turned to shoot daggers at me.
    I made a face in return and turned to find Mrs. Laverdiere standing
beside me.
    “Aaa!” I said.
    “Emma”" she said, putting a hand on my arm. “You are
doing a terrific job. I just wanted to thank you for working so hard.”
    “You do. Really?”
    “Really,” she said. Then she winked at me before moving on
to the campfire.
    Wow. She thought I was doing a good job. I'd never had a job
before, and I stood a little straighter after hearing her compliment.
    “Time for spooky stories,” Mrs. Laverdiere called from the
head of the campfire circle. “You guys are in for a treat tonight. Ian is going
to get us started with a spooky tale.”
    Across the group, Ian turned on a flashlight and held it
under his chin. “Have you heard the story about ‘Arthur and The Asylum for the
Incurable?’”
    I wandered over to the fire and watched as he told his tale
with his ghost story voice. The kids were enthralled, and he performed like a
master storyteller.
    The kids jumped as Ian revealed the sights inside the
asylum.
    “He's pretty great, isn't he?” Sophie whispered.
    I was vaguely aware that she had moved to sit beside me, but
I hadn't taken my eyes off of Ian. “Yeah,” I admitted.
    “Kind of cute too.”
    “Yeah,” I said.
    “You guys would make a great couple.”
    “Mm.”
    She clapped her hands together. “Yay! I'm so excited to have
a project.”
    “No!” I hissed. “You stay out of it.”
    “How could I do that? I care about your happiness.” She
placed her hand on her chest to emphasize her sincerity.
    “Don't embarrass me.”
    “Fine. You promise to hook up by the end of the week, and
I'll leave you alone.”
    “Sophie!”
    She tilted her head and waited, blinking the eyelashes that
I hadn't seen without mascara in at least two years until this week.
    “Fine,” I said. Then I ignored her and watched Ian and
wondered exactly what it would be like to kiss him.

 
 
    On Wednesday morning, my campers were marching past Ian's and Scott's cabin when Mrs. Laverdiere zoomed up in a
white panel van.
    “Get the girls to breakfast, Sophie,” she said as she rushed
up the cabin steps. “Emma, you stay with us.”
    Sophie shrugged, downplaying her inevitable curiosity. “We'll
save you something good,” she said and motioned for the girls to keep moving.
      Between the van
and the sense of urgency, I had enough clues to brace myself for something
unsightly.
    I climbed the steps and peered into the cabin. I couldn't
see much. Ian and the director were stooped over something on the floor. I
stepped closer and saw that one of the boys now had a giraffe's neck. Normally,
the kid would have stood at just under five feet tall.
The neck was at least six feet. He stretched across the entire cabin floor.
    “Stay calm, Max,” Ian was saying. “Mrs. L is going to take
you to the hospital. You'll be playing video games in no time.”
    I looked up at the ceiling. The child couldn't stand up in
here, much less clear the doorframe. “What's the plan,” I asked.
    “Ian has an idea,” Mrs. L said.
    In a faux whisper, Ian said, “Hey Max. You know that cute
counselor from Britney's cabin. The one with brown hair?”
    “Yes,” he said, his eyes squeezed tightly shut.
    I grinned.
    “Her name is Emma. Me and Emma are going to crawl out of
here with you.”
    “I can't, Ian. I really can't.”
    “You can. We'll turn you over and you can get on