Shabbat Sabotage by Emma Carlson Berne

Author:Emma Carlson Berne [Berne Emma Carlson]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: little bee books
Published: 2022-10-15T00:00:00+00:00

The counselors were playing cards in the pavilion. Tamar was out there too. Lying in her bunk late that night, Maya could hear them through the screen, laughing and talking. She tried to figure out what game they were playing. Euchre, maybe? Poker? There was clinking, so maybe they were playing for quarters?

All around her the cabin was filled with the sounds of breathing. Gracie was making a little noise like a whistling kettle. Yael mumbled something that sounded like “candy blast.” Outside, the insects were sawing and singing and chirping. Why did anyone ever say the woods were quiet at night? It was way noisier out here than at home.

Then Maya heard a new noise—a kind of snuffling. She lifted her head off the pillow. It was snuffling and some kind of breathing but not the sleeping kind. It was coming from the top bunk.

Carefully, Maya edged out from under her sleeping bag. She eased herself up the ladder until she could see Dani, sitting up in her bed, with her arms wrapped around her drawn-up knees.

“Hey,” Maya whispered. She crawled across the bed, trying not to rustle too much.

Dani looked up. In the gleam of the moonlight from the window Maya could see tears spilling down her cheeks. Maya held her finger to her lips, then as softly as she could, dropped over the side of her bunk onto the floor. She motioned to Dani, who slid out from under her sleeping bag. She stepped on her shower shoes and stumbled. Yael snorted in her sleep, and both of them froze. Then Yael’s breathing smoothed out, and Maya exhaled. She and Dani crept out of the cabin, easing the screen door open and closing it with exquisite care.

Outside was big and cool and filled with the noise of the forest. The moon sailed overhead like some gorgeous glowing ship. Dani sank down under a pine tree in the middle of the horseshoe, and Maya sat beside her. “What’s wrong?” Maya asked.

Dani gulped. “Nothing. I’m fine.” She had her mom’s picture in her hand.

“No, you’re not. You were crying in your bed.”

Dani didn’t say anything. She buried her face in her drawn-up knees.

Maya put a tentative hand on her back. “Come on. Are you homesick?”

Dani gulped. “A little. I knew this would happen. I just miss my mom so much.” Her voice trailed off into a whisper. “And my own bed.”

“It’s the worst feeling.” Maya said. “It’s like—”

“A stomach pit with no bottom,” Dani broke in.

“Yes! Like a hole carved out of the middle of you. Why do you always feel it in your stomach? That’s what I want to know.” Maya eased the picture out of her friend’s hand and studied it. “Your mom looks really nice.”

“She is. She’s um—” Dani gulped. “She gives good hugs.”

“Listen!” Maya broke in, before Dani could start crying again. “I have a great way to feel better. I mean, it won’t cure you, but maybe you’ll just be able to go to sleep tonight.

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