Love and Pollywogs from Camp Calamity by Mary Hershey Page A

any more questions, you just fire away, okay?”
    “Thank you, sir.” I was pretty sure I hadn’t lied about anything, but Mr. Bucko had ended up thinking something that wasn’t true. Just then would have been a very excellent time to clear that up.
    Except I didn’t. Because nothing about this whole mess would get me any closer to becoming Outstanding Camper of the Week. And with Kayla sitting less than six inches away from me, no way was I going to admit that I couldn’t swim. I would never hear the end of it.
    Mr. Bucko’s safety talk only lasted seven minutes, according to my watch, which I kept staring at, praying that 11:45 would come record fast and we’d get called for chow. I doubted I could keep him answering questions for fifty-three more minutes.
    My arm shot up anyway. “Mr. Bucko! According to our camp handbook, there are sixty-three different kinds of snake species here. Can any of them swim? I mean, isthere any chance there might be some snakes that might want to get in the lake with us?”
    “Can’t say that I’ve ever seen a snake in the water,” he said. “But great question for Ms. Hawkins’s class tomorrow.” He got to his feet. “Okay, then! Ready for a swim?”
    My hand shot up again. “Mr. Bucko! Mr. Bucko!”
    Kayla let out a big gusty sigh and gave me a dirty look. Aurora shot her an even dirtier warning one back.
    “Yes, Effie?”
    “Have you ever noticed that kids are less floaty swimming in a lake that is a thousand feet above sea level—like here? Has that ever been a problem for any of your campers?”
    He laughed. “Can’t say that I’ve ever noticed that. Interesting question! Okay, listen up, girls! I want to do a couple of things today. First off, I’m going to teach you a fun kick that might be new to a number of you. Secondly, while the group is practicing that over here, I’m going to take each of you one at a time over on this side of the dock so I can test your swimming. I probably won’t be able to get to you all today, but we can finish up tomorrow. I know a lot of you are going to want to swim out to the platform this week, and no one goes past the buoys until I’ve cleared them. Everyone got that?”
    “Yes, Mr. Bucko!”
    A test? There was a test on our swimming?
Oh, no!
I had to make sure he didn’t get to me today. Maybe I could stay underwater the whole time and he’d forget I was there.
    “Great!” he said, peeling off his T-shirt. He was very tan everywhere and covered with a lot of blond fur on his front. I didn’t want to look at his man nipples, but I couldn’t help it. I bet Sister didn’t want to look either!
    “We’ll get in the water in just a minute to warm up, but who here knows how to do the dolphin kick?”
    I looked around quick. Only a few girls raised their hand. I stuck mine in my mouth and started buzzing down a fingernail.
    “I’ve seen people do it, Mr. Bucko, and I’ve tried it, but it’s really hard!” Kimber said.
    “Okay, for those of you who haven’t seen the dolphin kick before, let me demonstrate up here first. Let’s have everybody stand up. Arms overhead and feet together. Knees nice and loose. Everyone with me?” He looked around to make sure.
    “Mr. Bucko!” My hand flew up again. I trusted Aurora to take care of Kayla, who I knew was gonna want to murder me.
    “Yes?” he asked.
    “What if you’ve never seen a dolphin before?”
    He smiled. “Not a problem. Just watch me.”
    “Effie,” Cricket said, “imagine how a mermaid swims. She has that big giant tail and no legs to kick. But she’s a great swimmer, right?”
    “Exactly! Thanks, Cricket!” Mr. Bucko said. “Everyone, we’ll try this in slow motion. First move your chest up, and then move your hips back as your chest comes forward … right … good … unlock your knees there …better … now, thighs back as hips move forward … keep those knees bending as you roll. Imagine a big wave coming right through you.”
    This was really