Politically Incorrect by Melissa J. Morgan

doing for the past two days was looking out for people—everyone except herself , in fact.
    “Are you trying to say that I’m a bad friend or something?”
    Sloan started to backpedal. “No, I’d never say anything like that.”
    Getting into an argument with Sloan wasn’t going to do much good, and Natalie knew that if she said anything else, that would certainly happen.
    “I’m going back inside, Sloan.” Natalie spun around and walked toward the tent without looking back at her friend.
    But before she could open the tent door, it slammed open. Tricia stood in the doorframe, all wide-eyed and happy-faced.
    “There you are!” she exclaimed so loudly that Wharton winced a little bit. “I’ve been looking all over for you.”
    What I wouldn’t give to be invisible , Natalie thought.
    “We ran out of treats, so I talked Ellie into taking all of us to the dining hall for some post-party ice cream. Then we’re all going to the nature hut to play with Paris. She hasn’t been feeling well lately,” Tricia explained, nearly tripping over her words with excitement. “Are you guys coming?”
    Natalie peered over her shoulder at Sloan, who appeared to have all but forgotten about the tense conversation they’d just had.
    “Sounds great,” Sloan said. “Lead the way.”
    “What about you, Nat?” Tricia asked.
    Natalie searched her feelings and realized that she wasn’t in the mood for ice cream or socializing. Some quiet time was what she needed, for sure.
    “I think I’m going to sit this one out, Tricia,” Natalie said. “You guys go ahead.”
    “Oh, okay,” Tricia said, sounding disappointed. Then she turned around and shouted out the crowd behind her, “Hey, everyone! Let’s get out of here, like, pronto!”
    Natalie glanced behind Tricia and saw the entire group cheer, even Ellie, who at the moment seemed more like a camper than a counselor.
    “See you later, roomie!” Tricia said, hugging Natalie tightly.
    Oh brother , Natalie thought.
    As the crowd filtered through the door, everyone said good-bye and thanked Natalie for her hospitality, one by one.
    When Natalie entered the bunk, she was surprised by how clean it looked. There wasn’t a stray piece of garbage to be found anywhere in the tent. Natalie smiled proudly. Maybe Tricia had turned over a new leaf.
    Given that it was a hot summer night, Natalie thought she might take a quick three-minute shower. It would certainly be a nice way to relax. She went to the closet that she and Tricia shared in search of her pink terrycloth bathrobe. But when she opened the closet door, Natalie was showered with an avalanche of trash.
    Once the last piece of garbage fell out of the closet, Natalie looked down at her feet. She couldn’t believe the amount of debris! It was enough to attract a small bear or baby bobcat. She could tell from the pile of greasy McDonald’s bags that this wasn’t trash from the party. Tricia had created this disaster all by herself.
    I guess this is Tricia’s idea of pre-party cleaning. Ugh!
    Natalie found the box of garbage bags that she’d picked up earlier and began to fill them with junk food wrappers and Styrofoam containers and plastic water bottles. She could feel her blood pressure rising with every item she tossed in the bags. Acting as Tricia’s maid sure wasn’t what Natalie had signed on for.
    After Natalie cleared out the room and tied up the last of the bags, she spotted a folded-up note that must have fallen onto the floor while she was cleaning. On the front it read FOR NAT, and on the back, FROM TRICIA.
    “More like Trash-a,” Natalie mumbled to herself.
    Natalie opened the note.

    Natalie could not believe her eyes. Good friend? She felt more like a personal assistant to Tricia than a friend.
    Maybe Tricia had led such a privileged life that she just couldn’t tell the difference.

chapter ELEVEN
    The last place Chelsea wanted to be on Wednesday morning was a nature walk. Everyone was all atwitter