Forlot - Books 7-9

Chapter Five

"Ari, is that not your sister?" one of my classmates asked me.

"Uh, yes," I said, keeping my eyes on my older sister. "But I do not know why she is here."

My sister, Melinda, was an older version of me. She had long, brown hair and was holding a clipboard. She was wearing a Camp Forgotten shirt and jeans. She also had on tennis shoes and was tapping a red pen against the clipboard.

She scanned my class, searching for me, and soon spotted me. She waved her hand in the air.

"Sis!"

Melinda jumped off the porch and pushed herself through the crowd of students. She reached me and hugged me.

"Oh, Ari. I have been waiting just for you."

She did not realize that her tight hug was cutting off my circulation, and I struggled to breathe.

"M-Melinda...y-you are..."

She knew that I was having trouble talking and let go. "Oops. Sorry about that."

I coughed and rubbed the front of my neck. "I am happy to see you too, but...what are you doing here?" I noticed a red whistle on a thin string that she was wearing.

"I wanted to surprise you."

"Well, you succeeded in doing that."

I looked at Collin and could not help but smile. His cheeks were turning red.

Did I mention that he had a crush on my sister? No? Well, now I have.

I will admit that I was jealous that Collin loved Melinda and not me. I was not crushing on him. I only loved him as a friend. However, I always wondered why he had a thing for her. I spend time with him and not her, and Melinda and I were twins with minor differences. The clothes that we wear and our heights. Melinda is taller than me and sixteen years old. I am fourteen years old.

"Hey there, Collin," Melinda greeted.

Collin adjusted his glasses and chuckled nervously. "H-hi. What a coincidence that you are here at this camp."

"No coincidence. I planned this."

I looked puzzled. "You did?"

"Remember that job that I mentioned to Mom and Dad and to you two?"

"As plain as day." My eyes widened. "Wait..."

"This is my job!" She squealed. "The crew of Camp Forgotten needed a new counselor because another counselor of theirs mysteriously left."

"Why did that counselor leave?"

"Did you not hear me, sis? It is a mystery. No one knows."

"...huh."

Collin leaned over to me and whispered, "The wizard has to do something with that counselor's disappearance."

"I doubt that," I whispered back. "Maybe the counselor quit without informing anybody."

"And I doubt that."

Melinda hoisted me off the ground and spun around in circles, making me feel sick. You do not know how hard it was to keep my breakfast down.

"Could...could you...stop?" I managed to choke out.

"Oh. Sure." She stopped spinning and set me back down. "I am so excited to show you all the ropes." She pointed to a group of brown ropes on the ground that camouflaged. "See?"

I giggled and gave her a playful slap. "Good one."

Melinda patted the top of my head. "And guess who else was hired? My best friend Belinda."

After hearing that, I glanced back up at the porch and saw Belinda Myers.

She had long, blond hair tied in a ponytail and wore a brown hat over her head. She had on a brown jacket and jeans with white shoes. She clutched a gray whistle in her hand.

She raised the whistle and blew into it. "Campers! Listen up!" she instructed.

"I will meet up with you later," my sister said. "We can chat some more then." She dashed back up to the porch and stood by the other counselors once again.

Ethan Bennett, Debra John, Josh Mackerel, and Debbie Williams are the names of four of my classmates. Remember them because they have something to do with this story.

Melinda and Belinda were the only girl counselors. There were two boy counselors, and they seemed a lot older.

"Greetings, ladies and gentlemen," one of the men spoke. "I am David Smith. I run this camp. With me are Garcia Martin, Melinda Samson, and Belinda Myers."

Melinda, Belinda, and Garcia waved.

David had short, black hair, and Garcia had short, brown hair. They both had on the Camp Forgotten shirt, and David wore brown pants and black shoes, while Garcia wore black pants and brown shoes.

"You may call us by our first names if you would like," Garcia said. He had a Spanish accent. "As you can see, there are three cabins. This middle one is for us counselors. Work and all sorts of stuff."

"The cabin to your left will be for me, Garcia, and you boys," David explained. "The cabin to your right will be for Melinda, Belinda, and you girls."

"Right now, you will go in your cabins and take a look around," Melinda suggested. "You may even unpack some of your belongings."

"If you have any questions or need help, let one of us know," Belinda said. "We will be happy to assist in any way that we can."

Paul had gotten everyone's bags off the bus and handed them over.

"Thank you, Paul," I thanked. "See you in two weeks!"

Paul smirked. "I am not going anywhere."

"Hmm? You are not?"

"Nope. I told the counselors that I would stay and help them. They really need it."

"Ah. Well...I am happy that you staying."

He chuckled. "Me too."

We all dragged our suitcases and backpacks into the cabins. Collin and I sadly had to be separated because...you know.

I entered the girls' cabin with my suitcase and backpack and surveyed the inside.

And saw a hand. A real hand.

Pressing against the window that was close to the beds.

Then it lowered, leaving a handprint on the glass.

And that was when I heard, "Help me..."