Vanishing Act, page 17
“Thanks,” I said dryly.
“You’re welcome,” Gary said, and sniffed as he took in Camp Outlier in the early-morning light. “Think we’ll ever forget this place?” he said. “Like when we’re old and boring and hate life?”
“First off, I don’t plan on ever being boring or hating life,” I said. “I don’t think all adults are like that. Look at Mr. Blue: he’s a riot and I’m pretty sure he’s old. Second, no, I don’t think we will. I think it’s like your first love: it’s something you don’t forget.”
“What do you know about love?” Gary snorted. “You got one pity kiss at the end of last year, and I’m pretty sure Kristy hasn’t given you the time of day since.”
“I think Kristy is just a little wrapped up in the competition,” I said.
“That’s an understatement.” He snorted. “Although I think she’s more wrapped up in Hudson, so maybe you’re just old news?”
“You should try making an impression on a girl when all she can see is your clothing,” I said.
“True,” Gary said, and then paused. “Are you worried that this might just be your new normal?”
“Do you mean am I worried that I’m invisible for good?” I said.
“Yeah,” he said, yawning again. “Do you think you’d drop the ‘inconvenient’ part of your whole inconveniently invisible label and just be plain old invisible? Hudson thought you were the invisible boy for the first week, remember?”
“What about Hudson?” Hudson said, walking out of the cabin. He gave Gary a once-over and shook his head with a smirk. “Nice boxers there, Gare Bear.”
“Watch it,” Gary said, but there wasn’t any real anger behind his words.
I thought about what Gary had said about Kristy being wrapped up in Hudson. I didn’t like that thought. I leaned forward on the railing of our cabin, and a second later the entire railing disappeared.
“Whoa,” Gary said. “That was wild.”
“It’s still there, though, right?” Hudson said, sticking out a tentative hand to touch the railing.
“Yup,” Gary said, reaching out to touch the space where the railing had been just moments before.
“Gary, stop!” I said, but it was too late. He was officially stuck to the invisible railing.
“Great,” he said glumly. “This doesn’t look stupid at all.”
Hudson and I stared at him for a second while Gary stood there in his rubber ducky–yellow boxers, his hand on top of a railing that was no longer visible, and then we both burst out laughing.
“He looks like one of those old-fashioned mimes.” Hudson laughed, tears streaming down his face.
“Real funny,” Gary said. “If I could reach you, I’d smack you. Now somebody go get Aaron, or I’m going to miss breakfast.”
“Sorry, buddy,” I said. “I’ll get him.” I turned back toward the cabin door and put my hand on the doorknob at the exact same moment that Hudson did, and to my horror, his hand disappeared.
“No way,” Gary said, and I turned to look at Hudson, but Hudson was gone.
“What?” Hudson’s disembodied voice said.
I couldn’t say a word. I just stared at him in shock. What had I just done?
“Dude,” Gary said. “You think I’m screwed; take a look at your hand.” There was a moment of silence and then a surprised gasp.
“I’m invisible?” Hudson said. “You made me invisible? You can do that?”
“Apparently?” I said, folding my hands into fists and holding them tight against my sides.
“You made his clothes invisible too,” Gary said, glancing over at me. “But your clothes never disappear; that’s interesting.”
“What’s going on out here?” Aaron said, coming out the door a second later, followed by a curious Murphy, Zeke, Emerson, and Anthony in varying states of getting dressed for the day.
“What disaster would you like to hear about first?” Gary said, holding out his free hand like he was the ringmaster at a circus. Mr. Stink pushed his way through the crowd and walked over to sniff at the invisible railing.
“This is insane,” Hudson said, lost in his own invisible world.
I tore my eyes away from Hudson as Mr. Stink sneezed once, twice, three times, and as one we all looked over at Murphy, whose face went from confused to horrified right before he disappeared.
“You didn’t touch him too, did ya?” Gary said.
“No,” I said, my voice cracking. “I swear.”
“Cool, so just the normal level of insanity, then,” Gary said. Turning to Aaron, he raised an eyebrow. “Bet you’re ready for this nifty summer job of yours to be over. Now grab the acid, will ya? I don’t really want to be stuck to this railing in my underwear when the Swallowtails come looking for us.”
The next twenty minutes were a flurry of motion and chaos. Nurse Betsy was called up to help unstick Gary, and Mr. Blue arrived moments later to examine the still completely thrilled and completely invisible Hudson. The only improvement with Hudson happened when he changed out of his invisible clothes and threw on some visible ones, making it much easier to keep track of him. I stayed out of the way; my hands clasped into fists in front of myself lest I accidentally make anything else disappear. When he walked in, Munkhouser looked like he was going to have some kind of fit. He’d already made me a level five for turning the rope invisible at the ropes course, and I bet he was wishing there was a level above that. With my luck, he’d invent one. Nurse Betsy marched over to me after she finished wrapping Gary’s hands and handed me yet another pair of gloves.
“Here,” she said. “Let’s see if you can keep track of these for more than a minute.” I slid them on my hands, feeling uneasy. My RISK factor had never been something that other people needed protection from, and I didn’t like the feeling. I looked across the cabin at Hudson and scowled as he balanced a fork on what I assumed was his nose, but could have definitely been his forehead. Show-off. Nurse Betsy had assured us that he’d reappear, and her nonchalant confidence about it had made me feel somewhat better. She’d also cautioned Hudson to be extra careful today since he was navigating a RISK factor he wasn’t familiar with.
Murphy’s red rocks were placed in a perfect circle that Aaron graciously said he’d watch so that the rest of us didn’t miss the next challenge. I felt a stab of regret for my friend who was going to miss out and crossed my fingers that he’d make it back from wherever he’d gone in time to catch at least part of it.
Breakfast was rushed since we’d arrived more than a little late, and we’d barely eaten a few mouthfuls of cold eggs when Mr. Blue took the stage. The hall quieted down as all eyes turned to him.
“Good morning!” he said, and we all called back our own good-mornings. “It’s hard to believe that we have arrived at one of the last challenges of the summer, but here we are!” There was a chorus of mixed cheers and boos at this, and he smiled.
“Well then,” Mr. Blue said, clapping his hands. “Unless there are any more unexpected changes to our challenge roster, I think we’d better get started!
“I’m going to wait to give you the details on this one until after you’ve all changed into swimsuits and headed down to the lake,” he went on. “I think you’ll find this challenge just ducky.” He gave us an overexaggerated wink, and I glanced at the rest of my cabinmates.
“Did he just say ducky?” I said.
“He did,” Emerson confirmed. “Let’s hurry up and get changed so we can see what we’re in for.”
With that we were out the door and hurrying back up the hill. I expected to see Aaron on the porch watching Murphy’s circle of red rocks, but he was nowhere to be seen. In his place was Mr. Munkhouser with his nose buried in his iPad.
“Where’s Aaron?” I said, glancing around.
Munkhouser looked up and peered at me over his glasses. “That is none of your concern, young man. What are all of you doing back here?”
“Changing into swimsuits,” I said. I was about to tell him to send Murphy down to the lake when he got back when there was a loud pop and Murphy reappeared.
“Who won the challenge?” he said.
“Nobody yet,” I said. “Get dressed. You’re just in time.”
“Really?” Murphy said, his face lighting up.
“Not so fast,” Mr. Munkhouser said. “You need to report to Nurse Betsy first.”
“I thought Nurse Betsy wasn’t going to be around today,” Murphy said. “She told me after she unstuck Gary this morning that she had to go somewhere and would be gone the rest of the day.”
Munkhouser’s forehead wrinkled as he tapped at his iPad and then he nodded. “That’s correct,” he said. “Well, please report to her as soon as she returns.” With that he headed out of our cabin, and we scrambled into our bathing suits. In no time at all we were changed and charging back down the hill. We met the girls at the bottom and headed toward the lake as a team.
“Wait a second,” Kristy said, turning her head from me to Hudson and back again. “There are two Hanks!”
“No such luck,” I said. “Just one Hank and a temporarily invisible Hudson.”
“Thank goodness,” Gabby said. “One Hank is more than enough.”
“Amen to that,” Gary said.
Amy fell in step next to me just as we reached the concrete steps, and we headed down them shoulder to shoulder. Suddenly she chuckled, and I looked over at her, confused.
“What’s so funny?” I said.
“Hudson keeps making the absolute weirdest faces at everyone.” She giggled. I glanced over at the floating pair of basketball shorts and T-shirt that appeared to be prancing down the stairs.
“He’s enjoying my RISK factor a bit too much,” I said ruefully.
“Maybe,” Amy said. “But it seems like he’s loosened up for the first time all summer. I mean, I’ve talked to him a few times at challenges or whatever, and he’s always kind of had the personality of a potato. But now . . .” She trailed off as we watched the floating pair of shorts and T-shirt do a spin before sidling up to talk to Gabby.
“But now he’s got the personality of a potato chip?” I said, finishing her sentence.
“Something like that.” Amy laughed. I watched Hudson goof off for a few more seconds and I smiled. Amy was right. For the first time since he’d come to camp he’d relaxed enough for the real Hudson to show through the shiny facade he’d created for himself. He’d told me that he’d been jealous of my RISK factor, and he hadn’t been lying. It was an odd feeling to have someone wish for the thing you’d wished away more times than you could count.
“It would have felt fairer if we’d traded,” I joked. “I’d have taken his good looks and levitating any day.”
“I wouldn’t be so sure,” Amy said, and I glanced over at her with my eyebrow raised.
“Why’s that?”
Amy shrugged. “I like your face the way it is. It has character. Besides, levitating is just a fancy way of throwing stuff. What’s so impressive about that?”
“Thanks,” I said. “I’m pretty sure you’re lying, but I appreciate it.” I glanced back over at Hudson just as he did a complicated spin move that almost sent him headfirst down the stairs and I shook my head. “I guess I’m not the only one who added a new trick to their RISK factor this summer,” I said.
“What do you mean?” Amy said.
I held up my hands. “I make things invisible now, and you see invisible people.”
She cocked her head to the side for a second, considering this, and then shrugged. “I don’t think mine is a new trick,” she said. “I just never had a chance to hang out around invisible people before now.”
“Good point,” I said. “We’re a rare lot—usually.”
“Usually,” Amy agreed, and then bit her lip as she looked behind her.
“What is it?” I said.
She shrugged. “It’s just that I keep seeing things this summer that aren’t there.”
“Um, didn’t we just discuss that?” I said.
She shook her head and smiled a bit ruefully. “Sorry, that wasn’t exactly clear. It’s just that I keep thinking I see this invisible person around camp. At first I thought it was you, but now I’m worried I might just be seeing things. Unless you’ve turned anyone else invisible that I should know about?”
“Just that guy,” I said, jerking my thumb over at Hudson as he burst into song. I was about to ask Amy more about the invisible person when I spotted someone down by the boathouse. I stopped and took a quick side step off the stairs so that the rest of our team could pass me. To my surprise Amy stepped off the path beside me.
“What’s going on?” she said.
“I thought I saw Aaron down by the boathouse,” I said.
“Well,” Amy said. “I guess that’s not that weird. The entire camp is down by the lake.”
“Right,” I said, but I stayed where I was, squinting through the trees and underbrush to our left where the boathouse sat. Amy stayed beside me as the rest of our team trooped down to the lake, leaving us alone in the underbrush.
“We need to hurry or we’re going to miss the start of the challenge,” Amy said.
“Right,” I said, and then turned to look at her as something occurred to me. “These invisible people you think you’re seeing,” I said, “how often have you seen them?”
“Not people, just one person,” she corrected me. “I’m pretty sure I keep seeing the same guy. That’s why I thought it was you for so long.”
“Right,” I said. “Well, do you remember exactly when you saw him?”
Amy shrugged. “I’ve caught glimpses a lot this summer. At first I didn’t pay much attention because I figured it was just you in the middle of pulling a prank or something.”
Just then Aaron emerged from the boathouse, and I crouched down in the weeds. I was about to grab Amy so she’d do the same, but she mimicked my movement on her own, and together we squinted down at my camp counselor. I expected him to head toward the lake and the camp challenge. Instead he looked left and right, his face a mask of frustration before he went slinking away into the woods.
I quickly shucked off my T-shirt and crept quietly through the underbrush, making sure to stay low so my shorts were hidden. Aaron was making his way quickly through the woods, his own posture hunched. I froze as he suddenly turned and scanned behind himself, his eyes passing right over me. I held my breath as he stayed that way for a moment, and then he headed into the woods at a jog. There was no way I’d catch up to him in the thick underbrush, so I hurried back over to Amy.
“What was that about?” she said.
“I’ll explain later,” I said.
Just then there was an excited shout from down by the lake, and we both turned back to the stairs.
“Hurry,” Amy said. “If we miss the start of the challenge, I’ll never hear the end of it from Kristy.” We practically ran down the steep stairs to the lake, and I had to force myself to stop chewing over the Aaron and invisible person mysteries and focus on navigating the steep concrete stairs. I’d seen what happened when a canoe went careening down these, and I didn’t really want to reenact it.
A moment later the lake came into view between the thick branches of the surrounding trees, and I squinted at it in confusion. There was something weird floating on top of the water.
“What’s that?” I said.
“You are asking the wrong girl,” Amy said. “All I can see is what looks like specks of something floating on the water.”
“Colorful somethings,” I said.
We made it to the bottom of the steps, and I got my first unobstructed view of the lake, and I blinked in amazement. There, floating on top of the water, were hundreds of rubber ducks in every color of the rainbow.
The campers were strung along the beach, each of them huddled in their respective teams. Amy and I hurried over and stopped next to Emerson.
I looked around and noticed that Anthony and Kristy were already standing poised at the edge of the water, their shoes conspicuously absent as they looked expectantly toward the center of the lake. One of the camp counselors was standing up in a canoe holding a megaphone and a whistle. A second later the whistle rang out across the water, and Kristy and Anthony took off. Steam hissed up around both of them the second they entered the water, and I coughed as a small fog surrounded us for a moment before dissipating. Apparently when you submerged a girl with burning-hot skin and a boy who self-combusted, you got steam. Who knew? I glanced to my right and noticed that the Blue Spruce team was sending two boys into the water as well.
“What do we need to do?” I yelled over the general clamor of cheers and encouragement of the rest of the camp.
“Each team was assigned two duck colors,” Emerson yelled back. “We’re yellow and white. We can each grab only one duck at a time and swim it back to shore. The first team to collect all their ducks wins.” He tore his eyes away from Anthony and Kristy, who had each retrieved a duck and were paddling hard to make their way back toward us, and looked me up and down.
“Where’s your shirt?” he said, and then laughed and shook his head. “Never mind, forget I asked. Since we’re an odd number we’ll have to send two guys and a girl in on this last round.”
“Simple enough,” I said, glancing around for Amy and smiling when she nodded to confirm that she’d partner with me. I’d grown accustomed to her seeing me, and especially now that I didn’t have a shirt on, I felt even more invisible than ever. Emerson had somehow gotten paired up with Gabby, just like in the ropes course.
“You’re with me too,” said a voice at my elbow, and I turned and jumped in surprise to see nothing but a floating pair of swim trunks standing next to me. For a second I wondered if I was looking in a mirror, but a moment later I realized it was Hudson and placed a hand on my hammering heart.
“You scared me,” I said.
“That’s kind of ironic,” Hudson said.
“It kind of is,” I agreed as I turned to watch Molly and Zeke take off into the water.
Hudson, Amy, and I took up our positions on the edge of the lake to wait for our turn. To our right was a basket already half-filled with white and yellow rubber ducks. I did a quick scan of the other cabins’ baskets, but it was too hard to tell if we were ahead or not. I turned my attention back to the lake and grinned as Zeke swam for all he was worth. He reached out and slapped my glove-covered hand and Hudson’s invisible one just as Amy got a slap from Molly, and we charged into the water. I dived in, stroking hard for the center of the lake, where a big mass of rubber duckies had drifted together.
