Testing the Waters

By Cathy and Patty

Teens at a summer camp uncover a frightening sight at a creek bed that indicates toxic waste. A mystical figure guides them toward finding the answer to what caused it.

The teens take risks and defy authorities. They seek the help of an ambitious member of the press as well as that of a techno savvy camper who is ostracized for being dyslexic. One teen in particular, Reid Williams, has discovered months earlier that she may have inherited a psychic ability to see apparitions. These visions help her uncover the mystery of deaths and destruction of an otherwise pristine area of nature.

Throughout the novel, the "testing the waters" theme reveals conflicts and betrayals among the campers, but ultimately conveys a message of tolerance, persistence, and friendship.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Cathy and Patty
• Release date: Jan 26, 2012
• ISBN: 9781465841315

Cathy and Patty

Cathy Tucker:"I’ve spent three decades studying, instructing, counseling and observing adolescents in the Midwest. As a teacher I’ve evaluated tens of thousands of writings and led thousands of discussions and analyses on literature and film. As a mom, I’ve garnered great sympathy and empathy for the struggles and joys of being a teen. As a volunteer and activist, I’ve learned what moves people to action and what taps their generous spirit.All of my life experiences have provided a wealth of story ideas, both in book and in script form. My writing partner and I bring these decades of experiences into our works. Our teenage characters act as the real heroes, often testing but ultimately teaching their elders lessons about life. Our adults are people with flaws who survive their tests of courage and lead others to do the same.My goal as a writer is to provide first, entertainment to my readers. Just as important, though, I want to provide character models to readers who will see them as inspirations on how they can make a difference.Patty and I hope you will find our writings do just that!!Patty Hoppe:For the last forty-three years, I've divided my life between my family and my teaching career. As a mother of four boys, I spent hours at ice rinks, soccer fields, and swimming pools. I now have three adult sons working at various jobs in the medical field and one in the marketing department of a national sports equipment company.As an English teacher, I spent my days with juniors and seniors in East Lansing, Michigan. No day was the same as the one before as teens provide a variety of life lessons: especially a willingness for the teacher to learn from her students and a daily lesson on the importance of a sense of humor.My writing partner and fellow English teacher and I share a love of mystery and young adult literature. Cathy and I are inspired on a daily basis by our students and by our voracious appetite for any story or film with a mystery to be solved. While forensic science makes it more difficult for the criminal, it does open new avenues for the writer.Our characters have become real people to us: full of flaws, dreams, and, of course, a problem or obstacles facing them. We hope you enjoy meeting them as much as we enjoyed creating them.All of my life experiences have provided a wealth of story ideas, both in book and in script form. My writing partner and I bring these decades of experiences into our works. Our teenage characters act as the real heroes, often testing but ultimately teaching their elders lessons about life. Our adults are people with flaws who survive their tests of courage and lead others to do the same.My goal as a writer is to provide first, entertainment to my readers. Just as important, though, I want to provide character models to readers who will see them as inspirations on how they can make a difference. Patty and I hope you will find our writings do just that!!

Book preview

Prologue

Smoky Mountains Explorer Camp

Twenty Years Ago

Sammy Morris blasted through the opening in the rustic cabin, the echo of the screen door reverberating behind him. Fists clenched, legs pumping, he threw himself across the lawn in front of the cabins, disappearing into the copse of evergreen trees.

They can all drop dead, he mumbled under his breath. First, my parents send me here even though they knew I wanted to stay home. A lot they cared.

He kicked a stone off the worn path. Then I’m lucky enough to get three twerps for cabin mates. Fifteen minutes late and they left me behind. Didn’t want to go on that stupid bird watching hike anyway.

Sounds like you need to do something to get back at them. A camper sitting on a rock startled him with his unsolicited response.

I guess I could put ants in their beds or tie all their wet clothes together. That’d get ‘em.

Aw, just forget ‘em.

Yeah. I’ve heard that before. Didn’t work then. Doesn’t work now.

The other camper marked his place in his book and jumped from his rocky perch. They walked along the path together.

Nervously, Sammy smoothed the front of his neon orange Junior Explorer’s t-shirt. Ray, I just wanna get through the next few weeks in one piece without anyone bugging me.

Tripping over the lace of one of his untied tennis shoes, he lost his balance momentarily, righting himself quickly on the edge of the rocky path.

Hey, I wouldn’t get too close to that edge, Sammy. You could fall.

Sammy looked around at the fog pushing the sun aside. Wispy fingers of smoke swirled around the two campers like silent ghosts. He shivered for a moment, then picked up a stone and threw it over the edge. The two boys watched it fall until they heard a plop at the bottom.

Gee, it’s a long way down. I wouldn’t wanna’ follow that stone. Nobody’d ever find me, said Ray.

Sammy drifted into a scenario where he was lost and his parents had to join the search for him, identifying his body and crying over the way they’d treated him. He could almost imagine the funeral. All his friends would….

Sammy, Sammy. Where’d you go? demanded Ray. Looked like you were in outer space for a minute there.

No….not outer space. Just thinking ‘bout home for a minute.

Ray looked at his watch. Well. I’ve got dinner duty tonight. Gotta go. Wanna go back?

Naw. Got some thinkin’ to do. Catch ya later.

The foggy air cleared just as a sudden bolt of lightening struck miles off. The wind whistled, and a strong scent of rain pierced Sammy’s nose. He continued on, walking along the trail close to the edge of the ravine. Absently, he played daredevil, sliding the tip of his shoe over the stones lining the precipice.

With a roar, in seconds the ground disappeared under his feet. He tumbled over and over until his body stopped its descent, trapped between two rocks. He tried to scale one, but fell even further into the crevice. As he looked up through a slit, he could see dark clouds covering the mountain side. His last thought was of his parents. Maybe they weren’t so bad after all. What would they do if the never found his body? Who would remember he’d been a camper here? Who would even remember his name?

Chapter One

Present Day

Merrell, Tennessee

June 20th

Reid, I had to call you! Did you hear that the sheriff’s digging up the cold case file on Sammy Morris? That legend of the lost camper you’ve told me really must be true, right? Jamie Callahan asked breathlessly over her newly purchased Smart Phone.

Hi to you too, Jamie, Reid laughed. Yeah, that’s the little kid’s name. I’ve heard the story of Sammy every year I’ve been to camp. Pretty exciting. Where’d you hear about it?

Check out the Mountain Daily; it’s in the local section online, Jamie ordered. It retells the whole incident when he disappeared. As much as they know, anyway.

Awesome! Now I’ll finally get the real story of what happened to Sammy. I’ve heard so many versions, I’m not sure what to believe.

Well, check it out as soon as we get off, urged her friend. Oh, and I read your text a few minutes ago. It’s great that you’re getting the Explorer’s camp scholarship again. What’d the letter say? Jamie’s voice rose in volume with each question.

Reid Williams pulled the telephone receiver away from her right ear to lessen the strident tones of her best friend, Jamie. Although she realized her friend was excited about the award, Jamie tended to react to any type of news, negative or positive, with her usual dramatic enthusiasm.

Their friendship surprised both of them. Reid, lightly freckled and friendly, approached life with a scientific scrutiny; Jamie, a shy strawberry blonde, turned every situation into a drama. Even their physical appearances lay at opposite ends of the spectrum. Reid, tall and lanky, excelled in academics. Jamie, a compact dynamo, lived for volleyball and the theater. However, both teenagers relied on the total honesty and support they received from their unusual friendship.

Anticipating another serious discussion, Reid curled up on the leather sofa in the den, smiling as she answered the one friend who was not afraid to express an opinion or to give advice. The usual. I got the scholarship for July and have to decide right away.

You don’t sound excited. I’d call everyone I know.

You’re the phone addict, not me, pointed out Reid, grinning to herself as she pictured her friend running around Merrell with her cell phone plastered to her ear. Everyone in town would know the news of her scholarship by the end of the day.

But I don’t get it. I thought you loved the Smoky Mountains!

It’s the Great Smoky Mountains. The Director corrects everyone.

Great or not, it’s all you talked about for months. What happened to staying longer this year so you could actually dig into some project? You said the scholarship was the only way you could afford it.

True, but don’t act like I won some major prize. I guess I don’t really know why I was chosen. Now the pressure’s on. I hoped a summer there would give me some direction for my future career, Reid said as she shifted restlessly on the cold leather seat. At least for a college major.

Well, this should do it. You’ll be able to focus on some research that may get you noticed by a bunch of colleges. I know what your problem is… She paused. Things always come too easy for you. Have you ever been turned down for anything?

Well, uh, no. She waited a few seconds before continuing. If you want to know, I’m feeling a little guilty.

Guilty? About what?

Supposedly part of the reason I won the scholarship was my interest in science outside the classroom. What interest? I haven’t done much since middle school.

Hello.... Don’t you think it took science to explain to all of us the reason for the high school roof collapse? Don’t you watch CSI?

Well, I guess I did use forensic science. She added with sarcasm, And with my new found psychic gifts, maybe I’ll be the queen of some kind of new occult science!

Jamie giggled. Oh, come on. You do have some kind of sixth sense, but I doubt that will be too useful at your camp. Unless it helps you uncover the legend of Lost Sammy.

Let’s hope nothing dramatic happens so that I’ll need to use it…and to be honest I don’t want it. I’d rather stick to the environmental stuff.

Jamie agreed. I don’t blame you. Seeing ghosts is a little scary. Maybe instead you should start a recycling group like the one at school. Remember the tons of paper everybody used to throw away? Remember the chart in the hallway that showed how many trees we’ve saved at our school alone?

But I really haven’t done anything concrete. What have I proven? What have I changed? What have I discovered? Reid shot off a list of questions in a staccato tone.

Reid, you’re in high school; you’re not Madame Curie.

Duh, and I never will be, said Reid, twisting a lock of her auburn hair as she attempted to make her friend understand her unsettled frame of mind. It’s hard to describe my feelings, especially over the phone.

Reid could picture Jamie with a vein throbbing in her neck as she warmed up to her favorite subject—Reid’s compulsive behavior. You’re a junior. You’re supposed to be having fun, going to the prom, playing volleyball. Not trying to win the Nobel Prize, retorted Jamie with an edge of exasperation in her voice.

I know. I guess I’m just being silly, but I want to do something to make a difference this summer. I don’t have that many left before college.

Actually, there’s only one left after this, if you want to be specific.

That extra stress really helps, Jamie.

Well, you always claim you work better under pressure. Maybe this’s just what you needed. Do I assume you’re going?

Yes, of course. Guess I can’t turn them down. What else would I do all summer here in Merrell?

You could always join the community theater. You can try out to be Juliet. Her voice took a dramatic turn. ‘O Romeo. Wherefore art thou, Romeo?’ I think that’s the play they’re doing this summer.

No. I liked the theater class we took last semester, but I just want to be involved with the environment for the summer. I’m not looking for any more drama. The roof collapsing at our high school was enough for a lifetime.

My last piece of advice…

Can I get that in writing?

Jamie ignored her friend. As I was saying, my last piece of advice for today is to answer your letter, go to camp and enjoy yourself. That’s plenty for one summer.

I think that’s three pieces of advice, but who’s counting?

You know what I mean.

You’re right. Obsessing over it isn’t going to change things anyway.

Maybe you’ll meet someone new. Not many interesting guys at Merrell High.

Besides Brad, you mean. Who’ll I meet at camp? A science whiz? A chemistry nerd?

Stranger things have happened.

Wish I would find someone from a totally different background. I don’t think there’s much chance of that happening buried in the mountains. Her voice shifted. Well, I’m off to send an e-mail. See ya later. Reid snapped her cell shut and moved to her computer.

Sitting down, she hesitated for a few minutes before beginning her typing, her head in her hand, her elbow resting on the desk. She swiveled her chair and stared out the window. Distracted for a few minutes by the palette of colors along the back fence, she watched as the Tennessee dusk fell.

The mountains intersected the horizon in the background, cutting geometric figures into the darkening sky. Mountain laurel dotted the hillside, and pink and red climbing roses cascaded over the weathered fence running across the back property line. Daffodils lined the stone walkway. Her mother’s pink rhododendron bushes bloomed in colorful clumps under the window sills.

Her brown tabby cat hopped onto her lap, and she stroked her soft fur pensively. Suddenly, a cold chill snaked down her spine. She shook so much the feline jumped to the floor and ran off. Reid watched her pet disappear, then said to herself, I’m a scientist. I’m not going to have any more of that psychic stuff happening again. She hesitated for a moment. I hope.

Chapter Two

The rain danced against the windows in a syncopated rhythm for most of the afternoon while Reid waited at the pickup spot designated in the camp travel directions. Sitting on one side of the station, she opened a book and lost herself in the latest offering of her favorite mystery author. Several chapters later, as she dragged herself from the heroine’s desperate race through the Swiss Alps to escape a stalker, she slowly became aware of a change in tempo around her. The soft steady raindrops pinging gently against the metal roof had turned into a full-fledged storm. Sheets of rain blew angrily against the weathered bus station, cascading down the sides, forming deep swirling pools of water on the ground.

The sudden storm brought back memories of her last summer at camp. There hadn’t been many campers her age, and the classes and labs weren’t much more complicated than those in freshman chemistry. She’d wasted the whole session, hadn’t learned anything except how good it was to return home.

Maybe this summer’d be different, Reid thought. As an experienced camper, she’d be involved with more intricate and demanding experiments. Maybe one of them would give her an idea of what she was going to do after graduation. College decisions had to be made, and she wasn’t any closer to deciding what she wanted to do with her life than when she was twelve and wanted to be a ballerina. Selecting a career in science was a start, but it wasn’t going to impress any college admission committees.

Maybe Jamie was lucky. At least she knew what she wanted. Being an actress wouldn’t be easy, but then what was? Pushing her hair off her cheek, she glanced at her watch, sighed, and