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hers for the rest of the summer.
    â€œJordan and I want to learn to jump this summer on horseback!” Molly blurted out.
    â€œHmm, I’m not sure Jordan is ready for that.” Mama frowned a little.
    â€œNo, really, it was Jordan’s idea. She wants to try it,” Molly insisted. Was this a conspiracy? Had she and Madison planned to totally put me on the spot like this?
    Then I saw Mama’s face. It was lit up like a sunrise. She was
glowing
. There was really no other word for it. Instead of giving me the
Jordan, I’m so worried about you
look, she gave me something else I’ve hardly ever seen. The
Madison, I’m so proud of you
look.
    If I had just announced that I’d discovered a cure for cancer and that I was marrying Prince William, she couldn’t have been happier.
    â€œHoney, really? You want to try jumping a horse?” Mama asked.
    Now Mama, Eric, Eda, Molly, and Madison all stood around me in a semicircle. All eyes were on me. Staring. Waiting.
    What else could I do?
    â€œYeah, I guess so,” I heard myself say. “I mean, I actually want to try it. I’m going to jump a horse this summer.”

That was definitely a movie moment. There were certain moments when I felt like my life was playing out like a scene in a movie. When something really wonderful or terrible or scary would happen, it seemed like everything would freeze. And then, instead of me living my life, I would suddenly feel like I was watching my life—seeing the way it would look on a movie screen.
    I hadn’t meant for this to become some major announcement in front of the entire world. Already I was feeling slightly panicked. Now would probably be a good time for my liver to pop through my shirt like some alien trying to escape.
    â€œLet’s get Jordan and Molly moved in first, and then we’ll take care of Madison,” Mama was saying.
    One good thing about Opening Day was that so much was going on, I didn’t have a lot of time to worry about this now. Plus, riding lessons wouldn’t start till tomorrow. That meant I could probably hold on to my various organs for the time being.
    â€œI’m going to see if any of my friends are here yet,” said Madison, scanning the crowd of people that was getting bigger by the minute.
    â€œSo—Jordan, Molly, you two are in Middler Cabin One on Side B,” Eda told us, checking the list of names on her clipboard.
    â€œWho else is in our cabin?” asked Molly.
    Eda let her see the clipboard, and Molly read off the names. “Rebecca Callison and Jennifer Lawrence are on Side A. So is Melissa Bledsoe. Erin Harmon is on Side B with us, and the rest are newbies. It looks like Amber’s in Cabin Two.” She handed the clipboard back to Eda. “It’ll be fun to have Reb and Jennifer in our cabin. The Evil Twins!”
    â€œTwins?” Mama asked.
    â€œThey’re not really twins,” I told her. “They’re just best friends like Molly and me. And that’s just a nickname they had last year. Reb likes being the center of attention.”
    I was glad we were now considered old campersinstead of newbies. Pine Haven campers returned year after year, and coming here for multiple summers automatically increased your coolness level.
    â€œI’m going to leave you all on your own for now,” Eda told us. She had a lot of new arrivals to welcome. More and more cars were pulling in all the time.
    Between Molly and me, we had a lot to carry—trunks, duffels, sleeping bags, pillows. It didn’t help that the Middler cabins were at the very top of a huge hill in the center of camp.
    Pine Haven happened to be very hilly. And there were trees everywhere. From the heart of camp, we had a great view of the Appalachian Mountains on the horizon, looking bluish gray in the sunlight.
    We were partway up the hill when we heard the sound of stampeding footsteps running up behind us. “Hey,