Camp Castaway by Belinda Murrell

Author:Belinda Murrell
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Penguin Random House Australia
Published: 2018-10-22T16:00:00+00:00

Just then we saw the boys jogging up the hill from the other side.

‘There it is,’ said Rory, pointing to the marker flag we’d just discovered.

‘Hello, girls,’ said Joey as he raced over and scooped up the pebble that was still lying there. He held it aloft. ‘Pebble number four.’

Connor had already pulled out the camera. The photo was taken in a moment and then the boys jogged off down the trail and back towards our campsite.

‘See you at camp!’ called Reuben.

I stared after the boys with dismay. ‘They have four of their pebbles and we only have two. We have to hurry up or we’ll never finish in the hour.’

Meg started off down the path, the way the boys had come. Olivia stared stubbornly at the map and the compass, figuring out which way to go. ‘The next marker is this way,’ she decided. I hurried after Meg.

By the end of the hour we had collected another two pebbles – one painted with a wise owl and another that said ‘Be Brave! Be Strong!’. We were also hot, sweaty, dirty, dusty and had been scraped by countless brambles. I scratched my arm. It was covered in dozens of tiny red insect bites that itched like crazy. Touching it just made it worse.

‘Our time’s up,’ said Sienna, checking her watch. ‘It’s been an hour.’

‘We should just head back to camp,’ said Jemila. ‘The boys will have already won by now.’

I thought longingly of going back to camp and jumping into the cool, crystal water to wash away all the sweat and grime.

‘No,’ said Olivia firmly. ‘We need to find the final marker. We can’t go back without it.’

‘Which way do we go next then?’ asked Meg. She peered over Olivia’s shoulder at the map.

Olivia moved the map away so Meg couldn’t see.

‘We’re going this way,’ said Olivia, waving her hand to the right.

‘You don’t have to hog the map,’ I said, my temper frayed by the heat and Olivia’s attitude.

‘I’m the team leader,’ she said. ‘So I decide which way we go, otherwise we’d waste too much time discussing it.’

‘You keep saying you’re the team leader,’ I snapped. ‘But I don’t remember voting for you and I certainly didn’t hear anyone else say you were.’

Meg, always the peacemaker, put her hand on my arm. ‘It’s okay, Pippa. Let’s just get moving.’

‘No,’ I said, crossing my arms. ‘If Olivia hadn’t been so stubborn and had let you take the lead, we’d be finished by now and back at camp swimming in the lagoon. I’m sick of Olivia always being so bossy.’

Olivia glared at me. Then she turned away, beckoning to Jemila and Sienna. ‘Come on. Let’s go. If Meg and Pippa don’t want to be on our team, they can go back to camp on their own.’

Jemila and Sienna looked at us imploringly but I stood still, my arms crossed. The two of them obediently followed Olivia as she stormed off into the rainforest. Meg sighed and started after them.

I grabbed Meg by the arm.

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