Festival Frenzy Page 5

  ‘So, Mags, I thought we’d g-go to the adventure playground,’ said Lucy. ‘Would you like that?’

  Maggie nodded eagerly.

  ‘Anyone w-wanna join us?’

  ‘I’ll come with you, Luce,’ Hermione offered. She’d been waiting for an opportunity to catch up with Lucy alone – maybe this was her chance.

  ‘I might sunbathe at the lake,’ said Abby, and, ‘Lake for me,’ said Jessie at the same time.

  There was a pause, then: ‘Yeah, I’m dying to get back in that kayak,’ said Jessie. ‘We can walk down together, if it’s OK with you, Abby?’

  Hermione held her breath. This was so awkward – when had they ever had to ask each other permission to do things? She glanced at Lucy, who was also looking nervous.

  ‘Of course it’s OK!’ said Abby sharply. ‘Come on, let’s get ready. We want to be back in time to welcome Sassy.’

  ‘Of course we do,’ mumbled Jessie, tugging at her pyjama top.

  As they walked over to the playground, Lucy asked Hermione, ‘So, H, are you having a g-good time? I know you were a bit n-nervous about the camping stuff, but last night was fun . . .’

  Hermione nodded. ‘Totally.’ She wondered if Lucy wanted her to say something about Leo, but if so, she didn’t feel like discussing it yet. She didn’t even know what ‘it’ was. ‘Don’t worry about me,’ she continued. ‘I’m loving it . . . but we MAY have a problem with Abby and Jessie. I told you about Jessie being upset by Abby, and I think with Sassy coming we might be in for a major explosion!’

  ‘I know,’ agreed Lucy. ‘But I don’t think Abby r-realizes she’s being mean, and when I tried to talk to her about it, she just said it was all r-rubbish.’

  ‘Hmm . . . well, maybe it’ll surprise us, and things will get better with Sassy here,’ said Hermione thoughtfully. ‘I’m pretty sure Jessie actually likes her.’

  At the adventure playground, Maggie rushed off to try all the exciting equipment, with Lucy following close behind to make sure she was safe. Hermione soon got bored and found herself wishing she’d brought a book to read. She wandered into the games building next to the playground and immediately laid eyes on Leo and some others playing table tennis. He was clowning around, balancing the racquet on his head as he walked back to the table after losing a point to Finn.

  She watched them for a few seconds, and was about to slip out quickly when Finn spotted her and called out, ‘Hey, Hermione! Wanna join us for the next match? Our friend is playing and we need a fourth for doubles – you can be on Leo’s team.’

  Leo dropped his clown act and waved sheepishly.

  ‘Ermm, I . . .’ Hermione tried to think of an excuse quickly, but her mind was blank. ‘I’m not very good . . .’ she started, nervously tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.

  ‘Never mind that,’ said Leo. ‘I’m not exactly championship material myself.’ He glanced quickly at her. ‘But no worries if you don’t want to.’

  Hermione looked at his hopeful expression. ‘Fine. But don’t say I didn’t warn you!’ She laughed and picked up a racquet.

  Twenty minutes later, the match was over and Hermione couldn’t believe it – she and Leo had actually won!

  ‘I’d better go. Lucy will be waiting,’ she told him, slightly out of breath. ‘Good match, guys,’ she said cheerfully to the others.

  ‘I’ll walk you out,’ offered Leo.

  ‘Yes, mate!’ hissed Finn encouragingly, and their friend Rafi leaned over and gave Leo a fist bump. Hermione hid a smile and pretended not to notice.

  Leo pulled on a baseball cap as they stepped outside.

  ‘Avoiding the sun?’ said Hermione. ‘I noticed you were a bit burned.’

  Leo touched his nose self-consciously. ‘Yeah . . . my nose is actually peeling. It’s gross, I know.’

  ‘No, it suits you,’ said Hermione before she could stop herself. ‘I mean – not the peeling bit –’ Leo raised an eyebrow – ‘just the, er, sunburn, brings some colour to your face.’ She panicked. ‘A healthy glow.’

  A healthy glow?! she thought. It sounded like something from an Abby make-up tutorial. Shoot me. Shoot me now.

  ‘Er, thanks . . . I think,’ said Leo, grinning. ‘So, like I was saying, did you know that the girl who plays Luna Lovegood was a Harry Potter superfan who went to an open call for auditions?’

  Hermione laughed. ‘Everyone knows that! Did you know she actually made the radish earrings she wore in The Order of the Phoenix?’

  ‘No!’

  ‘I nearly bought a pair off Etsy because they were so cute. And a butterbeer cork necklace. You know, to—’

  ‘Keep away Nargles!’ They said at the same time.

  Hermione felt her cheeks redden as she tried to think of something clever to say. ‘Er, excellent knowledge there, Leo.’ She noticed Lucy and Maggie waving to her from the playground. ‘Wish I could chat more, but babysitting calls. See ya!’ She waved to Leo and headed off, feeling a strange mix of relief and disappointment. She wondered if she would bump into him again.

  ‘Did m-my eyes deceive me, or was that Leo p-paying you loads of attention?’ teased Lucy affectionately as she approached. ‘You’ve been gone ages!’

  Hermione felt her cheeks flush again. ‘Don’t start. You know me – I’m a disaster with boys . . . but he’s—’

  ‘Oh, l-look! There’s Sassy already!’ exclaimed Lucy.

  Hermione squinted. Even from a distance, it was possible to recognize her. She was getting out of her dad’s car with all her gear. Her hair was a new shade of purple, and her outfit – a pink tulle skirt over leggings with Doc Martens – would have been more at home at a party than on a campsite.

  They ran over to meet her.

  Hermione could see Mr Lockwood do a double-take before he greeted Sassy’s dad.

  ‘Hey, Sass! So glad you’re f-finally here!’ said Lucy, and they all hugged.

  While Sassy’s father asked the Lockwoods a million questions about their plans for the week – nearest hospital, first-aid equipment, meals, etc. – Hermione and Lucy took Sassy into their tent so she could dump her stuff and see where she would sleep.

  ‘This is so cool!’ said Sassy, looking around.

  When they got back outside, her dad was still talking to Mr Lockwood. ‘OK, Dad, you can go now!’ she urged.

  ‘Can’t wait to get rid of me,’ he said, and laughed. ‘Fine, but you must promise to obey Mr and Mrs Lockwood and, above all, stay safe. I want to hear from you every day, all right? Otherwise I’ll be back here in a flash to see what’s going on.’

  Wow, thought Hermione, he’s almost as protective as Mum.

  ‘You got it, Dad!’ said Sassy, and kissed him goodbye. ‘Where are the others?’ she asked as he got into his car and drove off.

  ‘Down by the lake,’ replied Lucy. ‘I’ll show you. H, are you c-coming?’

  Hermione nodded. ‘Yeah, let’s get the whole gang together.’ She glanced at Sassy’s tutu. ‘Er, just an idea, but you might want to change into something more . . . waterproof? We need to change too.’

  Sassy grinned. ‘Good point,’ she said, and they all popped back into the tent.

  After changing into her yellow one-shoulder swimsuit and wrapping a beach towel round her waist, Hermione quickly brushed her hair and swiped on some lipgloss, ignoring a questioning look from Lucy. She wanted to look nice . . . just in case.

  Abby rushed over to give Sassy a hug when she saw her. ‘Sa-sssssy!’ she shrieked. ‘Finally! Your bikini is absolute goals. And I love the hair . . .’

  Hermione mimed covering her ears, raising a giggle from Jessie.

  ‘Hey, welcome!’ Jessie said to Sassy, giving her a high five.

  There were dozens of people hanging out by the dock, some sunbathing, some splashing about in the lake with big inflatables. Hermione noticed that Leo and Finn were in the water along with the rest of their gang. Even though she’d hoped they would be there, she felt a rush of embarrassment and wondered if
Leo thought she was stalking him.

  ‘Are you coming in?’ Finn called. ‘We could all play Marco Polo.’

  Hermione looked nervously at Abby, who rolled her eyes. ‘They’re only boys, H, nothing to be afraid of!’

  ‘Abby, shut up!’ hissed Hermione, dying inside. But then Leo gave her a wave from the water trampoline and she felt a bit better.

  ‘Hey, guys,’ called Abby confidently. ‘Meet Sassy, she’s part of our squad.’

  Hermione watched in awe as Sassy gave the boys a wave and then dived gracefully into the water near where they were swimming.

  ‘I’m up for Marco Polo!’ said Jessie, bombing off the dock and into the lake. She looked up, grinning and splashing. ‘Are you guys coming?’

  Lucy jumped in too, shortly followed by Abby. Hermione couldn’t bear to be left alone on the dock, so she forced herself to jump in after them.

  ‘Brrr, it’s cold!’ she exclaimed as she surfaced. She giggled as she caught sight of Leo’s Bart Simpson shorts.

  ‘I’ll be it,’ said Finn. He closed his eyes and counted to ten while the others swam away, but not too far. ‘Marco!’ he called out after reaching ten.

  ‘Polo!’ the others all shouted, and he started swimming towards their voices, trying to tag them.

  ‘Marco!’

  ‘Polo!’ ‘Polo!’ ‘Polo!’ ‘Polo!’ they all replied in turn as they swam.

  Leo suddenly broke the surface near to where Hermione was treading water. ‘Hey!’ he said, giving her a big smile. ‘Long time no see!’

  ‘I know, it’s been too long,’ she joked, relaxing instantly. ‘I was beginning to forget what you looked like, actually.’

  Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Abby nudging Lucy and pointing at her.

  Whatever, she thought defiantly. I don’t care what they think. I’m just going to enjoy myself!

  She gave Leo a playful splash.

  ‘You’re it, H,’ said Jessie, who had just swum up from behind and tagged her.

  After they were all bored of playing Marco Polo, they moved over to the water inflatables. There was a huge trampoline and a raft with a slide off to one side as well as smaller inflatables, one in the shape of a cactus and one a pink flamingo. Jessie showed off some of her gymnastic moves on the trampoline, and Abby was choreographing some kind of intricate water ballet with Sassy.

  ‘This trip is really fun,’ said Hermione to Lucy, who had joined her on the big raft.

  Leo had been entertaining her with Harry Potter film trivia until she’d got cramp in her leg and had to get out of the water. The girls lay back on their elbows, soaking up the sun.

  ‘Thank you so much for inviting me,’ she added.

  ‘Oh, I’m just pleased you’ve made a new f-friend,’ said Lucy, nodding in Leo’s direction. He was attempting to sit on the flamingo while it bobbed up and down. ‘He’s cute.’

  Hermione’s happy mood ebbed a bit. ‘Please, Luce, don’t make a big thing out of this. I don’t want to jinx anything, and let’s not forget what a disaster my French hashtag romance was . . .’

  Her experience with Thierry, the French boy she’d met on the school ski trip in the spring, had led to disappointment when she’d realized he just wanted to be friends. She had tried not to take it personally, but it had still been a blow to her already low self-confidence.

  ‘Of course I w-won’t embarrass you,’ reassured Lucy.

  ‘Hey, Hermione! Over here!’ called Abby from the water.

  Hermione looked over, and Abby and Sassy launched into a cheerleader chant. ‘Give me an L! Give me an E!’ they shouted.

  ‘Oh my God, SHUT UP,’ squealed Hermione, glancing at Leo, who was possibly within hearing distance.

  ‘Give me an R!’

  ‘I said shut – Wait, an R?’

  ‘Give me an M! Give me an I! Give me an O! Give me an N! Give me an E . . . LERMIONE!’

  ‘What the heck is Lermione?’ asked Hermione in confusion. Then Lucy raised her eyebrows and it hit her.

  ‘Guys, that is so lame!’

  As Leo looked over, she panicked and jumped into the water, then swam off, a smile dancing on her lips.

  VLOG 4

  FADE IN: BLACKWATER CAMPSITE.

  LUCY, ABBY, JESSIE, HERMIONE and SASSY sitting round the campfire at night, wearing cosy fleeces and holding cups of hot chocolate. They all wave at the camera.

  ALL

  Hi, guys!

  JESSIE

  So tonight we thought we’d do a video about our greatest fears as the setting is nice and spooky . . . Can you hear the wind whistling in the trees? And just to get us started, I’ve got a little something here for Hermione!

  JESSIE dangles a huge toy tarantula spider over HERMIONE’s head. HERMIONE screams loudly and jumps up, knocking over her cup.

  HERMIONE

  EEEK! Ugh, it’s disgusting!

  JESSIE is laughing so hard she can barely talk

  JESSIE

  Calm down, it’s fake, one of my brother’s. You are SUCH an easy target!

  JESSIE tries to hug her; HERMIONE resists.

  HERMIONE

  Not funny! And not cool when you know how I feel about insects and creepy crawlies.

  HERMIONE giggles a bit when JESSIE hugs her again.

  HERMIONE (CONTINUED)

  OK, OK, you’re forgiven. So, yeah, it should be obvious to everyone now that my biggest fears are insects and spiders. I don’t like snakes either, and I hate sharks, which is why I don’t like going in deep water.

  SASSY

  Wow, that’s like the entire animal kingdom! But those fears are kinda understandable, and lots of people have them. I’ve got a really random fear: I’m terrified of clowns and puppets and china dolls. I break out in a cold sweat when I see any of them.

  ABBY

  Really? How weird.

  SASSY

  It’s something about them being almost human, but not. Like they’re trying to trick me that they’re friendly people, but I know they are actually evil.

  (shudders)

  Ugh.

  JESSIE

  Ha ha! What about you, Abs? You seem pretty fearless . . .

  ABBY

  I’m actually claustrophobic. I don’t like being enclosed in small spaces. I’m always terrified of getting stuck in a lift, which is why I usually try to take the stairs.

  SASSY

  Oh, I thought that was a fitness kick, ha ha.

  ABBY

  No, I got stuck in a lift once, and I was there for ages before I got rescued. I thought I was going to die and started to have a panic attack. Eventually I started singing to myself, and it sorta calmed me down until they got me out.

  LUCY

  I would h-hate that too.

  ABBY

  Sometimes I get a bit panicky when I’m in a big crowd with everyone packed tightly together, especially if it’s not moving. Like in a crush on the underground. I’m worried that I won’t be able to escape.

  JESSIE

  Scary. Luce, are you afraid of anything?

  LUCY

  Not much . . . I love all k-kinds of animals, even the ones with h-hundreds of legs . . . but I s-suppose I do have that very b-basic fear . . . which is that I’m afraid of the d-dark. Well, not really the dark . . . but what might be lurking in the d-dark.

  JESSIE

  (mischievously)

  Like an axe murderer?

  LUCY

  Yeah, sort of! I don’t like f-footsteps behind me in the dark.

  HERMIONE

  But that’s just common sense. Being afraid of the dark is like an evolutionary fear. I mean, that’s why cavemen made fires and why we have lights indoors. And why we have this campfire today! OK, Jessie, what about you then?

  JESSIE

  I’m not keen on axe murderers either.

  (grins)

  But the only thing I’m really terrified of is needles – as in, injections.

  (shivers)

  Stupi
d, I know, because they make you healthier. I just can’t stand looking at the needle pierce the skin.

  ABBY

  I’m guessing you won’t ever get any tattoos then!

  (to camera)

  We’d love to hear what you guys might be frightened of . . . so comment down below and let us know. For now, we’re all feeling safe and cosy round the fire . . .

  HERMIONE

  Even though my hot chocolate got spilt because of Jessie!

  ALL

  Bye!

  FADE OUT.

  Views: 11,282

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  Comments:

  ShyGirl1: I can’t stand people being sick around me!

  anonymouse: i am scared of buttons. weird but true, all my clothes have zips and Velcro . . .

  sami_rules: cats. they are sooo sinister, especially when they purr really loudly. It’s like, what are you plotting??

  xxrainbowxx: balloons – well i have a fear of them popping

  queen_dakota: my fear is boring videos made by losers.

  *jazzyjessie* [reply to queen_dakota]: just a friendly tip – stop watching them then!!!

  (scroll down to see 49 more comments)

  It was the middle of the night, and there was a storm raging, thunder rumbling around the campsite, and lightning cracking overhead.

  Jessie was unfazed.

  ‘Perfect occasion for pick and mix,’ she said happily. She felt like Bear Grylls toughing it out on a deserted island somewhere.

  The sides of the tent shook as the wind howled outside.

  ‘Hngghh!’ cried Hermione, scooching down into her sleeping bag. ‘This is scary. We’re like Dorothy in the tornado. I keep expecting the tent to blow away!’