Camp Confidential 05 - TTYL Read Online Free

worried.
    Her mom sighed. “Well, we’ve been meaning to talk to you about this, Grace. Your dad and I don’t think it’s a good idea for you to join the drama club this year.”
    Grace put down her glass. “What? Why not?” she asked.
    “Your mother and I think you need to focus on getting your grades up,” her dad responded. “You did a great job this summer with your reading, but you have to prove that you can continue working hard.”
    “But Dad, I will keep working hard, I swear!” Grace promised. She could feel her face starting to turn red—a sure sign she was about to cry. “You saw how well I did this summer—I can keep working hard and join the drama club!”
    Grace’s father shook his head. “Grace, I’m sorry. I’m not going to back down on this one.”
    Grace looked at her mom. “Mom? Please?”
    “No, honey, I’m sorry. Your dad and I discussed this already; we decided that you wouldn’t be allowed to join any extracurricular activities until we see real evidence that your grades are going up. I’m very sorry, and I am very proud of how well you’ve done so far and we know you can keep it up. You can join the club next year.”
    Grace couldn’t believe they wouldn’t let her join the club. Over the summer, she had realized how much she loved to act—she loved being onstage, with people watching her while she performed. It was an amazing rush. A tear slipped down her cheek, and she shoved her plate away and stood up so fast that her chair fell over.
    “I can’t believe this!” she exclaimed. Her chin began to tremble, and she had to run away before she completely broke down into tears. As she ran up the stairs, she really started to cry.
    Grace threw herself onto her bed and sobbed with her face in a pillow. This stinks , she thought. This totally stinks . She rolled over, with tears still streaming down her cheeks, and sat up. Doing so, she caught a glimpse of her summer reading books, stacked neatly on her desk next to her computer.
    She got up and crossed her room, sliding into the chair at her desk. She logged on to Instant Messenger, but none of her friends were online. Great , she thought. No friends, no drama club . . . Before the tears could slide out again, she opened up her Web browser and tried to distract herself. She knew she should respond to Brynn’s question about drama club, but she was mortified that her parents weren’t going to let her—and all because of her grades. Plus, Brynn had sounded excited about school starting, and Grace was decidedly not.
    However, Julie, the counselor she’d had at camp, had set a blog up for all the bunkmates to keep in touch when they got back home, and Grace was interested in what was going on in everyone’s lives. She opened the site and found three new messages. One was a welcome note from Julie, which included Julie’s e-mail address, phone number, and mailing address. There was another message from Marissa, the counselor-in-training from their bunk, but Grace was the most excited about the message from her friend Alex.
    Dear Other Campers, the letter began. Grace smiled. Typical of Alex to be so formal about something so friendly.
    I hope everybody’s having a great time back at home! I know you are all missing getting up at the crack of dawn, smelling funny, and eating terrible, disgusting, horrible food. I am too. Anyway, I just wanted to write to tell you all that I miss you so much . . . and I hope we can get together soon! Let’s keep in touch here as much as possible—I want to hear about everyone’s sixth-grade experience!
    Love,
    Alex
     
    Grace sighed. She was sure that other people were glad to be back with their friends—and she was, too—but she really wasn’t looking forward to her sixth-grade experience anymore. So far, it just seemed like it wasn’t going to be fun. She logged off of the computer without writing a response.
    On the desk, next to her stack of books, was a picture from camp that Grace