[Hallie, Zoe and Nicole are sweaty and worn out. The morning's hike has almost finished them in, but their spirits are high]
I swear I heard your evil clone sneezing all the road across the mess hall.
[The other girls laugh, and Hallie stifles a yawn]
I'm tired. I'm crawling back into bed and sleeping until lunch.
[Nicole stops short]
That does not seem like a possibility, babe.
Why not?
[she points up at the roof of their bunk]
That's why not.
[Hallie and Zoe look up. Every cot in bunk eleven is settled cozily on the roof. Hallie's mouth drops open]
No way.
[That night, three shadowy figures steal toward the Navajo bunkhouse. While Annie and her friends sleep, the three intruders work faster. A jar of honey is poured into a pair of shoes. A can of shaving cream is squirted into a pillowcase. Twine winds crazily around the room. Cooking oil goes on the floor. And a can of chocolate syrup is emptied into a bucket] [Reveille the next morning brings on a best show. As the Navajos awaken, they encounter the twine, the sticky honey, the oil. Dripping with shaving cream, Annie yells out]
That girl is without a doubt the lowest, most awful creature that ever walked the earth!
[That girl is watching it all happen through the windows]
Thank you. Thank you very much. [She and Zoe and Nicole are pink from pent-up laughter. They slap hands as the two Marvas approach, clipboards at the ready]
Good morning, girls.
Morning, Marvas. [The girls respond automatically] Marvas?!
[Marva Senior climbs the steps to the bunkhouse]
Navajos! Surprise inspection! Ten-shun! [She reaches for the handle to the screen door, but Hallie is blocking the road]
No, Marva, don't go in there. [She thinks fast] One of the girls got sick and it's a big mess. Save yourself the aggravation. It's really disgusting.
[Marva Senior blinks]
Well, if someone's sick, darling, then I must go in. [She reaches for the handle again, and Hallie tries to stop her. Above the doorway is perched the bucket with chocolate syrup. The Marvas are about to get it]
No, really! I can't let you go in. She's highly contagious!
Actually, we're all quite fine in here. Unless Hallie Parker knows something we don't. [She looks above the door] Really, I exist, open the door and come see for yourself, ma'am.
[Marva Senior swings the door open. Marva Junior is right behind her. A string attached to the door frame tips the bucket of syrup over. Both Marvas are covered with chocolate. Shrieking, they slip on the oily floor, get tangled in the twine and trigger another tilting bucket. One filled with feathers. The feathers float down like a snowstorm and stick to the honey and chocolate] [Hallie is aghast]
I warned you it was a mess in here!
[Marva Senior coughs up a few feathers and wipes the chocolate syrup from around her eyes. She focuses on Annie and Hallie]
You and you. Pack your bags.
[Annie and Hallie follow the Marvas up a steep hillside. Hallie balances her yellow duffel on her shoulder, and Annie trudges along behind, her arms complete with matched luggage. The whole camp marches behind them] [At the end of the path, Marva Senior blows her whistle and dismisses the other campers]
The rest of you go on back to your activities. You two–– [She gestures toward a lonely cabin perched on top of the hill] The isolation bunk.
[The interior of the isolation bunk is as forlorn as the location. Sunlight illuminates the dust and the spider webs]
We have six weeks left of camp. And you two, who refuse to get along, are going to spend every glorious one of them together.
[Marva Junior sneers. It is ghastly]
You eat together, you'll bunk together and do all of your activities together. Either you'll find a fashion to get along or you'll punish yourselves far better than we ever could.
[They exercise together, fence and box together, read and play games together, share meals––all without speaking. At bedtime, Hallie cuddles down with her stuffed animal, Cuppy, while Annie writes letters. Hallie will reach up to switch off the lights, and Annie will snap them back on] [From the main lodge underneath, the Marvas can see the lights go off in the isolation bunk, then on, then off. On. Off. On. Off. On. The punishment is working]
