She was supposed to be having fun.
Everyone--Mom and Dad, her big sister Pam; they all had told her, "Karen, you'll like summer camp. It'll be fun."
Even her too-tall, gawky cousin Jill had said, "Camp is neat. You'll have fun."
"Let the fun begin, " Karen whispered to herself.
Karen sat on a log in the shade of a giant oak tree. She watched as the sun danced and sparkled on the smooth waters of Lake Louise.
She had been at camp exactly four hours and it hadn't been fun so far.
In fact, no one had spoken to her.
Not one single person, except Mrs. Higgins, the counselor in her cabin.
She didn't count. She was paid by the camp to be nice.
The people that counted, the other girls, not one of them had even said, "Hi" to her.
Karen Mitchell was eleven years old.
This was her first time at summer camp.
The first time she had spent a whole week away from home.