I gazed at the DO NOT KNOCK sign and waited. And waited some more.
Nothing to read in the room. Nothing to look at. I took out my phone and played Angry Birds for a while.
Finally, the office door opened and a man poked his head out. I recognized his bald head and red bandanna from the brochure. Uncle Felix.
He squinted at me. Then he took a few steps into the waiting room. “You’re Tommy Farrelly? Are you waiting for me?” he asked. He had a high whistle of a voice.
“Yes,” I said, tucking my phone back into my pocket.
He squinted at me some more. “Why didn’t you knock?”
I pointed to the sign. “It says not to knock.”
He frowned at me. “Well, you failed the first test. A winner doesn’t let a little sign stop him. A winner just steps forward and does what he wants.”
“Uh … sorry,” I muttered. What was I supposed to say?
He took a few more steps toward me. He was very short, maybe only a foot taller than me. And he was skinny with tiny arms and no muscles, and legs that looked like chicken legs beneath his blue shorts.
I can’t believe this little wimpy guy runs this tough camp, I thought.
“I’m Uncle Felix,” he said in his shrill voice. “You wanted to see me, right, dog? So, you should have ignored the sign and knocked.”
He put a hand on my shoulder and guided me back to his office. One wall was covered with photos of campers playing sports. He had a wide desk with nothing on it except for a phone and a pad of paper.
I took a seat in the folding chair in front of his desk. He stood behind his desk and studied me with his tiny black eyes.
“Have you met The Teacher yet, dog?” he asked.
“The Teacher? No. I just arrived,” I said. “I know I’m two days late, but my dad said —”
“The Teacher will show you a few tricks,” Felix said. “Yes, I know you’re a few days behind, dog. But she will whip you into shape.”
Whip me into shape?
I took a deep breath. “Why does everyone keep calling me dog?” I asked.
“Because this is a dog-eat-dog camp,” he answered. “You’ll soon learn. It’s eat or be eaten.”
For some reason, that made me laugh. People don’t eat people here — do they?
Felix talked like a tough guy. But he looked like a strong wind would blow him into the trees.
He adjusted his red bandanna. “Well, good luck to you,” he said. “You can report to Cabin J now.”
I started to stand up — then stopped. “Cabin J? But Robb said he was taking my duffel bag to Cabin Twelve.”
Uncle Felix leaned across his desk. “Who? We don’t have a Cabin Twelve. Our cabins are all lettered.”
“But — but —” I sputtered. “Robb said that —”
“Robb? Who’s Robb?” Felix demanded. “No one named Robb works for me.”
He paused for a second. I could see he was thinking hard. “Oh, wait,” he said softly. “Wait. I get it. Robb. Yes. This guy was having a little joke. Robb.”
“Joke?” I said.
He shook his head. “I’m sorry, Tommy. But you’ve just been robbed. Some stranger took all your belongings.”
I wandered outside to find my cabin. I thought of the words in the camp brochure: Everyone arrives at Winner Island a loser….
Well, that definitely described me.
Robbed? Robbed by a guy who said his name was Robb? All of my belongings taken my first minute on the island. How could that happen to me?
Uncle Felix patted my shoulder as I left the staff cabin. “You’ve learned your first lesson, Tommy,” he said. “Don’t trust anyone.”
I felt kind of dazed. I had a tight feeling in my stomach. Sunlight danced in my eyes. Everything seemed too bright.
I don’t even have a toothbrush.
I pulled my phone from my jeans pocket. I had the crazy idea maybe I could call home. Tell my parents to send me all new supplies.
But, of course, the phone was useless here. No bars. No Wi-Fi. I jammed it back in my pocket.
Two big yellow dogs, barking ferociously at each other, raced in front of me. I nearly tripped over them.
It’s dog-eat-dog here.
They ran through the ashes and blackened logs of the dead fire, and chased each other into the trees.
I heard shouts from the playing field. Insects buzzed around my head. I brushed them away as I struggled to find the path that led to the boys’ cabins.
I couldn’t find any signs telling me where to go. Maybe this was another test. Find your cabin without any help.
What am I doing here?
The question kept repeating in my mind. I followed a sandy path into the trees. But it ended without leading anywhere. Birds began to squawk. I could still hear the dogs barking somewhere nearby.
“I’m a total loser,” I muttered out loud. “I can’t even find my cabin.”
I tried another path that curved away from the meeting circle. I found myself climbing a gently sloping hill. I could see small, white cabins at the top.
A girl wearing a red camp T-shirt and blue shorts came walking quickly down the hill. She had dark eyes and short, crinkly brown hair under a red baseball cap. She was swinging her arms as she walked.
She stopped when she saw me. Her dark eyes studied me for a moment. “Are you lost?” she asked.
I nodded. “How did you know?”
She pointed behind her. “These are the girls’ cabins.”
“I’m definitely lost,” I said. “I just got here a few minutes ago.”
“Two days late,” she said, brushing a fly off her knee. “That’s not good.”
“Do you like this camp?” I blurted out.
She shrugged. “I thought I wanted to be a winner. But —” She stopped and glanced around. She bit her bottom lip. Like she was suddenly tense. “I’m Sophie, by the way,” she said.
“Tommy,” I said. “I’m … looking for Cabin J.”
“Huh?” She blinked. “There is no Cabin J. The cabins are all numbered.”
I stared at her. Was Uncle Felix giving me another test?
“You’re the new guy, right?” Sophie said. “Then you’re in Cabin Twelve.” She pointed past the staff cabin. “Boys are on the other side. There’s a path over there.”
“Thanks, Sophie,” I said.
Her dark eyes darted all around again. “We’re not supposed to help each other,” she said in a low whisper. “We’re all competing, see. We have to battle each other.”
“But … why?” I asked.
“So we won’t be eaten,” she replied.
I laughed. “Dog-eat-dog?”
“It isn’t funny,” she snapped. “I’m serious. Have you met The Teacher?”
“No. I —”
“You don’t have to believe me now, Tommy. But when you meet The Teacher, you’ll know I’m telling the truth.”
I shielded my eyes from the bright sunlight. “What’s so scary about The Teacher?” I demanded.
“The Teacher is a monster,” Sophie said. “Her name is Mrs. Maaargh. And no joke. She’s really a monster.”
I laughed again. “So we’re all starring in a horror movie?”
“I’m serious, Tommy. I —”
“I get it,” I said. “Let’s play a joke on the new kid.”
Sophie scowled at me. Her big dark eyes made her expression intense, serious. But was I really supposed to start believing in monsters?
“I’m trying to help you,” she said, balling her hands into fists at her sides. “This camp isn’t what it seems to be. We’re here to feed the monster.”
She was suddenly breathing hard. “You know in the camp brochure where it says only winners leave Winner Island?”
I nodded. “Yeah. I read that.”
“Well, it’s true, Tommy. Because Mrs. Maaargh eats the losers.”
I couldn’t help it. Something about Sophie’s intense expression made me laugh again.
She stepped past me and started to stride down the hill. “I have to go. They’re watching us.”
“Seriously?” I said.
She spun around. “They’re always watching us. To make sure we don’t help each other. It’s dog-eat-dog, remember? I know you think it’s a big joke. But guess who The Teacher is going to eat?”
“Me?”
“Yes. Probably you. Because you’re two days late. And you’ll never catch up to the rest of us. And you think it’s a big joke.”
She sighed. “You’ll be the loser, Tommy. And you’ll never get off this island.”
“Give me a break,” I said. “Do you really expect me …”
But she was running full speed down the hill.
I stood and watched her until she disappeared into the trees. Does she think I’m dumb enough to believe there is a monster on this island? A monster who eats kids? I thought. Do I really look like that big of a sucker?
The sun was scorching my forehead and cheeks. I turned and started down the hill. I passed the burned-out campfire and the staff cabin.
A group of guys came out of the trees. They were walking silently. I saw that they were sweaty and covered in dirt. They walked past me without saying anything.
I found the other path and followed it up a hill. I could see a cluster of white cabins in a clearing up ahead. It took me a while, but I finally found the cabin with the number 12 over the door.
Success.
I pulled open the door and stepped into darkness. I blinked, waiting for my eyes to adjust to the dim light.
But before I could see clearly, a powerful wave of freezing cold water smashed over me, drenching me. It sent me staggering back to the door, spluttering and choking.
“Ohhhhh.” I collapsed to my knees, shivering in shock, struggling to catch my breath.
Shaking off water, I made ugly gasping sounds. A big kid came into view. He was holding a metal bucket.
He set it down and leaned over me. His black hair fell over his face. He brushed it back. And I saw the surprise on his face.
“Oops,” he said. “Sorry about that.”
Huh? Sorry?
He reached out to help me up. “I’m way sorry,” he said, brushing his hair back again. “I thought you were someone else.”
“Someone else?” Cold water rolled from my hair, down my forehead. My T-shirt was drenched, stuck to my body.
“A dude from Cabin Ten. I thought you were him. We’re having a water war.”
“W-war?” I stammered.
“He’s going to lose,” he said. “And I’m going to win. You’ve got to win here, you know. You don’t want to be a loser.” He grinned. “A good surprise splash like that will send me to the top of the chart.”
I squeezed water from my T-shirt. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I said.
“You’ll learn.” He reached out and pulled me to a sitting position. “I’m Ricardo, by the way. Are you Tommy?”
I nodded.
“Then you and I are bunkmates here. We have this bunk all to ourselves. Sweet?”
“Sweet,” I replied.
I glanced around. I thought maybe my duffel bag had been delivered to Cabin 12 after all. But no. No sign of it. “All my stuff was stolen when I got off the boat,” I told Ricardo.
His eyes went wide. “Hey, mine too! A guy named Steele met me at the dock and stole my bags.”
“Guess they do it to everyone,” I said.
He nodded. “Yeah. You’ve got to be super-tough at this camp. No one gives you a break.” He dropped down on the edge of a cot. “Especially the monster.”
Not this joke again, I thought.
“You mean the monster that likes to eat all the losers?” I shook my head. “Every camp has stories like that. You really don’t expect me to believe —”
I didn’t finish, because Sophie came bursting into our cabin. She was panting and looked like she had been running hard. Her face was red. Her dark hair was damp and matted to her forehead.
“Tommy —” she cried breathlessly. “I … I’m so sorry.”
“Sorry?”
“I … ran into Mrs. Maaargh,” she stammered. “She heard about you arriving two days late. She — she says she’s not going to wait till the end of camp. She’s going to eat you this afternoon!”
Ricardo’s eyes bulged and his mouth dropped open in shock.
Sophie just stood there panting like a dog.
I rolled my eyes. “Does she use silverware?” I asked. “Or will she cut me into triangles like a pizza?”
“This isn’t a joke!” Sophie screamed. “What is your problem, Tommy? Can’t you see I’m telling the truth?”
“When I first came here, I didn’t believe it, either,” Ricardo said. “But … Mrs. Maaargh is no joke.”
Sophie dropped down on the other cot. She wiped both hands back through her short, crinkly hair. “Uncle Felix didn’t hire her,” she told me. “She just showed up on the island. She’s here for a free meal. And he’s too wimpy and terrified of her to do anything about it.”
I still didn’t buy it. “You seriously expect me to believe that this monster eats kids?” I said.
They both nodded. “Uncle Felix said she could eat one camper. If she promises to let the others go home.”
I gazed at them both. They weren’t smiling. Their faces were totally serious. They didn’t look like they were playing a joke.
They were good actors. But they weren’t fooling me.
“Okay,” I said. “I’ve had enough.” I turned and started to the cabin door.
“Where are you going?” they both demanded.
“I’m going to find Mrs. Maaargh,” I said. “If she exists. And I’m going to put an end to your joke!”
“No! Don’t!” they both screamed.
But I was already on my way.
I clenched my jaw and flexed my muscles as I walked toward the staff cabin. Campers are all supposed to be tough here. Well, okay. I can be tough, too.
Uncle Felix said to ignore signs. He said a winner does what he wants.
I was tired of being a loser. I hadn’t even been in this camp for a full day, and already I was the camp loser. Ready to be eaten by a monster.
No way, I told myself. Tommy Farrelly is a winner.
I planned to put an end to this stupid monster story and show Sophie and Ricardo I wasn’t a loser.
I saw a crowd of kids outside the circle of cabins. There were at least a dozen, maybe more. And they were all running full speed. Running around and around the circle of cabins, sweat pouring down their foreheads. Their faces were red and tight with panic.
“Why are you running?” I called.
A girl with braids flying behind her head turned to me. “She lets the wolf out at noon!” she shouted. “Don’t just stand there — run!”
I shook my head. “Wolf?” I muttered. “You’ve got to be joking.
“Hey!” I jumped back as a bowling ball came bouncing over the grass.
“Can you toss that back to us?” someone called. I turned to see a boy and girl running toward me. “Can you toss that ball back? We’re playing dodge ball.”
“With a bowling ball?” I cried.
They both shrugged. “Don’t blame us. Blame Mrs. Maaargh,” the girl said.
“Dodge the Bowling Ball is one of Mrs. Maaargh’s favorite games,” the boy said. “If we don’t play, she’ll move us down the chart.” He picked up the ball and cradled it against his chest in both hands.
“Is everyone in on this dumb monster joke?” I demanded.
The girl studied me. “You’re new here?”
I nodded. “Just got here.”
“You’ll learn,” she said.
The boy staggered under the weight of the ball. “Want to play? It doesn’t hurt too much. Unless it hits you.”
“Uh … I gotta be somewhere,” I said.
I turned and trotted over to the staff building. A short, skinny boy
with curly black hair was just walking out. His camp T-shirt hung on his shoulders, ripped to shreds.
He saw me staring at him. “Mrs. Maaargh is in a bad mood today,” he said. He held the door open for me. “Good luck,” he muttered, as I stepped past him into the building.
I walked down the narrow hall until I came to an office at the far end with the stenciled words on the door: THE TEACHER.
I took a deep breath and pulled back my shoulders. I flexed my muscles.
I’m going to be aggressive.
I’m going to be a winner.
I knocked on the door. I didn’t wait for an answer. I pushed the door open and stepped inside.
Sitting at a desk facing the door was an enormous woman, as wide as a truck. She wore a loose-fitting tent of a red dress. Her dark hair was piled a mile high on her head.
My eyes stopped at her huge hands, as big as baseball gloves. They were crossed in front of her on the desk. Her long fingernails were black and curled like animal claws.
And … and … she was wearing one of the ugliest monster masks I’d ever seen. Bulging eyes, big knobby warts on her cheeks, rows of pointed teeth in a long animal snout.
Most Halloween stores wouldn’t carry a mask that ugly. I wondered where she bought it. But I didn’t wait to ask.
I wanted to impress her with how bold I was. I wanted her first impression of Tommy Farrelly to be — “This dude is a WINNER!”
So I gathered all my courage, stepped up to the desk, and cried out, “That’s the worst mask I’ve ever seen. Do you really think you can fool anyone with that?”
And I shot out both hands, clamped my fingers onto the sides of the mask — and started to tug it off her face.
“Oh nooooo.”
A moan escaped my throat. My fingers dug into warm skin.
No mask. I couldn’t find the sides of the mask — because I was gripping her face!
Mrs. Maaargh uttered a shrill cry: “You’re hurting me!”
With a gasp of horror, I forced my hands to spring open. And I stumbled back until I hit the wall.
My heart pounded so hard I couldn’t breathe. I could feel my face grow hot and I knew I was blushing bright red. I could still feel the damp, fleshy folds of her face on my fingers.