While she cleaned herself up, she’d tried to come up with a strategy that might turn the girls’ behavior around in one day. There was no guarantee it would work, but she had nothing to lose.
“So.” She moved her eyes slowly around the group, making direct eye contact with each girl. “An hour ago, I was poor Cinderella, and now I’m ready for the ball.”
A ripple of giggles passed through the group, and the wide-eyed stares relaxed, relieved she wasn’t angry.
“The last time I was here, we discussed our pretty hearts and what they tell us about our own special magic wands.” She paused. “Would anyone like to share something her pretty heart has told her?”
Greta’s hand drifted up slowly. “My pretty heart tells me we should be nicer to one another.”
Summer felt the smile break out on her face. She had so hoped someone’s conscience would make her feel bad about the boisterous behavior. She glanced around the room again. “And how can we be nicer to one another?”
Almost everyone’s hand went up and a flurry of answers ensued.
“We can take turns better.”
“We can be more careful not to step on people smaller than us.”
“We can share stuff.”
“All wonderful ideas,” Summer said. “We certainly have to learn to be careful when we’re in large groups in small spaces. I wasn’t hurt tonight, but think about what might’ve happened if there had been a fire in the fire pit.”
M&M raised her hand hesitantly. “You would’ve been hurt really bad.”
“That’s right. No one meant for it to happen, but it did happen. So what can we do to be more careful so another preventable accident doesn’t occur?”
Greta spoke up. “The boys are always in line. Maybe we need to line up more.”
Summer could hardly believe her ears. They wanted to line up? Maybe Tara was right about giving them some limits.
“And we could take turns being the first in line,” Braelyn offered, “so everybody would get a turn. That way the little ones won’t always get pushed to the back.”
Summer well remembered what that was like.
Although she hadn’t expected it, this was exactly how she’d hoped the discussion would go. She could feel her face beaming. “Great ideas. All of them. So how do we start?”
“We start with M&M because she’s the smallest.” Amanda seemed to be giving this some analytical thought. “We line up in the morning, smallest to tallest. And then we change each time until everybody’s gone first, and then we decide on a new way to line up.”
“Super!” Tara applauded. “And what about watching our manners like Mr. Rick said the first day? I think we need to be quieter when we’re indoors.”
“I think so, too,” Summer agreed.
While the other girls seemed agreeable, Shannon sat with her arms folded, frowning. She wasn’t buying any of this.
“Shannon,” Summer addressed her directly, “you aren’t happy about these plans?”
“It sounds like school,” Shannon huffed. “Line up. Be quiet. Don’t do anything fun.”
“We’ll still have lots of free time to play and have fun,” Summer assured her. “That’s not going to change. But we need to concentrate more on our fairy princess training. Sunday will be the end of our first week. So Sunday night, we’re going to choose which camper has made the most progress toward becoming a fairy princess by listening to her pretty heart. That person will get a special prize.”
Tara threw her a questioning look, and Summer winked in response.
“Now, to bed all of you. Dream about your pretty heart and listen to what it tells you.”
As the girls climbed into their bunks, Tara sauntered over. “Good job, but do you really have a surprise in mind?”
Summer kept her voice low. “My dad’s making some wands I was going to give out at the end of camp. But maybe doling them out one at a time will be a better incentive. I’ll ask him to bring a couple when they come up Saturday.”
Tara nodded. “No staff meeting tonight, by the way. Rick didn’t think you’d be cleaned up so fast.”
“I rushed. I had to start tonight trying to straighten up this mess I’ve created.”
“It’s not that bad. ...” Tara reassured her.
“Yes, it is. And I’ve got to rectify things before my parents get here.”
Tara gave a resolute nod. “We can do this.”
“Well, let’s hope so.” Summer looked around to find all the girls in bed. “Want to come over for some lemonade?”
“Thanks, but I think I’ll pass tonight. I’m beat, and I